Month: August 2014

Disaster in SoCal – the Angels sweep four in a row from the A’s

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matt shoemaker

 By Charlie O. Mallonee

Have you ever had a nightmare that will not go away? Every time you close your eyes, it comes back.

That was the kind of nightmare the Oakland A’s experienced in Los Angeles versus the Angels in their critical four-game series to determine the leader in the American League West. Every time the A’s closed their eyes, they saw an Angel pitcher dominating the hitters and keeping the A’s from scoring runs. They saw Angel’s batters having very little difficulty hitting Oakland pitching. Every time the A’s players looked at the scoreboard, they saw themselves as the losers in very critical games.

The A’s went into the game on Sunday hoping salvage one win in the four-game series. It was not to be as Los Angeles pitcher Matt Shoemaker pitched seven scoreless innings while his hitters limited A’s starter Scott Kazmir to just.1.1 innings of work. The Angels beat the A’s 8-1 to sweep the series.

The Angels struck first and struck hard in the bottom of the second inning. Josh Hamilton led off the inning with a single to left field. Howie Kendrick then walked. David Freese flied out to center. Erick Aybar singled to left field and Josh Hamilton scored as Kendrick moved up to second base. Chris Iannetta walked to load the bases for the Angels. After Curt Young made a visit to the mound, Scott Kazmir walked Gordon Beckham forcing in a run from third base. Kole Calhoun then walked forcing in Aybar for the third run of the inning.

Bob Melvin made a trip to the mound to remove Kazmir before the next hitter. As Dan Otero ran in from the bullpen, Melvin started toward home plate umpire Gerry Davis to complain about the strike zone. Davis immediately ejected Melvin.

Mike Trout singled off Otero driving two runs in and putting the Angels up 5-0. Albert Pujols grounded out to third but Kole Calhoun was able to score from third. Josh Hamilton was safe at first on a fielding error but Mike Trout was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second to end the inning. When the dust settled, the A’s starting pitcher was in the clubhouse, Bob Melvin was ejected and Oakland trailed the Angels 6-0.

The Angels added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mike Trout led off the inning with a home run to left center field off Jesse Chavez to make the score 7-0 Los Angeles.

The A’s finally stopped their streak of 29 consecutive scoreless innings in the top of the eighth inning. With one out, Sam Fuld walked. Fuld advanced to second on defensive indifference as Josh Reddick was at the plate. Reddick then hit a single to left and Fuld scampered home to score the A’s one and only run of the game.

The Angels added one more run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Chris Iannetta took an Evan Scribner pitch over the left center field wall for the eighth run of the game.

Shoemaker’s record improved to 14-4 on the season. He worked 7.0 innings giving up no runs on just five hits. Shoemaker walked none and struck out seven Oakland A’s. He threw 103 pitches (70 strikes).

Scott Kazmir’s record fell to 14-7 for the year. He gave up six runs (all earned) in his 1.1 innings on the mound. Kazmir walked six batters and struck out none. Dan Otero, Jesse Chavez and Evan Scribner combined to close out the game for the A’s.

Oakland now trails the Angels by five full games in the American League West. The Angels have Monday off and then begin a series in Houston on Tuesday. The A’s will be back in action on Monday as they open a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners.

The Angels and A’s will face each other again in a three-game series in Oakland September 22-24.

 

 

Big sweep for the Giants

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-After a tumultuous couple of months that saw the San Francisco Giants fall from first place; and a season-high six and a half games out on August 12, the Giants have put themselves back into the National League playoff race.

Madison Bumgarner pitched six innings, allowing one run on five hits, while walking one and striking out seven and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 15-5 before 41,935 the 317th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

This was the 16th win of the season for Bumgarner, tying him with Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most wins in the major leagues this season

With the victory, the Giants completed their first three-game sweep of the Brewers at AT&TPark since August 24-26, 2007.

