Month: June 2024

Defending Champion Aces Fall to New York Liberty 90-82

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It was all an uphill battle for A’ja Wilson (22) and the Las Vegas Aces against the New York Liberty at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Sat Jun 15, 2024 (Getty)

By Barbara Mason

The Las Vegas Aces (6-6) remained close in their matchup with the New York Liberty (12-2) through the first half. of this game. The Liberty went on a 14-0 run in the middle of the third quarter which turned this game sideways for the Aces. Las Vegas came up short in this one losing 90-82. There was good news for Las Vegas however.

They will really power up when Chelsea Gray returns from her injury. They did not have their best offensive effort in the later minutes of the third quarter and a different outcome is a distinct possibility in their August 17 matchup and even more plausible in September when they meet up on the 8th.

The Liberty came out strong taking a 28-20 lead after the first ten minutes of play. The way that the Aces have struggled this season the quick start from New York was concerning. Las Vegas countered however, winning the second quarter 23-17 but did trail at the half 45-43. They had a much improved quarter.

Game recap: Going into the third quarter, the Las Vegas Aces trailed but we’re very much in this game. New York however, mounted a 14-0 run in the middle of the third quarter building a seven-point lead 67-60. It would all come down to who could ride this one out in the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter Kelsey Plum was hooked in an obvious foul which left her down on the court. The Liberty recovered the ball on the no call and drove down court to sink a three taking a ten-point lead 70-60. With Plum down on the other end of the court the Aces were trying to defend with a 4-5 situation. Through three quarters the Liberty were outplaying the Aces from inside and outside. The game had taken an ugly turn for the Aces.

With just under six minutes left in the game Jackie Young had committed her fifth personal. With every Las Vegas bucket, New York answered and the Aces were running out of time with under four minutes left in the game.

With so little time left on the clock, the Aces were faced with having to play a perfect game and try to overlook some of the calls in the second half which were questionable. They did not even come close to a near perfect game in fact, it was the Liberty who rose to the occasion. With under two minutes left on the clock and the Liberty in control leading 88-74 it was all but a done deal. The final was 90-82 in favor of the Liberty, their eighth win in a row.

Kelsey Plum was the high score for the Aces with 22 points and A’ja Wilson right behind with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Kiah Stokes had a terrific game with 12 rebounds. Alysha Clark chipped in 13 points in the loss. Chelsea Gray did not play which was a coach’s decision but with her listed on the player roster her return could be eminent.

The high score for the Liberty was Jonquel Jones with 34 points and 8 rebounds. The 6’6″ forward had an amazing game spurring her team on to the win.

Despite the loss, there is optimism for Las Vegas. The return of Chelsea Gray could very well change things drastically for the team. While there is room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball, the shortcomings are very fixable. They did not have their best offensive effort today so that will no doubt improve. There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel for the Las Vegas Aces.

Game notes: Saturday afternoon the matchup that everyone had been anticipating took place at Michelob ULTRA Arena between the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty. This was a clash between the two super teams of 2023.

The question that looms right now, are both of these teams super this season. The Liberty have had a great start this season with a record of 12-2. They are rolling. As far as the Las Vegas Aces, they don’t appear to be what one could consider super right now. They have struggled this season with a 6-6 record, they are still missing Chelsea Gray, their defense has some cracks and they are considered the underdogs in this game.

After a brief illness Jackie Young was back and appeared to be in great form scoring 34 points in their last game, a win over Phoenix. Neither of these teams are at the top of the standings right now. With the incredible success that the Las Vegas Aces have enjoyed for the past five seasons teams around the league are focusing on ways to build, ways to take them down and six teams have indeed beaten Las Vegas so far this season.

It would appear that despite the great New York start the super team era could very well have reached the end of its rope. This year’s champion is a crapshoot at this point in the season. There are so many vying teams right now with the Lynx, the Storm, the Sun and the Liberty all viable.

Las Vegas will be back on the court Wednesday night on their home court taking on the Seattle Storm. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Giants’ Saturday Post-Game Notes & Quotes

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–When was today’s 4-3 loss to the Angels decided? When Luke Jackson, the Giants’ third pitcher of the afternoon took the mound, and after he recorded the first two outs of the inning. At that point, Jackson walked Nolan Schanuel in a lengthy eight-pitch at-bat. With Luis Rengifo batting, Schanuel stole his first major-league base, and advanced to third on Curt Casali’s throwing error. Rengifo followed with a base-hit that gave the Angels their first lead of the afternoon.

