Month: June 2022

Giants-Dodgers keeps that same energy

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San Francisco Giants’ Darin Ruf, left, is congratulated by third base coach Mark Hallberg (91) after hitting a home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Jun 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – It doesn’t matter.

Doesn’t matter where these two teams are in the standings. It could be a rather-meaningless game in June or Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Heck, the Warriors could be playing in the NBA Finals at the same time.

One thing remains constant. The rivalry between the Giants and the Dodgers has withstood the test of time, and it will continue to do so. Till death do them part, these two squads will continue hating each other.

They resumed their eternal battle Friday night, as the Dodgers made their first trip to Oracle Park this season. The atmosphere mirrored that of a postseason matchup, which was clearly visible when Even Longoria and Brandon Crawford had back-to-back RBI hits to give the Giants a 2-1 lead in the second inning, en route to a 7-2 win to kick off a three-game weekend series.

Orange towels waving all around the ballpark, quickly followed by the “Beat LA” chants. It all felt like last October’s epic playoff series, which isn’t what you get with a midseason series with, say, the Rockies or the Padres.

Again, these are the Dodgers we’re talking about here.

Los Angeles entered Friday’s game on top of the National League West with a 37-20 mark, while the Giants came in 6 ½ games behind the Dodgers. Furthermore, the Dodgers had taken each of the first two games between the two teams when they linked up in SoCal last month.

The Giants didn’t exactly come into this weekend with guns blazing, either. They had lost five of their previous eight games, including two of three against Colorado at Oracle Park, a team they typically dominate at home.

None of that seemed to matter during Friday’s weekend series opener. It took the Giants’ bats a couple of innings to warm up against Dodgers starter Walker Buehler, who was 7-1 with a 2.55 ERA in his career against the Giants, including a 6-2 overall season mark.

Following the second-inning surge, Darin Ruf came up in the fourth and smashed a solo homer to give the Giants a 3-1 lead, and by the fifth inning, Buehler was out of there.

Friday was in no way consistent with the way the two teams have played leading into this weekend. The only thing that lined up was what has been there over the years, dating back to the early years in New York: the simmering rivalry and the energy that comes along with it.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s can’t hold the lead lose their ninth straight 8-4 to Guardians

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The Oakland A’s Christian Bethancourt gives thanks to the Almighty after delivering a two run homer in the top of the second against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Thu Jun 9, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Jeremiah, the Oakland A’s (20-39) fall again in a tough 8-4 loss the Cleveland Guardians (27-26). The A’s had a 4-2 lead but saw it dwindle away as the Guardians scored a run in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings and broke it wide open in the bottom of the eighth inning with four runs.

#2 The Guardians Andre Gimenez hit a go ahead base hit in the Guardians four run eighth inning with the win the Guardians now are a game over .500.

#3 A’s reliever Lou Trivino came into pitch the bottom of the eighth and got tattooed giving up five hits and four earned runs in just one third of an inning.

#4 The Guardians did a classy thing before today’s game and paid a tribute to former A’s and Guardians catcher Ray Fosse with a video of Ray’s time in Cleveland and a moment of silence.

#5 The A’s who now have lost nine straight games try to snap the streak on Friday they’ll start Paul Blackburn (5-2, 2,62) for the Guardians Triston McKenzie (3-5, 3.10) a 4:10 pm PDT first pitch at Progressive Field.

Join Jeremiah for the Oakland A’s podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Guardians send A’s down to their ninth loss in a row 8-4; Cleveland rallies in the eighth for the win

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Cleveland Guardians’ Steven Kwan scores past Oakland Athletics’ Sean Murphy on a single by Oscar Gonzalez during the sixth inning at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Thu Jun 9, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s woes continued as they lost for the ninth straight time. The A’s fell to the Cleveland Guardians by a score of 8-4. The A’s lost for the 12th time in the last 13th game. A’s reliever Lou Trivino continued to struggle.

Trivino had another bad outing as he was tagged for four runs and four hits. There was some good news, however. The A’s scored four times. Their starter James Kaprielian went five innings and allowed five hits and two runs.

