Homestand Continues Against Stockton
STOCKTON PORTS (10–15) at SAN JOSE GIANTS (13–13)
SERIES SCHEDULE & PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Tuesday, May 7 11:30 AM SJ — Will Bednar (0–0, — -) vs. STK — Tzu-Chen Sha (0–0, 5.94)
Wednesday, May 8 6:30 PM SJ — Joe Whitman (0–2, 5.09) vs. STK — Steven Echavarria (0–0, 0.00)
Thursday, May 9 6:30 PM SJ — Ubert Mejias (1–1, 5.91) vs. STK — Ryan Brown (0–1, 2.57)
Friday, May 10 7:00 PM SJ — Dylan Carmouche (0–1, 3.43) vs. STK — Alejandro Manzano (2–1, 5.68)
Saturday, May 11 5:00 PM SJ — Josh Bostick (0–4, 7.64) vs. STK — Yunior Tur (0–1, 3.05)
Sunday, May 12 1:00 PM SJ — Will Bednar (0–0, — -) vs. STK — Jose Dicochea (1–0, 0.00)
GIANTS CONTINUE HOMESTAND: The San Jose Giants continue their longest homestand of the season with a six-game series against the Stockton Ports (Athletics affiliate) this week at Excite Ballpark. This series marks the first meeting of the season between San Jose and Stockton. The Giants will play 24 games versus the Ports this year, 15 of which will come at Excite Ballpark.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo and Justin Allegri calling all of the action. A video feed through MiLB.TV will also be available.
ANOTHER SERIES WIN: The Giants saw their season-high eight-game winning streak snapped last Sunday, but still notched another series win to open the current homestand. Despite getting swept by Lake Elsinore in Sunday’s doubleheader, San Jose claimed four of six games in the series versus the Storm. It was the Giants’ first series win at home this year and their second straight series victory overall after also taking four of six games in Fresno the previous week (April 23–28).
GIANT TURNAROUND: Since starting the season 5–11, the Giants have won eight out of their last 10 games. San Jose’s eight-game winning streak from April 25-May 3 was the club’s longest win streak since claiming 11 straight games in June 2022.
WILL BEDNAR RETURNS: 2021 first round draft pick Will Bednar was added to San Jose’s roster last Sunday and is expected to start on the mound in Tuesday’s series opener versus Stockton. The outing will mark Bednar’s season debut. Bednar made 12 starts with San Jose during the 2022 season and compiled a 4.19 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 43 innings. The right-hander limited the opposition to a paltry .167 batting average, but did not pitch after June 12 that season due to injury. Bednar was then limited to only four appearances (three starts) last season in the Arizona Complex League (Rookie-level) after spending the bulk of the season on the injured list. Bednar was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 College World Series after leading Mississippi State to the national championship. He was the 14th overall pick of the San Francisco Giants in the 2021 draft. In addition to starting on Tuesday, Bednar is expected to get the ball in Sunday’s series finale against the Ports.
CATCH US IF YOU CAN: The Giants enter the week an impressive 32-for-34 in stolen bases this season. The 32 steals rank third in the California League while the 94 percent stolen base success rate leads the league (next-closest: Modesto at 87 percent). San Jose was the last team in the Minor League Baseball this season to have a player caught stealing (120 teams). The Giants’ first caught stealing of the year didn’t come until April 30 versus Lake Elsinore — the club’s 21st game. Individually, Jonah Cox is a perfect 19-for-19 in stolen bases this season. His 19 steals are tops in the league — well ahead of the next-closest players (Rancho Cucamonga’s Kendall George & Modesto’s Carson Jones with 10 steals each).
HOT HITTERS: Guillermo Williamson brings a six-game hitting streak into this week’s series against Stockton. Williamson is batting at a .476 clip (10-for-21) during the hit streak with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI’s. Since starting the season 2-for-33, Bo Davidson is batting .333 (10-for-30) over a nine-game stretch (2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI). Jonah Cox is fifth in the league in batting average (.313) and seventh in on-base percentage (.447).
ODDS AND ENDS: The Giants are 9–2 (.818) when scoring first in a game this season compared to 4–11 (.267) when their opponent scores first … San Jose has been a streaky team early in the year as their season-high eight-game winning streak from April 25-May 3 immediately followed a season-high six-game losing streak (April 18–24) … The Giants are a perfect 11–0 when leading after seven innings, but have yet to win a game when trailing after seven innings (0–12) … San Jose has also played well in close games this season with a 5–1 record in one-run contests.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Two former San Jose Giants have made their major league debuts with San Francisco over the last several days. Pitcher Randy Rodriguez debuted on Saturday out of the bullpen in Philadelphia while pitcher Mason Black made his major league debut after starting last Monday’s game against the Phillies. Rodriguez was a key reliever on San Jose’s 2021 championship team and finished that season on a streak of 29 consecutive scoreless innings — the longest scoreless inning streak by a San Jose reliever in team history. Black was a starting pitcher for San Jose during the 2022 season (1.57 ERA in eight starts) and worked 22 consecutive scoreless innings to conclude his stint in the California League prior to a promotion to High-A Eugene that year. The duo join pitcher Landen Roupp as former San Jose Giants to have debuted with San Francisco this season.
ON DECK: Following the current series against Stockton, the Giants embark on a 12-game road trip to Modesto (May 14–19) and Lake Elsinore (May 21–26). It will match San Jose’s longest road trip of the season. The Giants also have a 12-game trip in the second half (July 30-August 11 at Rancho Cucamonga & Inland Empire). San Jose returns to Excite Ballpark on the Memorial Day holiday (Monday, May 27) to begin a six-game series against the Fresno Grizzlies.
