Author: Matthew Harrington

Davis Goes Deep Twice in A’s 7-2 Rout, Montas Stifles Royals Again

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By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — Frankie Montas continues to get it done for the Oakland Athletics, winning his third-straight start Friday night against the Kansas City Royals 7-2 at O.co Coliseum on Friday night.

The A’s hosted Pride Night at the Coliseum, and made it very clear that baseball was for everyone, regardless of their gender and/or sexual orientation.

In case you missed the celebration, you can check out the A’s team store for rainbow-oriented gear in the MLB Shop and its website.

Montas (3-0, 1.25 ERA) nearly matched his last outing, an eight-inning no-run performance against these same Royals with a duplicate performance, but a two-run homer to Mike Moustakas spoiled the shutout for the starter. Khris Davis hit a pair of homeruns for Oakland, Dustin Folwer blasted a solo shot and Jonathan Lucroy  knocked in three runs for the Green and Gold, moving the A’s two games over .500 at 33-31. Lou Trivino picked up his first career save after firing the final 1 1/3 innings.

Montas was two outs away from eight innings of shutout baseball, but a Whit Merrfield single put a runner on. Montas got Alcides Escobar to line out but couldn’t put Moustakas away after falling into a full count. Montas’ two-seamer wound up right in the middle of the plate, giving Moustakas a meatball for his 13th long ball of the year.

Montas would depart the game leading 6-2, having his full arsenal of pitches working Friday. He used his slider and offspeed pitches to rack up five strike-outs, but also used his heavy two-seamer to work deep into the game. He faced 30 batters, needing just 96 pitches to get one out away from a full eight innings. After three starts of 2018, he now sports the sparkling ERA of 1.25 runs.

Just like in last week’s win for Montas, a 16-0 win, Montas didn’t even need to be near peak performance. Khris Davis continued his torrid stretch after returning from injury. He  took Royals starter Jakob Junis (5-6, 4.05) deep twice Friday, once in the first inning and once in the fourth, to boast four homers over his last seven games and 17 on the season. Dustin Fowler also tagged Junis with a solo shot in the bottom of the 3rd inning.

Davis’ second homer in the fourth inning wasn’t the only damage the A’s would do in the frame. Leading 3-0, Jonathan Lucroy would knock in a run on a single. Two innings later, he’d tag Junis with two more runs, plating Marcus Semien and Stephen Piscotty on a double for a 6-0 A’s lead. Oakland would score an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth for the seventh run of the game.

The A’s send Chris Bassitt to the mound for his 2018 debut, hoping the young righty’s return to the rotation will go as well as recent returnees Montas and Paul Blackburn. He’ll be opposed by Danny Duffy, who sports a 5.81 ERA with six losses to just two wins.

Game time is set for Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

Montas’ Masterpiece: A’s Blowout Royals 16-0

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By Matthew Harrington

In the one full season the Oakland A’s have had Frankie Montas on the roster after a 2016 trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had exclusively pitched from the bullpen. His days of relief look to be long over if his 2018 campaign is an indication of the type of player the A’s acquired after shipping Rich Hill and Josh Reddick to LA at the deadline.

Montas (2-0, 0.64 ERA) fired eight innings of shutout ball, picking up his second win in as many starts Friday night in Kansas City on a night when he didn’t have to be perfect. Overshadowing Montas’ seven-hit gem is the offensive outburst of 16 runs by the Green and Gold, good for an easy 16-0 win.

Matt Olson and Dustin Fowler each hit two home runs and plated nine RBIs. Stephen Piscotty knocked in two runs on a bases-loaded double and Khris Davis scored two on an RBI single. Chad Pinder and Jonathan Lucroy were the only A’s starters to not knock in a run, but Lucroy did go 3-for-5 on the night.

Olson took Royals starter Ian Kennedy (1-6, 6.08 ERA) deep twice, blasting homers 10 and 11 of the year off the struggling starter. In total, Kennedy went three innings, allowing eight earned runs. Most of the damage off Kennedy came in the third after the A’s entered the inning up 1-0 then knocked him around for seven in the frame.

