On a night where the Golden State Warriors were playing their first road NBA Finals road game in 40 years, it was a rookie for the San Francisco Giants who took the headlines in the Bay Area.
Chris Heston, making just his 13th career start put his name into baseball immortality, as he threw a no-hitter and the Giants defeated the New York Mets 5-0 at Citi Field.
It was the first no-hitter in Heston’s life, and also the first no-hitter of the 2015 season in Major League Baseball.
Heston struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning to finish the game with 11 strikeouts and zero walks. The only Mets runners to reach base came via hit by a pitch, which Heston hit three batters.
On the evening, Heston picked up his first two runs batted in of his major league career and also picked up two hits on the night
This is the fourth straight year that the Giants pitching staff has tossed a no-hitter, beginning with Matt Cain’s perfect game in 2012, followed Tim Lincecum in both 2013 and 2014. The only other team to turn this feat was the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1962-1965, when Sandy Koufax threw four no-hitters.
The Giants got on the board in the first inning, as Angel Pagan drove in a run on a groundout, Matt Duffy hit a home run in the top of the sixth and then Yonkers native Joe Panik extended his hitting streak to 14 games, as he added a home run in the seventh inning.
It was an historical night for Bruce Bochy as well, as he picked up his 700th win as the manager of the Giants.
This was the 17th no-hitter in Giants history, and their first in the city of New York since Carl Hubbell tossed one back in 1929.
After the Warriors were preemptively crowned NBA champions by winning Game 1, LeBron James had another spectacular game, scoring 40 points, Matthew Dellavedova added 20, and the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 96-91 victory and a 2-1 series lead.
Cleveland hasn’t missed a beat without stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, winning their second straight gritty defensive battle against Golden State.
The NBA referee’s favorite James took as many free throws as the Warriors did, making 10 of 12 to Golden State’s 7 of 12. He was just two assists shy of his second straight triple double, grabbing twelve boards in addition to his near 40-point night. A replay review overturned a call that would have given Klay Thompson and the Warriors the ball down 94-91 with 17.8 seconds left, handing James two free throws that sealed the win.
Dellavedova’s big two pointer “and one” swung the momentum of the game with 2:27 left, extending Cleveland’s lead to 84-80 and sapping all of the momentum out of Golden State after Stephen Curry’s big three pointer to cut Cleveland’s lead to 81-80. He did a great job getting in Curry’s face in the first half, holding him to just 3 points on a paltry 1 of 6 effort from the floor. Curry turned it around in the second half, hitting 9 of his 14 shots, but his 24 points just weren’t enough against James’ Cavaliers.
It really hadn’t been close until the fourth, with Cleveland dominating the scoreboard and the feel of the game. They outscored Golden State in every quarter except the final one, finding themselves up 17 at the end of the third.
Golden State finds itself in essentially must-win situation heading into Game 4 on Thursday in Cleveland, even with two more games left at Oracle.
Hold on tight, Warriors fans. It’s going to be a wild ride.
OAKLAND–There has never been an NBA Finals that has seen two overtimes in it’s history. By the way the ratings are huge for this Finals and we spoke about this on the show and the ratings have been very good. The Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James everyone knows LeBron and how people are discovering the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry.
They all know that Curry is a great player but the whole world already knows who LeBron is and it’s been a great series and it’s a getting a lot of ratings worldwide. The ratings are high because of Curry’s MVP year and the excitement that the Warriors have had and also they haven’t been here since 1974-75 and 2006-07 for the Cavaliers.
This is a good story and that’s why so many who are following this series on TV have given this series a high ratings boost. This is good to see teams who don’t make it and it’s good to see the Warriors going up against a city like Cleveland and it’s good for the game. Oakland we know the problem here with unemployment and housing Cleveland is going through the same thing. Cleveland is known as the rust belt and Cleveland has lost a lot of industry and it’s good news and it’s positive news for Cleveland and for Oakland.
A’s switcher pitcher Pat Venditte all the rage: Venditte’s father taught him to throw from both sides and he’s a lefty and a righty and Muzuno has developed a six fingered glove for Venditte where he could use it on either hand. When he throws left handed the thumb is on one side and when he throws right handed the thumb is on the other side.
It’s the same glove with six fingers, this is a great story I don’t think he’ll make that much of a difference having said that the bullpen is very bad for the A’s. So Venditte could be the bandit. The A’s bullpen is not good right now but they have some starters and their top ace is Sonny Gray who started Tuesday night’s game came in 7-2 ERA 1.65.
