Month: April 2017

Davis’ 2 Homers Not Enough, A’s Drop Fifth Straight in Houston 9-4

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Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis (2) hits a home run as Houston Astros catcher Evan Gattis reaches for the pitch during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, April 28, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Two home runs from Khris Davis weren’t enough for the Oakland A’s to snap a four-game losing streak Friday night in Houston, with the Astros erasing a 3-0 deficit to win 9-4. Jharel Cotton (2-3, 5.00 ERA) gave up 6 runs over 4 1/3 innings for the A’s, being outdueled by Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.50 ERA) and his 10 K’s.

Davis continued his red-hot 2017 season, launching a three-run shot in the top of the first inning for his 8th homer of the year. The Astros erased the 3-0 lead though with Carlos Beltran, Yuli Gurriel and Evan Gattis all plating runs.

Davis took Morton deep again in the top of the 3rd, this time with the bases empty to give Oakland a 4-3 lead. It’d be the last run Morton gave up on the night, finishing the game with 7 innings, 5 hits and a dozen punchouts.

Cotton, however, yielded a single in the bottom of the 4th, then couldn’t escape the fifth inning after giving up an RBI single to Evan Gattis and watching as Ryan Dull let an inherited runner score on a sacrifice fly by Alex Bregman. Cotton’s night was over after 4 1/3 innings and six runs, half earned, while striking out four.

Dull closed out the rest of the 5th inning, then made way for longman Cesar Valdez to close out the final three innings of the game with Oakland down 6-4. Gurriel tagged Valdez for a solo homer in the bottom of the 7th, then Carlos Correa doubled in a pair in the 8th to hand Houston the decisive lead. For Houston, former Athletic Luke Gregerson and Ken Giles pitched scoreless innings to hand Oakland a fifth-straight loss.

The A’s will call on Andrew Triggs to right the ship Saturday. Triggs recently fell victim to an 11-1 drubbing from the Seattle Mariners Sunday in what has otherwise been a surprising start. The reliever turned starter has gone 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA this season. He’s opposed by Joe Musgrove for Houston.

Barracuda take 2-1 series lead with 5-3 win over Heat in Game 3

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Photo credit: The AHL Twitter (@TheAHL)

By: Ana Kieu

STOCKTON — The San Jose Barracuda beat the Stockton Heat 5-3 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead at Stockton Arena on Friday night.

Barracuda fans were loud and energized, shouting the “Bar-ra-cu-da” chant just moments before the opening faceoff in enemy territory.

Barclay Goodrow helped the Barracuda grab an early 1-0 lead at 16:11 of the first period. Goodrow knocked in the rebound from Ryan Carpenter’s wraparound attempt, beating David Rittich for his first goal of the playoffs.

Kevin Labanc tipped in a shot from Danny O’Regan to give the Barracuda a 2-0 lead with just 15.1 seconds left in the first.

Shots were 10-8 in favor of the Barracuda, who held a 2-0 lead over the Heat after 20 minutes.

The attention shifted to the Heat in the second period.

Buddy Robinson was called for tripping at 11:02. Just 46 seconds later, Andrew Mangiapane swayed in front of the net and Mike Angelidis beat Troy Grosenick to score a power-play goal —his first goal of the playoffs — and cut the Barracuda’s lead in half.

Brandon Bollig hammered home the rebound to tie the game 2-2 with 6:44 left in the second.

Both teams were tied at two apiece after 40 minutes. Shots were 23-20 in favor of the Barracuda.

The Barracuda were back on top 3-2 with 4:43 left in the period. Carpenter beat Rittich top-shelf, short-side for his third goal of the playoffs.

Timo Meier added an insurance goal to give the Barracuda a 4-2 lead just 1:26 later. After Rourke Chartier got out of the box for goaltender interference, he sent a pass to Meier, who fired it into the net for his first goal of the playoffs.

The Heat didn’t sit and back and relax just yet. Mike Kostka buried a shot from the point to make it a one-goal game with 27.9 seconds left in regulation.

However, the Heat’s comeback fell short as the Barracuda took Game 3 with a 5-3 victory. Buddy Robinson scored an empty-net goal to seal the scoring. Grosenick finished with 30 saves for San Jose.

Rittich made 28 saves in a losing effort for Stockton.

