Month: July 2019

California Classic Day 3 Recap

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Wednesday was the third and final day of the California Classic at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. The four teams participating in the Classic would travel to Las Vegas after the festivities wrapped up on Wednesday afternoon to continue Summer League action.

Two games were on tap for Wednesday: The Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors at 12 PM PST as well as the LA Lakers and Sacramento Kings at 2 PM PST.

Game 1
Game one featured the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors, who got off to a very slow offensive start. The Heat managed to put up a few baskets in the opening minutes, but the Warriors couldn’t muster anything. It wasn’t until 6:01 that the Warriors finally managed to score. Damian Jones was fouled and made both shots. The Warriors managed to regain control of the offense and score 38 in the first half. The Heat, on the other hand, stayed steadily mediocre. They scored 12 in the first quarter and 18 in the second to trail 30-38 at the half.

Damian Jones led the Warriors with 8 points into halftime. Davon Reed had 7 points. The Heat’s leading scorers in the first half were Yante Maten, who dropped 10 points, and Tyler Herro with 7 points.

In the second half, the third quarter looked much like the first. Both teams struggled on offense. Please give credit to good defense from both teams, but the real culprit was bad shooting. When the third was said and done, the Heat scored 15 and the Warriors had 12. The score was 50-45 in favor of the Lakers heading into the final quarter. In the final minutes of the game, the Warriors offense fell sharply and the Heat picked up the slack. The Heat scored 26 fourth quarter points compared to the Warriors’ 14. The Warriors fell to the Heat 73-65.

Kendrick Nunn led the Heat with 21 points. Other notable Heat scorers were Tyler Herro with 20 points and Yante Maten with 16 points. Leading Warriors scorers were Damian Jones with 15 points and Davon Reed with 12 points.

Game 2
Unlike the first game of the day, the Kings offense got going early in this game. The Kings jumped to an early lead over the Lakers with quick points from Hollis Thompson. However, the Lakers began to roll offensively about halfway through the first and made it close at the end of the first quarter. The score was 23-22 in favor of Sacramento after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Kings and Lakers traded baskets without much separation coming between the two teams in the early minutes. Then, the Lakers offense slowed down as they were only able to put 17 points. Wenyen Gabriel led the Kings to a first half lead with 11 points. Hollis Thompson scored 10 points, and Kyle Guy had 10 points. The Kings took a 47-39 lead into the second half.

In the second half, the Kings kept the offensive pressure on the Lakers by scoring 28 in the third. That would be better than the Lakers’ 24 in the third. Sacramento was in the driver’s set 75-63 going into the fourth quarter.

However, in the fourth, the Lakers made it interesting. They outscored the Kings 36-22, and in miraculous fashion, won 99-97. The main reason the Lakers pulled this one out was because of Jordan Howard. Howard, who came into the fourth quarter with 8 points, dropped 17 points to lead the Lakers with 25 points. Other notable Lakers scorers were Nick Perkins with 20 points and Devontae Cacok with 13 points.

The Kings were also on the receiving end of many good performances from their young players, but were sadly downed by the Lakers. The most notable Kings performance came from first-year guard Kyle Guy, who scored 14 points on the night. Wenyen Gabriel added 16 points to his California Classic resume. Semaj Christon had 13 points.

All four teams now head to Vegas to continue their NBA Summer League Slate.

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Quakes blowout Galaxy in Cali Clasico; Quakes to take on Minnesota United; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. The Quakes blowout the LA Galaxy 3-0 in the Cali Clasico for their second straight win.

2. The Quakes take on the Minnesota United at Allianz Field Wednesday.

3. After that, San Jose will return to Avaya Stadium to host Real Salt Lake Saturday night.

4. Vako, Tommy Thompson and Matias Almeyda were all part of the MLS Team of the Week for Week 17.

5. Vako was named MLS Player of the Week for Week 17.

Catch Ana on the San Jose Earthquakes podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Longoria hits 2 HRs in Giants’ 10-4 win over Padres

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

It took Evan Longoria nearly a year and a half to have a game where he just went off against the opposition.

Longoria hit two home runs and drove in five runs, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the San Diego Padres 10-4 at Petco Park.

It was the third home run in two games for Longoria, who also hit one in the Giants 13-2 victory over the Padres on Monday night.