“(The steal and then the error) gave Rengifo a chance to put the ball in play, which he does. And he found an open space — and ended up scoring a run that ended up being the winning run.” manager Ron Washington said.

The Giants have lost 19 games this season in which they had a lead at some point during the game. Those 19 games are the fifth most in MLB.

Casali’s throwing error was the 45th Giants error of the season. That number 45 ranks them second in errors committed in the NL only to the Marlins (48).

Schanuel’s stolen base was the 73rd stolen against the Giants this season. That number 73 leaves them tied for the most allowed in MLB with the Mets.

Heliot Ramos homered for the second straight day to give him eight homers on the season. It’s the second time this month he’s homered in consecutive games.

“He needs some help, too,” manager Bob Melvin said of Ramos. “He knocked in all three runs today and we left some out there.”

The Giants fell to 2-3 on their current homestand (Astros, Angels) with only Sunday’s series finale remaining. The Giants are now 26-18 all-time versus the Angels, excluding their World Series together in 2001.

Washington, 72, gave his thoughts on the Giants’ upcoming appearance against the Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL: “Baseball as a whole is bringing this thing back together in the way that it should.”

Washington never played in the Negro Leagues. He spent 10 seasons playing in the minor leagues for three different organizations (Royals, Mets and Dodgers). “Wash” expressed his gratitude that the Giants have vowed to bring all of their African-American players to Birmingham for the experience, regardless of whether they are currently on the active roster. LaMonte Wade, the Giants’ injured first baseman, has a chance to make his return to active duty at Rickwood Field on Thursday with that decision to be made early next week. Washington also lit up when retelling the stories of Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell, two of the Negro Leagues’ biggest superstars.

A’s-Twins rained out; playing two on Sunday

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Minnesota Twins Target Field in Minneapolis was inudated with rain forcing the cancelation of the Oakland A’s-Twins Sat Jun 15, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Saturday, June 15, 2024

MINNEAPOLIS – Though Saturday morning’s rain had let up by the scheduled start time of 1:10 p.m., more showers were on the way, and the AL game between the Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins was postponed.

The game has been rescheduled as part of a day-night split admission doubleheader for Father’s Day on Sunday at Target Field. The first game will start at 1:10 p.m. (11 a.m. Pacific) and the second game is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. (4:40 p.m. Pacific).

Though it was not raining when the decision to call the game was made at 1:45 p.m., rain resumed falling by 2 p.m., as the National Weather Service reported at radar indicated a storm was approaching the Twin Cities.

For the re-scheduled double-header, the Athletics are expected to start right-hander Joey Estes (2-2,4.78) in the first game, and left-hander JP Sears (4-5, 5.02) in the second game. Then Twins are expected to go with a pair of right-handers – Bailey Ober (5-4, 5.13) and Chris Paddack (5-3, 4.79).

After Saturday’s storm system rolled through the Twin Cities on Saturday, an extreme heat advisory is issued for Sunday, A daytime high of 92 degrees is in the forecast, with a heat index of 100.

The Athletics are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak – 10 of their last 12 and 13 of their last 16. Oakland dropped a heartbreaker on Friday, losing 6-5 in 10 innings to the Twins. The A’s have been walked off in three of their last four games.

Oakland has two positive notes from Friday – Shea Longeliers hit the A’s first grand slam of the season, and leads MLB catchers with 13 home runs. Closer Mason Miller is tied for 10th in saves with 12, tops for MLB rookies. Miller’s 12 saves is fourth-best by an Oakland reliever.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Giants Spencer struggled, Halos get 3 runs in third and 4 runs in fourth to top SF

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It was a painful exit for San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Howard Spencer (56) as he hands to ball off to manager Bob Melvin (left) in the top of the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Jun 15, 2024

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris, San Francisco Giants starter Spencer Howard didn’t last long as he was lifted in the third inning after giving up seven hits and four earned runs. Not the kind of outing that Howard wanted to start the game off with.