Notes
Barracuda starting lineup
Troy Grosenick
John McCarthy
Barclay Goodrow
Ryan Carpenter
Joakim Ryan
Tim Heed

Barracuda defenders
Joakim Ryan – Tim Heed
Mirco Mueller – Julius Bergman
Jacob Middleton – Nick DeSimone

Up Next
Both teams return to action for Game 4 in Stockton Arena on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. PST. You can tune into the game on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.

Aaron Hernandez saga may just be getting started

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In this still image from video, Aaron Hernandez, right, listens beside defense attorney Ronald Sullivan, Friday, April 14, 2017, in court in Boston, as he is pronounced not guilty of murder in the 2012 shootings of two men in a drive-by shooting in Boston. (WHDH-TV via AP, Pool)

By: Ana Kieu

It’s obvious that former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was a criminal who has done a lot of bad things, but the saga surrounding his death may just be getting started. Hernandez was a rather strange man — very talented, yet very secretive and reserved. He was a man of mystery.

Aaron’s two murder trials clearly affected him, but they also affected his family. They haven’t openly commented since his debatable death. They just put up a sign on the door of their Connecticut home that said “no comment.”

Aaron’s older brother D.J. served as a graduate assistant for the Iowa Hawkeyes’ football team. He tried to land a full-time position, but was unable to do so. He was also willing to coach at the Division II level. Many teams were hesistant to hire him because they wanted to avoid the negative publicity. Aaron’s murder trials affected everything from job opportunities to finding dates. Today, D.J. wants a fresh start and now goes by his middle name Jonathan. He currently runs a roofing business named High Rise Roofing in Wylie, Texas.

Aaron’s father Dennis Hernandez passed away on January 6, 2006 after suffering complications from a routine hernia surgery. He was a custodian at Bristol Eastern High School in Bristol, Connecticut. He enjoyed watching both of his sons play sports. He also enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. Aaron may have been affected by the sudden death of his father. After all, he was only 16 years old at the time.

Following Dennis’ death, Aaron’s mother Terri Valentine-Hernandez married Jeffrey Cummings, who had a criminal record that included drug charges and domestic violence. He attacked Terri with a knife after a night of drinking. He made cuts on her cheek, shoulder and wrist. He went back to prison. Shortly after the violent incident, Terri filed for divorce.

Terri also dealt with problems of her own. She was arrested for getting involved in a gambling ring when she was simply trying to provide for her family. As a result, no charges were filed against her.

Aaron committed suicide by hanging himself with a bed sheet in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster, Massachussetts. Kyle Kennedy was Aaron’s alleged prison boyfriend. This controversial statement was released just days after Aaron’s death.

The war of words got quite heated between the two lawyers. Kennedy’s lawyer Lawrence F. Army Jr., said that Aaron knew the 22-year-old man before either of them went to prison. Army also said that Aaron wrote a note that said “I think I’m going to hang it up, lol.” three weeks before hanging himself.

Meanwhile, Aaron’s lawyer Jose Baez said that he never wrote a suicide note to a prison boyfriend. Baez slammed the rumors, claiming that they were just malicious leaks used to tarnish a dead person. He only confirmed the two letters that Aaron wrote to his fiancee Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez and their four-year-old daughter Avielle.

Aaron’s funeral was held on Monday. The following day, his lawyers asked the court to dismiss the murder conviction. Under the law of Massachussetts, his conviction could be vacated because he died before his appeal was heard. He might’ve killed former Boston Bandits linebacker Odin Lloyd to conceal his bisexuality. As bad as it sounds, it’s understandable if he was bisexual and wanted to hide it from the NFL. It’s arguably the most homophobic sports league among the players, coaches and fans.

Kennedy broke his silence Thursday. He said that he missed his friend Aaron and would like to send his condolences to his mother, fiancee and daughter.

Court records also broke the details on Aaron’s home Thursday. His home in North Attleboro, Massachussetts, is worthless. However, there was an offer made by an undisclosed buyer that was worth $1.3 million. The home includes a pool, a sauna and a movie theater.

Jenkins-Hernandez and Avielle currently live in a condo in North Providence, Rhode Island. It seems like she chose Hernandez over her sister, who dated Lloyd before the time of his death. She’s an unmarried widow now, which is a horrible thing. Her daughter will probably get bullied when she goes to school.

There seems to be no end in sight when it comes to the Hernandez saga.

As of right now, best-selling author James Patterson is currently working on a “true crime story” about Hernandez. Patterson is best known for the Alex Cross series of novels. His upcoming book will be in stores in early 2018.