Kaprielian gave up back-to-back solo home runs to Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor in the fourth. It was Ramirez’s 15th of the year. For Naylor, it was his seventh. The A’s offense showed signs of life. A’s DH Christian Bethancourt had a two-run homer, a single, and a double. Three straight doubles in the sixth produced two more runs for Oakland.

The A’s jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. A’s catcher Sean Murphy was hit by a pitch to start the second. Christian Bethancourt hit his second homer of the year to put the A’s in the lead. Cleveland tied the game in the fourth with two solo home runs.

The A’s regained the lead in the top of the sixth. Three straight hits produced two runs to give the A’s the Advantage 4-2. A’s reliever A.J.Puk gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth. Cleveland tied the game in the seventh when they put another run on the board. Zack Jackson was on the hill for Oakland.

Cleveland put four runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth. They sent nine men to the plate with struggling Lou Trivino on the hill. They put together four hits, a walk, and an error by Trivino to tally four runs. All A’s manager could do was watch as the A’s lost again. The final score was 8-4.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s drop to 20-39. Cleveland improved to 27-26. Trivino was the losing pitcher. He is 1-5 for the year.
The line score for Oakland was four runs, eight hits, and one error. Cleveland’s line was eight runs, fourteen hits, and no errors.

The A’s now have two nine-game losing streaks this year and are under .500 for the first time since 2017.

Cleveland’s manager Terry Francona hasn’t forgotten the day the when the Red Sox released outfielder Mark Kotsay. Francona was Boston’s skipper at the time. Francona said,” I remember literally shedding tears when we did it. It was hard.” Kotsay said he and Francona bonded during his time with the Red Sox.

The A’s Paul Blackburn (5-2, 2.62 ERA) will go for Oakland Friday night. Blackburn has lost his last two starts. The Guardians will counter with Tristen McKenzie (3-5-3.10 ERA). McKenzie allowed just three hits over seven innings in his last start. All three hits were home runs.

The game will start at 4:10 pm PT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Daniel Dullum: Giants commit 4 miscues and Rockies Blackmon gets three hits

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San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler removes starting pitcher Logan Webb in the top of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu Jun 9, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Daniel:

#1 The San Francisco Giants (30-26) provided four errors and the Colorado Rockies (25-32) scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning that helped get them a 4-2 win on Thursday afternoon at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

#2 The Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada committed two errors and the Giants had a total of four errors the most in one game for San Francisco this season.

#3 The Rockies Charlie Blackmon who it a three run home run back on Tuesday night to help the Rockies win. Blackmon got three hits Thursday and went 3-5 against the Giants.

#4 Giant starter Logan Webb didn’t pitch that bad but got pinned for the loss going 5.2 innings, seven hits, two earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts.

#5 The Giants will open a three game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday night at Oracle Park starting pitcher for LA Walker Buehler (6-2, 3.84) and for San Francisco Jakob Junis (3-1, 2.51) a 7:15 pm PDT first pitch.

Join Daniel Fridays for the San Francisco Giants podcasts heard on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Rockies Rise Up: After a string of poor results in SF, Colorado gets the best of the Giants with series-clinching 4-2 win

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The best case scenario for the up-and-down Giants was to use the Rockies’ visit as a confidence-building spring board into their big series with the division-leading Dodgers over the weekend.

That wasn’t how the last three days played out.

The Giants squandered a win-worthy pitching performance from Logan Webb, going the final seven innings scoreless in a 4-2 loss to Colorado on Thursday afternoon. Four errors, two in the same inning by second baseman Thairo Estrada, didn’t help Webb or the Giants.

“I don’t think we played our best defense,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It’s a really tough league when you’re not converting ground balls into outs. I think we’ve seen consistently a better brand of defense than we’ve played today.”

The Giants appeared to be doing their thing, scoring early with two runs in the second, and then turning to Webb to shut down an opponent that’s experienced very little success at Oracle Park over the last three seasons. Then a sloppy fourth inning turned that strategy to mush, as the Rockies struck for three runs, the product of three singles and three Giants’ errors. In that mix, Estrada first dropped a fly ball, then booted a ground ball when baserunner C.J. Cron apparently distracted him as he ran to second base.

