Author: jeremy2878

San Francisco Giants report: 100-loss mark is still reachable for Giants

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Photo credit: San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants)

By Jeremy Harness

 SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants can make some history this weekend, but it’s surely not the kind they were looking for.

 See, they currently sport a 62-97 record, which is at press time the worst record in the entire major leagues, and they have a three-game series against the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park this weekend to close out the series.

 If you do the math, the Giants have a chance to lose 100 games in a season for the first time in quite some time. The Giants have lost 100 games or more only once in franchise history, as the 1985 team went 62-100.

 It was the year that Jim Davenport was fired in midseason and replaced by Roger Craig and finished sixth in the National League West, back when there were only two divisions in each league.

 If history is any indicator, things could quickly be looking up for the Giants. With Craig no longer the interim manager, the Giants quickly righted the ship the next season, finishing 83-79 and a third-place finish in the division before winning the NL West in 1987.

 In the meantime, however, it is not looking good at all, and the Giants do not want it to be historically bad when Sunday comes to a close.

 What is also coming to a close along with the season on Sunday as Matt Cain’s career. The veteran righty has said that he will retire at year’s end, forgoing free agency as this is the final year of his contract. He will take the ball Saturday afternoon opposite Padres right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (13-10, 3.98 ERA).

 Chacin has won his previous two decisions, including an outing last Saturday that saw him shut out the Rockies over six innings and give up only one hit in the process, walking three and striking out six.

 Cain, meanwhile, will just hope to end his career on a high note before his home fans. He has suffered through a 3-11 campaign with a 5.66 ERA. On May 15, he beat the Dodgers by surrendering only a run on five hits, walking three and striking out five to improve his record to 3-1.

 He has not gotten a victory since. And he may need to pull out some of the old magic to keep his team from going to a historic low.

 

SF 49ERS PREVIEW: Offense picking up steam, but will depleted defense follow?

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AP File Photo: Arizona Cardinals’ Mike Iupati (76) gets ready to put a block on Josh Mauro, left, during an NFL football training camp Saturday, July 29, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

By Jeremy Harness

 SANTA CLARA–There is certainly progress being made. Now it has to show up in the win-loss column.

 The 49ers showed tons of heart and determination last Thursday night in a 41-39 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and although the loss dropped them to 0-3, there were quite a few positives to draw from.

 First of all, the offense finally showed some life, particularly embattled quarterback Brian Hoyer, who admittedly had a subpar performance at Seattle the week before and desperately needed a bounce-back effort.

 He got that, and had it not been for a highly-questionable pass interference call that stalled a late drive, the 49ers may have very well come away with a sensational comeback win.

 The 49ers will need every bit of that offensive resurgence against an Arizona Cardinals team that is seething from a home loss to the Dallas Cowboys in front of a national Monday night audience.

 The game will be played Sunday afternoon at University of Phoenix Stadium, and the Cardinals will see this as an opportunity to redeem themselves in front of their home crowd, while the 49ers simply need to get a win any way they can at this point.

 The 49ers will need to have a better showing on defense if they are to get their first win of the year, and they will continue to be shorthanded. Linebacker Reuben Foster is progressing, but he is still out of action at this point. He did not practice on Wednesday, and he is not expected to play Sunday.

 The same goes for safety Eric Reid, who suffered a knee injury in the first half at Seattle and has not returned to the lineup since. As was the case with Foster, he did not practice on Wednesday and is expected to miss at least a few more weeks.

 They will see a number of former teammates on Sunday. Guard Mike Iupati, for instance, is expected to be in the lineup, but a triceps injury caused him to have only a limited participation in practice Wednesday.

 Meanwhile, former 49ers guard Alex Boone suffered a pectoral injury and did not practice at all on Wednesday. Furthermore, a report that was released on Wednesday indicated that he is expected to miss up to four weeks because of it.

PURE INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Behnard Langer pulls away to take title

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golfweek.com/USA Today Photo: Pure Insurance Champion Behnard Langer basks in victory after taking the top prize at Pebble Beach on Sunda

By Jeremy Harness

 PEBBLE BEACH – Bernhard Langer just knows how to win golf tournaments.

 The 60-year-old German, who in 1986 became golf’s first official number one-ranked player, won his 34th PGA Champions Tour (formerly known as the PGA Senior Tour) win on Sunday, taking home the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.