This was the fifth sweep of the season for the Giants, and it was the sixth consecutive victory for the Giants and ends the home stand with a 6-1 record.

The 15 runs scored by the Giants are their most of the 2014 season, breaking their previous season high of 13 that they scored in the opener of this three-game series on Friday night.

Ryan Braun put the Brewers on the board in the top of the first inning, as he hit into a double play that scored Carlos Gomez from third base.

Gomez led off the game with a double off of Bumgarner, went to third on a Jonathan Lucroy single and then Braun hit into a double play.

Andrew Susac tied up the game in the bottom of the second inning, as he doubled in Pablo Sandoval, who tripled to leadoff the inning.

Hunter Pence would give the Giants the lead for good, as he doubled to score Angel Pagan, who singled with one out, then stole second and advanced to third base on a Martin Maldonado throwing error.

Joe Panik followed up Pagan’s single with and then Pence doubled in Pagan with the eventual winning run.

Pablo Sandoval then followed up Pence’s single with a single of his own to score Panik with the second run of the inning.

Pagan scored the Giants final run of the inning, as Michael Morse hit a sacrifice fly to score Pence.

Sandoval gave the Giants their next two runs of the game as he hit his 15th home run, a two-run shot that bounced into McCovey Cove off the portwalk in right field.

Pagan then drove in the Giants seventh run of the afternoon in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he singled in Brandon Crawford, who reached on a Fielders’ Choice after Susac singled to leadoff the inning.

Martin Maldonado hit a solo home run off of George Kontos in the top of the seventh inning that landed half way up the left field bleachers.

Pence tripled to leadoff the bottom of the seventh inning off of Alfredo Figaro, then Sandoval walked and then Pence scored his third run of the afternoon, when Figaro unleashed a wild pitch with Travis Ishikawa at the plate.

Following the wild pitch, Ishikawa singled to right field that sent Sandoval to third base and Figaro to the clubhouse, as Brewers manager Ron Roenicke saw enough and brought on Will Smith.

Susac added his second double of the afternoon to drive his second and third runs of the afternoon off of Will Smith.

Joaquin Arias got in on the act, as he hit a pinch hit double that scored Susac and sent Crawford, who walked to third base.

Panik tripled in Crawford and Arias, and then Panik himself scored, when Pence singled him in.

All in all, the Giants tacked on seven runs off of four Brewers relievers.

Brewers’ starter Kyle Lohse pitched five and two-thirds innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits, walking two and striking out three, as he saw his record fall to 12-8

Tim Lincecum, who was moved to the bullpen in place of Yusmeiro Petit, came on out of the bullpen to pitch the last two innings.

Lincecum went two innings, allowing three runs on three hits.

Ryan Braun hit his 18th home run of the season in the top of the eighth inning off of Lincecum.

Ishikawa scored the Giants final run of the afternoon in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he walked to lead off the inning, went to third on a Blanco double and then scored when Crawford grounded out to second base.

The Blanco double was the Giants 10th extra base hit of the afternoon, marking the first time in AT&TPark history that the Giants picked up 10 extra base hits in the same game.

It was the most extra base hits for the Giants as a team since hitting 10 extra base hits against the Philadelphia Phillies at CitizensBankPark on August 13, 2004.

NOTES: Following the game, the Giants made the following roster moves in preparation for September 1 callups.

Mike Kickham and Juan Perez were recalled from Fresno, right-hander Hunter Strickland was recalled from Richmond, Chris Dominguez and Guillermo Quiroz had their contracts purchased from Fresno. Ehire Adrianza and Hector Sanchez have been transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

In the six-game home stand, the Giants starters pitched 50.2 innings, allowing eight runs (six earned runs), good enough for a 1.07 earned run average seven walks and 57 strikeouts.

The three triples are the most by a Giants since moving into AT&T Park in 2000, and the most in a home game since May 8, 1977 against the New York Mets,

Dunn to the rescue?