All the upheaval definitely threw Webb off his game. The Giants’ pop-up ace was in sights of a 18th, consecutive start punctuated by a win at home, and he was pitching accordingly. Instead he was lifted in the sixth, trailing, after allowing six singles and a double to Charlie Blackmon. Webb struck out three, walked one and pitched efficiently, starting 20 of the 26 batters he faced with a strike.

Webb also got a great deal of support from Austin Wynns, the Giants’ newly acquired catcher in a trade with Philadelphia, who picked up a pair of hits, a run batted in, and almost immediately appeared locked into the program behind the plate.

He was awesome,” Webb said of Wynns. “He came up to me before the game … and he was like, ‘I watched your last four outings. You do this and this and this. I’m like, you know more about what I do than I’m actually thinking about doing.”

But none of the good stuff added up, not with the Giants’ offense absent after the second inning. In Monday’s loss to the Rockies, they did the same thing, scoring three runs in the first, and going the remaining eight innings scoreless. Austin Gomber, with six losses coming in and an ERA hoovering around six, made it work, throwing six innings to get the win. Manager Bud Black had kind words for Gomber and all his guys, who he noted didn’t give in to the prevailing story line of doom at Oracle Park, where they had lost 14 of 19.

“We strung some hits together,” Black said. “That was big as well. We stayed on the attack against a very tough pitcher. They helped us a little bit in the fourth defensively. But our guys kept battling.”

The Giants’ offense will get a boost from Brandon Belt and Lamonte Wade Jr., but neither slugger will be available for the Dodgers this weekend. The Giants are also down a starter with Alex Cobb on the shelf, meaning they’ll undoubtedly go the bullpen route in at least one of the last two games with the Dodgers giving the ball to Walker Buehler Friday and Julio Urias on Saturday.

Looking for the thrilling sequel to the 2021 NLDS series between the two clubs. Well, if so, the Giants are going to need to pick up their game under trying circumstances.

Jakob Junis gets his first appearance against the Dodgers in the Friday opener opposite Buehler at 7:15pm.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s hope to snap eight game skid in Cleveland tonight

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The Oakland A’s Jared Koenig moves his cap around after being lifted in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves on Wed Jun 9, 2022 at Truist Field in Atlanta (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Jerry, the Atlanta Braves (30-27) just clobbered the Oakland A’s (20-38) on Wednesday night at Truist Field 13-2 for the A’s the pitching just melts down again.

#2 The Braves Michael Harris hit a two run triple against the A’s in the bottom of the fifth inning off A’s starter Jared Koenig in a five run inning for Atlanta.

#3 Things even got worse for the A’s in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Braves scored seven runs taking a 13-1 lead.

#4 For Koenig his Major League debut going four plus innings giving up four hits and five runs it was not quite the outing that he was expecting.

#5 The A’s will try it all over again as they open a four game series at Progressive Field in Cleveland starting for the A’s James Kaprielian (0-3, 6.06) and for the Cleveland Guardians Konnor Pilkington (1-0, 2.65) a 4:10 PM PDT first pitch.

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

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Rockies and Giants close out series today in rubber game match at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants’ Luis Gonzalez, middle right, jumps for joy with teammates Curt Casali (2), Austin Slater, second from left, and Mike Yastrzemski (5) after getting an RBI single scoring Donavon Walton in the bottom of the tenth against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 8, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

On Tuesday night the Colorado Rockies (24-32) Charlie Blackmon was the game hero with his three run home run but on Wednesday night with the scored tied 1-1 in the last of the tenth Blackmon was charged with an error after trying to field a slow ground ball that went by him hit by the San Francisco Giants (30-25) Luis Gonzalez that scored ghost runner Donavon Walton from second base for a 2-1 win.

Walton was the designated ghost runner to start the extra inning stanza in the bottom of the tenth as pinch hitter Brandon Crawford who didn’t start because a hampering left quad popped up for the first out of the inning.

Luis Gonzalez now facing Rockies reliever Carlos Estevez (1-3) hit a slow roller to right field and the ball got away from Blackmon and scored Donavon. Give Gonzalez a RBI single and charge Blackmon with a fielding error.