 This marked his fifth win of the year, a string that includes the Senior PGA Championship as well as the Senior Open Championship.

 Langer suffered a bogey at the par-4 eighth, but that was the last real mistake he would make for the rest of the day. He righted the ship with a par at the ninth, and then played a bogey-free back nine that saw him record four birdies, including three straight at holes 13 through 15.

 His closest pursuer, Jerry Kelly, shot a bogey-free 67, but after a lights-out front nine that saw him go four-under, he just could not make up ground on the back nine after Langer hit the accelerator. As a result, he settled for a second-place finish.

 Kenny Perry, who entered Sunday trailing by only one stroke, struggled a bit out of the gate, dropping a shot in the first four holes without a single birdie. He did record a pair of birdies in his second nine, but he simply made too many mistakes to be a factor down the stretch, as he shot a two-over 74 on Sunday and finished in a tie for fifth.

 Langer began Sunday’s proceedings with a one-shot lead but soon saw it increase to three. However, it would not take long before he had some company again.

 Kelly, who won the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship last weekend in Victoria, British Columbia and also took the Boeing Classic two weeks before that, made a huge charge on the front nine on Sunday.

 He birdied the first two holes and then made eagle at the par-5 sixth to tie Langer at the top, at 13-under.

 Soon thereafter, Langer bounced back from a bogey at the par-3 fifth with a birdie on the very next hole to go back in the lead by himself. He would not relinquish that advantage, and he only built on it as the afternoon progressed.

 Scott McCarron, the first-round leader who lost ground on Saturday, got himself within striking distance on Sunday, shaking off a bogey at the par-4 fourth and ran off three birdies in a row at holes six through eight to get to within three shots of the lead.

 He lost some of that momentum by bogeying the ninth, but he got it back on the back nine, as he made back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th holes. However, he just could not generate enough of it – and started the final round too far back – to make a real challenge to the title once Langer got going.

 

Stanford overcomes sluggishness, refs to down UCLA 58-34

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Cardinal running back Bryce Love breaks into the clear against the Bruins for a 69-yard scoring run to give Stanford a 51-34 lead in the fourth quarter. (Los Angeles Times)

By Jeremy Harness

STANFORD – The Stanford football team had a few things to get through on Saturday, one of them being a slow start for its offense.

If that wasn’t enough, the officiating crew injected itself into the game in the second half, giving UCLA some momentum.

Stanford (2-2, 1-1 Pac-12) shook all of that off to turn in a marvelous bounce-back effort that got things back on track, particularly on offense, to put an end to a two-game losing streak with a 58-34 win over UCLA at Stanford Stadium Saturday night.

It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a guy like Bryce Love running the ball for you. After a bit of a slow start, the junior back proceeded to gash the porous Bruins run defense to the tune of 264 yards on 30 carries, including a gut-wrenching 69-yard dash into the end zone late in the fourth quarter that thwarted any chance that UCLA (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12) had of a late-game comeback.

That total is the second highest in program history, trailing only Christian McCaffrey’s 284-yard performance at Cal last year. He has now rushed for at least 160 yards in each game this season.

Love wasn’t the only one toting the rock with authority, however. Fellow junior Cameron Scarlett further gouged UCLA’s defense, piling up 86 yards on eight carries and found the end zone three times. As a team, the Cardinal rushed for an astounding 405 yards, and at least for one week, re-establishing their dominance in the part of the game that they take the most pride in.

This also overcame UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen’s 480-yard passing night, as he threw for three touchdowns while connecting on 40 of his 60 throws. He was also, however, intercepted twice, including one in the fourth quarter that Stanford quickly turned into a touchdown.

Surprisingly, the offense couldn’t get out its own way in the early going, as the first quarter was one that was full of mishaps for both teams.

The Cardinal gave UCLA a very short field when Jay Tyler muffed a punt at his own 15-yard line. Luckily for him, the Cardinal defense stiffened up and held the Bruins to just a field goal to tie the game at 3-3. Later on in the quarter, Stanford’s defense intercepted quarterback Josh Rosen deep in UCLA territory. However, the Cardinal were not able to move the ball at all and also had to settle for three points.