Oakland A’s Thursday game wrap: Angels sweep Oakland in finale 2-1; A’s Graveman goes six but no run support

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~ AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ ANAHEIM– Los Angeles completed a three game sweep over the A’s Thursday to move back to .500 as the Halos in the final game of the series get a 2-1 win.

It was the Angels’ fourth straight win and the A’s fourth straight loss. Oakland has only produced one run in three of their last four games.

Both starting pitchers kept the game close like the first game of the series, but the scoring started early, unlike that game. This game was the only game of the series with no home runs.

Los Angeles’ Ricky Nolasco (2-2) was the winner this time in a rematch of this year’s Opening Day starters. He had a solid performance with help at the end. Nolasco worked 5.2 innings, giving up three hits and one run while walking two and striking out four. He threw 98 pitches.

A’s starter Kendall Graveman (2-1) was also strong, as he pitched six innings, giving up a season-tying six hits, two runs and four strikeouts while making 84 pitches. It was his first loss.

The Angels’ first inning strike would be all they needed. With two outs, Mike Trout doubled, Albert Pujols brought him in with a single and C.J. Cron brought Pujols in with a double to make it 2-0. Trout now has hits in 11 games and Pujols’ RBI put him at 15th overall with Rafael Palmeiro. Cron went 2 for 3 with the RBI.

On Pujols, Manager Mike Scioscia replied, “Albert, he just keeps going, and everytime he does something, it’s fun to watch the Hall of Famers, the immortals, that he’s in the same conversation with.”

Oakland did not get a hit until their sixth batter. Ryon Healy’s ball got past shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

In the fourth inning, the A’s started the scoring the same way as the Angels. With two outs, Jed Lowrie doubled and Khris Davis put Oakland on the board when his hit dropped in front of Kole Calhoun in right field, making it 2-1.

Graveman saved himself from a jam in the fifth using a rare move. With no outs and runners on the corners, Graveman made a double play around third base when he tagged both Ben Revere and then Cliff Pennington, who both got caught in between bases in the fifth inning. Scioscia said, “I don’t know if I’ve seen a pitcher do that. That’s a tremendous effort on his part.”

With two outs in the sixth, Nolasco got a little loose, walking his first two batters. He got Yonder Alonso into an 0-2 count and then later might have escaped earlier, but Pennington misplayed the ball. With the bases then loaded, Scioscia brought in Blake Parker. Fortunately for the Angels, Parker struck out Healy to end the threat. Nolasco had gone 17 innings without walking a batter.

Graveman struck out Trout and Pujols in the bottom of the inning.

In relief, each side saw a batter get on base. For Los Angeles, Yunel Escobar singled against Daniel Coulombe. For the A’s, with one out, Alonso drew a walk. One out later, Stephen Voght pinch hit and ground out to Bud Norris to end the game.

It was Norris’ fourth save in his last four appearances.

Game notes: Oakland will play the Houston Astros in a three-game series starting Friday at 5:10pm. Nolasco struck out a batter in each of the second through fifth innings. Each of the four relievers that followed him also had a strikeout.

 

Dodgers survive Matt Moore, then strike in the tenth to earn a split with the Giants

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AP17117855176899
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chase Utley, left, slides into home plate to score a run past the tag from San Francisco Giants catcher Nick Hundley, right, on a sacrifice fly by Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez during the tenth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Thursday, April 27, 2017. The Dodgers won 5-1. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants squandered a shot in the ninth.  The Dodgers then put together a combination of shots in the tenth to win it.

In a game with almost no offense–after Corey Seager sent the eighth pitch of the game soaring–the Dodgers’ extra-inning finish had to be termed a flurry.    But their four-run outburst felt modest, propped up by a pair of bases-populating walks, then highlighted by run-scoring singles by Andrew Toles and Justin Turner.

Instead of offense, pitching and defense ruled most of the day.  And Giants’ starter Matt Moore pitched a gem, ironically after he tailor-fitted Seager with a waist-high fastball in the first inning. Moore would motor from there, allowing just two hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts.  After Moore departed, the battle of bullpens desperately seeking consistency commenced.  On Wednesday night, that same battle went to the Giants. On Thursday, the Dodgers’ bullpen bounced back.

“Moore was tough,” Seager said.  “He’s been tough on us the last couple of times we faced him.  So you’re doing whatever you can to scratch for runs, and then in the tenth, we kind of put it together.”

