Matthew Harrington

Quakes Shot Parade Comes Up Empty Against Timbers

Published on June 1, 2016June 2, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo from sanjoseearthquakes.com: The San Jose Earthquakes were close but not close enough losing in Portland 1-0

The San Jose Earthquakes were a veritable firing squad Wednesday night at Provedence Park, but the Portland Timbers survived volley after volley after an 11^th minute goal to win 1-0 at home. The Quakes fired off 13 shots in total to just 2 Timbers bids but defender Liam Ridgewell’s header off a free kick was the difference maker in the midweek match-up. It was the second straight contest that saw the Earthquakes missing the majority of their offense due to international duty.

Fatai Alashe’s offense on Diego Valeri in the Timbers’ attacking half in the 10^th minute set up the Portland strike. On the kick, Valeri chipped the ball to the far side just outside the penalty box. From there, Ridgewell headbutted the ball past Quakes keeper David Bingham for the lead.

Just two minutes later Quincy Amirakwa nearly tied the game after connecting on Matias Perez Garcia’s free kick attempt. Perez Garcia was active throught the game, nearly scoring on a free kick in the 53^rd minute. An Amirakwa header in the 76^th minute almost found the mark as well for the third of San Jose’s three shots on net.

The game got chippy early and often. In total, five cards were issued. San Jose’s Matteus Silva received the first yellow of the match in the 17^th minute, but Portland’s Dairon Asprilla was sent off with a red card in stoppage time to end the first half. The returning Jordan Stewart, Chad Barrett and Perez Garcia also were issued yellow cards for the Quakes.

The Quakes receive a two week respite while all eyes turn to the Copa America. Their next match will be in the Sunshine State on June 18^th against Orlando FC. The following Saturday San Jose takes the pitch at Stanford Stadium for the second leg of the California Clasico.

Shorthanded Quakes Draw Dallas Nil-Nil, Stay Unbeaten at Avaya

Published on May 28, 2016May 29, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo by USA Today: San Jose Earthquakes goaltender David Bingham get his fourth clean sheet of 2016 in a 0-0 draw with Dallas at Avaya Stadium on Saturday

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The unbeaten streak at Avaya Stadium continued Saturday night for the San Jose Earthquakes, but a chance at overtaking Los Angeles for second place in the Western Conference went by the wayside for a makeshift Quakes lineup. San Jose and FC Dallas crawled to a nil-nil draw in a match that saw the Quakes take the pitch without five players who have accounted for 75% of their total goals this season.

“Overall I’m not terribly thrilled,” assessed Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear of the team’s result. “But I’m not digging a grave either.”

With Copa America almost underway, the Quakes leading scorer Chris Wondolowski (7 goals) was absent from Saturday’s competition. He instead was playing 1,800 miles away in Kansas City, representing the United States in an international friendly tune-up against Bolivia.

Apart from Wondolowski, the Earthquakes were also without Anibal Godoy and Alberto Quintero (Panama), Kip Colvey (New Zealand) and Simon Dawkins (Jamaica). That group makes up for 12 of the Earthquakes total 16 goals.

Mix in injuries to a number of Quakes players like Innocent, Matheus Silva and Clarence Goodson as well and San Jose seemed short more players than were dressing. It was a struggle to field a fit 18.

“It’s been difficult,” said Kinnear. “But every team goes through it. I’m not going to say our team is the only team to go through injury problems and call-ups. It’s just coinciding with each other and leaving us a little short-handed.”

Chemistry was an early and ongoing issue for the ragtag Quakes, but the team still managed to connect on 74 percent of their passes. They did struggle in the final third, connecting on just over half (53 percent) of their passes, and didn’t generate many chances. In fact, both teams managed only two shots on target a piece.

“At times we let ourselves down with our side passing the closer we got to goal,” said Kinnear. “But the effort we got from everyone was 100 percent.”

While two shots on target for isn’t enough for the Quakes, the two going the other way were nice. Despite struggling to fill the roster, the Quakes still managed to bog down a Dallas team that has scored 23 goals this season over its first 14 games and nearly found three points late in the game. Tommy Thompson, playing the full 90 minutes at midfield for the first time all season, narrowly missed bouncing a header past Dallas keeper Chris Seitz in the 88^th minute. Seitz managed to corral the ball and keep the contest even, earning a point on the road for Dallas.

