Author: Sports Radio Service

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Mets Diaz suspended 10 days for foreign substance; Padres Tatis on 10 day IL with right thigh injury; plus more news

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New York Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz has been suspended for ten games due to having a foreign substance on his right hand against the Chicago Cubs on Sun Jun 23, 2024 against the Chicago Cubs. (AP News photo)

‘On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 New York Mets reliever Edwin Diaz was caught red handed by crew chief umpire Vic Carapazza as Diaz was coming out to relieve in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday Night Baseball against the Chicago Cubs. Carapazza found a sticky substance on Diaz’ right hand. Diaz said it was rosin and sweat that was on his hand. Carapazza said it definitely was not rosin or sweat. Diaz can appeal the ten game suspension issued by MLB and continue to play until the disciplinary process is completed.

#2 San Diego Padres Fernando Tatis Jr has been placed on the ten day IL after getting a stress reaction on his right thigh bone. Tatis had been complaining about quadriceps injury Tatis had been examined for the stress reaction in his femur he had imaging work done a few days. Padres manager Mike Shildt said Tatis could play but it would better if he got rest.

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is experiencing soreness during his rehab after having shoulder surgery. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Kershaw has gone through throwing, velocity, and Roberts said that the soreness is where Kershaw is at right now. Kershaw had an MRI done and there had been no reports of new incidents.

#4 The San Francisco Giants held a very special tribute for the late great Giants outfielder Willie Mays who passed away last week Tuesday. Mays was honored by former and current players and the pre game ceremony was MC’d by Giants lead play by play announcer Jon Miller. It was the Giants first game at home since the passing of Mays.

#5 Amaury, we didn’t get the chance to talk to you about the 1974 Oakland A’s reunion at the Oakland Coliseum Sunday afternoon. The A’s paid tribute to their third World Series Championship team. The players who attended included Darold Knowles, Rollie Fingers, Dave Hamilton, Ted Kubiak, Dick Green, Herb Washington, Billy North, Blue Moon Odom, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, and Bert Campaneris. It was a special day for those players to see each other again. Knowles said that this would probably be the last time that this group we’ll be getting together.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice for the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

#4

NHL Stanley Cup podcast with Len Shapiro: Oilers loss means Canada will have to wait a 32nd year for a Stanley Cup

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The Edmonton Oilers bench feels the pain as they came close but a goal short in their game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise FL on Mon Jun 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The loss in game 7 to the Florida Panthers by the Edmonton Oilers means Canada will have to wait another year to have a shot at winning the Lord Stanley Cup. The Panthers defeated the Oilers in game 7 eliminating Edmonton after coming back down 0-3 to tie the series at 3-3.

#2 Len, it was a close game but the Oilers just couldn’t tie it up while being down most of the game 2-1. After beating the Panthers by seven goals 8-1 in game 4 it would seem like the Oilers wouldn’t run out of bullets.

#3 It was after that game 4 that the Oilers went on a run that shocked the Panthers and for Florida it seemed like the series was getting away from them especially when the Oilers tied it up after game six with a four goal 5-1 win.

#4 Len talk about the 31 year drought that Canada has had not seeing a Stanley Cup winner since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. The Oilers last won a Stanley Cup in 1990 during the sixth year as a franchise that was when Wayne Gretzkey was on the team.

#5 Len, things to look forward to in the off season, the NHL Draft is coming on the 28th and 29th and the San Jose Sharks are favored to get first draft pick in Macklin Celebrini. If that happens do you see Celebrini being a player the Sharks will build around and what needs to be taken care of first.

Len Shapiro is an NHL analyst and podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Flores gets literal walk off walk as Giants edge Cubs 5-4 at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants’ Heliot Ramos #17 hits a single off Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele #35 in the sixth inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, June 24, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Chicago (37-42). 000 130 000. 4 10. 0

San Francisco (37-42). 000 011 003. 5 9. 0

Time: 2:42

Attendance: 30,701

Monday, June 24, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–With their amazing 5-4 come from behind walk off (literally a walk off) in this Monday’s series opener against the visiting Chicago Cubs, the San Francisco Giants inched back towards their glass ceiling of .500. The dozen runners the Cubs left stranded gives an idea of what sort of a Perils of Pauline experience Monday night’s game was.