#2 The Los Angeles Angels who have gone through their paces this season spent a deal of it in last place in the American League West but have moved out of the basement after last place the Oakland A’s have been on a steady decline currently losing 10 of their last 12 games and the Angels have won six of their last nine.

#3 One key thing to the Angels defeat over the Giants on Friday was they got a quality start from Tyler Anderson who went five innings with five hits, one earned run, five walks and five strikeouts.

#4 The Angels ball club has responded to manager Ron Washington. Washington who coached in Oakland, led the Texas Rangers to the World Series twice, and his last stint was a coach for the Atlanta Braves wants to really drive and make this Angels club relevant once again.

#5 It’s going to be a big week for you Morris, your headed off to Birmingham for the Negro Leagues Tribute at Rickwood Field in Birmingham when the Giants and the St Louis Cardinals play in the oldest park in the minor leagues on June 20th?

Morris Phillips is MLB podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast: Oilers backs against the wall it’s going to take a miracle now against Panthers

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Frustrations built up on the ice and the Florida Panthers Dimitry Kulikov (7) and the Edmonton Oilers Dylan Holloway (55) both rough up each other in game 3 on Sun Jun 13, 2024 at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thu Jun 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Finals:

#1 The Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov assisted for a goal and scored a goa in game 3 on Thursday. Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky saved 33 shots and prevented the Oilers from getting back in the game when they cut it down by one goal. The Panthers with the 4-3 win now up 3-0 in the series.

#2 Barkov said of not letting your guard down against the Oilers for game 4, “We know it’s going to be the hardest game for sure. We don’t take anything for granted. Every single day is one day at a time. Whether it’s one period, one shift.”

#3 One of the things the Panthers have done successfully in these Finals is keeping Connor McDavid under wraps. The Oilers did get within one goal but the goaltending of Bobrovsky stopped the remaining shots by the Oilers towards the end of the game and prevented the Oilers from tying the game.

#3 The Oilers need to come back down from 0-3 and win their next next four straight games without any hic ups in order to win the Stanley Cup. At this point that would take a miracle. Only four teams in NHL history have come back down 0-3 to win a series three times in the playoffs and once in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals.

#5 So it boils down to the tonight’s game 4 for the Oilers in Edmonton with home ice at Rogers Place it’s now or never but right now for the Oilers it’s going take a miracle to make a comeback.

Mary Lisa is an NHL analyst for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Angels Moniak gets three hits and Anderson provides the pitching; Halos defeat Giants 8-6 at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants’ Thairo Estrada, left, scores next to Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles (AL) (27-42). 013 400 000. 8 11 0

San Francisco (34-36). 001 000 050. 6 10 1

Friday, June 16, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Having won five of their last seven games, the Giants once more were flirting with competitiveness when they faced the Los Angeles Angels this cool and breezy Friday evening. They figuratively failed to reach first base, falling to the fallen Angels, 8-6, that seemed to be a walk in the park for the visitors until the Giants made it close in the eighth..

The home team was busy, even before the 7:16 first pitch, Nick Ahmed came off the injured list, who is expected to bring some needed stability to short, started at that position, where he made some nifty plays, and went two for four at the plate. Casey Schmitt, who had been filling the void left by Ahmed’s departure, was optioned to Sacramento, and Marco Luciano, another shortstop, wound up his rehab assignment and, like Schmitt, was optioned to the River Cats.

Spencer Howard, at 0-2, 2.03 and coming off a strong 4-2/3 inning stint in Arlington, looked like a good choice to start for San Francisco. He wasn’t.

The 27 year old native of San Luis Opispo lasted a scant 2-1/3 frames, in which he managed to throw 59 pitches, 25 of which were balls. He surrendered four runs, all of them earned, on seven hits and a walk. He took the loss and now has a record of 0-1, 4.02.

The ex-Giant and eight year big league veteran, 34 year old southpaw change up artist Tyler Anderson, started the evening at 5-6, 2.63 and ended it at 6-6, 2.58. Bay Area favorite Ron Washington, at the helm for the Angels, decided to pull him with Thairo Estrada at bat and runners on first and second with one down in the bottom of the sixth.

