Month: July 2019

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: “The Martian” signs with the Yankees, 16-year-old swings like something out of this world

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photo from bing.com: 16-year-old prospect from the Dominican Republic Jasson Dominguez has been said that he’s better than Mike Trout at age 16.

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

He is Jasson Domínguez, a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic, and the New York Yankees signed him to a $5 million bonus. Scouts have drawn comparison with Mike Trout and the great Yankee legend Mickey Mantle. Scouts reported that “El Marciano”, who swings from both sides of the plate, has power, speed, and a sensational arm. They nicknamed him “El Marciano”, which is Spanish for “The Martian”, because according to those that have seen him, “there is no way he is from this world.”

Domínguez, without a doubt, is the top international prospect in this year’s class. Other comments about El Marciano: “He is 16, but with a body of a man.” Domínguez was no secret to scouts of other teams like the LA Angels, Texas Rangers, and Tampa Bay Rays, who were also very interested in signing him. He is regarded as the top prospect to come from Latin America in at least a decade.

One general manager said, “He is like a Mike Trout, but he is better than Trout was at 16”. Jasson Domínguez will not play this year, but next year, he will join other Yankee prospects inside their very deep minor league system.

I do not have a commentary on him, because I have not seen him yet.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the play-by-play Spanish announcer for the Oakland A’s and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants coming off sweep in San Diego, ready for St. Louis after 4th of July off

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photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants’ Evan Longoria, right, is greeted by third base coach Ron Wotus after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in San Diego

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Thursday was the first time the Giants didn’t have to play on July 4th, which gave them sometime to prepare for their three-game series coming up tonight with the St Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park.

#2 The Giants are coming off a three-game sweep past the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Does the sweep have some impact some confidence building for the Giants, who have not swept too many series this season?

#3 Just looking ahead to Saturday, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner (5-7, 4.02 ERA) is pitching on Saturday and has had some good recent outings against the Diamondbacks and Rockies. Some have called some of Bumgarner’s outings showcasing. It is realistic to say Bumgarner will be leaving the Giants before the end of the month?

#4 The Cardinals come in at 42-42. The Cards have lost four of their last nine games looking. Are the Cards a team that shared the same struggles similar to the Giants or are they a good .500 that can find their way and improve in the standings?

#5 The Cardinals for Friday night’s game will be starting Dakota Hudson (6-4, 3.40 ERA) going up against the Giants Drew Pomeranz (2-8, 6.25 ERA). In two of his last three decisions, Pomeranz got the loss, so you know going into Friday night’s game, he’s looking for that win.

Michael Duca does the San Francisco Giants podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Semien powers the A’s to a 7-2 win over the Twins

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Photo credit: @atleticos

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — On a very lovely Thursday at the Oakland Coliseum, the A’s beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 to win the three-game series 2-1. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien was the hero as he blasted two home runs and drove in five to lead the A’s to a 7-2 victory.

A’s starter Tanner Anderson was looking for his first win of the season, but it didn’t happen for him as he was removed from the game with two out in the fifth inning. He was replaced by Wei-Chung Wang. The young Taiwanese lefty was the winning pitcher and earned his first major league win.

The Twins drew first blood in the top of the first with an unearned run. Tanner Anderson retired the first two hitters he faced. He gave up singles to Nelson Cruz and Luis Arraez. He walked Miguel Sano to load the bases. The next hitter, Ehire Adrianza, was awarded first base when A’s catcher Chris Herrmann interfered with his swing. Herrmann was charged with an error. Cruz trotted home with the Twins’ first run.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. A’s DH Khris Davis led off with a single. Twins’ starter Jose Berrios retired the next two hitters. Robbie Grossman and Chris Herrmann each singled. Herrmann’s single allowed Davis to score. The score was 1-1 after four.