Join Michael Duca for the Giants podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Donavon scores on Blackmon’s error as Giants defeat Rockies in 10 innings at Oracle Park

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San Francisco Giants Luis Gonzalez watches his base hit into right field that scored ghost runner Donavon Walton from second base in the bottom of the tenth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 8, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–On Tuesday night the Colorado Rockies (24-32) Charlie Blackmon was the game hero with his three run home run but on Wednesday night with the scored tied 1-1 in the last of the tenth Blackmon was charged with an error after trying to field a slow ground ball that went by him hit by the San Francisco Giants (30-25) Luis Gonzalez that scored ghost runner Donavon Walton from second base for a 2-1 win.

Walton was the designated ghost runner to start the extra inning stanza in the bottom of the tenth as pinch hitter Brandon Crawford who didn’t start because a hampering left quad popped up for the first out of the inning.

Luis Gonzalez now facing Rockies reliever Carlos Estevez (1-3) hit a slow roller to right field and the ball got away from Blackmon and scored Donavon. Give Gonzalez a RBI single and charge Blackmon with a fielding error.

“I got Donny on second base so I know he can run,” González said in Giants clubhouse in the post game interview “Just trying to hit a line drive to the outfield somewhere and hopefully he scores.” Mike Yastrzemski had quite and evening making a acrobatic leaping catch of a fly ball that was hit by the Rockies CJ Cron in the of the sixth. Yastrzemski going to his left going from center to right field to make a stabbing mid air catch that was replayed several times. Yastrzemski also had three hits to his credit in the game.

Thairo Estrada had an RBI single for the Giants that was the only Giants run until Gonzalez’ tenth inning RBI single for the game winner. Giants pitcher Alex Wood had a good start going seven innings, five hits, one earned run, and five strike outs. Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela who pitched well in his own right went six innings for six hits, one earned run and six strike outs.

Starting pitchers for Thursday afternoon at Oracle for the Rockies Austin Gomber (2-6, 6.54) and for the Giants Logan Webb (5-1, 3.82) first pitch 12:45 pm PDT.

Braves slam four home runs to power past A’s 13-2; A’s swept in two game series

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The Atlanta Braves Michael Harris who did plenty of damage for Braves is seen here running to third base in the bottom of the fifth inning after hitting a two run triple against the Oakland A’s at Truist Field in Cobb County on Wed Jun 8, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feiteleberg

The Oakland A’s woes continued on Wednesday as they lost for the 11th time in the last 12th games. The powerful Atlanta Braves lineup hit four home runs to win, going away 13-2. The Braves swept the two-game series, and the A’s lost for the eighth straight time.

The A’s sent lefty Jared Koenig to the mound on Wednesday. Koenig was making his Major League debut. The 28-year-old rookie had paid his dues as he traveled to many venues to show that he could pitch. He was signed by the A’s to a minor league contract in 2020.

He performed well for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators the last two seasons. The A’s needed a fifth starter and called Koenig to pitch against the World Champion Braves. It would be a daunting task for any pitcher to face the Braves, but more so for a rookie making his big league debut.

The A’s offense has not been very good this year. They are near the bottom of the barrel in batting, average, runs scored, and OPS. They needed to put some runs on the board to help him get over any nervousness and settle down and find a way to hold down the Braves.

The A’s came through with two runs in the top of the fourth. With one out, Ramon Laureano doubled to right-field. Laureano went to third on Ronald Acuna’s fielding error. Braves’ starter Ian Anderson uncorked a wild pitch, and Laureano scored.

A’s DH Stephen Vogt worked Anderson for a walk. Singles by Seth Brown and Sean Murphy produced the A’s second run of the game. The A’s didn’t know it at the time, but they would not score another run.

The Braves made it a 2-1 game in the bottom of the fourth. Atlanta’s shortstop Dansby Swanson got things going with a double to right-center-field. Koenig walked Austin Riley to put men on at first and second with no out.

Swanson tagged and went to third on Matt Olson’s fly ball to centerfield. Koenig had to face the B’s second baseman Ozzie Albies. They had quite a battle. Albies won the 10-pitch battle with a sacrifice fly to drive in Swanson. 

