Month: April 2014

Warriors win, grab 6th seed

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By George Devine, Sr.

The Golden State Warriors electrified a sellout crowd at Oracle Arena with a 130-120 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, after being behind by 15 at one point. This means Golden State has now secured the 6th seed in the NBA playoffs.

The W’s did it without the services of center Andrew Bogut. Bogut, who has been a key to Golden State’s inside defense, was examined the previous evening for a rib injury and it was found to be a fracture. His ability to take part in the playoffs is uncertain.

Stephen Curry was sizzling in the first half but slowed down later. His point total was 32, spread over 41:57. Moreover, he contributed 15 assists. Picking it up in the second half were David Lee with 25 points and Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, both with 20. Lee had 9 rebounds and Green 12. Both were in danger with 4 fouls. Jermaine O’Neal had 10 points.

For Minnesota, Kevin Love scored 40 and had 9 assists. Corey Brewer played for 40:37 and hit for 22, contributing 5 assists. Gorgul Dieng and Keri Martin each had 14 points; Dieng had 11 boards. Ricky Rubio added 15 points.

The Warriors’ next game is at Denver on Wednesday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. PDT.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Angels and A’s get set for rival series; 49ers need some serious damage control

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–The Los Angeles Angels are in the middle of a six game home stand and are opening up a series Monday night with the Oakland A’s. The Angels just completed a series with the New York Mets. It’s been a little bit cold at Anaheim Stadium but they expect temperatures to get up in the mid 80s for the series.

The Angels just hit five home runs on Sunday against New York and the Angels blasted former A’s and Angels pitcher and now Mets starter Bartolo Colon who won 18 games last year for the A’s and was their All-Star pitcher. Colon got lit up for 11 hits, nine runs all earned, and walked a couple of batters in five innings of work.

The Angels went yard with three consecutive home runs in the first inning off Colon, hit by L.A.’s Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Raul Ibanez. It was the first time the Angels hit three straight homers since 2009. So the A’s and Angels get together and their rivals and it’s a big contrast between these two teams.

The Oakland A’s never had a big payroll and they have to face teams with big payrolls in the Western Division. The Angels have one of the largest payrolls in baseball and they haven’t won anything in a awhile. The A’s have a big contest in Anaheim and it all depends on the pitching and we know the A’s have good young pitching so this series could be one of the best yet this month.

49ers Aldon Smith update: I’m sure Dr.Harry Edwards who specializes in those social programs for the football teams like the 49ers and works in psychology might be one for this situation with Aldon Smith and what he did was very stupid.

You have to be intoxicated to make a bomb threat at the Los Angeles Airport and that is what Aldon Smith is accused of saying. After 911 and even before that the last thing you want to do is scream is “bomb.” This act is beyond stupidity of an imbecile, the 49ers have a lot of problems with players with off field conduct issues, Chris Culliver (hit and run and brass knuckles), Colin Kaepernick (suspicious conduct), and now Smith and the bomb threat.

Kaepernick was not indicted but this is not good publicity for the 49ers or the NFL and the team just paid over a $1 billion for the new stadium that opens this August. This is not good for the club and I don’t know what their going to do with all these off field problems and this is not just one player it multiple players. It’s a big problem especially in a sport that you don’t play everyday but the news keeps going about them everyday.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV voice for Angels baseball and does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk radio

A’s rolling after another strong start from Scott Kazmir

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By Morris Phillips

Thought the A’s were off to a merely respectable start of the season after a tough weather week at the Coliseum? Well, after a near perfect, second week—all on the road–the A’s are boasting the American League’s best record following Sunday’s 3-0 shutout win at Seattle’s Safeco Field.

Scott Kazmir was flawless for six innings before being struck with tightness in his triceps, discomfort he also experienced once during spring training. A cautious Bob Melvin then removed his starter, who allowed just two hits and struck out nine.

As the A’s oldest starter in a rotation that’s been lights out thus far, Kazmir showed his veteran wizardry while he was around on Sunday, baffling the Mariners with breaking balls—often outside the zone—as his out pitch. The 30-year old Kazmir started 15 of the 20 hitters he faced with a strike, and threw just 21 balls in the outing. But when he needed an out, the Mariners often chased his breaking pitches outside the zone with no success.

