Author: Sports Radio Service

Barracuda lose home finale 2-1 to Stars with Blumel’s game winner in OT

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San Jose Barracuda forward Filip Bystedt (#21) battles for the puck along the boards with Texas Stars defenseman Christian Kyrou (#25) in the second period during the Barracuda-Stars game at Tech CU Arena on Saturday APR 13, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE —Matej Blumel scored two goals, including the game winner with 3:11 left in overtime to give the Texas Stars a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda in the ‘Cuda’s regular season home finale on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

Mavrik Bourque found Blumel in the middle of the ice and the Stats forward beat ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona with a wrist shot for his second goal of the game, his team leading 30th of the season at the 1:49 mark of the overtime session.

San Jose finished 2-1 on its final regular season homestand and never won three games in a row during the season. Texas snapped a two-game losing streak as they stayed in fourth place in the Central Division.

The opening frame was scoreless but a physical one as both teams threw checks against each other in the first 20 minutes. San Jose had a small edge in shots as they outshot Texas 12-11. Neither team drew a minor penalty.

San Jose (23-33-10-4) drew first blood early in the second period on an abbreviated power play. Filip Bystedt intercepted a clearing attempt by the Stars. Bystedt found Danil Gushchin down low in the right wing and the rookie forward’s point-blank shot inside the crease got behind Stars goalie Remi Poirier and sneaked its way into the back of the net for his 20th goal of the season at the 5:14 mark.

Gushchin’s goal tied him for the team lead in points with 54 points alongside Nathan Todd.

Texas (33-31-4-2) had four power play opportunities in the middle frame but weren’t able to figure out ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona who, like in the first period, stopped all 11 shots he faced, including a one-timer by Kyle McDonald during the Stars’ third chance with the man advantage.

The Stars finally broke through on its fifth power play opportunity early in the third period that carried over from the end of the second period. Derrick Pouliot found Blumel in the right slot and the Texas forward beat Chrona with a one-timer to the short side for his first goal of the game, his 29th, to even the score at the 1:12 mark.

Poirier (17-15-4-1) finished the game stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faces to earn his 17th win of the season. Chrona (6-16-7) made 38 saves on 40 shots in the losing effort.

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

San Jose has lost all 10 games that went into overtime this season. They went 2-2 against the Stars in the season series.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Blumel 2) Gushchin 3) Poirier.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels down to the desert for its final two games of the regular season with a weekend series with the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday 4/19 at 7:00pm at the Tucson Convention Center Arena.

Giants’ bats come to life for Logan Webb in much-needed win over Rays 11-2 at Tropicana

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb delivers a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the bottom of the first inning at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg FL on Sat Apr 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Tropicana Field

St. Petersburg, Florida

San Francisco Giants 11 (6-9)

Tampa Bay Rays 2 (8-7)

Win: Logan Webb (1-1)

Loss: Ryan Pepiot (1-2)

Time: 2:27

Attendance: 17,411

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants’ offense came to life to give their ace, Logan Webb, some rare run support, and to give the Giants themselves a much-needed win, as they hammered the Tampa Bay Rays 11-2 in St. Pete.

Following a tough 2-1 loss at the Trop last night, in which the offense went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base, the Giants sent their ace, Logan Webb, who has severely suffered from a lack of a run support to the mound. Webb would be matched against the right-hander Ryan Pepiot

LaMonte Wade Jr. singled with one out in the top of the first, and after Jorge Soler struck out, Michael Conforto lined a double down the right field line to score Wade. Webb threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, as he set down the first five men he faced.

The Rays got to Webb for a run in the bottom of the third when Jose Siri scored on a double play ball off the bat of Yandy Diaz. The Giants struck back with two outs in the top of the fourth when Thairo Estrada hit a long home run to left to put San Francisco back ahead.

Webb pitched a scoreless bottom of the fourth, and Pepiot set down the first two men he faced in the top of the fifth. However, Jung-hoo Lee lined a double to right, and Wade hit a home run to right-center to make it 4-1. Like the fourth, Pepiot retired the first two batters, and the Giants worked some two-out magic.

