Author: Sports Radio Service

Sabonis leads Kings with 25th triple double in 109-107 victory over Magic at Golden 1

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The Orlando Magic guard Tyrese Maxey (left) drives to the basket against the Sacramento Kings Domantas Sabonis (right) in the first half at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Mon Mar 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Monday. The Kings were back on the court after an off day on Sunday. The Kings had last played against the Orlando Magic on Saturday in Orlando.

The Kings beat the Magic 109-107. On the other hand, the Kings welcomed the Philadelphia 76ers, who had last played on Sunday in Los Angeles against the Clippers. The 76ers defeated the Clippers 121-107. The Kings and 76ers tipped off at 7 PM PST at Golden One Center. The Kings defeated the 76ers on Monday by the final of 108-96.

In the first quarter, it was the Tyrese Maxey and Keegan Murray show. Tyrese had a game-leading 21 points in the first quarter. Not far behind Maxey was Keegan Murray, who scored 17 points. The Kings outscored the 76ers in the first quarter 31-25. The Kings would look to maintain Maxey in the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Kings did a solid job on Tyrese. Maxey only managed five points in the second quarter as the Kings ballooned the lead on the 76ers. The Kings outscored the 76ers 29-23 in the second quarter. The Kings went into halftime leading 60-48. Keegan Murray led the Kings in the first half with 19 points. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 26 points in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Kings continued to put pressure on the 76ers. The Kings expanded the lead on the 76ers by outscoring them 23-20. The Kings would go up 83-68 entering the final quarter. The Kings leading scorer through three quarters was Keegan Murray with 21 points. Tyrese Maxey was still the leading scorer for Philly with 26 points. In the third quarter Domas Sabonis recorded his 54th striahgt double-double a league leading record the last 50 years.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings managed to hold on and seal the deal. The Kings held on to defeat the 76ers by the final of 108-96. The Kings were outscored in the final quarter 28-25. The Kings leading scorers in the game were De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray who each had 23 points. Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers in defeat with 29 points. The Kings got a much needed win against an opponent they should have beaten on paper without start Joel Embid.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to take on the Dallas Mavs on Tuesday at 7 PM PST.

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Luciano double and Slater homers in 4-1 win

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The San Francisco Giants did the bulk of their scoring in the top of the fourth and fifth innings against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum in pre season play on Mon May 25, 2024 (San Francisco Giants X photo)

Monday, May 25, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

San Francisco. 010 120 000. 4. 6. 0

Athletics. 000 001 000. 1. 4. 1

Attendance: 7,580

OAKLAND–The rootless Athletics came back to Oakland to wind up their spring training with an uneventful 4-1 losss ti the San Francisco Giants in the first of a two game crash pad-home series at the Coliseum this evening.

The green and gold entered the fray with a 13-13 Cactus League record and an interesting assortment of veterans, including JD Davis, Abraham Toro, 29 year old 4A slugger Miguel Andújar, and an improved Paul Blackburn; inexperienced but clearly of major league calibre like Zach Gelof, with his 2023 Baseball Reference WAR of 2.6 and Esteury Ruíz, who stole 68 bases, whether the game situation called for it or not, to go along with his .248 batting average; and youngsters who are on the verge of establishing their bona fides, like Seth Langeliers, who hit only .205 (with an OPS of .683), but whose 2024 spring training numbers going into today were .372, 9.75) and Brent Rookie, who made the 2023 all-star team and then went into free fall until September, finishing the year with a mediocre batting average of .248 but an exciting OPS of .817).

And then there’s non-roster invitee Ho Jun Park, who’s seen considerable Cactus League action and was hitting over 500 when the team broke camp.

Before the gates opened, the A’s announced that they had bought right-handed pitcher Austin Adams’ contract from the Mets. Adams was added to the 40-man roster, and his fellow right handed pitcher Trevor Gott was placed on the 60-day injured list.

Matt Chapman, returning to the Coliseum in a Giants uniform, received a nice round of applause on his first plate appearance from the 7,580 fans who bothered to show up.