Donovan Solano hit his first career leadoff home run to get the Giants on the board, as the Giants have won three games in a row and also have won four out of their last five.

Matt Strahm allowed gave up all three home runs on the evening, including the Solano home run that came on the first pitch of the ballgame.

Longorias first home run of the game came in the top of the second inning, and then hit a mammoth three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning that landed on the balcony of the fourth level of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building that also scored Solano and Brandon Belt, who led off the inning back-to-back singles.

Austin Slater, who was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento after Sundays win over the Arizona Diamondbacks came up with a pair of doubles. The Slater doubles were two of the eight extra base hits for the Giants just one night after pickup nine against Padres pitching.

Kevin Pillar came up with four hits on the evening for the second time in three games, as the Giants scored 10 or more runs in three straight games for the first time since they did it against the Cincinnati Reds from August 23-25, 2010 at AT&T Park.

It was another quality start for Tyler Beede, as he went seven innings, allowing just one earned run, scattering four hits, walking just one and striking out four and won for the second time.

On the other side of things, it was a rough game for Strahm, who went five innings, allowing seven runs on 11 hits, walking one and striking out six.

NOTES: This is the first time that the Giants have been off on July 4 since the 2013 season, after losing via walk-off fashion against the Cincinnati Reds by the final score of 3-2 in 11 innings at Great American Ballpark.

UP NEXT: Shaun Anderson looks to send the Giants into a July 4 day off with a victory, as he looks for his fourth win of the season.

Cal Quantrill goes to the mound for the Padres, as they look to avoid the three-game sweep at the hands of the Giants.

Herrmann hits grand slam in 1st game with A’s; Oakland edges Twins 8-6

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s won their fourth straight to go eight games over the .500 mark with a record of 47-39. It was not easy as they were facing the AL Central first place Minnesota Twins. The Twins have a lineup loaded with guys that can hit the ball out of the park. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has the team playing well and the A’s were hoping their starter Daniel Mengden could subdue the Twins’ hitter. In addition, the A’s were facing the Twins’ best pitcher Jake Odorizzi, who entered the game with a sparkling record of 10-3 and an ERA of 2.73.

The Twins put two runs on the board in the top of the second inning. With two out, Twins rookie second baseman, 22-year-old Luis Arraez singled to start the rally. Third baseman Miguel Sano took Mengden deep for his 13th tater of the season. The Twins led 2-0 halfway through the second.

The Twins took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. The A’s came back with two in their half of the third. A’s second baseman Franklin Barreto led off with a double. He tagged up and went to third on Marcus Semien’s fly out to left. Matt Chapman struck out, but the other Matt, Matt Olson hammered his 17th homer to make it a 3-2 game.

The A’s took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth. A’s right fielder Mark Canha reached on an error. Twins starter Jake Odorizzi walked Ramon Laureano to put two men on with no out. Robbie Grossman followed with a bloop single to center to load the base, A’s catcher, Chris Herrmann, making his first start as an Oakland Athletic, made his first hit memorable. His hit is the stuff that players dream about when they were kids. Just imagine coming to the plate with the bases loaded and hitting a grand slam for your first hit with your new team. That is exactly what happened. Herrmann’s blast sent Odorizzi to the showers. The A’s now led 6-3.

The Twins, who were loaded with power hitters, cut the deficit to two when catcher Jason Castro homered off Mengden to make it 6-4. The A’s got the run back in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Mark Canha walked. Ramon Laureano doubled into the corner in left field. Third base coach Matt Williams waved Canha home. Twins’ left fielder Marwyn Gonzalez’s throw home nailed Canha. Laureano took third on the throw home. Grossman singled to drive in Laureano to give the A’s the lead 7-4 after five complete.

The Twins showed the reason they are in first place in the AL Central. With one out, Marwyn Gonzalez singled to start the rally. Gonzalez tormented the A’s when he was with Houston and he continued to do so Tuesday night. Mengden retired C.J.Cron for the second out. Luis Arraez, who singled in the second inning, slammed a  double to left-center-field to drive in Gonzalez with the Twins’ fifth run of the game. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch. Petit retired Sano for the third out. The A’s failed to score in the bottom of the sixth. They still led the Twins 7-5 after six.

The Twins’ Jason Castro led off the seventh with his second solo dinger of the game to make it a one-run contest. Oakland still led 7-6 midway through the seventh. The A’s Mark Canha responded with his 12th homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the A’s a two-run cushion 8-6 heading into the eighth inning.

