Month: April 2016

Injury replacement Hahn and two relievers lead the A’s to a shutout of the Astros

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Hahn hot

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Jesse Hahn, step right up. There’s no line, and no reason to wait.

Closing a rocky stretch in which seven different pitchers started the last seven games, Jesse Hahn came out of nowhere to register the most impressive turn, shutting out the Astros on Saturday along with two relievers in the A’s 2-0 win at the Coliseum.

While Hahn figuratively came out of nowhere, literally he’s a replacement for injured starters Felix Doubront and Chris Bassitt, and was the odd man out in spring training, a guy who made 16 starts for Oakland in 2015, and was as up and down as an elevator in a high rise building.

After posting a 6-6 record with a 3.35 ERA, forearm issues struck in July, sidelining Hahn for the remainder of the season, then after some disappointing outings this spring, he wasn’t seen or heard of in these part until Saturday.

With a fastball registering as swift as 97 mph, and plenty of bite on his breaking pitches, Hahn was simply a revelation on Saturday. The powerful right hander pitched into the seventh inning, allowing three hits and two walks, while striking out four. Bob Melvin, a most interested observer given the unsettled nature of his rotation, said as much in his comments following the game.

“Velocity, movement, mixed his pitches, throwing his curveball for a strike, mixing in a changeup, and you’re throwing 96, 97 mph and throwing strikes,” Melvin recounted. “About as good as we’ve seen him.”

Hahn worked fast, a huge advantage for the A’s error-prone defenders, starting 18 of 23 batters with a strike. His ball-strike ratio wasn’t great, so he did fall into some deep counts, but needed just 81 pitches to get the A’s into the seventh inning. By any measure this was the best outing an A’s starter has posted in 2016.

“I was throwing strikes,” Hahn said. “That was the most important thing: strike one and being able to put hitters away.”

One major qualifier in Hahn’s seamless appearance is the current state of the Astros, now tied for the worst record in the American League after winning just seven of 24 in April, and failing to win consecutive games even once. Last April, the Astros shot out of the gate at 15-7 and went from there to a first playoff appearance in 10 seasons.

“We all know we’re capable of playing a lot better,” Houston’s Scott Feldman said. “With May, hopefully something magical happens. We’ll get this thing turned around and start playing to our capabilities.

Feldman threw three innings of scoreless relief, after Chris Devenski went five innings, allowed both Oakland runs and took the loss. It was an exchange of roles as Devenski, a reliever, replaced the struggling Feldman in Houston’s rotation. Devenski pitched well, but pitched tentatively in the second, according to manager A.J. Hinch, when he allowed Billy Burns’ two-run single scoring Yonder Alonso and Josh Phegley.

Against Hahn, Carlos Correia’s one-out, double in the seventh qualified as Houston’s biggest—and only—blow. After Hahn departed, John Axford and Ryan Madson finished the job. Madson walked a couple of batters, giving Houston a sliver of light, but cleanup hitter Evan Gattis grounded into a game-ending double play with two baserunners aboard.

The A’s finished 13-12 in April, the third time in four years, excluding last April, that the A’s have posted a winning record in the opening month. Texas defeated the Angels Saturday night, 7-2, to maintain their 1 ½ game lead over Oakland in the AL West with Seattle in second, a game ahead of the A’s.

On Sunday, Rich Hill starts for Oakland, and Doug Fister gets the ball for Houston, with the Astros looking to avoid a three-game sweep. The 32-year old Fister has lost three consecutive starts, and his 5.56 ERA is more than two runs higher than his career mark.

Eight straight for the Mets

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By Jeremy Kahn

AP photo: New York Mets Michael Confronto hits a double in his sixth straight game setting a franchise record he went 3-4 on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants

Who would have thought the New York Mets would one such a great team this quickly, but they are here to stay.

Michael Confronto and Wilmer Flores each hit home runs, as the Mets won their eighth straight game with a hard fought 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field.

Not only have the reigning National League Champions won eight in a row, but they have eon 11 out of their 12.

With the Mets leading 6-3 in the top of the eighth inning, the Giants were able to load the bases with no outs; however Hunter Pence’s bid at a grand slam just ended coming up short and was caught for the first out of the inning. Yes, the Mets was cut to 6-4, and then Brandon Crawford but another sacrifice fly to narrow the lead down to one.

Jeurys Familia came on to pitch a perfect ninth inning for his eighth save of the season in as many opportunities.