Before the game began, the Giants staged a well earned celebration of the life and achievements of Willie Mays. When the game began, everyone in a Giants uniform wore the number 24, as a tribute to the great ballplayer and person that was Mays. Whatever the motivation of “tributes” like this may be, their main consequence is the difficulty they cause in identifying the players. I consider them another baseball superstition, like avoiding stepping on the foul line when going on and off the field, only wrapped in sanctimony

This evening’s encounter, as probably will be the case for the next three contests, was a bullpen game for San Francisco. Erik Miller was the opener. In his one inning on the mound, Miller walked a batter, Seiya Suzuki, and then picked him off while attempting to steal. That third out ended Miller’s near cameo appearance. His successor, Spencer Bivens, went two frames and allowed two bases on balls, both in his first inning of scoreless work.

Brandon Burgos, promoted today from Sacramento, made his major league debut to open the fourth. Cody Bellinnger welcomed him with a weak grounder down the third base line that just made it into left field for a single. Christopher Morel followed with a solid single to left.

A five pitch walk to Ian Happ loaded the bases with none out. After Danby Swason’s fly out to right provided a brief respite, Michael Busch sent a ground ball behind second base that slick fielding Nck Ahmed had trouble controlling. Busch beat his throw to first for an RBI single. Burgos showed major league poise by getting Pete Crow-Armstrong to ground out to Estrada, closing the inning and preventing further damage. But damage was done, and Chicago was ahead, 1-0.

Luke Jackson was the fourth Giant pitcher, replacing Burgos in the top of the fifth. A leadoff walk to Nico Hoerner and back to back singles to right by Suzuki and Bellinger, and it was 2-0. A wild pitch and a walk to Morel, and the Cubbies had clogged the base paths for the second straight inning.

Ian Happ’s grounder to Estrada forced Morel out a second, but Happ beat Ahmed’s throw to first, Suzuki scored, and there were runners on the corner with only one out. That was it for Jackon. Spencer Howard replaced him with two runners in scoring position and his team trailing 3-0.

Ten pitches later, the score still was 3-0, and the inning was over. Howard struck out Busch and Tomás Nido to keep a bad situation from becoming a total loss. He continued on the mound for the rest of the game allowing a total four hits and a walk but nary a run on the way to his first win of the year against one defeat and lowering his ERA to 3.80.

The Cubs’ starter, Justin Steele, entered the professional ranks in 2014 but didn’t make it to the show until 2021. But when he did, he was quite a success. Last year he was named the NL all-star team and pitched a shutout frame.

In the regular season, he hurled a pair of 10 strikeout games, went seven consecutive undefeated starts. He came to work this Monday bearing an unimpressive 0-3 won-lost mark but sporting a respectable ERA of 3.16. He wasn’t involved in the decision, but he pitched a worthy game, throwing 106 pitches, a noteworthy 81 for strikes and allowing two runs, both earned, on nine hits, two of which were solo home runs. He issued only one free pass and struck out nine Giants in his 7-1/3 innings of work.

Steele cruised through four innings, allowing only a first inning single to Héctor Ramos until Matt Chapman smacked an 82 mph slider 410 feet into the left field bleachers to narrow the gap to 3-1. A gap that shrank to 3-2 on Ahmed’s leadoff homer to left in the home sixth after Jackson had pitched himself into and out of a two on, none down jam in the top of the frame. The blast was Ahmed’s first four bagger in his injury shortened season.

Steele’s labor ceased in the home half of the eighth. With one out and Ahmed, who had drawn a leadoff walk on first, Ramos drove a long drive to the crease where the 365 foot marker meets the State Farm advertisement for a double that put the potential tying and winning runs on base. Tyson Miller relieved him and fanned Flores, bringing up Jorge Soler, who popped out to shallow right

The task of preserving Chicago’s slim lead in the bottom of the ninth fell to Cotten Brewer. Chapman led off with a full count dying quail double that fell just in front of a diving Crow-Armstrong’s glove in center. Estrada beat out a bunt to the mound, sending Chappy to third.