The Twins failed to score in the eighth. In the ninth, the A’s brought in Liam Hendriks to close out the game. Hendriks gave up a single to Miguel Sano.  Hendriks settled down and struck out Jason Castro for the first out. Castro had a double and two solo home runs and getting a strikeout was just the tonic Hendriks needed. He struck out Byron Buxton for the second out. Hendriks had to deal with the dangerous left-handed hitter Max Kepler. Kepler has hit 21 homers to lead the Twins in that department and also represented the tying run at the plate. Hendriks won the battle as he got Kepler to fly out to center for the final out of the game. The A’s won 8-6.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s won their fourth game in a row to improve to 47-39. The A’s moved into second place in the AL West as the LA Angels beat the Texas Rangers 9-4. The A’s did not gain any ground on the Houston Astros as they rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8. The Twins drop to 53-31 for the year.

Daniel Mengen was the winning pitcher and his record improved to 3-1. Liam Hendriks earned his third save. The loss went to Jake Odorizzi. Odorizzi is now 10-4 for 2019.

The A’s line score was eight runs, eight hits, and no errors. The Twins’ line score was six runs, 10 hits, and one error.

The A’s observed a moment of silence to honor the memory of Angels’ pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs passed away yesterday in Texas. He was 27-years-old. A very sad time for his family, the Angels, and everyone that loves baseball.

The A’s hit three homes to increase their total for the season to 136.  They have seven players with 10 or more home runs which are second-most in the majors. The Twins have eight. The Twins also hit three homers and now have 160 with five games remaining before the All-Star break. The Yankees set the record last year with 161.

Time of game was three hours and 20 minutes and a crowd of 13,926 people went home happy as the A’s won 8-6.

Up Next: Game two will start at 6:07 pm Wednesday. Mike Fiers (8-3, 4.01 ERA) will go for Oakland and Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.21 ERA) will go to the mound for the Twins.

Following Wednesday night’s game, the A’s will have a fireworks show that will honor the military and the Fourth of July.

California Classic Day 2 Recap

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Tuesday was day two of the California Classic at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. On tap for Tuesday was the first game of the evening between the Golden State Warriors and LA Lakers at 6 PM PST. The second game was at 8 PM PST featured the hometown Sacramento Kings against the Miami Heat.

Game 1
The Warriors and Lakers were first up on the schedule Tuesday night.

The first half was pretty balanced with both teams putting together good offensive stretches. The first quarter quarter went back and forth with the Warriors edging the Lakers 25-24. In the second quarter, the Lakers took advantage of sloppy defense and outscored the Warriors 24-15. Leading the way in the first half was Lakers forward Zach Norvell Jr., who managed to put up 10 on 4-5 shooting. Leading the way for the Warriors was forward Malachi Richardson, who dropped 9 points for the Warriors in just over 7 minutes in the first half.

The second half featured the Lakers continuing to hold their lead and eventually win the game. The Golden State Warriors had moments where they pulled closer, but it was the Lakers’ scoring that ultimately propelled them to a victory. Halftime scoring leader Zach Norvell Jr. would put up another 10 points (20 points for the game) in the second to lead the Lakers to a 100-90 victory over the Warriors. Other Lakers who put up good numbers were Devontae Cacok (16 points), Joe Young (13 points), and Marcus Allen (10 points).

Leading the way for the losing Warriors was Eric Paschall (18 points), followed by Jacob Evans (13 points), and Damian Jones, Jordan Poole, Alen Smailagic–all with 10 points.

Game 2
The second game of the night was set with the Kings and Heat ready to take the floor.

In the first half, both teams got off to a slow start with the first points coming by the heat at the 8:10 mark of the first. The Kings immediately took a timeout to regroup before continuing the first half. The Heat played exceptional defense early on in this game keeping the Kings from open looks. The Kings’ first points of the night came at 7:41 with Kyle Guy hitting a three from the right start. From there, the Kings offense seemed to click. At the end of the second half, they scored 45 points and led the Heat 45-36.

Leading the way for the Kings in the first half was Kyle Guy (11 points), Semaj Christon (10 points), and Hollis Thompson (7 points).

Leading the way for the Heat was Yante Maten (8 points), and Kendrick Nunn (7 points).

