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Matt Olson’s walk-off single ends third longest game in A’s history with 12-11 win over White Sox

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Chicago White Sox: 11 | 17 | 0
Oakland Athletics: 12 | 16 | 0
14 innings

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND — When Andrew Triggs took the mound for the Oakland Athletics this afternoon, the team hoped to sweep the Chicago White Sox in their three-game series that had opened on Monday evening. 23 runs, 33 hits, 556 pitches, and five hours and 48 minutes later, Marcus Semien crossed home plate with the winning run, giving the A’s their fourth consecutive triumph, their ninth victory, and their first series sweep of the season. It also brought the team within two games of the Seattle Mariners for third place in the strong American League West.

The game began uneventfully enough and soon settled into a long and boring slug fest, with Oakland on the short end of the stick until the bottom of the eighth.

The White Sox used their speed to take an early lead after Yoán Moncada led off with a single, stole second, and scored on Nicky Delmonico’s single to center. Oakland tied the game in their half of the first when Matt Joyce doubled off Chicago’s starting pitcher, Carson Fulmer, went to third on Marcus Semien’s single, and then Jed Lowrie popped out on a 3-0 offering, scoring on Khris Davis’ grounder to first.

The brief equilibrium between the teams ended in the White Sox’ next turn at bat. With the bases loaded and no outs, Adam Engel, batting all of .188, singled, bringing Leury García in with the tie-breaking run and leaving the bases full. Moncada then deposited a 1-0 delivery by Triggs over the Stanley Tools sign in right field.  Just like that, the A’s trailed 6-1. Three batters later, Danny Coulombe was pitching for the Green and Gold.

The A’s scrambled back into cont ention in the bottom of the frame on Mark Canhas lead-off homer to left and a sacrifice fly by Semien to center that plated Stephen Piscotty. The next man up, Bruce Maxell, walked and eventually reached third, from where he scored even though it looked to first base umpire as if Héctor Sánchez, who had entered the game to pitch for Chicago after the walk to Maxwell, had induced Lowrie to ground into an inning-ending double play. Miller’s call was reversed on an appeal that took 45 seconds to be decided, a brevity that stood out in the context of what was, and continued for a few more innings to be, a v e r y s l o w m o v i n g game.

In the top of the fourth, full count walks to Moncada and Sánchez ended Coulombe’s stint on the mound. Santiago Casilla came in as the third Oakland hurler, and he allowed José Abreu a double on a hard line driven double to left center that both runners and put the White Sox up, 8-4. Davidson singled to left, and it was 9-4.

Oakland came charging back right away. After Sánchez issued a four pitch passport to Joyce, Aaron Bummer relieved his teammate. Lowrie and Davis singled, Davis’s hit driving in Lowrie. Olson doubled, scoring Davis. Right hander Chris Volstad came into pitch to Matt Chapman, who singled Olson home, and it was a one-run game, 9-8. That was the only hit Volstad would allow before being relieved by Danny Farquhar at the end of the seventh.

The game was getting interesting. Chicago tacked on another run in the sixth on singles off Emilio Pagán by Abreu, Delmonico, and Leury García. But it still looked like anyone’s ball game.

And then, bingo! Farquhar took over from Volstad, who, after three and a third strong innings, had done all he could to preserve the Chicago lead. Stephen Piscotty greeted Farquhar with a double to left center and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Maxwell brought him home with a sac fly to right. That was it for the Farquhar.

In came southpaw Luis Avilán. He got Chad Pinder, pinch hitting for Joyce, to fly out to center but walked Semien. Lowrey then planted Avilán’s 3-2 change up behind the Rooted in Oakland sign, 375 feet away in left field. For the first time in the game, the A’s were leading, 10-9.

Melvin called on his closer, Brad Treinin, to give him the three outs Oakland needed to seal an exciting 10-9 victory. Treinin gave him two. Then the two-one punch of a Welington Castillo double and a Tim Anderson single knotted the game up again at ten.
Oakland failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, and the game went into extra innings. Treinin allowed the White Sox two singles but no runs in the 10th and shut them down 1-2-3 in the 11th.