Scott Barlow stopped the bleeding, allowing just one run in his three innings of work, but relievers Brian Flynn (four runs) and Jason Adam (three runs) coughed up the Royals second seven-run inning of the game in the top of the ninth.

Reliever Emilio Pagan came in for Montas in the bottom of the ninth, yielding a hit but pucnhing out two to close out the game and hand Montas the official win assumed likely six innings ago. For Montas, it’s a second-straight win in as many starts after returning to the club after a sprained UCL kept him out of play since spring training. His first start was an absolute game, going six innings against the Diamondbacks, allowing three hits and a lone earned run while punching out seven.

His stuff wasn’t as hard to hit today, K’ing only two Royals. But what he lacked in electric stuff, he made up for in efficency. He needed just 99 pitches, 67 for strikes, to get through eight innings. If not for the recent shoulder injury, its likely manager Bob Melvin would have thrown him out for the recent shoulder injury. Not bad for a guy the A’s were using solely in long relief last season. Out of the pen, Montas went 1-1 with a 7.03 ERA.

Trevor Cahill takes the mound Saturday for the A’s facing his former team. Cahill played for the Royals last season after coming over in a July trade. He’ll be opposed by another pitcher facing his former team, with Jason Hammel taking the bump for Kansas City. Hammel pitched for Oakland in 2014 after coming over in the July 4th trade that also netted the A’s Jeff Samardzija.

A’s ‘Pen Near Perfect Despite Early Call, Oakland Beats Jays 3-1

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By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland A’s were forced to turn to their bullpen earlier than anticipated Friday night North of the Border, but the result wound up a surprise for the Green and Gold. Despite having starter Brett Anderson exit the game after just one inning with an apparent leg injury, the Oakland bullpen fired eight innings of one-run ball in a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays to put the A’s one game over .500. Dustin Fowler had a big night at the plate, hitting his first career homerun and adding a game-winning RBI double. Josh Phegley also knocked in a run off Toronto starter Marco Estrada to give the A’s (23-22) wins in back-to-back games in Toronto.

Anderson pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, but exited the game after taking his warm-up tosses to open the second inning. Relieve Josh Lucas came on, firing 3 2/3 innings. He would exit the game with a no-decision though.

Despite Fowler’s first career big fly, a solo homer in the top of the 3rd of starter Marco Estrada, Lucas exited the game with Oakland tied 1-1. Lucas gave up a one-out double to catcher Luke Maile and a two-out single by Gio Urshela tied the game. Manager Bob Melvin then tabbed Danny Coulombe to finish out the inning, which he did by striking out the resurgent Curtis Granderson. Coulombe (1-1, 4.96 ERA) fired a perfect sixth inning as well, putting him in line  for the win after the A’s rally in the 7th inning.

With Estrada getting two quick outs in the inning, the Jays appeared safe. Chad Pinder doubled, then Fowler and Phegley each hit two-baggers to give Oakland a 3-1 lead and knock Estrada (2-4, 5.15 ERA) out of the game. In total, three of the A’s seven hits off Estrada came in the inning.

Chris Hatcher pitched a scoreless seventh, but Yusmeiro Petit couldn’t quite get the third out when it was his turn in the eighth. Blake Treinen came in with runners on second and first, striking out Kevin Pillar to end the inning. He then went 1-2-3 in the ninth, closing the game out with back-to-back punch outs of Maile and Dwight Smith Jr. for his ninth save of the year.

Oakland can push itself further above .500 and take the weekend series Saturday with a win from ace Sean Manaea. He’ll be opposed by righty Sam Gaviglio who will be making his first start of the season. Gaviglio has appeared in two games in relief, firing 4 1/3 innings.

