Author: Matthew Harrington

San Jose Barracuda Sunday game wrap: Barracuda Clinch Playoff Spot, Dominate in Regular Season Finale

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit San Jose Barracuda: Barracuda celebrate on home ice at SAP Center after clinching for a playoff spot in 6-0 win over the Stockton Heat on Sunday

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Sunday afternoon’s contest at the SAP Center was do-or-die for the San Jose Barracuda. The math was simple; earning a single point from the game would put them in the Calder Cup Playoffs in their inaugural season. Losing in regulation meant the Charlotte Checkers would move over to the Western Conference, taking the final spot by virtue of a higher points-percentage.

“To be honest with you, I was a nervous wreck all day,” added Barracuda coach Roy Sommer.

With everything at stake, coach Roy Sommer’s charges responded to the pressure with a dominant 5-0 blanking of the visiting Stockton Heat.

“It’s hard to get into the playoffs,” said Sommer. “It means your team has to be doing something right.”

6 different players scored, and Jeremey Morin, Nikolay Goldobin and Jeremy Langlois notched multi-point games for playoff bound Barracuda (31-26-8-3). Aaron Dell made 41 saves for his 4th shutout of the season, denying the Stockton Heat (32-32-2-2) an opportunity to play spoiler.

“We could have gone with Grosenick today,” said Sommer. “(Dell) is the one who earned where he’s sitting right now. I went back with him and I thought he was excellent tonight.”

Barracuda forward Barclay Goodrow must have been taken notes on his sometimes-teammate with the San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski. Goodrow opened the game’s scoring 5:11 into play on an identical move to the Shark’s captain’s game-winning goal in the opening game of the Stanley Cup playoffs against Los Angeles.

Goodrow skated with the puck behind the Heat net, turned the corner around the cage and about-faced to square up with the goal. The winger elevated the puck past Stockton goaltender Nick Schneider for his 20th tally, moving him into a tie with Nikolay Goldobin for the team lead at that time. The tandem of former Ivy League defenseman Gus Young and Joakim Ryan assisted on the goal.

“I thought he was one of our better players tonight,” said Sommer. “He played heavily, went to the net, did a lot of good things.”

San Jose struck once again 1:28 later on tenacious work along the board by Jeremy Langlois. The hard-nosed winger took puck along the boards behind Schneider’s right shoulder while avoiding being checked off the puck. From there, Langlois dropped the puck along the wall to Goldobin. Goldobin slid the puck back to Langlois who had peeled off into the slot for a one-timer. Langlois ripped the puck past Schneider for his 12th of the campaign.

“You could sense it in the dressing room,” said Sommer. “The intensity in the dressing room. The first ten minutes meant business.”

The Barracuda added a pair of goals in the 2nd period with the first strike coming on a piece of smooth passing from the San Jose captain. Bryan Lerg took a puck to Schneider’s right and slid it to a crashing Trevor Parkes. Parkes redirected the puck past Schneider’s left toe for his 18th goal of the season and 3rd of the weekend to put San Jose up 3-0 12:54 into the period.

Goldobin wrestled the scoring lead away from Goodrow just outside the final minute of the period. The Russian winger lifted a puck over Schneider that sent the keeper’s water bottle soaring for a commanding 4-0 lead. Langlois (1g, 1a) and Jeremey Moring (2a) picked up their second points of the evening, assisting on Goldobin’s 21st goal of the year.

“It’s hard to score 20 goals in the American League as a vet, let alone a rookie,” said Sommer. “The talent is coming to the forefront with him. Other coaches are saying ‘Man, that 82 is something.’”

Morin notched his 3rd point of the game on his 16th goal of the season, giving the Barracuda plenty of distance in the opening minutes of the 3rd period.

Noted pugilist Alex Gallant used his hands for something other than fighting, netting his first career AHL goal with 29.4 second remaining in the 3rd. Jordan Sims assisted on the goal for his first point with the Barracuda.

By virtue of earning the final spot in the big dance, the Barracuda will face off against Los Angeles Kings affiliate, the Ontario Reign. The Kings AHL affiliate in 2015, the Manchester Monarchs, took home the Calder Cup last season before LA bumped Ontario up from the ECHL. The Barracuda went 3-6-3 against Ontario in the season series.

“We played them pretty hard all year,” said Sommer. “We played really tight. They haven’t been blowouts by any means.”

