Author: jeremy2878

Niners hit with key injuries

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nbcsports.com photo: San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk will miss four to six weeks due to a sprained MCL

By Jeremy Harness

The 49ers are 4-0 for the first time since 1990, when they were going for an historic three-peat. That is certainly worth celebrating, especially given the recent history of this franchise.

However, here comes the bad news.

In the fourth quarter of the 49ers’ convincing win over the Cleveland Browns Monday night, fullback Kyle Juszczyk was forced to leave the game with a knee injury. The next day, he was diagnosed with a sprained MCL, and he is expected to be out for the next four to six weeks

The injury is especially painful for the 49ers, since this has the potential to seriously limit a running attack that wore down the Browns and would have given them a real chance to stay with the Rams, who they will face in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The team was dealt another blow this week, as right tackle Mike McGlinchey will need arthroscopic knee surgery, and he is also expected to miss four to six weeks.

Starting left tackle Joe Staley is already out with a hairline fracture in his fibula, and he will miss half of the regular season, so this will mean that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will have to get the ball out even quicker than he had to against the Browns, because the Rams have a much more effective pass rush that is led by all-world defensive end Aaron Donald.

Both of these injuries will hurt the running game, and the 49ers will need to run the ball if they are going to slow the Rams down and keep their high-powered offense off the field.

The Rams, however, have some injury concerns of their own. Receiver Brandin Cooks is currently under concussion protocol and is not expected to play Sunday. Meanwhile, running back Todd Gurley has a thigh contusion, and he is listed as day-to-day, meaning that there is a possibility that he will not play Sunday, either.

Unbeaten Niners prep for dangerous Browns on Monday night

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Photo credit: ninersnation.com

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA–The 49ers are the only unbeaten team left in the NFC, something that has not happened in a very long time. Let that sink in for a little bit.

OK, good. Now that’s out of the way, on to the next order of business. And these aren’t the same Cleveland Browns that we have been accustomed to for the past few years.

In fact, the team that will be inside Levi’s Stadium to face the 49ers Monday night just knocked off the Baltimore Ravens on the road last Sunday, and they will have some offensive momentum going their way after the 40-25 win.

Baker Mayfield, who has taken a bit of heat in the media for his erratic decision-making, has seemed to get things together for the time being, as he hung 342 passing yards and a touchdown on the notoriously-tough Baltimore defense.

The Browns, however, will be facing a much-improved 49ers defense that has paved the way to their winning the first three games of the 2019 season. They also have an issue with injuries, as receiver Jarvis Landry, who torched the Ravens secondary last week, is currently in concussion protocol and is not a guarantee to play Monday night.

Cleveland may have a capable fill-in for Landry, however. Antonio Callaway, who was suspended for the first four games due to a substance abuse violation, will be eligible to play against the 49ers and is likely to be the No. 2 wideout opposite Odell Beckham, Jr. if Landry is not able to play.

Meanwhile, the 49ers need to figure out a replacement for corner Ahkello Witherspoon, who will miss about a month with a foot sprain. And they need to find it fact, if they are going to limit the potent Cleveland offense.

Safeway Open: Sac native Champ wins it for Papa

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Photo credit: taiwannews.com.tw

By Jeremy Harness

NAPA, Calif. – This week, Cameron Champ wore black shoes that had “Papa Champ” written in white lettering and also had it etched on his wedges.

With his grandfather in hospice battling stomach cancer and his father behind the 18th hole, the Sacramento native kept his focus and earned his second-career PGA Tour win at the Safeway Open, this one certainly the more emotional of the two.

He held the lead for most of the day but had to fight off a threat from Canadian Adam Hadwin, who had rallied from five shots down at one point on Sunday to tie him at the top, making a birdie directly in front of him at the 18th to do so.

“Probably with what’s going on, I don’t know if it’s meant to be or what, but just to play the way I did – basically, this is my home event – to have so many family and friends here, it’s just been awesome,” Champ said.

Champ was a bit shaky off the tee – he did not hit his first fairway until the 12th hole – but his short game and putting kept him afloat long enough to win the tournament.