Webb pitched a 1-2-3 shutdown bottom of the fifth, and Rays Manager Kevin Cash brought in Chris Devenski for the sixth. Devenski walked the bases loaded to start the inning, and Mike Yastrzemski, who has been off to a brutally-slow start at the plate, singled on a ground ball to right to score a pair and pad the Giants’ lead at 6-1. Patrick Bailey hit an opposite-field ground-rule double down the left field line to knock in a run and make it 7-1.

The Giants’ offense had finally come to life, but they were not done yet. Jorge Soler hit an absolute bomb just to the left of straightaway center with one out in the top of the seventh, and Thairo Estrada hit a two-run shot to left with two away for his second home run of the game.

Webb pitched through a single and a walk in the bottom of the seventh, and that would be it for the Giants’ ace. Webb gave up six hits over seven innings, and while he didn’t have his greatest outing, he was able to wiggle his way out of trouble. Most importantly, he had some real run support today.

“[We got] a good solid seven innings out of him,” said Manager Bob Melvin.

With the Giants up 10-1 and the game a blowout, Cash opted to have his starting catcher, Ben Rortvedt, pitch the top of the eighth. The Giants loaded the bases off Rortvedt with a double by Bailey and a pair of walks, but Rortvedt escaped the inning unscathed. It wasn’t a 1-2-3 inning,k but it certainly wasn’t the worst-pitched inning for a catcher.

Nick Avila came in for the Giants in the bottom of the eighth and surrendered a run. Rortvedt stayed out for Tampa in the top of the ninth, and Matt Chapman led off the inning with a home run to left to make it 11-2. Erik Miller came in and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to close it out.

The Giants’ offense clicked on all cylinders, as Wade, Chapman and Bailey all had two hits. Thairo Estrada led the way with a 3-for-4 day with a pair of home runs.

“I didn’t make many adjustments,” said Estrada, through interpreter Giants Spanish Play-by-Play Announcer Erwin Higueros. “I just kept my same adjustment, which is just looking for a good pitch to drive.”

Believe it or not, the Giants hit five home runs today after not hitting a single home run in their prior seven games. Their last home run came off the bat of Patrick Bailey at Dodger Stadium 10 days ago on April 3.

“Certainly the homers help[ed],” said Melvin, who said this was a win the Giants needed. “Scoring first in the first inning, that was big for us too. Then to be able to add on, especially in the middle innings, guys on base, got some big hits, hit some home runs. So it’s a much better feeling today for sure.”

“The conversation was all about going game-by-game, at-bat-[by]-at-bat, see your pitch,” said Estrada. “The season is just starting, we have 162 games and we knew we were going to get out of this bad slump.”

Not only did Logan Webb finally get some run support, but he also finally got his first win of the year. Ryan Pepiot took the loss for Tampa.

“We’re happy with the win,” said Estrada. “I mean, especially the way the offense worked, Webb did a great job. Seems like everything worked for us today.”

The Giants improve to 6-9, and they will try and take the series with a win tomorrow morning. Blake Snell will return to where his major league career started for the first time since his trade from the Rays to the Tampa Bay Rays following the 2020 Season. First pitch will be at 1:40 p.m. in St. Pete, and 10:40 a.m., a morning start, back home in San Francisco.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks home finale tonight against Wild; Celebrini favored to join Sharks as top draft pick

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Seattle Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (24) tries to put the puck in the net as the Sharks goaltender Devin Cooley (1) look back in the second period at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Thu Apr 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa, Macklin Celebrini’s father Rick made it clear that he’s excited that Celebrini has a great shot at going to the San Jose Sharks as the number one draft pick. Fans in San Jose are excited about the prospect of Celebrini joining the Sharks and possibly changing the direction of the team who has struggled the last two seasons.

#2 The Sharks had a long long season finishing like last season in last place. They play their last home game of the season tonight against the Minnesota Wild at SAP Center and it’s another off season to regroup and see what direction their going for next season.