“When Tommy got his head on that ball late in the game it was going to be something good for us,” said Kinner.

With only one point in hand, San Jose will have little time to try to develop a cohesive unit. They head to Portland to face the Timbers Wednesday night again facing the possibility of being shorthanded.

“It doesn’t matter who is playing and who is not,” said Kinnear. “The expectation is always the same. We expect to win a game.”

Manaea Improves but Tigers Rookie Baffles Athletics

Published on May 27, 2016May 27, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Detroit Tigers manager Gene Lamont removes starter Michael Fulmer in the eighth inning on Friday night at the Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif. – Perhaps Friday night was the blossoming of a new rivalry on the mound, one to replace the Sonny Gray-Justin Verlander duels for years to come with the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics meet. The Tigers beat the A’s 4-1 to open a three-game set at the O.Co Coliseum.

Cameron Maybin, James McCann, J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos each batted in a run for Detroit (24-23) while Jed Lowrie knocked in the lone tally for Oakland (20-29). The real story was the battle of two emerging young arms. Baseball America’s number 48 preseason Sean Manaea was outdueled by the number 47 prospect Michael Fulmer in a dominant outing for the promising young Motown hurler.

Manaea (1-3, 7.03 ERA) cruised through the first three inning, allowing only three hits and no runs. The potent Tiger lineup broke through in the 4^th inning, plating two runs on back-to-back-to-back singles from Justin Upton, Cameron Maybin and James McCann.

“I just had a couple pitches that I didn’t execute well enough,” said Manaea. “I just lacked execution, I have to be better at that.”

The Throwin’ Samoan appeared to be in trouble in the next inning, issuing a leadoff double to Ian Kinsler but a timely interference saved the day. With Kinsler advancing to third on a fly out by J.D. Martinez, the heart of the Motor City Kitties lineup came up to the dish with a chance to add on an insurance run.

Manaea issued the intentional base-on-balls to Miguel Cabrera, then coaxed a right field foul territory pop out from Victor Martinez. Kinsler decided to tag up and head for home. At first glance, Kinsler appeared safe at home after Stephen Vogt couldn’t come up with the ball, but home plate Umpire Joe West saw the throw hit Martinez on the leg as he was walking back to the dugout and called Kinsler out for interference.

“I’ve never even heard of that,” said Manaea of the call. “I walked back to the dugout and a lot of guys were saying they’d never seen that too. It was pretty unique and a good way to get out of the inning.”

The first batter would score a hit once again in the next inning, and this time it was a big blow to the Athletics. Nick Castellanos opened the 6^th inning by swinging at the lefty’s first offering and depositing it onto the stairwell behind the wall in left field. Castellanos’ 10^th homer gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

The rookie Manaea would finish off the inning, but cough up a leadoff single to Jose Iglesias before getting the hook from manager Bob Melvin. He departed the game with 4 strikeouts to 2 walks. The A’s no.2 overall prospect according to MLB.com pitched 6-plus innings for a third straight start after not pitching past the 5^th inning in his first three starts. It was also the 24-year-old’s third start throwing over 60 strikes, recording 62 in his 93 pitches. In his trio of initial starts he maxed out at 50 strikes.

“I think he threw the ball well,” said Melvin. “He mixed pitches today, used his slider a little more effectively. He threw his changeup less predictably and had a pretty good fastball.”

“My slider was non-existent the first couple games” said Manaea of his earlier outings. “The last couple games it’s finally starting to come around. I found a new changeup, a new grip, a comfortable pitch. The fastball has always been there, I just need to try to execute better but I’m improving each start.”

While the A’s rookie showed signs of improvement, it was Detroit’s first-year hurler who turned heads. Like Manaea, Fulmer (4-1, 3.97 ERA) entered Friday’s match-up making just the 6^th start of his career. The righty was coming off a dominant performance against the Tampa Bay Rays last Saturday, striking out a career-high 11 while allowing a career low 1 run. Before that, he allowed 12 runs over his previous 14 1/3 innings (3 starts), performances more indicative of his 5.13 ERA entering play.