“They’ve had our number all year,” added forward Trevor Parkes. “But every game has been a one-goal game. We’ve got all week to prepare.”

San Jose Earthquakes Saturday post game wrap: Road Woes Continue for Quakes

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit: San Jose Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes controlled the majority of play Saturday at Providence Park  but still fell to the struggling Portland Timbers 3-1. Chris Wondolowski converted a penalty kick in stoppage time for his 7th goal of the season, but the Quakes were trailing 2-0 at the time still seeking out their first road win of the season. Fanendo Adi scored a brace for Portland.

San Jose owned the possession battle, holding on to the ball for 63% of the game, but neither team scored in the opening half. On the other half of the break, Jack McInerney scored in the 52nd minute, then Fanendo Adi added a strike in the 65th minute. Adi would add a stoppage time goal after Wondolowski’s penalty for the 3-1 final.

The Earthquakes held the shots advantage 16-14, but it took Wondolowski’s penalty to beat Timbers replacement keeper Jake Gleason. The penalty came after a Quakes corner kick when a Timbers player held Wondolowski on the attempt. The Quakes striker outwaited Gleason, with the keeper diving to his right while Wondolowski went down the middle. Gleason entered the game after starter Adam Kwarasey left the game with injury. The Timbers have allowed the most goals in the MLS (14) this season and picked up just their second win Saturday.

The Earthquakes return home to face Sporting KC at Avaya Stadium next Sunday.

Oakland A’s Friday game wrap: Offense, Hill Shaky in 4-2 Loss to Royals.

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: The Kansas City Royals Edinson Volquez pitches to the Oakland A’s in the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum Friday

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland Athletics early season offensive woes continued Friday night at O.Co Coliseum, with Edison Volquez and the World Champion Kansas City Royals stymieing the A’s 4-2. Stephen Vogt collected three hits, including a solo home run, but starter Rich Hill surrendered 3 runs over 4 1/3 innings to put Oakland behind early. Volquez (2-0, 2.04 ERA) pitched 6 innings, holding the A’s (4-7) to only 4 hits and a pair of earned runs. In total, the A’s only mustered 6 hits, with half coming from their 2015 all-star backstop.

Hill, the A’s big money offseason signing, continues to have mixed results in the early going. In his last start against the Seattle Mariners, the 6 million dollar man allowed only 5 hits and a single run in a six-inning win, but his surprise opening day start lasted just 2 2/3 innings and 4 earned runs. Friday began looking more like the latter than the former.

Leadoff man Alcides Escobar walked to open the game, then Omar Infante singled. Lorenzo Cain hit a run-scoring single that advanced Infante to third base. Eric Hosmer bounced into a double play that plated Infante. Hill would walk Kendrys Morales before finishing off Alex Gordon to end the first with the A’s trailing 1-0. Hill yielded a pair of singles in the 2nd as well, but managed to strand the runners at 2nd and 3rd to avoid more damage.

“I thought he had good command of his breaking ball,” said Vogt of his batterymate. “He struggled at times with his command of the fastball. He also got himself into some hitter’s counts. They also had some pretty good pieces of hitting. His pitch count got higher than he wanted early.”

Stephen Vogt hit his first homer of the season off Volquez in the bottom of the 2nd, taking a 2-2 offspeed pitch and depositing it into the bleachers in right field. Vogt would go 3-for-4 to momentarily buck an early season slump and raise his average to .273.

Hill yielded his 3rd run of the day in the top half of the next inning on Kendry Morales’ 500th career RBI. The A’s southpaw walked Cain to open the inning, then saw the Royals center fielder move to second on a ground out by Eric Hosmer. Morales went back up the box for a 3-1 lead. Hill (1-2, 4.15) would last only 1 1/3 more innings before being chased from the game, ultimately being tagged for the loss.

Oakland would pick up another run in the bottom of the  fourth, with the A’s catcher again in the middle of the action. Vogt singled to right field, then moved over to second on a Jed Lowrie bounce out. Another A’s slumping slugger Kris Davis singled Vogt home to pull the A’s within one run with five innings left to play.

It’d be the closest the A’s would get to the Royals (8-2), with Volquez pitching another scoreless pair of innings, then turning the game over to lights-out Kansas City pen. Kelvin Herrera and Joakim Soria pitched scoreless innings to set Wade Davis up for his 5th save.

Kansas City would stake its closer to a two-run lead after Hosmer took a 1-1 Sean Doolittle pitch halfway up Mount Davis for his first long ball of the year. Doolittle entered the game with the A’s trailing 3-2 after Fernando Rodriguez, Marc Rzepczynski and Ryan Dull pitched a combined 4 innings in relief. Doolittle has now given up 3 homers and 4 earned runs over his 5 1/3 innings of work this season.

“I can’t remember the last time a lefty has hit a homer off him,” said Melvin of his former closer. “On that particular pitch you have to give the hitter some credit.”

Oakland looks for ace Sonny Gray to play stopper Saturday. He’ll face the beguiling Chris Young and his repertoire of offspeed pitches and odd angles. The lanky righty is 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA this season.

Bullpen Ruins Bumgarner’s Gem, Blast

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Less lip more bat flip the Dodgers Yesiel Puig heads to first base on bases on ball walk off San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner in the first inning Saturday at AT&T Park

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Madison Bumgarner appeared well on his way to pitching, and hitting, his way to his second win to open the season, but a blown save by Santiago Casilla turned a 2-1 Giants win into a 3-2 Los Angeles Dodgers victory. Bumgarner pitched six innings of one-run ball and homered off Clayton Kershaw, but LA took the game in the 10th inning on an RBI double from Charlie Culberson.

“In a game like that, you’re hoping to have the lead with your closer out there,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “It just didn’t work out today.”

Bumgarner handed the game over to the bullpen in the 7th inning with the Giants ahead 2-1. Sergio Romo, Javier Lopez and Hunter Strickland combined to pitch a scoreless pair of innings to turn the game over to Casilla in the 9th. Casilla, looking for his 2nd save of the season, allowed a one-out walk to Chase Utley to begin a rough frame. The next batter, Yasiel Puig singled, then Justin Turner was hit by a Casilla pitch to load the bases.

“He had good stuff,” said Bochy of his closer. “The walk got him. Then he had two strikes and left a breaking ball up. Hitting turner didn’t help. Now you’re facing there big guy.

Casilla appeared to coax the game-ending double-play ball out of Adrian Gonzalez, but Kelby Tomlinson struggled to field it and settled for the lone out at first base. To this point, the Giants had played stellar defense, with Matt Duffy committing the team’s first error of the season earlier in the game.

“(Casilla) made some good pitchers,” said Bochy. “We just didn’t turn it.”

Casilla would get out of the inning without surrendering another run, but George Kontos (0-1, 3.00 ERA) would cough up back-to-back doubles to put LA ahead. Kenley Jansen pitched a 1-2-3 inning to notch the save.

Saturday’s soggy duel was Bumgarner and Kershaw’s 8th meeting all time, with the Giants south paw leading in wins 4-2. Bumgarner struck out 8 Dodgers, yielded his lone earned run on a hit-by-pitch while stranding 8 Dodgers over his 6 innings of work. Kershaw would pitch 8 innings, allowing the two earned runs on home runs, but reliever Chris Hatcher (1-0, 3.38) would be the beneficiary for the Dodgers rally, picking up the win.

“I feel pretty good with the results on my end,” said Bumgarner. “It would have been nice to pull that one out, but that’s the way it goes.”

Bumgarner became the first pitcher with multiple homers off Kershaw when he opened up the game’s scoring in the 2nd inning. Bumgarner took Kershaw’s 93 mile-per-hour fastball and hit it on a line over the wall in left field to become the only player in the majors with multiple dingers against the Dodgers ace since the start of last season. It was the first run Kershaw allowed after a scoreless opening day start against the San Diego Padres.

“My job is to go out there and pitch,” said Bumgarner. “I’m going to go up there and compete when I’m at the plate but I don’t want to get out of what I’m doing out there.”

The opening day starter now has 12 home runs, tying him with the Baltimore Orioles’ Yovani Gallardo for most amongst active pitchers. With Gallardo limited to only interleague play for at-bats, Bumgarner could hold the active lead by season’s end.

The Dodgers worked Bumgarner for a tie in the top of the 3rd after Kike Hernandez led the frame off with a single. He advance to second on Justin Turners one-out single, then LA loaded the basses on soft single by Adrian Gonzalez. Bumgarner plunked Scott Van Slyke to plate the Dodgers’ first run before punching out Trayce Thompson and A.J. Ellis to end the inning.

“I don’t know that he moved all that much,” said Bumgarner. “You don’t have to. He obviously can’t lean in to it, which he didn’t. It’s unfortunate. A couple inches further away from him and it might have been a different story.”

Bumgarner would not allow a run over his next 3 innings, setting the stage for Adrianza to hit the game-winning homer. Adrianza took Kershaw’s first offering in the bottom of the 5th, a 92 mile-per-hour heater, and hooked it inside the foul pole in left field for his first homer of the season.

The big fly to give the Giants a 2-1 lead was the shortstop’s 2nd career round-tripper, with his first coming during his 9-game rookie campaign in 2013. Since the September 22nd, 2013 at-bat, the utility infielder has had 259 plate appearances between dingers.

The Giants look to win the series, sending Johnny Cueto to the mound. The Giants big pitching acquisition in the offseason will face down one of LA’s, with Scott Kazmir on the bump for the rivalry finale.

Oakland A’s Friday post game wrap: Coghlan’s Homer, Bullpen Propel A’s to 3-2 Win In Seattle

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Oakland A’s Chris Coghlan heads home after belting a ninth inning homer that gave the A’s a one run win off Seattle Mariners pitcher Steve Cishek

The blueprints general manager David Forst laid out for the Oakland Athletics were in full display for Friday’s 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field Friday night.

The revamped Oakland bullpen pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings and super-sub Chris Coghlan hit his first home run as an Athletic to give Sean Doolittle (1-1, 3.38 ERA) his first win since the south paw tallied his lone 2015 victory on September 17th. Closer Ryan Madson, another free agent signing for the Green and Gold, picked up his 2nd save of the season  for the A’s (2-3) after recording a 1-2-3 inning including a pair of punchouts.

Coghlan, getting a spot start in right field after Josh Reddick was moved to DH to nurse back stiffness, knocked in the first run of the game off Mariners starter Taijuan Walker in the 4th inning after a sharp liner deflected on first baseman Dae-Ho Lee’s glove and into the outfield.

Josh Reddick would add to the A’s lead with a two-out solo home run, his first of the year, in the fifth inning, golfing a 77 mile per hour pitch into the stands in right field.

The Mariners (2-2) answered back with their American-league leading 9th homer of the season after Lee took A’s starter Eric Surkamp’s offering over the wall in straight-away centerfield in the bottom half of the inning. It was Lee’s first homer in the United States after playing the beginning of his career in the Koreon Baseball Organization and more recently the Nippon Professional Baseball league.

Surkamp was called up before the game, taking the place of outfielder Andrew Lambo on the active roster. The A’s made the decision on what to do with their rotation with members battling the flu and expected 5th starter Felix Doubront nursing an injury, sending the journeyman Surkamp to the hill. He’d pitch well, but would surrender another run on a Ketel Marte sacrifice fly in the fifth and depart the game with a no-decision after 4 1/3 innings with runners on 1st and 3rd base.

Fernando Rodriguez induced a double-play ball out of Nelson Cruz to escape the inning tied, then throw another hitless inning. December signee John Axford also pitched a perfect  7th inning, then Doolittle worked around a leadoff walk, retiring the next three Seattle hitters in order to give Oakland a chance to take the lead in the 9th.

That’s where Coghlan took over. The slugger, who hit 16 homers last year, hammered Mariners offseason acquisition Steve Chisek’s 92 mile-per-hour fastball at the knees, depositing it deep into the bleachers in right field for a one-out solo shot. Madson would shut the door to give the Chisek (0-1, 4.50) the loss and give the A’s their second win of the season.

Game two of the three-game set will feature two new faces to the American League West, with Mariners offseason acquisition Nate Karns making his Seattle debut while Opening Day starter Rich Hill takes the bump for Oakland after giving up four runs total in 2 2/3 innings against the White Sox. A’s nemesis Felix Hernandez will face Chris Bassitt in the finale Sunday.

 

San Jose Sharks Thursday game wrap: Last Seconds Loss Means Sharks Hit the Road

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Winnipeg Jets right winger Blake Wheeler (26) scores a second period goal past San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones as the Sharks Patrick Marleau (12) looks on Thursday at SAP Center

SAN JOSE, Calif. — An odd feeling permeated the San Jose Sharks locker room after Thursday night’s 5-4 loss at home to the Winnipeg Jets. While the usual sentiments of disappointment certainly were present, it was hard for almost anyone to take the defeat as a crushing blow.

