Author: Sports Radio Service

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s just can’t do anything with Jays on the verge of getting swept

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sfexaminer.com file photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt delivers a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels on June 15, 2018. He will be the starting pitcher against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman:

#1 After the Toronto Blue Jays were swept in a brief two-game series by the visiting San Francisco Giants on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Oakland A’s came into Rogers Centre and are on the cusp of getting swept in a three-game series.

#2 The A’s faced the Jays starter Aaron Sanchez on Saturday and the A’s, who have a lot of pop in their lineup, were lucky to even get a pop up off Sanchez, who gave up only a run in five innings against the A’s.

#3 The A’s have a 6-12 record against right-handed pitching as opposed to 8-3 against lefties. This is something no doubt that the Jays have studied film on and have dominated the A’s in their meetings this season.

#4 Former Oakland A’s Eric Sogard scored a run after hitting a double on Saturday and has hit safely in all nine games he has played for the Jays. Sogard is hitting .400, three doubles and two home runs.

#5 It’s the A’s last chance to snap the Jays’ five-game winning streak against them as they will start pitcher Chris Bassitt (1-0, 0.00 ERA) against Trent Thornton (0-3, 5.79 ERA) for Toronto.

Joey does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Daniel Dullum: NHL apologizes for officiating blunder; Second round off to roaring start; plus more

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azcentral.com photo: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski gets help from his teammates in Game 7 on Tuesday, April 23rd at SAP Center in San Jose after getting crossed-checked in the chest, not in the head as ruled by the officials by Cody Eakin of the Vegas Golden Knights. Eakin was called for a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a cross-check to the head. The NHL has since apologized for the mistaken call.

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Golden Knights GM says NHL apologized for officiating blunder in Game 7

2 Second round off to a roaring start — Blue Jackets and Bruins tied at 1-1, same for Blues and Stars, Hurricanes take game one from Islanders

3 Sharks up 1-0 over Avalanche

4 Name on the back now matters: NHL decides to start marketing its stars

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

Kaden Smith drafted by the San Francisco 49ers

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By: Ana Kieu

Kaden Smith was selected in the sixth round with the 176th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft on Saturday by the San Francisco 49ers. A tight end from Flower Mound, Texas, Smith is the sixth Cardinal tight end drafted since 2012.

“Kaden is a very versatile tight end,” Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw said. “His size and strength give him the ability to be an every down blocker in the NFL and his athleticism will give him the opportunity to be a very good pass catcher as well. Kaden has a knack for making contested catches down the field and tight ends that work the seams in the NFL play for a long time.”

A 2018 Mackey Award finalist, Smith was named All-Pac 12 second team a season ago. He finished his career with 70 receptions for 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns in 25 career games. He also earned Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention two times.

“Kaden is the most complete tight end coming out in this year’s class,” Cardinal tight ends coach Morgan Turner said. “His ability to make tough catches is rivaled by very few. He also wants to be part of the run game, which very few guys want to do these days. You can put him at the point of attack and trust him in the run game. Kaden really embraced that and did a great job with it.”

Smith shined in 2018, playing in 11 games with 10 starts. He totaled 47 catches for 635 yards and two touchdowns. He was named Mackey Award Player of the Week following an eight-catch, 107-yard, one-touchdown performance against Washington. As a sophomore in 2017, he played in 14 games and totaled 23 catches for 414 yards and five touchdowns.

Jake Bailey drafted by the New England Patriots

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By: Ana Kieu

Jake Bailey was selected in the fifth round with the 163rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on Saturday by the New England Patriots. A punter from Solana Beach, Calif., Bailey is the first Cardinal selected by the Patriots since 2015.

Jake Bailey has been a weapon for us for years,” Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw said. “He has the strong leg to be a very good kickoff specialist that pins the opponent’s offense back to start their drives. Jake also has the ability not only to boot long punts that change field position, but also to pin the opponent back inside their 20-yard-line, sometimes inside the 10. That is a skill that is very coveted by NFL teams and the Patriots are getting a good one.”

