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Hicks solid in first start, and Giants explode late to win 9-1 slugfest over Padres

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Saturday, March 30, 2024

Petco Park

San Diego, California

San Francisco Giants 9 (2-1)

San Diego Padres 1 (2-3)

Win: Jordan Hicks (1-0)

Loss: Dylan Cease (0-1)

Time: 3:04

Attendance: 37,104

By Stephen Ruderman

Jordan Hicks pitched five solid innings in his first start as a Giant, as the Giants exploded for six runs in the eighth inning to blow the game open, and the Padres scored five in the bottom of the ninth to turn it into a slugfest, but the Giants held on to win a wild one 9-6.

The Giants won their first game of the season last night behind a strong start by Kyle Harrison, and a big night by Matt Chapman. Tonight, the Giants looked to get over .500 for the first time this season, as they sent Jordan Hicks to the mound for his first start as a Giant.

The Giants signed Hicks, a right-handed flame-throwing reliever, over the off-season to convert him into a starter. Hicks had a 2.65 ERA over five starts in Spring Training, and he accumulated 28 strikeouts over 17 innings pitched. Hicks ended his spring with five no-hit innings against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum Monday night.

Opposing Hicks was Dylan Cease, who was traded from the Chicago White Sox to the Padres during the spring.

With rain in the San Diego area, there was a question of whether this game would start on time, or even be played at all, but the rain moved out in the afternoon, thus the game was able to start on time, and both pitchers threw 1-2-3 innings in the first.

Matt Chapman struck out on a foul tip to start the top of the second, but Wilmer Flores walked, and Michael Conforto doubled Flores to third base. Thairo Estrada came up, and hit a sacrifice fly to center field to put the Giants on the board first. Tom Murphy, the Giants’ new backup catcher, who got the start today, lined a double to the wall in left to score Conforto and make it 2-0.

Hicks retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of the second, but he hit Jurickson Profar, and walked Tyler Wade. Hicks then fell behind 3-1 to Jackson Merrill, and was a ball away from loading the bases, but Hicks came back to strike out Merrill to end the inning.

Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the third, and Cease threw a 1-2-3 top of the fourth.

Hicks ran into trouble again in the bottom of the fourth. Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado singled to start the inning, and put runners at first and second with nobody out. Ha-seong Kim popped out to first on an infield fly, but Profar singled to right to load the bases with one out.

However, just like in the second inning, Hicks was able to settle down and escape trouble in the fourth, as he struck out Tyler Wade, and he got Merrill to line out to short to end the inning unscathed.

Hicks’ escape from trouble in the bottom of the fourth gave the Giants a shot in the arm going into the fifth. Murphy walked with one out, and Nick Ahmed reached on an error by Fernando Tatis Jr. out in right, which put runners at second and third for the Giants with one away. That brought up Jung-hoo Lee, who hit a sac fly to right to score Murphy, and that extended the Giants’ lead to 3-0.

Hicks then came back out, and threw a 1-2-3 shutdown bottom of the fifth. That would do it for Hicks, who gave up just three hits, and struck out six over five shutout innings.

The Padres got a brief reprieve, as Jhony Brito, who came in for Brito after Lee’s sac fly in the top of the fifth, threw a 1-2-3 top of the sixth. The lefty, Taylor Rogers, came in for the Giants in the bottom of the sixth, and surrendered a leadoff single to Cronenworth. Machado struck out swinging for the first out, and Kim popped out to first for the second out. However, Profar pulled a ball past Chapman at third, and down the left field line for a double to score Cronenworth, and put the Padres on the board to make it 3-1.

Brito and Rogers each threw 1-2-3 innings in the seventh, and Tom Cosgrove came in for Brito in the eighth. Ahmed was called out on striked, but Lee pulled a sweeper on the inside corner from Cosgrove, and hit his first big league home run to right to make it 4-1.

“We love watching him hit,” said Conforto. “Everybody is watching when he’s up there. Just his discipline, his eye at the plate, his ability to stay on pitches, stay through the middle of the field, and then obviously we saw a little bit of power, [and he has] a lot of power if he gets the right pitch. He’s been awesome. We’re just going to keep putting him at the top of the lineup, and let him set the tone for us.”

