Month: April 2022

Sharks Fall 1-0 to Predators in OT

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Nashville Predators’ Mattias Ekholm (14) celebrates with Ryan Johansen (92) after Johansen scored the winning goal against San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (34) in overtime at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tue Apr 12, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost their seventh in a row 1-0 in overtime to the Nashville Predators Tuesday. Ryan Johansen scored the lone goal of the game. Juuse Saros made 25 saves for the win. The Predators moved into the first wild card spot with the win. Kaapo Kahkonen made 40 saves for San Jose in the loss.

Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen described what he saw from his team: “Good road game. We battled hard and we didn’t step back and did a lot of good things. We were in the game all game, just a tough result again. But I think a lot of good things for being on the road and playing a good team.”

Despite their current losing streak, the Sharks have been very close in many of their recent games, including this one. Sharks forward Rudolfs Balcers described the mood in the room after the game: “Frustrating, you know, trying to get that win here, it’s been too many losses. I mean, it’s just tough, you don’t score goals you don’t win a game. So, the guys are a little down.”

The Sharks put up a good fight, including fights in the first period and the third from Jeffrey Viel and Nicolas Meloche. In general, the team played well and certainly improved on their prior meeting with Nashville, when they lost 8-0. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I think that we did a decent job of sort of establishing our game. I think I looked up at the clock at one point in time it was 11 or 12 minutes to play in the first period and the shots were 2-1. So, those were things that we wanted to come out and establish. You know, we stood up to them physically and [Couture] came out hitting, [Viel], Meloche, guys like that. We took the hit to make the play we gave hits, it was a physical grind and I thought we answered the bell.”

There were two goals from the Predators in the game, but the first one was called back when the Sharks challenged the play for offside. Ryan Johansen’s overtime goal came 3:18 into the the extra frame. Johansen took the shot from a bad angle and it seemed to deflect of off a Shark before slipping under Kahkonen and into the net. Assists went to Mattias Ekholm and Filip Forsberg.

The Sharks were outshot by the Predators 25-41 through the game. In the face-off circle, they did well in the first period but by the end of the game were down to 43%. The Sharks killed two penalties, allowing just three shots. Their power play had one opportunity and got one shot on goal. Matt Nieto led the team in shots with four.

The Sharks play again on Thursday in Chicago against the Blackhawks at 5:30 PM PT.

He Was A Giant? John Fitzgerald pitched for San Francisco for a lone season in 1958

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San Francisco Giants pitcher John Fitzgerald pitched for the Giants for just one season the first year of the team since moving from New York (file photo from pinterest)

He Was A Giant?

John Fitzgerald – LHP – 1958 – # 35

By Tony The Tiger Hayes

In 1958, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was preparing to launch his historic presidential campaign. That year the freshly minted San Francisco Giants briefly had their own John Fitzgerald, a 6-foot-3, left-handed pitcher out of Brooklyn, New York.

How briefly? Fitzgerald’s big league inauguration, full-term, lame duck status and exit from the majors occurred all in a single game.

Why was he a Giant?

It’s kind of a mystery. Prior to making his major league debut with San Francisco, Fitzgerald had not pitched in a professional game since 1956, when he was drafted into military service.

When John Francis Fitzgerald made his major league debut and swan song on the final game of the 1958 season he was 25 years old.

It’s possible Fitzgerald mustered out of the service in the City at the Presidio making it convenient to have him swing by Seals Stadium to appear in the last game of the season.

The facts of him joining the big league club are as murky as the lone photo ever seen of southpaw in a Giants uniform.

Before & After

Signed by the Giants in 1953, Fitzgerald enjoyed significant success in the minors. As a 19 year old minor league rookie in 1953, Fitzgerald went 8-8, 4.64 for the St. Cloud Rox of the Northern League.

The Giants prospect really opened eyes in 1955 when he topped the Carolina League in strikeouts (233) while a member of the Class-D Danville Leafs. He finished with a stellar 14-7, 2.87 ledger and was named to the loop’s All-Star club.

But then, Fitzgerald’s pitching career was put into suspended animation for two seasons as he fulfilled his military obligations at about the same time Elvis Presley was also cleaning and carrying a rifle.

Then suddenly in September of 1958, as the Giants were winding down their inaugural season of fog ball, Fitzgerald was added to the big league roster.

