Month: July 2023

San Francisco Giants’ J.D. Davis (7) celebrates with Michael Conforto after hitting a two-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jul 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

Oakland (28-76). 000 300 000 – 3. 8. 1

San Francisco (56-47). 210. 002 03x. – 8. 9. 1

Time: 2:28

Attendance: 36,142

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–It’s no secret that the Giants have a problem at short. Brandon Crawford has been battling the interrelated difficulties of injuries and the ageing process for the past few years, and Casey Schmitt, who at first seemed to be ready for prime time has, at least for now, shown himself to be not quite ready.

So the Giants looked once more to their farm system and today promoted Marco Luciano from Sacramento and optioned David Villar, another momentary hope for the left side of the infield, to the Rivercats.

Luciano made his big league debut Wednesday night, batting eighth in the order, playing short, and receiving a thunderous ovation on being introduced for his first at bat. He made some nice plays in the field and went 0 for two at the plate, including a deep shot that was caught, but you couldn’t say that he was instrumental in the Giants’ 8-3 decisive victory over the A’s.

It was a bullpen game for the home team, who used Ryan Walker (3-0,2.93) as their opener, the sixth time this season that he’s served the Giants in that capacity. After 2-2/3 innings of scoreless pitching, in which he threw 40 pitches and allowed a single and two walks, he was relieved by Scott Alexander, who had opened last Sunday’s game against the Nationals. Jakob Junis took over for Alexander at the beginning of the visitors’ fourth. Alex Wood, Tyler Rogers, and Luke Jackson followed him.

The cross bay visitors also used an opener. They alternated between announcing Freddy Tarnok (0-1, 4.76 at game time), who in his most recent appearance had pitched three innings of one run ball in relief of Hogan Harris against the high flying Astros last Thursday, and Harris.

Harris’s last outing was in that same July 20 contest. That evening, he hurled six frames of four hit ball, in which he allowed two runs, both earned. Both runs and all but one of the hits came in the sixth inning of that start.

Wednesday, it was Tarnok who was the opener. What he opened seemed like a can of worms. After a lead off walk to LaMonte Wade, Jr. Wilmer Flores went down swinging, but not before Wade had taken second on a wild pitch.

Then JD Davis unloaded his 13th homer of the season, a 353 foot fly to right. Just like that, the Giants were up, two zip. Tarnok had allowed three runs, all earned, on three hits and a walk in his 49 pitch stint on the mound when Harris replaced him with none on and two away in the bottom of the third and fanned Michael Conforto.

The A’s also used Angel Felipe, who entered the game to open the home seventh, and Sam Long, who came in after the A’s challenge to the safe call at second on Luis Matos’s two out double was denied on review.

After receiving his welcoming ovation, Luciano produced a resounding fly to the right field wall that Ramón Laureano brought down for the second out of the home second. The cheering for Luciano continued for a bit, and, when it had died down, Schmitt doubled to left center, driving in Mike Yastremski with San Francisco’s third tally.

The Athletics closed the gap when Jakob Junis took over in the fourth. Brent Rooker popped out to first. Bleday smacked a two bagger to right center. After Jordan Díaz whiffed, Laureano drew a base on balls, and Jace Peterson, hitting for Aledmys Díaz, singled to center, driving in Bleday.

Laureano also scored on the play because of Matos’s throwing error, which also allowed Peterson to take third. He scored the tying run on Shea Langeliers’ single to right.

Needless to say, Alexander didn’t come out for the fifth. Alex Wood did, and he kept Oakland off the board through the seventh. Tyler Rogers allowed a single to Rooker in the eighth, and that was it for the Giants’ pitching staff until Jackson put the game in the books in the top of the ninth/

Wilmer Flores broke the 3-3 tie, leading off the bottom of the sixth with a four bagger that travelled over the Bank of America advertisement just to the left of the 399 foot sign in left center. An out later, Austin Slater pinch hit for Conforto and drove one over the Toyota ad in left. Two blinks of an eye, and the Giants were leading, 5-3. The home runs were Flores’s 14th and Slater’s fifth.

Back to back two out doubles by Matos (off Felipe), Bailley (off Moll), and Yastrzemski (also off Moll), plus a single by Wisely (again, off Moll), who was thrown out trying to advance to second, added three runs to the Giants’ lead, giving Luke Jackson a 7-3 lead to protect in the top of the ninth.

He allowed a leadoff infield single to Jordan Díaz before putting the game on ice

The winning pitcher was Wood, now 5-4, 4.75. The loss went to Harris, now 2-5, 6.07.