#3 You look at the job that goaltender Devin Cooley has done in net with a win he stopped the mighty St Louis Blues back on Apr 6th in overtime with 34 saves and allowed two goals in the Sharks one goal win 3-2.

#4 Mary Lisa, in Seattle last Thursday Cooley once again kept the Sharks in it with some great work between the pipes stopping 49 shots and allowing just one goal. Cooley once again impresses in his second outing.

#5 Last home game for the Sharks with the Wild game is a sell out. The Wild are sixth in the NHL Central at 37-33-9 and have lost their last two games. The Sharks are looking to start MacKenzie Blackwood in net tonight talk about how you see this match up.

Join Mary Lisa Saturdays and Len Shapiro Thursdays for the NHL Stanley Cup podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

#2

#1

A’s hitters baffled by Nats pitcher MacKenzie with 11 K’s in 3-1 loss

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Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore pitches into the bottom of the fifth inning against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Apr 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Washington (6-7). 010 010 001. 3. 10 0

Athletics (6-9). 000 000 100. 1 8. 0

Time: 2:35.

Attendance: 3,330

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the baseball fans today. The forecast was for unseasonably low temperatures and thunderstorms between noon and one o’clock. Cloudy weather was forecast for the rest of the afternoon, except for more thundershowers between 3:00 and 5:00. That kind of put a damper on the Athletics’ recent surprisingly successful past, in which they had won five of their previous six contests.

Joe Boyle (1-1 ,8.22 at game time) threw the first pitch at 1:07. He would throw 85 more before leaving after five innings, trailing 1-0. The tally he allowed was earned in what turned out to be a 3-1 loss to the visitors, but the predicted thundershowers never materialized, and the youngster pitched rather well.

Boyle yielded five hits and a walk over five full innings, allowing but a single run, which was earned, on five hits and a walk, striking out five. His pitch count reached 86, 51 of them being considered strikes. He took the loss, and now stands at 1-2, but lowered his ERA to 5.68.

“I thought Boyle was good today,” said Manager Mark Kotsay. Obviously, we always know that the pitch count’s going to get run up with him. He’s more of a strikeout guy. He had five today, and only one walk, which is a good sign. I thought he did his job really well.”

The forecast for MacKenzie Gore, Boyle’s opposite number on the team from the nation’s capital, was mixed but promising. Here’s what the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga had to say about him on April 2:: …even after a somewhat uneven outing in [the Nats’ home opener] this much is obvious: He can do things with a baseball most people can’t.”

Svrluga went on to comment, “So that’s what the 2024 season is about for Gore, the Nationals’ gifted but developing left-hander: taking that arm talent and squeezing results from it. His stat line from his first start of the season …. was decidedly middling. His stuff is not. The trick: getting the outcomes to match the ability about 30 more times.”

Gore pitched well in his 5-2/3 inning mound tenure. Derek Law replaced him and left after retiring Gelof and Davis and allowing a single to Tyler Nevin and a walk to JD Davis. The starter had shut the A’s out on four hits and a walk. He struck out 11 of the 19 batters he faced and,with the win, improved his record to 2-0, 2.81.

Washington took the lead in the top of the third. Zack Gelof made a beautifully smooth play to rob Riley Adams of a hit that was heading towards right field. Jacob Young followed with a hard line drive that bounced off Boyle and caroomed over to Gelof for an infield single. After a quick check up, Boyle stayed in the game and surrendered a triple down the right field line to bring in Young and put Washington up 1-0.

Kyle Muller replaced Boyle for the sixth and gave up another run on doubles to left center by Winker and García. Muller pitched three innings in total.

“This is a good role for Kyle,” said Kotsay. He’s had some good outings this season. He worked really hard this off-season. We met early on in the off-season, and talked to him about maybe making some changes to the pitch shape, but he wanted to make a change to his arm angle and raise it up. He’s done a great job, and we’ve seen good results, so [I] tip my cap to Kyle for putting in the work this off-season and showing up and really making a difference right now in his role helping the bullpen out. He’s [had] some good performances so far.”