In on field action, San Francisco jumped to an early lead on a leadoff 375.foot line drive home run to left by Tom Murphy off a 93.2 four seamer. He duplicated that feat with another round tripper over the left field auxiliary, a 405 foot blast scoreboard that left the Giant catcher’s bat at 106.2 mph.

This one came off an 84.6 mph changeup. One out later, right handed Michael Kelly replaced the southpaw Sears, who hadn’t allowed any hits except for Murphy’s two dingers, in 3-2/3 innings, during which he threw 70 pitches, 39 for strikes. He walked four and struck out three, and was the losing pitcher, leaving him at 2-2, 2.70 for the spring.

The Giants increased their lead in the top of the fifth on a lead off double by Marco Luciano that got past a diving Lawrence Butler in right, followed by Jung -Hoo Lee’s productive ground out to second, Austin Slater’s sac fly to right and a homer to left by Wilmer Flores. By now, it was 4-0, Giants.

Zack Jackson hurled a scoreless top of the sixth before giving way to Dany Jiménez, who retired the side in order in the seventh. Lucas Erceg rode the bullpen merry-go-round in the eighth, the inning that produced the loudest response from the select gathering in the stands, cheers for a single to left by Pablo Sandoval, who had entered the game in the bottom of the seventh to play third base. Mason Miller put the visitors down in order in the ninth.

Lefty Juan Sánchez relieved Hicks, who left after holding the A’s to one base runner, Gelof, who walked in the opening frame, over five innings, in which he threw 72 pitches, 45 of which counted as strikes, and striking out 10 batters he was credited.

Another southpaw, minor leaguer Erik Miller relieved Sánchez with two on and one down in the bottom of the sixth, and he surrendered an RBI single to Toro, who had replaced Gelof as the A’s second sacker. Ryan Walker kept the A’s off the board ij the seventh, and RJ Dabvoich, a minor leaguer, unleashed two wild pitches and yielded an equal number of bases on balls but escaped unscored upon thanks to a crisp inning ending 6-4-3 double play on Rooker’s sharp grounder. Another minor league righty, Justin Garza earned the save by setting the Athletics down in order.

Both teams will wrap up their preseason activity tomorrow, Tuesday afternoon, with a 5:05 game at Oracle Park. The A’s will send Paul Blackburn to the mound; the Giants haven’t announced who will start for them.

Oakland A’s game wrap: Oakland A’s Lose To The San Francisco Giants 4-1, JP Sears Gives Up 2 Homers To Tom Murphy

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Lawrence Butler (2) of the Oakland A’s stands in at the plate against the San Francisco Giants at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon Mar 25, 2024 (Oakland A’s X photo)

Monday, March 25th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

The Oakland A’s host their cross the bridge rivals the San Francisco Giants in a Spring Training game at the Oakland Coliseum. 

The game was off to a hot start for the Giants as Tom Murphy hit a second inning lead off home run off A’s starting pitcher JP Sears making it 1-0. Sears in the third inning started off by walking Jung Hoo Lee, but got out of that jam and kept it at 1-0, but in the fourth inning Murphy banged another homer off Sears and that led to a pitching change for the A’s as they went into the bottom of the fourth down 2-0. 

Michael Kelly was the new pitcher for Oakland and he started his first full inning in the fifth giving up a leadoff double to Marco Luciano. Luciano would move to third on a Lee groundout, then would score off an Austin Slater sac fly, 3-0 Giants.

Wilmer Flores would then follow up Slater with a solo homerun, 4-0 Giants and again when the A’s would get to the plate, would have no hits as Jordan Hicks ended his outing with just a walk against him. 

Giants pitcher Juan Sanchez gave up the A’s first hit in the sixth inning to Lawrence Butler and he would then score from an Abraham Toro single with the new SF pitcher Erik Miller, 4-1. The A’s looked like they had a chance to deliver a real comeback with the bases loaded, but a ground out from Esteury Ruiz and Miller escaped the jam. 