Ben Joyce got Estrada on a slow grounder to short and closed down the nascent threat with Ahmed’s ground out to third. In his 5-1/3 innings of labor Anderson held the orange and black to a single tally, which was earned, on five hits, fiver walks, and to keep things symmetrical, five strikeouts.

The Angels opened the scoring in the top of the second. Logan O’Hoppe’s hard line shot ate up Ahmed at short for a single to left. Zach Neto bounced into a short to second force out only to be followed by Mickey Moniak’s blast that hopped over the right centerfield fence for an automatic double that put two runners in scoring position.

One of them, O’Hoppe, scored on Michael Stefanic’s clean single to right. They padded their lead in their next turn at bat on a leadoff walk to Taylor Ward, Kevin Pillar’s double to right that sent Ward to third, where he didn’t stop but went on to score on Austin Slater throwing error on returning the ball to second. A walk to O’Hoppe put runners on first and second. Each moved up 90 feet on Neto’s sacrifice bunt. They didn’t stay there for long; Moniak’s down the line two bagger made the score 4-0. An infield single and base on balls later, Howard was through, and Randy Rodríguez was on the mound to get the final two outs.

He retired another batter in the fourth before the roof fell in. There’s no point in narrating the horror show; a list the Angels’ acts of mayhem will do.

1) An RBI double by O’Hoppe. (Pillar was on first with a walk after his fly into the left field seats, which had been ruled a home run became a foul ball upon review; a home run by Neto (his ninth); and a triple by Moniak). Anderson now had an eight run lead to work with.

He also had a chance for his arm to tighten up after his teammates had batted around while they rounded the bases. The Giants scrapped up a run in the home fourth on singles by Wilmer Flores and Jorge Soler, a walk to Michael Conforto, and a double play that brought Flores home to make it 8-1.

Luke Jackson pitched a perfect sixth , giving way to Taylor Rogers, who allowed a single and a walk but no runs in the seventh before being replaced by Erik Miller for the penultimate episode. He disposed of the Halos in 1,2,3 order.

The Giants drove Adam Cimber from the mound after he faced five batters in the home eighth. Four of them reached base. Leading off, Soler was hit by a pitch and went to second on a wild pitch and then to third on Soler’s ground out to second.

He scored on Estrada’s single to left. 8-2. Ahmed singled to left, moving Estrada to second. Mike Yastrzemski pinch hit for Slater and doubled off the bricks over the State farm advertisement in right, driving in Estrada. 8-3. Héliot Ramos sent an 82 mph sider 422 feet, over the center field fence. 8-6. Bailey bunted for a single but was wiped out when Chapman grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. But we had a ball game.

Sean Hjelle mowed the Angel down to take us into the do. or die bottom of the ninth. Carlos Estevezz was on the hill for the Halos. Flores sent a. high fly deep into left field, where Pillar caught it at the wall. Soler fouled out to first. And Conforto went down swinging. That earned Estevez his 11th save of the season

For the Giants it was a valiant attempt and a painful loss.

Saturday at 1:05, Keaton Winn (3-7, 6.94) will face the Angels and Patrick Sandoval (2-8, 5.23) in the second of this three game series.

Kepler, Twins outlast A’s 6-5 in 10 innings; Oakland losing streak reaches 7

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Minnesota Twins Max Kepler gets doused with ice cold water from his teammates after getting the walk off hit in the tenth inning against the Oakland A’s at Target Field in Minneapolis on Fri Jun 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Friday, June 14, 2024

MINNEAPOLIS – Victories have been tough to come by for Oakland of late, and Friday’s 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field was another tough loss to swallow.

Max Kepler delivered a single to right in the bottom of the 10th inning, driving in designated runner Austin Martin with the winning run, sending the Athletics to their 10th defeat in their last 12 games. It’s Oakland’s seventh consecutive loss.

“It’s a tough loss,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “These guys are giving everything they have in terms of execution and making plays. But we’ve got to make plays because we’re costing ourselves wins.

“When we were winning games and closing games out, we were executing fundamentally and playing good defense. We were holding onto leads, something we haven’t done in the last 12 days.”

The A’s took a 5-4 lead in the seventh when JJ Bleday was hit by a pitch with one out and scored on Brent Rooker’s triple to center. Minnesota tied the game again at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth on a bases-loaded RBI walk to Carlos Santana.

