Giants Travel To Bakersfield For Three-Game Series

At Sam Lynn Ballpark
Thursday, April 17, 7:15 PM
Friday, April 18, 7:15 PM
Saturday, April 19, 7:15 PM

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
Thursday
San Jose - Martin Agosta (0-1, 3.00)
Bakersfield - Wandy Peralta (0-1, 5.19)

Friday
San Jose - Pat Young (1-0, 2.70)
Bakersfield - James Allen (2-0, 5.17)

Saturday
San Jose - Joe Biagini (0-1, 3.86)
Bakersfield - Drew Cisco (1-1, 6.00)

Broadcast Information
The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo calling all of the action. Radio broadcasts begin 30 minutes prior to first pitch with The Giants Pregame Show. All 140 games this season will be aired on the club's official website and through the San Jose Giants Mobile App. 

Giants Begin Three-Game Series At Bakersfield Tonight
The San Jose Giants begin a three-game series against the Bakersfield Blaze this evening at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Martin Agosta (0-1, 3.00) is slated to make the start on the mound for the Giants tonight. After the current series versus the Blaze and an off day on Sunday, San Jose returns to Municipal Stadium for a seven-game homestand against Visalia and Bakersfield starting on Monday night.

Last Game
Four Giants pitchers combined to strikeout 19 Inland Empire batters in a 4-3 victory over the 66ers yesterday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. San Jose jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings and then held off Inland Empire late to secure the win and take two out of three games in the series. Joan Gregorio picked-up the win for the Giants after setting a career-high with 11 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. Gregorio allowed two runs (both earned) on five hits and issued two walks. Steven Okert surrendered a run in the top of the ninth, but struck out the side in the frame to record the save. Offensively, Brian Ragira (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) smacked a two-run home run, Chris Lofton (2-for-3) contributed two singles and Ben Turner (0-for-2, 2 RBI) hit a pair of sacrifice flies to lead the way.

Two In A Row
The Giants (6-8) have won back-to-back games for the first time since the opening two days of the season (April 3-4). Prior to the consecutive wins, San Jose had dropped a season-high four games in a row. A victory tonight would give the Giants their first three-game win streak this year.

Familiar Opponent
San Jose and Bakersfield will play each other 10 times over an 18-day period from April 10-27. The Blaze won three out of four games at Municipal Stadium last Thursday-Sunday. After the Giants took the opener 5-2, Bakersfield earned victories of 5-2, 11-7 (10 innings) and 10-4 to claim the series. This series marks San Jose's first visit of the year to Sam Lynn Ballpark. The Blaze return to Municipal Stadium for a three-game set beginning next Friday, April 25.

Galindo's Hitting Streak At Nine Games
Center fielder Jesus Galindo brings a nine-game hitting streak into tonight's action. During the streak, Galindo is batting .289 (11-for-38) with three RBI's. Galindo's hit streak is the third-longest in the California League this season.

San Francisco Affiliation
This year marks San Jose's 27th season as an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants - the longest partnership of any team in the California League. Since their inception in 1988, the San Jose Giants have won six league championships (1998, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010). The Giants have qualified for the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons (2004-2013) - a California League record. 163 former San Jose Giants have reached the major leagues, including 117 with San Francisco.

Blair's Hot Start
Left fielder Elliott Blair is off to an excellent start at the plate this season. Through his first 10 games, Blair is batting a team-leading .351 (13-for-37) with two doubles, one triple, one home run and five RBI's. Blair is fifth in the league in batting average and has five multi-hit games already this season. Last year in 69 games with the Giants, Blair hit .229 with three home runs and 26 RBI's.

Top Prospects
Seven players on San Jose's roster are among the top 30 prospects in the organization according to Baseball America, including four out of the six pitchers in the Giants starting rotation. San Jose players among the top 30 prospects include: pitcher Chris Stratton (#3), outfielder Mac Williamson (#5), pitcher Kendry Flores (#14), pitcher Joan Gregorio (#17), pitcher Martin Agosta (#21), pitcher Steven Okert (#24) and pitcher Stephen Johnson (#28).

Lenn Sakata Back In Orange & Black
Lenn Sakata, the winningest manager in California League history, has returned to the San Jose Giants this season. 2014 marks Sakata's 10th year in the San Francisco Giants organization (first since 2007) and his seventh season as San Jose's manager (1999, 2001, 2004-2007, 2014). Entering this year, Sakata has compiled a 466-374 record as the Giants skipper having directed San Jose to the 2001, 2005 and 2007 California League championships. Sakata has won 684 games in 10 seasons as a manager in the California League. After leaving the Giants, Sakata managed two seasons in the Chiba Lotte Marines organization in Japan before spending three years in the Colorado Rockies organization as a minor league manager and hitting coach.

Opponent Notes: Bakersfield Blaze
The Bakersfield Blaze, an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, are in first place in the North Division with an 11-3 record. Bakersfield is 6-1 at home this season. The Blaze rank first in the league in batting average (.305), runs scored (7.6 per game) and stolen bases (26) while they're fifth in ERA (3.73).