Month: September 2019

MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington: It’s Rays and A’s for the Wednesday wild card, but where?

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photo from sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Marcus Semien rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, in Seattle.

On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

#1 The Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays both qualify for at least one game of wild card baseball the site is yet to be determined as it’s too close to call but either way there’s no doubt it should be a nail biter.

#2  The Rays Tommy Pham led the way with a two run homer and they got quality pitching from Tyler Glasnow who pitched 4 1/3 innings of no hit ball against the Toronto Blue Jays as the Rays beat the Jays 6-2 to clinch for a wild card birth.

#3 In the National League the Los Angeles Dodgers are in a four game win streak they took the first game game of their series against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night 9-2 and ran away with the NL West this season by over 20 games on top.

#4 The Oakland A’s announced they will start Sean Manaea who came in the season after recovery from Tommy John surgery and in his first two games he threw shutout ball. Manaea has won his last four starts with 1.21 ERA.

#5 The timing is good for the return of A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty who just came off the IL manager Bob Melvin said it will be an adjustment period over the weekend in Seattle in preparation for Wednesday’s wild card game vs. the Rays.

Matt Harrington does the MLB podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast: NFL Week Four

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The Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast: NFL Week Four – Let the byes begin!

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Hosts: Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty & Dr. Charlie O. Mallonee

  • Is this the week that Jared Goff breaks out?
  • Daniel Jones should be a start versus Washington
  • Philip Rivers is going to have a big first half
  • Need a QB? Look at Jacoby Bissett
  • Look for Marlon Mack to run over the Raiders
  • Think twice before benching Frank Gore

This is just some of the advice the doctors have for you in order for you to win your fantasy matchups this Sunday. If you want to win, push play now!

With Garbers lost to injury, ASU seizes an opportunity with big 24-17 upset win over No. 15 Cal

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — By the numbers, Friday Night Lights in the Pac-12 conference has been pretty predictable.

Fifteen games, 13 wins for the home team.

But if you throw a veteran coach with the pedigree of Herm Edwards into the mix, the task of going on the road–against a good team–on a short week gains some clarity.

It did for Arizona State, and the task became even clearer when Cal quarterback Chase Garbers was felled with a shoulder injury.

“We forced them to throw the ball. We had to put our best guys on their guys and go cover them,” Edwards said.

“We’re playing the 15th ranked team on the road. You can’t be afraid to win. We had nothing to lose. The pressure was on them.”

In a tight ballgame that was tied after each of the first three quarters, the Sun Devils didn’t flinch. With the exception of the opening drive of the second half, the Cal running game was shut down. Garbers kept the Bears churning, throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to Treveon Clark, but he was finished before halftime after he was tripped up and fell hard on shoulder.

The wopening drive of the second half provided momentum for Cal. They ran the ball on all 12 plays, played at a faster pace, and took a 14-7 lead on Christopher Brown Jr.’s 1-yard run.

But Arizona State answered right back, first with a big kickoff return from Brandon Aiyuk that was aided by a 15-yard penalty on Jose Ogunbanjo for grabbing Aiyuk’s face mask. Seven plays later, the Sun Devils were tied again after Benjamin Eno’s touchdown run.

Ogunbanjo gained some redemption when he recovered ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels fumble forced by linebacker Cameron Goode. That set up the Bears at the ASU 30-yard line with 11:58 remaining. But the Bears did little offensively, settling for Greg Thomas’ 47-yard field goal.

The field goal and the 17-14 lead would be Cal’s final push of the evening. Behind the running of Benjamin, ASU responded, turning a 15-play drive into a 21-17 lead with 6:16 remaining. Benjamin challenged himself and his offensive mates on the sideline prior to the drive.

“They don’t have their starting quarterback,” Benjamin told his teammates. “We have to take advantage of it.”

The Sun Devils registered back-to-back road upsets of ranked teams in nearly 15 years by beating the Bears, and No. 18 Michigan State two weeks ago. Edwards declared that being the visitor took the pressure off his team in both cases.