Bailey was named All-Pac-12 three times during his career with the Cardinal and finished as Stanford’s all-time leader in career punting average (43.81). His 185 punts are sixth-most in school history as are his 8,105 career punt yards. He totaled just 17 touchbacks with 51 fair catches, 76 inside the 20, and 54 punts of 50+ yards in 52 career games. Bailey also totaled 291 kickoffs for 18,428 yards (63.3 avg) and 173 touchbacks.

“Jake has an ability to directional punt,” Cardinal special teams coordinator Pete Alamar said. “He can put the ball into tight spaces which helps your coverage unit. He’s a high ball hitter–he’s not a guy that drives the ball. He has a great relationship between the distance and the hang time to allow his coverage unit to get down the field. The Patriots are also going to like him because of his kickoff ability. He takes the returner out of the game in that aspect.”

Bailey totaled 86 punts for 2,996 yards (44.06 avg) in 2018, playing in all 13 games. His 68 punts were the seventh-most in school history while his 2,996 yards were the fourth-most. He had 20 punts of 50+ yards and 24 punts inside the 20. He also kicked off for the Cardinal, with 60 touchbacks as a senior. He punctuated his career with a school-record 84-yard punt against Cal.

As a junior in 2017, Bailey earned All-Pac-12 honors after punting 57 times for an average of 45.5 yards. He had touchbacks on 58 of 83 kickoffs. As a sophomore in 2016, he punted 50 times for 2,176 yards with 13 punts over 50 yards and 22 inside the 20. He had 44 touchbacks on 71 kickoffs. He was the Cardinal kickoff specialist as a freshman in 2015 and also punted 10 times situationally.

Bryce Love drafted by the Washington Redskins

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By: Ana Kieu

Bryce Love was selected in the fourth round with the 112th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft on Saturday by the Washington Redskins. A running back from Wake Forest, N.C., Love is the first Cardinal selected by Washington since Trent Murphy in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

“Bryce Love is special,” Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw said. “He’s not just a speedy outside-the-box guy, but he’s a running back. He averaged 8.1 yards per carry and had 13 50-yard runs in 2017, things that just don’t make any sense. Bryce is fast and explosive, but he also breaks tackles. He led the nation in yards after contact a year ago. He’s a game changer, a field position changer. He scores touchdowns and he’s also a phenomenal human being. He’s going to be a strong asset for the Washington Redskins.”

The 2017 Heisman Trophy runner-up and 2018 team captain, Love was a three-time All-Pac-12 honoree. He won the 2017 Doak Walker Award, Lombardi Award, was a unanimous All-American and the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year. He finished his career with 3,866 rushing yards, 30 rushing touchdowns and 16 career 100-yard games. His 6.79 yards per carry average set a new school record.

“The reason Bryce is going to be successful is because he’s a professional, he works hard, he’s competitive and he’s very talented,” Cardinal running backs coach Ron Gould said. “He’s going to make plays where there aren’t a lot of plays to be made. He’s a lot stronger than people think — he had over 1,000 yards after contact his junior year – and he’s the fastest guy in the draft. You can’t count Bryce out because he has an impeccable work ethic, he’s passionate and he wants to be the best to ever play the game. When the lights and cameras aren’t on, Bryce is still going to be working.”

During his record-breaking season in 2017, Love rushed for 2,118 yards, averaged 162.9 yards per game and a school-record 8.05 yards per carry. He had 12 100-yard games, 30 rushes of more than 20 yards, 24 of more than 30 yards, 15 40-yard rushes, an FBS record 13 50-yard rushes and seven 60-yard rushes. He set a new FBS record with 13 consecutive games with a 30-yard rush and 11 straight games with a 50-yard rush.

Love was named honorable mention All-Pac-12 last season when he totaled 166 carries for 739 yards and six touchdowns–playing in and starting 10 games. In 2016, he was also honorable mention All-Pac-12 as he totaled 783 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He finished his career with 32 touchdowns and two two-point conversions for 196 career points.