Friday’s outing however trumped his gem against Tampa. The 23-year-old went 7 2/3 innings, allowing just 3 hits. He ran into trouble in with a pair retired in the 8^th however, yielding a single to Chris Coghlan. Coco Crisp chased Fulmer from the game with a two-out ground rule double, the first Oakland extra-base hit. Reliever Justin Wilson struck out pinch-hitter Billy Butler swinging to end the inning and preserve Fulmer’s shutout bid.

Fulmer used his two- and four-seam fastballs, averaging 95 miles per hour to keep A’s hitters off balance for when he unleashed his low-80’s changeup. Despite boasting the high velocity, Fulmer only picked up three strikeouts while walking Coghlan and hitting Jed Lowrie with a pitch.

“He was throwing hard,” said Melvin of the opposing pitcher. “It seemed like, as the game went on he was throwing even harder. He had a short little slider that was tough to pick up on and for the left handers threw a tough changeup too.”

The A’s scratched across a run in the 9^th inning after Danny Valencia reached base on a fielder’s choice. Jed Lowrie continued his tear at the plate in just his second game back from injury. The A’s 2^nd baseman tripled to the wall in right field off Francisco Rodrigues to plate Valencia for his 3^rd hit in 6 at-bats since returning to the A’s roster.

“You always want to finish out the game and put some pressure on them,” said Melvin. “At the end of the day a loss is a loss but you don’t want to go down easy. You want to show some fight.”

Oakland turns to Jesse Hahn to right the three-game skid Saturday afternoon. He’ll be opposed by southpaw Matt Boyd whom the Tigers called up Friday to make his season debut against the A’s. Boyd split last year, his first season in the big leagues, with Toronto and Detroit. He went 1-6 with a 6.97 ERA. First pitch is at 1:05 pm at the Coliseum.

Gray Still Searching For Answers After Loss to Yankees

Published on May 20, 2016May 21, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin pulls A’s starter Sonny Gray in the fourth inning of Friday night’s game at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif. – It’s time for the Oakland Athletics to form a search party, start plastering Alameda County lamp posts with “missing” flyers and try to decipher any clues they have. Their once surefire ace, a strikeout machine, has gone missing. In his place is an impostor in a green and gold number 54 jersey dealing with more control issues parents of an unruly teenager.

Sonny Gray was knocked around then prematurely knocked out of the game by the New York Yankees in a 8-3 loss at the O.Co Coliseum Friday night for his fifth-straight start without a win. The former Cy Young candidate surrendered 5 runs, 4 earned, over a brief 3 1/3 innings to a pinstriped lineup composed of noted sluggers Aaron Hicks, Ronald Torreyes and Didi Gregorious. The 26-year-old righty threw 98 pitches, with 53 going for strikes on a night when Gray’s command was not as sharp as he’d like against the struggling Yankees (19-22).

“Early on, it was just about throwing a lot of pitches,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “The velocity was 95 at times, probably the best velocity we’ve seen out of him. He threw some really sharp breaking balls at times.”

Gray (3-5, 6.19 ERA) was staked to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2^nd after Billy Butler scored Matt McBride’s run-scoring single, but a struggle in the 4^th inning tilted the game towards the Bronx Bombers.

“For a while it looked like he had straightened it out,” said Melvin. “He threw a lot of pitches, was just missing with pitches, got his pitch count up. Then in the 4^th it wasn’t as good. We’ll continue to work and try to find it.”

Gray started the inning promising enough, punching out Starlin Castro but a free pass to Hicks slowed the starter’s momentum. Gregorius singled, then Torreyes tripled home both base runners. Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on catcher’s interference then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Torreyes also scored on the play for a 3-0 Yankees lead.

“The 4th got a little out of hand,” said Melvin. “They got some hits then he had trouble locating the strike zone.”

Brett Gardner walked to continue the Yankees rally, then he and Ellsbury advanced a base each on a second wild pitch in the inning. Designated Hitter Carlos Beltran chased the runners in and chased Gray from the game after roping a two-run double for the 5-1 lead. Coco Crisp got a late jump on the drive to center field, turning what appeared to be a fly out into the dagger for the A’s (19-24).

