Month: June 2024

A’s Drop Game One At Target Field To Twins 6-2; Oakland extends losing streak to six

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Oakland A’s starting pitcher Luis Medina winds up against the Minnesota Twins in the bottom of the third inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Thu Jun 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Although the Oakland A’s (26-45) scored first in game one of their series with the Minnesota Twins (37-32), they failed to score for the rest of the game after the second inning. The Twin won the game 6-2 scoring runs in four innings. Oakland only had four hits in the game while the Twins had 13 on Thursday night.

Game recap: The Oakland A’s are struggling. While they can hold their own defensively, the problem seems to be with their offense. In fact they have the second best record, on the mound, in major league baseball with 689 strikeouts. Only the Seattle Mariners have more with 694. The problem with the offense is that they need to be able to put the ball in play. When they do string a few hits together often times they leave runners stranded and this has persisted all season. They need to get on the board early and keep those bats working for more than an inning or two.

The A’s had a nice start scoring two runs in the second inning taking the early 2-0 lead. Tyler Soderstrom who has been solid hit a home run with Miguel Andujar aboard. The Twins answered right back in the same inning to tie up the game. Byron Buxton singled both Max Kepler and Carlos Correa home for the tie 2-2.

Minnesota kept the pressure on scoring runs in the third and fourth innings. In the third inning Carlos Correa singled driving Trevor Larnach home taking a 3-2 lead. The fourth inning saw Austin Martin ground into a fielder’s choice allowing Byron Buxton to extend the Twins lead 4-2.

The Twins continued to drive up the score in the seventh inning extending their lead to 6-2. Carlos Correa hit a two-run home run which would be the final. Oakland did not score another run for the rest of the game now having lost six games in a row. Minnesota got some amazing pitching from Joe Ryan who went 7 innings allowing only 3 hits and the 2 runs with 5 strikeouts. He made Oakland put the ball in play mixing his pitches beautifully.

Luis Medina went 5 innings for Oakland allowing 8 hits, 4 earned runs and 3 strikeouts. At times his focus wanders and he is unable to lock down innings. The Twins took full advantage of those lapses.

The A’s were only able to score in one frame, the second inning. They only managed 4 hits in the game to the Twins 13. The great pitching job that Joe Ryan brought to this game had a lot to do with the lack of success offensively for Oakland.

Game notes:The A’s are coming off a couple of heart wrenching losses at the hands of the San Diego Padres earlier this week. They fought hard in games two and three of this series. They fought back in game two to tie the game up in the eighth only to watch Kyle Higashoika hit a home run in the ninth for the 4-3 win. Deja Vu is a tough customer take it from Oakland. In the final game of the series the game was tied going into the ninth inning.

The A’s couldn’t muster the offense needed to take the lead in the top of the ninth. The Padres Jackson Merrill hit his second home run of game three for their second walk off in a row beating Oakland 5-4. The A’s have those two devastating losses under their belt and added another loss losing to the Twins at Target Field 6-2.

Oakland will send Mitch Spence (4-3, ERA 3.68) to the mound in game two tomorrow evening. The Twins Simeon Wood Richardson will start for Minnesota with a 2-1, 2.84 ERA. First pitch for the game is scheduled for 5:10 PM.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Soderstrom getting around on the baseball; Erceg is back from strain injury; plus more news

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Oakland A’s first baseman Tyler Soderstrom who hit home runs in back to back games last Sunday and Monday has impressed manager Mark Kotsay with his improved hitting. (AP News file photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 Oakland A’s first baseman Tyler Soderstrom hit back to back home runs one Sunday against Toronto and another Monday in San Diego. A’s manager Mark Kotsay is encouraged by Soderstrom’s improvement at the plate saying he’s getting better. Soderstrom is hitting .222 has 14 hits, 8 RBIs, and three home runs.

#2 Jerry, A’s reliever Lucas Erceg threw a 20 pitch bullpen session on Sunday. Erceg said he’s feeling healthy Kotsay said since Sunday Erceg has had no issues with the right forearm strain and came into relieve in Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Padres.