The tie didn’t last long as the Twins put their second run of the game on the board in the top of the fifth. Nelson Cruz, who loves to torment the A’s, led off with a double. Cruz went to third on a wild pitch. Anderson retired the next two hitters. He did not get by Ehire Adrianza who singled to drive in Cruz. Jonathan Schoop followed with a single, and that ended Anderson’s day. A’s manager brought in Wei-Chung Wang to pitch. Wang got Jason Castro to fly out for the final out of the inning. In the A’s half of the fifth, they were able to grab the lead 3-2. Marcus Semien led off the frame with his 12th bomb of the season. Matt Chapman walked and moved to second on a single by Matt Olson. Berrios walked Khris Davis to load the bases. Mark Canha had a golden opportunity to break the game open, but he hit into a double play. Chapman scored on the play. Berrios got Laureano to fly out to Max Kepler in right to end the inning. The A’s led 3-2.

In the bottom of the eighth, Marcus Semien hit a grand slam to blow open the game for the A’s. Robbie Grossman and Chris Herrman singled to start the rally. Jurickson Profar was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no out. Marcus Semien, who had hit a solo home run in the fifth, sent the first pitch from Mike Morin over the fence for a grand slam and the A’s now led 7-2. A’s manager Bob Melvin, brought in Joakim Soria to pitch the ninth. The Twins right-fielder, Max Kepler, doubled to start the inning, but Soria settled down and retired the next three hitters to ice the win for Oakland. The A’s won 7-2.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s, with the win, improve to 48-40 and now lead the Texas Rangers by one game in the race for second place in the AL West. They trail the first place Houston Astros by 7 1/2 games.

The A’s had three players that had multiple hits in the game. These three had nine of the A’s 12 hits. Robbie Grossman had three singles. Chris Herrmann had his first four-hit game. He had a double and three singles. Semien had two hits, both home runs. Semien’s first was a solo blast in the fifth, and a grand slam in the eighth. Semien has hit 13 so far this season. His five RBI game matched a career-high, It was also his fifth career two-homer game, and his fourth career grand slam.

The line score for Oakland was seven runs, 12 hits, and one error. The Twins’ line was two runs, 11 hits, and no errors. The winning pitcher was Wang, and Jose Berrios took the loss. Berrios is now 8-5 for the year.

Time of game was three hours and 20 minutes. 20,836 fans watched the A’s win.

Up Next: The A’s travel to Seattle to face the Mariners for three games before the All-Star break. Lefty Brett Anderson will pitch for the Green and Gold Friday night. Brett is 8-5 and has an ERA of 3.92. Seattle’s Yusei Kikuchi (4-5, 5.12 ERA) will be on the hill for the M’s. Kikuchi is also left-handed.

No 4th of July play for Giants, Cardinals on deck

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Photo credit: @OracleParkSF

By Jeremy Harness

For the first time in a while, the Giants will not play on the 4th of July. However, they will still use this time to get prepared for a big weekend series while riding a wave of momentum.

They are coming off a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres, and they will now wait for the St., Louis Cardinals to get into town, as the two teams will play a three-game series starting Friday night at Oracle Park.

The series does not pack the same punch that it has in years past – with the Giants still stuck in the National League West basement while the Cardinals hanging on with a 42-42 mark – but because of the sheer history of this pairing, it still carries meaning nonetheless.

Drew Pomeranz will take the ball for the Friday opener against Cardinals righty Dakota Hudson (6-4, 3.40 ERA). Pomeranz has been a mess this season, with a 2-8 record and a 6.25 ERA. However, he momentarily beat that back in his last start, throwing five shutout innings at the Arizona Diamondbacks last Saturday.

Hudson is coming off an outing where he did not make it out of the second inning while giving up seven runs – but amazingly only one of them earned – which included a pair of homers in losing to the same San Diego team the Giants just swept.

However, he was brilliant in the start prior to that, going seven strong and surrendering only a run to the Angels in a 2-1 win.

Madison Bumgarner (5-7, 4.02 ERA) is still wearing a Giants uniform for the time being and has gotten into a nice rhythm lately, will go Saturday night, and he will go up against Miles Mikolas (5-8, 4.34 ERA), who appears to be going in the opposite direction after a hot start.

Bumgarner has gotten the win in each of his past two starts, beating the Colorado Rockies and the Diamondbacks, surrendering three runs in his 13 innings combined.

Mikolas has lost six of his last seven decisions, but he is coming off a decent outing that saw him give up three runs over six innings, although he did not ultimately factor in to the decision.