“Sometimes a ball hit right at you on a line, especially when the wind’s blowing at you,” said Melvin. “Sometimes though are tough to judge. It just got over his head.”

Two innings later the Yankees would add on another run off reliever Ryan Dull and would tack on two insurance runs in the top of the 9^th on a two-run Ellsbury triple off Andrew Triggs.

While Gray continued to struggle, opposing pitcher CC Sabathia (3-2, 3.41) meanwhile continued his string of vintage performances. The portly port-sider fired 6 innings of 3-hit ball while striking out a season-high 8 batters. The Vallejo native yielded exactly 3 runs in his first 4 starts, but in his latest pair his allowed just the lone run over 13 innings.

“He used to be just three pitches,” said Melvin of Sabathia’s arsenal. “Now it’s up to 5. He’s not throwing as hard as he used to but he’s tough to think along with now with the cutter and slider, changeup. He’s got an arsenal and he’s figured how to pitch with it and keep us off balance.

With Sabathia out of the game in the 7^th inning, Coco Crisp singled home a run off reliever Kirby Yates to trim the deficit to 6-2 at the time. Yates pitched two innings, while Chasen Shreve allowed a leadoff triple to Billy Burns to open the 9^th then yielded an RBI groundout for Jake Smolinski to wrap up the scoring.

With the current number one starter struggling Friday night, the consensus ace-in-waiting takes his turn on the mound Saturday afternoon. The Throwin’ Samoan Sean Manaea takes the hill fresh off his first career win, 6 2/3 inning 1 run performance against the Texas Rangers. Prior to that, Manaea had allowed 16 runs over his previous 3 starts. He’ll be opposed by the Yankees rotation head Masahiro Tanaka. First pitch is at 1:05 pm for the Coliseum.

A’s Homer Away 5 Game Skid Against Rays

Published on May 13, 2016May 14, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Oakland A’s Yonder Alonso slides ahead of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria’s tag in the sixth inning at Tropicana Field on Friday

One thing was missing from the Oakland Athletics makeshift lineup after falling victim to a three-game sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. With Danny Valencia, among others, out of the lineup the Green and Gold lacked a bopper at the heart of their order. With Valencia returning to action after missing two straight games, the A’s received a dose of much needed pop as they opened a weekend series with the Rays (15-18) in Tampa Bay.

Oakland rode a pair of homers from Valencia to best the Rays 6-3, snapping a 5 game losing streak. Khris Davis and Marcus Semien also homered for the A’s (15-21), while Rich Hill pitched 6 innings, striking out 7 Rays. Ryan Madson shut the door for his 9^th save of the year.

Davis was the first Athletic to exit the yard, taking eventual losing pitcher Jake Odorizzi (0-2, 3.83 ERA) deep on a full count offering with two runners on for his 8^th homer of the season. Like Davis, Valencia worked the count full, then lifted a ball to deep left field for a solo homer, his first dinger of the year, and a 4-0 lead before Hill could even take the mound.

The Steve’s, Pierce and De Souza, would each single in a run in the bottom half of the frame to cut Oakland’s lead in half, but it’d be the last bit of damage Tampa would do off Hill until Evan Longoria hit a 5^th inning RBI double. By then, the game was already locked up 5-3, with Semien hitting a solo shot in the top of the 4^th. Semien’s 9^th homer of the season is an A’s record out of the 9^th place in the batting order.

Hill (5-3, 2.68) only allowed one other hit besides the 3 run-scoring knocks over his 6 innings of work. His finesse attempt yielding 4 walks, but his 7 punchouts were enough to keep the Rays off the board. Fernando Rodriguez and Sean Doolittle picked up holds for their scoreless innings, bridging the gap to Madson.

Valencia hit his second round-tripper of the game in the top of the 6^th off reliever Dana Eveland, crushing a 0-1 pitch to right field. It’s the third baseman’s 1^st multi-homer game since September 18^th of last season.

Valencia will look to stay hot against rookie Matt Andriese Saturday. The Rays starter comes into his 2^nd start with a 1.29 ERA. Oakland counters with Kendall Graveman.