Sanchez hits grand slam in Yankees’ 6-4 win over Giants

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — It seems that a trip to the West Coast did not cool off the New York Yankees, despite the fact that they have a major league-high 13 players on the injured list.

Gary Sanchez hit a grand slam into the left-center bleachers, as part of a five run fifth inning and the Yankees would go on to defeat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 in front of 33,971 at Oracle Park.

It was the first career grand slam for Sanchez, his seventh home run of the season and his first since being activated from the injured list on April 24.

J.A. Happ pitched seven strong innings, allowing zero runs on five hits, walking no one and striking out two, as he won for the first time in 2019.

D.J. LeMahieu got the ball rolling for the Yankees in the top of the third inning, as he singled to left field off the glove of Evan Longoria that allowed Cameron Maybin to score from second base.

The Yankees blew the game wide open in the fifth inning, as Derek Holland got roughed up for a five-run inning, as Luke Voit was hit by a pitch that scored LeMahieu and then Sanchez launched his seventh home run of the season.

Cameron Maybin beat out an infield single to Yangervis Solarte, then after a Thairo Estrada single, Happ bunted into a fiedlers choice that retired Maybin at third base, then LeMahieu walked to load the bases, after a Voit hit by a pitch that saw LeMahieu score from third base, Sanchez hit a grand slam that lit up Oracle Park with the throngs of Yankees fans like the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Plaza.

The Giants as a team could not figure out Happ all day, as they got two hits off the left-hander and lost for the second time in a row against the Bronx Bombers.

Solarte finally got the Giants on the board, as he hit his first home run of the season off of Luis Sessa in the bottom of the ninth inning, as he hit a three-run home run.

It was Solartes first home run as a member of the Giants, and his first home run since July 22, 2018, while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Baltimore Orioles.

Eric Kratz cut the Yankees down to 6-4, as he hit his first home run of the season, and it was the fifth career pinch hit home run for Kratz.

The last time Kratz hit a pinch-hit home run came on August 18, 2014 for the Kansas City Royals against the Minnesota Twins (Anthony Swarzak) at Target Field.

Buster Posey stayed hot, as he went 2-for-4 at the plate, and is hitting .345 (10-for-29) over his last nine games with four doubles and a home run and seven runs batted in.

NOTES: Brandon Belt moved to right field in the eighth inning, as it was the first time that he played in right field since April 23, 2017 and the fourth time in his career.

When Tyler Austin threw out Gleyber Torres at third base, it was the 10th outfield assist of the season for the Giants, breaking the tie for the most in the major leagues. Prior to the Austin assist, the Giants were tied with the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox and the Miami Marlins for the most in the majors with nine.

The Sanchez grand slam was the third that was allowed by Holland, and the first since July 2,2011, while pitching for the Texas Rangers. Hanley Ramirez, then playing for the Florida Marlins launched the grand slam against Holland.

Voits streak of reaching base was extended in that fifth inning when he drove in a run, as he reached on a hit by a pitch by Holland. It was the 37th consecutive game that Voit reached base, and is the second longest streak by a Yankees player since the start of 2005, when Mark Teixeira reached in 42 straight games from June 6-July 26, 2010.

Steven Duggar injured his right wrist when he went for that D.J. LeMahieu foul ball when he ran over the bullpen mound in the top of the first inning of Fridays game.

Tried to balance myself, said Duggar.

UP NEXT: Dereck Rodriguez looks to stop from sweeping the series, as he looks to improve to 4-2 on the season, while Domingo German looks to move to 5-1 on the season for the Yankees.

This will be the first career starts for each starter against their opponents.

Earthquakes, FC Dallas play to 0-0 draw

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

By: Ana Kieu

It was matchday in Dallas and the San Jose Earthquakes were fired up to battle FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium on Saturday. The Quakes started things off the good old Texas way by greeting the masses with “Howdy, y’all.” The Quakes rocked their road white uniforms on the field.