The A’s cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the seventh. Nick Allen singled off Robert García, who had relieved Gore with two down in the “home” sixth, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on Abraham Toro’s double to left.

Washington used a total of six pitchers. They were, in addition to Gore and Law, Robert García, Jordan Weems, Hunter Harvey, and Kyle Finnegan, who earned his fourth save with a 1,2,3 bottom of the ninth.

TJ MacFarland and Michael Kelly pitched in the top of the ninth for the A’s. The former left with two out and Trey Lipscomb on first with a single to right. The latter gave up a single to Adams and an RBI double to Young that drove the last nail into the A’s coffin. The run was charged to MacFarland.

“The moral of the story is the offense,” said Kotsay. “We need to hit better, and we need to score more runs, because the margin for error is very minimal right now.”

Game Notes: Oakland A’s public address announcer Amelia Schimmel did double duty doing the A’s and Nationals PA announcing on Saturday afternoon and then doing the PA announcing in San Jose at SAP Center at the NHL San Jose Sharks-Minnesota Wild game which started at 7:30pm on Saturday night.

Sunday, afternoon, the A’s will try to salvage a series split. They’ll send lefty Alex Wood (0-1,8.03) to the mound. Washington will go with Trevor Wiliams, a right with a 2-0, 2.61 record. Monday, A’s fans will get a chance to watch Sonny Gray (1-0,0.00) in his old stomping grounds as he pitches for the visiting Sonny Gray.

Durant leads the way with 28 pts and Nurkic puts game away with free throws as Suns beat Kings 108-107

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Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) plays defense against the Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) in first half action at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Friday night in Sacramento. The Kings welcomed the Phoenix Suns into town for the second to last game of the regular season. The Suns were coming off a rest day after last playing on Wednesday night.

The Kings were on the second night of a back-to-back after playing on Thursday night. The Kings lost to the Pelicans on Thursday night 135-123. On Friday, the Kings and Suns tipped off at 7:40 PM PST inside Golden One Center. The Kings lost to the Suns 108-107.

In the first quarter, the Kings defense came out strong. The Kings held the Suns to only 22 points in the first quarter. The Kings came out of the gate with much more physicality than they did in the game a night prior against the Pelicans. The Kings offense would put up 27 points in the first quarter to take the quick lead. The Kings would go into the second quarter leading by five points, 27-25. Domas Sabonis was the Kings leading scorer after the first with 11 points.

In the second quarter, the Kings were able to extend the lead. The Kings outscored the Suns in the second quarter 27-23 to extend the lead to nine points going into halftime. The Kings defense managed to hold the Suns to a sub-50 point first half, only allowing 45 points. The Kings would score 54 points in the first half to take a 54-45 lead into halftime. The Kings were led in scoring in the first quarter by Domas Sabonis, who scored 16 points. Leading the way in the first half for the Suns was Kevin Durant, who scored 18 points.

In the third quarter, the Suns were able to come back and bring the game a bit closer heading to the fourth quarter. The Suns outscored the Kings 33-31 in the third quarter to cut the lead to seven points. The Kings would lead going into the fourth quarter 85-78. Kevin Durant was leading the Suns through three quarters with 24 points. Domas Sabonis was leading the Kings heading into the fourth with 25 points. The Kings would need to find the energy to hold off the Suns in the final quarter of action.

In the fourth quarter, the game took an all too familiar turn for Kings fans. The Kings were up four points with 1:02 seconds left in the game. Domantas Sabonis made an errant pass that was picked off by Bradley Beal and scored at the other end. From that point, the Kings could never regain control of the game. The Kings would go onto lose after turning the ball over on the final possession of the game 108-107. The Kings were outscored in the fourth quarter 30-22. The Kings were led in defeat by Domas Sabonis who scored 25 points. Kevin Durant led the Suns to victory with 28 points.

Up Next: The Kings will stay home for the final game of the regular season on Sunday. The Kings will take on the Portland Trail Blazers at 12:30 PM PST.