Neither Keller Chryst nor backup Ryan Burns could generate anything in the passing game, so the Bruins concentrated its efforts on bottling up Stanford’s prized running attack. So in the second quarter, K.J. Costello was summoned, and the sophomore responded, completing 13 of his 19 passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

That’s when Stanford’s run game came to life, and from that point, the Cardinal seized control of the game and never relinquished the lead.

However, there was one final obstacle for Stanford to get past, as the officiating crew attempted to take over the game in the third quarter, with a pair of very-questionable targeting calls.

A quarter after UCLA’s Adarius Pickett was ejected for targeting, Stanford cornerback Elijah Holder tackled Eldridge Massington below the waist during UCLA’s first drive of the half, but the officials took it upon themselves to call Holder for targeting anyway, although he was nowhere near Massington’s head while making the stop.

After a review, the call was somehow upheld, and Holder was subsequently kicked out of the game. But the refs didn’t stop there, as they also flagged safety Ben Edwards for targeting while making a tackle on the very next play. Thankfully for Stanford, the officiating crew came to its senses and overturned the call.

Holder’s penalty did enough damage, however, and the Bruins used that to score three plays later, as Soso Jamabo punched it in from three yards out to narrow Stanford’s lead to three.

Stanford, however, quickly overcame that by pounding the Bruins on the ground to get into scoring position on its next possession before Costello hit Trenton Irwin for a 15-yard touchdown, giving the Cardinal a 30-20 advantage.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Cardinal, however. Next week, Stanford will play host to Arizona State (2-2, 1-0 Pac-12), who upset No. 24 Oregon Saturday night.

PURE INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Langer jumps into lead

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Photo credit: PGA Tour Champions (@ChampionsTour)

By Jeremy Harness

Golf can change dramatically from one day to the next, and Saturday’s second round at the PURE Insurance Open at Pebble Beach showed that.

Bernhard Langer, who entered Saturday’s second round behind only one stroke, did not light it up like he and first-day leader Scott McCarron did on Friday, but he was proficient enough to grasp hold of the top spot heading into the final round Sunday.

Starting on the 10th hole Saturday, Langer got off to a bit of a slow start, bogeying his seventh hole before picking up a birdie at the scenic par-5 18th to draw even for the round.

Then he really picked things up on his back nine. He ran off three birdies in a row at holes two through four before picking up shots on both the sixth and eighth holes to finish with a round of 67 and a one-shot lead.

To accomplish this, he hit 9 of his 14 fairways as well as hitting 14 of his 18 greens in regulation in the second round. He made four fewer birdies on Saturday, but he did a much better job of getting up and down, as he recorded only one bogey.

McCarron, meanwhile, did not get any momentum at all, and by shooting an even-par 72, he lost quite a bit of ground to the field, as he is now four strokes back at eight-under in a tie for the fifth position.

Vaulting into the second spot and only one stroke back of Langer is Kenny Perry, who shot a nine-under 63 on Saturday. He shook off a bogey on his first hole and birdied four of the next eight holes. He then picked up even more steam with an eagle at the par-5 second before he birdied the fourth and ran off three birdies in a row at holes six through eight.

Scott Parel sits one shot behind Perry after his second-round score of 66 while Jerry Kelly, who came within a shot of winning the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship last year, is three shots behind the lead after his 66 on Saturday.

PURE INSURANCE OPEN: McCarron takes first-round lead

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Photo credit: Golf Feeds (@golffeeds)

By Jeremy Harness

Professional golf is back at Pebble Beach, and this time around, the weather is a whole lot better.

When the PGA Tour made its annual stop in the Monterey Peninsula back in February, the wind and rain wreaked havoc in the first two days of the event before things cleared up for the weekend.

There have been no such weather worries this week, and there do not figure to be any through the weekend, either, and the folks in the PGA Champions Tour – formerly known as the Senior Tour – are taking advantage.

During Friday’s first round, Scott McCarron grabbed the early lead at the PURE Insurance Championship, previously known as the Nature Valley First Tee Open, shooting an eight-under 63 to go into the weekend with a one-stroke advantage.

Playing at Poppy Hills, which was just remodeled last year, McCarron birdied the first two holes of his round before recording an eagle at the par-4 fifth to get to four-under. He suffered a bogey at the par-3 sixth but quickly rebounded with two more birdies on the front nine.

