Giants Travel To Lancaster For Match-Up Of Division Leaders

At The Hangar
Tuesday, July 23, 7:00 PM
Wednesday, July 24, 7:00 PM
Thursday, July 25. 7:00 PM

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
Tuesday
San Jose - Kyle Crick (1-1, 1.04)
Lancaster - Luis Cruz (7-5, 5.20)

Wednesday
San Jose - Adalberto Mejia (3-3, 3.51)
Lancaster - Thomas Shirley (1-4, 3.43)

Thursday
San Jose - Clayton Blackburn (5-4, 4.26)
Lancaster - Aaron West (7-6, 5.33)

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 Lancaster Tonight
The San Jose Giants begin a six-game road trip this evening with the first of three straight contests against the South Division leading Lancaster JetHawks. San Jose posted a 4-2 record on their recently completed homestand, taking two out of three games from both the Modesto Nuts and Stockton Ports. The Giants finished the homestand last night with a 10-5 victory over the Ports. Ricky Oropesa smacked a key three-run home run to lead a 15-hit offensive attack.

Team Of Streaks
San Jose has been a streaky team of late. The Giants won 10 out of 11 games from June 29-July 9 with a pair of five-game winning streaks. San Jose followed that stretch by dropping six out of seven from July 10-17, including a season-high tying four-game losing streak. Since, the Giants have won four out of their last five games.

Roster Moves
The Giants added shortstop Matt Duffy and third baseman Ryan Cavan to their active roster yesterday. Duffy joined San Jose from Augusta (A), where he was batting a team-high .304 with four home runs, 43 RBI's and 21 stolen bases in 77 games. Cavan (neck strain) was activated off the disabled list. In 45 games with the Giants this season, Cavan is batting .312 with 13 doubles, two homers and 31 RBI's. Prior to last night, he last played in a game for San Jose on May 22. Shortstop Kelby Tomlinson (.276, 0 HR, 16 RBI) was promoted to Double-A Richmond while outfielder Shawn Payne (.229, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 21 SB) and infielder Travious Relaford (.156, 0 HR, 3 RBI) were transferred to Augusta.

League-Leading Pitching Staff
The Giants pitching staff has compiled a stellar 3.53 ERA this season to lead the California League. San Jose starting pitchers have been particularly impressive this year having allowed more than three earned runs just 17 times in the first 102 games. Individually, Ty Blach is second in the league in ERA (2.59) and tied for second in wins (10) while Clayton Blackburn is eighth in ERA (4.26) and second in strikeouts (107). As a staff, the Giants are first in the league in shutouts (8), strikeouts (969) and fewest home runs allowed (68).

Harris Extends Hitting Streak To 11 Games
Outfielder Devin Harris brings an 11-game hitting streak into tonight's contest. During the streak, Harris is batting at a .349 clip (15-for-43) with one home run and five RBI's. Harris is second in the California League with 53 extra-base hits this season. His 30 doubles and 19 home runs are first and tied for fifth respectively in the league.

Race For Best Overall Record
San Jose (62-40) is nine games ahead of the Visalia Rawhide (53-49) and 10 games in front of the Stockton Ports (52-50) for the top overall record in the North Division. The Giants can secure homefield advantage (host Game Five) in the Division Series if they finish with the best overall record.

Williamson's Offensive Surge
Since June 1, right fielder Mac Williamson is batting .330 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI's (48 games). Williamson was hitting just .235 for the year after the first two months. More recently, Williamson has 26 RBI's and eight home runs over his last 26 games (.360 AVG).

Winning The Close Ones
The Giants are 17-6 (.739) in one-run games this season - the most one-run wins and highest winning percentage of any team in the California League.

First Half North Division Champions
San Jose won their eighth first half North Division title in the last nine years (2005-2011, 2013) earlier this season. The Giants finished the first half with a 43-27 record - four games ahead of the second-place Visalia Rawhide (39-31). By virtue of winning the division crown, San Jose has clinched a spot in the playoffs and earned a first round bye. The Giants will open the postseason on Saturday, September 7 with Game One of the best-of-five North Division Series at Municipal Stadium. San Jose has set a California League record by reaching the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons (2004-2013). The previous record was held by the Stockton Ports (nine straight years, 1985-1993).

Opponent Notes: Lancaster JetHawks
The Lancaster JetHawks, an affiliate of the Houston Astros, are 59-43 this season and 20-12 in the second half. Lancaster is first in the league in batting average (.290) and runs scored (6.9 per game) while they're last in ERA (5.09). The JetHawks are the defending California League champions.