Lou Trivino, who had made his big league debut the night before with a wobbly, but score-free inning of relief, entered the game to start the twelfth. He got out of that pressure chamber with a double and a single but without allowing a run. He didn’t allow anyone to reach base in the 13th or 14th.

Joakin Soria allowed two A’s singles in the 10th, but, like Treinin, escaped without allowing anyone to score. Bruce Rondón got through the 11th in spite of a passed ball by Narváez that allowed Piscotty, who had walked, to reach scoring position with two outs. Rondón also kept Chicago alive through the 12th by striking out Pinder and Semien and getting Lowrie to ground out to second. He also got into trouble but escaped unharmed in the 13th.

It was in the bottom of the 14th that the A’s finally completed their comeback victory. Big game James Shields, now Long Game James Shields made his first relief appearance since 2010 and got both Lucroy and Pinder to fly out to center field. Then he gave up a single to Semien, who proceeded to steal second. This was a pivotal play, since it allowed Shields to pitch around the two subsequent batters without fear of putting a meaningful run on base. And so Shields walked Lowrie and Davis, each on five pitches. This brought Olson to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Shields got him to swing and miss on an 83 mph change up. His next pitch was a knuckle curve that Olson blasted over Delmonico’s head and against the left field wall. Semien gleefully bounced home, and the longest game of this short season ended with the A’s on top, 12-11.

The well deserved win went to Trivino, who now boasts an immaculate record of 1-0, 0.00. The loss was charged to Shields (1-1, 4.50).

The A’s will have a chance to recuperate tomorrow and part of Friday before they face the Boston Red Sox at the Coliseum at 7:05 pm PT.

Ex-Athletic lefty Drew Pomeranz is expected to come off the Red Sox’ disabled list and make his first appearance of the season, starting for Boston. Kendall Graveman will pitch for the A’s, who hope he can improve his record of 0-3, 9.97.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks ready to put the finishing touches on Anaheim; Teams face off tonight at SAP for Game 4

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Sharks are on the brink of advancing to the second round. All they need is Game 4 to advance and sweep the Ducks.

#2 Was it that easy for the Sharks to win the first three games in Game 3? It wasn’t even a contest with a 8-1 win.

#3 You can pick anyone of the Sharks who could be the number one star. It seems like a total team effort for them to go up 3-0.

#4 The Ducks stars, in particular Richard Rakell, whose the Ducks’ leading scorer has pretty much been mesmerized by the Sharks’ optical illusion of defense.

#5 So here it is Game 4 tonight at SAP and this could be the Sharks chance to advance to the next round. Mary Lisa tells us how they will do.

Mary Lisa is a beat writer for the San Jose Sharks and does the Sharks podcasts each Wednesday for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Big series starts Thursday night with Roadrunners; Series opens on home ice

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On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The Barracuda are in the playoffs, but it took the last two games of the season to get there they had to win on Friday and then on Saturday home and away to get in.

#2 How vital was Alexander True in scoring twice for San Jose to help them get to the post season?

#3 Do you see Alexander getting a shot at the NHL in his future?

#4 The Barracuda ended the season on a very strong note with six straight wins.

#5 The Barracuda face off with the Tucson Roadrunners starting on Thursday night for Game 1 of the first round in San Jose can the Barracuda get this first round?

Marko does the Barracuda podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: San Jose and Houston match ends in 2-2 draw; plus more Quakes news

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. The San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo battled it out for a 2-2 draw on Spartan Night last Saturday at Avaya Stadium. Give us a quick breakdown of the match.

2. The Dynamo appeared to be desperate for a comeback following a 2-0 shutout loss by the New England Revolution on March 31. What were a few things the Quakes could’ve done better?

