New York Yankee slugger Aaron Judge (99) is out with a right elbow flexor strain and on the 10 day IL. Here is Judge taking a big swing for a two run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays Wed July 23, 2025 at Rogers Centre in Toronto (AP News photo)
MLB The Show podcast Bruce Macgowan:
#1 New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge will go on the ten day IL suffering from a right elbow flexor strain. The injury during a scan did not show any damage to the elbo and will not require surgery but a big bat out of the Yankees line up.
#2 Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said “wheels up” regarding the return of Mookie Betts who was out due to a death in the family. Betts went to attend to his family in Nashville. The Dodgers had the day off Thursday and made it back to join the Dodgers in Boston before first pitch.
#3 Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Edmundo Sosa was elbowed in the back by left fielder Brandon Marsh when they collided while making a catch on the New York Yankees Jazz Chisholm Jr in the seventh inning. Sosa said he was feeling a little tight after the game but said he should be back in the line up on Sunday.
#4 Tough outing on Friday for San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb he was lit up by the New York Mets at Oracle Park in four innings eight hits, six earned runs, one walk and four strike outs. Webb suffered the most runs given up in the first four innings of the game.
#5 San Francisco Giants who were crushed on Friday night 8-1 suffered another hit when it was announced that right hand starter Landen Roupp was placed on the 15 day IL with elbow inflammation. Roupp had an MRI and was negative for structural issues.
Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton (5) before the opening tip against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on May 29, 2025. Thornton suffered a knee injury earlier in the week in San Francisco and will be out for the rest of the WNBA season./ John Jones-Imagn Images
Golden State Valkyrie podccast:
#1 The Golden State Valkyrie (11-12) picked up a big win over the Dallas Wings (7-18) on Friday night at Chase Center 86-76 and ended their three game skid.
#2 The big loss for the Valkyrie is of star player Kayla Thornton due to a knee injury. Talk about how her absence will effect the Valkyrie line up.
#3 Thornton was the leading scorer with 14 points and seven assists and 1.5 rebounds that’s a lot offense that will be missed.
#4 On the Valkyrie win on Friday leading in scoring Tiffany Hayes 17 points and Janelle Salaun 16 points to help pave the ten point win for Golden State.
#5 It’s off to Connecticut as the Valkyrie prepare to face the Sun. The Sun are a struggling bunch at 3-20 and in last place in the WNBA Eastern Conference. The Valkyrie at 11-12 in the Western Conference are in eighth place. How do you see this match Sunday?
The Oakland Ballers walked off with a huge win over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at Raimondi Park in Oakland on Fri July 25, 2025 (Oakland Ballers photo)
OAKLAND–The Oakland Ballers Thursday night debacle must have been some sort of shock therapy for any complacency tour hometown heroes might have felt on having clinched the home field advantage in all the games they’ll play in the September postseason playoffs.
The drubbing they took last night served as shock therapy for Saturday night’s overwhelming victory of their erstwhile tormentors. The B’s scored early and often, amassing 14 runs in their crushing over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.
Zach St. Pierre with a little help from three of his friends in the bullpen held the visiting Sky Sox to a pair of tallies.
I often think of a baseball game as a play that, like Caesar’s Gaul, is divided into three parts, each of which contains three scenes. Occasionally there’s an epilogue, which in the case of the Pioneer Baseball League consists of the Knock Out Inning, a peculiarity that often yields an anti-climactic and arbitrary ending. Videlecut, last Tuesday night at Raimondi Park.
Friday night’s performance in West Oakland was something new and completely different. It began with a scene of massive destruction and just kept rolling along until the Ballers had wiped out the Sky Sox, 14-2.
The hosts made ten plate appearances in the bottom of the first, scoring seven runs on five hits against Johann Castillo, the visitors’ starting and losing pitcher, who is the league leader in innings pitched. He lasted five frames Friday night after throwing 127 pitches, to be followed by a trio of relievers, each of whom hurled an inning, with only one of them, Maykol López, emerging unscathed. All told, the beleaguered Sky Sox mound corps threw 191 pitches.
