Author: Sports Radio Service

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s can sweep Twins today in Minneapolis; Will Giants take a dive if they part with Bum and Smith?

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photo from sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Mark Canha, left, and Marcus Semien celebrate Canha’s two-run home run off Minnesota Twins pitcher Zack Littell in the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 20, 2019, in Minneapolis. The Athletics won 5-4.

And here they are, from the home office in Gardner, ND Daniel Dullum’s MLB The Show podcast for Sunday:

MLB

1 A’s-Twins in key AL series

2 Should Giants be sellers at the deadline?

3 Mariners’ Mike Leake nearly throws perfecto; Angels DFA former All-Star pitcher Matt Harvey

4 RIP Pumpsie Green, Don Mossi, Jim Bouton

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

Earthquakes Take Down Whitecaps 2-1; Have Won five of last six

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By Torben Rolfsen

VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA–The San Jose Earthquakes continued their recent sharpness with a 3-1 road win over the Vancouver Whitecaps before an increasingly restless BC Place crowd of 17,558.

Chris Wondolowski, who has a strong history against Vancouver, delivered point-blank to put the Quakes up for good 2-1 in the 34′ after chaos on the Whitecaps goal line.

Vancouver opened the scoring early with a Doneil Henry goal in the 8′ off a free kick by Yordy Reyna.

Vako equalized at the 16′ mark with an opportunistic goal after a little traffic accident in front of the Whitecaps goal. Setting up the score was crisp passing by the Quakes, as Vancouver defenders stood around like a foosball rod without a hand on it.

Nine minutes later, Cristian Espinoza and Vako hooked up for a nice attack, resulting in a great chance, but shot right at Caps ‘keeper Maxime Crepeau.

Magnus Eriksson rounded out the scoring with an insurance marker sixteen minutes before full-time.

The Quakes won for the fifth time in six games and now return home to face Colorado and Columbus the next two Saturdays.

The Caps fell to winless in their last nine (and outscored 17-2 in the past 5), as the supporters’ group section chanted for the firing of club president Bob Lenarduzzi in the final minutes.

Benfica defeats Chivas 3-0 at the International Champions Cup

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by Marko Ukalovic

SANTA CLARA, Calif– Benfica looked and played the role of a champion. They dominated from start to finish in a convincing 3-0 victory against Chivas De Guadalajara in their first leg of their three-city USA Tour 2019 in the International Champions Cup series on Saturday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium.

In a game that featured a crowd of 15,724 where the majority was pro-Chivas, the Portuguese champions of the Premeira Liga were celebrating their record 37th league championship and with 82 major trophy wins, they are the most decorated soccer club in Portugal.

They recently acquired Raul De Tomas to bolster an already impressive offensive attack that also includes Caio, Florentino Luis, and Haris Seferovic.

For Chivas de Guadalajara (the Goats as they’re nicknamed) they came into the match with a retooled roster of Mexican veteran players hoping to find the fountain of youth for the famed Liga MX team that finished second to last place in 2018.

“We have a new team and it’s not going to be easy to find results immediately”, said Chivas head coach Tomas Boy. “We have to keep moving forward with the team that we have right now.”

Benfica got off to the start they wanted at the beginning of the match. Caio received the ball along the left sideline and made a back pass to himself and was able to escape the marking defenseman from Chivas. He raced down inside the box before centering a great pass over to Tomas who one-timed the ball into the back of an open net for a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute.

Chivas earned a free kicked in the 18th minute from just outside the box but the shot by Hedgardo Marin was easily saved by Benfica goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos.

Chivas had their best chance to even the score in the 42nd minute when Jose Van Rankin centered a ball over to Miguel Ponce, who was left all alone in the middle of the box, and his header was stoned away by a diving Vlachodimos as well as a subsequent rebound chance that he came out to kick away from any further danger.

In the 59th minute, Alan Cervantes tried to split between two Benfica defenders inside the box. He was taken down, but referee Joe Dickerson didn’t award a penalty to Chivas. Just two minutes later, Alex Vega was on the receiving end of a turnover from 25 yards out and his shot rifled off the top off the crossbar.