Gray has the lowest ERA in baseball he’s a great starting pitcher and it’s tough to win without your bullpen but the A’s still have a chance their still a young team and they have time to figure it out. This is Ben Zobrist’s first year in Oakland, they haven’t jelled as a unit yet and it’s very dangerous. If the A’s are not out of the cellar in about 35 days A’s general Billy Beane will be making move if this team doesn’t improve soon.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and the Spanish TV voice for the Angels and does News and Commentary each week on http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below
Don’t ask why. Just know, the Giants prefer a college guy.
The reigning World Champs tabbed Phil Bickford with the 18th overall pick of the 2015 Amateur Draft, a power pitcher who turned spent two years in college, including last season at College of So
Bickford was the 10th overall pick in the 2013 Draft, but he decided to forgo contract offers from the Toronto Blue Jays as a high school senior and continue his career as a collegian. After one year at Cal State Fullerton, and one at Southern Nevada, Bickford appears ready to forgo his final two years of amateur eligibility to sign with the Giants.
Bickford is the third college pitcher in the last four drafts to be tabbed by the Giants as their first pick. Prior to Bickford, the Giants selected Tyler Beede (Vanderbilt) in 2014, and Chris Stratton (Mississippi State) in 2012.
With their second pick the Giants took power-hitting first baseman Chris Shaw. The Boston College first baseman hit 11 home runs in 144 at-bats this season. He was chosen with the 31st pick overall, a supplemental draft pick. At 6’3” and 248 pounds, Shaw fits the profile of a middle-of-the-lineup hitter and he’s the first corner infielder drafted by the team in the first round since Will Clark in 1985.
Like many other organizations, the Giants have preferred drafting collegians, players they feel are significantly closer to being big-league ready than high school prospects. Both Bickford and Shaw put up impressive numbers at the Division I level.
If the Giants are able to break a string of poor play in New York tonight in the opener of their three-game series against the Mets it will also result in Bruce Bochy’s 700th win as a Giants’ manager. If he gains that win, Bochy will move into exclusive company in the franchise’s history. Only John McGraw (2,583 wins), Dusty Baker (840) and Bill Terry (823) have won that many games as Giants.
Hunter Pence is expected to rejoin the lineup tonight. He’s missed almost a week of action due to wrist tendonitis he suffered trying to make a catch against the Pirates last Tuesday.
Cast: Jerry Feitelberg, Amaury Pi Gonzalez, Len Shapiro, Matt Harrington, Joe Lami, Mary Lisa Walsh, Jeremy Harness, and Lee Leonard (producer) got to enjoy the fine dinning of Flames Restaurant at 88 Fourth Street downtown San Jose right across the street from the Martin Luther King Library. Flames a staple in the South Bay since 1987 serving top notch breakfast, lunch and dinner. Try what Jerry and Jeremy ordered the top steaks of the house, the New Oreleans seafood mix, Amaury and Len enjoyed Joe’s special the famous sandwich of Flames. Come to famous Flames for an enjoyable dinning experience at 88 Fourth Street downtown San Jose. Our thanks to our hosts Assan (owner), Ruppert (General Manager), and Savannah (our server).
Sportstalk covers the NHL Stanley Cup Finals with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lighting in a very tight and exciting series. Also discussions on the new San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer and what he has done he once took New Jersey to the Finals but didn’t win the cup. He’s trying to get the Sharks to the Finals and has his work cut out for him. Also American Pharoah and his Triple Crown victory, also the A’s will get ready to have a fire sale if things to look up soon by July’s trade deadline.
The Oakland A’s return home from a six-game road trip to resume play Tuesday night against the surprising Texas Rangers at the O.Co Coliseum. The A’s won the first three games sweeping the three-game set again the Detroit Tigers, but then they were swept three straight by the Boston Red Sox. The A’s looked good beating Detroit, but their shortcomings reappeared in the series against the Bosox. The A’s continue to have bullpen issues as well as poor fielding and not being able to get hits with men in scoring position. As a result, the A’s are in last place in the AL West with a record of 23-36.
One of the big surprises of the year has been the play of the Texas Rangers under the leadership of manager Jeff Bannister. They are currently in second place in the AL West with a record of 30-27 and are 3.5 games behind the Houston Astros. The Rangers have several of their top pitchers on the DL, but they brought up Chi-Chi Gonzales and he has two wins in two starts and has an ERA of 0.00. Nick Martinez (4-2,2.89 ERA) has been solid. The Rangers added veteran Wandy Rodriguez to the staff to go along with Colby Lewis and Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo got off to a slow start, but he improved his record to 5-6 and sports an ERA of 3.54.