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by Charlie O. Mallonee
The Oakland Athletics are making moves to jumpstart their offense by completing a trade with the Chicago White Sox for outfielder/designated hitter Adam Dunn. The A’s acquired Dunn and cash considerations in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Nolan Sanburn.

Dunn is currently batting .220 with 20 home runs and 54 RBI in 106 games for the White Sox. He is tied for seventh in the American League with 65 walks but he is ranked seventh with 132 strikeouts. Dunn will do one of three things for the A’s at the plate – hit a home run, walk or strikeout.

Dunn has played DH, first base, right field and left field for Chicago this season. Prior to the start of the game in Anaheim, A’s manager Bob Melvin indicated that Dunn will be used mostly as the designated hitter for Oakland.

Adam Dunn is a .237 career hitter with 460 home runs and 1158 RBI in 1976 Major League games. His 460 home runs ranks him 36th on the all-time list just one behind David Ortiz.

Dunn is expected to join the A’s on Labor Day. Because the trade was completed by August 31st, Dunn will be eligible to play in the post-season for the Athletics.

NCAA Commentary: Cal might have something there with upset in Northwestern; USC’s Shaw story jumping to conclusions

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by Michelle Richardson

What a shocker by Cal in a 31-24 win over Northwestern: I was one of the people with my mouth open because the Cal Bears took my card in the pick em, this could be the tide turning for Cal. They’ve had some many years in missing bowl games and last year they won only one game and maybe former head coach Jeff Tedford’s exit might have brought in a change and right now it’s new blood with head coach Sonny Dykes.

Part of that new blood is new students and a new attitude at Cal, I always say sometimes it takes a change in management to change how a place works and I’m hoping that there is another team in the Pac 12 that will be competitive this year. If you rank the big time conferences the Pac 12 is at the bottom. UCS is not impressive, Stanford I’m not sure if they’re kind of a bubble team or a team that’s been pretty much running the Pac 12 the last few years.

Mike Leach at Washington State took over and made the Cougars his team and the team has got better and better every year. This is his third year and all of those recruits are all his, I’m looking forward to seeing whats going on and not like USC whose changed coaches in the last few years. I’m very excited that Cal turned it around and beat a team in the Big Ten and their hoping to be number one and to show some strength in their schedule.

Notre Dame’s win over Rice 48-17 not surprising: Don’t get confused this win by the Fighting Irish is not a tone setter for the season, it’s Rice its not going to set any tone unless your playing Rice in baseball I’d say no. Notre Dame was supposed to win this game and win this game handedly. Had Rice won I would tell you that Norte Dame could stick a fork in it.

This is not a game where you can say Notre Dame beat Rice the Fighting Irish are going all the way, no there not, I need to see the Irish play a Michigan and play more top ten teams. When Notre Dame starts getting into their part of the ACC schedule we’ll see. The Irish play Michigan for the last time this year we’ll see then. Right now no, that game meant nothing except that’s the first game of the season for the Lucky Charms.

USC controversies: Josh Shaw’s fake balcony jump and he was also named in a burglary report in L.A. I don’t feel sorry for him and I know he’s a young man and he’ll make mistakes but he lied and said he went and jumped do really think somebody is going to follow up on that? His nephew was drowning and he jumped two stories do think people are going to follow up on that. USC is going to follow up on that because the school is concerned now about their reputation.

You have the L.A.Times and Sports Illustrated making this a national story is Shaw stupid? Then there is the fact that he lied. You could lie about a whole lot of things but you don’t lie about people’s lives being in peril and you don’t lie about people dying. Because you believe in karma and it mighht come back on you in a bad way.

That was just a horrible, horrible, thing that Shaw did and I truly, truly hope that he learned his lesson and he’s eligble for the NFL draft, doesn’t Shaw know he’s affecting his draft stock? My thing is if Shaw just said he jumped off the balcony and he did something stupid and he hurt his ankle that would show more character than saying he saved two kids from a burning building. This lying is ridiculous and you put yourself in a bad position with the team over something that was completely stupid and illegal, I don’t have a place for you on my team.

