Month: June 2015

Giants continue to be snake bitten

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-When will the San Francisco Giants win a game at the usual friendly confines of AT&T Park.

Ruby De La Rosa went eight strong innings, as the Arizona Diamondbacks completed their first three-game sweep at AT&T Park since July 25-27, 2008 with a 4-0 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 41,310, the 360th consecutive sellout.

De La Rosa allowed four hits, while walking two and striking out six on his way to his fifth win of the season.

Just five days after throwing his first career no-hitter, Chris Heston lasted only five innings, as he allowed three runs on seven hits, walking four and striking out six.

Brandon Crawford committed two errors on the same ball hit by Wellington Castillo in the top of the second inning that allowed Jake Lamb to score from second base.

Chris Owings hit a two-run double to straightway centerfield in the top of the fifth inning that scored Ender Inciarte and Paul Goldschmidt.

A.J. Pollock drove in the fourth and final run of the game with a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Inciarte.

The Giants began to threaten in the bottom of the ninth, as Joe Panik doubled and then Brandon
Belt, but then Brandon Crawford struck out and then Casey McGehee walked to load the bases for pinch-hitter Buster Posey, who batted for Justin Maxwell.

Posey ended the game, as he grounded into a double play.

Not again!: A’s squander Graveman’s career-best start and lose 1-0 to the Angels

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By Morris Phillips

Not another donut…

Unfortunately, the shutout has become the A’s most likely manner in which to suffer a loss. After falling 1-0 in Anaheim to the Angels on Saturday night, the A’s have been shutout 13 times in their last 119 games dating back to August 1, 2014.

Causing even more pain, the A’s have lost 1-0 four times in that span, a period in which the A’s have gone from the team with the major’s best record to the team with the worst record and then to their current status, 25-39, which ranks them dead last among American League teams.

Hoping to make up some ground this weekend on third place Anaheim, the A’s have slipped further back in the AL West, trailing first-place Houston by 10 ½ games after the Astros fell to the Mariners on Saturday.

The A’s have dropped six of eight, immediately following a stretch in which they won six of seven.

In a season equally frustrating and confounding, the A’s have actually scored more runs than they’ve allowed—almost unheard of for a last-place club—another byproduct of all the narrow losses. The A’s have captured just seven of the 34 games they’ve played that were decided by two runs or less.

All that competitive pain often falls on some players more than others, and on Saturday it landed squarely on Kendall Graveman like a cartoon character wandering under a baby grand piano as it falls violently to the street.   Graveman was fantastic again—this time in probably the best outing of his big league career—allowing Albert Pujols 538th career home run in the first inning only to watch it stand as the game-winner.

Graveman scattered eight hits over his eight innings of work, striking out seven without allowing any walks. The rookie pitcher also started 23 of the 30 hitters he faced with a strike, a sign of his consistency throughout the outing. His only mistake? Trying to pitch inside to one of the game’s best hitters, who just happens to be on one of the biggest hot streaks of his decorated career.

Pujols’ first inning homer was the 10th he’s hit in the last 15 games, bringing him even with the league leaders in the category—Seattle’s Nelson Cruz and his teammate, Mike Trout—at 18 for the season. During his hot streak, Pujols has hit .373 with just three strikeouts. Given that, Graveman and catcher Josh Phegley’s decision to challenge the slugger inside seems foolish in hindsight.

“I probably threw too many fastballs in that sequence,” Graveman recounted. “That’s on me. The first four innings we pitched one way and the last four we pitched a different way.”

Since Graveman’s return from a minor league stint, he’s 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA, and he’s emerged as Oakland’s second-best starter after Sonny Gray.

But little tidbits like that don’t make the losing any easier to endure.

On Sunday, the A’s look to avoid the sweep when Gray faces Anaheim’s Matt Shoemaker in the 12:35pm start.

Sabercats lose first game of season in overtime stunner to KISS

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By: Eric He

SAN JOSE — In a game featuring two teams speeding in opposite directions – one toward an undefeated season and the other toward the worst record in the AFL – the latter pulled off a major upset, as the Los Angeles KISS handed the San Jose Sabercats their first loss of the season on Saturday night at SAP Center with a 48-42 overtime win.