Things went south for Koenig in the bottom of the fifth. Atlanta scored four times to take the advantage 5-2. Koenig walked DH Marcelle Ozuna to start the fifth. Adam Duvall doubled, sending Ozuna to third base with no out.

Rookie centerfielder Michael Harris tripled to drive in Ozuna and Duvall. A’s manager brought in Domingo Acevedo to pitch. Acevedo retired Acuna and Swanson. It appeared the Acevedo would get out of the inning without any further damage. Not so. Third baseman Austin Riley, hitting .199, blasted his 15th dinger of the season to put Atlanta ahead 5-2 after five. 

In the sixth, the Braves added a run when catcher William Contreras homered to make it 6-2. Atlanta. The game became a rout when Atlanta scored seven runs in the seventh. They had six hits in the inning. Adam Duvall’s two-run shot and Ozzie Albies’ three-run blast were the big blows. The Braves won the rout 13-2.

Game notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 20-38. Jared Koenig took the loss and is now 0-1. Ian Anderson was the winning pitcher and his record improved to 5-3.

The line score for Oakland was two runs, eight hits, and one error. Atlanta scored thirteen runs, had thirteen hits, and committed one error. The Braves won the seventh in a row and are now 30-27.

The A’s second stop on the nine-game road trip in Cleveland. They begin a four-game set with the Guardians starting Thursday. James Kaprielian (0-3, 6.06 ERA) will go for Oakland. The Guardians will counter with Konnor Pilkington (1-0, 2.65 ERA).

The Guardians are just one game below the .500 mark—the A’s hope to break the losing streak Thursday night. The Guardians are looking to take advantage of the A’s deficiencies and take at least three out of four from Oakland. The game will start at 4:10 pm PT.

Boston Tops Golden State In Game three 116-100; Celtics take 2-1 series lead

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30), forward Draymond Green (23), and owner Joe Lacob in blue sport jacket seated in the front row all look disappointed after looking at the scoreboard in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Boston on Wed Jun 8, 2022 (AP News photo)

Boston Tops Golden State In Game Three 116-100

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday night the Golden State Warriors took on the Boston Celtics in the third game of the NBA final series. This series was tied 1-1 with Boston taking the first game of the series and the Warriors taking game two.

Golden State played game 3 in Boston and dropped the contest 116-100. The Warriors needed to take at least one of those two games before returning back to Chase and will have another chance at the Celtics on Friday night.

After totally dominating Boston in game 2 the Warriors didn’t have that same energy in game 3 on Wednesday night. It was a given that Golden State would see a far different Celtic team from the one they saw in game two and sure enough the Celtics were prepared in this game 3.

Game 3 recap: Boston had a vastly improved offense and defense through the first two quarters. They totally dominated the first half. At one time they led by 18 points but the Warriors cut it to 68-56 at the half. Golden State was leaving too many open shots and the Celtics were taking full advantage. The Warriors offense was struggling making some poor shooting making choices.

It was not until 3:32 in the third quarter that the Warriors took the lead since they led 2-0 in the first quarter. The Celtics quickly got back on top but the Warriors remained within striking distance. Both Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry were having a great game trailing after three quarters 93-89.

Boston got back on track in the fourth quarter taking a 102-91 lead in the early minutes of the quarter. Turnovers in the fourth quarter were hurting Golden State and the fact that Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Curry all had four personals was also disconcerting.

Nothing could slow down the Boston Celtics in this game. They played a great offensive and defensive game. The Warriors only had two leads in the entire game. With two minutes left the Warrior bench finished the game.

Boston took a 2-1 series lead winning this game. Jalen Brown was the point leader with 27 points and Jason Tatum was close behind with 26. Both Marcus Smart and Al Horford had a greatly improved game.

Klay Thompson had a 25 point game and Curry was the point leader with 31 points but it was not enough to top the lights out shooting that the Celtics were operating with. Golden State collapsed in the fourth quarter.

They had six turnovers in the final quarter and the Warriors could not overcome the play of Boston. “The offensive rebounds were the killer. Those were tough,” said Head Coach Steve Kerr after the game.

Friday night the Warriors will try to even the series in Game Four at TD Garden in Boston. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM.