Author: Sports Radio Service

Kings can’t stop Pelicans who sweep season series in five games; New Orleans McCollum and Williams make themselves at home at Golden 1

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New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) goes airborne to pass off the basketball as the Sacramento Kings Domantas Sabonis (10) tries to put a stop to the Pelicans offense under the basket in the first half at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Thu Apr 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Thursday night in Sacramento. It was the Kings first game back home after a brutal road trip. The Kings lost games in New York, Boston, and Oklahoma City on a 1-3 trip. The Kings returned home a half game up on the Lakers for the 8th seed in the Western Conference.

The Kings were set to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night. The Kings had not beaten the Pelicans all season at 0-4 up to that point. The Kings and Pelicans tipped off at 7 PM PST. The Kings lost 135-123 to the Pelicans on Thursday night.

In the first quarter, the Kings played about as bad as they have all season. The Kings couldn’t buy a bucket and had no answer on defense. The lead would balloon to 33-11 with 2:55 in the quarter. It was an embarrassing show from the Kings up to that point in the game. However, the Kings were able to go on a brief run to end the quarter to get the game to 34-23. De’Aaron Fox would need a career-high to have a chance in this game.

In the second quarter, the Kings flipped the script. The Kings outscored the Pelicans in the second quarter 35-30. It wasn’t enough for the Kings to take the lead, but it was a start. The Kings would go into halftime trailing the Pelicans 64-58. The Kings would need to continue to push the pace in the second half to have a chance. De’Aaron Fox had 17 points in the first half. Trey Murphy III had 20 first-half points.

In the third quarter, the Kings would fight. However, they couldn’t make up any ground on the Pelicans. The Kings would go on small runs that were countered by a run by the Pelicans. The Kings were outscored by the Pelicans 34-31 in the third quarter of the game. The Kings would trail 98-89 going into the final quarter of play.

In the fourth quarter, the Pelicans would extend the lead to 20 points. However, the Kings would fight back to make it more of a game. The Kings would cut the lead to 10 points, but it was too little and too late. The Pelicans would defeat the Kings 135-123.

The Kings were outscored by the Pelicans in the fourth quarter 37-34. The Kings were led by De’Aaron Fox, who scored 33 points. The Pelicans were led by Zion Williamson, who scored 31 points. The Kings would try to get back on track in one of their last two games before the postseason.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to take on the Phoenix Suns on Friday at 7 PM PST.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Sacramento Baseball A’s and River Cats

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Sutter Health Park a panoramic view. The Park will be the interim home of the A’s for the 2025-28 seasons.

Sacramento Baseball: A’s and River Cats

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The most recent statistics from the State of California list the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom Metro Area with 2,397,382 residents. Only the Los Angeles-San Bernardino-Ontario-Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Metropolitan Area, the nine-country San Francisco-San José-Oakland Metropolitan Area and San Diego and the surrounding area have a higher population concentration than the Sacramento Metro.

The baseball question many have in mind. Are there enough baseball fans to support a Major League team in the Sacramento Area? Since 2016, these are the official attendance records for the Minor League Sacramento Rivercats. 2016: 609,666. 2017: 562,237. 2018: 538,785. 2018: 549,440. 2020: Covid. 2021: 256,714. 2023: 388,246.

Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento’s capacity is 10,624 (fixed seats), 14,014 total. Including Fixed Seats, Lawn, and Standing Room). If you are wondering about minor league baseball parks, Sahlen Field, home of the International League Buffalo Bisons, has the highest seating capacity of all active Triple-A teams in the US, 16,600, while Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium has the lowest capacity, 6,500.

It could be complicated for the A’s and the Rivercats to share Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento starting in 2025; with such a small capacity that it is not close to Major League standards, they need many improvements.

In a recent release from NBA Sacramento Kings, the majority owner of the River Cats said MLB is working with both teams to ensure that their schedule meets MLB and MiLB guidelines and that they have dedicated facility space.