Benfica put the game away with two goals in a four-minute span from two separate defensive collapses by Chivas that led to breakaway goals. First, in the 69th minute, Jota fed a ball over to Rafa, who came in as a substitution to start the second half, he got in all alone on Chivas goalie Raul Gudino and chipped in a shot into the lower right corner. Then in the 73rd minute, Adel Tarrabt sent in a ball to Seferovic, who was able to get behind two Chivas defenders and shot the ball past a challenging Gudino into the back of the net.

“We played a good game”, said Benfica head coach Bruno Lage. “It’s important to win but what’s really important is to see the dynamics of the team. Now we have to be more intense so we can play the style that has become known as Benfica (style).”

GAME NOTES: Benfica’s Jardel and Rafa came into the match as substiutions for Caio and Ruben Dias to start the second half. Seferovic was named the Man of the Match after the game.

UP NEXT: Benfica travels out to Newark, New Jersey to take on ACF Fiorentina of the Serie A league on Thursday 7/25 at 5:00pm at Red Bull Arena.

Winning streak comes to an end in 11-4 Mets victory

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO– All good things must come to an end, and on this day, it was the San Francisco Giants seven-game winning streak.

Dominic Smith, whose error on Friday night gave the Giants a dramatic 1-0 10 inning and less than 14 hours later, he was a hero for the New York Mets.

Smith hit a solo home run in the top of the second inning, helping the Mets to an 11-4 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 33,860 at Oracle Park.

That was the first of four RBIs on the afternoon for Smith, who added an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning that easily scored Todd Frazier, who tripled with one out in the inning.

The four RBIs by Smith tied a career-high, and it was the second this week that Smith picked up four RBIs in a game. He also did on Wednesday versus the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

Jeff McNeill broke the game open in the top of the fifth inning, as he hit a two-run home run off of Jeff Samardzija.

Amed Rosario led off the inning with a single and then after Walker Lockett struck out for the first out of the inning, then McNeill hit his ninth home run of the season.

It was a good day for Lockett, who went five innings, allowing one on five hits, walking no one and striking out three and won his first major league game.

Samardzija went five innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking no one and striking out seven, as he fell to 7-8 on the season.

Frazier added a solo home run of his own in the top of the sixth inning, as hit his 13th home run of the season.

Pete Alonso, who did not get the start for the Mets came off the bench and launched a pinch-hit three-run home run to lengthen the Mets lead up to 8-1.

It was the first career pinch-hit home run for Alonso, who broke Darryl Strawberrys rookie record for most RBIs by a Mets player. Strawberry drove in 74 runs for the Mets in his Rookie of the Year season in 1983.

Smith put the finishing touches on a three-hit day, as he hit a two-run single in the top of the ninth inning and then J.D. Davis got in on the hit parade, as he drove in a run with a single of his own.

Lost in the game was the fact that Pablo Sandoval picked his first four-hit since August 28, 2015, when he did it for the Boston Red Sox versus the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. This was the 11th four-hit game of Sandoval’s career.

Alex Dickerson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, his fifth home run of the season and then two batters later, Mike Yastrzemski hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo home run. Both home runs came off of Stephen Nogoshek.

NOTES: Evan Longoria, who is currently on the 10-day injured list with Plantar Fasciitis in his left foot took ground balls prior to the game with third base coach Ron Wotus, Longoria will remain in the walking boot before being re-evaluated.

UP NEXT: Conner Menez will make his major-league debut for the Giants on Sunday afternoon, while the Mets will send Steven Matz to the mound in the series finale.

MLB podcast with Matt Harrington: After a rough week, Seattle routs Angels and nearly get a perfect game; plus more

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photo from bleacherreport.com: Seattle Mariners pitcher Mike Leake nearly throws a perfect game against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle in a 10-0 laugher.

On the MLB podcast with Matt:

#1 Coming off a two-game series sweep to the Oakland A’s on Tuesday and Wednesday the Seattle Mariners on Friday night almost got a perfect game against the Los Angeles Angels when Mariners starter Mike Leake went into the ninth inning needing three outs to accomplish the feat but surrendered a base hit to the Angels  Luis Rengifo at T-Mobile Park in the ninth inning in Seattle. The fans stood up and honored Leake with a nice ovation. The M’s went on to beat the Halos 10-0.