“It definitely means something,” said Sharks captain Joe Pavelski, who never the less couldn’t find a real meaning to the loss. “You play for the big prize next week.”

With the loss, the Sharks have guaranteed they will be the visiting team for most of the first series of the playoffs, with the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings both wrapping up the season with higher point totals. That’s not the end of the world for a team that went 28-10-3 on the road versus 17-20-3 at home.

“It doesn’t really matter once the playoffs start,” said Pavelski. “You’re trying to find ways to win. You’re going to have to gut out a few games on the road. You’re going to have to be solid at home.”

Make no mistakes, no one was a happy camper after the Jets rode a Dusitn Byflugien goal with 10 seconds left in regulation. Nor did anyone mince words when asked to comment on blown leads in both the 2nd and 3rd period.

“We know that we can’t play like this in the playoffs,” said defenseman Paul Martin. “In the grand scheme we know how we have to play to win hockey games.”

To play into the middle of April was the objective, something the Sharks locked down weeks ago. There was little at stake Thursday night, no playoff spots to jostle for, no draft spots to jockey for. The only player looking to make an impact was goalie Martin Jones.

“I felt good,” said Jones, making his first start of April. “I had good energy. There were just a couple bad bounces.”

With co-netminder James Reimer playing sterling hockey, Jones hadn’t played in nearly a week. He had the most to benefit from a strong showing. Instead, he turned in a 21-save, 5-goal defeat.

“We’re on the same team,” said Jones if he felt pressure to perform to keep his starting spot. ”Nothing really changes for me.”

Jones was the “beneficiary” of some bad bounces and defensive and emotional lapses from the team in front of him. About the only bright spot for the Sharks was the fact that they were 2 for 4on the power play.

The Sharks scored their first goal at even strength after Joe Pavelski took a one-time feed from Joe Thornton cross crease and deposited it into the vacant net. Thornton’s assist, coming on the Sharks captain’s 37th goal of the year 11:16 into the game, was his 1,339 point. He now sits in 28th place alone all-time in points.

Despite the Sharks goal, neither team had a strong offensive start. Both teams mustered only 6 shots on net each in the 1st. The 2nd period would be an offensive bonanza. Winnipeg would tie the game 9:03 ino the middle period after Mark Scheifele bounced a puck off Roman Polak’s skate and into the back of the net.

After being held to only 2 shots in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd, the Sharks responded in a big way with two power play goals. Joe Thornton beat Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec on a one-timer 11:42 into the period, then Paul Martin snuck a slap shot through for his 3rd tally of the year just under 4 minutes later.

With momentum, and a 3-1 lead, on the Sharks side a win appeared imminent. The Jets, however, took over the final two minutes of the period with Andrew Copp and Blake Wheeler finding the back of the net a minute a part to erase the two-goal edge.

“We kept finding ourselves in the lead,” said Pavelski. “And we kept playing with fire.”

Patrick Marleau’s 25th goal of the season, a wrister delfected into the Jets net by a defender, put San Jose up 4-3 7:03 into the period, but Scheifele would add his 29th goal of the season on the power play with 7:58 left in regulation. From there, Byflugien provided the late dagger.

The Sharks face Arizona Saturday night in the finale of the regular season. After that, they will travel to either Anaheim or Los Angeles to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs at a date yet to be determined.

“We’re excited for the fans,” said Pavelski. “That picture is vivid of the fans and playoffs. So we’re going to have to go do the job on the road.”

Oakland A’s Friday post game wrap: Graveman Sharp Despite Early Struggles in Final Spring Start

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit:bloguin.com file photo Oakland A’s right hander Kendall Graveman improved his ERA to 4.73 throwing five shutout innings against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – In the bigger picture, spring training stats mean little to a team’s World Series chances. A win in March won’t make a difference in the standings the way a game in July does. That being said the Oakland Athletics still have to be concerned, albeit ever so minutely, after dropping their 5th straight exhibition contest 3-0 to the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park Friday.