A’s Swing Away on Former Teammate Gray, Beat Yankees 10-5

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By Matthew Harrington

In a night of reunions in the Big Apple, a quartet of Green and Gold homers proved the difference-maker in a 10-5 A’s win over the red-hot New York Yankees. Kendall Graveman returned to the A’s major league rotation after a demotion to Triple-A in late April, firing six innings while coughing up one earned run. Meanwhile, former A’s ace Sonny Gray made his first appearance against the A’s since being traded July 31st of last season for a trio prospects. Gray (2-3, 6.39 ERA) got tagged with the loss after giving up five runs over five innings while Graveman(1-5, 7.60) picked up his first win since September 22nd of last season.

Khris Davis tagged Gray for a solo shot, his 10th long ball of the season in the top of the second and Matt Chapman launched a two-run shot just two batters later for a 3-0 Oakland lead. Jed Lowrie singled in a run off Gray in the top of the third.

Graveman struggled mightily to open the season in his first six starts but looked more locked in Friday until he gave up a solo homerun to top Yankees prospect Gleyber Torres in the bottom of the third inning for a 4-1 A’s lead. Shortstop Marcus Semien added to the lead with a fielder’s choice RBI in the top of the fifth, which wound up being a pivotal run.

An inning later, Semien would open the inning by booting a ball to Miguel Andujar. Graveman rallied back, striking out Austin Romine and inducing a groundout from Torres that moved Andujar to second. Graveman then issued a free pass to Brett Gardner. Aaron Judge lifted the first pitch he saw from Graveman to right field for his 10th homer, cutting the A’s Edge to 5-4.

Jed Lowrie hit the A’s third homer of the game  off reliever David Hale, putting Oakland up 6-4. Ryan Dull entered the game in the seventh for the Yankees, giving up back-to-back singles to Andujar and Romine before Torres moved both runners over on a sacrifice bunt. Dull got the hook for Lou Trivino who issued four straight balls to Gardner to load the bases. He’d issue a full-count walk to plate a run, but got Didi Gregorious to fly out too shallow to score Romine from third and finished off the inning with an infield fly from the dangerous Giancarlo Stanton.

Matt Joyce took Hale deep for the final A’s homer in the top of the eighth inning for his third jack of the season. Oakland added three runs in the top of the ninth on a bases-loaded double by Semien off David Robertson. Blake Treinen worked around a one-out Gardner single, getting Judge to bounce into a double play to end the game for his sixth save of the year.

Saturday’s game in the Bronx will feature Andrew Triggs scaring off against the Yankees Domingo German. Triggs is coming off his best performance of the year, pitching seven innings against the Baltimore Orioles May 6th, giving up just the one run on a Pedro Alvarez dinger in a 2-1 A’s win. German, likewise is coming off a breakthrough performance after punching out nine Indians in a 7-4 Yankees win.

A’s Score 4 in First, Need a Few More for 6-4 Win Over O’s

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By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland A’s opened the weekend homestand against the Baltimore Orioles with a 6-4 win over the Birds friday night. The A’s rode homers from Khris Davis and Matt Olson in a four-run first inning, but needed Jed Lowrie’s RBI single in the sixth inning to pick up the win. Daniel Mengden fired five innings of three-hit, one-run ball for Oakland (16-16), but the Orioles tied the game off reliever Yusmeiro Petit in the sixth inning. Lou Trivino (2-0, 0.93 ERA) picked up the win in relief.

Adam Jones, appearing in career game 1,500 with the O’s, started the game with a solo homer for a 1-0 lead. Oakland bounced back in the bottom of the 1st though, with Khris Davis launching a three-run homer off Andrew Cashner and Matt Olson going back-to-back with a solo bomb.

Apart from Jones’ solo shot, Mengden pitched effectively outing but was pulled after five innings with 84 pitches under his belt. Petit entered the game giving up four consecutive singles to put the A’s ahead by just one at 4-3. He got the punch-out prone Pedro Alvarez for the first out, but gave up another single to Danny Valencia for a tie ballgame. Trivino came in and got a double play from Jace Peterson on just his 2nd pitch thrown.