#2 The San Francisco Giants once again got another walkoff win against the visiting New York Mets. The Giants on Thursday night went 16 innings to beat the Mets 3-2, and then on Friday, got a 1-0 win in the bottom of the tenth at Oracle Park in San Francisco when Dominic Smith, a Mets centerfielder, dropped a fly ball hit by Pablo Sandoval that allowed Alex Dickerson to score from first base for the game-winning run and the Giants wound up with their seventh consecutive win and are now a .500 team for the first time all season.

#3 The New York Yankees’ Edwin Encarnacion hit a grand slam helped beat the Colorado Rockies 8-2 in over 100 degree heat and Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer for New York. The Yankees now improve the lead over second place Tampa Bay by nine games.

#4 New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Friday enough was enough in the first game of the doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays when three Yankees hitters Gary Sanchez, DJ Le Mahieu and Brett Gardner were called out for strikes by plate umpire Brennan Miller. Boone got into the face of Miller and said a few choice words and was run by Miller. Boone was immediately suspended by MLB for what they said making contact with the umpire. Boone said he regretted using the choice words and said that Miller had a hard job to do and and that he showed more class than him. Boone sat out the night cap of the doubleheader.

#5 He threw a masterpiece, but like all pitchers who showcase all good things with a current team, all good things must come to an end and it is most likely that Toronto Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman will be dealt somewhere before the trade deadline July 31st. Stroman going six innings, seven hits, and five strikeouts in the Blue Jays 12-1 Friday blowout of the Detroit Tigers.

Matt does the MLB podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants win on Mets’ costly error in extra innings

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — What in the name of Timmy Lupus or Rudi Stein happened in left field during the San Francisco Giants game versus the New York Mets?

Alex Dickerson scored the only run of the game when Dominic Smith could not catch the Pablo Sandoval what would have been the third out of the inning, and the Giants defeated the Mets 1-0 in 10 innings in front of 32,861 at Oracle Park.

Dickerson, who led off the inning with a walk off of losing pitcher Jacob Rhame and sped all the way around the bases when the ball dropped in front of Smith. The throw from Smith was cut off Pete Alonso, and his throw was up the line and the Giants dugout went into celebration mode for the second night in a row.

This was the seventh straight win for the Giants, who have reached the .500 mark for the first time since they were 68-68 on August 31, 2018.

Not only is this seven straight wins for the Giants, but it is also 10 out of 11 and also 14 out of their last 16.

Jacob deGrom and Tyler Beede were in a pitchers duel until the entire time that the two were in the game at the same time.

In all, Beede went eight innings, allowing zero runs on three hits, walking one and striking out five and his record is remains at 3-3 on the season.

On the other side of things, deGrom went seven innings, giving up zero runs on three hits, walking three and striking out 10 and did not fare in the decision.

This was the 38th time in deGroms career that he reached double figures in strikeouts and the sixth time this season.

The Giants did not get a rally started until the bottom of the sixth inning, as Beede helped out his own cause, when his single dropped in between Robinson Cano, Amed Rosario and Michael Conforto.

Beede was then retired, as Brandon Belt hit into a force play and then Austin Slater walked to give the Giants their first of having multiple runners on base at the same time. Unfortunately, the mini-rally was short lived, as deGrom regrouped to strikeout Pablo Sandoval and Stephen Vogt consecutively to end the inning.

Things got interesting in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Brandon Crawford led off the inning with a walk, then went to second when Mike Yastrzemski dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt. Crawford then went to third on a Kevin Pillar fly out, but the inning ended when Joe Panik flew out to center to end the inning.

After getting the first two outs of the eighth inning, Beede then allowed a runner to reach base, as Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch on the elbow; however, Beede got out of the jam, as he got Conforto to fly out to Pillar in center field to end the threat.

NOTES: Overall, the Giants are 13-2 in the month of July, and are 27-15 since June 1.

They also raise their record in extra inning games up to 8-2 during the 2019 season.

The last time that the Giants won games via the walk-off in extra-inning games was on April 13, 2014 versus the Colorado Rockies (10 innings) and April 15, 2014 in 12 innings versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Overall, the last time that the Giants went walk-off in back-to-back games on consecutive days came on April 23 and 23, 2015 against the Dodgers, and both games ended with identical 3-2 scores.