Michelle Richardson does NCAA Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com. You can hear the rest of her commentary on the soundcloud audio below the column

Cal gets off the mat and surprises Northwestern in season-opening road win

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By Morris Phillips

Quite frankly, Cal’s opening drive of 2014 may have been better than their entire, 1-11, 2013 season put together. That’s how good the 18-play drive was and, conversely, how bad the Bears were in their first season under head coach Sonny Dykes.

But the best part? Things got even better after the opening drive in Cal’s surprising 31-24 win over Northwestern. The Bears scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, built a 24-7 halftime lead, and held off a second-half rally by the Wildcats to beat a Division I opponent for the first time under Dykes.

“The big thing for me is just establishing what this team is,” Dykes said. “New Year. Everything is brand new and we’ll see where we are to start the year and make our journey.”

Cal’s two-pronged quarterback attack led the way as sophomore Jared Goff threw for 281 yards and three scores while freshman Luke Rubenzer spelled Goff and ran for a team-best 48 yards on 11 carries. Rubenzer made his name in pre-season practices with his arm and feet but was used in the opener as a change-up guy who wasn’t afraid to stick his helmet into the teeth of the defense.

Eight of Rubenzer’s 11 carries came on Cal’s first two drives as the freshman spelled Goff and kept the Wildcats’ defense on its heels. The 18-play opening drive culminated in a 1-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Treggs and was followed by an 11-play drive that ended when Kenny Lawler Jr. caught Goff’s 7-yard touchdown pass.

In between the two opening drives, the Bears’ defense stopped Northwestern at the Cal 22-yard line on fourth down and 1. Suddenly—and after being uncompetitive in games for long stretches in 2013—the Bears found themselves with a 14-0, first quarter lead.

When Northwestern finally struck back with a 54-yard touchdown pass and catch from Trevor Siemian to Cameron Dickerson late in the second quarter, the Bears opened their next drive with a 76-yard bomb from Goff to Trevor Davis that allowed Cal to take 24-7 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Davis not only caught his first touchdown as a Bear, he also led the team with 3 catches for 93 yards.

Cal saw Northwestern rally after halftime, slicing the Bears’ lead to 31-24 in the fourth quarter, but with the Wildcats driving for a potential, tying score in the final moments, Cal linebacker Jalen Jefferson came up with the critical interception with 1:38 remaining that preserved the win.  

Jefferson was a one-man wrecking crew, finishing with a career-best 16 tackles along with a sack and his second-career interception, both coming in the fourth quarter.

Afterwards, the Bears were relieved to have ended their streak of losses against Division I opponents. But the disasterous 2013 season left the young team with only one direction—up—to pursue.

“All the work we put in all season, everything we did from last winter, all the way to spring ball, all the way to summer conditioning and all the way to camp has really kind of just come together,” Goff said. “That doesn’t mean we’re done or we’re finished or anything, but it just feels great to especially give the seniors, the guys who have been working for five years to get a big win like this.”

The Bears open their home schedule on Saturday at noon when they get a visit from the Sacramento State Hornets.

A’s Shutout by Halos, Endanger of Being Swept by Rivals

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By Matthew Harrington

There is an inevitability in Major League baseball that, no matter the abundance of talent assembled on one squad, every team will hit a rough patch. Anyone who thinks an organization can plod through the minefield of a 162-game schedule unscathed from a barrage of consecutive losses at some point probably believes the plumbing at O.Co Coliseum is just fine and dandy as well.

While the Oakland Athletics looked like they previously found a way to advance their 25-man platoon through the tormenting minefield of a grueling MLB season without a valley to match their peak, the losses have piled up at an alarming rate of late. The A’s, who led the Majors in Wins at the All-star Break, have finally hit the frustrating patch of the season. It appears to have come at the most inopportune time for the Green and Gold.