 Chapman made it a one run game by scoring on a sacrifice fly to left by Michael Conforto pinch hitting for Matos. Exit Brewer. Enter Drew Smyly. Patrick Bailey, pinch hitting for Casali singled to center, sending Estrada to second. A walk to Ahmed, and the bases were loaded for Austin Slater, who sent a game tying sacrifice fly to center. Ramos was granted an intentional walk, and Wilmer Flores sent the Giant fans home happy with an anticlimactic but game winning walk.

Smyly was frowning at this turn of events and was charged with the loss

The game featured some excellent fielding by both teams. Two plays by Chicago’s shortstop, Dansby Swanson come to mind, his leaping catch of Estrada’s scorching line drive in the second and his backhanded grab and throw of Casali’s ground ball in the third. Although Ramos didn’t make any spectacular plays, he covered a lot of ground and did the number 24 proud in center field.

The second of this four game series will take place Tuesday, at 6:45. Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks (1-4, 7.46) will face off against a motley crew from San Francisco’s bullpen.

A’s Road Loss Record Continues Losing to Angels 5-1

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The Los Angeles Angels Taylor Ward (3) hits a home run in the bottom of the first inning as the Oakland A’s catcher Shea Langeliers (23) watches at the Big A in Anaheim on Mon Jun 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (29-52) have really struggled lately on the road. and Monday night those struggles continued losing to the Anaheim Angels (31-46) 5-1 for their eighth road loss. The struggles that Anaheim starting pitcher Griffin Canning had been having did not materialize and he went seven innings with five hits and the one earned run.

Oakland starting pitcher Luis Medina had a rough start going three innings allowing four hits and three runs. Aaron Brooke relieved Medina in the fourth inning and finished the game.

Game recap: Anaheim took the first lead in the game scoring in the first inning. Oakland pitcher Luis Medina gave up a home run to Taylor Ward. Luis Rengifo was on base after being hit by Medina and the Angels had an early two run lead 2-0. Again Oakland trailed early and would have to play catchup.

In the second inning the A’s got on the board when Tyler Nevi homered to center, a solo shot. This was his fifth home run this season. They still trailed 2-1 but they were still in this game.

Anaheim would begin to distance themselves from the A’s in the third inning scoring twice taking a 4-1 lead. Logan O’Hoppe sacrificed and Rengifro scored. A’s first baseman Tyler Soderstrom committed a fielding error allowing Taylor Ward to score from third base taking a 4-1 Angel lead and Anaheim was off and running up the score.

The Angels would strike again in the sixth inning. Mickey Moniak doubled Zach Neto home for a 5-1 lead and Oakland had a lot of work ahead of them. They had six hits so far in the game but they needed more if they would have any chance to salvage this game. Anaheim was not backing down continuing to hit.

The struggles that Griffin Canning had been experiencing did not show up. He ended up going seven innings allowing five hits, one earned run and five strikeouts collecting the win. Canning had a very strong outing. Oakland’s Luis Medina only lasted three innings before leaving the mound. He allowed four hits, three runs, two walks and two strikeouts. He was relieved by Aaron Brooks in the fourth inning. Brooks finished the game with two hits, one run, two walks and two strikeouts.

Neither team would team would score for the remainder of the game. The Angels had eight hits in the game and the A’s had six. Oakland’s road loss record continued as Anaheim walked away with the win 5-1.

Game notes: After dropping a series to the Twins over the weekend, the A’s traveled south to take on the Anaheim Angels. Oakland has been struggling both at home and on the road and was looking to turn things around. They have struggled at times on the mound, at the plate and defensively. The Angels are playing better ball digging their way out of the basement of the American League West.

In Monday nights game, the A’s started Luis Medina and tried to turn things around but surrendered three hits and three earned runs and for the Angels Griffin Canning in seven innings gave up five hits and one earned run.