Warriors Advance to Conference Finals, Oust Blazers with 125-121 Win

Published on May 11, 2016May 12, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Reuters photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry holding the ball leading club to victory over the Portland Trailblazers

The Golden State Warriors kept their end of the bargain in setting up the primetime Western Conference Finals, moving past the Portland Trailblazers in a 4-1 series win. Golden State rallied from a halftime deficit to oust the Blazers from the playoffs with a 125-121 win at Oracle Arena Wednesday night. They now await the winner of the Oklahoma City-San Antonio series, with most pundits expecting a heavyweight clash between the reigning champions and Gregg Popovich’s Spurs.

The Splash Brothers led the Warriors charge highlighted by Klay Thompson’s team-best 33 points. In his second game back from injury, the unanimous Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry chipped in 29. Oakland’s own Damian Lillard did his best to stave off elimination, scoring 28 points for Portland. His frontcourt partner C.J. McCollum added 27.

The Warriors trailed by double-digits late into the 2^nd quarter, but managed to keep the Portland lead to 5 points down 63-58 at the half. Golden State outscored Portland 67-58 in the second half for the victory and another dominant series win.

All is not rosey for the Warriors though. Andrew Bogut came out of the game with an adductor injury. The Aussie center’s injury history looms as a concern as the Warriors head to the next round. Draymond Green also briefly exited the game with an injury, but returned to finish out the contest. He had 11 rebounds and 13 points for the Warriors.

For now, the Warriors will play the waiting game as they see who prevails in the other conference semifinal. The Spurs trail the Thunder 3-2, with game 6 set for Thursday night in Oklahoma City.

After Rainout, A’s Open Series With Orioles with Saturday Double Header

Published on May 7, 2016May 7, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit AP: The tarp was out at Camden Yards on Friday night as the field was covered as the game between Oakland and Baltimore was called due to rain

The Oakland Athletics chance to snap a four-game skid was delayed Friday, with a road tilt against the Baltimore Orioles being washed out. Instead, the two teams will play a traditional day-night double-header Saturday. Opening Day starter Rich Hill will take the mound for the A’s in game one while Jesse Hahn takes the bump in game two. It is Hahn’s second start since being recalled from Triple A Nashville. He pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Houston Astros in his 2016 debut. Mike Wright will start game one for the O’s, with ace Ubaldo Jimenez throwing the pill in game 2.

Not all news was bad for the A’s, as the team learned that starting pitcher Chris Bassitt successfully underwent Tommy John surgery. He’ll miss the rest of the season and beyond. Returning to Oakland’s roster is Danny Valencia, who was out for 15 days with a strained left hamstring. Tyler Ladendorf was sent down to Triple A to make room for Valencia.

On a team loaded with power, the Orioles home run leader is a surprise. Mark Trumbo (8) leads the team in dingers, one ahead of Chris Davis and Manny Machado. Machado (.342 average) and Trumbo (.324) are part of the 2^nd best offensive lineup in the American League, with the AL East leading O’s just hitting .264 as a team on the year. The A’s rank 11^th in the league and sit 4 games back of division leaders Seattle, a team that just swept the A’s as part of their 3 city, 9-game road trip.

Alonso Hits Walk-Off Homer After Manaea’s Debut

Published on April 30, 2016April 30, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: The Oakland A’s Yonder Alonso gets the cream pie treatment from teammate Josh Reddick during post game interview at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night

OAKLAND, Calif. – It wasn’t the storybook debut Sean Manaea and his contingent of 22 friends and family members in attendance had in mind when he faced the Houston Astros Friday night, but the Oakland Athletics ultimately did pull out the 7-4 win. Yonder Alonso blasted a walk-off home run while Coco Crisp and Marcus Semien also went deep for the Athletics.

Manaea, the A’s top prospect acquired from Kansas City last season for Ben Zobrist, pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 earned runs to appear on his way to his first career loss. The A’s (12-12) scored 5 runs in the final two innings to let him off the hook.

Despite his team trailing 4-2 by the time he was given the hook, the 6-foot-5 Manaea was very effective in his major league debut. He threw 87 pitches, 50 for strikes. He punched out 5 Astros hitters, and saw the majority of damage come in the 6^th inning.