Coming off a brilliant outing that saw him go eight solid innings in a convincing win over San Diego Monday night, Jeff Samardzija (5-7, 4.32 ERA) will take the hill Sunday for the Giants against Cardinals righty Jack Flaherty (4-5, 4.90 ERA), who is coming off a rather-shaky outing that saw him give up four runs over 4 1/3 innings against Seattle on Tuesday.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Short turn around as A’s-Twins play day game after 12 inning night game

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photo from sfgate.com: Minnesota Twins’ Jorge Polanco, right, is congratulated by third base coach Tony Diaz (46) after hitting a home run off Oakland Athletics’ Joakim Soria in the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in Oakland

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The Oakland A’s got a loss on Wednesday night against one of the American League’s toughest teams the Minnesota Twins in extra innings 4-3 snapping their four game win streak . The Twins on Wednesday night battled the A’s 3-3 and as good as they are got the game winner in the top 12th for the win.

#2 The A’s during this streak defeated the Los Angeles Angels in three straight games and took the first game of the series against the Twins 8-6. The A’s despite Wednesday night’s loss continue to battle in each inning.

#3 Ironically the A’s faced the late Tyler Skaggs in Anaheim for Skaggs final game of his career.

#4 The talk about an A’s new stadium continued at the Oakland City Council last week regarding mass transit needed for the city council to continue to consider having the A’s to move at Howard Terminal. The issue has been about the railroads and Amtrak rails that encircle Jack London Square making it a huge challenge for rail and mass transit to work at Jack London Square.

#5 Game three of the series between the Oakland A’s and the Minnesota Twins at the Oakland Coliseum. Starting for the Twins Jose Berrios (8-4 ERA 2.89) and for the Oakland A’s Tanner Anderson (0-3 ERA 7.13)

Join Jerry for the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports with Amaury Pi-Gonzalez for Tony Renteria: US Women’s team set to meet the Netherlands Sunday; Will Angels regroup and battle for a playoff spot?; plus more

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Photo credit: @dabeard

On Headline Sports with Amaury Pi Gonzalez for Tony Renteria:

#1 The US Women’s soccer team will be playing the Netherlands Women’s team on Sunday. The US Team has had a great ride to get into the finals the last game they played they defeated the English Women’s team 2-1.

#2 Megan Rapinoe has been the face of the team politically. She said she won’t go to the White House and would put her hand over her heart during the anthem, and accepted an invitation from NY Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to meet at the House of Representatives after the finals. How much of a influence was Rapinoe for the women’s team during this World Cup?

#3 The LA Angels’ Tommy LaStella fouled a pitch off his right leg breaking his fibula and will be out for six weeks of action and will miss the All-Star break. This came right after the Angels lost pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died in his sleep on Monday.

#4 The Oakland A’s are coming on after taking three of four from the Angels and winning the first game against the Minnesota Twins 8-6 — one of baseball’s best teams on Tuesday night.

#5 With the departures of Jordan Bell, Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala from the Golden State Warriors, are the Warriors now considered just an average NBA team?

Tony does Headline Sports each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants complete sweep of Padres with 7-5 win on Wednesday night

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AP photo: San Francisco Giants Evan Longoria takes one deep for a two-run homer in the top of the third inning as the Giants went onto sweep San Diego at Petco Park on Wednesday night.

By Jeremy Harness

Through all of the struggles that they have endured in a year that they have spent the majority of in the division cellar, the Giants still know how to beat the San Diego Padres.

On Wednesday, they used two big run-producing innings to do away with the Padres in a 7-5 win at Petco Park, and thus putting the finishing touches on a three-game sweep.

The night did not get off to a promising start, however. Starter Shaun Anderson gave up the first two runs of the game in the second inning, and then after the Giants regrouped and took the lead in the third, he gave up two more runs in the bottom half.

Anderson lasted only four innings and surrendered those four runs on eight hits – which included a solo homer to Fernando Tatis, Jr. that gave San Diego a 4-3 lead – while walking one batter and striking out three.