Media struggled dropping his record to 0-5 and has lost all his June starts. The A’s continue their skid dropping their sixth straight game and the A’s bats only could produce one run Monday night as their hitting continues to suffer. Oakland could hope to break a horrible road losing streak. The A’s have to start hitting consistently, they have to relinquish they’re single here, single there scenario and start stringing hits together. At times they have really been bullied at the plate. Playing catchup has also been a huge issue.

The A’s will go into game two of this series with Mitch Spence taking the mound with a 4-3, ERA 3.86 ERA. The Angels will be looking to Tyler Anderson for a second win in this series. He has a 6-7, 2.48 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 6:38 PM.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants not hitting, only 1 hit off Sonny Gray, swept by Cards; Open with Cubs tonight

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St Louis Cardinal starter Sonny Gray pitches to the San Francisco Giants in the top of the first inning at Busch Stadium in St Louis on Sun June 23, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko, St Louis starter Sonny Gray goes seven innings against the Giants and pitched a perfect game going into the sixth inning before giving up a hit. Gray just went through the Giants line up like butter.

#2 For Sonny Gray he pitched seven innings, giving up one hit and one run picking up the win. Gray had retired the first 20 hitters he faced.

#3 It was Patrick Bailey’s solo shot over the right field fence that ended Gray’s no hit bid in the sixth. The problem is the Giants struggled to get hits in this contest and it was another case of good pitching beating good hitting.

#4 Cardinal reliever Ryan Helsley who has a Major League leading 26 saves shut the door on the Giants in the top of the ninth pitching one inning and striking out two hitters.

#5 Giants try and regroup Monday night as they face the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs were in last place in the NL Central and have move up from fifth to fourth place after picking up a win over the New York Mets. The Cubs are three games under .500. The Cubs and Giants have not announced a starting pitcher as of Sunday night.

Join Marko for the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: Too much Lopez as Twins shutout A’s 3-0 at Coliseum; A’s open road trip in Anaheim tonight

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Oakland A’s baserunner Zack Gelof dives back into first base on a Minnesota Twins pick off move in the bottom of the eighth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun June 23, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 Minnesota Twins starter Pablo Lopez had a perfect game going into the seventh inning against the Oakland until Oakland A’s Lawrence Butler hit a seventh inning single to break it up.

#2 Lopez needless to say had command of his pitches 14 strikeouts for a career high in eight innings of shutout ball. Lopez’s line eight innings, two hits and 14 strikeouts.

#3 Lopez had retired the first 17 batters he faced giving up two singles and a walk. With 14 strikeouts going the A’s line up just were off balance all game long.

#4 With the loss the A’s drop 6-17 and A’s starter Hogan Harris gets pinned with the loss he drops his record to 1-1. Harris allowed three runs and five hits in the 3-0 loss.

#5 The A’s hope to turn the page against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. Starting pitcher for the A’s RHP Luis Medina (1-2, ERA 4.71) for the Angels Griffin Canning (2-8, ERA 5.02) first pitch 6:38pm PT at the Big A in Anaheim.

Join Barbara Mason for the A’s podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ballers Hubbard takes Wheelers deep in 8-6 win in Davis

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Oakland Ballers defeated the Davis High Wheelers on Sun Jun 23, 2024 in Davis. Here the Ballers pitching coach Jim Dedrick talks to the players in the dugout before their game on Tue Jun 4, 2024 at Raimondi Field in Oakland. (AP file photo)

Oakland Ballers (17-13)         1 3 1 0 0 0 3 0 0     8 10 0
Yolo High Wheelers(14-13)   0 1 1 0 0 4 0 0 0    6 12 2

Time: 3:15

Attendance: Not announced, but probably short of 100

By Lewis Rubman

DAVIS–This Sunday–and I do mean SUNday–in Davis, with the temperature in the 90s from the opening pitch at 1:05 to the final out at 4:20, the Ballers, who had been scuffling at the plate most of last week,  Ballers built up a 5-2 lead over the host Yolo High Wheelers in the first 5-1/2 innings of play,  blew it in the bottom of the sixth but escaped by breaking the rules, and battled back to win going away, 8-6.

