Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodgers Stadium on Sat Sep 20, 2025 (AP News photo)
MLB The Show podcast Charlie O:
#1 Charlie the Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani is swinging the bats he cracked his 53rd home run on Friday night against the San Francisco Giants. The home run was a 403 foot shot that he parked into the Dodgers grand stands in left field. Ohtani also scored his 140th run of the season a career high.
#2 Cal Raleigh slugged his 57th home run of the season that moved him past former Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey the most home runs by a Mariner in a season. Griffey in 1997 hit 56 home run that achievement got Griffey got him near unanimous induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.
#3 Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout hit his 400th career home run on Saturday night against the Colorado Rockies. Trout who is an 11 time All Star hit the 485 shot in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies that was deposited into the left center field stands. The Angels got the win 3-0 which snapped a eight game skid for the Halos.
#4 New York Yankee Giancarlo Stanton says his 450th home run is a nice round number that he hit on Saturday night against the Baltimore Orioles on the way to a 6-1 win. Stanton now now has played in 1719 games joining Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez and Harmon Killebrew who got to 450 faster than Stanton.
#5 The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-0 for their tenth win in a row on Saturday and swept a doubleheader shutting out the Twins twice in front game and in the night cap. The Guardians have now won 15 of their last 16 games and are closing in on first place Detroit in the AL Central. How much of that speaks to the great job that Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt has done someone you spoke with often when he used to play in Oakland?
St. Louis CITY striker Brendan McSorley celebrates his second goal against the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park during St. Louis’ 3-1 victory on Saturday SEP 20, 2025. (St. Louis CITY)
by Marko Ukalovic
SAN JOSE — Brendan McSorley picked a good time to score his first career MLS goals.
McSorley scored twice in his first ever start for St. Louis CITY SC as they defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on Saturday evening at PayPal Park.
It was only McSorley’s third appearance for CITY as the former Providence Friar started the season with St. Louis’ developmental team CITY2 and signed his first professional contract just two weeks ago on September 5th.
For San Jose this loss marks its third in a row and impeded its chances of earning the 9th place and final wild card spot in the Western Conference with three matches left in the regular season. St Louis CITY has won two games in a row for just the second time this season and has points in three consecutive matches.
St. Louis CITY (7-17-7-28-points) drew first blood in the 10th minute. Chris Durkin crossed the ball into the box over to Joao Klauss along the right slot. Klauss headed the ball back into the middle where an unmarked Brendan McSorley one-timed the ball out of the air past Quakes goalkeeper Daniel for his first goal of the season.
San Jose (9-14-8-35 points) had two set piece opportunities two minutes apart in the 16th and 18th minute to score the equalizer, both corner kicks. First in the 16th minute, Cristian Espinoza found Dave Romney inside the box, but Romey’s header was easily saved by CITY goalkeeper Roman Burki. Then in the 18th minute, Chicho Arango’s header from Espinoza’s corner kick sailed just wide right of the net.
Marcel Hartel doubled CITY’s lead in the 19th minute. A long ball in from Durkin made its way over to McSorley just outside the box. McSorley found Hartel who spun and fired a shot past Daniel for his seventh goal of the season. Hartel is second in goals for St. Louis CITY two behind Klauss who leads the team with nine.
The Earthquakes cut their deficit in half when Arango earned a penalty kick in the 29th minute after he was tripped inside the box by right wing Célio Pompeu. Two minutes later, Arango cashed in the penalty with a blistering shot to the left corner of the net for his team leading 13th goal of the season.
McSorley recorded his brace just before halftime. Hartel crossed the ball into the box from just outside the D and McSorley’s diving header sneaked into the bottom left corner of the net for his second goal of the season in the 45th minute.
San Jose turned the momentum to start the second half by creating quality scoring chances only to have those chances blocked or saved by Burki, including four saves in the first 17 minutes. Burki’s best save came in the 80th minute off a right footed blast from Arango.
Burki finished with seven shots on nine shots on target to earn his sixth victory of the season. Daniel made three saves on six shots on target in the losing effort.
GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 11 corner kicks. St. Louis CITY had three.
Tonight’s attendance was 15,337.