However decisive the Ballers’ triumph was, there was a continuous awareness among the crowd of 2,821 paid attendees that this was a team that blew a six run lead in the ninth inning of its previous encounter with the one it was massacring. The B’s did, after all, make two errors tonight, one of which allowed the Sox to score an unearned run against Sean Kelby in the eighth.
Zach St. Pierre, pinch runner par excellence, held the Sky Sox to one run on five hits, in his six innings of work. His eight strikeouts were a season’s high for him. Tanner Shields, in his first appearance at Raimondi didn’t allow any runs to Colorado Springs and struck out two of their batters but also surrendered a hit and unleashed a wild pitch.
Every batter in the Oakland lineup got at least one hit. Danny Harris and Tyler Lozano, newly returned from the injured list, got three apiece; Tremayne Cobb, Esai Santos, Nick Leehey, two. Santos and Harris hit doubles; Leehey, a triple, his first professional three bagger; and Cobb, Lozano,and Buggs went yard.
The rest is silence.
The tumult and the shouting will resume Saturday afternoon, at 4:35, preceded by a celebration of Native American culture.
Athletics’ Nick Kurtz celebrates after hitting a three-run home against the Houston Astros during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 25, 2025, in Houston. (David J. Phillip – AP)
Athletics podcast Lincoln Juarez
#1 For the A’s to have any chance at turning this disappointing season around they needed a good start to the second half. Dropping five of the first six following the All-Star break, what is the message to the team?
#2 Nick Kurtz has been a bright spot for the A’s since his debut with the team. He is coming off of winning AL Player of the Week last week and a four home-run game Friday night against the Astros. How much is his presence felt in the lineup?
#3 Luis Severino looked Stellar in his last start in the A’s win over Houston Thursday night. How does this affect his value going into the trade deadline and can we still expect to see him be moved?
#4 The A’s exploded for 15 runs Friday night against the Astros in a 15-3 win to take the first two games in Houston. How can they find more consistent offense and who in the lineup can lead the way?
#5 Brent Rooker mentioned in a statement Friday that he is “not going anywhere” at the trade deadline. The A’s obviously see him as a big piece of their future and he values his role with the team and the contract extension he signed…
New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor, right, runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb (62) during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 25, 2025, in San Francisco. (Photo Credits to Godofredo A. Vásquez AP Photo)
Friday, July 25th, 2025
Oracle Park
New York Mets: 8
San Francisco Giants: 1
Win: New York Mets Pitcher Clay Holmes (9-5)
Loss: San Francisco Giants Pitcher Logan Webb (9-8)
Attendance: 41,163 (Sellout)
By: Michael Villanueva
The San Francisco Giants return home Friday evening to host the New York Mets, but unfortunately couldn’t contain them. The New York Mets spoiled the night at Oracle Park, jumping on Giants ace Logan Webb early to roll to an 8-1 win over San Francisco.
Webb struggled from the start, allowing eight hits and six earned runs over just four innings. He struck out four and walked one in a tough outing that put the Giants in a deep hole early.
Mets right-hander Clay Holmes earned the win, tossing five solid innings. He scattered six hits, gave up just one earned run, and added two strikeouts with one walk in a steady outing that kept the Giants’ offense quiet.
Mets offense struck quickly in the opening frame. After Brandon Nimmo led off with a double, Juan Soto grounded out to bring in the game’s first run. Pete Alonso followed with a sacrifice fly to give New York a 2–0 lead. The Giants answered with a run of their own in the bottom half, as Willy Adames grounded out to score Heliot Ramos—but that would be the last time San Francisco touched home plate all night.
Francisco Lindor led the Mets’ charge, going 3-for-5 with a single, double, and his 20th home run of the season in the third inning. He scored three runs and drove in two. Soto added two RBIs of his own, including an insurance single in the ninth after Ronald Acuña Jr. scored on a wild pitch by Camilo Doval.