The Ballers scored first, on a 351 foot solo home run by Dondrei Hubbard  to left in the  spacious Dobbins Stadium. It came off the Wheelers’ starter, Ben Ferrer, Hubbard  who had earned his second win of the season on June 20 by holding the Ballers scoreless in one inning of relief work.

He’s become quite familiar with the Ballers lineup; this was the fourth time he’d faced them in the teams’ inaugural season. He got a no decision today, leaving his won-lost record of 2-1  and his ERA of 5.16 intact. Austin Davis also smacked a solo round tripper to the same general area leading off the visitors’ seventh.

  Davis’s four bagger retied the score after Oakland had fallen behind in the sixth frame. His victim was Jacob Stobart, who took the loss, his first of the season against four wins. Many people think of him as Yolo’s best pitcher.

The Ballers blew their lead when Yolo batted around in the sixth. It came about as the result of walks to Justin Kirby and designated pinch hitter Alejandro Figueredo and singles by José González, Tanner Smith,  Kirkland Banks, and Braylin Marine.

Oakland’s starter, Aaron Eden gave up the walk to Kirby and the singles to Smith and Banks. The remainder was surrendered by Jake Dahle, who relieved Eden. Yolo was leading  6-5 when the dust settled.

Oakland drew even on the Davis dinger and tacked on a couple of runs more and was ahead 8-6 after the few fans in attendance sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”Next came what was the most fascinating sequence of the contest.

One of the Ballers’ versions of Shohei Ohtani, second baseman-pitcher JP Gates, who had been the designated hitter, moved to the mound. He gave up a single to center to González and a bunt single to Blackford before being relieved by JC Ariza.

This violated themust face three batters or finish the frame rule, but no one called this to the attention of home plate umpire Bill Shortridge, and so Ariza arose to the occasion by retiring 

the three batters he faced to finish up a scoreless seventh and, in spite of a hit batter and a wild pitch, a scoreless eighth. Tyler Davis, another two way player earned his second save of the season, setting the Wheelers down 1,2,3 in the ninth.

Monday is a day of rest in the Pioneer League. The Ballers will play the the Northern Colorado Owlz on Tuesday evening, the first of a six game series. The probable pitchers haven’t been announced.

1974 world champs honored, and Pablo Lopez dominates A’s on bittersweet day at the Coliseum, as Twins take series with 3-0 win

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Minnesota Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez throws to the Oakland A’s line up in the bottom of fifth at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun June 23, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Oakland, California

Minnesota Twins 3 (43-35)

Oakland Athletics 0 (29-51)

Win: Pablo Lopez (7-6)

Loss: Hogan Harris (1-1)

Save: Griffin Jax (7)

Time: 2:11

Attendance: 18,491

By Stephen Ruderman

OAKLAND–Pablo Lopez pitched eight shutout innings, and Byron Buxton hit a home run and knocked in two runs, as the Minnesota Twins shut out the A’s 3-0 to take the series.

The A’s scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull off an exciting win over the Twins in the series opener Friday night, and the Twins turned around and spanked the A’s a seven-run second inning en route to a 10-2 win yesterday. Sunday, the A’s looked to bounce back and win the series on another beautiful day for baseball at the Coliseum.

Before the game, the A’s honored the 1974 world championship team that won the franchise’s third-straight title in a bittersweet ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of that season. 1974 was just the A’s seventh season in Oakland, and it was truly the golden era of Oakland A’s Baseball.

Despite the inner turmoil the A’s frequently had in their clubhouse, they pulled off back-to-back world championships in 1972 and 1973. Still, even with the two titles, the A’s flamboyant autocratic owner, Charlie O. Finley fired Manager Dick Williams and replaced him with Alvin Dark.

Finley was also at the center of a fashion revolution in baseball. The A’s teams of the early 1970s often wore Kelly green and gold jerseys over white pants with an elastic waistband. Those uniforms were commonplace in Baseball in those days, and Finley was one of the pioneers.