Fitzgerald developed elbow issues the following spring and struggled the remainder of his professional career, spent entirely in the Giants organization.

He pitched two more seasons in the minor leagues (1959-60) before leaving organized baseball at the age of 27 after a winless season at Class-A Springfield in 1960.

He Never Had a Bobblehead Day. But…

Considering he had been on the shelf for two years, Fitzgerald had a stellar big league debut.

With the Giants in third place, 13 games back of Milwaukee, Giants manager Bill Rigney selected Fitzgerald to start the 79-74 Giants 1958 finale vs. the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.

Fitzgerald retired the lead off batter, left fielder Ellis Burton, on a ground out to shortstop Andre Rodgers, before walking shortstop Lee Tate. Fitzgerald faced the toughest batter of his life next, the illustrious Stan Musial. As expected, “Stan the Man” stung the San Francisco rookie’s first pitch, but the liner was snagged by second baseman Danny O’Connell, who then doubled Tate off first base.

With confidence surging through his left arm, Fitzgerald went to work in the second. “Fitz” struck out All-Star third baseman Ken Boyer and then fanned in succession catcher Gene Green and center fielder Bobby Smith.

Fitzgerald took a 3-0 lead into the third inning, but that changed quickly when St.Louis right fielder Joe Cunningham blasted a lead off homer over Seals Stadium’s right field fence. The long ball marked Cunningham’s career high 12th homer of the season.

Fitzgerald quickly regained his composure however and retired second baseman Eddie Kasko on a fly out to Willie Mays in center field. He nabbed pitcher Sam Jones – who would join the Giants in 1959 – on a ground out to Rodgers and notched Burton again on a ground out to third baseman Jim Davenport.

And with that, Fitzgerald exited the contest in favor of fellow rookie Dom Zanni. The fellow New York City native would go the next four frames, allowing one run, and was credited with the victory. Al Worthington recorded his 16th save in the 7-2 Giants win before 19,435 fans.

Fitzgerald would never appear in another major league contest.

Giant Footprint.

Fitzgerald was in the running for a roster spot in 1959, but his chances took a fatal blow when he broke down in an exhibition vs. the Cubs.

Fitzgerald suffered what trainer Doc Bowman described as a “shock to the ulnar nerve” of his left elbow, describing the pain as similar to “hitting your funny bone.”

Only Fitzgerald wasn’t laughing. Today, Fitzgerald would have probably been prescribed “Tommy John” surgery. But of course that baseball career altering ligament replacement surgery was still more than a decade away from being developed in 1959.

Fitzgerald tried pitching through the pain, but he was not effective.

After he left baseball, the trail runs as cold as a Candlestick Park hot dog on Fitzgerald.

Of all the living players from the 1958 club, Fitzgerald was the only one author Steve Bitker could not locate for his 1998 book “The Original San Francisco Giants.” Some recent reports have him residing in suburban New Jersey.

Fitzgerald would be 89 years old making him one of the oldest living former Giants.

Rays outlast A’s 9-8 in ten innings; Series at Tropicana tied at 1-1

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Tampa Bay Rays’ Manuel Margot, center, is congratulated by teammates hitting an RBI walkoff single off Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Lou Trivino in the bottom of the tenth inning at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay on Tue Apr 12, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Tampa Bay Rays (4-1) downed the Oakland A’s (2-3) 9-8 in ten innings Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. The game moved at the speed of a glacier as it took four hours and 13 minutes to play.

The game featured two pitchers making their Major League debuts. Neither pitcher fared well. Rays’ starter Tommy Romero went one and two-thirds innings. He allowed three runs, three hits, and walked five. The A’s starter, Adam Oller, lasted one and one-third innings. His line was five runs, five hits, three walks, and he gave up two home runs.

The A’s jumped off to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Romero walked the first two batters he faced. A’s DH, Jed Lowrie, blasted his first homer of the year to make it 3-0. The Rays’ leadoff hitter, Brandon Lowe, homered to make it 3-1.

Tampa put four on the board in the bottom of the second. Rays’ catcher Mike Zunino doubled to start the rally. Zunino went to third on Oller’s throwing error. Second baseman Taylor Wall singled to drive in Zunino.