Willy Adames was the lone bright spot at the plate for San Francisco, driving in the team’s only run. The rest of the lineup never found a rhythm, and six Giants relievers were called in throughout the night—each walking in from the bullpen in a long, symbolic line.
Friday’s loss marked the Giants’ fifth in seven games since the All-Star break, as they continue to search for momentum heading into the second half of the season.
The Giants hope to bounce back Saturday evening. Starting pitchers for the Mets LHP David Peterson (6-4 ERA 2.90) vs. Giants LHP Robbie Ray (9-4 ERA 2.92) 6:05pm PT.
Golden State Valkyries Kaitlyn Chen (2) defends against the Dallas Wings Paige Bueckers (5) at Chase Center in San Francisco on Fri July 25, 2025 (Bay Area News Group photo)
By Michael Roberson
SAN FRANCISCO– Despite losing their star player Kayla Thornton for the season, the Golden State Valkyries (11-12) sprinkled salt on the Dallas Wings (7-18) 86-76, while simultaneously ending their 3-game losing streak’
Earlier Friday morning, the shocking news came out that leading scorer and recent All-Star game (Indianapolis) participant, Kayla Thornton would miss the rest of the inaugural season for the fledgling Valkyries, with a lower leg injury. It put a figurative fog over the City by the Bay, where it is already known and nicknamed “Fog City.” This depressing information came in the midst of a three-game losing streak and the midway point of the season.
The Valkyries came out with a determined will to win the WNBA Battle inside Chace Center. Tiffany Hayes hit two 3-pointers to open the contest; before you knew it, the wounded team was up 6-0 on their opponents from the Lone Star State. Unfortunately for the home team, the guests were not sympathetic or impressed by that initial push. The rest of the quarter, the Wings went on a 21-4 run to take over quadrant number one, 21-10.
Golden State opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run, getting close to a tie or taking over the lead. Dallas was able to hold off the expansion team, and maintain a six-point lead at recess, 36-30. The only player on either squad to eclipse 10+ points, was Wings’ veteran star guard Arike Ogunbowale (11). Surprisingly, high profile rookie Paige Bueckers only produced 5 points and 4 assists; however, there was a whole other second half of game time left in the contest.
In the second half, despite the Wings leading by as many as 12 points, the Valkyries made a dramatic comeback in the third quarter. They outscored them by nine points, and actually took the lead back with less than a minute left in the period. With 3/4 of the regulation time played, the Valkyries clutched a 3-point lead, 63-60. Bueckers was still below double-figures, although her team was still within reach.
The final quarter would have the Valkyries extend their advantage to as much as 10 points, while Bueckers exemplified why she is the team’s leading scorer. She more than doubled her points production in the fourth quarter alone. Unfortunately for the Wings, that was not enough at the end of 40 minutes of action. Golden State won by their largest gap of ten points, 86-76, and gave the city, region and league, a bit of a reprieve from the devastating report earlier in the day.
Five Valkyries scored at least 10 points. The aforementioned Tiffany Hayes led the way with 17, while Janelle Salaun chipped in 16, Kaitlyn Chen (14), Temi Fagbenie (11) and Cecilia Zandalasini added ten.
Dallas presented four players with double Digits. Beuckers (17), Ogunbowale (16), Aziaha James (13), and Stanford legend Haley Jones put up ten points in front of family and friends.
The Valkyries will next be in action, Sunday, July 27 in the Nutmeg State, to take on the Connecticut Sun, at 1 PM ET/10 AM PT on CBSSN. The Wings will fly back home to host the Las Vegas Aces, on the same date, at 3 PM CT on ESPN3.