They plan to modify Sutter Health Park, which had just undergone a multi-million dollar renovation, which includes upgrading LED lighting and adding a clubhouse scheduled to be completed before the 2025 season.

By now, it is known that Mr.Vivek Ranadivé, owner of the Kings and the River Cats, is the most powerful man in Sacramento regarding sports. Tony Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, will have to approve all of the above for the 2025 season and for the Oakland A’s to play in Sacramento before the 2025 season.

This is what is happening with Sutter Health Park in Sacramento to date. According to the Las Vegas Business Review, the Nevada Supreme Court did not decide Tuesday after hearing arguments regarding a challenge to the Oakland Athletics public funding bill of $380 million.

Schools Over Stadiums were each given 17 minutes to argue their sides to the seven Supreme Court justices on why a lower court’s 2023 decision regarding a petition opposing Senate Bill 1, the A’s stadium public financing bill signed into law last year, should be upheld or appealed.

That one is now in the hands of the lawyers, and when lawyers get involved, only God knows. Mark Twain (1835-1910) observed correctly about lawyers: “Lawyers are like other people–fools on the average; but it is easier for an ass to succeed in that trade than any other.” And this is how the ball bounces.

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

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Blues turn it up with 2 wins after losing to San Jose; Oilers McDavid scratched against Vegas Wednesday; plus more news

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Edmonton Oilers Conner McDavid controls the puck against the St Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Mon Apr 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Arizona Coyotes might relocate to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City is being very aggressive about getting the Coyotes. The owner of the Utah Jazz Ryan Smith wants an NHL team to join he and the Jazz at the Salt Palace.

#2 The St Louis Blues had to be sore after losing to the San Jose Sharks last Saturday in overtime. The next day the Blues exploded and defeated the Anaheim Ducks six goals and came away with a 6-5 win. On Wednesday the Blues once again got a three goal win to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks by three goals 5-2 all four of the Blues first four shots were all goals to start the game.

#3 The Edmonton Oilers Conner McDavid was scratched out of the line up against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. The Oilers have been rolling and even without McDavid the Oilers came out a big winner 5-1 in Edmonton. McDavid missed practice for the second straight day with a lower body injury

#4 Syd the Kid Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins wins the NHLPA most complete player of the year. Crosby got 38.37 percent of the vote Crosby beat out the Florida Panthers center Alexander Barkov who had 14.6 percent of the vote.

#5 Alexander Ovechkin is becoming like the ageless wonder setting a record scoring 30 or more goals for the 18th season. In the first 43 games this season Ovechkin had eight goals and teammate Dylan Strome said he wouldn’t be surprised if he reached 30 which he has now done for the 18th time.

#6 The New Jersey Devils failed to make post season for tenth time in 12 seasons. New Jersey suffered from injuries, goalie instability, and the Devils have suffered a numerous amount of injuries and missed a lot of key players who were out.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants get hitting from Ahmed and Fitzgerald and pitching from Hicks in 7-1 win

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San Francisco Giants hitter Tyler Fitzgerald connects for an RBI single in front of Washington Nationals catcher Drew Milas in the bottom of the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Apr 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 The San Francisco Giants took care of business Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park avoiding a sweep and defeating the Washington Nationals by six runs 7-1. How important was it to avoid a sweep for the Giants especially on their first homestand.

#2 San Francisco pitcher Jordan Hicks allowed just one earned run in each of his three starts. Jordan said after the game that he feels he’s in a good spot.

#3 Giants manager Bob Melvin said that each of Hicks starts were very good each one of them. Hicks went six innings gave up four hits and just one earned run. Hicks said that his sinker was working for him.

#4 Nick Ahmed had two RBIs and scored three times. Melvin said that Ahmed is the fastest player on the team. That’s not to take anything away from Tyler Fitzgerald who stole two bases and score two times.

#5 San Francisco Giants starter Keaton Winn will get the start in the Giants next game in Tampa Bay. The Rays have not announced a starter for Friday yet.