3. Magnus Eriksson’s dad unexpectedly showed up to the Quakes’ practice on Tuesday. The team, however, welcomed him to California.

4. The Quakes tweeted a funny GIF of Yeferson Quintana, who turned 22 years old on April 19.

5. Can the Quakes avoid a draw against Orlando City SC this Saturday?

Ana Kieu does the San Jose Earthquakes podcasts each week at SportsRadioService.com.

A’s celebrate 50th anniversary with 10-2 blowout of White Sox

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Photo credit: @Athletics

Chicago White Sox: 2 | 8 | 0

Oakland Athletics: 10 | 13 | 0

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND — At 7:46 in the evening of April 17, 1968, after the players on both teams had been introduced, Miss California had paraded onto the field, Governor Ronald Reagan had thrown out the first ball (and was booed when he asked the crowd if they’d paid their taxes), Lew Krausse did something no one else ever had done; he threw a pitch in a major league game in Oakland. Unfortunately for the A’s, the performance of Baltimore’s Dave McNally, Krause’s opposite number, was a better one. He held the A’s to two hits over nine innings, a solo home run to Rick Monday and a pinch hit single by Tony LaRussa, to defeat the home town team, 4-1. The paid attendance was 50,164.

There was no paid attendance tonight because the Oakland Athletics—four-time world champions, often bloodied, but still, 50 years later, unbowed—celebrated the golden anniversary of that inaugural contest by issuing free tickets to their game against the Chicago White Sox to as many guests as the now venerable Coliseum could hold. 46,028 showed up and watched Lew Krausse throw out the ceremonial first pitch, after which the A’s, resplendent in their 1968 uniforms took on the pale hose, dressed in natty blue 1968 unis.

Starting for the A’s was Trevor Cahill, who, like the Coliseum and the team that calls it home, has seen better days and hopes (a if concrete structure can hope) to see them return. The 30-year-old right handed hurler, pitched for Oakland in 2009-2011, going 18-8, 2.97. Since then, he’s plied his trade for the Diamondbacks, Braves, Cubs, Padres, and Royals. His lifetime major league record is 73-79, .411 (40-35, 3.1 with the A’s). He has been battling injuries for the last two seasons and was on the DL five times in the last two seasons, not counting tonight, his first start in an  Oakland uniform since September 27, 2011. If Cahill didn’t take us back to 1968, he at least took us back to 2010; he was magnificent.

He got off to a rocky beginning, walking Yoan Moncada to start the game, but closing out the frame by setting down the next three batters to keep the White Sox off the board.

The A’s gave Cahill a five-run cushion early on, scoring five runs in their half of the first on Jed Lowrie home run over the right field scoreboard,  Mark Canha’s bases loaded single, which drove in Khris Davis and Matt Olson, and Stephen Pescotti’s double to center, which plated Matt Chapman, who’d walked, and Canha.

With a lead like this to work with, Cahill had no trouble mowing down the Chicago line  up. Working effectively on the basis of two seam fast balls and knuckle curves, he pitched seven complete scoreless innings, allowing only five hits and no walks, while throwing 92 pitches. In only one inning, the third, did the A’s mounds man allow more than one base runner.

Throughout the game, the A’s just kept tacking on tallies. They followed their five-run first with a three-run fourth when Canha, who had hit an infield single, and Piscotty, who had driven a double to left through a drawn-in infield, scored on a single by Jonathan Lucroy, was was advanced to third on a double by Matt Joyce, and then scored on Semien’s sacrifice fly to right.

Lucroy’s single drove Chicago’s hapless starter, Miguel González from the box. He was followed by a parade of four relievers who managed to hold the Oaklanders to only two more runs in the remaining five innings of play. They scored those runs in the eight off Bruce Rendón, who walked Chapman, who advanced to third on Canha’s hooking double down the left field line, and scored on Pescotty’s sacrifice liner to right. Canha’s plated the A’s last run when Lucroy’s single to center, his third hit in four at bats, drove him in.