Nick Kurtz smashes an eighth inning home run for the Sacramento A’s against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park in Houston on Fri Jul 25, 2026 (AP News photo)
Kurtz and the Curse Breakers Power Past Astros 15-3 in Houston Beatdown
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento A’s brought a sledgehammer to Daikin Park on Friday night and reduced the Houston Astros to rubble in a thunderous 15-3 win, their most lopsided road victory of the season and a statement performance from their youth-infused core.
At the center of the storm was rookie phenom Nick Kurtz, who launched four home runs and drove in seven, putting an exclamation point on a, now 12-game hit streak and further cementing his status as the front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year.
Kurtz, the A’s 22-year-old breakout slugger, wasted no time getting the party started, singling in the first inning before unloading for a two-run blast in the second. He wasn’t finished. He went deep again in the sixth, eighth, then capped his night with a three-run rocket in the ninth, giving him 23 home runs on the season, most among MLB rookies, and a staggering 44 RBIs in his last 38 games. His third homer tied him with Eric Chavez for the most in a season by an Athletic under the age of 23 since 2000, and now stands on top of the A’s record book.
But this wasn’t a solo act. Tyler Soderstrom crushed his 19th homer of the year, a solo shot in the third, while Shea Langeliers followed with a two-run blast in the fourth to help Sacramento build a 9-0 cushion. The A’s put up crooked numbers in five different innings, scoring three in the first, two in the second, one in the third, three more in the fourth, and a devastating four-run ninth that put the game out of reach for good.
Sacramento’s 16-hit barrage included contributions from nearly everyone in the lineup. Carlos Cortes, in just his second major league game, notched three hits and two RBIs. Jacob Wilson walked, singled, and scored twice. Gio Urshela stayed hot with three hits, while Lawrence Butler broke out of an 0-for-9 slump with a single and a run. Even Colby Thomas, fresh off a recall from Triple-A Las Vegas, got in on the act with a hit-by-pitch and a run scored.
On the mound, left-hander Jeffrey Springs shook off a rough outing in Cleveland and delivered a gem, scattering five hits over six shutout innings with six strikeouts. He retired nine of the first ten batters and induced a pair of double plays to erase early base traffic. It was a critical bounce-back for Springs, who leads the A’s in wins and continues to pitch deep into games when his team needs stability.
The bullpen followed suit, with Elvis Alvarado and Ben Bowden each logging clean innings. Bowden, making his first MLB appearance since 2021, closed things out despite allowing a ninth-inning RBI double to Yainer Diaz.
The Athletics’ win snapped a string of 17 losses in their last 23 games at Daikin Park and improved them to 4-4 against Houston this season. It also marked the latest eruption for an offense that now leads the majors in extra-base hits in July. Sacramento’s 15 runs were the most they’ve scored since May, and they’ve now homered in 12 of their last 13 games.
As for Kurtz, the rookie continues to make history by the week. His six-hit, eight-RBI performance is the most RBIs by an A’s rookie in a single game since Ben Grieve in 1998, and his 23 homers through 66 games is an unprecedented pace for any player in franchise history.
Starting pitchers for Saturday’s game three of the series for the A’s LHP Jacob Lopez (3-6 ERA 4.60) for the Astros RHP Hunter Brown (9-4 ERA 2.57) first pitch 4:10pm PT in Houston.
Houston RHP Hunter Brown (9-4 2.57 ERA) opposes LHP Jacob Lopez (3-6 4.60 ERA) when the series continues Saturday.
Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
John Fisher owner of the Sacramento A’s once said that not staying in Oakland was a failed achievement (photo by instagram)
How does the A’s Controversy compare to others in Baseball?
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi-González
There is no doubt that the 1919 Black Sox Scandal which involved eight Chicago White Sox players who were accused of intentionally losing the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from gamblers is the biggest scandal in the game, primarily due to the players’ betrayal of the game and its fans.
Unless something even more scandalous rocks the baseball world, this will remain the undisputed number one scandal. Gambling has been a long-standing issue in the game. In 1877, the Louisville Grays were embroiled in a gambling scandal during the National League’s second season.