The A’s dropped the middle contest of the Bay Bridge Series after their cross-Bay foes plated two runs in the bottom of the first inning off starter Kendall Graveman. Jake Peavy (2-0, 6.11 ERA), taking the hill for the home team, pitched 5 scoreless innings and wound up the winner thanks to a two-run double from his batterymate Buster Posey. Outfielders Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick were the only A’s to get hits off Peavy. The Giants also scored a run off Oakland’s bullpen.

Graveman (1-2, 4.73) entered Friday coming off his best start of the spring after allowing 12 runs over his first 14.2 innings. The 25-year-old righty held the defending World Champion Kansas City Royals to a lone run over 7 innings of 4-hit ball Sunday in Arizona.

“It started off slow,” said Graveman of his spring. “I thought I got incrementally better each outing. It’s something I wanted to do, tune it up before the regular season. I wanted intent with every pitch. I don’t think I could say that with honesty in the first couple outings.”

His Friday appearance looked to be skewing more towards his previous starts than his recent run. Giants leadoff man Denard Span reached base on a single to right, then two-hole hitter Joe Panik reached base after drawing a full-count walk. The 2012 Most Valuable Player Posey punished Graveman for setting the table for the catcher, lining a sinker down the left field chalk to plate a pair of runs with no outs. Graveman recovered though, retiring Hunter Pence, Brandon Belt and Matt Duffy in order, stranding Posey at third base.

“Give Posey credit,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “(Graveman) keeps him on the ground, he just hits it down the line. I thought he did well, he kept the ball down. When he’s right the ball is on the ground.”

From there, one of the pieces of the Josh Donaldson trade with Toronto remained locked in on the mound. He finished the night firing 5 innings, yielding 5 hits while walking a pair with a quartet of punchouts.

“It was just like last start,” said Graveman. “I was throwing all 4 pitches for strikes. As long as I can do that and keep all four of them in the zone and throw them in any count.”

Graveman is penciled to fit somewhere in the A’s starting rotation behind opening day starter Sonny Gray and offseason acquisition Rich Hill. He is hoping to build off a 6-9 2015 campaign that saw him compile a 4.05 earned run average over 21 starts while missing the final month of the season with a strained oblique. He hopes the addition of a changeup will help him solidify a spot towards the front end, not the back when the A’s open the season against the Chicago White Sox Monday.

“It felt good,” said Graveman of his new pitch. “I got some ground balls, a couple broken bats. It’s something I’ll have to carry throughout the whole season to be successful. Tonight, being behind in the count or ahead, it was a good pitch.”

The new surroundings helped Graveman and his arsenal of cutters and sinkers he has thrown so well in his time in green and gold. Going from the band boxes and thin air of the Cactus league to 24 Willie Mays Plaza proved beneficial to the bounce-out specialist.

“It’s good for guys who throw sinker balls,” Said Graveman of the change in atmosphere. “You can see some sliders and some people’s pitches shaping up nicer than they do in Arizona. It’s because the air is so thin.”

While Graveman will have to wait until the regular season to test his performance in-game, Oakland still has a chance to improve an offense that only produced 4 hits and put a solitary runner in scoring position. Saturday, the first game exhibition or otherwise at the O.Co Coliseum, will give the A’s a chance to move past a 7-hit, single-run first two games of the  preseason Bay Bridge series.

“We had a really good spring,” said Melvin. “We feel like we have guys who can swing the bat. We didn’t here the last couple nights. They pitched well. We hit four or five balls right on the nose too. They play great defense. It’s what they do.”

Felix Doubront, recently named the A’s fifth starter, will square off against Matt Cain. The one-time no-hitter is looking to prove he is healthy enough to lock down the Giants fifth and final spot in the rotation.

Notes: The A’s are expected to announce their final roster after Saturday’s game. Bob Melvin said he expects to start some of the regulars… Chris Coghlan played 2nd base, 3rd base and the outfield in Friday’s contest….Franklin Barreto was a last-second addition to the A’s dugout Friday, arriving at the park around 8 pm to fill in for the injured Eric Sogard. Sogard is dealing with a neck injury and is day-to-day.

 

Fortuitous Canucks Pounce on Sluggish Sharks, Hold on for 4-2 Win

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Nothing but pad as San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones stops a shot from the Vancouver Canucks Alex Burrows in Thursday night’s game at SAP Center

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Despite their best efforts at a comeback, the San Jose Sharks fell to Ryan Miller and the visiting Vancouver Canucks 4-2 Thursday night at the SAP Center. San Jose (43-29-6)  fired 34 shots on the Canucks American-born goaltender, but Miller turned aside all but two Sharks bids.

