Giants Open Four-Game Series In Stockton Tonight

At Banner Island Ballpark
Friday, July 11, 7:05 PM
Saturday, July 12, 7:05 PM
Sunday, July 13, 6:05 PM
Monday, July 14, 7:05 PM

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
Friday
San Jose - Kendry Flores (3-6, 4.94)
Stockton - Chris Lamb (3-1, 3.96)

Saturday
San Jose - Joe Kurrasch (7-2, 2.12)
Stockton - Yeiper Castillo (1-1, 8.78)

Sunday
San Jose - Matt Lujan (2-1, 4.58)
Stockton - Seth Streich (9-4, 2.98)

Monday
San Jose - Joe Biagini (6-5, 3.90)
Stockton - Jake Sanchez (3-0, 3.12)

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 the San Jose Giants Mobile App.

Giants Begin Four-Game Series At Stockton Tonight
The San Jose Giants begin a four-game series against the Stockton Ports this evening at Banner Island Ballpark. Kendry Flores (3-6, 4.94) is slated to make the start on the mound for San Jose tonight. The Giants are 6-11 against Stockton this season. The clubs last met from July 4-7 at Municipal Stadium with the Ports taking three out of four games in the series. Stockton has won eight out of the last ten games overall played between the teams.

Sweep
San Jose swept the visiting Bakersfield Blaze in a three-game series that ended yesterday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. The Giants earned victories of 5-2 on Tuesday, 5-1 on Wednesday and 6-2 yesterday. It marked San Jose's second sweep in their last three series'. The Giants limited the Blaze to just five runs total during the three-game set. In yesterday's finale, Chris Stratton allowed only two unearned runs and struck out nine over the first six innings to pick-up the win. San Jose finished the game with 15 hits led by Jesus Galindo (3-for-5, 3B, RBI), Brian Ragira (2-for-4, HR, RBI) and Shawn Payne (2-for-4, 3B, RBI).

Won 10 Of 13
The Giants enter tonight's matchup having won 10 out of their last 13 games. San Jose rattled off a season-high six consecutive victories from June 27-July 3 before dropping three out of four to Stockton to begin the last homestand. The Giants have now won their last three games. San Jose is 12-9 in the second half overall.

Above .500
With yesterday's victory, San Jose (46-45) moved over .500 for the first time since the opening week of the season. The Giants were last above the .500 mark on April 7 when the club owned a 3-2 record. A win tonight would move San Jose to a season-high tying two games over .500.

Bednar Bolsters Offense
In nine games since joining the club from Augusta (A), infielder Brandon Bednar is 13-for-36 (.361) with a double, a home run and five RBI's. He's hit safely in eight out of the nine games. Bednar has made starts at first base (three games), shortstop (three games) and third base (two games) with San Jose. Bednar, a former seventh round draft pick, was leading the GreenJackets with a .275 batting average at the time of his promotion on July 1.

July Surge
The Giants are batting .315 as a team in July - second-best in the California League and tops among North Division clubs. San Jose is averaging 5.8 runs per game this month (7-3 record).

Miller Among League's Best
Second baseman Blake Miller is up to 68 RBI's for the season to rank tied for third in the California League. Miller is batting .310 overall and is tops on the Giants in hits (101), doubles (22) and RBI's while he's tied for third on the team in home runs (8).   After batting .312 in April, Miller hit .304 in May and .330 in June. Through 10 games in July, Miller is batting .275.

Starting Strong
Over the last five games, Giants starting pitchers own a 2.51 ERA (9 ER/32.1 IP). San Jose starters have worked at least six innings in each of the last five games. The Giants have won four out of their last five.

Hitting Streaks
First baseman Brian Ragira brings a season-high 10-game hitting streak into tonight's action. Ragira is batting at a .375 clip (15-for-40) with three home runs and six RBI's during the streak. His nine home runs overall this season are tied for the team lead (Mitch Delfino). Additionally, outfielder Elliott Blair has hit safely in his last nine games. Blair is batting .429 (15-for-35) with seven RBI's during his streak.

Bullpen Standouts
Recent bullpen standouts for the Giants include: Mason McVay (0.96 ERA - 4 ER/37.1 IP - in 24 appearances since the beginning of May), Tyler Mizenko (14 straight scoreless outings - 15 IP), Stephen Johnson (0.77 ERA - 2 ER/23.1 IP - in his last 17 games) and Bryce Bandilla (1.13 ERA - 2 ER/16.0 IP - in 17 games since joining team).

On The Road
The Giants have won a season-high three consecutive road games. Most recently on the road, San Jose swept a three-game series in Modesto from July 1-3 - the club's first series sweep away from Municipal Stadium this year. The Giants are batting .273 on the road this season compared to .259 at home. This series against Stockton serves as San Jose's only four road games in an 18-game span from July 4-22.

Opponent Notes: Stockton Ports
The Stockton Ports, an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, are in first place in the second half North Division at 16-5 - three games ahead of San Jose for the top spot. Since June 1, Stockton has posted a blistering 25-9 record. The Ports are currently fourth in the league in batting average (.271), first in home runs (115) and second in ERA (4.21). Stockton is 29-16 at home this season (24-22 on the road).