The Giants will have a well earned day off tomorrow before Boston comes to town on Friday the 28th.

Oakland Athletics’ Ramón Laureano (22) celebrates with Tony Kemp, left, after scoring against the San Francisco Giants on Jace Peterson’s single during the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jul 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Francisco Giants offense woke up Wednesday night as they beat the A’s 8-3 to sweep the two-game series. The Giants had scored just five runs in their last four games. San Francisco needed the win to pick up a game on the LA Dodgers.

The Dodgers lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 and now own a three-game lead over the Giants. The A’s were hoping to win, but that did not happen. The guys from Oakland still have the worst record in all of baseball. With the trade deadline this weekend, it will be interesting to see if the A’s will be making any transactions. The game summary follows below.

In the bottom of the first, with one out and a runner on second, Giants’ third baseman J D Davis sent Freddy Tarnok’s pitch out of the park. For Davis, it was his 13th big fly this season to give the Giants an early 2-0 lead.

The Giants put their third run of the night on the board in the bottom of the second. With one out, Mike Yazstermski singled. Tarnok retired Marco Luciano on a fly ball to right field. Luciano was making his Major League debut. Second baseman, Casey Schmitt, mired in a slump, doubled to drive in Yaz with the run. The G-Men lead 3-0 after two.

The A’s put a three-spot on the board in the top of the fourth. With one out, JJ Bleday doubled. Jakob Junis, the Giants’ third pitcher of the night, struck out Jordan Diaz for the second out. Ramon Laureano walked. A’s manager Mrk Kotsay sent in Jace Peterson to pinch hit for Aledmys Diaz.

Peterson singled to drive in Bleday, and Laureano went to third. However, Luis Matos’ throw home got by everyone for an error. Laureano scored, and Peterson went to third on the error. Shea Langeliers followed with a single to drive in Peterson with the A’s third run. The game is tied 3-3 midway through the fourth inning.

The Giants regained the lead in their half of the sixth. Wilmer Flores led off the inning with a ground-rule double. Harris retired J D Davis for the first out. Giants’ skipper Gabe Kapler had Austin Slater pinch-hit for Michael Conforto, Slater, for the eighth time in his career, hit a pinch-hit homer run to put the Giants ahead, 5-3. For Slater, it was his fifth dinger this year.

The Giants put the game out of reach in the eighth. With two outs, three consecutive doubles, and a single produced three runs to give the Giants the lead 8-3. Giants’ reliever Luke Jackson gave up an infield single to Jordan Diaz leading off in the ninth. Jackson then retired the next three hitters to end the game. The Giants win 8-3.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 28-76. The Giants improved to 56-47 and now trail the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers by three games in the NL West division.

The line score for Oakland was three runs, eight hits, and one error.

The line for San Francisco was eight runs, nine hits, and one error. J D Davis and Austin Slater each had a two-run dinger. 

Both teams used a reliever to open the game. Ryan Walker started for the Giants and went two and 2/3rds innings. He did not allow a run. The Giants used six pitchers in the game. The A’s opener was Freddy Tarnok. Tarnok also went two and 2/3rds innings, but he gave up three hits, three runs, and a home run. The A’s used four pitchers.

Hogan Harris was the losing pitcher. His record is now 2-5. Alex Wood was the winning pitcher. 

The A’s do not play on Thursday, and they start a six-game road trip starting Friday night against the Colorado Rockies. After facing the Rockies, the A’s travel to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers.

The A’s nor the Rockies have yet to announce their starter for Friday. 

Attendance at the game was 36,142. 

San Francisco Giants third baseman J.D. Davis throws to first for an out on Oakland Athletics’ Nick Allen during the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jul 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 After the kind of road trip the Giants had how big was it for them to come home and snap that six game loss streak against the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night.

#2 The Giants Mike Yastrzemski has come up big in the past and he was clutch again slugging for an RBI double putting the Giants ahead for the eventual 2-1 win.

#3 Talk about Brandon Crawford his with left leg injury is he day to day or will he be out for sometime?

#4 Casey Schmitt said he hopes Crawford will return soon but he’s just excited to be able to start at shortstop until Crawford gets back.

#5 Miguel talk about tonight’s starters for the A’s Hogan Harris (2-4 ERA 6.11) going up against Ryan Walker (3-0 ERA 2.93) for this second game concluding the series tonight at 6:45pm PT.