The Twins loaded the bases with one out when Correa reached on an infield error, Max Kepler was hit by a pitch and Jose Miranda drew a walk prior to Santana’s base-on-balls off A’s closer Mason Miller, who then retired the Twins in order in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings.

“That was a tough spot to bring Mason in. The walk is something he hasn’t done much in the past,” Kotsay said. “After that walk, he got the last two outs and got out of a big jam. Mason’s ninth inning was solid. At that point, his job is done and anything can happen in extra innings.”

Oakland jumped to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first on Shea Langelier’s two-out grand slam off Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson. Max Schuemann and Bleday drew walks to open the inning, and Miguel Andujar reached on an infield single, setting up Langelier’s 13th home run of the season.

“You just try to come through in certain situations and try to put up crooked numbers,” Langelier said. “It did feel good to get that one there.”

The Twins got a run back in the second when Santana singled and scored on a triple to center by Byron Buxton. Minnesota tied the game at 4-4 on Kepler’s three-run homer that traveled 426 feet to right-center.

Mitch Spence worked the first 5 2/3 innings for Oakland, giving up four runs on nine hits while striking out three with a walk. Miller was tagged with a blown save in his 1 2/3 innings, and Scott Alexander (0-2) took the loss.

The Twins used five pitchers – Jhoan Duran (2-2) threw a scoreless ninth and 10th innings for the win in front of the Twins’ largest crowd of the season – 35,631.

On the A’s recent lack of success, Langeliers concluded, “We’ve just got to stay together. This is a close-knit bunch of guys and it’s all about camaraderie and team chemistry. We have each other’s backs and we fight for each other.

“Baseball is tough and things aren’t quite going our way right now. We’ll stay together and grind our way through this.”

The A’s and Twins meet again Saturday at 11:10 Pacific. Joey Estes (2-2, 4.78) starts for Oakland while Minnesota counters with Bailey Ober (5-4, 5.13) in a battle of right-handers.

Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s have escape clause out of Las Vegas

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Rending of the Armadillo ball park the Oakland A’s plan to build at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino expected to be finished by 2028 at Tropicana and Las Vegas Blvd on the strip. (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 The Oakland A’s have an escape clause out of their 30 year deal at the Tropicana if the A’s were to be taxed. The idea of not taxing the A’s is to keep them in Las Vegas for the 30 years commitment.

#2 The Clause is that if the A’s are taxed different than any other business the will have an out. For example if you go to a show in Vegas your taxed 9% but if you go to a sporting event there is no sales tax on the ticket.

#3 You might recall last year during the Nevada State Legislation A’s team president David Kaval was asked if the A’s were willing to pay the tax. Kaval did not give a yes or no answer but said he and the A’s do not contemplate getting taxed. If A’s players or opposing players are taxed the A’s can exercise the right to move from Las Vegas.

#4 During last year’s presentation to the State Legislature Steven Hill who was one of the key sportspersons to sell the idea of moving the A’s to Vegas said that the projected annual profit the A’s will bring in the neighborhood of $1.3 billion. Most economists have said that is optimistic over reach.

#5 Lastly it should be noted that the Bay Area will be hosting World Cup and the Super Bowl in 2026. What does that say in the face of it for a market this size the sixth largest as the A’s walk away from the Bay Area after this season and will play three years in the 35th TV market in Sacramento and move to Las Vegas in 2028 the 40th sized market.

Daniel Dullum does the Oakland A’s Relocation podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Aces Break Losing Streak Beating Phoenix Mercury 103-99

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The Las Vegas Aces A’ja Wilson led the Aces in scoring with 32 points against the Phoenix Mercury on Thu Jun 13, 2024 at Footprint Center in Phoenix (AP photo from Tue May 21, 2024)

By Barbara Mason

The Las Vegas Aces (6-5) had a molasses slow start in this game but went on to win the second and the all-important fourth quarter winning their matchup with the Phoenix Mercury (6-7) 103-99. A’ja Wilson had another double double with 32 points and 15 rebounds. Jackie Young had a banner evening finishing with 34 points and 8 rebounds.

Game recap: Brittney Griner and the Mercury jumped all over the Aces in the opening quarter of play leading after the first 12 minutes 28-12. The Aces had gotten a very slow start but began to turn things around mid-way through the second quarter hitting 9 of 10 shots and pulling to within 6 points 44-38 with 4:07 left in the half.