He then played a clean back nine, which included three more birdies to finish out his round.

He was very accurate off the tee on Friday, hitting 11 of his 13 fairways, and he was even better getting to the dance floor, as he hit 16 of his 18 of his greens in regulation to set himself up for the round that he had.

One stroke behind McCarron is Germany’s Bernhard Langer, a multiple Champions Tour winner who fired a seven-under 64 and made 10 birdies, the most in the field thus far. However, keeping him out of the lead was the three bogeys the he suffered, one on the front nine and two more on the back nine, including one at the par-5 18th to close out his round.

Kevin Sutherland is currently two shots behind Langer, and there are four players ties for fourth place at four-under.

San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers Preview: Dodgers worst enemy isn’t their rivals the Giants but themselves

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija this Friday’s starter in Los Angeles works against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jeremy Harness

 At one point, the Los Angeles Dodgers were flying high atop the major leagues, with no one being able to stop them but themselves.

 Well, the Dodgers have stopped themselves quite a bit lately.

 Although they have clinched a playoff spot, the Dodgers still have not closed out the NL West at this point. That’s because the team has suffered a sudden stretch of ineptitude after absolutely cruising for the first six-and-a-half months of the season and building a sizable lead.

 At press time, the Dodgers still lead the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks by nine games and can wrap up the division this weekend, if not sooner.

 The magic number to clinch the division for Los Angeles is one, so the Dodgers can wrap up the NL West crown Friday night, when the Giants head to Dodger Stadium to start a three-game series.

 The last-place Giants, on the other hand, are playing for nothing more at this point than to spoil things for their upcoming opponents, and they would love nothing more than to set the Dodgers back in their quest to not only clinch the division but to also stake their claim to the best record in the majors.

 The 60-93 Giants will send Jeff Samardzija (9-14, 4.42 ERA) to the mound against Dodgers lefty Rich Hill (10-8, 3.60 ERA) for Friday’s opener.

 After a miserable start to the year, Samardzija had a stretch between Jul. 26 and Aug. 28 that saw him five of six decisions. However, he has lost his last two starts but had a solid outing in his last start, last Friday in a losing effort against Arizona that saw him surrender three runs on six hits. He struck out seven hitters and did not walk anyone.

 Hill, meanwhile, has lost four of his last five starts, but he seemed to get things back together in his most recent outing, surrendering only a run on one hit while walking two and striking out seven more over five strong innings against the Washington Nationals.

 

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS PREVIEW: 49ers have to avoid going 0-3

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AP Photo File: New York Jets quarterback Bryce Petty (9) rolls on his back after being sacked by San Francisco 49ers strong safety Jimmie Ward (25) Ward is suffering a hamstring injury but is expected to play Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams. This photo from an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA– Only two games into the season, the 49ers already have their backs against the wall.

 After a tough loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the 49ers have to turn around quickly and try and pick up their first victory Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium. To do it, they will face a Los Angeles Rams team that go into Thursday’s game with a 1-1 record after an emphatic win over Indianapolis in the season’s first week.

 The 49ers, on the other hand, are currently 0-2 and can ill afford to get off to an 0-3 start. On the positive side, however, the 49ers have had recent success against the Rams, as both of their victories last season came against Los Angeles.

 In the meantime, there are some injury concerns for the 49ers.

 Linebacker Reuben Foster is nursing a high right ankle sprain and will miss Thursday’s game, and there is no telling when he will return. However, there was a huge sign of encouragement that showed up on Wednesday when Foster was without the stabilizing boot that he had been wearing the past week and a half.

 Besides the absence of Foster, the 49ers are also hurting in the secondary. Eric Reid suffered a sprain of his posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the team’s loss on Sunday at Seattle and is expected to miss at least one game because of it.

 Jimmie Ward (hamstring) and Jaquiski Tartt (neck) were also injured during Sunday’s game, but they were at least able to practice on Wednesday, although it was in a limited capacity. Both are expected to be able to play Thursday but are listed as questionable.

 On the offensive side of the ball, the 49ers have a good thing going in the run game, as Carlos Hyde had a good deal of success running the ball against a usually-tough Seattle defense, and he should have more of that against a Rams defense that did not have a good showing in Sunday’s loss to Washington.

