On Deck: Rancho Cucamonga at San Jose
 
7/28/2008
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (51-55, 21-15) at San Jose Giants (62-44, 19-17)
At Municipal Stadium • Monday, July 28th at 7:00 PM • Tuesday, July 29th at 7:00 PM • Wednesday, July 30th at 7:00 PM • Thursday, July 31st at 12:35 PM Pitching Match Ups • Monday – Jordon Towns (0-1, 4.15) at Nick Pereira (0-0, ---) • Tuesday – Alexander Torres (1-1, 5.63) at Tim Alderson (11-3, 3.16) • Wednesday – Jordan Walden (1-1, 4.00) at Jesse English (10-4, 3.17) • Thursday – Michael Anton (3-3, 4.96) at Clayton Tanner (5-7, 4.45) THE SAN JOSE GIANTS… begin a seven-game homestand on Monday night with the first of four straight contests against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at Municipal Stadium. The Giants won two-of-three games in Modesto last weekend claiming a dramatic 11-10 victory on Friday before a 6-3 win in the rubber match on Sunday. Modesto’s lone victory in the series came on Saturday when they posted a 5-2 win. San Jose remains in sole possession of second place in the North Division with a 19-17 record – three games behind the Nuts (22-14). The Giants’ overall mark of 62-44 is the best record in the California League. Nick Pereira Returns To Start Series Opener… Nick Pereira returns to the San Jose Giants on Monday to start the series opener on the mound. Pereira, who is recovering from an ankle injury, is 7-8 with a 5.70 ERA in 19 starts with Fresno (AAA) this season. The 25-year old right-hander suffered the injury during his start on July 20 versus Salt Lake. Pereira, a native of nearby Cupertino, was an All-Star with the Giants during the 2006 campaign. In 13 starts with San Jose, Pereira compiled a 7-1 record and a 2.06 ERA before earning a midseason promotion to Triple-A. Pereira is temporarily replacing Henry Sosa (3-4, 4.31 ERA) in the Giants starting rotation. Sosa was placed on the Disabled List on July 26 with a strained pectoral muscle. Giants Vs. Quakes 2008… The Giants won two-of-three games from Rancho Cucamonga in their only previous meeting this season, July 4-6 at Municipal Stadium. San Jose notched victories of 7-5 and 3-2 to begin the series before the Quakes scored a 3-1 win in the finale. Bobby Felmy (.400 AVG, 4-for-10) and Brock Bond (.385 AVG, 5-for-13, 2 RBI) posted the top batting averages for the Giants while Brett Pill (3-for-10) connected for a home run. San Jose’s only trip to Rancho Cucamonga is a three-game series from August 20-22. Matt Downs Continues To Produce… Infielder Matt Downs has picked up right where he left off since returning to the Giants from Fresno on July 19. In nine games since his return, Downs is batting at a .394 clip (13-for-33) with three doubles, one triple and four RBI’s. Downs leads San Jose in home runs (15) to go with a .305 batting average and 54 RBI’s. The versatile infielder has seen most of his playing time at third base in the second half with the Giants. Downs played primarily second base during his first stint in the California League. Alderson And English Batting For Team-Lead… Starting pitchers Tim Alderson and Jesse English are battling for the team-lead in victories. Alderson, a 19-year old right-hander, is 11-3 this season to go with a 3.16 ERA. The former first round draft pick has won his last five starts and is now second in the California League in victories. English, a 23-year old southpaw, is 10-4 with a 3.17 earned run average. English allowed a season-high seven runs over three-plus innings in his last start (July 25 at Modesto), but did not receive a decision. Alderson and English are seventh and eighth in the league respectively in ERA. Waldis Joaquin Joins Giants Bullpen… Right-handed pitcher Waldis Joaquin joined the Giants from Augusta (Low-A) on Monday. With the Greenjackets, Joaquin was 1-2 with 4.33 ERA in 27 appearances (three starts). The 21-year old had logged 49 strikeouts compared to 20 walks over 52 innings pitched. Entering the season, Joaquin was rated the #15 prospect in the entire San Francisco organization according to Baseball America. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes… The Quakes, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, enter the series in the top spot in the second half South Division race with a 21-15 record. Rancho Cucamonga is one game ahead of Lancaster (20-16) and 1 1/2 games in front of Inland Empire (20-17). The Quakes won two-of-three games at Visalia in their last series and have now claimed victories in 10 out of their last 13 contests. Rancho Cucamonga is led offensively by center fielder Peter Bourjos. The All-Star selection is batting .313 with 20 doubles, eight triples and five home runs. Bourjos also leads the California League with 45 stolen bases. Outfielder Anthony Norman (33) and shortstop P.J. Phillips (30) have also posted high stolen bases numbers this season as the Quakes lead the entire California League in that department. Phillips blasted three home runs in the three-game series against the Giants earlier this month. Rancho Cucamonga though is now without first baseman Mark Trumbo, who was promoted to Double-A on Monday. Trumbo was hitting .283 with 26 home runs – second-best in the California League. The Quakes have struggled on the mound this season with the second-highest ERA in the league at 5.02.