Michael Duca does the Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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A’s Win a Second Series Beating the Texas Rangers In a Shutout 1-0; A’s Sears takes no hitter into 7th against defending champs

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Oakland A’s starter JP Sears pitched no hit baseball into the seventh inning against the World Champion Texas Rangers and eventually the A’s won the ball game at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Thu Apr 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

There was little offense in Thursday’s game between the Oakland A’s (5-8) and the Texas Rangers (8-5). It was a pitchers dual and showcased some great pitching by the A’s. JP Sears went 6 innings and Lucas Erceg and closer Mason Miller were perfect in the eighth and ninth innings with Miller getting the save. The lone run was a home run from Seth Brown.

Game recap: This game turned out to be a defensive game without a whole lot of offense. Through eight innings the A’s only had three hits and the Rangers only managed one. It was a pitchers duel from the start.

Jon Gray got the start for the Rangers. Oakland starter, JP Sears went six innings allowing no hits, no runs with 5 strikeouts. The Rangers, Jon Gray went five innings allowing 3 hits, one run and 9 strikeouts. Gray threw that one pitch in the second inning that Oakland’s Brown crushed for a home run and a 1-0 lead that would persist into the ninth inning.

The A’s put two runners, Tyler Nevin and Brown, on first and second in the top of the ninth inning looking for an insurance run. Oakland was unable to bring runners home and it was up to closer Miller to get the job done. He would face the top of the Texas lineup so he had his work cut out for him.

Miller dismissed Marcus Semien, Cory Seager and Wyatt Langford in that order, three up, three down and the A’s had won their second series of the season 1-0. It all came to down to some excellent pitching by Oakland. Lucas Erceg had a three up, three down eighth inning. The past few A’s wins showcased some solid pitching.

Brown had two hits for Oakland, Abraham Toro and Kyle McCann had the other two Oakland hits. It was a quiet day for both offenses.

Game notes: Thursday afternoon the A’s took two out of three games against the Rangers in game-three of their series. The A’s won the first game of the series 4-3 and the Rangers came back in game two winning 6-2, the A’s shocked the baseball world taking game three from the Rangers on Thursday afternoon with surberb pitching by JP Sears for a 1-0 shutout.

Friday night the Oakland A’s will take on the Washington Nationals at the Coliseum in a three game series. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 6:40 PM. Oakland is favored in this game. Paul Blackburn will take the mound for Oakland with a 1-0 win/loss record. The Nationals will start Jake Irvin who has a 0-1 win/loss record and a 5.73 ERA.

OJ Simpson death the podcast with Tony Renteria: Former football star and accused murderer passes at 76 had battled cancer

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Ironically all three from left to right are now dead from the OJ Simpson defense team called the Dream Team, William F Bailey (left), OJ Simpson (center) and Johnny Cochrane (right) in the back ground in suit Simpson attorney Robert Shapiro who is still alive at 81 years old as seen after Simpson’s not guilty verdict in Los Angeles Superior Court on Oct 3, 1995. (AP News photo)

By Tony Renteria NFL Staff analyst

The family of OJ Simpson said that Simpson 76 passed away. Simpson had been in hospice battling cancer “On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer” Simpson family said in a statement on X “He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.”

Pro Football president of the NFL Hall of Fame Jim Porter said of Simpson, “O.J. Simpson was the first player to reach a rushing mark many thought could not be attained in a 14-game season when he topped 2,000 yards,” Jim Porter said “His on-field contributions will be preserved in the Hall’s archives in Canton, Ohio.”

Simpson’s football career was over shadowed by being accused of being a double murderer of his wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. It was the police car chase during a televised NBA Finals in June of 1994 that put the Finals as the backdrop as the car chase of OJ who held a gun to his head while his friend Al Cowlings was driving him down a Los Angeles freeway in the famous white Ford Bronco.

Cardwell’s shortie propels Barracuda in wild 6-5 win over Silver Knights

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San Jose Barracuda forward Ethan Cardwell (#56) celebrates his go-ahead goal in the third period during the Barracuda’s 6-5 win over the Henderson Silver Knights at Tech CU Arena on Wednesday APR 10, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Ethan Cardwell picked a great time to record his first multi-goal game of the season.