Melvin brought in Ryan Dull, just up from Nashville, to replace Cahill in the eighth. He surrendered Chicago’s only two runs on a blast into the right field seats by Moncada with Omar Narváez on base. Narváez had struck out and reached first because both he and Lucroy missed Dull’s pitch. Dull ended up striking out four White Sox batters in his one inning of work.

Right handed Lou Trevino made his major league debut in the ninth, pitching in and out of trouble, and emerging unscathed, or at least unscored upon.

Daniel Mengden’s performance last night and Cahill’s tonight as we are hopeful about signs that the A’s rotation, anchored by Sean Manaea, is becoming a force to be reckoned with. In spite of Dull’s four strike out inning and Trevino’s 98+ mph fastball (that’s a redundancy), the bullpen remains a source of uncertainty.

Still, the Athletics now own a record of 8-10, which is approaching respectability. They take on the Chisox at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon with Carson Fulmer (0-1,4.66) joining for the Chicagoans and Andrew Triggs (1-0,2.87), another bright light in the rotation, taking the mound for the hometown team.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Taking a look at how the A’s are faring so far; White Sox just the cure A’s looking for

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:

1) How are the A’s doing so far this season in your opinion?

2) You say starting pitching is a problem–what can the A’s do to chance the situation?

3) Should the A’s be considering making trades for starting pitchers?

4) What should be the A’s immediate goals?

5) Will solving the stadium problem help the A’s get back on track on the field?

Charlie O is your host for the Oakland A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Corbin throws a gem in the desert, Dbacks shutout SF Giants 1-0

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

Patrick Corbin continues to show why he should be considered as one of the top pitchers in the National League.

Corbin threw a one-hit shutout, as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the San Francisco Giants 1-0 at Chase Field Tuesday night.

The left-hander threw exactly 100 pitches, as he allowed just a check swing single to Brandon Belt on the over shift in the top of the eighth inning. Corbin also walked just one and struck out eight.

Corbin was helped out by an outstanding diving catch by AJ Pollock on a Buster Posey lineout that kept the no-hitter intact and ended the seventh inning.

If thought Corbin pitched a great game, just looked at the game that Johnny Cueto, despite not being involved in the decision.

Cueto pitched seventh innings, allowing zero runs on just two hits, not walking a batter and striking out a season-high 11.

The lone run of the game came in the bottom of the eighth inning, as David Peralta hit a Tony Watson pitch threw the infield and into centerfield to score Jarrod Dyson with the only run of the game.

Dyson walked with one out, and went to second on a Corbin sacrifice bunt and then motored home on the Peralta single.

As for Corbin, he got stronger and stronger in the top of the ninth inning, as struck out pinch-hitter Gorkys Hernandez and Austin Jackson and got another pinch-hitter in Nick Hundley to line out to Peralta, who made a running catch to end the game.

The Giants have lost four out of the first five games on their three-city, 10-game road trip thru San Diego, Arizona and then Anaheim.

NOTES: Evan Longoria missed the game after he aggravated the left ankle that he first injured during spring training, and he may miss the next two games. Longoria was replaced in the starting lineup by Pablo Sandoval.

Chris Stratton looks for his second win of the season, as he takes the mound in the second game of the three-game series, while the Diamondbacks will send Robbie Ray to the mound, as he looks to continue his dominance of the National League West. Since August 30 of last season, Ray has won his last six starts.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Dbacks meet again Wednesday night at 6:40 pm PT.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Thompson and Durant are keys to Warriors’ success through first two games

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Photo credit: @NBCWarriors

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 The Warriors, after having that regular season-ending wrinkle, you couldn’t recognize them now. Was this a ploy created by Warriors head coach Steve Kerr to sit his stars down at the end of the regular and give the San Antonio Spurs the element of surprise for the playoffs?

#2 Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson have been a force in these first two games with Durant scoring 32 points and Thompson scoring 31. They make playing against the Spurs like cutting through butter.