UP NEXT: San Jose travels down to Southern California to take on San Diego FC on Saturday September 27 at 7:30pm at Snapdragon Stadium.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani slugs a home run off of San Francisco reliever Joel Peguero as catcher Patrick Bailey watches in the bottom of the sixth inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Sat Sep 20, 2025 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
Despite a great start for the San Francisco Giants (76-79) taking a 4-0 lead in the first inning, they dropped game three to the Los Angeles Dodgers (88-67) 7-5. The Dodgers gobbled up that lead and by the fourth inning had tied up the game.
They took the lead in the fifth inning and never looked back. The Giants only had a single home run, the Dodgers had four home runs in this game. Shohei Ohtani hit his 53 home run of the season.
Game recap: The Giants got a great start in the first inning scoring four runs. Bryce Eldridge doubled to left driving in three runners, clearing the bases. Matt Chapman, Heliot Ramos and Willy Adames all scored on the double for a 3-0 lead.
Eldridge would score when Drew Gilbert walked for the fourth run and the Giants had a 4-0 lead. While it was a nice lead it was still very early in the game and we have seen San Francisco go silent after great early innings.
The Dodgers scored a couple of runs in the first inning. Max Muncy homered to right center with Freddie Freeman on base for the two runs. It did not stop there. In the fourth inning Michael Conforto hit a solo home run and the Dodgers trailed the Giants by a single run 4-3. Los Angeles would tie up this game when Freddie Freeman singled Shohei Ohtani home.
The Dodgers hit solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings taking a 6-4 lead. Tommy Edman hit the first one in the fifth and Ohtani hit his 53rd home run of the season in the sixth. Once again the Giants had let a great start slip right through their fingers. After scoring the four run in the first inning they had not scored through the next five innings negating the nice start.
Los Angeles continued to extend their lead scoring a run in the bottom of the sixth taking a 7-4 lead. Teoscar Hernandez singled Mookie Betts home and the Dodgers were rolling.
San Francisco was running out of innings going into the seventh inning. Rafael Devers hit a solo home run in the seventh inning but the Giants needed a whole lot more with only two innings left in the game. They still trailed 7-5. So far both teams had eight hits through seven innings.
The Dodgers took the 7-5 lead into the top of the ninth inning. With the exception of the Devers home run in the seveth inning the Giants offense had gone silent. Devers led off the inning and grounded out.
He was followed by Adames who struck out. Chapman came to the plate, the Giants last hope and lined out. The Dodgers had won the third game of the series 7-5. Los Angeles would be going for a sweep in Sunday’s game four.
Game notes: Saturday night the age-old rivals the Giants and the Dodgers played the third game of their four game series and this one stung as the Giants couldn’t maintain the lead and have now have lost three straight to the Dodgers with game four of the series Sunday.
The Dodgers won the first three games of the series Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Friday was an emotional night for the Dodgers as the incomparable Clayton Kershaw pitched his final regular season game. He left the mound after 5 1/3 innings as the entire stadium recognized his amazing career. The game continued after the ovation and Los Angeles really piled it on in the bottom of the fifth inning taking a 5-2 lead and eventually winning game two 6-3.
Giants starter for Saturday Kai Wei Teng pitched for three innings allowed one hit and two runs with two walks and six strike outs. But it was Joel Peguero the Giants fourth reliever who got touched up pitching 1.2 innings allowing five hits and three runs.
This series will wrap up Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 PM. Trevor McDonald will take the mound for the Giants. He has a 9.00 ERA. The Dodgers plan on starting Emmet Sheehan. He has a 6-3 win/loss record and a 3.17 ERA.
Virginia Cavaliers wide receiver Trell Harris (11) makes a catch over the Stanford Cardinal cornerback Collin Wright (6) in first half action at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville VA on Sat Sep 20, 2025 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
The Virginia Cavaliers (3-1) defense just stuck it to the Stanford Cardinal (1-3) on Saturday at Scott Stadium. The Cardinal just couldn’t get any offense going scoring only 14 points in the first half and six points in the third quarter to keep up with the Cavaliers and picking up their third loss of the season 48-20.
Virginia got right after it in the first quarter taking an early 7-0 lead in the opening minutes. Quarterback Chandler Morris found Trell Harris for three yards and the touchdown. Stanford answered right back scoring in the first quarter at 8:27.
Five plays later quarterback Ben Gulbranson drove downfield for 76 yards and a touchdown to tie up the game seven apiece. Gulbranson found Benji Blackburn for five yards and the touchdown to even this game.
Virginia scored a second touchdown in the first quarter extending their lead to 14-7. Quarterback Chandler Morris threw a bomb downfield to Trell Harris for 75 yards and a touchdown. The Cavaliers went on a run for the rest of the quarter. with Morris again finding Harris, this time a 27 yard pass and Virginia had a 21-7 lead going into the second quarter.
The Cardinal were able to keep stride with Virginia in the second half of this game. The Cavaliers did score first in the second quarter to push their lead out to 28-7. Morris rushed for 13 yards and the touchdown.
The Cardinal were able to score in the final seconds of the half. They took the ball downfield; 80 yards in less than 90 seconds. Micah Ford rushed for 3 yards and the score keeping this a two-touchdown game. The Cardinal were able to match the Cavaliers in the second quarter. Virginia would start the second half with the ball.
The Cavaliers picked up where they left off in the second quarter driving downfield with ease for their fifth touchdown of the day taking a 35-14 lead. Morris connected with Sage Ennis for 13 yards and the score.
This was Morris’ fourth touchdown of the day. The Cavaliers would go on to extend their lead 38-14 kicking their first field goal of the day, a 27 yard Will Bettridge boot. With 5:35 left in the quarter, Stanford had a lot of work to do.
Gulbranson got right to work airing out the ball with just over four minutes left in the quarter for 68 yards caught in stride by Bryce Farrell, his first touchdown this season. The two-point attempt failed and the Cardinal trailed 38-20. Gulbranson had completed a number of impressive passes so far in this game.
Going into the fourth quarter Virginia had established a 38-20 lead looking for their third win of the season. Virginia would drive into the red zone early in the quarter threatening to extend their lead.
Unable to score the touchdown, Virginia kicked their second field goal of the day pushing their lead back out to three touchdowns 41-20. The Cavaliers had their third sack of the game resulting in a Stanford fumble and Virginia had forced the first turnover of the game with under nine minutes left on the clock.
The Cavaliers were back in business in Stanford territory. They would to on to score their sixth touchdown of the night taking a 48-20 lead. Stanford did drive deep into Virginia territory in the final minutes but failed to score. They attempted a field goal at the end but it failed.
Game notes: Saturday evening the Cardinal traveled back east for a matchup with the Cavaliers. Virginia came into this game a 15+ point favorite. The Cardinal faced a power-house offense that put their defense to the test.
The Cavaliers were averaging 265 yards per game. Looking at the Stanford offense, Cardinal quarterback Ben Gulbranson was challenged by the Virginia defense all afternoon. After starting this season and looking like probably the worst Power Four team in football Stanford went out and upset Boston College last week 30-20 despite being a two-touchdown underdog.
Boston had some unfortunate plays and monster mistakes that resulted in the loss. Now the Cardinal travel cross country to take on the Cavaliers who have not not been overly impressive but they may not have to be in this matchup.
Virginia went down to the the wire against NC State, a road game, in their only loss. They blew away Coastal Carolina 48-7 and W & M 55-13. Stanford didn’t pose much of a threat to the Cavaliers. Stanford really struggled with passing issues.
Going forward the Cardinal could run into a lot of trouble against east teams. Virginia had a balanced attack through the air, as well as on the ground. In this game being played at home the Cavaliers they just ran away with this game.
Despite the lop-sided score Stanford was competitive in this game for much of the time. They had some really nice passing plays but just did not have the consistency needed to overcome the Cavaliers. Stanford quarterback Ben Gulbranson finished with 286 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bryce Farrell had 135 receiving yards.
Sacramento A’s starter Luis Morales pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the bottom of the first inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Sat Sep 20, 2025 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s go quiet in Pittsburgh as bats freeze against Pirates pitching
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento Athletics rolled into Pittsburgh’s PNC Park Saturday night with the swagger expected of a club that had taken seven of its last eight. But baseball has a way of humbling even the hottest teams, and Saturday night, the bats of the Green and Gold fell silent in a 2-0 loss to the Pirates.
From the first pitch at 6:42 p.m., it was clear the A’s weren’t going to find many friendly bounces. Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh’s rookie right-hander, entered the night with a 5.66 ERA but looked like he was back on the Florida showcase circuit, mowing down the A’s lineup with a calm efficiency that belied his numbers.
Chandler punched out six Sacramento hitters through five innings, including a first-inning one-two-three of Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, and Nick Kurtz, all swinging or fouling into outs. That set the tone for the kind of night it would be.
Luis Morales, the A’s own rookie arm, took the mound with a 4-1 record and a crisp 3.08 ERA. He didn’t implode, but he also didn’t have much room for error. Morales surrendered just four hits in his outing, but two left the yard.
Nick Yorke struck first in the second inning with a solo shot to left, his first in the big leagues, giving the home crowd something to cheer about and putting the A’s in an early hole. An inning later, Bryan Reynolds added his 16th homer of the season, this one a blast to right-center that doubled the Pirates’ lead.
And that was all Pittsburgh needed. The rest of the night belonged to their bullpen, which combined with Chandler to scatter just three Sacramento hits, Wilson’s double in the second, Harris being plunked in the third, and nothing else that resembled a threat. From the fourth inning on, the A’s never put a runner past first base.
Shea Langeliers, who has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters since the All-Star break with 18 home runs and 34 extra-base hits in that stretch, couldn’t find the spark. He struck out three times, leaving his bat mostly ornamental.
Rooker, fresh off reaching the 30-homer plateau for the third straight season, also wore the collar, fanning in all four trips. Even Kurtz, the rookie phenom whose 33 long balls have him leading all Major League first-year players, looked mortal as he went down swinging twice and grounded out weakly once.
The A’s had some defense to hang their hats on. Jacob Wilson, Sacramento’s other Rookie of the Year candidate, doubled in the second and made several sharp plays at shortstop, including a heads-up throw to catch Yorke trying to stretch his luck on the bases in the fourth.
Morales himself settled after the Reynolds blast, retiring seven of the final eight he faced. But when your offense can’t get out of neutral, tidy defense and solid pitching performances turn into footnotes instead of headlines.
By the seventh, the game had the feel of inevitability. Pirates reliever Braxton Ashcraft entered and didn’t blink, striking out five of the nine hitters he faced. Dennis Santana came on in the ninth to finish it, needing just a groundout, a flyout, and one more strikeout of Rooker to slam the door shut.
The 2-0 defeat was the A’s 82nd of the season, officially guaranteeing a fourth straight losing campaign, something the franchise hasn’t endured since the dark days of 1993 through 1998. Yet, perspective matters. This team had already secured more wins than any A’s club in the past four years, and the Green and Gold still boast a pair of rookies in Kurtz and Wilson who look like franchise cornerstones.
Baseball fans in Sacramento won’t take much solace in moral victories, but they can at least see the outlines of a competitive future. For now, though, the reality is simple: when the A’s don’t homer, they don’t win. They are 46-9 this season when out-homering opponents, but just 10-46 when the other side takes them deep more often. Saturday fell squarely in that latter column.
The series wraps up Sunday with a day game before the A’s return home to close out 2025 against Houston and Kansas City. The Pirates, long out of the playoff picture, were just playing spoiler. And on this night, spoil they did.
Starting pitchers for Sunday: For Sacramento RHP Mitch Spence (3-5 ERA 4.48) for Pittsburgh RHP Mike Burrows (2-4 ERA 4.10) first pitch 10:35 am PT.
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.
Sacramento A’s second baseman Zack Gelof is laid out with a dislocated left shoulder while surrounded by A’s manager Mark Kotsay, the trainer and teammates in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Fri Sep 19, 2025 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Lincoln Juarez:
#1 Lawrence Butler’s three-run homer in the fifth inning powered the A’s past the Pirates Friday night. It was his 21st home run of the year.
#2 Luis Severino picked up his seventh win of the season Friday night throwing five innings allowing one earned run.
#3 Nick Kurtz tied Jose Canseco for the most home runs by an A’s rookie with his 33rd of the season Friday night.
#4 The A’s have won seven of their last eight games after taking game one against the Pirates.
#5 Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend Luis Morales will start for the A’s and the Pirates have yet to announce a starter for Saturday.
#6 Zack Gelof dislocated his shoulder in the bottom of the fifth inning and will miss the rest of the season.
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.
Sacramento A’s Lawrence Butler (4) is greeted at home plate by teammates Carlos Cortes (26) and Zack Gelof (20) after hitting a three run home run in the top of the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Sat Sep 19, 2025 (AP News photo)
Athletics Grind Out Narrow 4-3 Win Over Pirates
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento A’s had to claw their way through mistakes, momentum swings, and a stubborn Pittsburgh Pirates lineup, but when the dust settled at PNC Park, they escaped with a 4-3 victory Friday night.
A’s starter, Luis Severino, labored through early trouble after Darell Hernaiz’s throwing error opened the door for a three-run first inning capped by Bryan Reynolds’ RBI single and Nick Gonzales’ sacrifice fly. Down 3-0 before they even picked up a bat in the second, the Green and Gold looked like they might be in for a long night. Instead, they steadied themselves, relying on power and patience to flip the script.
Nick Kurtz put Sacramento on the board with his 33rd home run of the season in the fourth, then Lawrence Butler delivered the knockout punch an inning later, launching a three-run blast to right-center that put the A’s ahead 4-3.
From there, the bullpen took control. Elvis Alvarado, Brady Basso, Justin Sterner, and Michael Kelly combined to cover the final four innings, striking out six and stranding runners in scoring position to preserve the one-run edge.
The ninth was not without drama: Rafael Flores doubled to lead off for Pittsburgh, and a Bryan Reynolds grounder moved pinch-runner Alexander Canario to third with only one out. But Kelly refused to buckle. After walking Andrew McCutchen to set up the force, he induced Tommy Pham into a game-ending double play, with Brett Harris starting a crisp 5-4-3 turn that sealed the win.
While Sacramento managed only six hits and struck out ten times, their ability to capitalize on two swings, the homers from Kurtz and Butler, proved the difference. The Pirates, meanwhile, outhit the A’s and forced multiple delays due to injuries and substitutions, but they never answered after their early burst.
Sacramento’s offense showed just enough pop, the bullpen showed resilience, and the defense, shaky at the start, tightened when it mattered.
Saturday’s starters for Sacramento Luis Morales (4-1 ERA 3.08) and Pittsburgh has not announced a starter first pitch 3:40pm PT.
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.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tips his cap to the Dodgers Stadium crowd after pitching his last regular season home game against the San Francisco Giants on Fri Sep 19, 2025. Kershaw is retiring after the 2025 post season. (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
The San Francisco Giants (76-78) dropped a second game to the Los Angeles Dodgers (87-67) 6-3 mid-way through their four-game series. They had distraction to contend with as the final appearance of Clayton Kershaw was the focus of much of this game.
They did take the early lead but the Dodgers turned the tables on them in the fifth inning, Kershaw’s final inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning Los Angeles hit back-to-back home runs off the bats of Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts taking a 5-2 lead.
Game recap: The Giants sent a message in the first at bat in the first inning. Heliot Ramos hit a solo home run to center for 431 feet taking an early 1-0 lead. San Francisco will be looking to add some insurance runs early in the game and put up a lot more hits on the board than last nights one hit. It was a lackluster offensive effort and the Giants have got to get their bats going especially against a team with the lineup that the Dodgers have.
The Mets have already won tonight, the Reds have already won and the Diamondbacks lost to the Phillies by the score of 8-2. This is simply another must win for San Francisco.
The Giants were unable to add any runs in the second inning but the Dodgers did tie up the game in the second off the bat of Miguel Rojas 1-1 who homered to left center. San Francisco broke the tie in the third inning taking the lead back 2-1.
Wilmer Flores singled driving base runner Matt Chapman home from third base and San Francisco already had three hits in this game. Through three innings Kershaw already had four walks but also had four strikeouts. This was of course an extremely emotional game for him and manager Dave Roberts was hoping he could get through five innings.
Kershaw took the mound for the final time in the fifth inning. It all started with a strikeout in 2008 and it ended in the fifth inning this evening striking out Rafael Devers. He was relieved by Edgardo Henriquez but not before a huge ovation at Dodger Stadium erupted and Kershaw received an ovation full of appreciation, respect and love from Dave Roberts, his teammates and everyone in the stadium.
We all got to witness history. To make this inning even more memorable, Otani went on to hit a 3-run home run giving the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. Mookie Betts kept the party going coming to the plate and hitting another home run giving Los Angeles a 5-2 lead.
San Francisco pitcher Robbie Ray exited the game after 5 2/3 innings. He was relieved by Spencer Bivens. The Dodgers roughed him up in the bottom of the fifth inning hitting the back-to-back home runs. That would be it for Ray.
The Dodgers would add to their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Andy Pages doubled Rojas home from second base giving Los Angeles a 6-2 lead. The Giants had given up back-to-back doubles but finally got out of the inning. Going into the seventh inning San Francisco had a lot of work left to do but were running out of innings.
The Giants would make up a little ground scoring a run in the seventh inning but still trailing 6-3. Chapman singled Willy Adames home from second base. Going into the eighth inning San Francisco needed hits but instead went three and out. They were three outs away from dropping game two of the series.
San Francisco put two runners on base in the ninth inning. Christian Koss singled and Adames walked with one out. Devers struck out and the Giants were down to their last out. Chapman popped out and that was the ball game 6-3 in favor of the Dodgers.
Game notes: Friday evening the Giants lost the Dodgers in game two of their four game series. This is the final series between these two rival teams this season. Friday night’s game also marks the final time the Giants saw Clayton Kershaw on the mound.
Kershaw entered the game with 415 strikeouts with his lowest ERA a sparkling 2.08. Whether you are a Giants fan or a Dodgers fan there is no argument that he is one of the greatest pitchers to ever start for Los Angeles.
He has without doubt made life pretty miserable for the Giants through the years. It is hard to imagine baseball without him but this day comes for all of these guys when they make the difficult decision to leave the game.
He has worn “Dodger Blue” for 18 years so he will go into this game with mixed emotions. He sure has given Dodger fans so much to celebrate and cheer for. For San Francisco starter Robbie Ray 4.2 innings allowed 4.2 innings, five hits, five earned runs, two walks and five strike outs. Kershaw pitched 4.1 innings, four hits, two runs, four walks and six strikeouts.
San Francisco now has some ground to make up if they want to tie this series. Trailing 2-0 in the series has pretty much knocked them out of playoff contention. Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:10 PM. Kai Wei Teng will take the mound for San Francisco with a 2-4 win/loss record and a 6.41 ERA. The Dodgers will start Tyler Glasnow. He has a 3-3 win/loss record and a 3.06 ERA.
Los Angeles Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto was dealing against the San Francisco Giants allowing just one hit. The Giants Patrick Bailey got the only hit for San Francisco at Dodgers Stadium Thu Sep 18, 2025 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
It was a good old-fashioned pitchers duel through the first six innings of game one of the four-game series between the San Francisco Giants (76-77) and their rival the Los Angeles Dodgers (86-67) at Dodgers Stadium.
San Francisco only had one hit through six innings in another lackluster game in fact, the Giants would finish the game with only one hit and suffered scoring runs losing 2-1. Giant pitcher Logan Webb went seven innings allowing four hits and one run with five strikeouts. He gave the Giants a chance to win but San Francisco’s lack of offense was the deciding factor.
Game recap: The game was a good old-fashioned pitching duel through the first six innings. It was Los Angeles that broke through for the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Mookie Betts grounded into a fielder’s choice to shortstop and Ben Rortvedt scored on a Patrick Bailey error for the first run of the game. The Dodgers would score a second run when Freddie Freeman singled Shohei Ohtani home for a 2-0 lead.
San Francisco would finally get up on the scoreboard in the seventh inning. It was a tough inning for Dodger pitcher Michael Kopech who walked the first two batters he faced. With one out Blake Treinen took over on the mound.
Treinen walked Heliot Ramos to load the bases. Treinen walked Rafael Devers for the Giants first run of the game. He struck out the next two Giant batter, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman.
With the score 2-1 in favor of the Dodgers, Los Angeles closed out this game. The Giants went three and out in the eighth inning and pretty much the same in the ninth with another three and out inning and that was the ball game.
Los Angeles had won game one 2-1 and now the Giants had fallen four games behind the Mets for the third wild card. San Francisco had only one hit in this game and the one run.
It was another great game for Shohei Ohtani with two huge hits. Yamamoto and the Dodger bullpen combined on the one-hitter. Ohhtani had a couple of doubles that bounced off the wall en-route to the win. He also scored one run. The Dodgers have now won eight of their last 11 matchups. They have had their struggles on the mound though with 23 walks in the first four games of this current home-stand.
Starting pitcher for San Francisco Logan Webb went seven innings allowing four hits, one run, one walk and five strikeouts. Patrick Bailey was the only Giant with a hit. With this loss the Giants are now three games behind the Mets with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cincinnati Reds ahead of San Francisco.
Game notes: The Giants lost to the Dodgers in game one of their four-game series. The Giants are three games back of third for a wild card spot and unfortunately couldn’t take advantage as the Mets beat the Padres Thursday night and lost a full game.
A Giants win would have keep them in stride with New York. There are only nine games left in the season so this was another missed opportunity for San Francisco.
Giants starter Logan Webb pitched will enough to win but just didn’t get the run support. Webb going seven innings allowing four hits and one run.