Cardwell scored a shorthanded goal with just over five minutes remaining in the third period as the San Jose Barracuda took down the Henderson Silver Knights in a 6-5 victory on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Cardwell’s heroics were set up by Tanner Kaspick as he gave the puck up to Cardwell just outside the ‘Cuda zone. Cardwell fired a wrist shot on Silver Knights goalie Jesper Vikman who made the initial save but gave up a juicy rebound. The rookie forward cleaned up his own rebound with a shot to the short side for his second goal of the game and his team leading 23rd goal of the season at the 14:31 mark.

“You’re not typically looking to get one (a goal) when you’re short-handed with a couple of minutes to play,” said Cardwell about his game winner. “But sometimes, a squirrel finds a nut. I just kind of put one (a shot) on net and was hoping to kind of catch him off guard and the rebound popped up perfectly and I was able to put it home.”

The teams combined for six goals in the final frame that went back and forth from start to finish.

San Jose snapped its three-game losing streak with four games left in the regular season. Henderson has lost four of its last five games.

San Jose (22-33-9-4) drew first blood near the halfway mark of the first period with a power play goal. Nathan Todd found Jack Thompson at the point. Thompson blasted a slap shot that was tipped past Vikman by Cole Cassels for his 11th goal of the season at the 8:31 mark.

Thompson leads all defenseman in the AHL in power play with 22 (3G, 19 A).

Henderson (27-34-3-5) evened the game late in the first period with a short-handed goal. Bryan Froese skated into the Barracuda zone, found Jonas Rondbjerg along the right slot. Rondbjerg’s wrist shot hit off the shaft of Filip Bystedt’s stick and past ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona for his ninth goal of the season at the 14:33 mark.

The Silver Knights gained its first lead of the game with a power play goal early in the second period. Mason Morelli tried to center the puck from the left boards. The puck pinballed around before Jakub Brabenec picked up the loose puck and fired a wrist shot past Chrona for his sixth goal of the season at the 5:01 mark.

The Barracuda answered back with its second power play goal of the game at the halfway mark of the middle frame. Thompson found Danil Gushchin along the left wing. Gushchin threaded a seem pass back door to Nathan Todd who buried a wrist shot for his 19th goal of the season at the 10:17 mark.

San Jose regained the lead late in the second period with an even strength goal. Todd waited to Tristen Robins to get untangled with a Silver Knights defenseman. Robins skated in all alone on Vikman before beating him with a backhand to forehand shot that trickled behind Vikman into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season at the 14:09 mark.

The Barracuda scored its third unanswered goal in the period just before the second intermission. Ethan Cardwell created a give and go with Gushchin inside the Silver Knights zone. Cardwell skated down the wing before firing an off-balanced shot through the five-hole of Vikman for his team leading 22nd goal of the season at the 19:18 mark.

Henderson scored two unanswered goals to even the game at the start of the third period before a blink of an eye. Mathieu Cataford sent a puck back up to the point where defenseman Daniil Chayka beat Chrona to the stick side with a slap shot for his first goal of the season at the 1:58 mark.

Then 42 seconds later Daniel D’Amato centered a pass from behind the net over to Morelli who fired a one-timer past Chrona for his 12th goal of the season at the 2:40 mark.

Both goals were a result of the Silver Knights outworking the ‘Cuda to the puck and winning battles inside the Barracuda zone.

“It was crazy coming to the third period with a 4-2 lead. It got a little windy out there and they got a few pucks in (the net). (The) boys just kept going and I’m proud of the way we stepped up after that and got us the win,” ‘Cuda center Filip Bystedt said.

Morelli scored his second goal of the game and Henderson’s third unanswered goal in the period with in the first five minutes. Grigori Denisenko threw the puck toward the front of the net from the left boards. Morelli picked up the puck and wrapped it around the net for his 13th goal of the season at the 5:29 mark.