The KISS (2-9) forced a turnover on downs on the Sabercats’ (11-1) first possession of overtime, and won it with a 16-yard touchdown catch by Demarco Sampson, who just kept his toe inbounds to pull off the victory for Los Angeles.

It was just the KISS’ second win of the season and the Sabercats’ first defeat.

“They played a great game and they made every play possible,” said defensive back Clevan Thomas. “A game like that we have to find a way to win.”

Down 42-35 in the dying seconds, the Sabercats tied the game as time expired with a four-yard touchdown catch by Reggie Gray, and the extra point by Nick Pertuit sent the game to overtime.

The KISS took their first lead of the game early in the fourth on a pick-six by Rayshaun Kizer, who intercepted a pass by Erik Meyer at the Sabercats 19-yard line and returned it untouched for the score to put the KISS up 35-28.

The Sabercats answered with a quick three-play drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown reception by Jeremy Keller with five minutes remaining, only to have the KISS come right back with a three-play drive of their own capped off by a 29-yard score by Donovan Morgan to give the KISS a 42-35 advantage.

Los Angeles hung around in the first half, and, after a stellar third quarter in which they held the Sabercats scoreless and, tied the score at 28-28 with 1:18 to play in the frame on an eight-yard reception by Morgan.

The Sabercats were held to just two touchdowns in the second half as the offense that led the league in points per game heading into the game was unrecognizable. Meyer, who finished with 312 yards on 20-of-42 passing and five touchdowns, was sacked five times and the team committed five turnovers a whole. To add insult to injury, he left the game in overtime after taking a big hit.

“We didn’t get it done offensively,” said head coach Darren Arbet. “I’m sure the guys understand that. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got to practice and get better.”

Added wide receiver Jeremy Kelley, who recorded 126 yards on six catches and a touchdown, “We’re going to bounce back from this. I don’t think we capitalized on every opportunity.”

It was a one-score game at halftime, much tighter than expected despite the Sabercats recording nearly double the amount of total yards (220 vs. 116). After the KISS tied the game at 7-7, Gray scored touchdowns on consecutive drives – the first a tough catch along the boards of the right corner of the end zone, and the second a wide-open 18-yard reception. With his second score, Gray recorded his 200th career touchdown reception.

The two teams traded touchdowns before Laron Scott delivered a 50-yard kickoff return for a score that cut the Sabercats lead to 28-21 at halftime.

The Sabercats scored first less than five minutes into the game on their opening drive. It was a 31-yard touchdown pass from Meyer to D.J. Stephens, streaking down the left side of the field to put San Jose up 7-0 early.

Both defenses held up for the remainder of the quarter – with a little luck from the left goalpost as it rejected Pertuit’s 20-yard field goal attempt – and the KISS were able to tally to start the second and tie the game on a three-yard touchdown completion from Southwick to Austin Franklin.

With the loss, the Sabercats fell just short of setting a franchise-record for consecutive wins to start a season, but to them, it’s no big deal.

Said Thomas: “It’s disappointing but the main thing when we talk about what we want is winning a championship.”

When asked to follow-up on whether this team, like 2002 squad that also fell short of a 12-0 record, could win it all, he responded, “Of course. Without a shadow of a doubt.”

Notes

Coming into Saturday, the Sabercats ranked first in the league in offense (60.6 PPG) and defense (36.8 PPG). … San Jose defeated Los Angeles in Week 2 by the score of 54-28. … The KISS have now won two straight games losing 15 in a row . … At halftime, the Sabercats paid tribute to Omarr Smith, a longtime player and current Assistant Head Coach.

Losing streak reaches seven

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-After a great road trip that saw the San Francisco Giants go 4-2, the defending World Champions returned home and their losing ways at home continue.