He pulled his drive left at the first hole – dangerously close to a hazard – but hit a brilliant wedge shot to about seven feet before making the putt for birdie. The wedge and putter came in handy again on the next hole, the par-3 second, after his tee shot came up woefully short and rolled down the hill.

He pitched it to about nine feet and made the putt to save par. The ball striking continued to be a struggle for the next two holes, but he was able to get it up and down to keep the lead intact.

He again pulled his drive left at the par-5 fifth, but this time he was in a tree line, meaning that he had to negotiate the trees to get to the green. He then took a mid-iron around the trees – flirting with out-of-bounds on the left – and landed it in the middle of the green from 201 yards away. He then two-putted for birdie to increase his lead to four.

He dropped a shot at the par-4 eighth but got it right back by getting up and down for a birdie at the ninth.

He was in serious danger of dropping another shot at the par-3 11th, after he short-sided himself and stubbed his first chip attempt. However, he rallied and chipped his third shot in to save par.

“I got some key up-and-downs,” Champ said. “The chip-in on 11 was huge and the up-and-down on 15 just kind of kept my round going.”

Hadwin started the round three shots behind Champ, but he caught fire after a one-over front nine, as he recorded five birdies against only one bogey, including birdies on each of the last three holes, which momentarily left him tied for the lead with Champ.

Ten minutes later, Champ rolled in a four-footer to win it.

“At least I made him think about it a little bit, didn’t I?” Hadwin asked. “I wasn’t sure where I stood. I walked off, I saw his name at 17 there, 17-under when I walked off the 15th green. I knew I had to do something special. I put a little pressure on him and made him make birdie for it.” Marc Leishman made a big charge on Sunday, shooting a seven-under round of 65 to launch himself into second place, 11 groups ahead of Champ. He made four birdies on the front nine against only one bogey, and he picked up four more shots on a bogey-free back nine and finished his round nicely by rolling in a 23-footer for birdie at the par-5 18th.

“(It was) nice to finish off on 18 like that,” Leishman said. “It probably won’t be enough, but hopefully it will make (Champ) think about it a little bit.

“When you can see the ball go in a little bit, it just puts a little bounce in your step. I feel like it goes through your whole game. I feel like if you’re not putting great, that can also go through your whole game, so it’s nice to take advantage of it when they’re going in.” Bryson DeChambeau shot out of the gate on Sunday, pouring in three birdies in the first five holes – including rolling in a 25-footer for birdie at the par-4 third – to get himself into a four-way tie for second before the last two groups teed off.

DeChambeau, a native a Clovis, just outside of Fresno, held the lead after Friday’s second round, but thanks in large part to a damaging double bogey on the back nine, he sputtered to a four-over 76 on Saturday before closing the gap considerably on Sunday.

He wasn’t the only one making noise in the final round. Roger Sloan, who began Sunday six shots back, birdied twice in his first four holes and then chipped in for an eagle at the par-5 fifth to get himself to two shots back and into second place all by himself.

However, both guys soon fizzled and could not make up any more ground. DeChambeau played the back nine at one-over with four bogeys and three birdies and finished with a two-under 70.

After the eagle, Sloan’s momentum hit the skids starting at the seventh, as he sandwiched a birdie with two bogeys. He was also one-over on the back after three bogeys and two birdies and also shot a 70. Both men finished tied for 13th.

DeChambeau, Watney come crashing down while another NorCal soars to the top

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photo from sfgate.com: Cameron Champ hits on the sixth fairway in the third round of the Safeway Open at the Silverado Resort on Saturday. Champ’s emotions are in play as his grandfather Mack battles stomach cancer in the Sacramento area.

By Jeremy Harness

Saturday was not a very good day for Bryson DeChambeau or Nick Watney, and as a result, they fell from the top of the leaderboard while some new folks took over the top spots as the final day of the Safeway Open approaches.

DeChambeau’s four-over round of 76 dropped him toward the middle of the pack, while Watney’s round of 72 was a little more modest, and he is now tied for the fifth spot in the field and four shots shy of the lead.

Meanwhile, another native of Northern California grabbed the lead on Saturday with stellar play. Sacramento native Cameron Champ, who considered to be the longest hitter on the PGA Tour, used that distance to get good looks at birdies and ended up shooting a five-under bogey-free round of 67.