And to close the book on gambling. Most recently, the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal involved the team illegally using a video replay system to steal signs from opposing teams during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
There are many other scandals in “the grand old game”, a sentimental description often used to refer to baseball, the richest American sport, which is ingrained in our culture longer than any other game, dating back to 1874, when the United States had 37 States and eight major league baseball teams competing in the National Association, which later became the National League, as stated above.
The Oakland A’s relocation is not a scandal (at least not at present), but has definitely been a controversy to this day, as they are in the second phase (Sacramento) of what they call their final and permanent location in Las Vegas, Nevada, which would be an unprecedented fourth home for this franchise.
Philadelphia, Kansas City, Oakland, Las Vegas. No major league franchise, on record, has played in four different cities. Although the A’s were founded in 1901 in Philadelphia, where they played for 54 seasons, Oakland was the city where the A’s played the longest, for a total of 57 seasons; they were the Oakland A’s.
The relocation of the A’s was announced by ownership on April 4, 2024. A’s fans feel betrayed by the team’s owner for moving the team, considering the deep roots and very passionate fan base in Oakland. The Oakland Athletics have won four World Series titles and six American League Pennants while playing in Oakland while the A’s relocation is not a scandal, it is a significant controversy, as numerous baseball personalities on television, radio, podcasts, print media, players past and present, as well as fans, across the country have called John Fisher the worst owner in Sports.
That is not a title Mr.Fisher would like to carry the rest of his life, until the Lord calls him to the big executive office in the sky, although I would not be surprised if the Lord sends him back to the minor leagues, Class A level.
Ultimately, a team reflects the personality of the owner. And the best Oakland A’s ownership was during Walter A. Haas Jr.’s tenure, during which the Oakland A’s won one World Series (1989) and three consecutive American League pennants (1988-1990).
In 1989, the A’s also set a Bay Area attendance record, with over 2.9 million fans, which at the time was higher than the San Francisco Giants, who were struggling to sell tickets at Candlestick Park.
The front office of the A’s had professionals who knew what they were doing, such as Andy Dolich and Sandy Alderson. Most importantly, the A’s were also known for their community outreach, a characteristic that Mr. Fisher never demonstrated during the years he ran the team in Oakland and currently in Sacramento.
Since the A’s departure the Oakland Ballers, also known as the Oakland B’s (a new team) was formed by fans and community members in direct response to the A’s betrayal of Oakland and their fans.. This team is part of the Pioneer League, and fans have responded well to this Oakland team, keeping baseball alive in ‘The Town’. Quote: Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton, who stated, ‘We have an obligation. We are accountable to the fans and to the city. If you don’t approach it that way, you should not be an owner, in my opinion”.
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.
The score says a 8-8 tie the official final but the game went into the books as a 9-8 final as the Colorado Sky Sox win the fourth knock out round at Raimondi Field in Oakland on Thu Jul 24, 2025 (Oakland Ballers image)
OAKLAND–The variegated contests of the six game series between the Colorado Sky Sox and your Oakland Ballers unfolding this week at Raimondi Park took so many unexpended turns that it was difficult to imagine any set of surprises that could surpass them.
But there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, and this Wednesday night’s tangled web of improbabilities provided many of them. As Bill King, baseball’s renaissance man would—and did—say, “Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!” So let me soberly try to summarize some of them.
The game went into the books as a 9-8 win for Colorado Springs,but the official box score showed an 8-8 tie with no winning or losing pitcher. This was owing to the Pioneer Baseball League’s bizarre knock out round rule for deciding tie games.
It resembles a home run derby in which each team provides one batter and a teammate to pitch to him. The details aren’t worth listing, and this time saving device delays games for anywhere between five and 15 minutes while the necessary equipment is put into place. Thursday night, it took four rounds of what the Ballers call the most exciting part of the game to give the visitor’s what went down in the won-lost records as a 9-8 win.