“As a group, we were wreckless in the early part of the game,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “They made us pay on a couple of them. In this league, it doesn’t matter who you are playing. If you spot somebody two goals it’s going to be a long night.”

Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvat scored to give Vancouver (28-36-7) an early lead, but Patrick Marleau netted a 2nd period tally and Logan Couture remained red-hot with a goal in the third. Jannick Hansen played the hero though, beating Sharks starter Martin Jones with a rocket with 5:03 left in regulation to hand Vancouver only its second win in the final game of the 5-game season series between both teams.

“We should be able to beat those guys,” said Logan Couture on his team’s efforts just two games after clinching a playoff spot Monday night. “We’re four games away from the playoffs. We need to play a lot better than that.”

The Canucks were the aggressors early, putting a puck into the net 1:09 into the contest on the first shift of the game.  Winger Jannick Hansen fired a shot on Martin Jones from the Sharks netminder’s left that he turn aside with his right pad. The save rebounded out to Daniel Sedin skating down the opposite wing. The Swedish left winger tapped the puck into the net for his 28th goal of the season. Brother Henrik also assisted on the goal.

Vancouver scored its second goal 13:55 into the frame after second year center Bo Horvat picked Sharks rookie Joonas Donskoi’s pocket on the San Jose blue line. Horvat then walked in alone, pulling the puck to his backhand to beat a sprawling Jones for his 13th goal of the season.

“You cannot take those back,” said Donskoi on his gaffe. “I always like to think positive things. I had mistakes in the Finnish league too, believe me, and I went forward from them.”

The Sharks pulled within one with just 5:30 left in the period on the power play following a perfect passing sequence by the top power play unit. First Brent Burns took the puck on the point and passed it to Joe Thornton waiting just inside the goal line. Thornton then wheeled the puck from the corner to Patrick Marleau waiting in the slot. Number 12 wouldn’t miss from there, especially thanks to a screen from Logan Couture, beating Ryan Miller stick side for his 22nd goal of the campaign.

“Guys are doing a better job of running routes and doing different things,” said Marleau of the Sharks power play. Unit. “That’s one thing we can take away from it.”

Thornton’s assist pushed him further up the all-time points list. After notching his 1,335 point with the helper, Jumbo is now tied for 30th place with Washington Capitals great Mike Gartner. Thornton is now three points back of a pair of all-time greats, Dave Andreychuk and Denis Savard.

In the Sharks last game, a 4-1 in Vancouver Tuesday, Logan Couture netted his first career hattrick. The Sharks pivot scored his fourth goal in two games halfway through the 3rd. Couture snapped his 14th goal of the season after Brent Burns flung the puck from the right point to a waiting Couture on the far post.  Donskoi also assisted on the goal.

“It just found me,” said Couture. “I was trying to get lost, there was a d-man on me. I tried to lose him and it was able to find my stick.”

Hansen scored the game-winning goal in the same spot where he produced his rebound, launching a bomb of a shot that beat Jones up high 14:57 into the final period of regulation. Hansen’s unassisted snipe was his 20th of the season.  Markus Granlund potted an empty net goal with 20 seconds remaining.

“I thought the momentum was on our side,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “We were pushing to win the game. That happens.”

Compounded with the loss, a Los Angeles Kings victory over Calgary the Sharks are facing the reality of being the  road team for the opening round of the playoffs. The Kings (5 points and Ducks (4 points)  are both more than a win ahead of the Sharks with just 4 games left to play.

“Everyone in this room knows we have a chance, an opportunity for us to get home ice,” said Couture. “At least for the first round or second round as well. We should be playing for our professional lives and we didn’t tonight.”

Warriors Beat 76ers Behind Klay’s 40, Draymond’s Triple Double

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Behind Draymond Green’s 12th triple-double of the season, the Golden State Warriors avoided becoming the 10th team to lose to the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors used 40 points from Klay Thompson and Green’s 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to a 117-105 win. Golden State (66-7) remains on pace to pass the 1994-95 Chicago Bulls for the most wins in a single season.