In the tenth, Cody Gearrin walked the first batter, Adrian Gonzalez.  That mistake prompted manager Bruce Bochy to summon his one lefty in the pen, Steven Okert to get the next hitter, who happened to be the .088-hitting Chase Utley.  But Utley reached on an infield chop, and Yasmani Grandal drew a walk to load the bases. Andrew Toles singled to give the Dodgers a lead, and Bochy went back to his pen.

Hunter Strickland coaxed a pop out of Kiki Hernandez, but Buster Posey, playing first base, couldn’t throw out Utley tagging from third.   Seager was intentionally walked, but Strickland gave up a RBI single to Turner, and walked Chris Taylor to force in the fourth run.   Again Bochy had to change pitchers, getting Neil Ramirez to record the third out.

Offensively,  the Giants sustained very little seven singles and no extra base hits. Only Christian Arroyo’s RBI single in seventh had any lasting impact. Slumping hitters were populated throughout the Giants’ lineup on Thursday, most notably Brandon Belt and Eduardo Nunez.

Dodgers’ phenom Julio Urias, the 20-year old starter, made his season debut and looked as if he were in mid-season form.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Melvin’s concern for pitcher Manaea; Can A’s snap 3 game skid tonight; A’s rely on Graveman tonight

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Oakland Athletics’ Matt Joyce, right, celebrates his two-run home run with Trevor Plouffe during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

On the A’s Podcast with Jerry:

#1 How concerned should A’s manager Bob Melvin be after pitcher Sean Manaea had to leave Wednesday night’s game due to shoulder tightness in the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels.

#2 The A’s have been struggling they have lost three in a row and have a get away game with the Halos tonight. A three game series with the first place Houston Astros starts on Friday.

#3 A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman who also had shoulder tightness starts tonight against the Angels.What would Tony say what lends to overcoming his injury and he’s looking to improving his 2-0 record

#4 The A’s Matt Joyce came into Anaheim hitting .157 and came away with a double in the second inning and then a monsterous home run that Joyce skied into the bleachers at the Big A

#5 The A’s went though their bullpen of Montas, Hendriks, Dull, and Valdez which was not much of a remedy the Angels scored four runs in the seventh off A’s relief pitching

Jerry Feitelberg does the Oakland A’s podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB podcast The Show with Tony Renteria: Angels turning things around on A’s; Bucs get a Gift in Ngoepe’s first big league hit; Phils battling to catch Nats; plus more

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Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout is at bat during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

On the MLB Podcast with Tony R:

#1 The Angels have beaten the A’s so far twice in the three game series after suffering in last place in the American League West has the Halos turned the corner?

#2 How special a moment was it for the Pittsburgh Pirates Gift Ngoepe to get his first MLB base hit off of Houston pitcher Josh Harrison and becoming the first African born MLB player ever to get a hit?

#3 The Phillies continue to chip away at the first place Washington Nationals with 7-4 win over the Florida Marlins. Maikel Franco hit his second home run of the month for the Phils.

#4 How huge is San Francisco Giants Michael Morse’s role going to be after taking last year off then returning to MLB and slugging one out in the eighth inning for a home run to force extra innings with the Giants later one winning it 4-3.

#5 The Washington Nationals baseball’s hottest team with a four game lead and an 11-4 win over the Colorado Rockies in DC on Wednesday. The Nats continue to tear up the east with Bryce Harper hitting .423 and had four hits in Wednesday’s game.

Join Tony Renteria each Thursday for the MLB Podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Categories MLB

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Are the flash light rallies paying off for Giants? Maybe they’ve won two of three from LA so far

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On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Does Michael really believe that the app on the on the cell phones during the Giants flash light rallies play into the Giants improving offense it just might the Giants Michael Morse hit the gamer on Wednesday night and it seem like the Giants could be breaking out of their long cold snap winning two out of the last three from the Los Angeles Dodgers with one more meeting to go

#2 How much is Madison Bumgarner really kicking himself for the dirt bike accident and how relieved is he for not having to have to go through surgery

#3 How impressive was Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw with a 2-1 win over the Giants on Tuesday night

#4  The Giants who have brought up Chris Stratton a top selection for the club back in 2012 is up with the club and what does Giants manager Bruce Bochy look and expect from Stratton

#5 In speaking with Giants manager Bruce Bochy does it appear pre mature that he came back too early from his heart rhythm procedure?