“He was making guys chase his slider and throwing the heater at 95,” Seattle’s Robinson Cano said of Kazmir.

Unfortunately, Kazmir didn’t last long enough to pick up a win as Chris Young matched him in his first Major League start in more than a year by shutting down the A’s for six innings on four hits. Amazingly, Young was released in spring training by Washington and signed by Seattle just a week before the start of the regular season, and now he’s thrown eight scoreless innings as a Mariner.

“I think he is close,” Mariners’ manager Lloyd McClendon said of Young. “I saw his breaking ball coming today. When that pitch comes for him, he’s going to be pretty tough.”

Still good major league hitters can’t tip their batting helmets all day, and Yoenis Cespedes was the first to break up the order of things in the eighth when he launched Charlie Furbush’s elevated offering into the left field seats to give the A’s a 2-0 lead.

Josh Donaldson connected in the ninth on an opposite field shot to provide insurance for the A’s. For Cespedes it was his second homer of the season, Donaldson, his third.

The A’s bullpen did the rest with Fernando Abad, Dan Otero, Luke Gregerson and Sean Doolittle combining on three innings of one-hit relief. In a bullpen in flux with the demotion of closer Jim Johnson, the A’s haven’t missed a beat with all four relievers that saw action on Sunday sporting ERA’s under 1.50.

The A’s completed their first week of the season on the road with a 5-1 record, sweeping the Twins and winning two of three in Seattle. Only King Felix’s strong outing on Friday kept Oakland from a perfect start to the road trip that continues Monday night in Anaheim.

The A’s will hand the ball to Jesse Chavez at Angels Stadium with the Oakland rotation looking to post a 12th quality start in 13 outings thus far. The Angels turn to 26-year old Hector Santiago making his 30th career major league start after dropping his first two decisions—both to Seattle—in 2014.

Earthquakes Still Searching for first Win of 2014

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By: Phillip Torres

SANTA CLARA-The San Jose Earthquakes hosted the Columbus Crew at Buck Shaw Stadium on Sunday afternoon in Santa Clara. The Earthquakes rallied to earn tie with the Crew as Chris Wondolowski put the ball in the net for his third goal of the season. The tie makes San Jose winless in four games thus far in the 2014 season.

Federico Higuain gave the visiting Columbus Crew a 1-0 lead right before halftime as he was able to find the net with the assist from Waylon Francis.

Wondolowski scored his goal at the 51st minute right out of the break. Shea Salinas served a nice corner kick into the middle of the box, where the ball found Wondoloski. Wondoloski found the back of the net and tied the game at one goal a piece.

The San Jose Earthquakes will be back on the field on Saturday as they will be hosted by the Colorado Rapids. The game will be played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Kickoff for the game will be at 3:00 p.m.

Curry shines but Warriors lose in OT

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By George Devine, Sr.
The lead changed 16 times in the Warriors-Trailblazers nailbiter at Oracle Arena, and the four regulation periods were not enough to settle the contest, which ended in a 119-117 win for Portland. The outcome assures the visitors at least a fifth-seed in the NBA playoffs. Portland has won 4 straight games and 8 of their last 9. The Dubs are now two games behind the victors and will need to win one of their next two games to clinch the sixth-seed.
In the last period of regulation, Draymond Green hit a three-pointer for Golden State to tie the score and Wesley Matthews’ attempt to do likewise failed. The field goal which gave the Blazers the lead for good, with just under 40 seconds left in OT, was scored by LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 26 points on the evening. Damian Lillard contributed a free throw before Andre Iguodala missed a trey with just under 3 seconds left. Matthews — who scored 24 points of his own — got the rebound ad that was the end of the game.The point totals for Aldridge and Matthews would have been impressive, had Golden State’s Stephen Curry not scored 47. This was the third time this season that he has come in at over 40. In the first half alone, he notched 21, which is a formidable number for any player in the NBA.
In other scoring: Klay Thompson added 25 for the home team and Iguodala had 15. For Portland, Nicolas Batum came in at 18, Robin Lopez was good for 16 and Lillard pitched in with 13..
In close games like this one, many individual factors can make a difference. One which could have proved decisive was the fact that center Andrew Bogut — who is key to Golden State’s defense, especially inside — was not on the court during the overtime period. He was reported to be having an X-ray for a possible rib injury. Whether or not he will be able to play in the game against Minnesota at Oakland is not yet determined. His history of recent injury problems has been a significant problem for the Warriors.
The game against the Timberwolves tips off at 7:30 p.m. PDT on Monday, April 14 at Oracle.