In the 8th inning Oakland had Lucas Erceg start the inning on the hill and he faced off against Giants hero Pablo Sandoval and gave up a single. It looked like Sandoval would get a run when he would make it all the way to third after a single and a walk, but a ground out ended the inning for Oakland.

The 8th inning looked like the A’s would have a chance from Ryan Noda who made it to third off two wild pitches and it looked like they’d close the gap, but a double play would get San Francisco out the 8th and closer to a win. 

Mason Miller would stop the Giants from any insurance runs by striking out the side, but the A’s would go three up and three down at the plate and lose to the Giants 4-1. 

Before the A’s go into their opening series against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, they face the Giants one more time for Spring Training, tomorrow in Oracle Park in San Francisco. Still no announcement on who will be pitching.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda host Reign to close out four game homestand on Wednesday at Tech CU

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The Tucson Roadrunners forward Jan Jenik (24) and the San Jose Barracuda forward Tanner Kaspick (41) settle their differences on the ice at Tech CU Arena in San Jose on Sun Mar 24, 2024 (San Jose Barracuda photo)

On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (20-30-9-2) scored three goals all on power plays and got goaltending support from Eetu Makiniemi who shutout the Tucson Roadrunners( 36-21-3-2) 4-0 at Tech CU in San Jose.

#2 The Barracuda in the game got the man advantage nine times in the game the most for this season while both Tucson and San Jose chalked up a season high of 158 penalty minutes in a physical contest.

#3 Marko, talk about Makiniemi who picked up his third shutout of the season and his seventh of his career and it was the second time he blanked the opposition in his last five games.

#4 To show you how impressive Makiniemi was stopping the Roadrunners this was Tucson’s third time this season they were shutout. The Roadrunners had not been shutout in a game since Nov 22, 2023.

#5 The Barracuda take on the Ontario Reign next at Tech CU to close out their four game homestand. San Jose and Ontario face off on Wednesday night at 7:00pm PDT. Tell us how you see these two matching up.

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

Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason: Warriors tip off with Heat Tuesday in Miami

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Stephen Curry guard Golden State Warriors (30) takes a shot in the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Sun Mar 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

On Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason:

  1. The Warriors are fighting for their playoff lives. They faced a tough game against the Minnesota Timberwolves who are currently playing without Karl-Anthony Towns. They will be facing the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic this coming week so they are facing a lot right.

2. The Timberwolves struggled early in Sunday’s game while the Warriors came out strong. Both teams played very well throughout the game but it was the crazy triples that the Timberwolves hit that spelled the difference as well as their defense.

3. The Warriors had a great first half but started to stumble in the second half. They needed to avoid a mental lapse and unfortunately they had a lapse to start the fourth quarter. Both teams had lapses in this game but it was Minnesota that pulled it all together in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

4. Although the Warriors lost this game, they had four of their starters in double digits as well as Klay Thomson with 16 off the bench. They put out a great effort but just fell short.

5. The Warriors now face a couple of tough assignments on the road in Florida. First up will be the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. With 12 games left in the season every game matters and the Warriors are faced with some huge challenges. They are looking at roughly nine really tough games but no team can be overlooked right now.

Listen to the Golden State Warriors podcast with Barbara Mason Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants spanked by Triple-A affiliate River Cats 8-1 in Exhibition Game in Sacramento

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San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval take a few cuts at their game against the Sacramento River Cats at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento on Sun Mar 24, 2024 (San Francisco Giants X photo)

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento, California

Sacramento River Cats 8

San Francisco Giants 1

Win: Darren McCaugham (5-4)

Loss: Miguel Yajure (0-2)

Time: 2:40

Attendance: 14,014* (No official attendance was given for tonight’s game, but since the game was sold out, and the seating capacity of Sutter Health Park is 14,014, it can be assumed that it was the attendance tonight.)

By Stephen Ruderman

SACRAMENTO–The Giants came to Sacramento for the third Giants vs. River Cats exhibition game, and were smoked by their Triple-A affiliate, 8-1.

The Giants broke camp on Saturday after an 11-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Scottsdale Stadium, the Giants’ spring training ballpark. They flew home to San Francisco after the game, got some rest and then took the bus to Sacramento, where they would be the home team, to play their Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.

This was the third time the two teams matched up for an exhibition game at Sutter Health Park. The first contest came on March 30, 2016, when the Giants as the home team beat the River Cats 8-4. The Giants returned to Sacramento on March 24, 2018, this time as the road team, and lost a tight one by a final of 6-5.

There was a lot of excitement in the air at Sutter Health Park. This stemmed from Giants fans in Sacramento getting to see their team play in their hometown for the first six years, as well as the fact that the team had a strong off-season, and greatly improved the team. Fans in Northern California were also going to get to see Jung-hoo Lee up close and in person for the first time, which generated plenty of excitement.

Dusty Baker, a Sacramento kid, who had retired from managing at the end of the 2023 season, and who has returned to the Giants as a Special Advisor to Baseball Operations, was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Baker received a standing ovation from the soldout crowd at Sutter Health Park as he walked out to the mound to throw the pitch.

The teams were interestingly divided, as most of the minor leaguers played for the River Cats, but a few suited up for the Giants. One of the minor leaguers who put on a Giants uniform tonight was Carson Seymour, who was the starting pitcher for San Francisco tonight. On the mound for Sacramento was Mason Black, who is much more likely to see time with the Giants than Seymour.

Wade Meckler led off the game for Sacramento, and lined a double down the right-field line. Heliot Ramos got an infield hit that moved Meckler to third-base, and David Villar singled to right to knock in Meckler. Trenton Brooks walked to load the bases, and that brought up Casey Schmitt, who hit a ground ball to the Giants’ shortstop, Nick Ahmed, who was able to help turn a 6-4-3 double play for the first two outs. That scored Ramos, but since it was a double play, Schmitt did not get an RBI.

Black survived a pair of walks in the bottom of the first inning, and Seymour settled down to throw a 1-2-3 innings in top of the second, as well as the top of the third.

The Giants did not get their first hit off Black until Lee legged out an infield single to start the bottom of the third. Lee advanced to second on a wild pitch, and got to third on a ground out by Austin Slater, but was caught in a rundown for the second out of the inning on a ground ball off the bat of LaMonte Wade Jr.

For Black, he ended up pitching three and two thirds shutout innings. He gave up two hits, but walked five guys.

Juan Sanchez, who has pitched nicely in camp for the Giants this spring, came in to relieve Seymour in the top of the fourth. Sanchez walked two, but struckout two in a scoreless inning of work.

The 6’8” right-hander Carson Ragsdale came in for the Giants in the top of the fifth, and the River Cats rocked him for three runs to extend their lead to 5-0. Ragsdale went two and two thirds, and Nick Garcia got the final out of the top of the seventh.

Eric Silva pitched a 1-2-3 top of the eighth for the Giants, and Pablo Sandoval pinch-hit for Austin Slater, and laced a base-hit to right off the left-hander John Bertrand to start the bottom of the eighth. Sandoval would be out at second after Blake Sabol reached on a 4-6 fielder’s choice, but Tyler Fitzgerald singled in Sabol with two outs to finally put the Giants on the board.

The River Cats tacked on three more runs in the top off the ninth off Spencer Bivens to blow it open, and Nick Avila pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for Sacramento to close it out, as the River Cats won it 8-1.

The River Cats now lead the all-time exhibition series two games to one against the Giants, and with the excitement and success of tonight’s game for both organizations and the city of Sacramento, it would be easy to assume that fans will not have to wait too long before the two teams square off at Sutter Health Park again.

Since this game was against a minor league game, it does not count towards the Giants’ overall spring training record. The Giants will close out their spring training schedule with two games against their crossbay rival A’s. The first will be at 6:40 p.m. on Monday at the Oakland Coliseum, followed by the Giants’ spring training finale when they host the A’s Tuesday night at Oracle Park.