#3 Ross Stripling who has struggled all season with a 1-9 record and an ERA 5.82 is expected back in July his injury update is he’s a on a throwing program. Stripling is looking forward to increase the distance of his throws as Kotsay and the pitching coaches will determine when Stripling will be ready to see live action.

#4 Everybody is asking about Esteury Ruiz who last season lead the American League in stolen bases with 67. Ruiz is not having that kind of season this year. He’s battling a wrist injury he incurred when diving for a fly ball in the outfield in May. He was sent down to triple A Las Vegas to start the season. The A’s said there is no timetable for Ruiz’ return but he could return as soon as sometime this month.

#5 The A’s announced last week that they will be playing 10 percent of their home games away from Las Vegas to improve the team’s and the MLB brand. The A’s would play neutral site games anywhere from other minor league parks but the one top choice is they would play internationally where baseball wants to market and maybe expand.

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

A’s Fall In Yet Another Padre Walk Off 5-4

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Oakland A’s starter Hogan Harris pitches to the San Diego Padres line up in the top of the first inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Wed Jun 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

This game was a re-play of Tueday’s game ending in major disappointment for Oakland (26-44). The Padres (37-35) celebrated their second walk off in a row winning this game 5-4. Jackson Merrill hit a home run off a Mason Miller slider to finish off the A’s. The A’s are struggling with getting the ball in play. This has plagued them all season as they missed cashing in on a bases loaded with one out sixth inning.

Game recap: Through four innings the only offense was a home run off the bat of the Padres’ Donovan Solano. Neither team were generating a whole lot of offense with two hits apiece for the two teams. Just a testament of the great job both Hogan Harris and Michael King were showcasing. King was having an especially outstanding game with 12 punch outs through five innings.

The Padres would extend their lead in the fifth inning with another home run; this time off the bat of Jackson Merrill. Oakland still had not hit a long ball in the game with four innings remaining.

The sixth inning was productive for the A’s scoring three runs and taking a 3-2 lead. Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers both hit singles driving runners home to tie up the game. Seth Brown reached first base with a bunt single and Soderstrom scored to give the A’s the lead. With only one out Oakland had the bases loaded but were unable to extend their lead. The A’s now had eight hits to their credit.

Oakland struck again in the eighth inning scoring that all-important insurance run. Zach Gelof doubled and Seth Brown beat the throw home to score for a 4-2 Oakland lead.

Just when it was looking so very good for Oakland disaster struck in the bottom of the eighth inning. Donovan Solano connected with a fast ball knocking it out of the park, a two-run homer to tie up the game 4-4. This was his second home run of the game, the first one coming in the first inning and it was back to square one for the A’s going into the ninth inning.

Oakland had worked so hard to take the lead only to watch it dissolve in the eighth inning. The A’s skipper was ejected in the beginning of the ninth inning, the A’s were unable to take back the lead and Oakland now needed to keep the tie intact to avoid yet another San Diego walk off. Mason Miller took the mound in the bottom of the ninth looking to keep this game tied.

In a repeat of Tueday’s game, the Padres Jackson Merrill took advantage of a Mason Miller slider sending the ball out of the yard winning their second walk off in a row 5-4. This was Merrills second home run of the game. San Diego hit four home runs in this game. This was a major disappointment for Oakland after having rallied to take the lead only to watch the Padres celebrate their first sweep of the season. Oakland had ten hits in this game but it was San Diego with 6 hits that won this game with that all-important sixth hit.

The sixth inning came back to bite Oakland after they had tied up the game. They had the bases loaded with only one out and failed to score a single run, an opportunity that you cannot squander. This offense needs to be able to put the ball in play. Their defense is solid. They lead the league with 689 strikeouts. They just have to be able to put the ball in play which is falling short right now.

Game notes: Wednesday afternoon the A’s finished up their series with the Padres before heading to Minnesota for a date with the Twins. Oakland made a nice comeback in game two of this series on Wednesday. They tied up this game in the eighth after trailing 3-1. The offense that they needed in the ninth inning never came to be and the A’s lost a heartbreaker in the bottom of the ninth inning when Kyle Higashioka hit the ball out of the park off the first pitch he faced for the walk-off 4-3. Oakland couldn’t salvage the series with at least one win losing to the Padres on Wednesday 5-4. They also got close Wednesday but just fell short.

