Monday Baseball Bulletin

Ports Grab First Series Win of the Season Against First-Place Giants

The Ports fought their way to a series win this past week against the first-place San Jose Giants, their first of the season, and did so in dramatic fashion as Stockton's Brayan Buelvas hit a pinch-hit walk-off three run home run in Sunday's extra-inning win over San Jose 12-10. They are now 1-5-1 through their first seven series of the season and will look to carry momentum into Fresno where they'll take on the Grizzlies starting Tuesday, May 23 with first pitch scheduled for 11:05 AM.

PREVIOUS GAMES AGAINST SAN JOSE

Tuesday, May 16 - The Ports scored six times in the seventh and eighth innings combined and stranded the tying run at second base in the bottom of the ninth in a come-from-behind 9-7 win over the San Jose Giants in the series opener on Tuesday afternoon in front of 4,923 fans at Banner Island Ballpark.
Wednesday, May 17 - Jake Pfennigs, Garrett Irvin and Dallas Woolfolk combined to allow just two hits and faced three batters over the minimum delivering the Ports their first shutout of the season in a 5-0 win over the San Jose Giants on Wednesday night at Banner Island Ballpark.
Thursday, May 18 - Brayan Buelvas hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to help lift the Ports to their fourth straight win as Stockton defeated the San Jose Giants 5-3 on Thursday night at Banner Island Ballpark.
Friday, May 19 - The San Jose Giants clubbed six homers and jumped out to a 9-0 lead after the second inning as the Ports saw their four-game winning streak come to an end with a 14-4 loss on Friday night at Banner Island Ballpark.
Saturday, May 20 - The San Jose Giants scored twice with two outs in the top of the tenth inning as the Ports dropped their second straight game with a 7-6 loss in front of a sold out crowd on Saturday night at Banner Island Ballpark.
Sunday, May 21 - For the second time this week, Brayan Buelvas delivered a pinch-hit three-run homer off Esmerlin Vinicio to take the lead, this time sending the Ports to a walk-off win in the bottom of the 12th inning by the final of 12-10 on Sunday afternoon at Banner Island Ballpark.

TOP PERFORMERS

Brayan Buelvas: Buelvas has recorded an RBI in five of his last seven games for Stockton, batting .409 (9-for-22) with 10 runs, two doubles, two homers, nine RBI, and four walks with a .519 on-base percentage.
Brennan Milone: Milone is 12- for-28 (.429) with 4 2B and a home run while adding 10 BB and a .579 OBP. In May, the former Oregon Duck is batting .370 with a team-high 7 2B, 12 RBI, and a HR in 15 games.
Jake Pfennigs - Pfennigs had another scoreless outing on Wednesday against the first place Giants going four innings and not allowing a hit with three strikeouts. Pfennigs has now pitched 13.1 IP straight without allowing a run.

SERIES PREVIEW vs. FRESNO GRIZZLIES

The Ports travel to Fresno for the second time this season to take on the Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies Single-A affiliate) starting Tuesday, May 23rd through Sunday, May 28th.

At Bat this Week

@ Fresno Grizzlies

Chukchansi Park // Fresno Grizzlies

Tuesday, May 23 // 11:05 a.m. PT
Wednesday, May 24 // 6:50 p.m. PT
Thursday, May 25 // 6:50 p.m. PT
Friday, May 26 // 6:50 p.m. PT
Saturday, May 27 // 6:50 p.m. PT
Sunday, May 28 // 1:05 p.m. PT

Radio Stream: https://www.iheart.com/live/fox-sports-am-1280-5236/

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On Deck

vs. Modesto Nuts

Banner Island Ballpark

Monday, May 29 - Sunday, June 4 // Times vary

Following their six-game series against the Grizzlies, the Ports head back home to face the Modesto Nuts for the third time this season. The Ports have yet to beat the Nuts so far this season and are 0-9 against Modesto in 2023.

Against Fresno Grizzlies

This will be the third time the the two teams have met this season. The Grizzlies took four out of six against the Ports at Chukchansi Park in early April before the Ports split with the Grizzlies at Banner Island Ballpark earlier this month.

Despite the Grizzlies having the Ports number over the past couple of seasons, the Ports have kept up with the high-powered Grizzlies so far in 2023 going 5-7 through their first 12 games with each other despite the Grizzlies outscoring the Ports 90-67 during that span. There have already been four games decided by one-run with the Ports going 3-1 in those games.

Fresno is coming off a series split with the Modesto Nuts and currently sit in second behind the San Jose Giants in the California League Northern Division by just three games. The Grizzlies are 11-7 at home in Chukchansi Park this season while the Ports are 8-13 on the road.

WARMER WEATHER BRINGS HOTTER BATS: Since the start of the season the Ports’ offense has been riding an up-and-down roller coaster, but Stockton’s bats have been more productive as a whole since the calendar turned to May. The Ports as a team are batting .240 through 18 games for the month of May as opposed to a .204 mark in 21 games in April. Stockton’s OBP and SLG are both significantly higher this month than they were last. The Ports have a .356 OBP in May (.304 in April) and a .362 SLG as opposed to .305 last month. Over their last seven games, the Ports are batting .280 (79-for-282), the top number in the league during that stretch, and have scored 59 total runs (8.4 per game). Stockton also sports a Cal League-leading .399 OBP and 16 2B during that time and have an .807 OPS. In the month of May, Stockton is averaging 6 runs per game as opposed to just 3.8 last month. After going 3-18 overall in April, the Ports are 9-9 since the calendar turned to May.

