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MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Rookies with three homer games; Cleveland all knotted up with Twins in Central; plus more

Published on August 11, 2019August 11, 2019 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo houstonchronicle.com: The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez gets congratulations in the Astros dugout after a first inning home run at Camden Yards, the first of three against the Baltimore Orioles in a 21-run win 23-2 Saturday night.

This week on MLB The Show with Daniel Dullum, who is Sports Editor of the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon News at the home office in Gold Canyon:

1 Rookies making baseball history with three-homer games

2 Indians erase 11-game deficit in AL Central, tie Twins for first

3 Swingin’ A’s 1 ½ games out of AL wild card

4 Samardzija beats Phils, Giants 4 games out of NL wild card

5 Tim Tebow’s baseball season over due to injury

Catch Daniel each Sunday for the MLB podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Baseball — ¿Qué Pasa?

Published on August 10, 2019August 11, 2019 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

By; Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

I remember the old Cuban winter league in the late 1950’s as a kid. My father would take me every Sunday to watch the four teams that made that league. Leones del Habana (Havana Lions), Alacranes (Scorpions) del Almendares, Tigres (Tigers) del Marianao, and Elefantes (Elephants) del Cienfuegos.

Every Sunday, there was always a double-header. The first game Cienfuegos vs. Marianao, and then in the second game, the “eternos rivales” (eternal rivals, sort of like the Yankees and Red Sox), which was the Havana Lions vs. the Scorpions del Almendares.

There was a plethora of Cuban-born and American players: Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso, Brooks Robinson, Jackie Brandt, Lew Burdette, Bob Skinner, Bob Shaw, Miguel “Mike” Cuellar, Camino Pascual, Al Spangler, George Altman, Pedro Ramos,Sandalio “Sandy” Consuegra, Jim Bunning, Mike Fornieles, Luis Tiant, and dozens more,which I remember. After the season ended, they went to Cuba during the winter.

William “Bill” Werle a left handed Major League pitcher, born in Oakland, California, who pitched for the Pirates, Cardinals and Red Sox in the mid-1950’s. He also pitched for the Marianao Tigers in Cuba in 1956. That was the last time that team won the Cuban Professional Winter League title.

As a Major League scout later in life, Bill told me: “Most of the Major League players, we went to Cuba, not only because of the proximity to the US, but because they paid the best in all Latin America.”

Back then, players did not have the strong union like they have today, so they had other jobs to supplement their income after the regular MLB season.

Back then,there was a lot of speed and a lot of strategy deployed by managers. Pitchers went nine innings and more. The guys in the bullpen where mediocre pitchers than didn’t have the talent to be starters. There were professional pinch-hitters, stolen bases, lots of speed, hit and run, bunts galore and even the suicide squeeze was evident in close games when one run was all that you need it.When a player struck out, it was shameful and fans would boo, and yes, games were under three hours with frequency.

Today, it is 2019 and a totally different type of game.

– The game is all about power
– The Home-run is king,there is less creativity
– Strike outs are common,on way to record
– The Hit and Run is an endangered play
-A Bunt is “Breaking News”
-The Professional Pinch Hitter doesn’t exist (not even in the National League,where there is no DH)
-Intentional Walks continue to diminish each year
-The pitchers throw harder and ‘bat speed’ was replaced years ago by ‘launch angle’
-Tampa Bay was the first team to use the now popular “opener,” a guy whose mission is to pitch the first inning

As of today,we are on a pace to hit over 6.000 home-runs for first time in a season. The Oakland Athletics recently became the first team in their franchise history to have 10 players with 10 or more home runs.

If Bill Werle came back to life today, he would see this game and would not recognize it.

It is what it is. Today’s technology has replaced strategy. Baseball still a great game ,but those of us who witnessed the “old school” style of baseball, that was the way it was meant to be played. I actually miss all the strategy and gamesmanship in the greatest game ever invented by humans.

¿Que Pasa?=What’s happening? Answer: Pasa mucho.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish play-by-play announcer on KIQI 1010 San Francisco and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Raiders take preseason opener over Rams 14-3

Published on August 10, 2019August 11, 2019 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

yahoo.sports.com photo: The Oakland Raiders DeAndre Washington carries for the Raiders Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams at the Oakland Coliseum in the first pre season game of 2019

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Even though the game may not count in the standings or the stats, the Oakland Raiders looked good in their first preseason game.