Other Notes:

Logan Webb, who was born and raised in the Sacramento suburb of Rocklin was back in town, but with Webb set to make his third-straight opening day start when the Giants open the Regular Season in San Diego on Thursday, he did not pitch tonight.

“[I] came down this morning to see my family, [and] say hi to everybody,” said Webb. “I couldn’t miss out on coming back here…..I know how much pride this area has in their sports teams; the Giants’ ties run deep [here].”

“It’s always special coming here,” Webb continued. “Honestly, I wish there was a [major league] baseball team here…..I think [Sacramento] can have one…..You see how much Kings fans show up, [and] how much River Cats show up. I love it here.”

Webb expressed his excitement for being back in Sacramento, as well as being able to convert two of his teammates into Kings fans.

“Alex Cobb is a Kings fan now,” Webb said. “Ryan Walker, I think, is following [them] a little more. [The Kings have] been fun to watch, and hopefully, they keep going.”

Webb has struggled this spring, but is trying to put it behind him.

“Obviously, as a competitor, you don’t want to go out there and hear all the cliches, ‘it’s just spring training,’” said Webb. “Everything feels good; it’s just [not] the results I’ve been looking for.”

Pablo Sandoval who has been back in camp hoping for a third stint with the Giants has hit .178 this spring, and Tuesday’s spring training finale as the A’s is rumored to be a final farewell for Sandoval, who despite the odds being stacked against him, has been humble, and has made his excitement and gratitude to get one last chance with the Giants clear.

Sandoval has made an impact in camp, as he has been the connection to the Giants’ world championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and he has had an effect on the young players, who are set to be the team’s future.

According to Manager Bob Melvin, Sandoval has gotten the biggest ovations of any player. Melvin also said that he has specifically sent in Sandoval as a pinch-runner in games this spring to get more of the ovations.

Melvin also discussed the final cuts the Giants are set to make as they prepare to set their 26-man roster for Opening Day. Melvin told the team at the start of camp that even the players who were going to get cut were going to be needed at some point during the Regular Season.

“[With] the way our roster’s constructed, it’s gonna take an army to win,” said Melvin.” “These guys have to know that there’s a good chance they’re gonna be part of this.”

Warriors Fall Short From Downtown Losing to the Timberwolves 114-110; Minnesota ties season high of 3’s with 21

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Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Ried (11) celebrates his three pointer against the Golden State Warriors in the first half at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Sun Mar 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Golden State Warriors (36-33) played a terrific game for three quarters but fell short in the fourth losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves (48-22) 114-110. Despite playing without Karl-Anthony Towns Minnesota played very well after struggling through the first quarter.

It was the triples that the Timberwolves hit that sealed the win for Minnesota. They hit 21 in this game while the Warriors only had 14. Stephen Curry finished with 31 points but it was not enough to get past the Timberwolves.

Sunday evening the Warriors traveled to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves. The Warriors have lost both games they have played against the Timberwolves this season and that was back in November. Both games were close.

On November 12 they lost by six points 116-110 and days later Golden State lost by the score of 104-101. The Warriors were having their struggles in late 2023 and they have turned things around in 2024 so all bets are off in this one.

The Timberwolves are having struggles of their own missing Karl-Anthony Towns who is dealing with a torn left knee meniscus. He had surgery to repair the knee in early March and will be re-evaluated in a month. This pushes his return into the month of April when the regular season will be winding down.

Towns has been a huge part of the Timberwolves rise into the top tier of the Western Conference and he has been missed. The Warriors had a great opportunity to handle this team without Towns as well as their solid starting roster along with their improved play.

Golden State needed this win trailing the Lakers by a game and a half and the Rockets on their heels a mere game and a half behind them but Golden State just couldn’t over come the Timberwolves in a four point 114-110 loss.

Game recap: The Warriors won the first quarter leading after the first 12 minutes 27-18 and by the half had forced 13 Minnesota turnovers. The Timberwolves got going in the second quarter winning the quarter by a single point 28-27.