Finley also paid players to grow mustaches. That’s why Rollie Fingers originally grew his famous mustache. Fingers didn’t do it for the style; he did it for the $300 bonus that Charlie O gave him for it.

Former players, Fingers, Dave Hamilton, Darold Knowles, Gene Tenace, Blue Moon Odom, Burt Campaneris, Dick Green, Ted Kubiak, Bill North, Joe Rudi and Herb Washington were on the field for a ceremony that brought 18,491 fans to the Coliseum, which was the largest attendance for an A’s home game this season.

The ceremony brought bittersweet nostalgia for a large and dedicated A’s fan base that is most likely going to lose their team at the end of this season.

Back to 2024. Hogan Harris made the start for Oakland this afternoon, and while he worked his way out of trouble in the top of the first first inning, Byron Buxton got to him for a home run to left-center field in the top of the second.

Pablo Lopez, who came into today’s game 6-6 with an ERA of 5.63 made the start for Minnesota. Plain and simply, he’s having a bad season.

Sunday afternoon, however, was a completely different story. Lopez took a perfect game into the sixth inning, setting down the first 17 men he faced. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Lawrence Butler finally got the A’s in the hit column with a soft line-drive into right field for a base-hit.

As for Harris, he was solid Sunday afternoon. Harris had given up just a run through his first six innings, and he was back out for the top of the seventh. However, Carlos Santana and Will Castro singled to put runners at the corners for Minnesota with nobody out.

Buxton, who homered in the second, doubled to center to make it 2-0, and that did it for Harris. Mark Kotsay summoned Austin Adams, and Castro scored when Buxton was thrown out at third base on a fielder’s choice.

When all said and done, Harris ended up giving up three runs and five hits over six-plus innings.

“The focus for Hogan is throw it in the zone,” said Kotsay. “[He’s] got good life to the heater, [and] you can see a slider that he’s developed here [at] the big league level, which is going to be a solid pitch for him. I think today during the seventh, maybe he could have thrown that slow breaking ball that he got [Carlos] Correa with a little earlier in the game.

Bouncing a couple more breaking balls might have helped him get some outs deeper into the game. Overall the strides he’s made, that’s what we’re talking about for these. We want to see this incremental growth. The success he’s having—maybe not wins [and] losses for him right now—will translate to wins [and] losses if he continues to make these steps in the right direction.”

As for Lopez, he ended up going eight shutout innings, and not only did he only give up just two hits, he struck out 14.

Lucas Erceg struck out two in a 1-2-3 top of the eighth for Oakland, and lefty Scott Alexander pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the ninth.

Lopez ended up throwing 102 pitches, so Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli opted for Griffin Jax in the bottom of the ninth, and Jax pitched a scoreless inning to close it out.

Lopez gets the win; Harris takes the loss; and Jax picks up the save. The A’s fall to 29-51, but they were able to go 3-3 against two strong teams in the Kansas City Royals and the Twins, and they started off this homestand by winning two-straight for the first time since the beginning of May.

“Obviously, we would [have] love[d] a winning homestand,” said Kotsay. “To have a chance over the last two days is where we wanted to put ourselves, but we ran into a couple buzzsaws against some good starting pitching. Overall, I would say we played good baseball.”

Now, the A’s are going back on the road, but they won’t have to go that far for a six-game swing through Anaheim and Phoenix, Arizona. They will have three against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim Monday through Wednesday, followed by a day off Thursday and three against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix Friday through Sunday.

Funny thing: With the new balanced schedule, teams only play the other teams in their division 13 games a year, and the A’s will play all 13 of their games against the Angels this season over the next five weeks.

Anyway, Luis Medina (1-2, 4.71 ERA) will make the start for Oakland at the Big A Monday night, and he will be opposed by right-hander Griffin Canning (2-8, 5.02 ERA). First pitch at Angel Stadium will be at 6:38 p.m PT.

A’s News and Notes:

J.D. Davis, whom the A’s designated for assignment on Tuesday, was traded along with cash considerations to the New York Yankees this morning for infielder Jordan Groshans.