DeAndre Washington scored on the Raiders first series of the game on a seven-yard run, as the Raiders defeated the defending NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams 14-3 before a crowd of 48,715 at the Coliseum.

Washington ended the day with six carries for 24 yards, including that seven-yard touchdown, helping the Raiders to the victory.

Mike Glennon got the start under center for Jon Grudens team, as Derek Carr did not even dress for the Raiders.

Glennon, fighting for the backup spot behind Carr and is in competition with Nathan Peterman, went 17-for-25 for 200 yards; however, Glennon threw two interceptions, including a 39-yard return by Sammie Parker. Kevin Peterman made the pick of Glennons other interception.

Peterman went 9-for-12 in the game, for 66 yards. He also led the Raiders with 56 yards rushing, including a 50-yarder scamper that setup Petermans touchdown pass to Keelan Doss on the first possession of the second half.

James Butler led the Raiders in receptions, as he caught four passes for 25 yards and Alec Ingold also caught four passes.

The Raiders offense in total gained 407 yards, while the Rams offense gained just 190 yards in the 11-point loss.

Rookie Darrell Henderson, Jr., led the Rams with six carries and just 13 yards rushing, while Johnny Wofford led the Rams in passing, as he went 6-for-8 for 54 yards passing.

The big story of this first preseason game was the penalties, as the two teams combined 23 penalties for 222 yards.

NOTES: The Raiders take the field again on Thursday night, as they travel to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Az., to face number one overall pick Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals.

In their opener, the Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 17-13 at State Farm Stadium on Friday night.

San Jose State football holds first fall scrimmage

Published on August 10, 2019 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @AnaKieu

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State Spartans football held its first fall scrimmage at CEFCU Stadium on a breezy Saturday. Popular rap tunes such as “Homecoming” by Kanye West and “Bring Em Out” by T.I. blasted at full volume, and fans and media members alike took advantage of the wind.

The Spartans took the field and made it obvious that they gave a 100 percent effort. Although the regular season hasn’t started yet, this was an all-around great effort by the team, who finished last season with a lowly 1-11 (1-7 Mountain West) record.

“Defense did great today,”linebacker Tysyn Parker said. “We took a lot of the instruction in the film room in our defensive meetings and translated it onto the field.”

“I think, collectively, as a group, we’re playing better and we’re more accomplished, but our offense hasn’t been forming as well in practices — getting turnovers on defense — and our goal for the year is to prevent turnovers.”

Of course, San Jose State had the heart, talent and preparation. However, a powerful push on a snap stopped them short of a touchdown as defensive end Cameron Alexander went down with an apparent injury. Alexander, however, managed to get up off the field to get checked out by doctors.

At halftime, San Jose State players and coaches recuperated from a few frantic plays to gear up for the second half. “Headstrong” by Trapt played, and that, my friends, was the perfect song to motivate the Spartans, especially its lyrics, “Back off, I’ll take you on / Headstrong to take on anyone / I know that you are wrong / Headstrong, we’re Headstrong.”

The Spartans continued to play their best in the final minutes of the scrimmage. There was another Spartan first down that led to a punt on first down and offensive lineman Scott Breslin caught the punted ball.

Obviously, there were quite a few improvements to be made, but I’m fairly certain that the Spartans will address their issues.

“We executed,” defensive back Brandon Ezell said. “We did our assignment. We’re locked in.”

“We did our job. Still, some things to work on, but overall, we executed.”

“It’s coming fast,” head coach Brent Brennan. “There’s a lot of work to do and I’m excited to get back to work.”

“Alex Gallant, Hunter Nye, Jordan Cobbs, all those guys have been spreading like fire,” added Brennan.

NOTES: Former Spartan defensive tackle Boogie Roberts returned to the Bay Area for his first NFL game with the Rams at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday.

San Jose State will host Retro Night at CEFCU Stadium on Thursday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m. versus Northern Colorado.