Oakland will now head to Minnesota taking on Carlos Correa and the Twins in a four-game series that gets underway on Thursday. Luis Medina will take the mound for the A’s with a 5.23 ERA. The twins will assign Joe Ryan who comes in with a 4-5 win/loss record and a 3.30 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 4:40 PM.

Machado hip flexor- aggrevated late yesterday but onboard today

Webb solid and Giants’ offense comes to life to take series over Astros with 5-3 win

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb delivers against the Houston Astros in the top of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Houston Astros 3 (31-38)

San Francisco Giants 5 (34-35)

Win: Logan Webb (6-5)

Loss: Framber Valdez (5-4)

Save: Camilo Doval (12)

Time: 2:07

Attendance: 34,506

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Houston Astros 3 (31-38)

San Francisco Giants 5 (34-35)

Win: Logan Webb (6-5)

Loss: Framber Valdez (5-4)

Save: Camilo Doval (12)

Time: 2:07

Attendance: 34,506

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants’ offense came to life, as they backed up another solid start from Logan Webb with five runs enroute to a 5-3 win over the Houston Astros to take the series.

The home run-happy ways of the Giants’ offense have caught up to them, as they have been limited to just six runs over their last three games. As the Giants looked to take the rubber match of this series on this sunny but hazy getaway afternoon at Oracle Park, the offense would need to wake up and not solely rely on home runs.

With their ace, Logan Webb, on the mound, if the offense would be flexible, the Giants would be in pretty good shape today. Webb started the game with three scoreless innings.

The big left-hander, Framber Valdez made the start for Houston, and he pitched two scoreless innings to start his day, but the Giants would threaten in the bottom of the third. Mike Yastrzemski led things off with a line-drive base-hit up the middle on the first pitch of the inning, and that got things going.

“[I’ve] just been working on staying tall through the middle of the field lately, and it’s been feeling really good,” said Yastrzemski. It’s just about getting on base, honestly, at that point.”

Slater reached on a bunt single, and both runners advanced to second and third on a ground out by Heliot Ramos.

Wilmer Flores was then sawed off, as he hit a broken-bay fly ball to shallow left-center field, and Astros’ left-fielder Yordan Alvarez came in to make a running basket catch. It would be a sacrifice fly, as Yastrzemski scored the game’s first run, and Slater advanced to third. Matt Chapman then clubbed a double into the gap in right-center to knock in Slater and make it 2-0.

The Astros had a response in the top of the fourth. Alvarez doubled high off the wall in left with one out, and Jon Singleton grounded out to first to move Alvarez over to third. Jeremy Pena then hit a chopper the other way that first-baseman Wilmer Flores had to go almost all the way to second to field, but Webb was late in covering the bag, which allowed Alvarez to score and get Houston on the board.

The Giants had their own response off Valdez in the bottom of the fourth. Jorge Soler’s success with the bases empty continued, as he lined a base-hit to left to start the inning, and Brett Wisely stayed hit with a ground rule double to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Thairo Estrada swung out swinging, and Yastrzemski was hit by a pitch near his head to load the bases for the now-red-hot Austin Slater.

Slater hit the walk-off base-hit in the bottom of the 10th on Monday, and he was back in the lineup today to face Valdez, who he was 3-for-6 against coming into today. Slater already singled in his first two plate appearances before stepping in against Valdez in the bottom of the fourth.

With the count at 1-2, Slater took a low sinker from Valdez and flipped a base-hit to right-center to score a pair and make it 4-1. Make it 3-for-3 on the day for Slayer, and 6-for-9 in his career against Valdez. Ramos then knocked in Yastrzemski with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 5-1.

For his second straight outing, Webb had real run support. He had four runs of support in his last outing last Friday against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, and Wednesday, he had five runs of support through the first four innings.

“It was awesome,” said Webb. “Those guys [have] been grinding [and have] been getting a lot of hits, and then [they] put it all together Wednesday. Obviously, as a pitcher, you love that, but it was great to see.”