The Butler did it: A’s Butler drops single for game winning hit defeat Nats in 10 innings 2-1 at Coliseum

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Oakland A’s hitter Lawrence Butler (center) is mobbed by his teammates after hitting a right field single to score the winning run in the 10th inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Apr 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

Friday, April 12, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

Washington (5-7) 000 000 001 0 1 8 1

Athletics (6-8) 001 000 000 1 2 3 1 10 innings

Time: 2:36

Attendance: 5 ,777

OAKLAND–Yesterday’s magnificent 1-0, one hit win over Texas in Arlington behind the stellar mound work of JP Sears capped a successful 4-2 road trip was an indication that just maybe Fisher’s Fugitives might, after all, blossom in Sacramento and the desert wastes of Las Vegas.That is, if Fisher and Manfred’s machinations don’t turn out to be a mirage.

The peripatetic A’s pulled off a thrilling 10 inning squeaker of a win over the wobbly Washington Nationals, who had just steadied themselves by taking two out of three from the Giants in San Francisco, in a game that had a exciting beginning and an amazing end.

They won it behind that excellent mound work of Paul Blackburn and five relievers, the.bat of Lawrence Butler, and an alert play by late inning replacement Tyler Nevin at first. It didn’t hurt that Max Schuemann made his major league debut by scoring the winning tally as a pinch runner. But the excitement wasn’t limited to the frantic two frames of the finale.

The Naats’ Joey Meneses led off the top of the second of a scoreless tie with a single to center. Jesse Winker followed that with a single to right that sent Meneses to second. Both runners moved up 90 feet on Eddie Rosario’s grounder to first.

Menses tried to score on Riley Adams’ grounder to JD Davis at third, and umpire John Libka called him safe, a ruling that, after a long delay, was overturned on review. Blackburn wiggled out of jam when Luis García, Jr. fouled out to Davis After the game, manager Mark Kotsay had high praise for both Davis’s throw and Shea Langliers’ tag.

In the “home” half of the third, rookie Lawrence Butler slammed an 89 mph cutter from Washington’s starter, Jake Irvin 415 feet into right field to give the A’s a 1-0 lead.

Blackburn continued to pitch well, but not without trouble, for a total of 6-1/3 innings. His fielding was one the causes of his troubles. He didn’t get out Ryan Noda’s way on a pop fly to the mound in the top of the sixth.

The two A’s collided, and the ball fell for a two base error on Blackburn. Kotsay later characterized the play with words that recalled Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, “a failure of communication.” The A’s started managed to escape unscathed and ended up without allowing a run in that or any other inning, holding the Nats to five hits and two walks, and maintaining a pristine 0.00 ERA, eventually having to settle for a no decision

Austin Adams (1/3 of inning), TJ MacFarland (also 1/3 of aninning), Lucas Ercig (an inning) blanked the visitors through the eighth. But Dany Jiménez allowed a full count game tying home run by Winker that just snuck over the low fence in front of the Budweiser seats in right.

Jiménez remained poised in spite of that blow and a two out double to Luis García, Jr. keeping the score tied, Mike Kelly pitched the tenth and get win. He was helped by a heads up play by Nevin, who, with runners on first and second, fielded a grounder by CJ Abrams, stepped on the bag and made an error throw to third to complete a unassisted 3-5 double play.

Hopes rose for the Athletics when Gelof reached base on an error by Nasim Núñez at second, who had pinch run for García in the top the frame. Gelof stole

Irvin, the victim of Butler’s blast, was no slouch on the mound either. That round tripper was the only hit the National’s starter allowed in his six frame stint. He walked two and struck out five, using 74 pitches, of them strikes, walked two and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 4.24 from the 5.73 he had brought with him to the mound.

The Nationals used four relievers, Jordan Weems, Robert García, Hunter Harvey, and Kyle Finnegan, who took the loss.