Kings beat the T-Wolves 106-103

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Photo credit: Rocky Widner
Photo credit: Rocky Widner

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves met in Sacramento on Sunday night in a game that meant nothing in the standings. Both clubs are out of the playoff picture. The only thing that was on the line was pride. The Kings and T-Wolves brought plenty of pride to the game and put on a hard-fought show for the big crowd which went home happy because the Kings won the game 106-103.

The Kings were led by the outstanding play of DeMarcus Cousins who scored 35 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out six assists. It was Cousins’ 53rd double-double of the season. He shot 13 of 21 from the field and was 9 of 13 from the free throw line.

Cousins’ brilliant play was not the biggest story of the night for the Kings’ center. With one-minute and 13-seconds left in the game, Cousins picked up his 16th technical foul of the season which means he will be suspended for the Kings’ final game of the season versus Phoenix. Cousins had played with the 15 technical fouls hanging over his head since February 25th.

The Kings can and will appeal to the league office who can overturn the call. Head Coach Michael Malone said, “I feel for him. (We will) try to get it rescinded.

Rookie Ben McLemore played with abandon on offense and defense. McLemore scored 19 points and shot 3 for 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. On defense, McLemore held Kevin Martin and Robbie Hummel to just five points combined.

To the delight of the fans, Isaiah Thomas returned to the floor after missing 10 consecutive games with a right quad contusion. Thomas was very productive in his 30-minutes of playing time. He scored 14 points and dished out four assist.

The Timberwolves were led by Kevin Love’s 43 points and 11 rebounds. Love was 15 of 17 from the free throw line. Love had a relatively quiet first-half scoring just 13 points. He really came alive in the second-half and was the leader on the floor for Minnesota.

Rookie Center Gorgui Dieng had a spectacular game through three quarters. He picked up his fourth foul and was quiet after that. Dieng scored 21 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and had four assists.

After the game Kings Head Coach Michael Malone said, “(It was a) hell of an effort for our guys. (We) played better in the second half. Happy to get this win after losing five in a row.”

The Kings will play their final game of the season on Wednesday night in Sacramento against the Phoenix Suns who battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Crawford goes swimming in the Bay

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Brandon Crawford grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a fan of the San Francisco Giants, but what he did in the finale of this series was probably extra special.

Crawford hit his first home run of the season off of Rex Brothers, as the Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-4 in 10 innings before a sellout crowd of 41,490, the 252nd consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

It was the first ever walk-off home run for the shortstop, and to make it even more special, the home run landed in McCovey Cove, the 64th Splash Hit since the ballpark opened on April 11, 2000

Tim Hudson pitched 7.1 strong innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walking no one and striking out five; however he did not fare in the decision.

Wilin Rosario got the Rockies on the board in the top of the second inning, he launched a Hudson pitch into the left field seats for his first home run of the 2014 season.

Angel Pagan hit a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth inning, putting the Giants into the lead and then Pablo Sandoval hit his second home run of the season.

Crawford drove in the Giants first run of the afternoon with a sacrifice fly to center field that score Hunter Pence from third base.

After falling behind the Giants by three runs entering the top of the seventh inning, Rockies newcomer Justin Morneau hit his first home run of the season.

The Rockies got back into the game in the top of the eighth inning, as Nolan Arenado doubled down the left field line, and then D.J. LeMahieu doubled in Arenado, after a groundout by pinch-hitter Brandon Barnes that advanced LeMahieu to third base and then Drew Stubbs singled out of the reach of Sandoval to tie up the game.

With Stubbs on first base, Carlos Gonzalez drove a ball into the hole; however Brandon Hicks was able to snag the ball, regrouped and threw out Gonzalez at first base to end the inning.

Troy Tulowitzki walked to lead off the top of the ninth inning, Morneau then flew out for the first out of the inning and then Rosario hit into a inning-ending double play.

Gregor Blanco nearly pulled off the same exciting play in the bottom of the ninth that Angel Pagan did last May 25, as Blanco almost hit a walk-off inside-the-park home run; however he was thrown out at the plate on a great relay from Cuddyer to LeMahieu to Rosario, who tagged Blanco out at the plate.