Golden State took a 54-46 lead into the locker room at the half. Minnesota began to heat up in the first half hitting nine triples and out-rebounding the Warriors 24 to 18. Ball protection was huge for the Warriors who only had five turnovers so far in the game as well as hitting 46% from the field.

The Warriors 12-2 run in the first half and containing Rudy Gobert was a huge part of their halftime lead. Curry, Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins were all in double digits; Curry leading the pack with 14 points.

The Warriors had as much as a dozen point lead in the first half but the Timberwolves were hanging tight in the third quarter but still trailing 60-57. Golden State had their work cut out for them against the number one defensive team in the league.

Minnesota is also fourth in the league from downtown pushing their triple count to 12 in this game. The Warriors established a seven point lead 74-67 with 2:55 left in the third quarter. Minnesota got to within one point in the closing minute but Golden State pushed their lead back out to 81-78.

A single triple by the Timberwolves would tie up this game and so far the Warriors had been outscored by 18 points from the 3-point line. Curry had scored 22 points through three quarters. Golden State could not afford a mental lapse as this game went into the fourth quarter.

The Warriors started the fourth quarter with a couple of turnovers that the Timberwolves turned into two more triples taking a 84-81 lead. With ten minutes left in the game it was tied at 84 in another close game between the two conference foes.

The tide began to turn with under seven minutes left in the game. Minnesota continued to hit triples, 19 in total, taking a 97-89 lead. With 6 1/2 minutes left in the game Curry came back on the court instantly hitting a triple and cutting the Minnesota lead to 97-92.

With under six minutes left on the clock triples began to fly from both sides. With 41.0 seconds left in the game Minnesota had a five point lead 111-106.

The Warriors cut the Timberwolves lead to 111-110 with 14.9 seconds and the ball in Minnesota’s possession. This game was going down to the wire. Klay Thompson got a decent look at 11.2 and missed and that was the game 114-110 in favor of Minnesota.

The Minnesota Timberwolves dictated the pace of the game after the first quarter and their shooting from downtown was a huge part of tonight’s win for Minnesota. The Timberwolves had won all three games against Golden State this season. Anthony Edwards made some key shots in the game finishing with 23 points. They are now 25-9 at home this season.

It does not get any easier for the Warriors as they head into Florida to take on the Miami Heat Tuesday night followed by a matchup with the Orlando Magic Wednesday night. Both of these games are critical and both of them will be a tough call. Tipoff for the first of the two games Tuesday night is scheduled for 4:30 PM. 12 games are left in the season and it is going to be a photo finish.

Barracuda power play shoots down Roadrunners in 4-0 shutout win, split series

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San Jose Barracuda forwards Cole Cassles (#60) and Nathan Todd (#45) celebrate Cassels goal in the second period during the Barracuda’s 4-0 win at Tech CU Arena on Sunday MAR 24, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda scored three power play goals and goalie Eetu Makiniemi stopped all 27 shots he faced in a 4-0 shutout victory over the Tucson Roadrunners on Sunday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose split their weekend series with its second win in three games. Tucson fell back down to earth as they have lost two of their last three games. It was only the third time the Roadrunners have been shutout this season.

The Barracuda (20-30-9-2) drew first blood late in the first period with its first power play goal of the game. Kyle Rau threw the puck in front of the crease as the puck laid loose in front of a sea of traffic. Danil Gushchin dug out the puck and buried it into the back of the net for his 15th goal of the season at the 18:36 mark.

Tucson (36-21-3-2) only generated six shots in the opening frame that was dominated by San Jos who outshot them by eight with a 14-6 margin.

San Jose doubled its lead with its second power play goal late in the second period. Gushchin led a rush up the ice and sent a pass far side over to Cole Cassels along the right slot. Cassels wrist shot deflected off a Roadrunner defender through the five-hole of Roadrunners goalie of Dylan Wells for his ninth goal of the season at the 17:35 mark.