“I thought he was good,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “That’s not an easy line-up for a lefty to go through.”

After Manaea yielded a solo homer to Evan Gattis in the top of the 2^nd, Coco Crisp homered off Houston starter Mike Fiers in the bottom half with a runner on to give the A’s a 2-1 lead. It looked like it would be all the runs the A’s needed with Manaea dealing, but the “Throwin’ Samoan” struggled with command to open the 6^th.

“There were some nerves,” said Melvin. “It being his first start, there’s no question. I thought overall though he pitched well. It was not the ball-strike ratio he normal has, but for his first start against that line-up I thought it was good overall.”

The southpaw plunked George Springer to open the inning, then issued a base on balls to Carlos Correa. Gattis again burned Manaea, singling home Springer with no outs while chasing the 24-year-old from the game. Sean Doolittle would induce a shallow pop-up from Colby Rasmus but first baseman Tyler White singled home another run to give Houston a 3-2 lead. Doolittle got Carlos Gomez out, but switch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez hit a one-hop ground rule double to plate another run. Ryan Dull would strikeout Erik Kratz to end the frame.

Oakland’s chances at a W were dim with Fiers on the mound, but after his 7 innings of 7-hit, two run ball, the A’s took advantage of a vulnerable Astros bullpen. Marcus Semien welcomed reliever Ken Giles to the game by blasting a solo homer into the 2^nd deck just inside the left foul pole to cut the lead to one. The next batter Billy Burns singled, swiped second base, then advanced to third on a throwing error from Kratz behind the dish. Burns would score on Jed Lowrie’s sacrifice Fly to tie the game.

The A’s narrowly avoided facing an Astros lead heading into the 9^th with Ryan Madson on the mound after Carlos Gomez hit a drive that hit off the top of the wall in center. The greedy Gomez chose to challenge Burns’ arm and attempt to advance to third, paying the price by making the first out at third base. From there Madson (10-, 1.54 ERA) retired the next two batters, setting up Alonso’s dramatics.

Oakland’s 9^th inning rally began with Stephen Vogt doubling off reliever Tony Sipp (0-1, 5.40). Astros manager A.J. Hinch tabbed Pat Neshek to try to strand the runner, but pinch-hitter Mark Canha moved the runner to third on a sacrifice bunt. Neshek issued an intentional walk to Coco Crisp, setting up the showdown with Alonso with a fly ball in the outfield ending the contest.

Alonso, not your average first baseman, is known more for his glovework than his offensive output. His batting average is well below the Mendoza line and his power ceiling is in the high single digits. That didn’t matter Friday though, as Alonso crushed a Neshek offering into the bleachers in right field for his first Athletics homer and the 7-4 decision.

“We would have taken anything in the outfield grass,” said Melvin. “But right field bleachers works too.”

Game 2 of the series is tomorrow at O.Co Coliseum with Jesse Hahn making his 2016 debut in place of the injured Chris Bassit. He’ll be facing off against Chris Devenski who will be making his first career major league start Saturday for the Astros (7-16).

“We want to play better at home here,” said Melvin. “Anytime you have a comeback, that’s nice.”

Earthquakes Remain Unbeaten at Home Thanks to Wondo PK

Published on April 24, 2016April 24, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: The San Jose Earthquakes Simon Dawkins who earned the penalty that set up Chris Wondolowski for the penalty kick for the game’s only goal on Sunday at Avaya Stadium

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The home cooking continues to taste so sweet for the San Jose Earthquakes as they ran their home undefeated streak to 5 straight games Saturday at Avaya Stadium. Chris Wondolowski scored his 116^th career MLS goal on a penalty kick and David Bingham had a 5-save shutout to defeat Sporting Kansas City 1-0.

“It was a grind,” said Wondolowski. “Kansas City is a great team. We knew it was going to be a tough battle. It was a little windy too. That always makes it a little more difficult. I thought our defense did a great job shutting down a very potent attack.”

The win moves San Jose (4-2-2) into a tie for third place on the Western Conference table, leapfrogging 5^th place Kansas City (4-4-0). The shutout marks the 20^th time the Quakes have blanked Kansas City, the most times any team has shutout Sporting KC. It is also Bingham’s 3^rd clean sheet of the season, putting him in a tie for the league lead.