Besides averaging 335 yards off the tee this week that ranks him at the top of the field, including a 372-yard bomb on Saturday, Champ also leads the field this week with a 91.67 scrambling percentage. He is also tied for the fewest bogeys this week.

“I’m extremely pleased,” Champ said. “Not to make a bogey on the scorecard, mission is accomplished. I’m hitting it well, I’m giving myself so many chances. I’m just executing everything. I’m hitting my shots, I’m not making the little mistakes I was, then I’m getting it up and down when I need to.

“Today was like a faultless day.”

Champ currently leads the tournament by three shots, while Sebastian Munoz also shot a 67 on Saturday to get into the second spot. Munoz has had some recent winning experience, as he won the Sanderson Farms Championship earlier in the 2019-20 season.

He then followed that up with a tie for seventh place at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier.

“I’m hitting the ball pretty solid, I’m making the putts, so I’m feeling great,” Munoz said.

Joining Munoz in the No. 2 slot are Canadians Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor. Hadwin first a five-under 67 while Taylor shot 70 to give themselves a chance to win on Sunday.

Safeway Open: NorCal natives on top of the leaderboard

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Photo credit: golfweek.com

By Jeremy Harness

NAPA–The Safeway Open is being held in Northern California, so it’s only fitting that two guys who grew up in the region are in the top two spots as the tournament heads into the weekend.

Bryson DeChambeau shot into the lead with an eight-under round of 64 on Friday. A native of Clovis, which is in the Fresno area, the 26-year-old started off hot and did not really let up the rest of the way. Starting on the 10th hole, he began by birdieing the first three holes in a row and would pick up two more shots on his first nine.

He would go on to birdie three more holes on the second nine and did not record a single bogey in the entire second round.

“Well, I made a couple good putts, that was obviously awesome, and I struck it lot better than I did yesterday,” DeChambeau said. “I scrapped it around, I got it in at four-under, and then I knew today if I could go work on my swing like I did yesterday and come out and feel comfortable like I did today, I’d come out and shoot a low number.”

Meanwhile, Nick Watney, who currently lives in Las Vegas but grew up in nearby Dixon, fired a seven-under round of 65 to vault himself into second place, only two strokes behind DeChambeau. He birdied his first two holes and would birdie two more holes on the front nine but dropped a shot with a bogey at the par-four eighth.

Watney recovered very nicely and finished with quite a flourish. He birdied holes 14 through 16, and he closed things out with a chip-in birdie at the par-five 18th hole.

“It was pretty smooth,” Watney said. “It was kind of like this course, if you keep it in front of you, you’ve got a chance to shoot a good score, so I’m happy with the day.”

However, Friday wasn’t all smiles. Tony Romo, who shot a two-under round of 70 on Thursday to give himself a chance, he shot a six-over 78, which was marred by six bogeys on the front nine and led the way to his missing the cut.

“(I) didn’t hit many fairways today,” Romo said. “With the firmness of the greens, it’s just difficult when you put yourself in some of the spots I was.

“I didn’t putt well. Started (with) three three-putts, I think, on the first eight holes. Kind of gets you a little antsy as far as trying to get some of them back.”

Safeway Open: Scott, Landry blaze their way to the top

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Photo credit: cbssports.com

By Jeremy Harness

NAPA–The Safeway Open has annually been the opening event of the PGA Tour season, but that is not the case this year. Regardless of that, the fans showed up in full force for Thursday’s opening round at Silverado Golf Resort.

Of course, when you have well-known commodities such as Stephen Curry and Tony Romo, the fans are bound to show up.

Two guys who definitely showed up and showed out for the first round were Andrew Landry and Adam Scott, who each shot seven-under rounds of 65 and are tied for the lead after Thursday’s action.

Scott went four-under on the front nine, including an eagle at the par-5 fifth that saw him make a 54-foot putt for his three. He took his only bogey at the par-four 13th, but he more than offset that with three more birdies on the back nine.

“(The eagle was a) fun way to kind of keep the momentum going and get the most out of the round,” Scott said. “If I had any complaints about last season, I didn’t get the most out of my good rounds or my good weeks.

“Today, I felt like I kind of got the most out of myself.”

