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CalL1 San Jose Giants

Visalia Rawhide at San Jose Giants, August 24-26

August 24, 2009 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


Visalia Rawhide (59-67) at San Jose Giants (81-45)

At Municipal Stadium

- Monday, August 24th at 7:00 PM

- Tuesday, August 25th at 7:00 PM

- Wednesday, August 26th at 7:00 PM

Pitching Match Ups

- Monday - Pat McAnaney (10-7, 4.70) at Kyle Nicholson (2-0, 3.80)

- Tuesday - Wade Miley (0-0, 0.00) at Oliver Odle (7-10, 5.24)

- Wednesday - Christian Beltre (4-10, 6.67) at Clayton Tanner (10-6, 3.20)

THE SAN JOSE GIANTS... begin their final homestand of the regular season Monday evening when they host the Visalia Rawhide in the opener of a three-game series at Municipal Stadium. San Jose posted a 4-2 record on their recently completed road trip taking two out of three games at Visalia and at Stockton. Last night, the Giants earned a 7-2 victory over the Ports as starting pitcher Craig Clark won his 14th consecutive decision after holding Stockton to a pair of runs in six innings. Thomas Neal and Roger Kieschnick led the offensive attack with two hits and two RBI's each. After the current series against Visalia, San Jose will host the Lancaster JetHawks in a four-game set to conclude their regular season home schedule.

San Jose Extends Lead To Eight Games In Second Half Race... San Jose is attempting to win both halves in the North Division for the second consecutive season. Entering tonight, the Giants (39-17) own an eight-game lead over the Stockton Ports (31-25) for the top spot in the North Division with 14 games remaining in the regular season. San Jose's magic number (combination of Giants wins and/or Stockton losses) to clinch the division crown is seven. San Jose needs at least a 10-4 mark to end the year to break the team record for most wins in a half (1988, 48-24 record in second half).

Muni Success... The Giants own a remarkable 30-7 record in their last 37 home games dating back to June 5. San Jose has not lost a series at Municipal Stadium since dropping two out of three games to the Inland Empire 66ers from May 19-21. Overall, the Giants boast a league-best 45-18 home record. The pitching staff possesses a 2.61 ERA in games at Municipal Stadium (as opposed to 4.09 on the road).

Major League All-Star Justin Upton To Face Giants During Series... Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton is expected to play in the entire series for the Visalia Rawhide against the Giants as part of a rehabilitation assignment. Upton, a National League All-Star this season, suffered a strained oblique muscle on August 5 during a stolen base attempt. Upton was hitting .301 with 20 home runs and 66 RBI's before the injury. Upton spent 32 games with the Visalia Oaks in 2007 and posted a .341 batting average with five home runs and 17 RBI's en route to earning the honor as the top prospect in the California League according to Baseball America. He would debut in the major leagues later that season with the Diamondbacks.

Kieschnick In The Record Book... Right fielder Roger Kieschnick continues to climb the charts in the single-season San Jose Giants record book. Kieschnick's 23 home runs this year is tied with Mike Glendenning (1999) for the third-most in Giants history. Tim Flaherty holds the top two spots with 26 homers in 2001 and 25 during the 1999 campaign. Additionally, Kieschnick has collected 99 RBI's this season - the fourth-highest mark in team history. Only three players have amassed 100 RBI's in San Jose Giants history: Mark Leonard (118, 1988), Rich Aldrete (108, 1988) and Sean McGowan (106, 2000).

Team Awards... The Giants will be handing out their team awards during the current homestand starting with the Nette Rappe Good Guy Award tomorrow. The rest of the awards are as follows: Defensive Player of the Year (Wednesday), Relief Pitcher of the Year (Thursday), Offensive Player of the Year (Friday), Pitcher of the Year (Saturday), Most Valuable Player (Sunday).

Third-Best Record In Minor League Baseball... San Jose (81-45, .643) currently owns the third-best overall record among full-season teams in all of minor league baseball. The Giants trail only the Low-A Fort Wayne TinCaps (85-41, .675) and the Double-A Birmingham Barons (84-42, .667).

Hitters Heating Up In August... Several Giants hitters are posting impressive numbers at the plate during the month of August. Roger Kieschnick is batting .351 with nine doubles, two homers an d 12 RBI's in 18 games this month to lead the charge. Nestor Rojas (.351), Conor Gillaspie (.317) and Darren Ford (.313) are also batting over .300 mark while Nick Noonan is currently sitting at .299.

Giants Closing In On Homefield Advantage During North Division Series... The Giants are closing in on securing homefield advantage (hosting Game Five) for the North Division Series. San Jose's 81-45 overall record is 12 games ahead of the Modesto Nuts (69-57) for the best mark in the division with 14 to play. Homefield advantage in the division series is awarded to the team with the best overall record that's won a half.

League-Leading Pitching Staff... The Giants enter tonight's game first in the California League with a 3.33 ERA. San Jose is attempting to lead the league in pitching for the sixth consecutive season and they currently boast two out of the top three hurlers individually in ERA: Craig Clark (2nd, 3.01) and Clayton Tanner (3rd, 3.20).

Top Rated Defense Too... San Jose has committed the fewest errors in the league (123) en route to compiling the best fielding percentage (.975). Giants catchers have also thrown out a league-high 43.2% of base stealers.

Media Coverage... The entire series can be heard live on www.sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo and Rocky Koplik calling all of the action. All 140 games this season will be aired live on the club's official website.

Visalia Rawhide... The Visalia Rawhide, an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, enter tonight's match-up with a 59-67 overall record and a 20-36 mark in the second half. Visalia trails the Bakersfield Blaze (64-62) by five games for the final wild card spot in the North Division. The Rawhide are only 7-16 against the Giants this season.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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