The A’s entered a critical four-game set against the Los Angeles Angels Thursday night looking to bridge a one-game deficit in the American League West standings. With a couple of wins in Anaheim, the A’s (78-57)hoped to pass then put some distance between them and the Halos entering the season’s seminal month. After being shutout 2-0 Saturday night at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Oakland is now just looking to keep fans from having to use all five of their fingers on one hand to count the number of games back they will be entering play on Labor Day.

The loss Saturday opened the floodgates of frustration, with the A’s locker room proving to be a frigid place following a second-consecutive shutout at the hands of LA. The Swingin’ A’s have been mostly swinging and missing of late, scoring only three runs over 28 innings in SoCal. Oakland boasts 15 hits in the series.

Saturday the A’s only mustered three hits Saturday against a string of Angels pitchers. Manager Mike Scioscia called upon eight different relievers for the injury beset Angels, using long reliever Cory Rasmus to pitch the first three scoreless innings.

Michael Roth retired only one Athletic in relief of Rasmus to open the fourth before loading the bases, prompting A’s manager Bob Melvin to pinch-hit right-hander Jonny Gomes for Josh Reddick against the lefty Roth. Scioscia countered by bringing in right-sider Yoslan Herrera (1-1, 5.87 ERA)to limit the damage. Gomes bounced a chopper that deflected off a leaping Herrera’s glove right to second baseman Howie Kendrick who started the inning-ending double-play to make Herrera Saturday’s winner.

The Halos (82-53) would score twice (with only one run earned) off A’s starter Jeff Samardzija in the bottom half of the inning. The Shark (6-11, 3.14) pitched a complete-game, eight inning effort but wound up the loser despite his nine strikeouts. He did save a bullpen that remains short-handed even with the addition of Evan Scribner for the recently demoted Drew Pomeranz.

While the A’s still boast home-field advantage in the one-game playoff over the Detroit Tigers as holders of the top Wild Card spot, the A’s need to take Sunday’s finale to build confidence down the stretch run. Melvin will send Scott Kazmir to the mound looking to play stopper while Matt Shoemaker takes the hill for the Halos looking for the sweep.

 

San Jose’s Defense Settles Down and Earns 1-1 Draw With Real Salt Lake

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Photo Credit: USA Today
Photo Credit: USA Today

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA, CALIF.–

Coming into Saturday night’s contest, the San Jose Earthquakes had been struggling tremendously on defense conceding ten goals in the last three matches. They were able to turns things around, as they earned a 1-1 draw with supporter shield contenders Real Salt Lake. The draw marked the first time since August 2 that the team managed to earn points at home, and the first since July 23 at Buck Shaw Stadium, as the August 2nd matchup was held at Levi’s Stadium.

The Earthquakes started strong, as they hopped on the board in just the 14th minute of play. Chris Wondolowski set up the play of the left side, taking on two defenders before passing back to Sam Cronin, who gathered himself and ripped one low and right with the left foot to put the Quakes up early.

Wondolowski had another great chance just moments later in the 18th minute. Tommy Thompson headed the ball over to Wondolowski just inside the 18-yard box, where he took a one-touched shot that just missed left of the net of putting San Jose up 2-0.The missed opportunity would come back to haunt San Jose, as Real Salt Lake would tie the game on a penalty kick in the 34th minute. Jordan Stewart made a diving play towards the ball to attempt to clear, however he fouled Olmes Garcia on the play apparently to set up the penalty kick. Earthquakes’ Captain, Wondolowski commented on the foul “that wouldn’t have been a foul in the midfield, that wouldn’t have been a foul in the box, that wouldn’t have been a foul anywhere,” clearly frustrated on the call. Salt Lake took advantage of the opportunity, as Javier Moralez would get the penalty past Jon Busch. Moralez approached the ball and made a few stutter steps to throw off Busch’s timing before nailing into the bottom left corner. With the goal, Moralez continues he dominance over San Jose, scoring his eighth goal against the club in just 14 games played.