Brandon Lowe walked to put two men on with no out. Oller retired Wander Franco for the first out. Rays’ first baseman Ji-Man Choi put Oller’s pitch into the seats in right field to put the Rays ahead 5-3. Oller’s night was over.

In the bottom of the third, with Jacob Lemoine on the mound for Oakland, Brett Phillips sent Lemoine’s pitch into the stands to make it 6-3.

The A’s offense woke up from its slumber to put a run on the board. With two out and Seth Brown at second, Stephen Piscotty reached on an infield single. Brown, running hard, appeared to be thrown out at the plate. Rays’ catcher Mike Zunino had trouble holding onto the ball.

Brown slid in safely. The A’s trail 6-4. The Rays regained the three-run advantage in their half of the sixth. Wander Franco led off with a triple. Ji-Man Choi reached on an infield single. Franco was held at third. Unfortunately for the A’s, second baseman Tony Kemp could not handle Randy Arozarena’s ground ball. Kemp’s error allowed Franco to score. The score after six was 7-4 Rays.

The A’s refused to quit. With two out in the top of the seventh, the A’s plated three runs to tie the score. The fifth Rays’ pitcher of the night, Ralph Garza, walked Lowrie and Sean Murphy. Seth Brown singled to drive in Lowrie. Chad Pinder’s fly ball to rightfield went over Manuel Margot’s head and bounced up against the wall for a double. Murphy and Brown scored and tied the game at 7-7.

Neither team could score in the eighth or ninth innings. The game went into extra innings. The A’s scored a run to take the lead 8-7. Chad Pinder was the ghost runner at second base to start the tenth. A’s first baseman, Billy McKinney, singled to drive in Pinder.

The Rays’ Brandon Lowe was the ghost runner in the bottom of the tenth. Lou Trivino was now pitching for Oakland. Trivino had to face a tough customer in the person of Wander Franco. The young superstar doubled to drive in Lowe and tie the game.

Trivino retired Randy Arozarena for the first out. The A’s put Josh Lowe on first to set up a possible inning-ending double play. The strategy was for naught as Manuel Margot ended the game with a single to drive in Franco. The Rays win 9-8.

Game Notes- The A’s are 2-3 for the year with the loss. The Rays improved to 4-1. The A’s used eight pitchers, the Rays six. The Rays’ pitchers handed out nine free passes plus a hit batter. The A’s pitchers issued eight.

The line score for Oakland was eight runs, eight hits, and three errors. Tampa’s line was nine runs, 13 hits, and one error.

The time of the game was 4:17. Attendance was a paltry 7588 people in the stands. Neither team draws well at home.

Game three of the four-game series will start at 3:40m pm on Wednesday. Going for Oakland right hander Frankie Montas 0-1 ERA 9.00 for Tampa Bay Shane McClanahan 0-0 ERA 0.00.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Amaury’s brick message to Cuban baseball fans stands true today

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On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, Pink Floyd once had the chance to sing about another brick in the wall, you had a chance to put a brick on the floor at Willie Mays Plaza in 2000 at Pac Bell Park you dedicated to those who were in Cuba that loved baseball but who could not leave Cuba.

#2 Amaury, there are numerous bricks on the Mays Plaza that dedicates many messages to fans, these were placed there during the inaugural year how much does your message stand up today?

#3 In 1998 MLB took Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan doing the play by play and color to Havana something that was never done before what did it mean for baseball to go to Cuba and play a game there?

#4 Was the experience for the game to go to Cuba a positive one for MLB obviously MLB has never gone back to Cuba since 1998?

#5 Many Cuban players have come out of Cuba over the years some either declared political asylum and very few were granted permission to play MLB by the Cuban government.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for the Spanish play by play of Oakland A’s beisbol with Manolo Hernandez-Douen on flagship station 1010 KIQI Le Grande San Francisco and listen for Amaury for News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

West Coast Chess: Brainy managers, twins highlight Padres 4-2 win over the Giants

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–A match-up of high-minded managers that won’t give an inch while trying to swipe a couple of runs isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but deploying competing, identical twins on a freezing cold night sure provides a unique edge.

That was the scene at Oracle Park on Monday as the Bob Melvin-led Padres pushed their way past the Giants and newly-minted Manager of the Year, Gabe Kapler, winning 4-2.