The last time that the Giants won a game without a run batted in was on June 25, 2011 against the Cleveland Indians at Oracle Park, and it was the ninth time in the 61 years that the Giants have played in San Francisco.

UP NEXT: Jeff Samardzija takes the mound on Saturday afternoon for the Giants, as he looks to raise his record up to 8-7 on the season and the Mets will send Walter Lockett to the mound, as he looks for his major league victory.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Hall of Fame weekend is their World Series

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Photo credit: espn.com

By: Amaury Pi-González

In Cooperstown, New York this weekend six players will have the weekend of their lives with their families, friends and fans as their names will be engraved into immortality in alphabetical order: Harold Baines, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martínez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith.

Cooperstown is a beautiful small town that’s best known as the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

For the greatest Hall of Fame in all American sports, this is their World Series, their Superbowl, their Olympics and their World Cup altogether. Dozens of living inductees will be on hand to welcome the new class of six. The last time I visited Cooperstown, it was part of a vacation to the east coast in November 2009. From the Bay Area by plane to Miami and then up to New York, where I bordered a train from Penn Station to Albany, NY. There, in Albany, I had a rental car awaiting and from there I drove to Cooperstown, driving through beautiful green rolling hills country. The whole trip takes about 5 hours and I recommend to anybody that has the time to do it. It is truly a nice relaxing trip. Cooperstown reminds me of the movie “Back to the Future” with old brick buildings and where you feel it is 1952 all over again.

Two of the six players that will be inducted have a direct connection with the Bay Area. Harold Baines, who played with the Oakland A’s from 1990 to 1992, played a total of 22 years for various clubs, ending with 2,830 games, 2,886 hits, 1,628 runs batted in, 384 home runs and a solid .289 batting average. A designated hitter for a great part of that stellar career.

Mike Mussina attended Stanford University where he pitched for three years. He was one of the most consistent pitchers in the majors for 18 years (10 with the Yankees and eight with the Orioles). He won 270 and lost 153 with a 3.58 ERA, 2,813 strikeouts and 57 games completed in 3,562 innings pitched.

The other four will be Roy Halladay, whose family will be accepting in his behalf. He died on November 2017 as his small private plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. Halladay won two Cy Young Awards hurled a perfect game plus a no-hitter during playoffs with Philadelphia. 16 years with Toronto and Philadelphia, won-lost 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA who also completed 67 games. Roy “Doc” Halladay was one of the last pitchers that everybody expected to complete the game he started. I can only imagine if he was with us, what would Doc say about the new craziness by some teams to use an “opener” which is a man that would be scheduled to pitch only the first inning.

Edgar Martínez is one of only two players inducted this year that played their whole career with the same team. The Seattle Mariners from 1987 to 2004. He originally was a third-baseman, but became one of the best pure hitters of his generation as a DH. 2.056 games, 2,247 hits, 309 home runs and 1,261 runs batted in and a combined .312 average. He hit over .300 in 11 of his 18 seasons and he had the eye of an eagle, struck out only 1,202 times in 8,674 trips to the plate. I used to call him “el oportuno” (translation: “the clutch one”) because he was the type of hitter you want with the winning run on base, he will not disappoint.

Lee Smith. About time! This man should have been inducted many years ago. He was a great reliever. During 18 years saved 478 and pitched for Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, NY Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos.

Mariano Rivera. Born in Panamá, the land of the great Hall of Famer Rod Carew, Rivera was the greatest closer in the history in this position. With a cutter from heaven he saved an incredible 652 games with a 2.21 ERA in 1,115 games,1,283 innings pitched with 1,173 strikeouts. It would be safe to say that this save record is safe and might not be broken during mine, yours, your kids and their kids years unless if baseball invents another crazy rule. Rivera only played for one club, the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. He is a wonderful man who is truly an idol in his native Panamá. Also, a real gentleman. Every time I interviewed Rivera, he conducted himself with great professionalism. We were truly privileged to have witnessed his career.

Congratulations to all! They represent the best of the best.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants have the confidence and wild card in sights, but will they deal MadBum and Smith?

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner works against the New York Mets during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 18, 2019, in San Francisco.