In the second half, the Kings appeared to be on their way to another victory. They kept pace with the Heat in the third and carried a 71-63 lead into the final quarter, but things didn’t go the Kings way in the final 12 minutes. The Heat outscored the Kings 26-17 in the fourth to win the game at the buzzer 89-88. Leading the Heat to victory was Kendrick Nunn, who scored 27 points on 9-20 shooting. Also, another good Heat performance was by Yante Maten, who dropped 21 points.

Even in defeat, the Kings had some positive takeaways from day two of the California Classic. Hollis Thompson was the leading scorer for Sacramento with 18 points. Kyle Guy and Eric Mika both scored 13 points while Semaj Christon and Marcus Derrickson dropped 10 for Sac.

Up Next: Wednesday the California Classic wraps up with the Heat and Warriors playing at 12 PM PST and the Kings and Lakers squaring off at 2 PM PST.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Twins come into Oakland as 1 of the hottest teams in the AL

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Twins

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The A’s open a three-game series at the Oakland Coliseum against the Minnesota Twins. The A’s are coming off a 5-1 road trip for A’s manager Bob Melvin winning on the road is crucial.

#2 How impressive the race has become the A’s are in second place in the American League West and are second in the AL for the wild card?

#3 The Twins are at the Coliseum and for three and are the leading team in the AL Central 50-30 and eight games in front of Cleveland.

#4 The Twins are potent. Nine of the hitters that they have in the lineup have hit 10 home runs this season so to say the Twins are having a good season is an understatement.

#5 It’s the Twins and A’s on Tuesday night at the Coliseum. Starting for the Twins Jake Odorizzi (10-3, 2.73 ERA), and for the A’s, Daniel Mengden (2-1, 4.03 ERA).

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Skaggs’ death a shock to the baseball world; Coco takes out Serena; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @molly_knight

On Headline Sports with Barbara Mason:

#1 How shocked is the baseball world after finding out about the death of 27-year-old Tyler Skaggs, who was found dead in his Texas hotel room during the Los Angeles Angels’ trip to face the Texas Rangers. The game was canceled.

#2 Was the loss at Wimbledon for Venus Williams to 15-year-old Cori “Coco” Gauff more a pass the baton moment, defeating Williams in the first round of the tournament or was it a match for Williams trying to figure the younger player out?

#3 Megan Rapinoe is no doubt the face of the US Women’s Soccer team. She was confident, showed leadership, she took on Trump and the White House. How important is Rapinoe to women’s sports and how she represents women in the US World Cup?

#4 How realistic is it that San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner will be traded sooner or later? The New York Yankees are chomping at the bit at getting a shot at getting Bumgarner.

#5 The San Jose Sharks dealt their captain Joe Pavelski to the Dallas Stars. Did the concussion that Pavelski sustained in the playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights play a role in the Sharks parting ways with Pavelski or was it something else?

Barbara Mason does Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Aces grind out win over Sky, 90-82

Published on by psushawnLeave a comment

20190629 - Kayla McBride 01

Photo credit: Sports Radio Service/Shawn McCullough

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces won their fourth game in their last five with a 90-82 victory over the Chicago Sky at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

“Grind out win. That’s what today was, was a grinded out game,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer. “Our defense was not there for two-thirds of the game but it happens that way sometimes. Our offense was able to carry the day.”

The Aces got balanced scoring with five players scoring 14 or more points led by Kayla McBride, A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage with 16.

“That’s the big thing with our team, we have so many weapons on our offensive end. We can do it in so many different ways,” said McBride. “It comes from so many different places and that’s the dynamic of our team.”

The Aces shot 53.7% from the field and 5 for 7 from three point range.

“We score off of our defense and transitions, and we also just score off of the weapons we have on the offensive end,” said McBride. “I thought it was a great team effort.”

With the win, the Aces improved to 8-5 on the season heading into a third straight home game on Friday against the Washington Mystics at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • The game tipped off at noon.
  • It was “Camp Day” at the game where summer camps are invited to attend an Aces day-game matchup.
  • Liz Cambage extended her streak of double-digit scoring efforts to 44 games (16 points). That is the longest active streak in the WNBA.
  • Las Vegas outscored Chicago 54-30 in the paint.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 21 Kayla McBride
C – 8 Liz Cambage
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Warriors Trying to Appease Their Fans

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @warriors

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The Golden State Warriors were ready to become the next Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls dynasty. But now, that is all, but a memory — a wish for their fans. Kevin Durant made a brief stop with the Warriors, and in a flash, it was all just a dream for their fans — one of those dreams you do not want to wake up from.