Not only did Confronto hit a home run, but he tied a team record by hitting a double in his sixth straight game, tying the record set by Joe Christopher in 1964.

Jacob deGrom gave up two hits in six innings of work to improve his record to 3-0 on the season, and saw his earned run average lower to 1.02, as all three runs he allowed were unearned

Matt Cain fell 0-3 on the season, as he allowed six runs on seven hits in six innings on the mound. Cain last won on July 22, 2015, a career-worst 12 starts.

Quakes end Philly’s winning streak a man down

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~ Photo by Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Simon Dawkins gave San Jose another late goal, as he scored in the 83th minute, garnering a 1-1 tie with the Philadelphia Union Saturday.

Though technically the Union are still unbeaten at home, through four games this season and six overall, it was a hard earned point for the Quakes. They have now extended their MLS-high active streak to 22 games with a goal.

Dawkin’s goal, after shaking off defenders down the middle, was just the second goal given up by Philadelphia during their winning streak (10-2). It was the Union’s lowest scoring game at home this season, where they average at least two goals.

San Jose goalie David Bingham made his first and only save against a C.J. Sapong header in the 26th minute.

Chris Pontius made it 1-0 in the 30th minute. He got his second goal in as many games, both in the first half, as he headed a corner kick from Tranquillo Barnetta to the right netting.

The Quakes’ Fatai Alashe was awarded a yellow card one minute later and came close to getting another card not too long after.

Teammate Godoy also received a yellow in the 35 minute.

Alberto Quintero had a close shot against Andre Blake in the 43th minute

Innocent, playing for an injured Quincy Amarikwa and Sapong led with two shots apiece in the first half.

In the 59th minute, San Jose went a man down when Godoy was awarded another yellow, resulting in a red card.

The Quakes’ Matias Perez Garcia came in as a substitution in the 76th minute, taking Shea Salinas’ place at the corner flag. Shaun Francis was wide open, but shot high.

Sapong and Dawkins finished the game with three shots apiece.

Game notes: Before the game, Philadelphia’s Brian Carroll was honored for playing in 350 MLS games. San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski played in his 200th game. It was the Quakes’ first road tie against the Union in the all-time series. The Quakes were without a suspended Andres Imperiale. With his fifth yellow in six games, San Jose will now be without Godoy for the next two games. The Quakes now head to a back-to-back road contest for the first time this season, starting May on Saturday the 7th, facing Seattle at 7pm.

 

Alonso Hits Walk-Off Homer After Manaea’s Debut

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: The Oakland A’s Yonder Alonso gets the cream pie treatment from teammate Josh Reddick during post game interview at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night

OAKLAND, Calif. – It wasn’t the storybook debut Sean Manaea and his contingent of 22 friends and family members in attendance had in mind when he faced the Houston Astros Friday night, but the Oakland Athletics ultimately did pull out the 7-4 win. Yonder Alonso blasted a walk-off home run while Coco Crisp and Marcus Semien also went deep for the Athletics.

Manaea, the A’s top prospect acquired from Kansas City last season for Ben Zobrist, pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 earned runs to appear on his way to his first career loss. The A’s (12-12) scored 5 runs in the final two innings to let him off the hook.

Despite his team trailing 4-2 by the time he was given the hook, the 6-foot-5 Manaea was very effective in his major league debut. He threw 87 pitches, 50 for strikes. He punched out 5 Astros hitters, and saw the majority of damage come in the 6th inning.

“I thought he was good,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “That’s not an easy line-up for a lefty to go through.”

After Manaea yielded a solo homer to Evan Gattis in the top of the 2nd, Coco Crisp homered off Houston starter Mike Fiers in the bottom half with a runner on to give the A’s a 2-1 lead. It looked like it would be all the runs the A’s needed with Manaea dealing, but the “Throwin’ Samoan” struggled with command to open the 6th.

“There were some nerves,” said Melvin. “It being his first start, there’s no question. I thought overall though he pitched well. It was not the ball-strike ratio he normal has, but for his first start against that line-up I thought it was good overall.”

The southpaw plunked George Springer to open the inning, then issued a base on balls to Carlos Correa. Gattis again burned Manaea, singling home Springer with no outs while chasing the 24-year-old from the game. Sean Doolittle would induce a shallow pop-up from Colby Rasmus but first baseman Tyler White singled home another run to give Houston a 3-2 lead. Doolittle got Carlos Gomez out, but switch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez hit a one-hop ground rule double to plate another run. Ryan Dull would strikeout Erik Kratz to end the frame.