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 San Francisco Giants centerfielder Kevin Pillar said that the team has confidence and belief, which would also be a good argument to keep pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith.

#2 The Giants so far have hit more home runs than at home at Oracle Park and average 5.5 runs on the road to 3.4 runs at home per game.

#3 The Giants are four games over .500 at 27-23 on the road. What best explains why their doing better on the road compared to at home?

#4 Manager Bruce Bochy managed the club a 6-1 road trip in Milwaukee and Colorado. The Giants in a four-game series with the New York Mets where they played to a 16 inning win over the Mets 3-2 on a walkoff single by a Donovan Solano to drive in the winning run.

#5 Hall of Famers Edgar Martinez, Harold Baines, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera, and Lee Smith. All will be inducted for this year’s class for the 2019 Hall of Fame. Once again, home run king Barry Bonds failed to get elected by getting 59.1% of the vote.

Michael does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Mountain West basketball championships to remain at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas through 2023

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

The Mountain West announced Thursday that the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas will continue to serve as the location for its men’s and women’s basketball championships through 2023.

The league’s Board of Directors approved a recommendation from an ad hoc committee made up of two athletic directors, two Senior Woman Administrators, two men’s basketball coaches and two women’s basketball coaches, which was endorsed by the full directors of athletics group, to return to the Thomas & Mack Center for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Mountain West Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships.

“The Mountain West is pleased to extend its long history of successful men’s and women’s basketball championships at the Thomas & Mack Center,” said MW Commissioner Craig Thompson. “Las Vegas has become a mecca for college basketball in early March and our MW fans have made it clear this is their preferred destination.”

The Thomas & Mack Center, which holds several world-class events each year, including NBA Summer League, National Finals Rodeo, concerts and boxing matches, has hosted the Mountain West Basketball Championships in 17 of the Conference’s 20 years.

The 2020 MW Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will take place March 1-7, 2020 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Tickets are now on sale via each institution’s athletic box office.

“Las Vegas has had a long and storied history with the Mountain West,” said LVE President Pat Christenson. “Since its inception, we have hosted the annual basketball championships 17 times at the Thomas & Mack Center. We are proud to be able to extend our partnership through the 2023 tournament.”

“We couldn’t be more pleased to be hosting the MW Basketball Championships through 2023,” said TMC Executive Director Mike Newcomb. “We have a great history and relationship with the Mountain West and to be able to continue to host the championships is a great opportunity for The Thomas & Mack Center, UNLV and the city of Las Vegas.”

About the Mountain West
From its inception in 1999, the Mountain West has been committed to excellence in intercollegiate athletics, while promoting the academic missions of its member institutions. Progressive in its approach, the MW continues to cultivate opportunities for student-athletes to compete at the highest level, while fostering academic achievement and sportsmanship. Now in its 20th year, the MW has been assertive in its involvement with the NCAA governance structure and has taken a leadership role in the overall administration of intercollegiate athletics. The MW membership is comprised of 11 all-sport members: the United States Air Force Academy, Boise State University, Colorado State University, Fresno State, University of Nevada, University of New Mexico, San Diego State University, San José State University, UNLV, Utah State University and University of Wyoming. In addition, the University of Hawai’i and Colorado College participate in the MW as single-sport members in football and women’s soccer, respectively.

San Jose State men’s basketball announces 2019-20 schedule

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San José State men’s basketball’s return to the hardwood is officially set for November 6 as the Spartans travel cross country to take on Hofstra in Hempstead, New York. The 2019-20 season opener is one 12 nonconference games scheduled to be played in addition to the 18-game Mountain West schedule previously announced.

Highlights of the San Jose State’s nonconference slate includes four matchups against Pac-12 opponents. The Spartans will hit the road for contests at Arizona (11/14) and UCLA (12/1) and will also face off with Oregon State on November 27 in Las Vegas, Nevada as part of the Las Vegas Classic. SJSU will also play host to the Stanford Cardinal on December 14.

“We are excited to get the season underway,” head coach Jean Prioleau said. “We’ve got a great schedule that features a lot of tough matchups that will provide our team with some challenges, and we look forward to accepting those challenges.”

Tip off times, as well as media coverage information, for all conference and non-conference games will be announced at a later date.

Fans can begin purchasing online ticket renewals in the latter part of July.