SJ Giants Series Preview April 22-27 vs. Fresno
April 22, 2025 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
San Jose Giants (8-7) vs Fresno Grizzlies (7-8)
Tuesday, April 22 - Sunday, April 27
Excite Ballpark (San Jose, CA)
Video: MiLB.TV/Bally Live
Radio: sjgiants.com
GIANTS HOST GRIZZLIES THIS WEEK: The San Jose Giants host the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies affiliate) this week in a six- game series at Excite Ballpark. This series marks the first meeting of the season between the Giants and Grizzlies. San Jose will play 24 games against Fresno this year, 12 of which will be here in the South Bay.
SERIES LOSS IN RANCHO: The Giants made their first Southern California road trip of the season last week and dropped four of six games to South Division-leading Rancho Cucamonga. Included in the series loss to the Dodgers affiliate were a pair of walk-off defeats, including a heartbreaking 11-10 setback in the finale on Sunday afternoon. The Giants' two wins over the Quakes last week featured San Jose scoring a season-high in runs with their 13-6 triumph last Thursday and the club's first shutout of the year with Friday's 2-0 victory. The Giants will make another trip to Rancho Cucamonga later in the first half (June 3-8).
HOME SWEET HOME: The Giants have enjoyed far more success at home in the early-season compared to on the road. San Jose enters the week with a perfect 6-0 record at Excite Ballpark having swept six games from the Visalia Rawhide during the club's opening homestand earlier this month. It was the Giants' first sweep of a six-game series since June 21-26, 2022 at Stockton. Conversely, the Giants are only 2-7 on the road with a pair of series losses to the two first-place teams (0-3 at Modesto, 2-4 at Rancho Cucamonga). Of note, five of the seven road losses have come by either one or two runs. The Giants are averaging 7.8 runs per game at home this season compared to 4.4 runs per contest on the road.
POWER SURGE: Jakob Christian and Drew Cavanaugh enter the week with four home runs each for the Giants. The duo are tied for first in the California League in homers with two other players (Stockton's Myles Naylor and Pedro Pineda). Christian is also tops in the league with 20 RBI's through 14 games while his .949 OPS ranks ninth. Last week in Rancho Cucamonga, Christian had a six-RBI game in the Giants victory on April 17 and a four-hit game in the series finale last Sunday. Meanwhile, Cavanaugh has hit four home runs in only 41 at-bats this season after connecting for just two homers in 156 at-bats between San Jose and Triple-A Sacramento last season. Cavanaugh's 1.054 OPS leads the Giants and is fifth-best in the California League.
ALL OR NOTHING: The Giants have displayed impressive power early in the season with a league-high tying 12 home runs through their first 15 games (tied with Stockton). However, San Jose hitters are also tops in the California League in strikeouts averaging 11.5 per contest. The Giants are third in the league in runs scored (5.8 per game) despite a .171 AVG with runners in scoring position and two outs that ranks second-to-last.
STARTING STRONG: The Giants' scheduled starting pitchers in the first four games of this week's series - Hunter Dryden, Niko Mazza, Drake George and Greg Farone - have pitched a combined 39 1/3 innings with only four earned runs allowed (0.92 ERA). Farone became the first Giants starting pitcher to complete five innings this season when he fanned nine and allowed only one hit over five scoreless frames last Friday at Rancho Cucamonga. In three starts this season, Farone has a whopping 23 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings with only one run allowed.
FAVORABLE MATCHUP?: This series features a Giants pitching staff that enters the week second in the California League in team ERA (3.19), second in WHIP (1.27) and first in fewest home runs allowed (3 HR allowed in 15 games) against a Fresno hitting group that is last in the league in batting average (.202) and second-to-last in runs scored (4.5 per game) and home runs (5 HR in 15 games).
JORDAN TAKES OFF: Dakota Jordan is off to a strong start at the plate for the Giants this year. Jordan, who entered the season as the highest-ranked prospect on San Jose's roster according to MLB.com (#6 in the organization), is hitting .294 in 51 at-bats with three doubles, two triples, one home run and 11 RBI's. He's also walked a team-high 11 times and owns a stellar .431 on-base percentage. He's reached base safely in 13 out of his 14 games played. Jordan was San Francisco's fourth round pick in last year's draft after an All-American season at Mississippi State University.
SET YOUR ALARM: Tuesday's series opener (11 AM first pitch) is one of two morning start-times at Excite Ballpark this season (also May 6). In fact, four of the next five Tuesday series openers for the Giants are games that will start in the AM: this week vs. Fresno, May 6 vs. Lake Elsinore (11:00), May 13 at Stockton (11:00) and May 20 at Fresno (11:05).
SAN FRANCISCO AFFILIATION: This year marks San Jose's 37th season as an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants - the longest current partnership in the California League. Since their inception in 1988, the San Jose Giants have won seven league championships (1998, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2021) and graduated 247 players to the major leagues.
ON DECK: Following the current series against Fresno, the Giants head back out on the road for a six-game set at North Division-leading Modesto next week. The Giants return to Excite Ballpark on May 6 to begin a series against the Lake Elsinore Storm.
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