Sergio Romo pitched the 10th inning to pickup his first win of the season, allowing a single to LeMahieu, but the second baseman was caught stealing when Buster Posey threw him out after Josh Rutledge struck out.

SaberCats Lose Tough Battle To Rattlers 57-51

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Photo Courtesy San Jose SaberCats
Photo Courtesy San Jose SaberCats

By Kahlil Najar

SAN JOSE – The San Jose SaberCats (2-3) were defeated by the Arizona Rattlers (4-0) 57-51 in one of the most heartbreaking losses in recent history. The team is now on a three game losing streak and had a scare when big play Reggie Gray was injured in the second half however he seemed to recover well. Russ Michna had a great game for the Cats as he went 27-for-42 for 284 yards and five touchdowns. Gray was the leading receiver for San Jose as he grabbed 13 catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns. Dominique Curry who made his debut with the Cats tonight showed why he was added to the squad as he pulled in a timely 15-yard touchdown strike and even a momentum turning interception in San Jose’s end zone.

“I’m proud of the guys. They played hard tonight and we just came up a little short,” said Head Coach Darren Arbet. “They were focused all this week and they understood what this game was all about.”

On the three game losing streak – the longest for the Cats since 2011, Arbet said,”This is a twenty-one chapter book. This is chapter five. We have a lot of football yet to be played. They could have got down after those two loses but they came out and fought hard.”

The SaberCats got on the board first when Michna connected with Jason Willis for an 18-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone. On Arizona’s first possession Quarterback Nick Davila drove the team down the field in less than a minute and found their leading receiver Maurice Purify on a 20 yard touchdown to notch the score at seven a piece. After a crazy hit on Willis on the kick return the SaberCats drove down the field again and handed the ball over to Odie Armstrong who was able to dive into the end zone and give the Cats the one touchdown lead. Then like last time, Davila drove the Rattlers down the field again on three plays when he found Tyson Poots for the touchdown to make it a 14-13 game. The Rattlers missed the extra point to give San Jose the one point lead heading into the second quarter.

On San Jose’s first drive of the second quarter, Michna handed the ball to newcomer Curry and he was able to pound his way into the end zone to push the Cats lead up to eight. However Arizona answered right back on their very next play after kickoff when Davila found Purify for his second touchdown of the game on a beautiful 44 yard pass and make it a 21-20 San Jose lead.

The Cats then stalled on their next drive and gave the ball back to Arizona at their own one yard line. After two tremendous stops by the Cats defense, Arizona’s Alex Singleton was able to push it through and gave the Rattlers their first lead of the game and made it a 27-21 game. On their fifth drive of the game, the SaberCats were helped out by two Arizona penalties which led to Gray’s first touchdown of the game and gave San Jose the lead again 28-27. Not to be held without another score in the first half, Davila found his favorite receiver Purify again for this third touchdown of the night. The Rattlers decided to try and make up for the missed extra point and went for a two point conversion but failed and only gave them a 33-28 lead going into halftime.

Arizona’s Poots scored with 12:43 left in the third quarter to widen the Rattlers lead to 40-28. Then like Arizona, San Jose wasn’t to be outdone and Michna found Gray again who was flying through the back of the end zone. Unfortunately Pertuit missed the extra point and made it a 40-34 lead for Arizona. On Arizona’s next drive they were only able to come up with a Ratanamorn 22-yard field goal and gave the Rattlers only a 9 point lead going into the last quarter of play.

With 11:39 gone in the fourth, Michna found Gray again for his third touchdown of the contest and brought San Jose within two points, 43-41. On Arizona’s next drive, Davila tossed up a deep pass into the end zone on third down that was deflected off the net and into the alert Curry who was touched down in the end zone gave the ball back to the Cats. With the momentum on their side, the Cats drove down the field and Michna found Curry streaking on a dig route in the end zone and gave the cats a 48-43 lead. Davila then found Purify again for his fourth touchdown of the night however they went for two again and failed and gave Arizona only a 49-48 lead. San Jose then marched down the field again and after getting stopped on third down they went to their reliable kicker Pertuit who knocked in a 19-yarder to give San Jose a 51-49 lead with 46 seconds left. Unfortunately Davila still had some magic up his sleeve when with seven seconds left he threw his seventh touchdown of the night to Kerry Reed and then went for two and gave Arizona a 57-51 lead. Cats rookie Nathan Stanley came in the game to toss up a Hail Mary at the end of the game but to no avail and ended the game.

