Month: March 2018

Giants shutout A’s 3-0 to end the spring

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — In their final tuneup before the regular season begins in just two days, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s faced off for the last time until their Bay Bridge Series in July.

Andrew McCutchen got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the first inning as he doubled in Joe Panik, who led off the inning with a single and the Giants would go on to defeat the A’s 3-0 before a crowd of 32,644 at AT&T Park.

Another newcomer to the Giants added a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Austin Jackson hit a two-run single that scored Evan Longoria and Hunter Pence.

As a team, the Giants were never set down in order by the A’s pitchers, as they picked up a hit off the A’s quartet of Andrew Triggs, Kyle Hendriks, Trevor Cahill and Frankie Montas.

It was a good final spring start for Chris Stratton, as he went five innings, allowing zero runs on four hits, while walking one and striking out three, as he finished the spring with a 1-1 record and the Giants ended the 2018 Spring season with a 15-17-1 record.

The Giants six-pack of pitchers did a fantastic job in their final dress rehearsal prior to Thursday, as Stratton, Josh Osich, Cory Gearrin, Sam Dyson, Pierre Johnson and Derek Law pitched nine innings, allowing just six hits, walking four and striking out four.

NOTES: Ty Blach will take the mound on Opening Day for the first time in his big-league career against the defending National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday afternoon, while the Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw to the mound and he will be making his eighth consecutive Opening Day start.

This will be the 12th time since the Giants and the Dodgers moved to the West Coast in 1958 that the two rivals will have faced each other on Opening Day. In the first 11 meetings, the Giants have a 6-5 lead.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors get tamed at home 92-81 by Pacers as Big Four continues to rest

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By David Zizmor

The Warriors without their big four are still trying to get their bearing, they struggled against the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz at home and likewise with the game tonight against the Indiana Pacers. When the Warriors played against Utah on Sunday, they were not an easy team to beat when Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Jazz for the last two or three seasons this year’s team is different because Gordon Hayward is now on the Boston Celtics. Utah is a really well coached team head coach Quin Synder is one of the top coaches in the NBA which answers the question why the Jazz are having such a good year.

In the fourth quarter in the final minutes of the game of the Pacers-Warriors match, the Pacers maintained the lead even as the Warriors tried to battle back in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t catch the Pacers as Indiana pretty much dominated the fourth quarter by a good 10 points over Golden State.

David Zizmor does the Warrior podcasts each Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks’ win streak ends at eight with 3-2 OT loss to Blues

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By Pearl Allison Lo

The St. Louis Blues ended San Jose’s win streak with a 3-2 overtime win at the Scottrade Center Tuesday.

It was the Blues’ fourth overtime win during their now six-game streak.

It was another close game for both teams and the Sharks’ second back-to-back game that went beyond regulation.  

St. Louis, however, was the more desperate team in the Wild Card race. With the win, they moved above the blue line alongside the Los Angeles Kings. Vladimir Tarasenko won the game with his second of the match, the only time the Blues led in the game.

San Jose lost forward Barclay Goodrow due to an upper-body injury just 1:56 into the game, but was still able to start out with the lead for the third game in a row. Evander Kane struck for the third game in a row with his fifth point during that time.

However, the Sharks left the period without the lead again as Oskar Sundqvist scored his first goal and first with St. Louis to tie it at 17:43.

San Jose able to go ahead again in the second. Brent Burns found Pavelski who hit the top left corner at 7:07. Pavelski now has 20 goals and Burns 50 assists. The power play goal ended the Blues’ three-game streak of limiting their opponents to a lone goal.

St. Louis duplicated the opening third by responding in the same period with their own on the man advantage. Tarasenko hit his mark at the top right corner from the middle of the right faceoff circle at 12:03. It was Tarasenko’s 30th goal on the season.

Both teams stayed tied at two apiece as they searched for the game-winner. The Blues had an especially spirited attack in the third starting with 7:45 left. In two minutes, St. Louis garnered two shots, two missed shots, one blocked shot and two hits.

The Sharks’ Logan Couture mentioned coach playing “three and a quarter lines” in the third and it “caught up to us.”

St. Louis had all three shots in overtime. Brayden Schenn had one of them, a blocked shot four seconds later and a missed shot. Alex Pietrangelo, who had a game-high five shots, had the Blues’ second shot.

Tarasenko’s goal came after Sobotka preoccupied San Jose at one end before receiving his backwards pass.

The Sharks lost Barclay Goodrow in the middle of the first period. Sharks coach Pete DeBoer after the game mentioned it as an upper-body injury, but the extent beyond that is murky.  