The Quakes did their best to try and equalize late in the game, with the best chance coming in the 81st minute, when Tommy Thompson got a chance. However, Salt Lake defenders would get back to cover. Earthquakes’ coach Mark Watson was quite impressed with the play of Tommy Thompson “He’s well beyond his years and has obvious talent. He’s done well in every game he’s played for us”.

Though, San Jose couldn’t earn the victory, they still get a much needed point in a race for the playoffs that’s starting to look dimmer and dimmer by the day. However, the locker room still believes there’s a chance at the playoffs, “We completely believe that we still can get in the playoffs, we do have games in hand,” added Watson. The Earthquakes are going to need to become desperate for points, as the season starts to draw to a close. They’ll have to wait a week before they get back of the pitch, where they travel to Portland, who’s eight points ahead of San Jose, and in the last playoff spot. However, San Jose does have two games in hand.

You can follow Joe Lami on Twitter @joe_lami

Peavy allows one hit in win

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-After seeing what Madison Bumgarner nearly accomplished on Tuesday, Jake Peavy wanted to have a great game in his next outing.

Well, that next outing for Peavy came on Saturday night versus the Milwaukee Brewers, as the right-hander went seven and two-thirds innings, allowing zero runs on just one hit, walking three and striking out eight and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Brewers 3-1 before a crowd of 41,397, the 316th consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

This was by far Peavy’s best outing since joining the Giants after being acquired from the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox on July 26 in exchange for minor leaguers Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree.

Mark Reynolds broke up Peavy’s attempt at baseball immortality in the top of the eighth inning, as he singled to right field with one out to break up Peavy’s bid at his first ever no-hitter.

Following the Reynolds single, Bruce Bochy replaced Peavy, who left to a standing ovation; however Peavy’s replacement, Jeremy Affeldt gave up a pinch-hit single to Rickie Weeks.

That would be all for Affeldt, as Bochy brought in Sergio Romo to face Carlos Gomez, who represented the tying run.

Romo was able to get out of the jam, as he struck out Gomez swinging to end the threat and the inning.

Lost in all the hoopla over Peavy’s near no-hitter, was the fact that Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers pitched a great game, despite the fact that he took the loss.

Fiers went seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out nine in the hard fought loss.

Things got interested in the top of the ninth inning, as Santiago Casilla gave up a leadoff double to Jonathan Lucroy, and then a single to Ryan Braun that scored Lucroy.

Aramis Ramirez grounded into a force play that retired Braun at second, and then Scooter Gennett flew out for the second out, and then Khris Davis was hit by a Casilla pitch to put runners at first and second; however Reynolds grounded out to Sandoval, who stepped on third base to end the game.

Peavy became the second Giants pitcher this week to give up just one hit in a game, as Madison Bumgarner lost a perfect game when Justin Morneau of the Colorado Rockies led off the top of the eighth inning with a single on Tuesday night.

After losing his first three starts after being acquired, Peavy has won three out of his last four.

Peavy reached a milestone in the top of the second inning, as he struck out Ramirez for the first out of the inning.

That strikeout was the 2,000th of Peavy’s career, and became the second Giants pitcher this week to join the club.

Peavy’s locker mate, Tim Hudson joined the in Wednesday’s no decision against the Colorado Rockies.

Peavy joins C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon and Hudson as active pitchers with 2,000 or more career strikeouts.

This was the fifth straight win for the Giants, their longest winning streak since winning since five in a row from June 4 against the Cincinnati Reds and it coming to an end against the Washington Nationals on June 9.

It was at that point in the season, that the Giants were 42-21 and nine and a half games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

Brandon Crawford made the play of the game in the top of the fourth inning, as he backhanded a ball hit by Ramirez, regrouped and threw Ramirez out by a few steps.