Giants Avoid Series Loss; Pick Up 3-1 Win

Published on August 10, 2019August 10, 2019 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Philadelphia: 1 | 3 | 1

San Francisco: 3| 5 | 0|

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Giants opened their current homestand last Saturday hoping to rekindle their fleeting, flickering hopes for an NL wild-card berth. The Washington Nationals dimmed that prospect considerably, sweeping the Giants 4-0, 5-3, and 4-1, thereby putting themselves 2 games in front of the Phillies, who began play in San Francisco Thursday evening with 1/10 of a percentage point lead over the Milwaukee Brewers for a chance to duke it out in the play-in game against the eventual number one seed. The Cardinals and the Mets were but 1/2 a game behind Philadelphia and Milwaukee, four teams only 1/2 a game apart! The Giants, separated from St. Louis and New York by the Diamondbacks, trailed those tied-up rivals by another 2 games.

By game time today, after the Giants and Phillies had split the first two games of their series, the Nationals remained in the number one wild card spot, 1 game ahead of the Brewers. The Cardinals, Mets, and Phillies were in a three-way virtual tie, a 1/2 game behind Milwaukee. St. Louis was leading the other two by one-tenth of a percentage point. The Giants had slipped to 4 games behind Milwaukee Opening the game for the Giants was Jeff Samardzija. The Shark, whose lackluster 8-9 record and 4.70 ERA for the season was offset by his performance over his previous seven starts, in which he went 4-2, 2.11 ERA, including a six-inning, three-hit, scoreless stint against Philadelphia on July 31. Facing him for the visitors was Vince Velázquez, who brought an above-average fastball and a 4-6, 4.23 record with him to the mound. He throws the four-fingered variety of that pitch about 65% of the time.

It didn’t take the Phillies long to get to Samardzija. Corey Dickerson blasted the Giants’ pitcher’s 10th offering over the center-field fence for his seventh homer of the season, putting Philadelphia on top, 1-0. Samardzija settled down to retire the next 20 batters he faced, although Dickerson threatened to do more damage with a tremendous blast to left-center that Kevin Pillar corralled just in front of the fence in the top of the fourth. In the top of the eighth, César Hérnandez’s fly ball landed in front of Mike Yaztremski in left for Philadelphia’s second hit of the afternoon. He was wiped out Scott Kingery’s around the horn double play, capping a spectacularly dominant performance by the Giant hurler.

Meanwhile, in the Giants’ half of the second, they got back the run Saamardzija had surrendered in the first and more. Velásquez plunked Scooter Gennet with a 94 mph four seamer, brushed back Evan Longoria with another, clocked at 93 mph, and then paid for it when the Giants’ third sacker smacked the next pitch into the left-field bleachers for his 14th round-tripper of the year and a 2-1 lead for the Giants. Pillar duplicated the feat to lead off the fifth, giving him 15 home runs for the season and a career-high 60 RBI, while upping the home team’s advantage to 3-1.

Velásquez was removed in the top of the sixth when Brad Miller pinch hit for him and struck out. The Phillies’ starter’s line was three runs, all earned, on three hits, three strikeouts, a walk, and two home runs in five innings. He threw 77 pitches, of which 53 were strikes. His replacement on the mound, José Alavarez, gave up two hits in the sixth, but escaped without giving up a run when Pillar grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Following Alvarez was Blake Parker, who pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning, helped by a beautiful play by second baseman Hernández on Brandon Belt’s broken-bat grounder up the middle for the third out. Zach Eflin pitched the bottom of the eighth for Philly. He, too, escaped unscathed thanks to the pitchers’ best friend.

Will Smith took over for Samardzija in the top of the ninth. The Shark’s line for eight innings of work was one run, earned on Dickerson’s second inning dinger, two hits, no walks, and five strikeouts. 65 of his 103 pitches were strikes. He got the win.

Velásquez was the losing pitcher, and Smith, who pitched a rocky final frame, earned safe by striking out Dickerson with two on and two out to close out the game.

When the dust had settled after this afternoon’s fray, the Giants found themselves three and a half games out of a playoff spot, looking up at Arizona, Philadelphia, New York, and St. Louis in a neck and neck race.

Tomorrow’s 4:05 game will be preceded by a reunion of the 1989 Giants, a prelude to next Tuesday and Wednesday’s San Francisco half of the interleague Bay Bridge Series. The starting pitchers are slated to be right-hander Jake Arrieta (8-8, 4.41 ERA) for the Phillies and southpaw Conner Menez (0-1, 5.73 ERA).