Oakland’s chances at a W were dim with Fiers on the mound, but after his 7 innings of 7-hit, two run ball, the A’s took advantage of a vulnerable Astros bullpen. Marcus Semien welcomed reliever Ken Giles to the game by blasting a solo homer into the 2nd deck just inside the left foul pole to cut the lead to one. The next batter Billy Burns singled, swiped second base, then advanced to third on a throwing error from Kratz behind the dish. Burns would score on Jed Lowrie’s sacrifice Fly to tie the game.

The A’s narrowly avoided facing an Astros lead heading into the 9th with Ryan Madson on the mound after Carlos Gomez hit a drive that hit off the top of the wall in center. The greedy Gomez chose to challenge Burns’ arm and attempt to advance to third, paying the price by making the first out at third base. From there Madson (10-, 1.54 ERA) retired the next two batters, setting up Alonso’s dramatics.

Oakland’s 9th inning rally began with Stephen Vogt doubling off reliever Tony Sipp (0-1, 5.40). Astros manager A.J. Hinch tabbed Pat Neshek to try to strand the runner, but pinch-hitter Mark Canha moved the runner to third on a sacrifice bunt. Neshek issued an intentional walk to Coco Crisp, setting up the showdown with Alonso with a fly ball in the outfield ending the contest.

Alonso, not your average first baseman, is known more for his glovework than his offensive output. His batting average is well below the Mendoza line and his power ceiling is in the high single digits. That didn’t matter Friday though, as Alonso crushed a Neshek offering into the bleachers in right field for his first Athletics homer and the 7-4 decision.

“We would have taken anything in the outfield grass,” said Melvin. “But right field bleachers works too.”

Game 2 of the series is tomorrow at O.Co Coliseum with Jesse Hahn making his 2016 debut in place of the injured Chris Bassit. He’ll be facing off against Chris Devenski who will be making his first career major league start Saturday for the Astros (7-16).

“We want to play better at home here,” said Melvin. “Anytime you have a comeback, that’s nice.”

Barracuda eliminated from playoffs with Game 4 loss in Ontario

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By: Eric He

photo by the San Jose Barracuda: The Barracuda congratulate the Ontario Reign after loosing the first round of the playoffs three games to one

The San Jose Barracuda’s season came to an end on Friday night with a 4-1 loss to the Ontario Reign in Game 4 of the Pacific Division Semifinals, falling 3-1 in the best-of-five series.

Up 2-1 heading into the third period, the Reign scored twice in the final stanza to pull away and clinch the series.

Like in Game 3, the Barracuda felt behind early. Midway through the first period, Nic Dowd scored on a rebound to give the Reign a 1-0 lead.

But San Jose evened the score midway through the second period on a Jeremy Langlois deflection goal. The tie would be short-lived, though.

As Aaron Dell was screened, Justin Auger’s shot got through and in two minutes later to regain the lead for the Barracuda, and Ontario led 2-1 heading into the third.

Jordan Samuels-Thomas opened up a two-goal lead for the Reign five minutes into the third and Andrew Crescenzi put the game away with an empty-net goal as the Barracuda failed to muster much offense in the final period to keep their season alive.

The Barracuda were outshot 35-19 by the Reign and will now prepare for the 2016-2017 season.

NHL Playoffs, Game 1, Round 2: Sharks Take Preds Down 5-2

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Joel Ward 42 celebrates scoring goal with teammates in third period in game one at SAP Center

SAN JOSE– The Sharks beat the Nashville Predators in the first game of the NHL’s Western Conference Semi-Finals. The Sharks won by a score of 5-2, with goals from four different shooters. Logan Couture scored a power play goal and an empty netter. Tomas Hertl, Joel Ward and Tommy Wingels all added to the tally. Mike Fisher and Ryan Johansen scored for Nashville, and Pekka Rinne made 33 saves on 36 shots. Martin Jones made 29 saves for the Sharks on 31 Nashville shots.

The Sharks looked tentative in the first period, as did the Predators. Perhaps the teams were feeling each other out, perhaps the Sharks were rusty and the Preds tired, but not very much happened in the first period. By the third period, the Sharks were firing on all cylinders and running away with the game. Sharks fans can only hope this is indicative of how the team will play this series.