The truth remains that in this era of huge salaries and free agency, it is very difficult to keep a championship group together in the NBA. Mega stars like LeBron James play with a team, win a couple of titles and then just move on. With the departure of Durant to Brooklyn and Andre Iguodala to Memphis, the Warriors have a totally different look.

Now the Warriors organization is saying that no Warriors player will ever wear #35 again, that of Kevin Durant, who left for Brooklyn to join his 2016 Olympic buddies Kyrie Irvin and DeAndre Jordan and leaving millions on dollars on the table, which was offered by the Warriors.

“As long as I am co-chairman of this team, no player will ever wear #35 for the Warriors again,” Joe Lacob said in a statement.

OK, Warriors fans, calm down. The organization still wants to please you and continue to win. They are going to be moving this winter to Chase Arena in San Francisco. That will be the biggest attraction, a beautiful brand-new home. As far as winning, well nothing lasts forever. The LA Lakers will probably be the favorite to win in their division, but the Warriors should still be very competitive. Well, let’s hope so.

The Beatles also broke up in 1969 John Lennon informed the other Beatles he was leaving. Later in 1970, Paul McCartney also said goodbye to his fellow band members. The Beatles had a dynasty of music in the 60’s — like the Boston Celtics’ dynasty — they also became free agents who went their separate ways. John, George, and Ringo went solo, while Paul formed the famous band Wings.

Samardzija, Longoria stand out in Giants’ 13-2 rout of the Padres

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

This was an occasion where incremental improvement appeared quite dramatic.

Yes, the Giants have played slightly better ball since starting the season with just 21 wins in their first 54 contests. But that improvement hasn’t jumped off the sports pages. In fact, while winning 16 of their last 30, attendance at Oracle Park has suffered with huge chunks of empty seats spread across the ballpark.

At San Diego’s Petco Park on Monday, the Giants were a lot more noticeable in a 13-2 rout of the Padres, keyed by Jeff Samardzija’s lengthy outing and backed by three home runs. The Giants have won three of four, and scored double-digit runs in consecutive ballgames. Not weeks-long great, but for the National League’s second worst offense, something different than what we’ve seen to date.

“We’ve had some tough games offensively this year,” said Evan Longoria, who broke out with a home run and a double. “But when we have some offensive explosions, we know how to have some fun. Today was one of those days.”

The Giants built a 7-0 lead, on the strength of a four-run fifth inning, and cruised. In the early onslaught, Longoria doubled in a run, Austin Slater–in his 2019 debut–tripled home Longoria. Then in the fifth, Tyler Austin doubled home a pair, as did Buster Posey.

That gave Samardzija a nice cushion, but the Giants’ starter who suffered in June, didn’t just cruise, he rocked.

Samardzija threw eight innings–becoming the first Giants’ starter to go that deep into a ballgame in 2019–allowing two runs on five hits. After posting an 5.93 ERA in June, the improvement was dramatic. The veteran pitcher was in control throughout, and he gave other Giants’ arms a much needed break.

“We had a lot of guys down there we’re trying to give an extra day’s rest,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He did that and more: eight solid innings. That was huge. Good stuff, good movement.”

The Giants started the season with a bunch of question marks, starting with their outfield, and continuing past their aging infield. Acquisitions of Kevin Pillar, Austin, Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson and others after Opening Day have helped the offense show some improvement. That improvement took a leap with the team’s 10-4 rout of the Diamondbacks on Sunday, then the breakout against the Padres on Monday.

San Diego’s Logan Allen won his first two major league starts, but the rookie ran into trouble on Monday. He started fast, posting zeros in the first three frames, but things went south from there. Allen allowed six runs before being pulled in the fifth, after allowing the first two batters to reach.

“I missed a few pitches here and there,” Allen said. “I still feel like I competed my butt off. But the results weren’t there. I felt strong the entire game. I felt I made good pitches. That’s the way it goes. Sometimes you have your ‘A’ stuff and you get beat. Sometimes you have your ‘C’ stuff and you win.”

The Giants continue their three-game trip on Tuesday with Tyler Beede getting the start opposite the Padres’ Matt Strahm.