Game Notes: Jake Allen, who has been in net each game of the Blues’ win streak, made 22 saves in the win for St. Louis. On the other side, Aaron Dell made 29 saves in a losing effort for San Jose.

Up Next: The Sharks visit the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena Saturday at 5 pm PST.

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: Pitching will be a big concern for 2018 Athletics

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On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

As far as the starting rotation for the Oakland A’s is concerned, it’s going to be tough. There have been verbal and written reports about the A’s pitching staff and who will truly be effective for the 2018 season. Basically, it’s a young pitching staff that their going to depend on. Last week, the A’s lost starter Jharel Cotton to Tommy John surgery and this is one key pitcher that the A’s don’t have.

The A’s are looking at Sean Manaea, Daniel Mengden, Kendall Graveman, and questions arise if Paul Blackburn and/or Trevor Cahill will make the rotation. With Cotton out, the A’s are observing Ryan Dull, who is throwing off the mound but with a certain pitch count. He doesn’t quite have the velocity yet to make it to the Opening Day roster.

Amaury is the Oakland A’s Spanish play-by-play announcer, the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Lefty Derek Holland gets an opportunity to resurrect his career in the SF Giant’s starting rotation

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2018 Major League Baseball Photo Day
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 20: Derek Holland #45 of the San Francisco Giants poses during Photo Day on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Binder/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

from the cover athletic.com photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Derek Holland throws to the Oakland A’s during Monday’s pre season game at AT&T Park in the second game of the Bay Bridge Series

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Seven weeks after Derek Holland’s under-the-radar signing with the Giants as a non-roster invitee, the relationship between the club and the player has gotten quite serious.

Madison Bumgarner (and Jeff Samardzija) are on the shelf, and the 31-year old Holland is in the starting rotation. Given Holland’s recent history, this is quite a development, one the resurgent pitcher won’t take for granted.

“This is a great ballclub,” Holland said.  “And I’m glad to be a part of it.”

After a 14-loss season (in 26 starts) with the White Sox in 2017, Holland was released. Signing with the Giants, he hoped, would give him an opportunity to stay in the majors as a reliever.  But the Giants are plentiful in terms of options in their relief corps. Thanks to the imposing salary cap, all the opportunities–if any–would be in the club’s starting rotation. In fact, besides the still-too-green Tyler Beede and Chris Heston, nearly three years removed from his June 2015 no-hitter, the Giants possessed few options other than Holland.

So Holland took the ball and ran with it.  In five spring appearances, Holland won once and got his ERA under control after it hit 6.20 for 2017.  With 18 strikeouts in 15 innings, Holland earned a look for a rotation spot.  The Giants were forced to overlook Holland’s four homers allowed, and his 17 hits allowed in 15 innings didn’t seem so bad when compared to Matt Moore of 2017, or the possibility of signing aging, ageless one, Bartolo Colon.

So when Bumgarner’s bone in his hand was broken by a liner through the box, and Samardzija was declared out of at least the first two starts of his season, Holland got a spot.  But the Giants can’t be sure what they’re getting: Holland’s best year was 16 wins in 2011, and he missed most of both 2014 and 2015 with injuries.  The 31-year old stayed healthy in 2017, but his ERA soared.

“Despite getting released, I started off really well,” Holland explained.  “I  made every start.”

Last April, Holland won three games.  Then two in May, and only one win in June.  In June and July, the starter lost five games both months.  Then after a relief appearance in September, Holland was granted his unconditional release. A similiar start for the Giants would be nice, the rest of Holland’s 2017 would be too much of a reminder of what they got from Moore, who lost 15 times.

The difference? 2017 was rough on Moore psychologically, and it sometimes showed. Holland’s a much lighter personality, and the expectations for him aren’t as high.  That atmosphere could put the veteran in better position to succeed.  The Giants certainly hope so.

On Monday, in his final tune-up against the A’s, Holland pitched five innings and allowed four hits. Two of those four hits were solo shots for Mark Canha and Matt Chapman, but Moore kept the Giants in the game, and limited the traffic on the basepaths.

“He did a nice job,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “I really think he’s set to go, and throw 100 pitches.”

 

Giants to start 2018 season with patchwork rotation

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By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants spent a great deal of time–and money–upgrading their lineup in the field. Meanwhile, the once-vaunted rotation has begun to fall apart.

The most glaring absence is that of Madison Bumgarner, who suffered a fracture in his left hand after getting hit by a line drive Friday and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks as a result.