“When it’s a one-score game, you’re comfortable being uncomfortable,” Edwards said of his team’s mindset.

Afterwards, the Bears pointed to their lack of effort as the difference in the game.

“Can’t play very well and can’t win games when you’re not even making the simple plays, and we didn’t today. That was it,” said linebacker and defensive leader Evan Weaver.

The Bears failed to move to 5-0 for the first time since 2015. They travel to Oregon next week for a meeting with the No. 13 Ducks.

Giants fall victim to Dodgers in 9-2 loss

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Photo credit: sfchronicle.com

By Lewis Rubman

Los Angeles: 9 | 9 | 2

San Francisco: 2 | 8 | 0

SAN FRANCISCO — The first order of business for the Giants this evening was the presentation of the Willie Mac Award to Kevin Pillar as the Giants player who best exemplifies the inspiration, character, and leadership that characterized Willie McCovey. It was the first time since his death that the award that honors his legacy had been bestowed. It’s not a stretch to say that his absence added a large dose of poignancy to the ceremony.

This was the third time that the Dodgers sent Walker Buehler (13-4, 3.25 ERA) to the mound against the Giants this season. He was the winner of a 10-3 thrashing of San Francisco at Oracle Park on April 30, giving up all of the Giants’ runs in his five and a third innings of work. He returned to McCovey Cove on June 9 to shut the Giants down without a run over seven innings on the way to a 1-0 white wash of the home team.

Johnny Cueto, the Giants’ starter, was facing the Dodgers for the first time this season, but it was the 21st time he pitched against them over his 13-year major league career. In his three starts since coming off the injured list on September 10, he had gone 1-1, 2.57 ERA. He looked good but hadn’t gone over four innings in any of those starts. He didn’t make it past two tonight.

If Cueto sparkled in his 1-2-3 first, he lost all of his luster in the second. Cody Bellinger and Corey Seger hit back to back homers to right center to open the frame. The Dodger bats paused for a moment while Will Smith walked, but he broke into a full-fledged run scoring on Gavin Lux’s triple off the right field fence. Cueto fanned Kike Hernández and Buehler, but Joc Pederson socked another dinger into the upper rows of the right center field seats for Los Angeles’s fourth and fifth tallies of the inning. You needn’t bother to look for Cueto’s line for the night; this paragraph tells you all you need to know about his performance.

The Giants got one run back in the bottom of the second. Pillar walked and advanced to third on Alex Dickerson’s single to center. Crawford’s sac fly to left drove him in, and when Dubón singled to right, it looked like the Giants might make a serious comeback. But Chris Shaw, batting for Cueto, and then Mike Yaztremski struck out.

Wandy Peralta took over for Cueto to start the third. With a little help from a pitcher’s best friend he held the visitors to one infield hit in that frame. He would pitch a 1-2-3 fourth before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of that inning.

Meanwhile, the Giants had drawn closer in the bottom of the third. Another sacrifice fly, Pillar’s shot to right, enabled Brandon Belt, who had walked and reached third on Vogt’s double to right, to score the Giants’ second run, getting home before catcher Will Smith could tag him out. Pederson’s throw was right on the money, but a mite too slow in arriving.

Peralta held Los Angeles through fourth, giving way to a pinch-hitter in the bottom half of that inning and being followed on the rubber by Sam Selman, another southpaw.

Buehler pitcched in and out of trouble until the Giants’ sixth, when he was relieved by Dylan Floro, who got Dubón out on a fly to right before yielding to Caleb Ferguson. Ferguson struck out the pinch hitting Cristhian Adames before surrendering a two out double to left to Yaztremski. He went to three and two on Belt before walking him. That was it for Ferguson, and it was up to Yimi García to face Evan Longoria, who represented the tying run. He got the Giants’ third baseman to ground to Muncy at first but then dropped the throw that would have ended the inning. Now Garcia had to face Stephen Vogt with the bases loaded. Vogt flew out to right.