The Giants’ offense, however, was able to pick Anderson up. After chasing starter Cal Quantrill from the game after 4 1/3 innings, the Giants teed off on reliever Luis Perdomo in the sixth inning, scoring four runs and taking the lead for good.

They used three RBI doubles as well as a run-scoring single to accomplish this, giving them a 7-4 lead.

The bullpen also had their starter’s back. After Anderson left the game, the Giants’ relievers put up zeroes in four of the final five innings, with the lone hiccup being a solo homer given up by Tony Watson off the bat of Hunter Renfroe in the eighth.

The very next inning, Will Smith came in and did what he has done for the majority of this season. He shut down the San Diego bats and did not allow a single baserunner, and he has now converted all 22 of his save opportunities in 2019.

Twins need 12 innings to beat the A’s 4-3 and even the series

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Photo credit: @Twins

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Minnesota Twins and Oakland A’s struggled through 12 innings before the Twins were able to break through for a 4-3 win at O.co Coliseum on Wednesday night. The A’s took an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, but the Twins held them scoreless the rest of the way. In the meantime, the Twins scored one in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to tie the game. The A’s had their chances, but failed to capitalize.

Mike Fiers started for Oakland and went six-plus innings and allowed five hits and two runs. Twins starter Kyle Gibson also worked six innings, and gave up five hits and three runs. Gibson’s only mistake was serving up a gopher ball to Ramon Laureano.

The A’s put three on the board in the second inning. A’s DH Khris Davis reached on an error. Kyle Gibson issued a walk to Mark Canha to put two men on with no out. Ramon Laureano followed with an Earl Weaver special, a three-run homer. Gibson finished the inning with no further damage.

The Twins scored their first run of the game in the top of the sixth. Twins second baseman Jonathan Schoop led off with a single. Fiers retired Byron Buxton for the first out of the inning. Max Kepler singled to move Schoop to second. Both players advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Twins catcher Mitch Garver singled to drive in Schoop. Fiers retired the next two hitters. Ramon Laureano made a sliding catch to retire Jorge Polanco for the second out, and A’s third baseman showed off his fielding skills as he made a nice running catch to rob C.J. Cron of a hit and end the inning. The A’s lead 3-1 midway through the sixth.

The Twins scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh to close the gap to one. Rookie Luis Arraez led off with a single. The Twins were able to bring in Arraez for the score when Franklin Barreto made two errors on the same play. He failed to touch second for a force out and then threw the ball past Matt Olson at first. The A’s then caught former Giant Ehire Adrianza trying to steal home. A’s reliever Yusmeiro Petit struck out Byron Buxton for the final out.

The Twins tied the game in the top of the eighth. With two out, the Twins’ DH Jorge Polanco, who will be going to the All-Star game, homered off Joakim Soria. The game was knotted at three apiece with the A’s coming to bat.

The Twins scored a  run in the 12th. Bob Melvin brought in Blake Treinen to pitch. Treinen came off the 10-day IL and was rusty. He struck out Schoop for the first out. He then walked Byron Buxton and Max Kepler to put a man in scoring position. Mitch Garver singled to drive in Buxton to put the Twins ahead 4-3. Melvin replaced Treinen with Brian Schlitter, and he got C.J. Cron to hit into an inning-ending double play. In the A’s half of the inning, Matt Chapman reached on an error. Twins’ reliever Taylor Rogers struck out Matt Olson for the first out. Jurickson Profar, who ran for Khris Davis earlier, singled to left. Chapman went to third on the play  Profar was called out at second after he was called safe. The Twins challenged the call, and it was overturned. Rogers struck out Mark Canha to preserve the win for the Twins. The Twins won 4-3.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the A’s drop to 47-40. They remain in second place in the AL West as the Texas Rangers lost to the Angels again. The Twins improved to 54-31.

Jorge Polanco’s home run in the eighth was the Twins’ 161st of the year. They have four games left to break the record they share with the Yanks for most home runs before the All-Star break. The A’s used seven pitchers. Treinen took the loss. Blake Parker was credited with the win.

The line score for Minnesota was four runs, 10 hits, and two errors. The A’s line was three runs, eight hits, and two errors.

Time of game was four hours and 40 minutes. 31,570 people saw the A’s lose.