The scary moment in the second half for the SaberCats came when Reggie Gray was running a crossing route towards the boards and got hit then he just laid on the ground. After some initial panic by the Cats, Gray was able to get up and walk around and take himself off the field.

“I went low to get the ball and my chest just didn’t feel right. It felt like something was out of place, so I was kind of panicking,” said Gray on his injury. “After evaluation it began to feel better and I was trying to fight to get back on the field.”

Dominique Curry who’s Cats debut was tonight performed extremely well for someone who hasn’t played football in two years. Curry ended with two touchdowns and an interception.

On his performance, Curry said “It was good to be out there. I really hadn’t played football in over two years. I had jitters just from the rivalry of the two teams. I wanted to step up because of the rivalry. I have to get used to getting hit into the walls.”

San Jose now heads to Portland to take on the Thunder who have yet to win a game this year.

Sharks tip Coyotes in finale; look ahead to playoffs

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By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, April 12, 2014

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Playing out the string is one of the more difficult tasks in professional sports. It’s the end of a long season, and, usually, there’s nothing to play for.

Fortunately for both the San Jose Sharks and the Phoenix – soon to be Arizona – Coyotes, that string, for this season, is a short one.

In a game both coaches called “a no-hitter,” San Jose struck early and held on for a 3-2 win before an announced crowd of 15,438 at Jobing.com Arena.

The Coyotes were mathematically eliminated from a playoff berth on Friday, when Dallas defeated St. Louis 3-0, ending the Stars’ six-season postseason drought. With the Blues’ win on Friday and Phoenix’s Saturday loss, Sunday’s game between the Stars and Coyotes does little more than fulfill the league’s schedule obligation.

“We’ll be taking a good look at our young guys, and playing for pride,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said of his team’s season finale. “That’s about it.”

Sharks coach Todd McLellan said, “I’m glad this one’s over. This was a tough one to watch, with turnovers and the casualness. It was a no-hitter from both teams, which benefited us, obviously, because we get to keep going.

“Now, we get to start working at putting our focus on playoff hockey.”

The Sharks were trying to keep everyone healthy for their Stanley Cup opening round series against the Los Angeles Kings. San Jose finished its regular season with 111 points (51-22-9).

“It’s going to be a great series,” Sharks center Joe Thornton said. “It’s going to be a good, tight, physical series, a good defensive series. We’re looking forward to it.”

In San Jose’s regular-season finale, Joe Pavelski scored twice in the first period – goals Nos. 40 and 41 on the season – to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead.
Pavelski’s first goal, a power play tally 3:43 of the period, came on a wrist shot that beat Coyotes rookie goaltender Mark Visenten while Paul Bissionette was serving a minor for slashing.

“It was nice that the goal came right away in the game,” Pavelski said. “Getting that (40th) goal was cool, but winning this game and going into the playoffs with back-to-back wins is nice. We’ll prepare now for a big challenge that’s ahead for us.”

McLellan said there was “some thought” to giving Pavelski a rest, but noted, “we didn’t have a lot of options.”

“When you look at our forward situation, there was no need to rest him, he was playing well,” McLellan said. “He looked energized.

“We thought about resting Joe, but with Thomas Hertl coming back and the moves we had to make, we didn’t have any extra people. So, (Pavelski) played, he was rewarded for it, and we’re happy for him.”

On the second goal, Pavelski, shooting from the left circle, found a crevice between the pipe and Visentin’s right arm.

“It was nice to get Joe that 40th goal. That’s a big accomplishment,” Thornton said. “It’s nice to get that and build some confidence going into the playoffs.

Phoenix cut the Sharks lead to 2-1 at 10:22 of the second period. Mike Ribiero was parked in the slot, took a feed from Radim Vrbata and flipped it past San Jose keeper Antti Niemi on the glove side. It was Ribiero’s 16 goal of the season.

San Jose made it 3-1 in the opening minute of the third period, when Logan Couture cruised through the slot and used his backhand to redirect a pass from Dan Boyle, beating Visentin, who found himself out of position to handle the shot past his glove side. Boyle also assisted Pavelski’s first goal.