Friday night the Giants will face the Dodgers in game two of their series. In Thursday’s game Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement at the end of the season. He will take the mound Thursday in his final regular season home start.
The Giants will have Robbie Ray starting with a 11-7 win/loss record and a 3.50 ERA. Kershaw has a 12-2 win/loss record and a 3.53 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM.
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) celebrates after a play against the Seattle Storm during the first half of Game 3 in the first round of the WNBA basketball playoffs Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
By Rich Perez
LAS VEGAS–This game was not decided until the final seconds of the game as the Las Vegas Aces( 2-1) beat the Seattle Storm (1-2) 74-73 winning the series and moving on to the semifinals where they will meet the Indiana Fever on Sunday.
This game went right down to the wire with the Aces coming out on top. A’Ja Wilson just kept on doing her thing which is always extraordinary. She finished the game with 38 points carrying the team on her back. She got great support from Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray.
Game recap: The Storm had the lead after the first ten minutes of play 19-14 and as the second quarter got underway the Aces surged taking the quarter 19-7 and leading at the half 33-26. They would be looking to take that momentum into the second half.
The Storm refused to fold outscoring the Aces in the third quarter 22-19 and pulling to within four points 48-52. It would turn out to be a barn-burner of a fourth quarter.
The Aces continued to hold onto the lead but could not put much distance between themselves and the Storm. Seattle continued to hang around. With under seven minutes left in the game it was a one-point differential 58-57 with Las Vegas clinging to the lead.
The Aces pushed their lead back out to 66-61 with under three minutes left in the game. With under two minutes left in the game it was all tied up at 68 as the Storm continued to punch back refusing to throw in the towel.
The last two minutes in the game were not designed for the weak-of-heart. Both teams dug deep with the Storm taking the lead 71-70 with 1:14 left on the clock. At 1:03 Las Vegas took back the lead 72-71 but this game was far from over.
The Storm’s Erica Wheeler gave her team the lead back 73-72 with 19.3 left in this game. Wilson missed a jump shot that was rebounded by Young who tipped the shot in for a 74-73 lead. With 12.4 on the clock, the Aces did a bang-up job on defense in the final seconds forcing a missed shot from Erica Wheeler and that was the ball game. The Las Vegas Aces had won the game 74-73 and the series moving onto the next round.
Nneka Ogwumike had the high for the Storm with 16 points and Skylar Diggins had 13 points. Off the bench Wheeler was magnificent with 16 points putting her team in a great position to win this game. She ironically hit the shot in the closing minutes that gave the Storm the lead but she also missed the shot at the very end of the game as the clock ran out.
Wilson had an amazing showing scoring 38 points and Young hit 14 points with Chelsea Gray scoring 12 points. Jewell Loyd had four points and Dana Evans only two, a quiet night for both of them.
Game notes: Thursday night the Aces beat the Storm in game 3 of their series to advance to round 2 of the WNBA playoffs. After splitting the series the Aces they win game 3 at Michelob ULTRA Arena moving on to the semifinals.
Tuesday night the Aces had a 79-70 lead with four minutes left in the game. Everything indicated an Aces win but fouls, turnovers and missed shots let Seattle back in the game and they took full advantage scoring 16 points in the final minutes while the Aces were stuffed only scoring four points.
Now Las Vegas won the winner-take-all game. The good news for the Aces is that with the 2nd seed they had home court advantage. A’Ja Wilson has said “home crowds are always like your sixth man,” and the Aces will really need them Thursday night.
The way they fell off to close out the game Tuesday was very unlike the Aces who typically finish strong. Neither team has roster player injuries and it was a hotly contested game. The Las Vegas loss broke the teams 17 straight win streak and they got back on the winning track.
An eventual loss was a possibility but it was painful nonetheless. The Las Vegas collapse in the final four minutes was something they had not seen in their past 17 games. The loss got the Aces back on track and even more determined as they advanced in the playoffs.
The Aces will broiught their “A game”; they knew what they had to do to win this game. The sell-out crowd was their ally from start to finish as they strived to move onto the next round.
The Las Vegas Aces will now move on to the semifinals for a matchup with the Indiana Fever. The Fever upset the Atlanta Dream Thursday night 87-85 to move onto the next round. Tipoff for this game is scheduled for Sunday September 21 at 12:00PM. The second seeded Aces will meet the Fever at Michelob ULTRA Arena for game one of this series.