The NL West hopefuls, both trying to top each other while keeping the division favorite Dodgers within their sights, engaged in station-to-station baseball while searching for a breakthrough with San Diego’s Austin Nola the only slugger able to cut through the cold air with his solo blast in the fifth that gave the Padres a brief 2-1 lead.

The rest was a chess match, orchestrated by Melvin and Kapler and executed by the competing twins, Taylor and Tyler Rogers. In the seventh, Tyler allowed a tie-breaking run on two hits, and Taylor–recently acquired in a trade with the Twins–pitched a scoreless ninth and saved it for the visitors.

“We’re both trying to throw a lot of strikes,” Tyler said. “We both do throw a lot of strikes. We pitch different–I pitch different than everybody–but, really, if you look at it, we’re very similar pitchers.”

The twins were only fifth set to compete in a major league game and the first since Ozzie and Jose Canseco did it in 1990. The upcoming two games of the series won’t feature both as Tyler departed after the game to be with his wife, Jennifer, who is due to give birth in the coming days.

But the occasion was clearly energizing for both, and they’ll 16 more opportunities to compete this season after the trade brought them closer together.

“Normally we leave for the season and I don’t see him again for eight months,” Tyler said. “So I’m looking forward to seeing him throughout the year. Dinners are on him.”

More so than Tyler Rogers’ rough inning, the Giants saw their evening unravel with an 0 for 11 performance with runners in scoring position which wasted eight base hits, four walks and two doubles. San Diego’s Nick Martinez, making his first big league start since 2017, was the first to survive all the Giants’ traffic on the basepaths by pitching five innings while striking out six, walking one and scattering five of those Giants’ hits.

Alex Wood lasted just 4 1/3 innings in his first start, departing after he allowed Nola’s homer that put the Giants in a 2-1 hole.

The Padres and Giants pick it up again on Tuesday with Yu Darvish and Alex Cobb getting the starting pitching assignments.

A’s belt four homers pummel Rays in laugher 13-2

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Oakland Athletics’ Elvis Andrus (17) is congratulated by Tony Kemp (5) after belting a three home run in the second inning off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chris Mazza at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay on Mon Apr 11, 2022 (AP News photo)

A’s belt four homers pummel Rays in laugher 13-2

By Jerry Feitelberg

On Monday night, the Oakland A’s began a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg. The Rays opened the season with three straight wins over the Baltimore Orioles. The A’s went 1-2 against the Philadelphia Phillies to start the season.

The Rays won 100 games last year. Their manager, Kevin Cash, was the AL Manager of the Year for the last two seasons. Under a new manager Mark Kotsay, the A’s were hoping to get a win to start the series.

Well, fans, the A’s did just that. They had their hitting shoes on as they put four runs on the board in the first and second innings and coasted to an easy 13-2 win over the Rays. The A’s hit four home runs in the game.

They had two three-run dingers, a solo blast, and a grand slam. Shortstop Elvis Andrus had a single, double, and a three-run homer. Andrus needed a triple to complete the cycle. Right-fielder Seth Brown also hit a three-run blast.

His big fly came in the first inning. Brown has seven RBIs in the first four games. Third baseman Sheldon Neuse (pronounced Noisy) hit his first home run of the year in the ninth. It was his first career grand slam.

The A’s put four runs on the board in the first inning. With one out, Elvis Andrus doubled. Rays’ pitcher Luis Patino retired Billy McKinney for the first out. Unfortunately for Patino, he hurt his leg on the pitch and had to leave the game.

He was replaced by Chris Mazza, a young man from Walnut Creek. Mazza hit Sean Murphy with a pitch to put two men on with two out. Seth Brown homered into the right-field seats to make it 3-0. Chad Pinder then homered to make it 4-0.

Things continued to go south for Chris Mazza. Neuse got things going with a single to start the rally. Rookie centerfielder, Cristian Pache, singled to put two men on with no out. Second baseman Tony Kemp’s grounder to Rays’ second baseman Taylor Walls was misplayed. Neuse scored to put the A’s ahead 5-0. Elvis Andrus homered to give the A’s a commanding 8-0 lead midway through the second inning.

Oakland put another run on the board in the fourth. Pache reached on a fielding error by Rays’ shortstop Wander France. Singles by Tony Kemp and Elvis Andrus loaded the bases for Oakland. Pache scored on Sean Murphy’s fielder’s choice.