Oskar Lindblom scored the ‘Cuda’s third unanswered goal, an even strength one, just before the halfway mark of the third period. Shakir Mukhamadullin centered a pass through the crease as Lindblom’s first attempt was saved by Wells. The veteran forward cleaned up his own rebound for his eighth goal of the season at the 8:47 mark.

Tucson was never able to establish any offensive rhythm as they were busy going to the sinbin throughout the game as they took nine penalties, most of them undisciplined, that allowed San Jose to have a sustained forecheck.

Ethan Cardwell got back on the scoring sheet with San Jose’s third power play goal of the game just under three minutes later. Tristen Robbins sent a no look rink wide pass over to Cardwell who blasted a one-timer past Wells for his team-leading 19th goal of the season at the 11:37 mark. Cardwell has goals four of his past five games.

Things became chippy in the final two minutes of the game with two fights and a total of nine players between both teams given 10-minute misconducts with 1:53 remaining. There was a total of 148 combined penalty minutes between the two teams.

Makiniemi (8-8-0-3) had a relatively easy afternoon as he earned his third shutout of the season with his 27 saves. Wells (8-5-2-1) made 36 saves on 40 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 3-for 9 on the power play. Tucson was 0-for-5.

San Jose is now 2-4 against Tucson in the season series.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gushchin 2) Mukhamadullin 3) Makiniemi.

Who let the dogs out? The Barracuda had their annual Pucks and Paws Day as 3,982 showed up with their canine friends.

UP NEXT: San Jose concludes their four-game homestand when they host the Ontario Reign on Wednesday 3/27 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Headline Sports with Charlie O: Can Ohtani interpreter stay in Japan avoid extradition?; Ex-O’s owner Angelos dead at 94 great accomplishments; plus more news

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Former Los Angeles Dodgers interpreter Ippei Mizuhara (left) and Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani no longer will be working together after Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers for allegedly massive theft of Ohtani’s money for gambling (photo from ESPN)

On Headline Sports with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, how bad of a look is it for baseball to have Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter allegedly stealing some $4.5 million from Ohtani to use it to gamble with an illegal bookmaker with Ohtani’s name on it. The big question is from the face of the story and everything we know does it look like or appear that Ohtani could have had a hand in this scandal based on the money transfers being in Ohtani’s name? Ippei Mizuhara the interpreter reportedly has said that Ohtani didn’t have anything to do with gambling which is being investigated by the US Attorney’s office.

#2 Baltimore Orioles former owner Peter Angelos has passed away at age 94. He oversaw an Orioles organization that had it’s highs and lows but the one thing everyone will remember him by his when got the plans together in the early 90s to build Camden Yards which opened in 1992. It was the ballpark that started other major league franchises to want a new ballpark for themselves. Angelos commandeered the idea of having the Orioles play a exhibition series against the Cuban National team in Havana Cuba on March 28, 1999. It was the first time that any team from the US played in Cuba since 1959. Later that season the the same two teams met again on May 3 at Camden Yards.

#3 The Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper who hasn’t played in a exhibition game since Mar 14th was in the line up against the New York Yankees yesterday. Harper had been out with sore back. Harper played in a simulated game on Friday and got in the line up on Saturday. Harper had back spasms last season.

#4 The San Francisco Giants announced that they will begin looking for a new PA announcer to replace the popular Renel Brooks Moon who had been the Giants PA announcer for 24 seasons. The Giants plan to rotate PA announcers during the season until they settle on someone they will hire. The Giants said they couldn’t reach a deal with Renel and sources say she wasn’t rehired because she was outspoken on social injustice issues.

#5 The Oakland 68s and the Last Dive Bar two Oakland A’s fan groups have voice their displeasure regarding the Oakland A’s cutting the usual opening night parking lot time from four hours down to two hours. The A’s say that the expect a low attendance for Thu Mar 28th and that opening the lot for four hours before the game would not be necessary. The 68s and the Last Dive Bar call the A’s decision “mind games” and a deliberate way to cut into their parking lot boycott that they planned.