The game was uneventful until one of the Nashville skaters tripped over a breaking Sharks and fell into Pekka Rinne, taking out the goalie and his net. That play was reviewed but no goal was awarded.

The next noteworthy event was a penalty called against Melker Karlsson for hooking. The Sharks’ penalty kill started pretty well, with play moving out of the Sharks zone and into the Predators’ zone for a good part of a shift. Nashville eventually made it back in and stayed a spell but the Sharks did not give them much to shoot at. Nashville had a couple of better chances just after the penalty expired but the Sharks kept the puck out of their net.

The Sharks made a good push during the final minutes of the first period, hemming the Preds in and evening up the shot count. For most of the period, the Sharks trailed in shots by a few. At the end of the period, the Predators led 12-11, but the score was still tied at nil.

The second period started out stoppage-heavy. It seemed like one every 10 seconds but that probably was not the case. At 2:45, Matt Nieto was called for tripping Colin Wilson, which the crowd booed with gusto.

The Sharks’ penalty kill looked like it would be successful, with the Predators being evicted frequently from the offensive zone. In the final seconds of the power play, the Predators took the lead. Mike Fisher caught a pass from Ryan Johansen and held the puck for a moment while drifting backwards into the faceoff circle. He took his shot and it went by three Sharks, including Martin Jones.

The Sharks’ first power play came from an interference call on Eric Nystrom at 5:31. The Sharks’ power play did not score but it was a sight to see. The Predators got the puck out in the first 10 seconds and then not again until the last few. The Sharks put a lot of shots at the net, though few got through. The penalty killers blocked a lot of shots and looked weary by the end of it.

Trailing by a goal, the Sharks did wake up. The Predators did not have a shot on goal [between 11:03 and 2:11 left.], and then they had two before the period ended.

Fifty seconds into the third period, Ryan Johansen was called for holding and the Sharks went on their second power play. This power play did not start up as well as their first power play. It took the Sharks good forty seconds to finally get set up, and then Nashville booted them out after just a couple of chances. The second unit came on (Ward, Vlasic, Hertl, Donskoi and Martin) and changed things up. They started by carrying the puck over the line instead of dumping it in. After that, they survived a broken stick, holding the zone while it was replaced. As the penalty time ran down, Joel Ward took a pass from Marc-Edouard Vlasic and sent it along to Tomas Hertl. Hertl was posted at the corner of the net and quickly put it past Rinne to tie the game. Assists went to Ward and Vlasic.

Ward picked up another point almost ten minutes later, when he took a pass from Joonas Donskoi as they skated into the zone. Ward had enough space to duck one way and go the other, freezing Rinne at the top of his crease. Ward then put the puck behind the goaltender, who reached back with his glove and either missed the puck or knocked it in. It was Ward’s first goal of this post-season, with assists to Donskoi and Brent Burns.

Things deteriorated from there for Nashville. With 4:40 left in the game, Calle Jarnkrok was called for high-sticking Donskoi. Seconds into the power play, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski skated in, moved the puck back and forth a couple of times, and scored again. It was Logan Couture’s goal, that he lifted lightly over Rinne’s pad from close range.

Nashville pulled Rinne with more than two minutes left, and with just under two minutes left, a bouncing puck went over Martin Jones to bring the Predators back within a goal. They kept their net empty. A few seconds after the next faceoff, Logan Couture took advantage of that and restored the Sharks’ two-goal lead.

Tommy Wingels added yet another, in a similar manner but on the other side of the ice. After that, the Predators put backup goaltender Carter Hutton in the net to prevent yet a third empty net goal.

The final shot count was 38-31 Sharks.

Game Two will be on Sunday at 5:00 PT at SAP Center in San Jose.

 

Cespedes and Mets demolish Giants

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By Jeremy Kahn

AP photo: The New York Mets Yoenis Cespedes hits a grand slam in the third inning off the San Francisco Giants is congratulated in the Mets dugout

It was the Yoenis Cespedes and the New York Mets show in the opener of their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants.

Cespedes and his teammates scored a team-record 12 runs in the bottom of the third inning on their way to a 13-1 victory over the Giants at Citi Field.

It was the seventh consecutive victory for the reigning National League Champions, who were led by Cespedes, who drove in a team-record six runs in that third inning off of Giants starter Jake Peavy and reliever Mike Broadway.

Michael Confronto drove in two runs with a double and single, as the Mets spent 39 minutes at the plate in that inning.