The A’s starter, Paul Blackburn, held the Rays scoreless in his five innings of work. He allowed three hits and no runs. Blackburn walked one a struck out a career-high seven batters. He threw 71 pitches.

The Rays scored a run in the sixth and a run in the eighth to make it 9-2. The Rays used outfielder Brett Phillips to pitch in the eighth and ninth innings of the game. In the ninth, Phillips walked Billy McKinney to start the frame. He retires the next two hitters.

Chad Pinder doubles, sending McKinney to third. Phillips walked Stephen Vogt to load the bases. Phillips pitches were clocked at 49 miles an hour. Sheldon Neuse met the challenge and took a 49-mile-per-hour pitch on a journey into the left-field seats. The A’s won the game 13-2.

Game Notes: Paul Blackburn was the winning pitcher. Luis Patino took the loss for the Rays. The A’s evened their record at 2-2. The Rays are 3-1 for the season.

Sean Murphy hit the first triple of his career when Kevin Kiermaier, a three-time Gold Glover, misplayed the ball.

The A’s used four pitchers. Blackburn went five, Zach Jackson pitched the sixth, A.J.Puk worked the seventh and eighth, and Jason Grimm pitched the ninth. The Rays used six pitchers.

Game two of the four-game series will start at 3:40 PM Pacific Time on Tuesday evening. The A’s will send rookie Adam Oller to the hill, and Ray’s rookie Tommy Romero will oppose him. It will be the first time in MLB history that two pitchers will be making their MLB debut in the same game.

The time of the game was three hours exactly. Nine thousand one hundred thirty-nine fans watched as the A’s pounded the Rays 13-2.

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: Thompson improving getting better and better; Could be huge for club in the post season

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Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) goes up in the air against the New Orleans Pelicans guard Jared Harper (2) at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Sun Apr 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara:

1.Sunday night the Warriors took on the New Orleans Pelicans. How important was this game for Golden State.

2 .Klay Thompson had an amazing game even better than his performance last Thursday.

3. We can’t talk about this season without talking about Kevon Looney and what he was called upon to do.

4. Another super hero for the Warriors this season was Jordan Poole really stepping up in whatever roll he was called upon to do.

5. Finally let’s take a peak at the upcoming match-up between the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors.

Join Barbara for the Golden State Warriors podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Heliot knows how to make an entrance from his leopard spotted cleats on up

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The San Francisco Giants hitter Heliot Ramos swings for a single in the bottom of the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco against Miami Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers on Sun Apr 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris what a way to break into the big leagues with a pair of hits and a run for rookie Heliot Ramos in the San Francisco Giants 3-2 win over the Miami Marlins (1-2) on Sunday to take a three game series 2-1.

#2 What turned out to be the game winning run came off the bat of Mauricio Dubon early in the game with a third inning double when Marlin pitcher Trevor Roberts threw for a error to allow Ramos to score.

#3 Ramos got a lot of support when he came up to the plate a standing ovation in his MLB debut getting a base hit and later to score on Dubon’s double. Ramos was just called up to the show from triple A Sacramento before Sunday’s game.

#4 Ramos was the 19th pick in the MLB 2017 draft it was a long time coming and what an introduction after all the hard work getting to the big leagues.

#5 Here comes one of the toughest customers in the National League to open a three game series at Oracle Park Bob Melvin and the San Diego Padres (3-1) who took the first of three from the Arizona Diamondbacks (1-3) at Chase Field. The Pads have a loaded line up and are doing it without injured Fernando Tatis Jr. The Padres will be starting right hander Nick Martinez he’ll be opposed by the Giants left hander Alex Wood. Morris how do you see this one tonight in a game you’ll be covering.

Morris Phillips does the San Francisco Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors Finish Third In Western Conference With Win Over Pelicans 128-107

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The Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) gets the finger roll shot over the New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado (15) at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Sun Apr 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Finish Third In Western Conference With Win Over Pelicans 128-107

By Barbara Mason

Sunday night the Golden State Warriors (53-29) clinched for third place finish in the Western Conference. They beat the New Orleans Pelicans (36-46) 128-107. Both of these teams are playoff bound but the Warriors really need to finish the season on a high note heading into the post-season.

Klay Thompson was back on board for this game. Andrew Wiggins sat this one out and Moses Moody was on the starting roster with Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson.