Brad Brach, on in the bottom of the sixth after getting the last out in the fifth, saw  Stephen Piscotty reach base on a throwing error by Manny Machado. Jonathan Lucroy collected one of three hits on the night, doubling to put runners on second and third with no outs. Brach got Matt Joyce to fly out weakly, then saw his defense cut Piscotty down at the plate on a fielder’s choice, but the major’s hit leader Jed Lowrie would knock in his 31st RBI on a single to tag Brach (0-2, 5.84) with the loss. Marcus Semien would single in the insurance run in the 8th inning.

Oakland sends Trevor Cahill to the mound for Gme 2 of the series. The Orioles counter with Kevin Gausman. First pitch is at 6:05 pm PT.

Jones Shuts Out Golden Knights 4-0; Sharks Even Series 2-2

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By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks turned their best-of-seven series against the Vegas Golden Knights into a best-of-three, beating the visitors 4-0 Wednesday night at the SAP Center to even the series 2-2. Martin Jones authored a 34-save shutout, his second of the playoffs, while helping San Jose’s penalty kill go 5-for-5.

Tomas Hertl scored his team-best fifth goal of the playoffs, Joonas Donskoi lit the lamp in his return to the lineup after a one-game layoff and Marcus Sorensen scored the game-winner. Joe Pavelski broke out of his mini-slump with his first goal since Game 3 of the Anaheim Ducks series and Logan Couture dished a pair of assists.

The spring of Sorensen continued, with the Swede forward scoring his fourth goal of the playoffs 15:37 into the first period in a superhuman effort. Sorensen circled the Vegas net, working his way back into the slot before losing his balance on a Colin Miller trip to Fleury’s right. He still managed to fire the puck mid-fall à la Bobby Orr top-shelf before the Golden Knights’ keeper could ever make his push across the net for a 1-0 San Jose lead.

“It was huge,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on the game-opening strike. “We’ve been chasing the lead the whole series. We talked about it, but it’s easier said than done. We’ve had chances in the last two games to get out front but [Marc-Andre] Fleury’s been exceptional early in games in order to keep us off the board. It’s nice that we stuck with it. Hopefully, we see some cracks.”

The Sharks looked like they were going to head to the locker room with a one-goal lead, but another fantastic individual effort from a San Jose forward led to a 2-0 cushion with just six seconds left in the first. Joonas Donskoi, absent from the lineup in Game 3, went coast-to-coast before beating Fleury over his glove with Vegas’ Brayden McNabb and Nate Schmidt trying to close in on him in the slot. Brenden Dillon picked up his second assist of the game after serving up a helper on Sorensen’s strike as well.

Tomas Hertl had arguably his best game of the series, firing three shots on net over 18:58 minutes while being a force around and behind the Vegas net. The Sharks forward scored his team-leading fifth goal of the postseason after parking himself in front of Fleury and shoveling a loose puck past through the scrambling netminder 5:35 into the second. Mikkel Boedker picked up an assist after firing the initial shot and Logan Couture had a secondary assist with the Sharks leading 3-0.

Joe Pavelski scored his first goal of the series, just his second of the playoffs, on the powerplay late in the third period after Fleury challenged Pavelski on the edge of the crease. Pavelski jammed at the puck till it flipped around Fleury’s left pad for a 4-0 lead with 8:17 in regulation. Couture drew his second assist on the goal while Brent Burns picked up a helper as well.

“They won the netfront battle at both ends,” said Vegas coach Gerard Gallant. “When you do that you win the game.”

Vegas vented its frustration in the final minutes, collecting a pair of penalties to put the Sharks on a 5-on-3 man advantage as time expired, but Team Teal couldn’t convert. In total, Vegas committed 22 minutes worth of penalties, with post-season hits leader William Carrier drawing a 10-minute misconduct to go with a roughing double-minor with 1:52 left in regulation.

The Sharks lineup remained a mystery up till puck drop, with Evander Kane missing the morning skate and Joe Thornton and Barclay Goodrow flanking Joe Pavelski on the top line at the morning practice. Ultimately, the only lineup change besides the return of Donskoi was the insertion of Joakim Ryan in Paul Martin’s place at defense. Martin was victimized most notably on William Karlsson’s overtime winner in Game 3 while Ryan showed promise in Game 4, including covering for Brent Burns to breakup a breakaway in the first period. Ryan finished the night with one blocked shot over 11:55 of ice time in his first career postseason contest.