Allen Webster was dominant, as he threw five innings of no-hit ball, before allowing a double to Joe Panik in the bottom of the sixth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Giants 4-2 before 42,006, the 359th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

Making his Diamondbacks debut, Webster went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, while walking three and striking out two.

The Giants have now lost seven in a row at home, their longest losing streak at home since losing seven in a row from May 14-31, 2008.

It was a tough outing for Ryan Vogelsong, who gave up three runs in the first inning, before being relieved after just 3.2 innings, where he allowed four runs on six hits, walking five and striking out one.

Vogelsong got the first two batters of the first out, but Paul Goldschmidt began a streak where six consecutive Diamondbacks reached base via a walk or a single. The nightmarish inning came to a close when Vogelsong got Webster to flyout to Angel Pagan in centerfield to end the 39-pitch first.

After Vogelsong was lifted in favor of Yusmeiro Petit, the bullpen of Petit, Mike Broadway, who made his major league debut, Jeremy Affeldt and George Kontos was lights out, as they allowed just one hit over the final five and one-thirds of the game.

Buster Posey extended his hitting streak up to eight straight, and is batting .353 with seven RBIs during the streak.

Asides from Broadway making his major league debut, Jarrett Parker made his major league debut in right field and went 0-for-3. Broadway gave up a hit and struck out a batter in his only inning of work.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Switching Bogut for Iguodala was something Cavs never expected

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by David Zizmor

In the first three games of the NBA Finals the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James dominated those games and the Golden State Warriors strategy going into those games was they were going to let LeBron have the ball and not let him distribute the ball to anybody else. That wasn’t working in game three and LeBron scored 44 points for his highest post season total in his career.

LeBron just dominanted in the first three games and he scored more points than anybody ever in the first three games in the NBA Finals. He was just killing everybody and everything was working for him. Granted he was also playing 44 minutes a night he was wearing himself out in the process. He was dominating and had LeBron continued like that the Warriors would have been in a lot of trouble.

What happened in game four on Thursday night at Quick and Loans was the Warriors had a complete shift in strategy and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr lied to everybody which later he admitted he lied to everyone and pulled Andrew Bogut out of the starting lineup for game four. Kerr ened up putting Andre Iguodala in.

It was a small group for the Warriors and that small group just dominated the game but what it did it gave the Warriors the mindset to get into their particular style of game instead of the Cavaliers style of being down 20 seconds until they shoot the ball offense. The Warriors by going with their small ball group their just faster and they get up and down the floor more and they get into a rhythm.

That was the game plan and they’ve done it all season long and with Bogut on the floor their able to do that as Cleveland has some answers for Bogut in preparing for the Warriors with a counter move. That counter move was to put Iguodala in the starting line and he’s done it 100 games and he gets in there and he’s a fantastic defender and he’s been amazing in this whole series even though LeBron has done so well.

When Iguodala is on him LeBron has struggled and in this game with LeBron covered by with Iguodala for most of the game LeBron had his worst game of the series he scored 20 points in game four and the Warriors got their mojo back it’s really kind of simple as that and they played the style that they liked and they were comfortable and they really got it going.

David Zizmor covers the NBA for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to his podcast below

Bullpen Gives Up Two Homers In Eighth, A’s Lose 5-4

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Oakland Athletics' Billy Butler, right, talks to home plate umpire Ted Barrett after striking out during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, June 12, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Oakland Athletics’ Billy Butler, right, talks to home plate umpire Ted Barrett after striking out during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, June 12, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

By Kahlil Najar

LOS ANGELES – The lead changed five times throughout the game and the A’s came out the loser tonight as Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun both homered in the bottom of the eighth to give the Angels a 5-4 victory.

Evan Scribner (1-1) who earned the loss today gave up both costly home runs in the bottom of the eighth.”Today it was all me. Two pitches up in the zone. That’s all it was. I can’t make mistakes to those guys.”

“We have to execute better pitches than that,” said head coach Bob Melvin, “It’s not the starters. That’s not the issue. The starters have been the best in the American League this year. Offense hasn’t been a problem for us. Offense has been good, starting pitching has been good. Some other facets haven’t, and they’ve cost us games.”