The A’s hung that loss on Finnegan after Schuemann ran for Seth Brown, who had been placed on second as the zombie runner. Then Washington decided to grant Shea Langeliers an intentional walk. Fielding hero Nevin went down swinging. Then Butler came through with a single to left, andS chuemann was off and running. He beat the throw home, and the green and gold had a walk off win to bring them within two games of .500.

Tomorrow, Saturday, the two evenly matched squads will do battle at 1:07. Joe Boyle (1-1,8.22), a righty, will face Washington southpaw MacKenzie Gore (1-0, 4.09)

Warriors Fall Short to Pelicans 114-109; Turnovers Spell the Difference

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The New Orleans Pelicans PJ McCollum (3) drives on the Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson (11) in first half action at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Fri Apr 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The ultimate closer in the NBA did his best to weave his magic yet his team fell to the New Orleans Pelicans (49-32) Friday night in a real barn burner. Stephen Curry finished with 33 points in the loss. Klay Thompson finished with 19. Golden State (45-36) had 16 turnovers which spelled the difference in the 114-109 loss.

Over the past few months the Western Conference showed signs of having a wild finish to the season. The Golden State Warriors now find themselves in a three-way tie for eighth place with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings.

The Lakers have lost their two last games, the last one against the Warriors, and the Kings are just plain self-destructing. They take significant leads in the first half of games only to fall apart in the second half.

The Warriors are playing terrific right now winning their last three games in a row. The Warriors need to win out, the Lakers beat the Grizzlies earlier Friday night with their last game against the Pelicans.

The Kings lost the Suns and have the Trail Blazers up next. All three will be faced with play-in games. The Warriors have had 25 road wins this season and the Pelicans have had 27 road wins and will looking for number 28 tonight.

Friday night the Warriors welcomed the Pelicans to Chase Center. The Pelicans are one game ahead of the Phoenix Suns so both of these teams have a lot at stake. New Orleans wants to avoid the play-in game.

Golden State set the pace in this game from the start leading 26-17 after the first 12 minutes. Seven minutes into the second quarter, however, it all went south and the Warriors 11 point lead had dissolved.

This game was tied at 38 and the tide in this game had done a complete reversal. With three minutes left in the half, the Pelicans really started rolling taking a 53-42 lead. The Warriors had nine turnovers in the second quarter alone.

The Pelicans were 10 of 13 from downtown in the second quarter leading 59-43 and had turned this game completely around in their favor. At the half New Orleans had taken a 62-48 lead. The Pelicans had outscored the Warriors in the second quarter 42-22 and Golden State had a lot of work to do in the second half with New Orleans totally dominating the game.

The Warriors would need some serious adjustments in the second half. A good place to start would be putting the skids on the turnovers. They had 9 turnovers in the second quarter and only 2 in the opening quarter.

The Pelicans had shot beautifully from beyond the arc finishing the half with 11 scored to the Warriors five. Golden State needed to protect the ball in the second half and get their three-ball going.

The Warriors got a better start in the third quarter but the Pelicans continued to hang onto a double digit lead. The third quarter began to feel more like the first when Golden State had the advantage. As this game went deeper into the third quarter, the Warriors had trimmed the Pelicans 14 point lead to five points 71-66.

Golden State was playing some outstanding defense doing their best to contain Zion Williamson and they were doing a great job. They were also guarding the three ball better putting the stops on New Orleans shooting. There would be no room for error heading into the fourth quarter with New Orleans leading 88-75.

The Warriors really needed their three ball, but the Pelicans are one of the top teams in the NBA when it comes to guarding the three so it would not be easy. The Warriors continued to play hard which started to pay off when the Pelicans made some rare mistakes and started missing those three’s while Golden State started to make shots from beyond the arc.

With eight minutes left in the game the Warriors were within three points of a tie 92-89 in a huge turnaround. This game was going down to the wire. With 1:02 left in the game, New Orleans had taken a 112-106 lead. Curry hit a three with 40 seconds left on the clock drawing to within three points 112-109 in this barn burner. Golden State came up just short losing 114-109.