Following the Giants’ three-run bottom of the fourth, Webb pitched a shutdown 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth. The Giants had runners at first and second with one out against the Astros’ new pitcher, Seth Martinez, in the bottom of the fifth, but this was the Giants’ offense, so they had to waste at least one opportunity today, and that’s what they did.

“Once we scored two, and then we scored again, I think that was a big thing for us,” said Yastrzemski. “We’ve had some tendencies of scoring early, and then not really keeping our foot on the pedal. Today, I felt like we did a better job at that. We still could’ve done it a little bit more [and] tried to blow the game open a little bit, but you never complain about a win.”

The Astros would narrow the gap in the top of the sixth. Alex Bregman led off the inning with a base-hit up the middle, and Alvarez, who nearly missed a home run his previous time up, hit a home run into the Giants’ bullpen that barely cleared the 399-foot marker out in left-center.

It was now 5-3, but Webb was then able to retire the side to end the inning. That would be it for another solid start for Webb. Webb did give up seven hits, but three runs over six innings is your classic quality outing, and he certainly gave the Giants what they needed Wednesday.

“It’s unfortunate and not fair to him that we expect that now at this point,” said Yastrzemski. “You never wanna put that type of level of success on somebody and expect that to be average. He just goes out there and gives his all every time he gets to pitch, and he’s so fun to play behind. He’s a bulldog out there, so there’s always those moments where he has those stellar games, but all those stellar games feel normal, which is not really fair to him. It’s just an attest to how good of a pitcher he really is.”

Webb had only thrown 83 pitches, but after hurting himself on the final play of his last outing, Bob Melvin did not want to push it with Webb Wednesday. Webb did not go into much detail about the injury when he was interviewed after the game last Friday, but he acknowledged that it was precursor to a shoulder injury that he had in 2021.

“I didn’t want to come out of the game, I can tell you that right now,” said Webb. “I trust Bob with every decision, and I agreed with him to be honest. I feel great, but it’s a long season and a long way to go, so I get why we were cautious with that.”

Slater nearly got his fourth hit with one out in the bottom of the sixth, as he reached on a wild throw from Alex Bregman on a ground ball to third. However, even though it was a very close play regardless of the throw, it was ruled an error on Bregman.

It was still quite a day for Slater, the longest-tenured Giant, who went 3-for-5, and has been swinging the bat well after a brutal start to his season. It was his first three-hit game since Sept. 25 of last year. Interestingly, the last time Slater had a five-at bat game was exactly a year ago today, when he went 3-for-5 against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

“He’s just grinded it out,” said Yastrzemski. “He has kept his attitude up; he’s kept his positivity; he knew it would turn around; [and] we all knew it would turn around, so it’s great to see him having the success we know he’s capable of, and a lot of credit to him for just working his tail off.”

Despite the error, Martinez ended up pitching a scoreless inning in the bottom of the sixth. The Giants’ bullpen took it from there. Ryan Walker threw a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, and Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless top of the eighth. Shawn Dubin came in for Houston and threw scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth.

It was off to the ninth, which meant that it was time for Camilo Doval. Doval has been shaky as of late, and it showed a bit Wednesday, as he retired Singleton and Peña on well-hit deep fly balls. However, he did strike out Dubon on a check swing to end it, and hey, – 1-2-3 inning’s a 1-2-3 inning.

Logan Webb got the win; Framber Valdez got the loss; and Camilo Doval picked up his 12th save. The Giants improve to 34-35, and they’ll have a chance to pad their record against a weak Los Angeles Angels team this weekend.

“At this point, it’s just about trying to stay in the mix,” said Yastrzemski. “We’ve still got some guys that are banged up a little bit, and it’s about starting healthy and playing good consistent baseball. We’ll let the record just take care of itself.”

This win came without a home run, as they did get the key RBI hits when they mattered today.

“That’s the way we’re gonna need to be able to play, especially at home,” said Melvin. “Sometimes, it’s tough to hit homers here. It had a big impact, the home runs that we hit on the road, those get crooked numbers up right away, and that has a big impact, but here at home, it’s a little bit more difficult at times, so we’re gonna have to play the way we did today: Get guys on base, [and] get some key hits.”