The Oakland relievers have now cost the A’s 15 losses this season which is tied for most in the majors and their 4.58 ERA is the highest in the league.

“We really just have to find a way to get better with it,” continued Melvin. “The numbers indicate where we are with it and it’s not good, and it’s the reason we’re losing games like that.”

Offensively for Oakland Brett Lawrie and Josh Phegley hit back-to-back homers in the fourth inning and Josh Reddick ripped a two-run shot in the seventh.

The A’s are now 4-17 in one-run games which makes them league leaders in that gut wrenching category.

The A’s send Kendall Graveman (3-2) against C.J. Wilson (3-5) tomorrow in LA.

A’s Place SP Venditte on the 15-day DL; Recall RHP Leon from Nashville

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OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland A’s placed switch-pitcher Pat Venditte on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 11 with a strained right shoulder, the club announced today.  To take his spot on the roster, the A’s recalled right-handed pitcher Arnold Leon from Triple-A Nashville.
Venditte was selected from Nashville June 5 and made his Major League debut that night at Boston with 2.0 scoreless innings.  He became the first switch-pitcher to appear in a Major League game since Greg Harris on Sept. 28, 1995.  Venditte did not allow a run in four games and 5.2 innings with the A’s.
Leon joins Oakland for the third time this year and has a 5.06 ERA in five relief appearances in his Major League debut.  He appeared in one game during his first stay from April 22 to 23 and made four appearances during his second stint from May 20 to June 3.  The 26-year-old right-hander made one relief appearance following his option on June 4 against Salt Lake, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings.  Leon is 0-3 with a 3.93 ERA in seven games, six starts, overall for the Sounds.

Anderson lights out in win

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Chase Anderson was eight outs away from baseball immortality, but Buster Posey got in the way of that.

Anderson threw 6.1 innings of no-hit ball on his way to going seven innings, allowing just that one hit, walking one and striking out two and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the San Francisco Giants 1-0 before 41,952, the 358th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

Posey hit a comebacker off of Anderson’s calf, and Posey beat it out down the line for the Giants first hit of the game.

The win by the Diamondbacks broke their four-fame losing streak, and gave Anderson his second win of the season.

Madison Bumgarner went eight innings, allowing nine hits (all singles), walking three and striking out seven. This was the first time since last August that Bumgarner pitched at least eight innings in back-to-back starts.

Ender Inciarte drove in the only run of the game in the top of the second inning, as he singled in Wellington Castillo, who singled to lead off the inning.

Joe Panik saw his 15-game hitting streak come to an end, as he went 0-for-4. Panik’s streak of reaching base in 23 straight games also ended. Both streaks were major league highs thus far during the 2015 season.

This was the sixth straight loss by the Giants at AT&T Park, their longest such streak since losing seven in a row from May 14-31, 2008.

Prior to the game it was announced that Hunter Pence was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and the team selected to purchase the contract of right-handed pitcher Michael Broadway from Sacramento.

Glendale City Council up to its old tricks in new battle with Coyotes

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NHL COMMENTARY

By DANIEL DULLUM

Sports Radio Service

Thursday, June 11, 2015

PHOENIX, Arizona – In a not-so-surprising move, the Glendale City Council voted 5-2 Wednesday to break a 15-year, $225 million lease agreement signed by Glendale and IceArizona – the owners of the Arizona Coyotes – after the troubled team was purchased from the NHL two years ago.

Glendale’s leadership team (that’s a loose term) has never been happy with the terms of the deal and on Wednesday, the city employed the same deft touch that convinced the National Football League to move most of its Super Bowl activities to downtown Phoenix.

While the City of Glendale said it would proceed to book events at Gila River Arena, the Coyotes ownership group responded with a $200 million lawsuit against Glendale, along with a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from ending the original deal.

Aiding the Coyotes in this action is an army of high-end attorneys on retainer with the NHL, which has no intention of moving the club out of the desert and away from a top ten television market in the US.