 However, the passing game certainly needs to improve, as quarterback Brian Hoyer acknowledged after Sunday’s game that his performance was less than stellar and needs to get better if the 49ers are going to have sustained success offensively.

 

San Francisco Giants-Arizona Diamondbacks preview: Diamondbacks come to AT&T Park with some momentum; First in Wild Card standings

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AP File Photo: San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija (29) delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game in Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO– For the Giants, the end of the 2017 season cannot possibly come fast enough, as they prepare to close out the worst season they have had in many years.

 Before they play their last game, however, the Giants do have a chance to screw things up for teams that are in the playoff hunt at this point. One of those teams happens to be the Arizona Diamondbacks, who the Giants will face this weekend at AT&T Park.

 The three-game series will start Friday night, as righty Jeff Samardzija (9-13, 4.47 ERA) will take the hill opposite Arizona lefty Robbie Ray (13-5, 2.81 ERA).

 The Diamondbacks are currently 9 ½ games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, and even though the Dodgers have not clinched the division yet, the chances of Arizona catching them are slim and none at this point.

 However, the Diamondbacks own the first wild-card spot in the National League with a five-game lead. Behind them, with a hold of the second and final wild-card spot are the Colorado Rockies.

 Those two teams are coming off a four-game series that they split right down the middle, with Arizona winning the final two games there, including a 7-0 shutout on Thursday.

 Arizona has a rather-easy schedule going forward following this weekend’s series with the Giants. The Diamondbacks will then head to San Diego to face the Padres for a three-game series before welcoming the Miami Marlins at Chase Field next weekend.

 From that point, the Giants will head down to Arizona for a three-gamer before the Diamondbacks go to Kansas City to wrap up the regular season.

 The Rockies, however, may have an easier schedule in front of them. They will see the Padres twice before the season ends, and sandwiched between series with San Diego, the Giants and Rockies will get together for a two-game series next week.

 

49ERS PREVIEW: Niners’ road to get tougher next up Seattle

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Carolina Panthers Christian McCaffrey (22), San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster (56) and San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Solomon Thomas (94), all 2017 first round draft picks, talk after an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017 in Santa Clara, Calif. The Panthers won the game, 23-3. (Greg Trott via AP)

By Jeremy Harness

 SANTA CLARA–The 49ers’ season is expected to be, to say the least, very challenging with a lot of growing pains in store for one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Those challenges are being presented to them right off the bat.

 After a convincing loss at the hands of the Carolina Panthers at home in the season opener last Sunday, they now go to a place that they have not won in six years.

 Seattle’s CenturyLink Field will be the site this Sunday, as the 49ers face the NFC West nemesis Seahawks, and they are facing long odds indeed. The last time they escaped Seattle with a victory was in 2011 – former coach Jim Harbaugh’s first year with the 49ers – and they have not beaten the Seahawks at all since 2013, which happened to be the last year they played at Candlestick Park before moving into Levi’s Stadium.

 Making things even tougher is that the injury bug has already hit the 49ers, and it has hit in a key place.

 In an attempt to get to Carolina rookie running back Christian McCaffrey, linebacker Reuben Foster sprained his right ankle, and even though he tried getting back into the game in the second half, he was held out of action for the remainder of the contest.

Thankfully, X-rays done on Foster’s ankle came up negative, but he was later diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, which have a significantly-higher recovery time than regular ankle sprains. In fact, coach Kyle Shanahan said that Foster could be sidelined for at least a month.

 In the meantime, Foster is expected to be replaced in the lineup by Ray-Ray Armstrong, who took his spot in the starting defense on Sunday and, by most accounts, turned in a nice overall performance.

 Besides Foster, tight end George Kittle (hamstring, calf) and safety Jimmie Ward (hamstring) are also nursing injuries suffered on Sunday and were both limited in practice Wednesday. Tackle Joe Staley, along with Foster, did not practice on Wednesday, but Staley’s case was not injury-related.

 The 49ers will be facing a team eager to get back to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks, meanwhile, are seething from an opening-week loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. But they are nursing some injuries as well as they head into Sunday’s matchup.

 Cornerback Richard Sherman (hamstring) and linebacker K.J Wright (ankle), both starters, were both held out of practice on Wednesday, while former 49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite (calf) practiced in a limited fashion.