Landry had no such hiccups, firing a bogey-free 65. He made a pair of birdies on the front side, but he lit the course up on the back nine, making five birdies, including back-to-back birdies to close out his round.

“I can make a lot of putts right now,” Landry said. “That’s kind of what I did all day, I made a lot of putts. Ball-striking wasn’t as good as I wanted, but the putting was there, and it made up for it.”

Right behind those two is Francesco Molinari, who is best known for his heroic play for Europe in the 2018 Ryder Cup, who is one stroke behind with a six-under 66. He made four birdies on the front nine, and made three more on the back to offset a dropped shot at the par-four 14th.

Also one behind is Matthew NeSmith, who spent last season on the Korn Ferry Tour (formerly known as the Web.com Tour). His round of 66 was a bogey-free one, making four birdies on the front and two more on the back.

Romo, who spent many years as the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and now makes his living as an NFL color analyst for CBS, showed that he’s got plenty of game on the golf course. He fired a two-under round of 70 on Thursday and stands a good chance of making the cut and playing into the weekend.

Niners look to keep momentum going after bye week

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Photo credit: mercurynews.com

By Jeremy Harness

The 49ers are 3-0 for the first time in 21 years, and following the bye week that they are currently on, they hope to keep that streak going against a dangerous – but beatable – opponent.

The Cleveland Browns, who gave the Los Angeles Rams a battle last Sunday night but fell 20-13 when they failed to convert in the red zone in the final minute, will make their way into Levi’s Stadium for a Monday night game on Oct. 7.

The Browns boast a few formidable weapons on offense and an improved defense under coordinator Gregg Williams, but they have been wildly inconsistent this year. They have sandwiched a big win over the New York Jets with the loss to the Rams and a 43-13 beatdown at the hands of the Tennessee Titans.

Cleveland has game-breaking wideouts in Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham, Jr. as well as a young quarterback in Baker Mayfield, who does not lack confidence in the slightest case.

However, Mayfield has served as a microcosm of the team as a whole, as a lack of consistency has wreaked havoc on an offense that oozes potential. He has completed 57 percent of his throws this year, to go along with three touchdowns but has also been intercepted five times.

He has struggled in his decision-making at times, and coupled with a 49ers’ pass rush that has set the tone for a defense that has been the key to the team’s 3-0 start, this clearly favors San Francisco.

However, the 49ers have an injury issue that they will need to deal with. Starting corner Ahkello Witherspoon has a foot sprain that is expected to keep him for at least one month, so they will need to find a competent replacement for him in the interim.

Giants whiff on late rally, puts damper on otherwise-legendary series

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants lost in heart-sinking fashion on Thursday, 5-4, to the Boston Red Sox, after a ninth-inning rally that fell just shy that will almost certainly make the plane ride to Atlanta a little less pleasant.

But before sulking in that any deeper, let’s all take a moment to look back on all the good, legendary stuff that went down in these past three games.

First of all, the Giants took two of the three games at historic Fenway Park, a place where the Giants had not won since 1915.

Do the math. That’s 104 years, people!

Mike Yastrzemski, the grandson of Hall of Famer and Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski, made his Fenway debut Tuesday night and was given a standing ovation by the Boston faithful, and the magnitude was ramped up when young Yaz blasted one out of the ballpark later in the game.

To cap it all off, Bruce Bochy got the 2,000th win of his managerial career Wednesday night, a career that will land him into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

As we let that sink in for a little bit, fast-forward to Thursday afternoon.

Trailing by a pair in the ninth, the Giants began a rally against Red Sox closer Brandon Workman, which started when Brandon Belt reached base on a throwing error by second baseman Marco Hernandez, who made a nice sliding stop but watched as his routine throw to first pulled Brock Holt off the bag.

The Giants loaded the bases with nobody out, but Brandon Crawford struck out looking, a situation where simply making contact would likely bring in a run. Yastrzemski was then blown away by a Workman fastball, and the rally was suddenly in jeopardy.

Kevin Pillar kept the rally alive by drawing a walk and bringing in a run, and Evan Longoria was able to work a full count. However, Workman then threw perhaps his best pitch of the afternoon, a breaking ball that dove out of the strike zone and enticed Longoria to swing at air, ending the rally and the hope for a sweep.