The Pelicans took an early lead but it would not be long before the Warriors started to crank things up. At the end of the first quarter the Warriors had a slim lead 27-26. The Pelicans had a seven point lead early but the Warriors erased that lead to win the first quarter.

The second quarter was a good one for the Warriors. Golden State finished the first half shooting an impressive 63%. Thompson went off finishing the half with 21 points and was 4 of 9 from downtown.

Jordan Poole had a better game tonight with 12 points after two quarters. Golden State had a 20 point lead at the half 68-48. The Pelicans are one of the poorest three- point shooting teams in the league and so it was no surprise that they shot only three in the first half to the Warriors ten.

The Warriors had shot 72% in the second quarter which was impressive. Every time that Thompson was open he was letting them fly and he was connecting. The team was protecting the ball and limiting those turnovers and had to keep that kind of play going into the second half of the game.

Both offenses began to slow down in the third quarter. It was the Pelicans that began to heat up in the final four minutes of the third quarter cutting a 29 point Warriors lead to an 11 point deficit.

Golden State took their foot off the gas and the Pelicans took it all the way to the bank and cashed in on a 22 to 4 run. The score after three quarters was 89-78 in favor of Golden State. It is a sure bet that the Dallas Mavs had renewed interest in what was going on in this game.

Going into the fourth quarter the Warriors had 16 turnovers and more importantly the Pelicans had scored 20 points off those turnovers.

The Golden State offense turned things around big time in the final quarter thanks to the shooting of Thompson. The Warriors really pulled it together when push came to shove. The victory for the Warriors gives them the third best record in the NBA.

Klay Thompson had his first 40 point game since his comeback shooting 41 points. Jordan Poole was back shooting for 22 points. The entire team had a beautiful defensive effort with 41 rebounds.

We now know that the Warriors will be taking on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM. It still remains to be seen if Stephen Curry will be ready for Game One in playoff series.

Kings Beat No.1 Team in NBA 116-109; Positive result to end 2021-22 Sacramento season

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Sacramento Kings forward Justin Holiday throws down in front of Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson (23) in first half action at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Sun Apr 10, 2022

Kings Beat No.1 Team in NBA 116-109; Positive result to end 2021-22 Sacramento season

By Barbara Mason

It has been a long long season for the Sacramento Kings (30-52). They have fought through the loss of a Head Coach (Luke Walton) and injury and lots of frustration. With all that they have endured throughout the season, they have to finish it playing the best team in the NBA the Phoenix Suns (64-18).

It was a bit of a surprise to see the Kings leading after the first quarter 33-24. What was even more surprising was the fact that they extended their lead to 67-51 at the half. Of course the Suns were not playing Devon Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton not risking injury to their starters and keeping them fresh for their post-season run.

On the other hand the Kings De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis were out with injury so missing their top scorer Fox and newest acquisition Sabonis.

A win for the Suns makes no difference in the standings. A win for Sacramento would give them their 30th win of the season and a little something to hang their hat on after the disappointment they have gone through all year. The Kings shocked picking up a win at Footprint Center in Phoenix over the first place Kings 116-109.

The Suns made up a little ground in the third quarter but the Kings stubbornly held on with some great play from Justin Holiday and Davion Mitchell. They continued to hold a double digit lead mid-way through the third.

The Kings saw their 16 point lead start to shrink as the quarter came to an end. After three quarters Sacramento held a 86-77 lead. They would have to dig deep to finished the season with a win.

The Kings maintained a double digit lead until the final three minutes of this game. With 2:38 left on the clock the Suns were trailing by eight points. The Suns would make if really interesting trailing by three points with 8.6 left on the clock. The Kings refused to go down in this game and finished off the Suns.

Sacramento had some great work from Damian Jones, Mitchell and Donte Divincenzo all with 19 points. So now we bid a brief farewell to the Kings as they head into the off-season. With a healthy De’Aaron Fox, Sabonis, Damian Jones, Mitchell Divincenzo and Harrison Barnes there is some optimism going forward for the Kings.

Our thanks to our Sacramento Kings beat writer staff for the 2021-22 season, Jeremiah Salmonson, Charlie O, Morris Phillips, Barbara Mason, Jessica Kwong, Daniel Dullum and Marko Ukalovic