David Zizmor does the Golden State Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Francisco Giants-Arizona Diamondback preview: Cueto-Posey both off DL will be tonight’s battery; D-Backs alive and well first in NL West at 11-3

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San Francisco Giants’ second baseman Joe Panik celebrates with teammate Andrew McCutchen on March 29 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

By Jeremy Harness

The San Francisco Giants who lost three of four to the San Diego Padres to start this current road trip open a three game trip against the Arizona Diamondbacks strarting tonight with the Giants Johnny Cueto (1-0) starting on the mound after being on the disabled list since last week. Cueto had trouble throwing and was shelved after the Giants medical team said Cueto was at a 70% performance level but has recovered and is ready to throw at Chase Field tonight.

Also Giants catcher Buster Posey suffered a right thumb injury and is expected back behind the plate tonight. Posey’s bat is vital to the Giants core of the line up but with the injury and having to sit the Giants depended on their other sluggers in the line up Austin Jackson, Andrew McCutchen, Joe Panik, Evan Longoria, but all four struggled against Padres pitching during the four game series.

With Posey back tonight against the Diamondbacks the Giants who have Jackson, McCutchen, Panik, and Longoria should have a potent line up. The Diamondbacks in their own right have been one of the hottest teams in the Majors, they had a three game win streak going up until Sunday night when they ran into the Los Angeles Dodgers and got whipped 7-1.

In that game in Los Angeles Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley who beat the Giants on Thursday the 12th didn’t have the same fortune with the Dodgers. On Sunday he lasted only four innings giving up five hits, giving up six runs, walked six batters and struck out four.

Tonight at Chase Field the Diamondbacks start Patrick Corbin (2-0) ERA 2.45 this is Corbin’s sixth year with the Diamondbacks and the thing that Giants manager is concerned with is Corbin getting off to a great start and keeping hitters off balance when San Francisco needs to touch up Corbin early and get him out of the game early. This will depend soley on the abilities of Jackson .250, Panik .304, and with McCutchen .203 and Longoria .204 both struggling to take advantage and do some of the things that they weren’t able to do in San Diego and get runners on base early and move runners into scoring position.

Notes: Posey who is 15 for 18 for .313 knows how to hit left handed pitching can see the ball well coming out of the pitchers hand could give the left hander Corbin a challenge his handy work will be needed when facing Corbin especially with runners on base. How well Posey comes off this thumb injury only tonight will tell and Posey mainly was hurting when swinging the bats.

Bochy said, “He’ll be fine Tuesday, in the past, there were a couple of times we’ve had to do this get him a day and he’s fine. If we let it go, then it gets to the point he needs more time.” Bochy really wanted to have Posey catch Giants pitcher Tyler Beede who was sent down to triple affiliate Sacramento after he got lit up by the Padres on Sunday going three plus, six hits, five runs, three walks, and six strike outs. Bochy said he would have liked for Beede to have been throwing to Posey but Posey had to sit out with the thumb injury and Nick Hundley took over the catching duties.

Giants vs. Diamondbacks tonight at 6:40PM at Chase Field Jeremy Kahn will have game recap coverage tonight from Chase Field in Phoenix.

Jeremy Harness covers Giants baseball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

Mengden throws gem in A’s 8-1 laugher of White Sox

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Photo credit: @Athletics

Chicago White Sox : 1 | 6 | 4
Oakland Athletics: 8 | 8 | 0

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND — After escaping from Minneapolis, where over 13 inches of snow had caused the postponement of their last three games, the Chicago White Sox must have felt as if they’d be transported to the beach at Waikiki when they took the field Monday evening at the Oakland Coliseum under partly cloudy skies and the thermometer showing 53 degrees.