Just three innings later, Crawford made an even better play, as he snared a Gennett ball while diving, flipped the ball with his glove to Joe Panik to get Ramirez and then Panik threw to Travis Ishikawa for the final out of the inning.

Ramirez reached in the top of the seventh inning, as he was hit on the forearm by a Peavy pitch with one out.

Michael Morse drove in all the runs that Peavy would need, as he doubled off of Fiers in the bottom of the fourth inning that scored Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval.

Sandoval and Pence each hit singles prior to Morse’s double and then Morse himself scored, as Crawford singled after Gregor Blanco flew out to centerfield for the first out of the inning.

Peavy was helped out by another great defensive play in the top of the eighth inning, as Sandoval made a backhanded throw to get Davis at first base by a step.

Stanford Routs UC Davis

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Stanford Cardinal opened their 2014 football season going against the UC Davis Aggies. The Cardinal kicked off to the Aggies, The Aggies could do nothing as the Cardinal totally dominated the game and blew out the Aggie 45-0. The Cardinal dominated all facets of the game. Offense was clicking, defense was fantastic and special teams came up big time for Stanford. The Aggies never entered Stanford territory.

Stanford took an early7-0 lead in the first quarter. The Cardinal kicked off to the Aggies from UC Davis. The Stanford defense asserted themselves and forced the Aggies to kick after a three and out. The Aggies punted to Ty Montgomery who took the ball on his own forty yard line and took it to the house for the score, Williamson kicked the extra point. The score came with just 2:53 played. Stanford continued its dominance on defense forcing the Aggies to punt again. Stanford went on 12 play 67 yard drive to make it a 14-0 game. Kevin Hogan made key completions to Ty Montgomery and Francis Owusu. Hogan scored the TD from the one yard line and the extra point was good. 14-0 Cardinal at the end of one quarter of play.

Stanford kept the pressure on pinning the Aggies down deep in their own territory. The Aggies punted

but it ended up on their own 40 yard line. On the very first play from scrimmage, Kevin Hogan found wide receiver Michael Rector on about the five yard line and Rector took it in for the score. Kick was good and the Cardinal now has a 21-0 lead with 9:10 left in the half.

The Cardinal again kept the Aggies deep in their own end again forcing them to punt. The Cardinal got the ball on their own 46 yard yard. Hogan connected with Christian McCaffrey who was wide open and McCaffrey ran it nto the end zone for the touchdown. The Cardinal now has a commanding 28-0 lead.

Ty Montgomery scored his second touchdown of the game with 1:19 left in the half. It was a 44 yard

pass play for the score and it was a 77 yard drive. The Aggies took the ensuing kickoff to the 23rd yard line but they fumbled the ball and Stanford recovered on the 36. The Cardinal ran the ball down to the 15 yard line. Jordan Williamson kicked a 32 yard field goal to end the half with Stanford holding a 38-0

lead against the game but overmatched UC Davis Aggie team.

Stats for the first half. Stanford had 274 yards total offense. Hogan threw for 204 yards and had one interception. UCD quarterback London Lacy had a miserable first half . He went six for eleven good for 23 yards and just 58 yards total offense for the Aggies.

Kevin Hogan started the second half but he was replaced by Evan Crower with 11:51 left in the third period. Crower drove the Cardinal to the 20 yard line but the drive stalled. Willimson attempted a 37 yard field goal but the kick was no good. There was no scoring in the third quarter. The big plays of the quarter came when Noor Davis intercepted a London Lacy pass on the Aggie 17 yard line but the Cardinal fumbled on the next play and the aggies recovered on the two yard line. The Cardinal held the ball for 9:19 minutes in the period. Just 15 minutes left in the game and we can all go home.

In the fourth quarter, the big play so far was a 41 yard punt return by Christian McCaffrey.