“Obviously we didn’t like the way we came out (to start the third period. Maybe we thought the game was over (when it was 4-2), I don’t know. We battled back and were able to get the win,” ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy said.

Gushchin scored the equalizer for the Barracuda thanks to a nice individual play by Gushching. Donovan Houle found Gushchin up the ice at the red line. The rookie skated in from the right wing and beat Vikman with a wrist shot snipe to the short side top shelf for his 18th goal of the season at the 12:02 mark.

Henderson pulled Vikman for a six-on-four advantage with under a minute remaining with Cassels in the sinbin for holding. However, the ‘Cuda penalty kill held their ground to hold on for the win.

Chrona (6-16-5-0) finished the game with 31 saves on 36 shots to earn his sixth victory of the season. Jesper (6-7-2-1) made 21 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-3 on the power play. Henderson was 1-for-5.

San Jose finished 3-3-2 in the season series with Henderson.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Cardwell 2) Morelli 3) Gushchin.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Texas Stars in a weekend series on Friday 4/12 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Dodgers Urias arrested for 5 counts of domestic violence, Astros Valdez out 15 days needs surgery for shoulder; plus more news

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Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias walks off the mound to the dugout in the fifth inning in the second game of a doubleheader against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Sat Aug 19, 2023. Urias has been charged for five counts of misdemeanor domestic violence charges. (AP file photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong:

#1 Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias has been charged with five misdemeanors of domestic violence charges. The charges were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court at the city attorney’s office on Monday. One count of assault and two counts of domestic battery involving a dating relationship. Urias was arrested back on Sep 3 for suspicion of felony domestic violence where eyewitnesses at LAFC MLS game saw Urias having an altercation with his wife. Urias was arrested and posted bail $50,000 the next day.

#2 Houston Astros left hand pitcher Framber Valdez was placed on those 15 day injured list due to elbow soreness. Astros manager Joe Espada said that Valdez will miss at least a couple of starts. Espada said that the club will be watching the inflammation and hopes that it will go down.

#3 Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar a two time All Star has been struggling. Bednar a right hander blew a save opportunity on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers who rallied in a 5-3 win. After the game Pirates first baseman Randy Tellez said after blowing the lead that it’s something you just don’t do and that as a team they have to do better.

#4 Chicago White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada was helped off the field after hitting a grounder and pulled up injured and injured his hip and fell short of the first base bag. Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor tried to talk an comfort Moncada as he was on the ground in pain.

#5 Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story’s season is over after injuring his shoulder. Story will need surgery for a fractured glenoid. Baseball chief officer Craig Breslow said Story will be on the injured list for the next six weeks. Story was in a sling when he and his teammates were introduced at the pre game ceremonies.

Jessica does Headline Sports every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong:

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Schools over Stadiums in appeals court to stop public funding of A’s Vegas ballpark

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Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas who locked their doors to the public on Apr 2, 2024. This is a look at the outside of the Tropicana on Fri Apr 5, 2024. This is the hopeful site for the A’s to move to by opening day 2028. Schools over Stadiums are seeking to get the Nevada Court of Appeals to approve legal language for their petition drive to get an initiative on the ballot to stop SB1 the public funding of the Tropicana ballpark. Schools over Stadiums if allowed to go forward will need over 102,000 signatures split amongst four Nevada Districts ready by Jun 1, 2024 to the Nevada State register of voters. (photo by Sports Radio Service staff)

On the Oakland podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Jerry, Schools over Stadiums is in the Nevada State of Appeals Court trying to get the language for a petition drive to get an initiative on the state November ballot to stop SB1 public funding for the Tropicana ballpark for the A’s. In appeals court on Wednesday Schools over Stadiums remarks to the court were “John Fisher does not pay his lawyer because he cares about the finer points of constitutional law in Nevada…” and “What this has been about from the beginning is delay, driving up our bills, and keeping this off the ballot.”