When he took to the mound, Chicago’s starting pitcher, Reynaldo Pérez, hadn’t thrown a ball in anger in eight days since pitching seven innings of two-hit ball without giving up an earned run, but still managed to lose 1-0 to Detroit. The involuntarily well-rested  righty brought an impressive ERA of 0.69 with him to the Coliseum.

Pérez picked up where he had left off back on April 8, holding the A’s scoreless for the first three innings. Then, Matt Olson blasted Pérez’s first offering in the fourth into the right field seats above the Stanley Tools sign to end an 0-for-12 slump and give the home team a 1-0 lead. They tacked on another run in fifth when Khris Davis’s two-out double  to center drove Matt Joyce in from second to stretch the A’s lead to two runs.

Pérez finished his night’s work by striking out the side in the sixth. He needed only 13 pitches to retire Matt Chapman, Mark Canha, and Stephen Piscotty, in that order.

Atrocious fielding in the seventh and eighth frames cost the Pale Hose any chance they might have had to salvage the game. Luis Avilán relieved Pérez to start the seventh and immediately walked Jonathan Lucroy on a 3-2 count. Matt Joyce laid down a bunt between the mound and first base. First baseman José Abreu fielded, and then bobbled the ball, which was grabbed by Avilán, who threw late to second sacker Yoan Moncada, covering first. Joyce was credited with a sacrifice, Abreu was charged with an error, and the A’s had runners on first and second with nobody out. Marcus Semien’s single to right loaded the bases and set up the next scene in Chicago comedy of errors.

Jed Lowry smacked a hard ground ball to shortstop Tim Anderson, just what Avilán needed to get a double play and minimize the damage Abreu’s miscue had cost him. But the ball skipped through Anderson into left field, where it was fumbled by Leury García, who had just entered the game to replace Nicky Delmonico. Lowrie scored on Anderson’s error, which also allowed Semien to move on to second. He advanced to third on García’s error.

Danny Farquhar came in to replace the put-upon Avilán and did so in splendid fashion, striking out Olson—who, in spite of his home run, went down swinging for the third time in the game—and then closing out the A’s by getting Khris Davis, Oakland’s other RBI producer so far, to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. After seven innings, the A’s led 5-0.

The Green and Gold put the game out of reach in the eighth through a combination of their hitting and Chicago’s continued ineptitude in the field. Christ Volstead surrendered a walk to Chapman to open the inning and then a single to center by Mark Canha, sending Chapman to third. Adam Engel juggled the ball in center, which allowed Canha to reach second.

Piscotty also singled to center, bringing in Chapman with Oakland’s sixth tally and advancing Canha to third. He didn’t get any further because Lucroy’s Volstead fielded Lucroy’s comebacker to mound and fired the ball to his catcher, Welington Castillo, who tagged Canha out before the A’s center fielder could scamper back to third. That was Volstead’s last act of the game, but the runs soon to be scored by Piscotti and Lucroy, the runners he left on base would be charged to his account.

Manager Rick Rentería removed Volstead  and replaced him with Aaron Bummer. who walked Semien and gave up a single to Lowrie, which drove in the A’s final two runs of the game. He also got the two outs needed to end the slaughter.

Meanwhile, Mengden was magnificent. He held the South Siders scoreless on five hits through eight innings, striking out six and giving up but a single walk. In this, he was aided by some nifty fielding, including an inning-ending double play that occurred in the second frame when, with Yolmer Sánchez on first, Anderson hit a sharp ground ball to Chapman at third, who threw the batter out at first. Sánchez, who had reached second, kept on running, expecting to arrive safely at third, but a perfect throw by Olson to Semien, who was covering the bag, retired daring and resourceful Sánchez.

Mengden lost his shutout and complete game when Abreu hit a 400-foot homer to center to lead off the ninth, and Yusmeiro Petit came in to set the remaining White Sox down in order. Mengden got the well-deserved win. He’s now 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA. The loser, López, is 0-2 with a 1.42 ERA.

The two teams will match up tomorrow at 7:05 pm PT with Miguel González facing Trevor Cahill.