The Rangers’ offense is led by Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, Adrian Beltre (currently on the 15 day DL), rookie sensation Joey Gallo, Delino Deshields, Shin Soon-Choo, and Elvis Andrus. Josh Hamilton, recently acquired from the Angels, is also on the DL with a hamstring injury.
First-year manager, Jeff Bannister has done a terrific job as he has so many of his key players on the DL. Rangers ace, Yu Darvish, is on the shelf for the season due to Tommy John surgery. Matt Harrison, Nick Tepisch, Derek Holland are all on the 60-day DL and closer Neftali Perez is on the 15-day list.
Sonny Gray goes for the A’s Tuesday night, and the Rangers will have Nick Martinez on the hill. Let’s see if the A’s can get back on the winning track. Even with all the deficiencies the A’s have shown this year, it is not too late to climb back into respectability.
Jeff Francoeur drove in more runs in two games for the Philadelphia Phillies than he did in 23 games for the San Francisco Giants during the 2013 season.
Francoeur hit a two-run pinch hit double off of Javier Lopez in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the Phillies defeated the Giants 6-4 at Citizens Bank Park.
Over the last two games, Francoeur drove in six runs, including a grand slam off of Madison Bumgarner on Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Vogelsong gave up a leadoff single to Freddy Galvis, then after a double play, Ben Revere walked and then Francoeur lashed a double down rage left field line off of Lopez.
Vogelsong took the loss, as he fell to 4-4 on the season, as he went 6.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits.
Joe Panik picked up three hits for the Giants, extending his career-high hitting streak up to 12 games.
After falling behind 2-1 going into the third inning, Angel Pagan tied up the game with a double that scored Panik and Brandon Belt gave the Giants the lead after grounding into a fielders choice that scored Pagan.
Just one-half inning later, Odubel Herrera tied up the game, as he hit a Vogelsong offering 433 feet to center field.
Buster Posey got the Giants within two runs in the top of the ninth inning, as he singled in Nori Aoki, who reached on an error by Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon.
After Belt singled Posey to third base with two outs, Papelbon struck out Brandon Crawford to end the game.
By Matthew T.F. Harrington
Entering game 2 of the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers had little cause for optimism. Already down one all-world player with Kevin Love sidelined, LeBron James and co. were dealt a devastating blow when all-star guard Kyrie Irving broke his knee in the game 1 overtime loss. Following game 2, the Cavaliers have found new life and a fresh start.
The Cavs bested the Golden State Warriors 95-93 in overtime at Oracle Arena Sunday, evening the NBA Finals at a win apiece. Despite missing the potential game-winner in regulation, LeBron James still dominated the contest. The Cavs superstar notched his 13th career playoff triple-double, scoring 39 points while pulling down 16 rebounds with 11 assists.
James might have had a case of déjà vu. With the score tied at 87 and 8 seconds left, the former Finals MVP had a chance at the game-winner. Just like in the waning moment of game 1, James came up empty, missing a lay-up at the rim to force OT.
In the extra session, the Cavs struck first, with Iman Shumpert hitting a trey. James then went to the line, sinking both free throw to put Cleveland up by 5 with 3:17 left. The Warriors scored the next six points, four on consecutive Draymond Green baskets and a pair of Stephen Curry free throw to take the 93-92 lead with 29 second left.
Following a timeout, James’ jumper was blocked by Green with Andre Iguodala picking up the rebound. Igoudala couldn’t maintain control of the ball though, turning the ball over while resetting the Cleveland shot clock with 18 seconds left. From there, Cleveland’s unlikely hero stepped up.
After another James jumper missed with 11 seconds left, St. Mary’s product Matthew Dellavedova reeled in the offensive rebound. He was then fouled by Harrison Barnes, hitting both free throws with 10 seconds left to put Cleveland up by one.
At the other end, Curry missed a jump shot that would have put the Warriors up. Barnes was then forced to foul James, who sunk one of two from the charity stripe to put Cleveland up 95-93 with four seconds left. The Warriors inbounded the ball quickly, but Curry turned the ball over to Shumpert to wrap up the loss for the home team.