In a statement, the NHL called Glendale’s actions “outrageous and irresponsible,” adding that the league “stands by and will fully support, the Arizona Coyotes in their efforts to vindicate their contractual rights.”

This is a legal battle that could drag on indefinitely. But remember, Glendale is dealing with a league that, 20 years ago, shut itself down for an entire season to get what it wanted. In this particular game of chicken, the NHL won’t be the one that flinches.

Rumors that used to bounce around are making a comeback, having the Coyotes land anywhere from Seattle to Portland, Ore., to Quebec City to Las Vegas. But the NHL has too much time and resources invested in establishing a franchise in a market that has had a healthy core of hockey fans since the old Phoenix Roadrunners from the Western Hockey League showed up in 1967. But the NHL and the Coyotes are still trying to recover from the damage inflicted – on and off the ice – by four years of being underfinanced wards of the league.

Sports talk radio in the Valley have again revved up old complaints about the team being “way out there in Glendale,” about 25 miles from downtown Phoenix, wishing they would move back to U.S. Airways Center, where they played after moving from Winnipeg. That would be nice, except the old obstructed seat issues that forced the Coyotes out in the first place still exist.

There’s talk that the NBA Suns are looking for a new playpen, claiming their 23-year-old arena is now antiquated. The City of Phoenix hasn’t said anything publically about that. It should also be noted that while a new arena to host both the Suns and Coyotes would solve the Coyotes’ problems, the hockey team needs the Suns more than the other way around.

The Suns were the first major league franchise here, and that status carries significant weight. It’s the Suns’ town. If a shared arena downtown came to pass, there’s no question the Suns would get the primary scheduling dates. Coyotes management has to know that. And the Suns know they could get a newer arena without any involvement from the Coyotes.

If the restraining order is upheld, the Coyotes will play at Gila River Arena. If not, a decision must come quickly, and in all likelihood, they would have to accept secondary dates at U.S. Airways, as the old Veterans Memorial Coliseum is exactly that – old. Fifty years old. It’s beyond doubtful that Phoenix or Maricopa County has any interest in pouring money into the market’s first “big” arena.

On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that one Phoenix city council member suggested that a return to downtown for the Coyotes could be seriously considered.

If that happens, the Glendale City Council will learn quickly what it’s like to have a white elephant on its hands.

Daniel Dullum covers the NHL for Sports Radio Service.

Cuddyer denies Giants’ sweep

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By Jeremy Harness

The Giants could not complete the three-game sweep at City Field on Thursday, but at least they earned a valuable series win, particularly one on the road against a team with a winning record.

The sweep was taken away in the bottom of the ninth, when Michael Cuddyer’s single off reliever Sergio Romo brought in Curtis Granderson to hand the Giants a 5-4 loss to the New York Mets.

Tim Lincecum didn’t pitch terribly, but he ended up using too many pitches in a short period of time, which made his numbers look worse than they actually were. He gave up a pair of earned runs (three total) on only four hits, walking three and striking out five while keeping the Giants in the game.

However, he was only able to go 4 2/3 innings, due in large part to the fact that he used 102 pitches in the process.

He rolled through the first three innings without surrendering a run but ran into a little trouble in the fourth, as Travis d’Arnaud singled in a run to cut the Giants’ lead to a single run. In the next inning, Lincecum saw his lead evaporate and found his team trailing by one after a sac fly followed by a double by Cuddyer gave the Mets a 3-2 lead.

After that hit, Lincecum was pulled for Yusmeiro Petit, who got the Giants out of that inning without any further damage.

Brandon Crawford blasted the Giants back into the lead with a two-run homer in the sixth inning with two outs. However, Granderson responded in the next frame with an RBI single to tie things up off reliever Hunter Strickland to set up Cuddyer’s walk-off to send the Giants home on a sour note.

Regardless, the Giants will now head home – after a successful road trip – for a three-game series against Arizona that starts Friday before the Seattle Mainers come into town for a two-gamer at AT&T Park. The Giants and Mariners will then head north to Seattle for a two-game set at Safeco Field.