RUN BRAYAN RUN: Through the first 39 games of the season, Ports outfielder Brayan Buelvas is second in the Cal League in stolen bases. Buelvas has 13 stolen bases and has only been caught once in 36 games played. He trails only Nelson Rada of the Lake Elsinore Storm for the Cal League lead. Rada has 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts. Among the league leaders, Buelvas has the best success rate as he has only been thrown out once this season going 13-for-14 (92.8%).

PORTS LOOK TO CONTROL RUNNING GAME: So far in 2023, Stockton’s opponents have had a lot of success as base stealers. The Ports have thrown out just 5 of 62 attempted base stealers. The five would be thieves is the lowest number in the Cal League, and the 57 SB allowed is the league’s highest number. The Ports’ opponents success rate of 91.8% is highest in the circuit. The next highest belongs to the Modesto Nuts who have caught 9 of 56 base stealers (83.9%).

LATE-GAME CURSE LINGERS: While the Ports’ 12-27 record is tough to swallow, it becomes even more painful when considering Stockton’s luck in late-game situations so far in 2023. The Ports’ 15 blown saves this season are the most in the league, six more than the second-most in the league (Modesto Nuts, 9). The Ports’ bullpen ERA is 6.48 which is second-highest in the league behind the Nuts (6.52). Ports opponents have either walked off with a win or come back from a deficit to win in the sixth inning or later 10 times over Stockton’s last 23 games. Nine of the Ports’ 13 losses in that time have been by one run.

WORK TO DO WITH THE LEATHER: After committing four errors on Saturday night, the Ports find themselves at the bottom of the California League with a fielding percentage of .954 and their 71 errors on the season are the most in the league. Things are looking up slightly since the calendar turned, however, as the Ports have a .957 fielding percentage in May, 6th-best in the league. Stockton has committed 34 errors in 18 games this month. The Ports made 37 errors in 21 games in April, good for a .952 fielding percentage.

About the Grizzlies

The Grizzlies are 21-18, good for second in the California League Northern Division and coming off a series split with the Modesto Nuts at John Thurman Field.
Grizzlies are 7-5 against the Ports this season
11-7 at home
Ryan Ritter leads the team in batting average (.290)
Blake Adams continues to dominate the starting rotation with a 1.50 earned run average in six starts with 45 strikeouts, and opponents hitting .202 against him.
Bryce McGowan and Felix Ramires provide a one-two punch from the bullpen as the duo has a combined 0.96 ERA.

Watch the Ports this Week in Fresno -

FOR FREE

Watch your Stockton Ports take on the Fresno Grizzlies at Chukchansi Park with the Bally Live! Download the App through the app store and watch your Ports at your convenience! Fans only have to provide a phone number to watch - no account creation required. MiLB games are available via the “MiLB Zone”, which is the second tab on the home screen.

ROSTER MOVES

Congrats to Jake Garland on his promotion to High-A Lansing!

5/19: RHP Jake Pfennigs placed on 7-day IL

5/18: RHP Luis Carrasco added from Extended Spring Training

5/15: RHP Jake Garland promoted to High-A Lansing

5/15: C Mario Gomez transferred to Extended Spring Training

5/15: C Cooper Uhl added from High-A Lansing

5/15: OF Pedro Pineda added from Extended Spring Training

5/17: OF Seth Brown added on MLB rehab

5/10: OF Clark Elliott promoted to High-A Lansing

5/10: OF Nelson Beltran added from Extended Spring Training

5/2: OF Kevin Richards placed on 7-day IL

5/2: C Mario Gomez added from ACL

QUICK HITS

Jake Pfennigs - Before being placed on the I.L. on Friday, Pfennigs had been arguably the best pitcher the Ports have had over the last month not allowing a run in his last 13.1 IP while not having a hit against him in his last 7.2 IP as well. During that span, he's struck out 17 batters and walked just five with opponents hitting just .057 against him in the Month of May.
Jake Garland was pulled up to High-A Lansing on last Monday, May 15th. Upon his callup, Garland had a 2.78 ERA in six games (four starts) while striking out 31 in 32.1 IP.
Brayan Buelvas is second in the California League with 13 stolen bases with Inland Empire's Nelson Rada.
Brayan Buelvas gave the Ports their first walk-off of the 2023 season in Sunday's 12-10 win over the San Jose Giants with a pinch-hit walk-off three-run home run.
Ports are 5-2 in their last seven games
The Ports are hitting .240 in the Month of May, good for fifth place.
The Ports continue to run the bases well having 24 stolen bases in May and slotting them third respectively.
Ports pitching continues to roll with 177 strikeouts so far in the month of May which is good for third.
Stockton has fared well so far against the top teams in the Cal League going 11-13 against the first and second place teams thus far in 2023.

Down the Farm

Former Port and Las Vegas Aviators INF Zack Gelof

Zack Gelof went 4-for-4 last Wednesday for the Las-Vegas Aviators with his first multi-home run game of the season, including three RBI and five runs scored.
Lawrence Butler - Lawrence Butler went 1-fo 4 with a run, a home run, and two RBI for Midland on Sunday. Butler has homered in two of his last three games, batting .462 (6-for-13) with five RBI and a 1.462 OPS.
Danny Bautista Jr. (1-for-5, 2RBI) hit a walk-off two-run single to right field in the 9th inning for Lansing in the 6-5 victory over Lake County Captains on Saturday Night.
Sahid Valenzuela went 3-for-3 (career-high tying, last: 5/14/23 at West Michigan) with three runs (career-high tying, last: 9/10/22 vs Dayton), a double and two walks on Saturday, May 20th.
Daniel Susac went 4-for-4 (career-high) with a double, and an RBI on Saturday, May 20th.