Sunday afternoon the Golden State Warriors wrap up the 2023-24 regular season. They will take on the Utah Jazz at Chase with tipoff scheduled for 12:30 PM.

Romanov like wall in Barracuda’s 3-1 dominant win over Stars

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San Jose Barracuda players Kyle Rau (#91), Nathan Todd (#45) and Jack Thompson (#26) celebrate Filip Bystedt’s (#21) third period goal against the Texas Stars at Tech CU Arena on Friday APR 12, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Georgi Romanov is making a strong case to be one of the San Jose Sharks top goalie prospects.

The San Jose Barracuda netminder stopped 38 of the 39 shots he faced en route to a 3-1 victory over the Texas Stars on Friday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has won the first two games of their final homestand of the season. Texas has lost three out of its last four games as its headed to the postseason as they clinched a playoff berth in the Cental Division.

Romanov (9-9-8-0) recorded his ninth victory of the season as he was stellar between the pipes for San Jose that help shutdown one of the top prolific offenses in the AHL.

“I thought he (Romanov) had a really good night for us,” said ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy regarding his goalie’s performance tonight. “He (Romanov) thrives kinda in tight play (with) lateral movement. It’s good to see him get the result.”

San Jose (23-33-9-4) drew first blood moments after a killing a penalty. A fanned slapshot attempt by Derrick Pouliot squirted out to the red line. Lucas Vanroboys was at the right place at the right time as he picked up the puck right as he exited the penalty box. Vanroboys skated in and beat Stars goalie Matthew Murray with a wrist shot top shelf to the short side for his first AHL career goal at the 6:01 mark.

“Every time you’re in the (penalty) box, you kind of get it in your head maybe that if all things line up, you can get a good scoring chance out of it. (I) just executed (the play),” Vanroboys said.

The Barracuda doubled its lead on the next shift as they needed just 11 seconds after Vanroboys goal to go up 2-0. A backhanded clearing attempt by Murray from behind his own net was intercepted by Danil Gushchin and the rookie forward threaded a wrist shot into the upper corner of the net far side before Murray could recover in time for his 19th goal of the season. It was the quickest two goals scored in franchise history.

Vanroboys scored his first professional goal in just his third AHL game after playing this past season at the University of Massachusetts where he registered three goals and eight overall points in 29 games for the Minutemen.

“It’s a great experience obviously. When you play college (hockey), you want to move on and play professionally after. It’s a little bit different structure of a day. You gotta be a little more flexible with your schedule and more accountable,” said Vanroboys talking about the difference between playing collegiately and professionally in the AHL.

Texas (32-31-4-2) had two power play opportunities but were shut down by ‘Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov who made 15 saves in the opening frame.

“I thought (our) first period we came out and played the game we wanted to. In the second period, we get off script, we get off (of our) plan. Took a couple of penalties, were back on our heels. I like the way we responded in the third (period),” McCarthy said.

Once again, the Stars put 15 shots on net in the second period, but like the first period, they were stonewalled by Romanov who didn’t give up many rebounds and was aggressive challenging shots in front of the crease in the middle frame.

San Jose put the game away late in the third period with a power play goal. Jack Thompson centered a pass from the left wing over to Filip Bystedt who blasted a one-timer past Murray for his third goal in a ‘Cuda uniform at the 13:59 mark.

Justin Hryckowian spoiled Romanov’s shutout bid with 1:34 remaining in the final frame when tipped home a shot from Matej Blumel for his first goal of the season with Texas on the power play.

Murray (14-15-2-1) made 34 saves on 37 shots in the losing effort as he dropped below .500 for the season.

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

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Vanroboys 2) Romanov 3) Gushchin.

The announced attendance was 3,321 on ‘Cuda mascot Frenzy Bobblehead giveaway night.