Buehler’s line was two runs, both earned, on five hits and four walks. He struck out eight in his five innings of work, in which he threw 104 pitches, 67 of them strikes.

Kyle Barraclough, San Francisco’s newest entry in tonight’s mound sweepstakes, struck out Hernández and walked Edwin Ríos, batting for García. In came Andrew Suárez to pitcher for San Francisco. In came David Freese to bat for Pederson. He hit into a 6-4-3 double play, but the Giants still trailed 5-2.

Casey Sadler was the next in the long line of Dodger relievers. He, too, dodged a bullet when Lux made a leaping catch of a liner hit into the shift by Jaylin Davis, pinch hitting (naturally) with two outs and two on in the seventh.

The Giants’ bullpen had held Los Angeles scoreless for five innings when, with Shaun Anderson on the mound, a double by Chris Taylor, a conceded walk to Bellinger, and a fielder’s choice on a grounder by Seager into the shift to Crawford, whose behind the back flip to Dubón went astray loaded the bases with one out. Will Smith’s single to left center then drove in Taylor and Bellinger, to up the Angelinos’ advantage to 7-2. Hernández drove in Seager and Smith. It was now 9-2 and all over but the shouting.

The Giants made a quixotic attempt to make a game of it in the eighth, loading the bases with two out, but Tony Gonsolin got Dickerson to fly out to center.

The Giants used seven pitchers in their vain attempt to stifle the Dodgers’ offense. Los Angeles also used seven but to much better effect.

Buehler got the win; Cueto, the loss. There was no save. The Giants left 17 men on base.

It will be Hyun-Jin Ryu against Logan Webb tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. and Rich Hill facing Madison Bumgarner at 12:05 p.m. to finish the season on Sunday. After that game, there will be a major celebration to honor Bruce Bochy on his retirement.

A’s Don’t Help Themselves, Wild Card Race Tied After M’s 4-3 Walk-off Win

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Photo credit: @Mariners

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland A’s clinched a postseason berth Friday night, but it was hardly cause for celebration. By virtue of the Cleveland Indians losing earlier in the night, the A’s knew they’d be locked into a spot in the Wild Card game. The only question is where will that game be played?

The picture didn’t get clearer Friday. The A’s needed a win in Seattle to stay a game ahead of Tampa Bay for home field advantage in the do-or-die game, with the Rays winning earlier in the night. All signs were pointing up when Matt Olson hit a two-run homer in the seventh to give Oakland a 3-2 lead. But closer Liam Hendriks couldn’t hold on to the lead and the Mariners rallied to walk the A’s off 4-3 on a J.P. Crawford double. Now both Oakland and Tampa sit at 96 wins apiece.

Hendriks got a quick out before Mallex Smith singled. The A’s closer bounced back with a punchout of Dylan Moore, but Smith advanced to second and third base on wild pitches and scored easily on a Shed Long single to tie the game. Crawford then took a 3-2 pitch to left field on a line for the walk-off winner.

The A’s were trailing 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh after Seattle scored runs in the top of the first and third innings off Mike Fiers. Marcus Semien’s 33rd homer of the season in the leadoff spot was the lone as run off Justus Sheffield to that point. Matt Chapman singled off reliever Zac Grotz with one out in the seventh, then Taylor Guilbeau was called in to face Olson. Olson hammered a 3-2 count over the wall in left field to give the A’s the 3-2 lead. AJ Puk, Jake Diekman and Joakim Soria all pitched scoreless innings in relief of Fiers, who pitched five strong, but will most likely watch the Wild Card game from the dugout, thanks to the reemergence of Sean Manaea.

The Rays have yet to announce a starter for Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays, but Trent Thornton and his 5.00 ERA will await the Tampa hitters who will step up to the plate eagerly. For Oakland Brett Anderson takes the hill against Marco Gonzalez, who despite a 4.09 ERA has 16 wins to his credit.