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

San Francisco Giants’ Casey Schmitt (6) celebrates with teammates at the dugout after hitting a sacrifice fly against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Jul 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

Oakland (28-75). 000 000 010 – 1. 5. 1

San Francisco (55-47). 000 010 01x. – 2. 4 0

Time: 2:20

Attendance: 40,014

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Tuesday’s game by the shores of McCovey Cove began with a pair of reversals. The just barely contending Giants showed up at Oracle Park with a longer losing streak (six games) than the just barely Oakland A’s (one game).

Giant fans and Athletics fans united in a demonstration designed to keep the A’s in Oakland. When it was over, the Giants had defeated the 2-1, in front of a crowd of over 40,000 paying customers, and the chances of the A’s staying in Oakland remained negligible.

The battered Giants came home exhausted from their distressing trip east without the benefit of a day off between the shellacking they took in Washington and tonight’s thrilling victory. Their long flight to SFO meant a three hour time zone adjustment, which is pretty rough in any case but worse if you have to play a sport in which time is of the essence.

In addition to the players who aren’t expected to be able to play for the rest of the season, the Giants have three position players and a pitcher on the IL. Thairo Estrada is expected to miss four to six more weeks; Brandon Crawford was placed on the 10 day list 10 days ago and has no timetable for return; Luis González, out since mid April, is on a rehab assignment; and their is no expected return date for reliever John Brebbia, on the 15 day list since June 17.

Against this dismal background, Alex Cobb, their all star right handed starter toed the rubber for San Francisco, sporting a 6-3, 3.1 record at game time. His work was frankly magnificent. He allowed three hits over six shutout innings, striking out nine and allowing just one base on balls. He threw 95 pitches, 55 for strikes. He had to settle for a no decision, but he brought his ERA down to 2.97.

The A’s chose to go the opener route, choosing Tayler Scott, a journeyman righty from Johanasberg now with his sixth team in the show since 2019, for the role. Before tossing his scoreless opening frame, Scott was 0-4, 4.50.

He passed the baton to Ken Waldichuk (2-6, 6,75 when he toed the rubber), who lasted 4-2/3 innings and allowed one, unearned, run on. one hit before passing the baton to Austin Pruitt in the bottom of the sixth. Lucas Erceg, who took the loss and now is 2-2, 5.46, and Sam Moll also saw action.

Cobb got off to a strong start Thee in his first 5-1/3 innings of work was Seth Brown, who suffered The Curse of the Leadoff Double in the second. Loud chants of “SELL THE TEAM” began with Brown’s second at bat, in which he grounded out. and continued, mixed with “STAY IN OAKLAND,” through Jace Peterson’s single and Cobb’s strikeout of Shea Langeliers.

They died out when the Giants’ appeal of Tyler Soderstrom’s infield single was being decided. The appeal was denied. The chants died out until they were revived when Oakland tied the game in the top of the eighth.

The orange and black went ahead on an unearned run in their half of the fifth. Wllmer Flores led off with a walk, the first base runner allowed by Waldichuk. Patrick Bailey followed with a single to left, sending Flores to second.

Brett Wisely bunted to the mound; Waldichuk unwisely – or at least inaccurately – threw to third, and the basses were loaded. Waldichuk recovered to fan Slater, but Casey Schmitt lifted a sacrifice fly to right that brought Flores in with the first run of the game.

Luis Matos almost doubled the Giants lead when he led off the home sixth with a mighty blast above the left field wall. Above, but not over, it. Tony Kemp made a marvelous leaping grab that converted what looked like a sure home run into an out. Waldichuk fanned JD Davis and walked Joc Pederson. It was then that Austin Pruitt relieved Waldichuk.

Tyler Rogers and his submarine slants relieved Cobb with a 1-2-3 seventh, but he coughed up the tying run in the eighth on a pinch hit single by Aledmys Díaz, Kemp’s sacrifice bunt, and a sharp single by Bleday to right center.

Lucas Erceg allowed a Texas League single to LaMonte Wade, Jr., and a walk to Davis. in the bottom of the eighth before giving way to Sam Moll, who had to face Mike Yastremzski, who had entered the game as a pinch runner in the sixth, with Matos, who had forced Wade out at second, and Davis on base with two away. He slammed a double down the right field, bringing in Matos with what proved to be the winning run.

Camilo Doval, who hadn’t had many. save opportunities recently, came in for the ninth and struck out the three men he faced, That earned him his 31st save.

The A’s and the Giants will wind up the San Francisco portion of their 2023 encounters tomorrow, starting at 6:40. Hogan Harris I2-4, 6.11) will be on the mound for Oakland; San Francisco has yet to announce who will start (or open) for them. But don’t count on it.