The Giants will enjoy a day off at home Thursday, and then they will welcome in the Angels for three starting Friday night. Spencer Howard (0-0, 2.93 ERA) will take the hill for the Giants when they open the series on Friday. The Angels have yet to announce their starter for Friday’s game, which will get underway at 7:15 p.m.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants making home field their advantage; SF is 3 over .500 at home

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Camilo Doval (75) and left fielder Austin Slater share congratulations after defeating the Houston Astros at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael, with the Giants win on Wednesday the Giants have improved to 18-15 for their home record to take the series from the Houston Astros.

#2 The Giants are now 22-3 after they have scored five or more runs. They have a winning percentage of .880 when they have scored at least five runs and their third best in the National League they trail the Padres and Phillies.

#3 The Giants got a good pitching performance from starter Logan Webb who went six innings, giving up seven hits an three runs all earned, struck out five.

#4 Austin Slater got three hits and had two RBIs he was the key for the offense Wednesday in the 5-3 win. slater also stole a base and scored. Quick game too two hours and seven minutes.

#5 Giants have Thursday off and host the Los Angeles Angels on Friday for a 7:15pm PT first pitch. The Angels have not announced a starter yet the Giants will start Spencer Howard (0-0, ERA 2.03) at Oracle Park.

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

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Len Shapiro: Oilers Draisaitl dodges suspension after hit on Panthers Barkov, will be in line up Thursday

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The Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov kneels on the ice after taking a hit in the jaw from the Edmonton Oilers Leon Draisaitl in the third period of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals game 2 at Scotiabank Arena in Edmonton (AP News photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Len:

#1 The Florida Panthers are making easy work of the Edmonton Oilers taking the first two games of these Finals. The Panthers shutout the Oilers in game one and won game two by three goals.

#2 Len, how lucky is Leon Draisaitl avoiding suspension for the hit he put on the Panthers Aleksander Barkov who had to leave game 2. Draisaitl didn’t even get a disciplinary hearing for the hit he put on Barkov.

#3 The Oilers are having all sorts of issue there is the injury of Darrell Nurse and a question as to whether he’ll be able to play in game 3 on Thursday.

#4 Draisaitl put an elbow on the jaw of Barkov who some say Draisaitl was finishing a check. The hit put Barkov on the ice. So Len how much of the hit was a it a matter of finishing the check or was Barkov a target being the best player on the Panthers?

#5 It’s game 3 between the Panthers who have a two game lead and the Oilers who will have to play desperate hockey Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena in Edmonton. How do you see game 3 coming up?

Len Shapiro is an NHL analyst and does the NHL podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Hicks nearing career high innings pitched per season; Cobb in bullpen sessions; plus more news

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Jordan Hicks (left) is lifted for a reliever by Giants manager Bob Melvin (right) in the top of the fifth inning against the Houston Astros at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Jordan Hicks is on a pace to exceed his career high of 77 2/3 innings pitched when first broke in the majors in 2018. Hicks who struggled against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night pitched 4 2/3 innings and is at 71 2/3 innings and needs six more innings to go.

#2 On Tuesday RHP Alex Cobb has been throwing in bullpen sessions. Cobb had to come out twice in games due to shoulder irritation. Cobb had been receiving nerve medication and threw a 25 pitch bullpen session which drew a good number of coaches and teammates to watch Cobb’s progress.

#3 Stephen, talk about Marco Luciano’s improvement from his hamstring injury. Luciano was running up the first base line when he injured the hamstring back on May 29th and was placed on the 10 day IL. Talk about how he’s been missed in the starting line up for the Giants.

#4 Nick Ahmed’s return from his left wrist sprain is mid June. Ahmed after getting injured did have a setback on June 1st but has been making progress at Triple A Sacramento. Ahmed came out of May 9th’s loss to the Rockies. Talk about his injury and how he’s needed in the line up.

#5 Giants pitcher Blake Snell whose been snake bitten all season is looking to get back in the rotation with a projection of late June. Snell left on June 3rd in the middle of pitching to a hitter. This is the second time on the IL for Snell this season. The first time he was out with a adductor strain.