But the Coyotes came back 31 seconds later, when Shane Doan fired a one-timer from the right circle past Niemi on the stick side. Doan’s 22nd goal of the season cut the Phoenix deficit to 3-2.

Niemi shut the door after that, denying the Coyotes the elusive equalizer and finishing with 30 saves – 25 of them in the second and third periods. Visentin, making his NHL debut after being called up from AHL Portland, stopped 29 of 32 San Jose shots.

“We needed Niemi to play a game like that,” McLellan said. “It wasn’t like we cruised though it and I thought he made some great saves.”

The final minute encapsulated the Coyotes’ season. With Visentin pulled in favor of a sixth attacker, Keith Yandle was called for hooking penalty with 14 seconds left in an empty net situation.

SHARK BITES: Joe Pavelski’s 41 goals in a single season is fourth-best in Sharks history, trailing only Jonathan Cheechoo (56 in 2005-06), Patrick Marleau (44 in 2009-10) and Owen Nolan (44 in 1999-2000). Pavelski was tied with Dany Heatley (39 in 2009-10) going into Saturday’s finale. … The Sharks are 62-46-7-9 against the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise.

(TAGS: San Jose Sharks,Phoenix Coyotes,NHL,Sports Radio Service,Daniel Dullum)

A’s grab first place in the AL West behind Sonny Gray’s gem

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By Morris Phillips

You have to be in it to win it, and so far in 2014, the starting rotation is keeping the A’s in it.

Even without the sidelined duo of Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin, the A’s starters haven’t missed a beat, ranking first in quality starts in the major leagues, with only Tommy Milone once allowing more than three runs in a start.

Sonny Gray had quality written all over his performance Saturday, allowing five hits and a run over seven innings in the A’s 3-1 win over the Mariners that allowed Oakland to switch places with Seattle atop the AL West.

Make no mistake, in the numbers-dominated universe of major league baseball, quality is quality. Even without Parker or Griffin or the departed Brett Anderson and Bartolo Colon for that matter, the A’s haven’t missed a beat. When compared to the club’s above average bullpen, average defense, and always dangerous, quick strike offense–through 11 games–the Oakland starters clearly stand out. Hardly the manner in which the club projected coming into the season, the Athletics have pitched in every ballgame, winning 7 of 11, and dropping the other four by two runs or fewer.

Gray’s third start went much like his first two: what little he allowed, he gave up in the first three frames, and was lights out after that. The first-round selection from Vanderbilt struck out nine, walked two and lowered his ERA to 0.95. Gray allowed a run in the first, showed the heat after that, striking out Robinson Cano and Dustin Ackley with gas in the fourth, and mixing in off-speed stuff towards the end. If anyone was negatively impacted by the Billy Beane’s off-season moves that allowed Colon and Anderson to move on, it wasn’t Gray. Thus far, he looks like an ace with the variety and consistency to match either of the departed veterans.

Gray got all the support he needed early as well: Josh Donaldson deposited Erasmo Ramirez’ mistake fastball deep into the left field bleachers at Safeco Park with Coco Crisp aboard in the first inning. Brandon Moss added what could be termed insurance in the third, singling in Crisp before getting thrown out trying to stretch his fortune into a double.

Manager Bob Melvin figured to be creative with his bullpen given Jim Johnson’s demotion and he was, tabbing Sean Doolittle for four outs, and Luke Gregerson for the last two outs and the save. Gregerson allowed a couple of singles, but then struck out Michael Saunders and got John Buck to ground out to end it.

Prior to the game, Sam Fuld was designated for assignment as the team activated Craig Gentry, the outfielder acquired from the Rangers. In a move that supports the A’s belief in pitching and defense, the A’s kept offensive passengers Daric Barton (.100) and Josh Reddick (.091) on the roster because their defense compliments the outstanding pitching. Barton came in for defense late, and Reddick cut off Logan Morrison’s drive to the wall and quickly returned the ball to the infield, preventing Kyle Seager from attempting to score from first base. Gray took it from there, striking out Ackley to end the fourth.

The A’s turn to Scott Kazmir on Sunday for the rubber match of this three-game series with treetop Chris Young pitching for the Mariners.