UP NEXT: San Jose plays its final home game of the regular season against the Texas Stars on Saturday at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Giants Lose Defensive Battle to Rays 2-1

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Keaton Winn throws against the Tampa Bay Rays in the bottom of the first inning at Tropicana Stadium in Tampa Bay on Fri Apr 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

It was not a pretty game for the San Francisco Giants (5-9) offensively. They left runners stranded throughout the game dropping game one of a three game series against the Tampa Bay Rays (8-6) 2-1 on Friday night. Both teams committed several errors. San Francisco was 0-9 with runners in scoring position. The offense just wasn’t very productive and on top of it all, manager Bob Melvin was ejected.

Game recap: It was a scoreless first inning for both teams. In the second inning, Tampa Bay threatened loading the bases with no outs. Winn had his work cut out for him getting out of this mess. When the dust had settled the Rays came away with only one run. A disappointment for Tampa Bay and a relief for the Giants. Winn kept the damage to a minimum when it really could have gone sideways. With the bases loaded, he walked Diaz and Harold Ramirez scored giving the Rays the early one run lead 1-0.

The Giants tied up the game in the third inning 1-1 when Jung Hoo Lee scored after singling, stealing second base and reaching third base on a throwing error by Tampa Bay catcher Ben Rortvedt. LaMonte Wade Jr. grounded out to second bringing Lee home.

The Rays took back the lead in the bottom of the third inning 2-1 off an infield hit that resulted in a Yandy Diaz triple and Harold Ramirez scored his second run of the game. The score remained 2-1 after four innings. Winn recorded his third walk in the bottom of the fourth but kept Tampa Bay from scoring leaving a runner stranded on second base. It was on to the fifth inning.

LaMonte Wade Jr. would advance to third base after he was walked on a throwing error by Ben Rortvedt the second error by the Tampa Bay catcher in the game. The Giants had runners at the corners, but Michael Conforto struck out and this game went into the bottom of the fifth. Through five innings each team had five hits as San Francisco continued to trail 2-1.

San Francisco starting pitcher Keaton Winn finished the game going five innings allowing five hits, had three walks and two runs. He was relieved by Landen Roupp in the sixth inning.

A defensive battle continued into the seventh inning. The Giants put two runners on base in the seventh with two outs and big-hitter Jorge Soler at the plate. He had been on base three times in this game. Soler struck out and the Giants were unable to capitalize leaving runners stranded. San Francisco was 0-7 with runners in scoring position squandering a number of opportunities.

Pete Fairbanks took the mound trying to close out the game for the Rays in the ninth inning. He was having trouble finding the strike zone to start the inning struggling through the first two at bats. He had thrown 12 pitches, most of them balls. San Francisco had Tyler Fitzgerald on third with only one out. Fairbanks came around to finish off the inning despite his struggles and Tampa Bay won this first game of the series 2-1.

Game notes: Friday evening the Giants traveled to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays in the first game of their three game series. The Giants had a travel day on Thursday after dropping their last series to the Nationals. San Francisco won the last game of that series 7-1 but Monday night Washington pummeled the Giants 8-1 also winning game two 5-3. San Francisco avoided the sweep with the win in game three. Friday night, against the Rays, Keaton Winn took the mound for the Giants. Jacob Waguespack got the assignment for Tampa Bay in closely pitched contest the Giants lost by one run.

Saturday the Giants will tackle game two in this series. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 1:10 PM. Logan Webb will take the mound for San Francisco with a 4.86 ERA. Ryan Pepiot will start for Tampa Bay in this game with a 4.63 ERA.

Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: Appeals courts grappling to make decision on Schools over Stadiums petition

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Outside view on Fri Apr 5, 2024 of what will be the permanent home of the Las Vegas A’s on opening day April 2028 at the Tropicana Hotel that was closed down on Apr 2, 2024. Schools over Stadiums are attempting to put together a petition that will try and stop SB1 public funding for the A’s Tropicana ballpark (photo by Sports Radio Service Staff)

On the A’s relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, 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 show that 52% say no to the public funding and 32% say yes 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 Daniel, 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 June 1st is the due date to have 102,000 signatures in from the petition drive. The 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 Daniel, 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.

Daniel Dullum does the Oakland A’s Relocation podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com