The inning began by eight consecutive players getting on base, after starter Steven Matz struck out, Curtis Granderson, David Wright and Confronto all singled and Cespedes cleared the bases with his third career grand slam.

Peavy walked five batters in two innings of work, and allowed six runs on four hits, in seeing his record fall to 1-2 on the season.

Angel Pagan drove in the only run for the Giants, as he hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning.

MLB Podcast with Tony Renteria: Marlins connection? Gordon says he unknowingly took PEDs; references towards Bonds Gordon’s batting coach

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photo by fantasybaseballcrackerjacks file photo: Miami Marlins Dee Gordon left and batting coach Barry Bonds left behind the cage before a Marlins game

The Miami Marlins are second baseman Dee Gordon suspended on Friday for 80 games for turning out positive for performance enhancing drugs. Gordon said that he had unknowingly took PEDs. Gordon with a slight stature had signed a $50 million five year deal with Miami. The excuse of not knowingly taking steroids sound awfully familiar to Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds excuse when he was testifying during the BALCO/steroids scandal when he was playing for the Giants. Bonds told the grand jury at the time in 2005 in San Francisco Federal Court that he had taken performance enhancers unknowingly.

Gordon last season was the National League hitting champion last season and with Bonds being his hitting coach some people have compared the two players and both used the excuse that they didn’t knowingly used steroids. Gordon will not be able to return to action until July.

Tony Renteria does the MLB podcasts each week right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Categories MLB

Barracuda on brink of elimination with Game 3 loss to Ontario

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By: Eric He

photo by San Jose Barracuda: The Ontario Reign find the back of the net in their 3-1 win over the San Jose Barracuda to take a 2-1 lead in the AHL Playoffs at Citizens Business Bank Arena Thursday night

The San Jose Barracuda dropped Game 3 to the Ontario Reign 3-1 on Thursday night, and they now trail 2-1 in the best-of-five series.

The Reign dominated on the shot counter, outshooting the Barracuda 43-15. It showed on the scoreboard, as Ontario controlled the first period, jumping ahead 1-0 on a deflection by Adrian Kempe off a shot by Michael Mersch.

In the second period, the Reign took advantage of a major penalty to Trevor Parkes on a power play goal by Nic Dowd. They extended their lead in the third period as Adrian Kempe converted on an odd-man rush.

Troy Groesnick replaced Aaron Dell in net midway through the third for the Barracuda, and Nikolay Goldobin put them on the board shortly afterwards, but it was too little, too late in a two-goal defeat.

In a game where the Barracuda were outplayed and out chanced by the top-seed Reign, they will need a much better effort in Game 4 on Friday if they hope to keep their season alive.

Giants get ready to hit the road with some momentum

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By Jeremy Harness

yahoosports.com photo: The San Francisco Giants Brandon Belt who had a great offensive day on Wednesday is looking forward to getting his stroke down at Citi Field in New York starting Friday night

SAN FRANCISCO–Before the Giants head east, they needed to get some kind of rhythm to their game. Thanks to the San Diego Padres and the Miami Marlins, they got just that in abundance.

After getting swept in a four-game series by the Arizona Diamondbacks at home, the Giants needed to get things back on track, and in a hurry. And once again, they got that.

The Giants ruined the San Francisco return of Barry Bonds, now the hitting coach for the Marlins, by taking two of three games at AT&T Park, and then they followed that right up with a three-game sweep of the Padres to get their record back up to above .500.

Their last game, a 13-9 win over San Diego, featured the finest offensive output from the team thus far in the season.

In that game, Hunter Pence went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI while scoring twice himself. Meanwhile, Brandon Belt himself had three hits and knocked in five runs on his own, two of which came on a triple in the fourth inning that brought in Joe Panik and Matt Duffy that extended the Giants’ lead to 8-4.

The first stop of this two-city road trip is New York, as the Giants will head to Citi Field to face the Mets for a three-game series that starts Friday night. Jake Peavy (1-1, 6.86 ERA), who won his last start in a 7-2 victory over the Marlins last Saturday, will take the hill opposite Mets lefty Steven Matz (2-1, 5.40 ERA).

Saturday may prove to be a tall order for the Giants, however, Matt Cain (0-2, 6.43 ERA) will try to get his first win of the season against Mets All-Star righty Jacob DeGrom (2-0, 1.54 ERA).

After the Giants leave New York, they will head to Cincinnati to face the Reds in a three-game series at the Great American Ball Park.