Stephen Ruderman covers the San Francisco Giants and podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Stephen Ruderman: A’s-Padres conclude series today at Petco Park

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Oakland A’s starter JP Sears fires off a pitch to the San Diego Padre line up in the bottom of the first inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Tue Jun 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 The San Diego Padres Kyle Higashioka belted a walk off home run as the lead off hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Oakland A’s at Petco Park on Tuesday night 4-3.

#2 The Padres Fernando Tatis kept his hitting streak alive at 17. But the Padres Jurickson Profar took a swing at a pitch so hard that he hurt himself landing on the ground in the bottom of the eighth inning and was replaced by David Peralta who flew out to center.

#3 With the loss on Tuesday the A’s have now lost 10 of their last 13 games and have really hit the skids they are now 17 games below .500.

#4 The A’s Tyler Soderstrom tied up the ball game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth inning with one out. Soderstrom hit a two run homer scoring Miguel Andujar ahead of him. For Soderstrom it was his third home run of the season.

#5 The A’s are back to the drawing board again and will start RHP Hogan Harris (0-0, ERA 2.21) and for the Padres RHP Michael King (5-4, ERA 3.58) first pitch at Petco 1:10pm PT. This will conclude the three game series between the two teams.

Stephen Ruderman is a MLB podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Tie Up Game In the Eighth Only to Lose to Padres in a Walkoff 4-3

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San Diego Padres Fernando Tatis celebrates scoring on Jurickson Profar’s base hit against the Oakland A’s in the bottom of the fifth inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Tue Jun 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After tying up this game in the eighth inning 3-3 off a 2-run homer from Tyler Soderstrom, the Oakland A’s (26-43) were gunning to take the lead in the top of the ninth inning. The team worked hard to tie up the game only to lose it in the bottom of the ninth when the San Diego Padres (36-35) walked it off; the final score 4-3. This was a very competitive game for Oakland that ended on a very sour note. The A’s Scott Alexander gave up the home run to Kyle Higashioka for the San Diego win.

Game recap: As in Monday nights game, the A’s took the early lead, a 1-0 score going into the bottom of the fifth inning. The A’s continue hitting home runs, the first one in this game off the bat of Abraham Toro on the first pitch of the game.

There was not a lot of offense through the next three innings. for either team. The Padres had a productive fifth inning scoring three runs and taking a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning. Luis Arraez hit an infield single and Ha-Seong Kim scored to tie up the game 1-1. The Padres followed that up with a Jurickson Profar single bringing two runners home, Luis Arraez and Fernando Tatis Jr taking a 3-1 lead.

In the eighth inning the A’s fought back tying up this game with yet another Oakland home run. Tyler Soderstom hit a two-run homer with Miguel Andujar on base to tie up this game 3-3. Oakland kept the Padres off the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth and they would need some offense in the ninth inning.

They didn’t get the offense they so desperately needed. Abraham Toro lined out, Shea Langeliers flied out and Max Schuemann fouled out and that was the top of the ninth. They had to keep this game going and that meant keeping the Padres off the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth, preventing the walk-off.

It all went so horribly wrong when Scott Alexander’s first pitch in the bottom of the ninth, a changeup, sailed out of the ball park off the bat of Kyle Higashioka. This was his first walk-off home run. The Padres had pulled off the walk-off winning the game 4-3.

The A’s were within striking distance in the later innings only to watch the long ball that would end any hope for a win for Oakland. This was one crazy game where the first pitch of the game and the last pitch of the game resulted in balls leaving the yard.

Game notes: After losing the first game of their series with the Padres , the A’s lost another one to the Padres at Petco Park. JP Sears who started for Oakland pitched five innings and gave up seven hits and three runs and yet it wasn’t enough for the A’s to get in the win column on Tuesday night. Oakland hung in Monday’s game taking an early lead in the second inning but fell apart for the rest of the game getting crushed 6-1.

The third game of the series is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 PM as the A’s try to salvage this series with at least one win. Probable pitchers for this game will be Hogan Harris for Oakland with a 0-0, 2.21 ERA. The Padres will probably assign Michael King with a 5-4 win/loss record and a 3.58 ERA.