“He did a good job,” said DeBoer of Ryan. “We didn’t win tonight because of Ryan, we didn’t lose last time because of Paul Martin. Our team game the last three games has been really good. The difference tonight was they were 0-5 on the power play and we snuck some goals in.”

The series shifts to Vegas Friday night, but the Sharks victory assures at least one more home game. If the Sharks were to win Game 5 in Vegas, they’d have a chance to finish out the series on home ice Sunday. The best guess will be that DeBoer rides the same 18 skaters for Friday’s tilt.

SJ Sharks Rally, But Knights Karlsson Scores in OT to Give Vegas 2-1 Series Lead

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@GoldenKnights photo: Vegas Golden Knights celebrate the game winning goal by the Knights William Karlsson in the overtime stanza to beat the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center Monday night in game 3

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks rallied from a 3-1 third period deficit, but the Vegas Golden Knights took a 2-1 series lead after winning Game 3 in overtime 4-3. William Karlsson scored the game-winner Monday night 8:17 into the extra session for his fourth goal of the posteason. San Jose fired 42 shots on netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, but the Knights netminder turned aside all but three.

Evander Kane scored in his return to the lineup after serving a suspension for a cross-check to the head of a Golden Knights player in Game 1. Tomas Hertl scored the tying goal with just 1:57 left in regulation, but his efforts would ultimately be for naught. Karlsson turned the defensive pair of Paul Martin and Brent Burns into a pair of traffic cones on the winning shift, skating by them with ease before beating Sharks goalie Martin Jones over his right shoulder for the win.

The Sharks were surging to that point in overtime, having killed off two self-inflicted penalties in a too many men on the ice infraction and a delay of game minor. Fleury also made a brilliant point-blank save from a centering pass from behind the net just a few seconds of game play before Karlsson’s strike.

The Sharks took a 1-0 lead after Timo Meier solved Fleury 6:59 into the second period with the Sharks on the power play, taking a pass from Chris Tierney after Tierney caught a rebound of defenseman Colin Miller’s shin pad. Despite being outshot nearly 2 to 1 (32-18) after two periods, Vegas found themselves up 3-1 after Miller atoned for his role in the Sharks goal, notching a power play goal on a cross-crease pass 9:40 into the second.

Jonathan Marchessault would score on a near-identical play on the man advantange with 6:51 left in the frame after he received Alex Tuch’s perfect one-timer feed. Reilly Smith added an even strength goal after Karlsson tipped a puck to him for the easy score with 5:34 left in the second. Evander Kane scored his fourth career goal in his sixth career playoff contest to pull San Jose within one 7:49 into the period on the power play after Brent Burns managed to keep a clearing attempt on the blue line and in to keep the play alive.

Burns then fed Kane on the backhand just outside the faceoff dot to Fleury’s left for a perfect one-timer. Hertl’s goal came after the forward jammed his way to the netfront from behind the goal. The puck bounced loose, but Hertl stayed determined, shoveling the loose puck home to force overtime with 1:57 left in regulation. San Jose outhit Vegas 44-35, but put Vegas on the power play six times, including twice for puck over the glass and once for a too many men penalty.

The Golden Knights converted on two of those chances, something San Jose will look to improve upon in Game 4 Wednesday in San Jose. The Sharks hope to be with Joonas Donskoi in the lineup after the first-line forward sat out Monday’s contest. Joe Thornton continued to skate with the team at morning skate, but there is no word yet on if he’ll return to the lineup at any point against Vegas.

The Season of Sean Manaea Continues; A’s Handcuff Astros in 8-1 Win

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By Matthew Harrington

Sean Manaea is a Cy Young front-runner. Oakland A’s fans are happy to hear those words uttered, not from overly optimistic fanboys but uttered from the mouths of the nation’s finest sports writers. Six starts into the 2018 season, the Throwin’ Samoan has given the A’s something they didn’t expect when mapping out the 2018 season: a bonafide ace.