Curry struggled throughout the night to find his scoring touch after being dogged by Irving’s replacement, the gritty Dellavedova. The current MVP scored only 19 points, going 5 for 23 from the field. Curry hit only 2 of 15 three-pointers on a night where the whole team went cold from downtown. Out of 35 attempts, only 8 treys went in for the Dubs.
Klay Thompson accounted for half the production from beyond the arc, hitting 4 of 12. The second half of the Splash Brothers had a breakout contest, scoring 34 points on 14-28 shooting over nearly 46 minutes of play. Harrison Barnes (11) and Draymong Green (10) were the only other Warriors to reach double-digit scoring. For the Cavs, Timofey Mozgov (17) and J.R. Smith (13) joined James in double-figure.
Despite being the shorthanded team, the Cavaliers looked to have the game well in hand. They led the NBA’s regular season wins leaders by 11 points with five minutes left. Led by Curry’s 7 points, the Warriors outpaced the Cavs down the stretch 19-8.
Golden State opened up the game on an 11-6 scoring run and built a quarter-high 8-point lead at 20-12 with 3:12 left in the 1st quarter, but the Cavs closed out the half on an 8-0 run to pull even. Again the Warriors built a 6-point lead in the 2nd, leading 31-25 halfway through the frame but Cleveland went on a 15-2 run to take a 40-33 edge. The Warriors clawed back, often finding themselves only two points back or even, but never led again until the 93-92 advantage in overtime.
The series now shifts to Cleveland for Tuesday night’s game 3. After already setting history as the first Finals to have games 1 and 2 go to overtime, who knows what these two teams will have in store at Quicken Loans Arena in two days.
The San Jose Earthquakes had to swallow a disappointing nil-nil draw at home on Sunday evening, after a host of missed opportunities and a card-slinging ref was the only action the match saw.
The contest started with a streaky first half that saw both teams squander prime scoring opportunities under the hot San Jose sun. After a rather uneventful first 15 minutes of the game, the Earthquakes offense came to life after putting some early pressure on the Dallas defense and goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
It was then Dallas’ turn to return the favor, as Michael Barrios dribbled his way into the San Jose box, but was denied following an athletic save by Quakes keeper David Bingham, who punched the ball over the post to make the leaping save.
The Quakes responded by squandering perhaps the most opportune scoring chance of the first half. Cordell Cato sent a low,bouncing cross from the right side of the pitch that pulled Kennedy out of the goal. Both Mark Sherrod and Clarence Goodson had an attempt at a wide open net, but failed to put a foot on the manageable ball.
The Quakes would threaten one more time, this time on a bouncing header by Victor Bernardez that went high over the goal, before settling for a nil-nil draw heading into the half.
Although his team couldn’t capitalize on the scoring chances, head coach Dominic Kinnear liked the pressure his players were putting on Dallas’ defense.
“I’d rather be generating chances than taking chances the other way,” said Kinnear. “Sometimes scoring eludes ya, and it can be difficult, but I thought our effort was really good tonight.”
The second half saw more red cards than scoring opportunities for both teams, as referee Baldomero Toledo lived up to his trigger-happy reputation. The first came against the Quakes, as Sherrod attempted to stop over Kennedy, who had left the goal to smother a ball. Although seemingly incidental, Toledo sent Sherrod off to the displeasure of both the crowd and head coach Dominic Kinnear.
It was then Dallas’ turn to lose a player, as midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson would run into Cato, who was mid slide on a challenge, earning him an early exit from the game. The third, and final, card of the game was again against San Jose, as JJ Koval was sent off after a lunging challenge towards the foot of a striding Dallas player.
The string of red cards brought the game to a halt, disallowing both teams to gain rhythm or amass any real threat amidst the stoppages.
“I thought we were in for a good second half here,” said Kinnear. “They came out a little bit better in the second half, and then we started playing well. I thought Matias was playing really well for us as well, and then unfortunately the red card really changes things up in a negative fashion, probably for everybody except for Dallas.”
The Quakes had one scoring opportunity, stemming from a Chris Wondolowski header that bounced over Kennedy, but missed just a foot right of the post. The two teams traded possession, and players, before time ran out for a nil-nil tie to end what was a disappointing game for the Quakes.
Although the Quakes had numerous opportunities to earn a win, Kinnear wasn’t ungrateful for the single point his team earned in the tightly contested Western Conference.
“I think we are right in the middle with that one,” said Kinnear. “If you would have asked me at halftime I wouldn’t have taken a point. With the way the game was going I thought we were leaning on them a bit. Soon as you go down a man you obviously think the odds are stacked against you.”