“When you get a shutout there are a couple things that go into it,” said Earthquakes coach Dominic Kinnear. Maybe the other team is missing their chances or you’re defending well. David snuffed out some crosses and relieved pressure. I think we did a good job limiting their movement through the middle and push them to the outside where it’s easier to defend.”

The two teams battled to a nil-nil first half, with each team managing a number of dangerous opportunities. The Earthquakes held the corner kick advantage 5-2 while Sporting KC outshot its host 11-5.

“Those shots were really from like 30-35 yards,” said Kinnear. “It wasn’t like we were giving them great chances. We were sloppy with our passing, which led into those chances.”

5 of Kansas City’s double-digit shot total was on target, while San Jose didn’t force keeper Tim Melia to make a save in the half. At the other end Bingham was stellar for the Quakes, nabbing all 5 shots he faced.

“We’ve had games like this where we’ve gotten behind,” said Bingham. “It’s great, when you’re under pressure, to survive the storm.”

A bit of luck played into the game’s lone goal, and lack of another goal in the 2^nd half. Kansas City’s leading scorer, Dom Dwyer, was racing towards the Quakes net unimpeded in the 55^th minute. Bingham challenged him, coming into contact with Sporting KC’s striker. Referee Jair Marrufo signaled for play to continue.

“100 percent a penalty and a red card,” said Kansas City coach Peter Vermes. “That changes the game. It doesn’t get called. Other things are going to happen in the game.”

“From where I was sitting, it would have been a penalty to me,” agreed Kinnear. “Red card, I would have to make a decision after watching a replay.”

After getting away with a similar penalty at the other end, the Earthquakes drew a penalty shot in the 58^th minute. Midfielder Simon Dawkins was in the penalty box unguarded trying to work around Melia’s right. The keeper came off his line to contest Dawkins, dragging the San Jose midfielder to the turf. Marrufo awarded the Quakes the penalty kick.

The choice of shooter was elementary for the Quakes, as they sent the 4^th highest goal scorer in MLS history to the line. Just as elementary was Chris Wondolowski’s shot, beating Melia to his right for the strikers’ 7^th goal of the season in 8 games for a 1-0 lead. The game-winner is Wondolowski’s 8^th career goal against KC.

“It’s a 12 yard shot, one-on-one with the keeper,” said Wondolowski. “You should make them. You’re not going to always make them. I remember the ones I miss. I work on them every day at practice, but you have to have different philosophies.”

The Earthquakes will hit the road for their next two games, facing the Philadelphia Union and the Seattle Sounders over the next two Saturdays. San Jose had a three-game unbeaten streak snapped in its last home game against Portland and has yet to pick up a win on the road (0-2-1). They have not lost back-to-back games all season.

“Anytime you can follow up a loss with a win shows good character,” said Kinnear. “It means guys are going into a shell. They’re trying to get better the next time around. That, for me, is a huge thing.”

A’s Trump Jays 8-5

Published on April 22, 2016April 23, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Canadian Press photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray delivers to the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning of Friday’s game at the Sky Dome in Toronto

The Oakland Athletics hit parade thumped the Blue Jays and starter Aaron Sanchez to a 8-5 victory North of the Border Friday night. Sonny Gray pitched seven innings of 3-run ball and Chris Coghlan picked up three RBIs.

Stephen Vogt doubled home Chris Coghlan in the first to give the A’s a 1-0 lead, then Coghlan hit his third homer of the season with a pair of runners on in the top of the second. Darwin Barney’s solo homer in the bottom of the third made the game 4-1.
Jed Lowrie scampered home on a Sanchez wild pitch in the top of the fifth, then Jose Bautsita knocked in a run for a 6-2 oakland lead in the bottom of the sixth. Gray would give up an RBI single to Barney in the seventh to finish his night.

The A’s ace pitched seven innings, allowing three earned runs with six strikeouts. Ryan Dull would surrender two more runs but Sean Doolittle would pick up his second hold of the season. Ryan Madson pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning for his seventh save of the season. Game two of the series opens Saturday with Chris Bassitt facing off against J.A. Happ.