The 76ers (9-65) actually led the Warriors for parts of the first half, holding a 5 point advantage over the Western Conference leaders 22-17 with 4:43 left in the frame. After 12 though, Golden State would lead 32-31. Philadelphia would take a 33-32 lead with the first basket of the 2nd quarter, but with their next score the Warriors would never trail again in the blow out.

Thompson led the offensive charge with 15 field goals on 27 attempts with 7 treys. Stephen Curry added 20 points on a relatively off night for the MVP candidate who went 7 for 16 from the floor. Marreese Speights added 17 points off the bench on 7 of 10 shooting. As a team, the Warriors hit 44 of 83 shots for a 53 shooting percentage.

The 76ers, without the triumvirate of Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor, were led by former Purdue standout Carl Landry. The ex-Warrior scored 22 points over 25 minutes while Ish Smith added 20 to go with 10 assists for the double-double. Robert Covington also posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Warriors welcome another struggling Eastern Conference squad to Oracle Tuesday night. The 36-37 Washington Wizards head to the Bay Area in the first game of a back-to-back. After that, the Dubs head out to Utah for a Wednesday contest with the Jazz. After that, they return home for a 4-game homestand.

Penny, Power Play Lead to 3-0 Barracuda Win

Published on by Matthew Harrington

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–Barracuda goalie Aaron Dell made 26 saves against the San Diego Gulls for the shutout on Saturday night at SAP Center

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Barracuda coach Roy Sommer wound up a penny richer Saturday, then added a victory to his windfall Saturday.

“I have to attribute this win to (Sharks associate coach) Larry Robinson,” said Sommer. “He found a good luck penny, and he said when you find a good luck penny you have to give it to someone. Then you put it in your shoe and here it is.”

With penny firmly secured in his loafer, Sommer led his charges to a 3-0 win over the San Diego Gulls at SAP Center, moving back into the final playoff spot by percentage points. Nikolay Goldobin and Joakim Ryan scored power play goals, while Trevor Parkes added an empty net goal. Aaron Dell picked up his second shutout of the season for San Jose, making 26 saves.

“They had a couple chances,” said Dell. “But for the most part we kept them to the outside. We did a great job all night of staying inside on them.”

San Jose (28-21-7-3) dominated the special teams play Saturday, going 2 for 5 on the power play in a penalty-filled contest that saw a combined 17 infractions.

“I told these guys if the (power play) is successful against these guys, we’ll win,” said Sommer. “That won the game for us tonight.”

While the Barracuda were successful a man up, they managed well enough down a skater as well. Despite San Diego going on the power play 6 times, including a 5-on-3, the Barracuda netminder only had to make 4 saves on the penalty kill.

“We weren’t letting them set up,” said forward John McCarthy on what the kill did successfully Saturday. “They never really got into the zone. They just kept trying to chip it in. We were beating them to the pucks and making the close plays to get it out.”

Goldobin scored his first goal in 4 games 13:23 into the game with the Barracuda on the power play. The 20-year-old winger streaked down the right boards of the Gulls zone before pulling the puck back to work his way into the slot. From there the Russian winger sniped a shot past Gulls keeper Anton Khudobin for his 17th strike of the season and 5th goal in the last 9 games. Jeremy Morin and Bryan Lerg assisted on the man advantage marker.

“As he goes, we go,” said Sommer. “We could have 3 20 goal scorers with him and Lerg and Goodrow. I haven’t had a 20 goal scorer in a long time.”

The Barracuda again scored on the power play in the 3rd, with a skater who is probably at the bottom of Sommer’s list of potenatial 20 goal scorers. Defenseman Joakim Ryan netted his 2nd goal of the season just 1:19 into the 2nd frame. He ripped a shot from straightaway center at the point that worked its way around a Bryan Lerg screen past Khudobin for the 2-0 lead.

Morin and Lerg again picked up the assists. Lerg also picked up the primary helper on Parkes’ empty net goal with 37 seconds left in regulation.

While Sommer will have his lucky penny in tow hoping for a similar result, he knows Sunday’s matinee against San Diego (33-22-2-2) won’t be a carbon copy of Saturday’s decisive win.

“It’ll be a different game tomorrow,” said Sommer. “I liked the energy tonight. We have a lot of tough games ahead. I told the guys to not look too far ahead, focus on tonight, first five minutes, next five minutes. Then we’ll worry about Sunday.”