San Jose State loses to Air Force 41-24 in Colorado Springs

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Photo credit: @SanJoseStateFB

By Ana Kieu

The San Jose State football team had hoped to win two games in a row on Friday night against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Did it happen? Nope.

SJSU got the party started with a body blow. DeJon Packer punched it in from 1-yard out and the Spartans scored a touchdown on the opening drive for a 7-0 lead at 10:50 of the first quarter. Matt Mercurio kicked in the extra point.

But Air Force rained on SJSU’s parade and pretty much never looked back. Timothy Jackson scored on a 7-yard run to tie the game 7-7 with 4:57 left in the first. Jake Koehnke kicked in the extra point.

The game was tied 7-7 after the first.

Despite Bailey Gaither making a noteworthy catch on the sidelines and DeJon Packer having as many touchdowns so far this season (3) as in his first two seasons combined, Air Force poured in the points in the second quarter with 14. Donald Hammond III threw a pass to Geraud Sanders for a 64-yard touchdown with 8:43 left in the second. Taven Birdow plunged in from 1-yard out for the touchdown with 5:30 left in the second. Jake Koehnke kicked in both of the extra points.

SJSU cut their deficit to 11, thanks to Matt Mercurio’s 25-yard field goal with 48 seconds left in the second. After that, Air Force drove to the 4-yard line, but Jesse Osuna recovered a fumble and it was the Spartans’ football.

The Spartans trailed 21-10 at halftime.

Air Force, however, was ruthless in the third quarter. The Falcons opened the second half with a touchdown. Christian Mallard ran for a 3-yard touchdown for his first score of the season at 12:05 of the third quarter. Mallard then rushed for his second score, a 7-yard touchdown, at 10:10 of the third. The Falcons also held the Spartans on the 1-yard line and took over on downs. Jake Koehnke’s first kick was blocked, but his second kick was a success for the extra point.

The Spartans trailed 34-10 after three.

Once again, Air Force started things off in the fourth quarter. Taven Birdow ran for a 3-yard touchdown for a 41-10 lead with 7:48 left in the fourth. Jake Koehnke kicked in the extra point.

SJSU heated up late in the fourth, but it was too little, too late. Props to the Spartans for showing no quit though.

Nick Nash threw a pass to Andre Crump for a 30-yard touchdown to pull within 24 with 3:51 left in the fourth. The Spartans then got a 4th down stop on their own 22-yard line and it was their ball. Nash wrapped up the scoring with a pass to Derrick Deese Jr. for a 6-yard touchdown to pull within 17 with just 52 seconds left in regulation. Matt Mercurio kicked in both of the extra points.

The Spartans (2-2) lost to the Falcons (3-1) by a final score of 41-24.

The Spartans return home to host the New Mexico Lobos on Friday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on CBS Sports.

Safeway Open: NorCal natives on top of the leaderboard

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Photo credit: golfweek.com

By Jeremy Harness

NAPA–The Safeway Open is being held in Northern California, so it’s only fitting that two guys who grew up in the region are in the top two spots as the tournament heads into the weekend.

Bryson DeChambeau shot into the lead with an eight-under round of 64 on Friday. A native of Clovis, which is in the Fresno area, the 26-year-old started off hot and did not really let up the rest of the way. Starting on the 10th hole, he began by birdieing the first three holes in a row and would pick up two more shots on his first nine.

He would go on to birdie three more holes on the second nine and did not record a single bogey in the entire second round.

“Well, I made a couple good putts, that was obviously awesome, and I struck it lot better than I did yesterday,” DeChambeau said. “I scrapped it around, I got it in at four-under, and then I knew today if I could go work on my swing like I did yesterday and come out and feel comfortable like I did today, I’d come out and shoot a low number.”

Meanwhile, Nick Watney, who currently lives in Las Vegas but grew up in nearby Dixon, fired a seven-under round of 65 to vault himself into second place, only two strokes behind DeChambeau. He birdied his first two holes and would birdie two more holes on the front nine but dropped a shot with a bogey at the par-four eighth.