Manaea (4-2, 1.03 ERA) held the Houston Astros (17-10) reigning World Champions and one of the hottest teams on the planet, to just one run at home Friday night, with the A’s (14-12) throttling Houston 8-1. Manaea followed up his masterpiece no-hitter over Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox Saturday by emphatically outdueling another team’s ace, Dallas Keuchel, Friday. Manaea fired seven innings, allowing four hits while striking out seven. He now leads the American League with four wins, holds the AL’s lowest ERA at 1.03 and leads the Majors with a 0.62 WHIP. To put it simply, he’s the best.

The only run Manaea gave up Friday the Astros had to scrap for. George Springer reached base in the bottom of the fourth after Marcus Semien’s throwing error, moved to second base on a sacrifice fly then came home on Carlos Correa’s RBI single. When all was said and done, Manaea’s line would read one run, unearned. He also allowed just the one walk, throwing 65 of 95 pitches for strikes.

The A’s spotted Manaea a run in the top of the fifth to tie the game on Matt Chapman’s sixth homer of the season, then Pinder tagged Keuchel (1-4, 4.00) with a two-run shot for a 3-1 lead in the top of the 6th. Matt Olson would single home a run in the seventh, but Mark Canha’s fourth homer in the inning off Keuchel would be the backbreaker and a 6-1 lead.

For how well Manaea was pitching,  a 6-1 lead felt like a 500-run lead, not a five-run lead. The A’s made the mountain all the more insurmountable when Jed Lowrie tripled home two runs for an 8-1 lead. Ryan Dull and Santiago Casilla pitched scoreless innings to give Oakland the win.

Manaea’s performance moves Oakland just 2.5 games back of the lead in the AL West leaders Los Angeles & Houston. If Manaea continues to pitch up to the potential that made him the centerpiece of the Ben Zobrist trade in 2015, they could make some noise in division. They’ll look to continue their quest for legitimacy Saturday when Daniel Mengden opposes the Astros’ Lance McCullers in Game 2 of the series.

Moreland’s Grand Slam Continues Graveman’s Not-So-Grand 2018, A’s Fall to Red-Hot Red Sox 7-3

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By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — Kendall Graveman’s woes continued Friday night at the Coliseum. The Oakland A’s opening day starter failed to record an out deeper than the fifth inning for the fifth time in as many 2018 starts. Graveman gave up six runs to the Majors’ best offense, the Boston Red Sox, in a 7-3 A’s loss. The Red Sox (17-2) continue to hold the best record in baseball.

The A’s (9-11) took a three-run lead off former Athletic Drew Pomeranz, who was making his 2018 debut in the first inning, but the Red Sox rode a three-run Jackie Bradley Jr. homer and a Mitch Moreland grand slam to continue an eight-game win streak. Jed Lowrie went 4-5, adding to his American League lead in RBIs with 22.

Graveman (0-4, 10.07 ERA) entered play with a 9.87 ERA, more than a run an inning, and somehow managed to see it rise to 10.07. He lasted longer Friday night than he had in his previous two starts. The sinkerballer went four innings in a 10-8 loss to the Mariners April 14th and lasted just 3 1/3 innings in a 6-1 defeat to the Angels on April 8th. He departed the game Friday with the bases loaded after coughing up four straight hits with no outs in the 6th after retiring 11 straight batters to enter the inning.

Manager Bob Melvin called for reliever Emilio Pagan with the score tied 3-3 and Graveman responsible for the three runners on base. It didn’t take long for Graveman to learn his fate on the night, with Pagan grooving an 83 miles per hour slider that Mitch Moreland crushed to the right field bleachers for a 7-3 Red Sox lead. The Red Sox lead the majors with five grand slams after hitting zero in 2017.