The Quakes’ starting lineup featured Daniel Vega, Nick Lima, Florian Jungwirth, Harold Cummings, Tommy Thompson, Anibal Godoy, Jackson Yueill, Cristian Espinoza, Magnus Eriksson, Shea Salinas and Danny Hoesen. The Quakes’ substitutions were Andrew Tarbell, Marcos Lopez, Paul Marie, Judson, Eric Calvillo, Vako and Chris Wondolowski.

The Quakes introduced themselves as the San Jose Earthquakes and added that they were ready to crash a party in the Big D. Moreover, there were some Quakes fans from the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area who sported the Black and Blue at the match.

Danny Hoesen almost scored the opening goal in the 16th minute, but FC Dallas goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez made a diving-style save to fend off the potential Quakes goal.

Check out this clip in the 25th minute.

The Quakes knocked on the door in the 40th minute, but unfortunately, they didn’t. Cristian Espinoza won the ball in the midfield and almost converted for a goal. The first half ended in a 0-0 draw.

The Quakes kept trying for the opening goal in the second half. However, San Jose was unable to get on the board first, despite quite a few close calls.

Nick Lima had a go for a goal in the 52nd minute, but it went just wide of the net. Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda continued to clap his hands and show his team the right ways to do things, but that didn’t really help.

The Quakes’ first substitution took place in the 69th minute. Judson entered for Shea Salinas.

The Quakes’ second substitution took place in the 83rd minute. Chris Wondolowski entered for Eric Calvillo.

The Quakes’ third substitution took place in the 87th minute. Vako entered for Harold Cummings. Vako was just inches away from the opening goal at the 91st minute. San Jose and FC Dallas played to a 0-0 draw. SJ left Frisco, Texas with a point, which was better than nothing.

The Quakes return home to host FC Cincinnati on Saturday, May 4 at 7:00 pm PT.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Changed Sharks on track to do some damage in Colorado series

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Five different players scored a goal each in Friday night’s game one. Joe Thornton, Gus Nyquist, Kevin Labanc, Brent Burns and Marcus Sorensen scored for the Sharks.

#2 The Sharks gave up the first goal and then in the second period and scored three unanswered goals. Does that pretty much describe the character of this team?

#3 The Colorado Avalanche outshot the Sharks in the first period 13-9 and won 47% of their faceoffs.

#4 The San Jose Sharks outshot the Avalanche in the second period 13-11 and won 43% of faceoffs, so a little adjustment there.

#5 How different how much of a big change has Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer has this team since they were down 3-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round?

Len Shapiro does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks stay on track with game plan, take 1-0 lead into Sunday’s Game 2; Canes’ Staal gets OT goal to edge Isles

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yahoosports.com photo: Martin Jones of the San Jose Sharks protects the nets on Friday night in game one against the Colorado Avalanche, Jones stopped 26 shots.

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Matt:

#1 The San Jose Sharks came out again on Friday in game one of the second round against the Colorado Avalanche. There was no let down or any trouble much like the struggles they had in round one with the Vegas Golden Knights with a convincing 5-2 victory.

#2 The Sharks rallied twice in the contest after being one goal down and won their fourth straight playoff game.

#3 It was the second period when the Sharks started to take over the contest, and with the help of Sharks goalie Martin Jones, the Sharks were able to hold off the Avalanche as Jones stopped 26 shots.

#4 The Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal got an overtime goal at 4:04 to lead the Canes past the New York Islanders in the opening game of the second round series to take a 1-0 lead. The Hurricanes defeated the Isles in a razor close game 1-0.

#5 It was an amazing goal of sorts as the Canes’ Nino Niederreiter took a shot that caromed of the boards where Staal took the puck on the right side and put it past Isles goalie Robin Lehner’s skate.

Catch the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcasts with Matt each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

LeMahieu, Voit lead Yankees to 7-3 victory over Giants

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — In their first appearance at Oracle Park in nearly 12 years, the New York Yankees showed why they are on a roll lately.

Gleyber Torres got it going in the first inning, as he doubled in DJ LeMahieu, who led off the game with a double of his own and the Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants 7-3 before a crowd of 34,950 at Oracle Park.