McCaffrey initially fumbled but recovered to race down to the Aggie 13 yrd yard line. On the very first play of the drive, Evan Crower hit tight end Austin Hooper for the touchdown . The extra point is good and the Cardinal now lead 45-0 with 8:22 left in the game. Stanford has inserted second and third string players on defense at this point in the game. Ryans Burns is in at quarterback relacing Evan Crower.

On his first play, Burns ran 20 yards for a first down but could no more and the Cardinal had to punt.

Final score Stanford wins 45-0.

After the game, Ty Montgomery answered a question this way. We saw you line up in a lot of different positions, field punts for the first time. How much fun is it to get all over the field and show off your versatility a little bit?

TY MONTGOMERY:It’s fun to be out there, be able to play.I enjoy stepping on the field no matter what position I’m in, just playing with these guys on the team.

Q.Is it different or what would you say was the difference between returning punts and returning kickoffs?

TY MONTGOMERY: The only difference in my mind is you don’t have the ability to fair catch a kickoff return. But it’s the same thing, ten guys block, find the seam and hit it.

Kevin Hogan said this about the offense” I thought they did a good job. All their calls were great and their protection was good. I think the only time I got sacked was I was holding the ball too long and they had good coverage downfield.

But as a whole, they were great.Great with their protection. Great with their running game I thought they gelled well. And I think that they’re still hungry. And I know they can get better. But today I thought they did a good job.”

Attendence was 49,509. Stanford meets the University of Southern California here at Stanford Stadium at 12:30pm.

49ers and Raiders commentary: Without Smith Niners are without best pass rusher in NFL;Will Raiders start rookie Carr?

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by David Zizmor

SANTA CLARA–The San Francisco 49ers will start the 2014 season without the best pass rusher in football linebacker Aldon Smith who started his nine game suspension this weekend. Smith will be allowed to attend meetings and workouts at the 49ers facilities but will not be able to play until November 10th one week before the Niners play the New York Giants on Sunday November 16th.

The impact of not having Smith around will effect the 49ers defensive line and there is no way you could replace a guy like Smith. Smith has more sacks than everybody in the league. Even his first three seasons he’s had more sacks than everybody in the NFL. There is really no way to get around it you just can’t replace a guy like Smith. The 49ers have been preparing for injuries and depatures on their defensive squad for several years now.

They keep drafting guys on their defensive line who will replace guys who will depart and if you look across from their defensive line they have several older players like Justin Smith, being the key player, Justin has been the key player for many, many years and arguably a Hall of Fame level player. Justin is in his mid thirties and his contract is coming up in a year or so.

The 49ers will look at linebackers Tank Carradine and Quintin Dial these are going to be guys who are hopefully going to step up and provide a little bit of breathing room for the 49ers and for those individual players. Aldon will be out and the 49ers have a lot of guys along these lines who can practice hard and play hard, work hard and we’ll see how they do in replacing a guy like Aldon.

Oakland Raiders update: Raiders quarterback David Carr had a very good pre season and there’s a very strong case to be made. Right now he’s already the best quarterback for the Raiders. The problem is that he’s a rookie and he was never with the first team against first team defenses. In that fourth game they never played against first team defensive units.

Even though Carr was the starter with the first group to be out there he never played against the number one defense. Carr looked good in that game against Seattle and that Seattle defense you saw them in the Super Bowl. There were a couple of starters here and there and the rest were a couple of guys who were going to be third stringers.

There is a case to be made that Carr is already a better option rather than quarterback Matt Schaub but again he’s a rookie. He hasn’t faced the top competition. He’s played a lot different in pre season than regular season. When you have a rookie and Carr who has a bright future he’s going to end up starting at some point this season because it’s doubtful that Schaub is going to be very good.

The Raiders haven’t seen anything that’s been very good from Schaub in the pre season, he didn’t look good with Houston last year. He’s had three bad pre season games and he’s out for personal reasons as of this weekend. There’s no reason to believe that he’s all of sudden going to snap out of it soon and transform into the guy he was three or four years ago.

David Zizmor does 49ers and Raiders commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com