Blanco blanks Giants through six in Astros 3-1 win at Oracle

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Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco works the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Jun 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

Houston (31-37). 001 020 000. 3. 7. 0

San Francisco (33-34). 001 000 000 1. 3. 1

Time: 2:16

Attendance: 32,853

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Fresh off their exhilarating ten inning rabbit out of the hat triumph over the visiting Houston Astros on Monday night, the Giants were three hit by four Houston pitchers on Tuesday, foiling the home team’s attempt to return to the .500 mark and generally dampening the spirits at 24 Willie Mays Plaza.

Matt Chapman was back in the Giants’ lineup after missing two games because of a hamstring injury.. He made a nifty grab and throw to get José Altuve out on the very first play of the game but later on made a crucial throwing error. At the plate, he went 0-4 ending his 25 game on base streak.

Jordan Hicks, who went seven innings and yielded only one earned run and was the winning pitcher in San Francisco’s home opener back in April, brought a 4-2, 2.82 record to this game. He uses the sinker a little more than half the time and also throws the split finger fastball, sweeper, and the four seamer.

This is a bit paradoxical because opposing hitters had a .292 batting average against his sinker before today, while .182 was the best they could muster against any of his other deliveries. On this warm Tuesday evening, the 27 year old righty started out strong but couldn’t get through the fifth inning.

He lasted 4-2/3, in which he allowed three runs, all earned but one, at least that could have been avoided with a better defense, on five hits and a walk while striking out five. He lost his third game against four wins and saw his ERA rise to 3.01. He had exhibited flu like symptoms before the game, and they might have been a factor in his performance.

Ronel Blanco, who signed with the Astros as an undrafted free agent in April 2016 and worked his way through their system, mainly as a reliever, to become a 4-A player in 2022. After earning a steady spot on their roster, he seems to have established himself as a member of the big team’s rotation.

Blanco certainly acquitted himself well this evening, holding the Giants to a single run, earned, in six full innings of work, the 21st century equivalent of a complete game. He allowed three hits, one for all the bases, and a walk while striking out eight. His pitch count reached 96, 57 for balls. The win left him with a balance sheet of 6-2, 2.67.

Houston jumped to an early lead in their half of the third on Mauricio Dubón’s leadoff automatic double that escaped The Curse when he advanced to third on Victor Caratini’s ground out to short and scored on Altuve’s ditto to second. San Francisco got that run back in their half of the frame. Brett Wisely did it with his second round tripper of the season, a 385 foot solo shot t0 right that came off a 93 mph four seam fastball.

The top of the fifth was Hicks’ undoing. It wasn’t entirely his fault. Trey Cabbage led off with a single to right and advanced 180 feet on Dubón’s two bagger off the centerfield wall. Cabbage scored on Alex Bregman’s infield hit to third, on which Chapman made a nice play.

A nice play but marred by an errant throw that allowed Dubón to scamper home with Houston’s third run of the game. That ended Hicks’ work before the sun had set on McCovey Cove. Taylor Rogers entered the game and stayed on until Sean Hjelle replaced him to open the seventh with Houston still ahead, 3-1.

Hjelle stayed on for two innings, retiring all six batters he faced. Luke Jackson allowed a single in the top of the ninth but faced only three batters thanks to an inning ending 5-6-3 double play, something we hadn’t seen since the exaggerated shift was outlawed.

Tayler Scott took over for Blanco in the Giants’ half of the fatidic fifth, held the Giants to a walk, and gave way to Bryan Abreu in the eighth, who set the orange and black down in order in spite of hard line drives off the bats of Wisely and Ramos.

San Francisco sent the heart of the order—Bailey, Chapman, and Conforto—against Ryan Pressly, who was attempting to achieve his second save in seven opportunities. He earned it with a line out followed by two Ks.

The rubber game of this series will start Wednesday at 12:45. The ace of the Giants’ staff, Logan Webb (5-5, 2.92) will try to ensnare the Astros, who will counter with Framber Valdez (5-3, 3.53).