Davis has had a bit of an adventure this season. He came into Spring Training as a member of the San Francisco Giants following an arbitration battle with them. Then they released him, and he ended up with the A’s after that.

Sonny Gray stymies Giants, who lose fifth-straight 5-3 and get swept in St. Louis

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St Louis starter Sonny Gray pitches into the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium in St Louis on Sun Jun 26, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, June 22, 2024

Busch Stadium

St. Louis, Missouri

San Francisco Giants 3 (36-42)

St. Louis Cardinals Cubs 5 (39-37)

Win: Sonny Gray (9-4)

Loss: Logan Webb (6-6)

Save: Ryan Helsley (26)

Time: 2:15

Attendance: 37,492

By Stephen Ruderman

Well, the Cardinals have swept the Giants. After the Giants lost despite a strong offensive performance Saturday, the offense went dead again for the most part Sunday, as Sonny Gray took a perfect game into the seventh inning, and the Cardinals finished off the sweep with a 5-3 win to hand the Giants their fifth-straight loss on another hot and muggy Sunday in St. Louis

Just as the Giants’ offensive has finally come back to life, the starting pitching, which has been mostly reliable this season, has now started to struggle. The normally-reliable Jordan Hicks got rocked for five runs over four innings Saturday, and the Giants would need a better outing from their ace, Logan Webb, this afternoon.

Opposing Webb and the Giants for St. Louis was longtime veteran right-hander Sonny Gray. Gray, who is in his 12th season in the big leagues, is having a really good season. Gray came into Sunday 8-4 with a 2.95 ERA, and the Giants would have their hands full against him Sunday.

Gray promptly pitched a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, but Webb would have the opposite luck in the bottom of the first. In fact, it took Webb only three pitches to give up his first run. Masyn Winn doubled to lead off the inning, and on the very next pitch, Alec Burleson, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs Saturday, singled the other way to left field to knock in Winn.

For the Cardinals, they were just getting started. Burelson stole second base, and got to third on a fly out by Nolan Gorman for the second out of the inning. Brendan Donovan, who also homered Saturday, knocked in Burleson with a ground-rule down the left field line, and Matt Carpenter plated Burleson with a base-hit to right.

The Cardinals already had a 3-0 lead as the game went to the second, and Gray was literally unhittable. Gray threw another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, and the Cardinals scored another run in the bottom of the second, as Pedro Pages singled, stole second and scored on a base-hit by Burleson.

So, it was now 4-0 Cardinals going to the third, and Gray was in complete control. In fact, he was perfect through six innings. Aa for Webb, he finally settled down somewhat with a 1-2-3 bottom of the third, but he had to wiggle his way out of trouble in the fourth and fifth.

Gray retired the first two men he faced in the top of the seventh to make it 20 up 20 down, but Patrick Bailey finally broke up the perfecto with a two-out home run to right. Jorge Soler struck out swinging to end the inning and the day for Gray, but Gray had a remarkable outing.

Seven innings, a hit, a run, just one base-runner and eight strikeouts, even with the Giants’ struggling offense, not bad.

Webb was also done. He gave up four runs and nine hits over six innings, but he did strike out 80, and he really hung in there after he was on the ropes early in the game.

Randy Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, and the Giants’ offense would finally wake up against lefty Jojo Romero in the top of the eighth. Matt Chapman and Thairo Estrada both walked, and with one out, Cardinals Manager Oliver Marmol pulled Romero for Andrew Kittredge.

Wilmer Flores hit a ground-rule double down the left field line to make it 4-2, and Austin Slater knocked Estrada in with a sacrifice fly to right. Suddenly, it was a one-run game, and the Giants had the tying run at second. Brett Wisely walked, but Flores was tagged out trying to advance to third on a ground ball to end the inning.

The Giants were unable to tie the game, but their propensity from the end of May to come back late has certainly returned over the last week. All they would need is a quick bottom of the eighth.