Harper goes deep twice in Phillies’ 9-6 win over Giants

Published on August 9, 2019August 9, 2019 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: inquirer.com

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Bryce Harper narrowed his free agent destinations down to two teams, and he picked the Philadelphia Phillies over the San Francisco Giants.

Harper hit two home runs, including a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning that gave the Phillies a 9-6 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 36,275 at Oracle Park.

It was the 18th multi-home run game of his career for Harper, and his first as a member of the Phillies. Ironically, Harper last multi-home run game came against the Phillies, while playing for the Washington Nationals on May 4, 2018.

Also, it was the first hit by Harper off of Tony Watson, as Harper was 0-for-8 versus Watson with three strikeouts prior to the home run.

This was the 39th Splash Hit by an opposing player at Oracle Park, and the second by Harper, who also hit one on October 7, 2014 in Game Four of the National League Division Series off of Hunter Strickland.

Watson took the loss for the Giants, as he did not retire a batter, facing five batters, allowing four runs on three hits and walked one.

Corey Dickerson hit a bases clearing triple to score Drew Smyly, Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins that gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead in the top of the third inning. Jean Segura then drove in Dickerson with a sacrifice fly of his own.

The Giants then mounted a comeback in the bottom of the third inning, as Joey Rickard hit a solo home run that cut the Phillies lead in half.

Kevin Pillar drove in his second run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning that cut the lead down to one, as he hit a groundout to Segura at shortstop that scored Buster Posey from third base. Posey led off the inning with a walk, and then went to third on a Stephen Vogt. The rally came to a halt, as Vogt was thrown out at third base after J.T. Realmuto to Scott Kingery to retire Vogt.

Harper led off the top of the fifth inning with his 21st home run of the season, a home run that was measured at 421 feet.

Pillar gave the Giants a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, as he hit his 14th home run of the season.

Stephen Vogt hit his sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning that tied up the game. The Vogt home run landed in McCovey Cove, and was the 79th Splash Hit by a Giants player since the park opened on April 11, 2000. It was also the first Splash Hit by a Giants player since Brandon Belt hit one on May 15, 2018 against the Cincinnati Reds.

Tyler Beede went five innings, allowing five runs while scattering four hits, walking two and striking out seven.

Madison Bumgarner, who gave up one hit in seven innings of work on Thursday night came off the bench to pinch-hit for Beede and was promptly walked. Sundays starter Conner Menez came on to pinch hit for Bumgarner after he advanced to second base on a Donovan Solano single.

Smyly went 5.2 innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits, walking three and striking out four. He also gave up three home runs just 10 days after going seven innings, allowing zero runs on four hits, walking one and striking out five in his first ever appearance against the Giants.

Pablo Sandoval came off the bench in the bottom of the eighth inning, and picked up a pinch-hit single off of Ranger Suarez. It was the 18th pinch hit of the season for Sandoval, passing Candy Maldonado, who picked up 17 in 1986 and now is tied with Ken Oberkfell for the most by a Giants player since 1974.

NOTES: Right-handed Pitcher Kyle Barraclough was claimed off of waivers from the Washington Nationals and was optioned to Sacramento. Tyler Austin, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week was out righted to Sacramento and elected free agency.

Reliever Travis Bergen returned from his rehab assignment, and was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Sam Selman was optioned to Sacramento, and Steven Duggar was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Johnny Cueto threw two scoreless innings with the Arizona League Giants-Orange, as Cueto made his second appearance since Tommy John Surgery. Cueto faced seven batters, giving up two hits, not walking a batter and striking out two.

Oberkfell picked up his 18 pinch hits for the Giants during the 1989 season, where the Giants made it all the way to the World Series before swept by the Oakland As.

Since the opening of Pacific Bell, SBC, AT&T and Oracle Park on April 11, 2000, this marked the third time that both teams recorded Splash Hits in the same game.

May 28, 2001: Giants: Felipe Crespo, Arizona Diamondbacks: Mark Grace.

May 12, 2014: Giants: Tyler Colvin, Atlanta Braves: Freddie Freeman.

This according to Bill Arnold of Sports Features Group.