#2 NBC reported that Schools over Stadiums also said in court on Wednesday that polling results from Jackson County MO an Emerson Poll that “a majority of Las Vegas voters oppose public money going towards a baseball stadium for the A’s, taxpayers should have the opportunity to vote on where this public money goes.”

#3 Also reported when the A’s president David Kaval turned down the Oakland Coliseum’s five year $97 million offer Kaval said it was above market rate and Oakland Mayor Chief of Staff Leigh Hanson countered saying while the deal was above market rate the city is not receiving parking revenue from the Coliseum, the city gets no cut from concessions from food or beverages and is only getting a small share of the ticket revenue. Kaval then said “this isn’t going to work for us.” Hanson said this isn’t about getting the cheapest deal for you but what is going to work for the city.

#4 Jerry, the national media has been working on this story about Schools over Stadiums being in the Nevada Court of Appeals and there is an indication that if allowed by the court to put the language on the petition drive it could spell trouble for the A’s financing for the Tropicana ballpark could it force John Fisher and David Kaval to possibly return to the table with the City of Oakland or hatch a deal with Sacramento. There could be a legal fight to try and keep the A’s in Oakland that’s a ways down the road right now.

#5 With 76 days left are left on how language on how a ballot initiative will read to stop SB1 the decision will rest in the hands of a seven member Supreme Court. Lawyers from both sides of the argument from the labor union arguing this measure will prevent jobs and have an economic impact on Las Vegas and Nevada. Schools over Stadiums lawyers argued that being the 48th state in education and 49th in class room sizes the $380 million of public money going to a stadium should be going to education and the time is critical to get the petition started.

#6 Jerry deputy executive director of government relations for the NSEA Chris Daly said that time is running out that once the court is to approve the legal language for the ballot initiative that gives Schools over Stadiums just less than 75 days to get these petitions printed and petition gatherers on the ground and start seeking over 102,000 signatures.

Jerry Feitelberg cover the Oakland A’s for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants Avoid The Series Sweep With 7-1 Win Over Washington Nationals at Oracle park

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San Francisco Giants starter Jordan Hicks throws to the Washington Nationals in the top of the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Apr 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, April 10th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

Nick Ahmed and Tyler Fitzgerald had three hits apiece and Jordan Hicks allowed one run in six innings as the San Francisco  Giants avoided a three-game series sweep with a 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals.

Hicks (2-0) has allowed one earned run or less in each of his first three starts this season after signing with San Francisco this offseason. The right-hander allowed four hits and had two strikeouts today.

“He’s talented, but what’s impressed me most is the mix of pitches he uses now,” said Manager Bob Melvin. “It was mostly fastball/slider [as a reliever], now he’s got a sweeper, a split. His velocity will go anywhere from 92-100 mph, which is very tough for a hitter to keep track of.”

Ahmed drove in two runs and scored three times, while Fitzgerald stole two bases and scored twice.

Melvin indicated that Fitzgerald could see more playing time.

What are we, 1-0 [in games] with three stolen bases?” Melvin joked. “Fitzy has got a lot to do with that. He’s got the best speed on our team, and he needs to play too. It’s good that he got a really good game under his belt.”

Fitzgerald also had a big day at the plate, as he went 3-for-3 with a double.

“It’d been a while since I last played,” said Fitzgerald. “I just had a lot built up, and I was ready to get after it and ready to play. I just got my opportunity, and I’m excited I finally took advantage of it.”

Fitzgerald’s performance also excited his teammates.

“That was sick,” said Hicks. “I’ve been waiting to see what he has in his game. He showed today he’s a baller.”

Joey Gallo homered for Washington, his third of the season.

San Francisco banged out 12 hits and went 6 for 8 with runners in scoring position after going 1 for 16 with runners in scoring position in the first two games of the series.

The Nationals stole two bases in the loss, giving them a MLB-best 25 this season.

Patrick Corbin (0-2) gave up 11 hits and seven runs with two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Despite the offensive outburst, San Francisco failed to homer for the sixth straight game.

Giants relievers Ryan Walker and Erik Miller pitched the final three innings, holding Washington hitless.