The Red Sox found it easy to string together hits off Graveman, using a trio of hits in consecutive bats to erase their early 3-0 deficit. After Graveman got Mitch Moreland out on strikes to open the second, Rafael Devers and Eduardo Nunez hit back-to-back singles. Bradley Jr. then squared up on a 2-2 cutter, taking the righty to right field for his second long ball of the year.

The A’s had Pomeranz on the ropes early, with the lefty looking like he wasn’t going to last more than an inning in his first start after returning from a mild flexor strain that sidelined him since mid-Spring Training. Stephen Piscotty scored on Jed Lowrie’s RBI double, Matt Chapman knocked in Lowrie with a single and Mark Canha singled home Chapman for a 3-0 lead.

Pomeranz returned to form too late to factor into the outcome, finishing the game with 3 2/3 innings in the books and seven strikeouts. He gave way to eventual winner Hector Velazquez (3-0, 2.70), the Red Sox starter turned long man. Oakland wouldn’t score again the rest of the game despite loading the bases in the seventh inning off the right hander from Mexico. Matt Barnes came in to the inning with two outs, striking out pinch-hitter Matt Joyce to end the threat. The A’s wouldn’t pose a threat the rest of the night.

Oakland’s best shot at taking a piece out of the league’s best team standings-wise comes Saturday night at the Coliseum. Lefty Sean Manaea takes the bump for the Green and Gold. The Throwin’ Samoan enters play with a scant 1.63 ERA after a brilliant start to the year and an early delivery on the promise that made him the center piece of the Ben Zobrist trade. He’ll draw up against early Cy Young contender Chris Sale. Sale has a 1-0 record and a 1.23 ERA.

Sharks Sweep Ducks With 2-1 Win, Golden Knights Await in Round Two

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Photo credit: @sliccardo

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks swept the Anaheim Ducks, winning 2-1 Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Team Teal draws the Pacific Division champions, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who capped a shocking regular season run with a sweep of the Los Angeles Kings to open their first postseason foray.

Tomas Hertl responded to an Anaheim third period goal with the game-winner just 1:16 later. Marcus Sorensen also scored his third goal of the playoffs for San Jose. Premature Conn Smythe candidate Martin Jones made 30 saves for his 19th career playoff win, allowing four goals over the four-game masterpiece.

Jones needed to be stingy, thanks to four Anaheim power plays but the North Vancouver native was locked in. The lone blemish on the netminder’s ledger came 7:53 into the final period as a result of lax defense.

Brent Burns failed to stop a zone entry from the Ducks that saw the Puck skitter down the boards into the corner to Jones’ left. Ryan Kesler dug the Puck free, catching Burns sagged too far off to prevent a centering pass from behind the net. Kesler connected with Andrew Cogliano just a few feet out in the slot for a jam shot past Jones.

Hertl responded, stymieing a momentum shift before it could take hold. His shot through traffic beat netminder John Gibson to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead with just under 11 minutes left.

The final moments of play proved tense, with the Sharks producing a number of near-misses with Gibson pulled for the extra attacker. Ultimately though, San Jose bled the clock out to wrap up a date with Vegas.

Coach Peter DeBoer’s Sharks weren’t expected to handily dispatch the Ducks after stumbling out of home ice in the first round with a 1-4-1 record over the final six games of the first round. The strengths that made the Sharks look a near-lock to host in the first round in Mid-March were on display throughout the first series of the playoffs, chiefly good goaltending and scoring depth.

Look no further than the Sharks first scorer Wednesday day. Marcus Sorensen appeared in just 32 games with the Sharks, scoring seven points. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he’s a point-per-game player. The winger scored his third goal of the series 5:43 into the game, given San Jose its eighth point from the fourth line alone this series. Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture also are all on a point-per-game or better run.

The Sharks will need all the team speed and scoring depth they can muster against a stingy Golden Knights team. Vegas allowed just three goals in its dismissal of the Kings, with Marc-Andre Fleury collecting a pair of shutouts to add to his already polished postseason resume. Both teams will be well rested as both teams need to wait for the other six series to wrap up before beginning play.