Enter Derek Holland, who started Monday’s game for the Giants and had his longest and overall best outing of the spring but was marred by a pair of solo home runs in a 9-2 loss to the A’s at AT&T Park.

Holland gave up only two runs on four hits over five innings and cruised through the first two innings without much issue. However, he made a huge location mistake in the third, and Matt Chapman made him pay for it immediately. He left a fastball over the plate waist-high, and Chapman drove it into the left-field seats to tie the game at 1-1.

Two innings later, he made the same mistake to Mark Canha, and the result was just as damaging. Holland could only watch as the ball disappeared into the seats in center field as the Giants fell behind, 2-1.

All in all, it has been a productive spring for Holland, who was a non-roster invitee to spring training who has been penciled in as part of the Giants’ starting rotation when the season starts. The former Ranger, who spent last season with the White Sox, had a 4.20 ERA entering Monday but showed very good command of the strike zone, which is what the Giants are looking for.

To make room for Holland on the roster, the Giants released outfielder Jarrett Parker.

He will take the mound for the Giants for Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, assuming the spot originally saved for Jeff Samardjiza, who has a strained pectoral muscle and will be out for the next 10 days, thus missing his first scheduled start of the year.

As the Giants head into Opening Day, the rotation is expected to look like this: right-hander Johnny Cueto, lefty Ty Blach, Holland and righty Chris Stratton.

After trailing by a run after seven innings, the Giants rallied in their half of the eighth and tied the game when Gorkys Hernandez sprinted home on a wild pitch.

The game eventually went into extra innings, but Oakland dropped a seven-spot in the 10th to even up this annual Bay Bridge series.

Sharks edge Blackhawks 4-3 in shootout for eighth straight win

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Photo credit: NHL.com/Sharks

By Pearl Allison Lo

San Jose Sharks’s Kevin Labanc went top-shelf short-side in the shootout to jump over the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 at the United Center Monday night.

This made the Sharks’ win streak into the longest since 2011.

In a much tighter battle then these two teams’ last meeting, it came down to shootout round No. 4. The Sharks’ Logan Couture scored in the first round and the Blackhawks’ Patrick Sharp scored in the third. San Jose goalie Martin Jones now has won seven straight.

Chicago is out of the playoffs, but they certainly did not play like it. San Jose made it 3-2 at 15:41 of the third, but Sharp returned the favor at 17:38.

The Blackhawks’ Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist.

The Sharks opened the scoring with a goal at 9:15 of the first. Jannik Hansen picked up a turnover, circled around the left faceoff circle and Marcus Sorensen was there to put in the lateral pass from across the goal line. It was Sorensen’s first goal since February 15.

However, Chicago eclipsed San Jose’s lead in a short span later. The tying goal came by way of an errant pass by Tomas Hertl as the puck moved quickly in the opposite direction. Vinnie Hinostroza shot from one side and DeBrincat made sure the laser rebound went into the net at 15:32. DeBrincat tied a team-high with his 26th goal.  

Connor Murphy followed to make it It 2-1 at 16:50. It was a long wait as the 25-year old birthday boy’s last goal came on November 9. Murphy retrieved a clear attempt and scored through a screen from the point as the puck went off goalie Martin Jones.

The Blackhawks retained the edge until Mikkel Boedker picked off a pass and connected with Evander Kane. Kane then went on a breakaway to score five-hole with his third goal in two games at 16:39 of the second.

The Sharks’ third goal took some physicality and finesse. Barclay Goodrow absorbed a hit and as the puck traveled, Hertl snapped it up and swiveled his way to a score.  

Sharp’s goal was surprising as well, as it bounced off Jones after he made the initial save. 

San Jose coach Pete DeBoer said of overtime, you “become a fan,” and it sure was entertaining.

Both goalies smothered early chances in the crease different ways, Chicago goalie Anton Forsberg falling back. Hertl reached up with his glove to help Jones after a save. Kane had another breakaway attempt but was unable to convert this time.

Both goalies were .500 in the shootout before it ended.

Game Notes: Kane had a game-high 10 shots. The most anyone else had was three.

Up Next: The Sharks will aim for win No. 9 with a back-to-back versus the Saint Louis Blues Tuesday at 5 pm PST.

Opinion: Is Netting Truly Necessary at MLB Games?

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — This season, all 30 MLB teams will have protective netting in their respective ballpark, which is a debatable subject among baseball fans. It doesn’t matter what team you root for, there are some who think it’s a good idea to prevent future injuries and there are also some who would disagree, thinking it’s nothing more but an overreaction.