With the victory, the Yankees have won seven out of their last eight and improve to 4-1 on their three-city, nine-game road trip thru Anaheim, San Francisco and Arizona.

The top three Yankees hitters in the lineup of Torres, LeMahieu and Luke Voit went a combined 8-for-13 with six runs scored and four runs batted in.

Cameron Maybin drove in the second run of the inning, as he singled in Torres, while Gio Urshela went to second. Urshela singled just before Maybin. Madison Bumgarner was able to regroup, as he got Austin Romine to groundout to Bumgarner and then Mike Tauchman struck out swinging to end the inning.

It may have taken 26 games, but the Giants finally scored in the first inning, as Tyler Austin singled, then Brandon Belt doubled Austin to third and then Buster Posey hit a sacrifice fly to Maybin that allowed Austin to score.

Urshela drove in the Yankees third run of the evening, as he singled to left field to score Voit, who singled to lead off the third inning, went to second on a Torres sacrifice bunt and then scored on the Urshela single. Urshela advanced an additional 90 feet, when Belt misplayed the ball in left field.

Voit got in on the act in the top of the fifth inning, as he doubled to left to score LeMahieu, as Voit stretched streak of reaching base up to 37 games in a row.

The power-hitting first baseman ended the night by going 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and three RBIs.

Steven Duggar came up with the defensive play of the night in that fifth inning, as he threw out Voit attempting to go to third base. It was the ninth outfield assist of the season for the Giants, tying them for the most in the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox and the Miami Marlins.

The Yankees lengthened their lead in the top of the sixth inning, as Thairo Estrada picked up his first major league RBI, as he singled to center field to score Austin Romine.

Buster Posey cut the Yankees lead down to 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he doubled to score Austin and then Yangervis Solarte drove in Posey, as he singled.

It was a nice return to the Bay Area for LeMahieu, who played for the Colorado Rockies from 2012-2018, and began his career with the Chicago Cubs in 2011.

James Paxton pitched a great game for the Yankees, as he went 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits, walking two and striking out eight and improved to 3-2 on the season.

Bumgarner also went 5.2 innings, allowing five runs, on five hits, while not walking a batter and striking out five and saw his record fall to 1-4 on the season.

The 11 hits allowed by Bumgarner tied a career-high, as it was the fourth time that he gave up 11 hits in a game. The last time that Bumgarner gave up 11 hits in the same game was on September 11, 2012 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

NOTES: With their run in the first inning, the Giants now have been outscored 16-1 in the opening frame and are now 9-for-84 at the plate, a .107 clip.

While the Yankees have a MLB-high 13 players on the injured list, the Giants have just one player on the IL, as Johnny Cueto is on the 60-day disabled list, while he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Jordan Montgomery, Dellin Betances, Jacoby Ellsbury, Didi Gregorius, Ben Heller, Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Troy Tulowitzki, Greg Bird, Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier are the 13 Yankees currently on the injured list.

This day in Giants history, Cueto threw his first shutout in a Giants uniform, as he shutout the San Diego Padres 1-0. It was also the 100th win of Cuetos career.

On this date in 1961, Roger Maris hit his first of his 61 home runs of the season, as the Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers 13-11 in 10 innings at Tiger Stadium. Mickey Mantle, who hit 54 home runs that season hit home runs from both sides of the plate, as he hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning and then another two-run home run in the top of the 10th inning.

Also on this date in 2005, Alex Rodriguez hit three home runs and drove in 10 runs, as the Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 12-4. Rodriguez became just the second Yankees player to drive in 10 or more runs in a game, trailing Tony Lazzeri, who drove in 11 runs on May 24, 1936, as the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 25-2.

UP NEXT: Derek Holland takes the mound for the Giants, as he makes his sixth start of the season and the 220th start of his career. This will be the 11th career start for Holland against the Yankees, as he is 1-7 with a 6.38 ERA.

J.A. Happ will head to the hill for the Yankees in the middle game of this three-game series, as he looks for his first win of the season against two losses. In his career versus the Giants, Happ is 1-4 with a 4.80 ERA in five career starts.