The real game, or games. began with an impressive performance by the Sox starting pitcher, Matthew Lauria. The only hit he allowed in his first four plus innings on the mound was a two out single to right center by Treemayne Cobb. That excellence enabled Colorado to hang on to a 1-0 lead going into the home half of the fifth, when what had been a tight pitchers’ duel turned into a rout in favor of the B’s.
Darryl Buggs led off with a walk and advanced to second on a balk. Cobb brought him home with his second hit, a game tying single to center. That was enough for Dimitri Young to yank Lauria, who for all his mastery, had allowed four walks and committed a fielding error and a balk and thrown 120 pitches.
His replacement, José Ochoa, threw another 31 to close out the frame, leaving the score 3-1 in favor of the home team. Adam Wilbert would follow Ochoa in the pitcher’s box at the beginning of the home sixth and retire the three batters he faced in order giving way to Danny Fox after the gathering of 1,677 fans had finished its choral version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
The game continued to be a close one, with the Ballers pulling further ahead with a run in the eighth and the Sky Sox adding one of their own in the top of the ninth.
The second in this Russian nesting doll of games came in the bottom of the ninth, when the Ballers blew it open with a four run outburst sparked by Nick Leehey’s a two run homer to left center with Dillon Tatum, who had walked, on board.
After that blast , Darryl Buggs doubled to left center and Fox plunked Cobb with a pitch, Jacob Norris relieved Fox and issued a pair of free passes, interspersed by a double steal and Christian Almanza’s sac fly before getting Tatum to pop out to end the carnage. The four runs scored that inning augured well for the B’s but the three runners stranded on the baseball paths were an adumbration of the trouble that lay in wait.
Noah Milllikan had started the game for the B’s and pitched eight full innings—an incredible feat in the PBL—and allowed only two runs on five hits and no walks, while striking out a dozen batters. The long top of the eighth had given his arm a chance to freeze up, and surely Connor Sullivan could be counted on to hold a six run lead for one inning.
We soon learned that he couldn’t. He faced five batters and left with the score at 8-4 and two runners on base, replaced by Caleb Franzen. He was charged with two runs, one of the earned, and allowed four inherited runners to score. The inning was further tarnished by a bad throw on a difficult play that was charged as an error to Cobb and an atrocious and unnecessary throw that catcher Dillon Tatum heaved into center field.
The Ballers loaded the bases with one out against Alain López in their half of the ninth, but they couldn’t push a run across the plate.
Who knows what these two rivals have in store for Friday night’s encounter, which is scheduled to start at 6:35. There’s one thing we can reasonably expect to occur; July 25 is Grateful Dead Night, with a pregame concert scheduled and a large crowd expected.
Right-hander Justin Verlander finally got his first win as a Giant, in his 17th start of the season, on Wednesday against the Braves in Atlanta. (Photo credits to Todd Kirkland, Getty Images)
San Francisco Giants podcast Michael Villanueva
#1 Michael, Justin Verlander finally ends his historic 16-game winless streak on Wednesday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park, 9-3. His 17th start this season, finally recorded his first in a Giants Uniform. Also making this his 263rd career wins.
#2 Rafael Devers stepped up to the plate and logged in four runs with three hits, and including two home runs. Devers was put back as the designated hitter, just one day after making his debut as the starting first baseman in Tuesday night’s 9-0 win.
#3 The Giants outscored the Braves 18-3 to win the final two games of the series after Atlanta won the opener 9-7. Just before the Giants got outscored by the Blue Jays 18-9.
#4 San Francisco Giants are one game behind San Diego from taking back second place in the NL West. With players coming back from old injuries like Matt Chapman, Michael what does it take for the Giants to get back to second and their hoping to reach the post season?
#5 The Giants return home to Oracle Park on Friday night at 7:15 PM to open a weekend series against the New York Mets. Giants RHP Logan Webb (9-7, ERA 3.08) will be on the mound as he faces off RHP Clay Holmes (8-5, ERA 3.48)
Sports Radio Service 