Personally, I think that netting isn’t truly necessary at MLB games. Sure, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement: “Providing baseball fans with a variety of seating options when they come to the ballpark, including seats behind protective netting, is important…Major League Clubs are constantly evaluating the coverage and design of their ballpark netting and I am pleased that they are providing fans an increased inventory of protected seats.” But like any other subject, there are pros and cons that come along with it.

The pros are that netting is an easy fix, the statement “pay better attention” is unrealistic and the thought “once is enough” is, well enough. The cons mention that netting is just an “overreaction,” fans should know what they’re getting themselves into and the seeminly indefinite question: “When does it end?”

I have to add my two cents in a belief that should be so obvious that there shouldn’t be a need to say it. But there’s no actual need for netting that extend to at least the far ends of both dugouts because if someone is fortunate enough to be sitting in close seats near home plate, he or she should simply put the phone away and watch the ballgame. During a game, the phone should only be used to capture a photo, video or snap of a significant moment like a grand slam, a no-hitter and vice versa.

It’s not only some fans making arguments on the netting either. San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey has also made an argument without even trying. In June 2016, Posey was batting in the first inning in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the bat flew out of his hands and ended up getting stuck way up in the netting at AT&T Park. Yeah, it was so high that the Giants’ facility crew had to use a ladder to get it back.

To refresh your memory, there have been some dangerous incidents like when a young girl who got injured by a 105 mph foul at Yankee Stadium in September 2017 and a woman who suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit by a broken bat at Fenway Park. It’s unfortunate that situations like these have occurred in the past, but most, if not all, of them could’ve been prevented if someone paid attention to the game because they’re supposed to be there to cheer on their favorite team.

Baseball may be too slow and tedious, but it’s still a sport that’s worth watching live at the ballpark. Play ball!

Barry Bonds set to join elite group of Giants

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Photo credit: @big_john819

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — In honor of the San Francisco Giants’ 60th anniversary of moving to San Francisco, the team is giving Barry Bonds the highest honor that they give to any player that wears the uniform.

Bonds, who retired after the 2007 season, will have his number 25 retired on August 12, as the Giants face the team that drafted Bonds out of Arizona State with the sixth pick in the 1985 Major League Baseball Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 15 years with the Giants, Bonds hit 586 home runs, the second most in team history, behind his godfather Willie Mays (646 from 1951-1952, 1954-1972), as he helped lead the Giants to the National League Western Division Championship in 1997, 2000 and 2003.

The Giants also made the postseason in 2002, when they made it all the way to the World Series as the Wild Card team. However, the Giants came up one game short of their ultimate goal, when the Anaheim Angels took Game Seven for their only World Series Championship in team history.

While wearing the Orange and Black for those 15 years, Bonds also won the NL MVP on five different occasions in 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, Bonds also won five Gold Gloves in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Bonds won the Silver Slugger Award nine times, as he took home the award in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

The most feared hitter of this generation, Bonds also won batting titles in 2002 and 2004, and led the National League in home runs on two different occasions, the first time was in 1993, when he 46 home runs and helped the Giants to 103 wins on the season and in 2001, when he hit a major-league record 73 home runs.

He joins Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Mays, Willie McCovey and Gaylord Perry as the sixth member of the San Francisco Giants to get his number retired. Bill Terry, Carl Hubbell, Monte Irvin and Mel Ott also have their numbers retired after Hall of Fame careers when the Giants played in New York.

Christy Mathewson and John McGraw are also honored by the Giants, as the two are honored with plaques, as their careers pre-dated numbers.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: A’s in the City to close out spring schedule; Cueto has good outing against Oakland; plus more

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On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Giants and A’s kicked off the 2018 Bay Bridge series at the Coliseum on Sunday, which could only mean the beginning of the regular season is just round the corner.

#2 It was an satisfying outing for Giants starter Johnny Cueto, who pitched the first Bay Bridge series game, going 5.1 innings, five hits, one run, one walk, six strikeouts in a 5-1 win over the A’s Sunday.

#3 Giants pitcher Ty Blach gets the start for opening day on Thursday in Los Angeles. In 2017, Blach had a 4.78 ERA and was 8-12.

#4 The Giants offense do present some pop in the line up for 2018 with hitters such as Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, and Andrew McCutchen.

#5 On an A’s note: The A’s played it safe and purchased land from the city of Oakland in order to secure the Oakland Coliseum area so no future developers might buy the land in the event the Howard Terminal idea falls through.

Morris Phillips is the San Francisco Giants beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com