UP NEXT: Jeff Samardzija will take the mound for the Giants on Saturday afternoon, as he looks for his ninth win of the season. While the Phillies will send Vince Velasquez to the hill, as he looks for his fifth win of the season.

Aces drop heartbreaker to Sky 87-84

Published on August 9, 2019 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @WNBA

By: Ana Kieu

The Las Vegas Aces were looking to win two in a row with a victory over the Chicago Sky at Mandalay Bay Events Center on Friday night. The Aces last defeated the Dallas Wings 75-70 at College Park Center last Saturday.

The Aces’ starting lineup featured Kelsey Plum, Kayla McBride, Liz Cambage, Dearica Hamby, and Jackie Young. The Aces were without A’ja Wilson, who is out with a left ankle sprain. Wilson collapsed to the floor after colliding with Cambage in the Aces’ game against the Seattle Storm at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on July 19th.

The Sky opened up the first quarter by scoring a handful of points. Stefanie Dolson hit plenty of three-pointers throughout the first. Dolson got past a few Aces defenders and hit a noteworthy three with 4:06 left in the first.

The Sky’s “uh oh” moment occurred with 1:09 left in the first. Gabby Williams made a long rebound to Diamond DeShields. DeShields knocked down the jumper to make it 24-10.

The Sky led 27-14 at the end of the first.

The Aces bounced back and outscored the Sky 27-21 in the second quarter. Sugar Rodgers provided a tremendous screen and knocked down a step-back jumper with 8:08 left in the second. Rodgers also delivered a sweet bounce that led to a three, pulling the Aces within seven, 31-24, with 6:35 left in the second.

The Aces trailed by seven, 48-41, at the end of the first half.

Aces rookie Jackie Young made a statement with a strong move that resulted in a two-point field goal, and as a result, the Aces trailed by two, 52-50, with 8:23 left in the third quarter.

SUGAR RODGERS FOR 👌@14Sugar | #DoubleDown pic.twitter.com/6BfznOx9JO

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) August 10, 2019

McBride passed the ball to Cambage late in the fourth quarter. Cambage knocked it down for two. The Aces maintained a close game throughout the fourth, but they were unable to force overtime at the very least. Still, Young drained a clutch bucket to make it a one-point game with 2:10 left in the fourth.

The Aces (15-9) lost to the Sky (14-9) by a final of 87-84.

The Aces host the Connecticut Sun on Sunday, August 11 at 3:00 p.m.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Jimmy G expected to sit out Saturday night’s preseason contest

Published on August 9, 2019August 9, 2019 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @NBCS49ers

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami:

#1 In this first preseason game on Saturday night, what’s to be expected from 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo?

#2 Garoppolo will not play on Saturday night. Usually in the first preseason game, you see the starter just playing with the other starters in the first quarter.

#3 After the ACL injury and the recovery in camp during 11-11 practices, Garoppolo hasn’t thrown a single pick yet.

#4 For the 49ers opponent, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will team up with Amari Cooper. How important do you see that tandem on Saturday night?

#5 Last season, Prescott had 3885 yards passing, 22 touchdowns, and threw only eight interceptions — one of the best passing records in the NFL last season.

Join Joe Lami for the 49ers podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Carr might even commute with Gruden after becoming Vegas next door neighbors; Raiders have rough scrimmage against Rams

Published on August 9, 2019 by Sports Radio Service1 Comment

Photo credit: @KrisWysong

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon:

#1 Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has just bought a house near head coach Jon Gruden. This is an indication that Carr might be staying with the silver and black for awhile.

#2 Carr’s purchase makes him a next door neighbor of Gruden’s and getting a cup of sugar just became easier as told by Carr’s brother David to NFL Network.

#3 There were false starts all over the place in scrimmage with the Los Angeles Rams, who are playing the Raiders on Saturday, and it was reported that Carr was not in synch with receivers.

#4 Also, Carr was getting dropped passes and miscommunications in the scrimmage and not a great thing going up against the Rams on this Saturday night.

#5 In scrimmage against the Rams, Gruden said the receivers mishandled a pass and perhaps a game-ending pass. How much concern should Gruden have going into this first preseason game with the Rams after a scrimmage like that?

Joe Hawkes Beamon does the Raiders podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com