“(Workman) found a way to get through it,” manager Bruce Bochy said. It’s a tough pitch to lay off for (Longoria), especially after seeing a couple of pretty good fastballs before that.

“We were close to getting a nice sweep here, but we just came up a little short.”

Although the numbers won’t necessarily reflect it, but Madison Bumgarner threw well on Thursday and gave his team a chance to win.

He went five innings and gave up five runs on nine hits, walking two and striking out seven. However, many of the decisive hits were not hit especially hard at all, but rather were bloopers off good pitches that found open spots in the Giants’ defense.

“It’s just unfortunate that that many fell in,” Bumgarner said. “In this case, I just keep making my pitches and trust that that’s not going to continue to happen. I felt that I threw the ball pretty good.”

Giants thrash BoSox

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants’ playoff hopes may be over, but they are still playing hard and playing good baseball in spurts, and that still makes them interested to watch, even with only a couple of weeks left in the 2019 season.

For the past two nights, they have given it to the Boston Red Sox, a team that is in the thick of the American League playoff race, the latest installment being an 11-3 rout of the Red Sox at Fenway Park Wednesday night.

The Giants jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first three innings, a surge that was spearheaded by Stephen Vogt’s two-run homer in the first inning that sailed over the short wall in right field.

In the sixth and seventh, the Red sox mounted a comeback and cut the lead in half. However, the Giants used the next two innings to blow the game wide open.

They got a pair of runs in the eighth and then erupted for a five-run ninth, during which Mike Yastrzemski, who got a standing ovation from the Boston faithful in his first game at Fenway Park Tuesday night, singled in a run to start the burst.

Vogt had four RBI on Wednesday for the Giants, while Mauricio Dubon knocked in a pair of runs himself, courtesy of a two-run single in the ninth.

Meanwhile, Jeff Samardzija had a solid outing, giving up only a run on two hits, walking only one and striking out a pair of batters, lowering his ERA to 3.64. His Red Sox counterpart, Jhoulys Chacin, however, was not so fortunate. He was chased from the game after only 2 2/3 innings after surrendering four runs on five hits.

Niners look to stay unbeaten vs. shorthanded Steelers

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Photo credit: ninersnation.com

By Jeremy Harness

The 49ers are in a position that they have not been in since their Super Bowl year of 2012, as they are 2-0 and have a great chance to extend that win streak as they get ready to take on their rivals in the NFC West.

And they’ll have a reeling, hurting Pittsburgh Steelers team traveling across the country to face them at Levi’s Stadium Sunday.

However, just a note here: Pittsburgh has ended a 49ers winning streak before. The Niners won their first six games of the 1984 season until the Steelers pulled off a 20-17 upset win at Candlestick Park.

The 49ers did not lose another game that year, which culminated with the second Super Bowl victory in franchise history, a 38-16 win over the Miami Dolphins.

However, they do have some injury concerns going into Sunday.

Defensive end Dee Ford is listed as day-to-day with a quad injury, and he did not practice Wednesday. Among the others who were sidelined for Wednesday’s practice were receivers Trent Taylor (foot) and Jalen Hurd (back), starting back Tevin Coleman and safety Jaquiski Tartt (toe), who is listed as day-to-day but is expected to play against the Steelers.

Tackle Joe Staley suffered a broken tibia during Sunday’s game, and he is expected to be out for several weeks.

However serious the 49ers’ injury situation currently is, it pales in comparison to what’s going on in Pittsburgh. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger injured his elbow in Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks and has been forced to have season-ending surgery on his throwing elbow.

Mason Rudolph took over for Roethlisberger following the injury, and he is expected to be under center Sunday. The Steelers selected Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft and was the third quarterback that season before being elevated to the backup job before the start of this season.

Meanwhile, cornerback Joe Haden, whom the Steelers recently signed to a multi-year extension, did not practice Wednesday as he recovers from a shoulder ailment. Meanwhile, former 49ers tight end Vance McDonald was limited in practice Wednesday with a back injury.

Starting running back James Conner was held out of practice Wednesday while nursing a knee injury, but the team fully expects him, as well as Haden, to start against the 49ers.