At first, it seemed that they would get it. Left-hander Taylor Rogers retired the first two men he faced, but Dylan Carlson doubled to right-center, and Brandon Crawford, the greatest shortstop in Giants History, put the hurt on his lifelong team with a double to right to make it 5-3. Taylor’s brother, Tyler Rogers, then came in to keep the deficit at two.

Cardinals’ closer Ryan Helsley, who came into Sunday with 25 saves in the Cardinals’ first 75 games, was summoned for the top of the ninth. Unfortunately, the comeback energy the Giants had in the top of the eighth was gone, and Helsley pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth to end it.

Sonny Gray got the win; Logan Webb took the loss; and Ryan Helsley picked up his 26th save of the season. The Giants have also now lost five in a row, and they have tied their season-high six games under .500, as they fall to 36-42.

The Giants now return to San Francisco for four games against the Cubs, and three over the weekend against the Dodgers. Their four-game series against the Cubs will begin at the Giants’ friendly confines of Oracle Park Monday night, though neither team has announced their pitcher. First pitch will be at 6:45 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

There is some good news. A trio of Giants will be rehabbing Sunday in the River Cats’ game against the Round Rock Express.

LaMonte Wade Jr. will be playing Sunday; Blake Snell will be making the start; and Robbie will pitch three innings.

Getting those three back healthy as the All-Star Break nears, especially Wade, who was hitting .333 before he went down on Memorial, will provide a tremendous shot in the arm both on the field and in the clubhouse to a Giants team in desperate need of a morale boost.

Final Thoughts:

Giants fans probably disagree with me, but this is a fairly-decent team. However, next week could very well be make or break this season, and time is running out.

The offense has struggled mildly all season, and now the Giants are six games under .500. After the series against the Cubs, the Giants will have three games against the Dodgers, followed by a six-game road trip through Atlanta and Cleveland against two very very strong teams in the Braves and Guardians.

That means the Giants have to win at least three of four from the Cubs. If they don’t, they could easily find themselves anywhere between nine to 13 games under .500 when they leave Cleveland on July 7, and the season will essentially be over.

The one thing that could keep them in contention in the second half is the fact that the National League is absolutely putrid this season, and almost the entire league could be competing for the second and third wild card spots.

They also should be getting Wade, Snell and Ray back soon. They will have some help, but they need to turn things around fast, or else there is a very good chance that their season will be over in the next couple of weeks.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Giants get roughed up in 3 games with Red Birds

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St Louis Cardinals Brendon Donavon has been part of the wrecking crew against San Francisco Giants pitching. Donavon (right) is congratulated by teammate Matt Carpenter (13) after hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning in the second game of their three game meetings this one on Sat June 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Stephen:

#1 The San Francisco Giants started this three game series in Birmingham on Thursday for the Negro League/Willie Mays tribute at Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The St Louis Cardinals got a jump on the Giants with three runs in first inning and another two runs in the bottom of the second and Giants starter Keaton Winn pitched 2.2 innings, giving up five hits and five earned runs. The Giants wound up losing the first of three meetings 6-5.

#2 The Giants were playing the Rickwood game on the heels of the passing of legend and all time baseball great Willie Mays who had passed away two days before the Tribute game in Birmingham.

#3 The Giants and Cardinals continued this series this time after a day off on Friday at Busch Stadium on Saturday. The Giants got off to a great start scoring three runs in the top of the first innings off Cardinals starter Mile Mikolas. The Giants offensively wouldn’t make much noise for the rest of the game as the Cards would score runs two in the first, three in the fourth, two in each of the sixth and seventh innings resulting in a 9-4 loss.

#4 Jordan Hicks who started Saturday’s game is familiar with the Cardinals line up having played in St Louis previously just couldn’t figure them out going four innings, six hits, five runs, three walks and one strike out. Tough loss for Hicks who had some pretty good outings this season.

#5 If have to look back on this series with the Cardinals despite the tough loses the Giants took the most memorable thing was the Rickwood game where the discussion of the history of the Negro Leagues and the memories of Willie Mays was the main topic.

Stephen Ruderman is a podcast contributor and is a MLB beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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