Watney recovered very nicely and finished with quite a flourish. He birdied holes 14 through 16, and he closed things out with a chip-in birdie at the par-five 18th hole.

“It was pretty smooth,” Watney said. “It was kind of like this course, if you keep it in front of you, you’ve got a chance to shoot a good score, so I’m happy with the day.”

However, Friday wasn’t all smiles. Tony Romo, who shot a two-under round of 70 on Thursday to give himself a chance, he shot a six-over 78, which was marred by six bogeys on the front nine and led the way to his missing the cut.

“(I) didn’t hit many fairways today,” Romo said. “With the firmness of the greens, it’s just difficult when you put yourself in some of the spots I was.

“I didn’t putt well. Started (with) three three-putts, I think, on the first eight holes. Kind of gets you a little antsy as far as trying to get some of them back.”

Barracuda shut out Eagles 3-0 in preseason opener

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Photo credit: @SJBarracuda

Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda kicked off the 2019-20 season with a 3-0 pre-season victory over the Colorado Eagles on Friday evening at Solar4America Ice at San Jose.

Playing the first of only two pre-season games, San Jose featured many new faces and some familiar faces on the ice against Colorado.

A new power play unit of Krystof Hrabik, Sasha Chmelevski, Ivan Chekovich, Thomas Gregoire and Noah Gregor made an instant impact just five minutes into the game. Chmelevski fed a pretty pass over to Hrabik and the Czech power forward wristed a shot past Eagles goalie Adam Werner for his first goal of the preseason.

The Cuda controlled played in the first 20 minutes as they outshot the Eagles 15-10.

San Jose (1-0) started the second period much like the first period scoring early on the power play. Tristin Langan sent a pass over to Gregor, who skated into the left slot where he threw a back door pass cross-ice to a wide-open Maxim Letunov, who buried a quick one-timer into an empty net for his first goal of the preseason at the 1:25 mark. The former second round pick of the St. Louis Blues scored with one second left on the power play.

Despite being outshot 8-6 in the middle frame, San Jose’s defense as well as Cuda goalie Andrew Shortridge kept the Eagles off the scoreboard. Shortridge had a pair of nice saves during the second period, including one breakaway attempt where completely sprawled out to keep the puck out of the net.

The Cuda iced the game on the power play midway through the third period. A delay of game call gave San Jose its third power play of the period. A turnover by Colorado found the stick of Gregor and he fired a quick wrist shot going top shelf for his first goal of the preseason at the 8:25 mark.

Shortridge stopped all 24 shots he faced to earn the shutout in his exhibition debut. Werner made 32 saves on 35 shots in suffering the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 3/5 on the power play. Colorado was 0/1.

UP NEXT: San Jose closes out the short two-game preseason hosting the Colorado Eagles on Saturday, September 28 at Solar4America Ice at San Jose.

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Quakes’ unforeseen losing skid continues; plus more

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. The Quakes lost to the defending MLS champion Atlanta United 3-1 last Saturday.

2. The Quakes lost to the Philadelphia Union 2-1 on Wednesday.

3. The Quakes host the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.

4. San Jose State left Arkansas with a 31-24 win last Saturday.

5. What does San Jose State need to do in order to beat Air Force tonight?

Ana does the San Jose Earthquakes podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Ford puts himself through the test, plays through injuries; Garoppolo finds success in last two games

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Photo credit: sfchronicle.com

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami:

#1 49ers defensive end Dee Ford said he played through injuries during the 2018 season in addition to two playoff games.

#2 Ford says that you’d be surprised what NFL players play through during the season.

#3 Ford said he plays through pain “and a lot of stuff” but he toughed it out last season and he’s looking to getting in the line up on Monday Night Football on Oct 7th .

#4 After going 3-0, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been successful hitting receivers and leading SF to those wins.

#5 After Garoppolo’s last two games, it has been some solid performance overshadowing his critics from earlier this season regarding the five pick practice and some tough exhibition games.

Join Joe for the 49ers podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com