SJ Giants Are California League North Champions

The Class A San Jose Giants beat the Visalia Rawhide (Class A Diamondbacks) 9-5 tonight in game five of five to advance to the California League finals. The Giants will take on the the California League South Champions Inland Empire 66ers (Class A Angels) beginning tomorrow. This will be the fifth time in the last nine years the Giants have reached the California League championship series.

Pat Young, 13th round draft pick for the SF Giants in 2013, started his first game at Class A San Jose tonight. He has only played ten games in the minor league system – two games with the Arizona Giants and eight with Salem-Keizer. Kelvin Marte was the player of the game (who came in to relieve Young in the 4th inning). He pitched three innings of scoreless relief and has been an ace for San Jose as a starting LHP this season. He is 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA.

Ricky Oropesa and Devin Harris hit home runs in the first and sixth innings, respectively. Oropesa has hit a HR in his last four games in the playoffs. He has 14 HRs in 123 minor league games this season.

Here’s a breakdown of the San jose Giants pitching tonight:

The California league is divided into a Northern Division and a Southern Division. San Jose will head south to play Inland Empire 66ers (Class A Angels) in the finals Thursday and Friday, then return to Municipal Stadium in San Jose for Saturday, Sunday (if needed), Monday (if needed).

The SJ Giants have won the title in their last four championship series appearances  in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2010.

Stay tuned to the San Jose Giants website and their Facebook page in the next few days. They often give away free tickets the day of the game.