Up Next: Game three of the series will be played on Thursday at 1:00 pm. Tanner Anderson will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Jose Berrios.

Minnesota United ends Earthquakes’ unbeaten streak with 3-1 win

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Photo credit: @MNUFC

By Pearl Allison Lo

The San Jose Earthquakes’ six-game streak was serious, but Minnesota United FC–also known as the Loons–showed their game before was not a fluke, halting the Earthquakes with a 3-1 win at Allianz Field Wednesday.

With just a point separating them in the standings, Minnesota leapfrogged San Jose after the result. The last time the two teams met it was during the infancy of the 2019 season. Minnesota won 3-0 and it was the Quakes’ second straight loss and first shutout of the season and would be followed by three more losses.

Minnesota whooped FC Cincinnati their last game 7-1, and even though FC Cincinnati was in last place, they proved their play with their performance versus rising San Jose. In both this and their last game, Minnesota’s possession percentage hovered in the 30s.

Goalie Vito Mannone excelled for his team, making a MLS career-high seven saves, especially in the second half, as the Quakes attempted to come from behind. San Jose had 27 to Minnesota’s 13 shots and 10 shots blocked.

Michael Boxall had the game-winner in the 52nd minute. An inadvertent kick forward by San Jose helped and before goalie Daniel Vega could get to the ball, Boxall capitalized to put Minnesota back up.

The Quakes fell behind for just the second time in 12 games, early in the 5th minute. Darwin Quintero was aided by Ethan Finlay and Miguel Ibarra.

Things got heated in the end of the first half. San Jose’s Vako bled, both teams jawed at each other and the Quakes’ Tommy Thompson got knocked down. Thompson ended up scoring his second goal in as many games with either his hip or stomach in the 47th minute in stoppage time as a result.

As Thompson put it, “We have a couple different set pieces that we work on; Magnus [Eriksson] and Cristian [Espinoza] can both whip a great ball in. We get a lot of guys in the box for a reason and I’m glad it payed off on that play.”

San Jose ended up with 65% possession throughout the game. Minnesota received four of five yellow cards in the second half. The Quakes’ Magnus Eriksson had a game-high six shots.

Eriksson replied, “Nothing to be ashamed of. We controlled the whole second half and we are proud of the way we executed this game…”

Teammate Shea Salinas made his presence known after entering in the 66th minute. He had two assists on shots Mannone was forced to save, to Danny Hoesen in the 68th minute and Eriksson in the 71st minute.

Thompson’s shot in the 88th minute went over the bar.

Minnesota wasn’t done yet though. Former Quake Ike Opara had the primary assist as he won the ball against Minnesotan Jackson Yueill and sent it to Kevin Molino from the midfield Molino who entered in the 83rd minute, scored in the 92nd minute and got a yellow card the minute after. Molino also had the last goal of the last match, which came in the 87th minute and he was the only repeat scorer for Minnesota between their last two games.

San Jose still had life when Cristian Espinoza was pulled down, but his subsequent attempt was saved as well.

Up Next: The Quakes will have an even quicker turnaround for their next game, as they return home for one game to host Real Salt Lake Saturday at 7:30 pm.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Cousins may leave Golden State, but can he fit in with Lakers?; US Women’s Soccer team could win it all this Sunday; plus more

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Photo credit: @LakeShowWorld

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 Critics says that there is no market for DeMarcus Cousins. What would you say the reason are as someone who covered him while he was at Golden State? Too many injuries, didn’t fulfill what the Warriors expected out him, too much baggage.

#2 Would the Lakers consider picking up Cousins? Cousins is reportedly watching if Kawhi Leonard decides to sign with the Lakers and if so would Cousins want to join Leonard in the Southland?

#3 You were there, how impressive were the Earthquakes when they shutout the LA Galaxy 3-0 at Stanford Stadium last Saturday?

#4 Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda said the game was a spectacle and the team is on the right path and has improved.

#5 The US Women’s team got a 2-1 win over England to advance to the Finals, which will be played on Sunday. Talk about how nervous you are for this upcoming match that could win it all.

London Marq does Headline Sports for http://www.sportsradioservice.com each Wednesday