The Las Vegas fighting spirit could be seen on the players faces as they continued to inch closer to a lead. The Aces had gone on a 11-2 run. Jackie Young was having a banner game hitting 4 of 6 from downtown with 18 points.

Las Vegas had really settled down in the second quarter. With under two minutes left in the first half this game was tied at 49. The 16 point Mercury lead had dissolved and the Aces clearly had taken over the momentum of this game. There had been a 20 point swing in this game with under a minute left before the half. Las Vegas led at halftime 54-51. The Aces won the second quarter 42-23 in a wild swing.

Jackie Young continued to feel her oats hitting her fifth shot from downtown and finishing with 21 points through two quarters. A’ja Wilson had 15 points and 5 rebounds in the first half. The Mercury’s Diana Taurasi led her team with 15 points in the half and Brittany Griner finished the first two quarters with 10 points and 5 rebounds.

After the first quarter, the Aces were shooting around 44 % to the Mercury’s 64 %. By the half the Aces had totally narrowed that gap; Las Vegas was shooting at 54.5 % with the Mercury at 55.6%. The slow start for the Aces had turned around and they needed to take the same energy into the second half.

The Aces continued their comeback into the third quarter, and Jackie Young continued her reign of terror. She had already scored 27 points and was 7 of 11 from downtown four minutes into the third. The Aces continued to hang onto the lead but the Mercury were going nowhere.

The Aces needed to keep their foot on the pedal as Phoenix was going stride for stride with Las Vegas. Jackie Young tied her career high with 28 points as the third quarter came to an end with Las Vegas hanging onto a 75-74 lead.

The final ten minutes of play would prove to be a dog fight. The Mercury continued to knock on the door but Las Vegas stubbornly hung onto a 92-87 lead with under four minutes left in the game. With under two minutes on the clock the Aces had a 95-91 game.

Leading by a couple of points the Mercury were making it a real challenge getting into the paint for Las Vegas. This game went down to the wire with the Aces leading 99-95 with under a minute left on the clock. The final was 103-99 in a wild matchup.

A’ja Wilson finished with 32 points and 15 rebounds another double double to add to her string. Jackie Young had an amazing game finishing with 34 points and 8 rebounds. By the half she had already shot for 21 points. She was unstoppable. The high for the Mercury was Brittney Griner with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Las Vegas won this game at the line draining 96 % of their free throws along with some impressive defense.

Game notes: The Aces were struggling. They are still missing Chelsea Gray, they had lost 3 games in a row and were losing their way at times on both ends of the ball especially defensively. Thursday night they ended the three game skid against the Mercury at Footprint Center. The Aces will were able to get back on the winning track and avoided getting manhandled like some teams did across the league. Las Vegas were able to strive to start fast and finish hot. With the likes of A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Tiffany Hayes off the bench it is difficult to understand why they even had this losing streak.

Saturday afternoon the Aces face a huge challenge as they take on their rival, the New York Liberty. The Liberty currently have an 11-2 record. Tipoff for this game is scheduled for 12:00 PM and can be viewed on ABC TV.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s look to snap six game losing streak Friday against Twins

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The Oakland A’s Tyler Soderstrom (21) is congratulated by Shea Langeliers (23) after hitting a two run home run in the top of the second inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Thu Jun 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Oakland A’s found the Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan to be too much throwing seven innings and striking out five batters at Target Field on Thursday night in a 6-2 loss.

#2 The Twins Carlos Correa hit for two home runs and got three hits. The Twins are a swinging club on Wednesday they had 24 hits against the Colorado Rockies. On Thursday they got 13 hits 12 for singles.

#3 The A’s first baseman Tyler Soderstrom hit his third home run in four games it wasn’t enough however as the A’s lost their sixth consecutive game.

#4 A’s pitcher Luis Medina gave up four runs in five innings of work and dropped his record to 0-2. Medina has now started three games for Oakland.

#5 The A’s take on the Twins for game two of this four game series with starting RHP Mitch Spence (4-3, ERA 3.68) the Twins will start RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-1, ERA 2.84) first pitch at 5:10pm PT at Target Field.

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