Michael Duca does the Giants podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors wait to see if Jazz or Clips will be next for second round

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Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, left, and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, of France, battle for a rebound during the second half in Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 25, 2017, in Los Angeles. The Jazz won 96-92. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor:

Who will be the Golden State Warriors next opponent for the next round? The Utah Jazz are up on the Los Angeles Clippers in their series 3-2 and it’s unpredictable how this series will turn out the Jazz might be the better team especially with Blake Griffin out for the Clippers out with an injury. It’s a four five match up with both teams pretty much with the same record. Utah was threatening to take the fourth seed at the very end.

The Clips and Jazz look pretty evenly matched and if ones better than the other is anybody’s guess and it’s three games to two with the Jazz ahead and the series goes to Utah for game six. The Clippers are not a push over and that game five that Utah won was a close one the final score was 96-92. Utah is never an easy place to win and home court advantage is going to play to their benefit but the Clippers have been in a lot of series and they have been snake bitten over the course of the team’s history.

David Zizmor does the Golden State Warriors podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Oakland A’s Wednesday game wrap: A’s drop third straight move below .500 lose to Angels 8-5 at Big A

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Oakland Athletics center fielder Jaff Decker dives in an unsuccessful attempt to catch a double hit by Los Angeles Angels’ Martin Maldonado during the second inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By Jessica Kwong

ANAHEIM–Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sean Manaea left the Wednesday night game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after just two innings and 34 pitches due to left shoulder tightness, and it was downhill from there for the A’s.

With the 8-5 loss at Angel Stadium, the A’s dropped 0-2 in the three-game series and fell back below .500 at 10-11.

“It’ll certainly be nice to get Kendall (Graveman) back tomorrow and Sonny (Gray) back soon,” manager Bob Melvin said of Oakland’s top two starters on the disabled list. “Hopefully this isn’t a long-term problem with Sean.”

In the first inning, Yonder Alonso gave the A’s an early lead with a two-run single off Matt Shoemaker. Jed Lowrie and Khris Davis scored, putting Oakland up 2-0.

But the Angels fought back in the second inning. Danny Espinosa doubled on a fly ball to center fielder Jaff Decker and Andrelton Simmons scored to cut the A’s lead to 2-1. Cameron Maybin bounced a single to Decker to send in Espinosa and tie the game at 2-2.

Then Martin Maldonado doubled on a line drive to right fielder Matt Joyce allowing Maybin to score, and giving the Angels a 3-2 lead.

Left-hander Manaea’s pitching velocity was down several miles per hour to the 88s and 89s.

“I had to get it out of him. I asked him after the first inning how he was doing. He said he felt good, said he felt fine, trying to let it go and we weren’t seeing the explosiveness,” Melvin said. “But after the second inning, it kept going in that direction, it wasn’t getting any better, so it was prudent to get him out of there.”

Manaea said he last experienced similar shoulder tightness in spring 2014 playing for the Kansas City Royals and that he was back on the mound after a couple of days.

“I felt it a little bit in the bull pen and I thought it was one of those things where it just took me a little longer to warm up,” Manaea said of Wednesday night. “And it wasn’t the case, so just really unfortunate.”

In the fifth inning, Albert Pujols singled on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Davis and Mike Trout scored to bring the Angels up 4-2.

Alonso answered back in the sixth inning, hit a homer on a fly ball to right fiel to bring the A’s within one of the Angels.

“He’s been real consistent, no doubt about it,” Melvin said of Alonso. “He’s using the whole field, certainly showing some power that he has, takes every bat seriously. I think each year he’s starting to understand who he is as a hitter and he’s off to a good start for sure.”

Of his hits, Alonso said his two-run single was “absolutely” the more significant play.

“You want to capitalize early, especially given two outs, so for me, I think it’s simplifying things and making sure I got a good pitch and just putting the ball in play,” he said.

The Angels did more damage in the seventh inning.

Maybin singled on a sharp line drive to Joyce, allowing Jefry Marte and Simmons to score. Maldonado reached on a fielder’s choice, fielded by pitcher Ryan Dull and Espinosa scored. Then Kole Calhoun singled on a line drive to left fielder Davis and Maldonado scored, lifting the Angels up 8-3.

In the eighth inning, Joyce hit a home run, his second of the season, on a fly ball to right center field and Trevor Plouffe scored to cut the Angels lead to 8-5, but the A’s scored no runs in the ninth.

The A’s will attempt to break their three-game losing streak in the final match in the series at Angel Stadium Thursday, with first pitch at 7:07 p.m.