The Earthquakes will stay in the South Bay for a match against Sacramento Republic FC on Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.
At the end of the season, every member of the Oakland Athletics will have tried to forget game number 59. Game 59 was played on Sunday in Boston and the A’s lost 7-4.
With the win, the Red Sox (27-31) completed a three-game sweep of Oakland. The loss dropped the A’s record to 3-3 on the six-game road trip which is an acceptable result on a road trip. The A’s (23-36) will want to forget the game on Sunday because they should have won the game.
The Red Sox finished the game with seven runs, 13 hits and no errors. The A’s posted four runs on 11 hits and had no errors.
The winning pitcher was knuckleballer Steven Wright who is 3-2 for the year. The save went to Tommy Layne – his first save of the season.
The loss was hung on Tyler Clippard (0-3). Clippard was also charged with his second blown save of the year.
The death blow was issued by the Red Sox in the bottom of the eighth inning. The A’s held a 4-0 lead with starter Kendall Graveman on the hill. Graveman gave up a lead-off home run to Runsey Castillo, and A’s manager Bob Melvin handed the game over to his relief corps.
The four A’s relievers failed to get the job done as they gave up six runs on seven hits to to 10 Red Sox batters. When the disaster of an inning was over, Boston led the game 7-4 – the eventual final score.
Men Left on Base
The relief pitching did fail to get the job done, but the A’s really lost the game in the top of the fourth inning.
The A’s did score a run in the fourth inning; however, they had the bases loaded with no outs and failed to bring another run across the plate. Another run or two in that inning would have dramatically changed the complexion of the game.
The A’s have been plagued with leaving runners in scoring position all season. On Sunday, the A’s were 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Those nine runners left on base came home to haunt them at the end of the game.
By contrast, the Red Sox went 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
On the Bump
Kendall Graveman gave the A’s a quality start on Sunday. Graveman pitched 7-plus innings (he faced one batter in the eighth inning). He gave up one run (earned) on six hits while striking out six and walking just two Boston hitters. Graveman threw 101 pitches for 66 strikes.
Graveman’s trademark sinkerball was giving him trouble in the early innings. Rather than sinking, it was staying flat and moving in and out over the plate. The lack of sink seemed to throw the Red Sox hitters out of sync and Graveman recorded an unusually high number of strike outs for the game. His sinker began to sink more as the game progressed.
Clay Buchholz never looked comfortable on the mound for the Sox. He gave up 4 runs (all earned) on 10 hits. He struck out four while walking two batters. Buchholz threw 102 pitches in his 4.2-innings of work.
Out of the Bullpen
Evan Scribner came on in relief of Graveman in the eighth inning. He promptly gave up a base hit to Pedroia which kicked off the Red Sox rally. Graveman is now 9-for-28 (.311) versus first hitters for the season. It is tough to have a quality relief appearance when you give up that many hits to the first batter you face.
Scribner gave up three runs on three hits. He did not record an out.
Drew Pomeranz faced on hitter and gave up a sacrifice fly to Ortiz.
Clippard was roughed up for three runs (all earned) on four hits. The Boston hitters were guessing correctly on whether Clippard was going to throw a fastball or a change up.
Switch pitcher Pat Venditte came in recorded the final out of the inning for Oakland.
Defense
The defense was not a problem for the A’s on Sunday as they committed no errors. Their only miscue was a passed ball.
In the Batters Box
The A’s had real trouble in this series with a lack of production from the number three, four and five hitters in the order. The middle of the order produced only five hits in the three-game tilt.
Stephen Vogt went 0-for-12 in the three games. Reddick went a respectable 4-for-10 at the plate. Billy Butler went 1-for-13 as the designated hitter. That qualifies as severe power drought.
The bright spot the A’s on offense continues to be Billy Burns. Burns now has a 12-game hitting streak (tied for the longest consecutive hitting streak of the season for the A’s). He went 3-for-13 in the series.
Catcher Josh Phegley also had a decent series at the plate. He went 4-for-7 in the series including two doubles on Sunday.
Up Next
The A’s will have Monday off after the long plane ride home from the East Coast.
The Texas Rangers come to Oakland starting on Tuesday for a three-game series. The Rangers have won seven of their last 10 games. Texas had leap-frogged the Angels to take sole possession of second-place in the AL West.
Sonny Gray (7-2,1.65) will pitch the opener for Oakland. Texas will send RHP Nick Martinez (4-2, 2.89) to the mound to face the Athletics.
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