Join Charlie O for Headline Sports each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ebobisse’s late goal heroics give Earthquakes first win of the season 3-2 over Sounders

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San Jose Earthquakes players celebrate a goal scored by Cristian Espinoza during their 3-2 victory over the Seattle Sounders at Pay Pal Park on Saturday MAR 23, 2024. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Something had to give on a cloudy night in Silicon Valley.

On a night when both teams were looking to put a one in the win column, Jeremy Ebobisse scored the game winning goal in the 82nd minute as the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Seattle Sounders 3-2 on a rainy Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park in the 16th edition of the Heritage Cup.

San Jose earned its first win of the season after beginning the season losing its first four matches. Seattle has lost two of their first four matches.

“It felt great, especially for the players,” said Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez. “The players have been fantastic in terms of trying to get better. We obviously have been disappointed with the results. We know that it hasn’t bounced our way, but we saw early in the week in competing and with their energy and in their belief. Together they showed that determination.”

Gonzalez made major lineup changes for the first time this season as he replaced his starting midfield with Alfred Morales, Jackson Yueill and Niko Tsakiris. Preston Judd replaced Ebobisse in the starting lineup at striker and William Yarbrough got his first start of the season in goal replacing Daniel in his Earthquakes debut.

San Jose (1-4-0) drew first blood in the 42nd minute. Yueill centered a ball into the box that hit off the head of defender Bruno Wilson over to a crashing Vitor Costa who slid kicking the ball into the net past Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei for his team-leading second goal of the season.

“It’s something we’ve been working, more so crashing the box. We want to be visible in the box. We want to be optimistic that the ball is going to bounce there. It wasn’t exactly the ball I was trying to put there but it was a good moment for him (Costa) to score and be in that position,” Yueill said.

The Earthquakes needed just a minute later to double its lead. Judd dribbled in from the left wing, hesitated, then shot the ball on Frei. The Sounders’ captain initial save bounced out to the middle where Cristian Espinoza cleaned up the rebound into an empty net for his first goal of the season.

The ‘Quakes had all the momentum in their favor as they controlled the possession for the majority of the first half and were rewarded late with the two goals as they headed into the intermission riding high.

Seattle (0-1-2) cut the lead in half when they were awarded a penalty in the 70th minute by referee Gabriele Ciampi when he called Paul Marie for a foul inside the box when he pushed down Yéimar Gómez from behind. Two minutes later Raúl Ruidíaz finished off the penalty by getting Yarbrough to go down before chipping the ball into the middle of the net for his team-leading second goal of the season.

The Sounders scored the equalizer in the 81st minute. Cody Baker centered a ball from the right sideline deep into the box where an unmarked Danny Musovski headed the ball into the back post for his first goal of the season.

Ebobisse, who came into the game as a substitution five minutes earlier, set up his own heroics as he sent out a pass over to Jack Skahan along the right flank. Skahan went around a Sounders defender before centering the ball into the box where a sliding Ebobisse buried into the net for his first goal of the season.

“We all want to be on the field, and we are going to make the most of it when we are on it. It does not mean you don’t have each other’s backs. The situation on the field is for one striker. Even if you want to be the best for yourself, you have to acknowledge when things are going right,” Ebobisse said.

Yarbrough finished the match with five saves on seven shots to earn his first victory in a Quakes kit. Frei made four saves on seven shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with two corner kicks. Seattle had eight.

The Quakes and Sounders FC, both founded in 1974 and originally members of the North American Soccer League (NASL), are celebrating their 50th anniversaries this season.

San Jose is now 15-15-9 all time against Seattle and is undefeated in their last four matches.

The Quakes’ first two goals happened 1:36 apart, which is the quickest span in MLS this season, eclipsing the previous mark of 2:02 by Austin FC against Philadelphia Union on March 16.

Attendance for the match was 16,109.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns to the road when they take on the Houston Dynamo on Saturday 3/30 at 5:30pm at Shell Energy Stadium.