“It’s not about how I get evaluated, but back in the KBO, I had a lot of doubles and triples,” said Lee through his interpreter, Justin Han. “I’m putting the bat to the ball, and that’s what I’m thinking about now.”

The Giants were back up by three at 4-1, but they were not done. Jorge Soler reached on an infield hit to third; Austin Slater pinch-hit for LaMonte Wade Jr. and walked; and Chapman lined a single to left to load the bases. Flores then lined a base-hit to left to keep the line moving, as everyone moved up, and Soler scored to make it 5-1.

With the bases still loaded with one out, Michael Conforo came up, and hit a grand slam to right for his second home run of the year, and that blew the Giants’ lead wide open to 9-1. The Giants ended up scoring six runs in the top of the eighth.

“It was a cool at-bat to have with [the] bases loaded against that guy, he’s a good lefty,” said Conforto. “To battle and fight and kind of change my approach by the end of it, that felt really good.”

Conforto also discussed making a two-strike adjustment, something that has not been seen much in Baseball during the Three True Outcomes Era over the last six-to-eight years.

“[With two strikes], it’s time to fight and see it deep and shorten up the swing a little bit,” Conforto continued. “Kind of knew in the back of my mind at some point he would come back to the sinker and that ninth pitch he came back to it and I put a much better swing on it.”

Enyel De Los Santos came in for Cosgrove following Conforto’s grand slam, and gave up singles to Estrada and Ahmed, but escaped the inning without any further damage. Erik Miller, who threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth in his major league debut in the opener Thursday, came in and pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth.

The Giants went down 1-2-3 against Stephen Kolek in the top of the ninth, and Miller was back out for the Giants in the bottom of the ninth. Profar walked to start the inning, and Eguy Rosario hit a home run to left to make it 9-3. Jackson Merrill walked, and even though the Giants were up by six runs, the Padres’ offense was very much capable of making a big comeback, and Miller needed to bear down, which he did by striking out Kyle Higashioka.

Bob Melvin opted to bring in his closer, Camilo Doval, who had been warming up in the top of the ninth inning last night for a potential save situation, but after Matt Chapman hit his two-run bomb to give the Giants a five-run lead, Melvin went to Ryan Walker instead. Today, Doval was brought in to get some work, as he had yet to pitch in the Regular Season, but also out of respect for a powerful Padres offense.

Doval has been dominant as the Giants’ closers over the last two seasons, but he got off to rocky starts in each of the last two seasons. This season would be no different, as this game was about to get a lot more interesting. Doval walked Jose Azocar to put runners at first and second with one out; and then Graham Pauley came up, and hit a three-run home run to right to make it 9-6, as this game had suddenly turned into a slugfest

Once again, Doval had a rocky start to a season, but he settled down, as he got Cronenworth to ground out to second, and Manny Machado to ground out to third to end the game. What was a blowout turned into a very interesting game thanks to a five-run bottom of the ninth for the Padres, but the Giants ended up winning it 9-6.

In a big break from the majority of the last two seasons, the Giants’ offense has started out on fire. They are coming through in key RBI situations, and getting the big hits when needed.

The optimism within the Giants’ clubhouse during Spring Training has followed the team into the Regular Season.

“I feel like everything’s coming together at the right time, right at the beginning of the season,” said Conforto.

Through this wild game, Jordan Hicks got the win in the first start of his reliever-to-starter experiment, which has started out quite successfully, and Dylan Cease took the loss for the Padres

With this win, the Giants improve to 2-1, and are over .500 for the first time this season. The Giants can take the opening series with a win tomorrow afternoon. Even though there is more rain in the forecast for San Diego tomorrow morning, it will clear out well in time for the scheduled 1:10 first pitch.

News and Notes:

Daulton Jefferies will be called up to make the start tomorrow. The Giants signed Jefferies to a minor league deal over the off-season, and in five games and one start during Spring Training, he posted a 2.57 ERA over five innings.

Jefferies is not currently a member of the 40-man Roster, so a flurry of roster moves would be expected to be made tomorrow morning.

Camilo Doval once again has had a rocky start to a season. Like last year, Doval struggled with the Pitch Clock, as he had two pitch clock violations in his outing today. Bob Melvin said that he will have a talk with Doval about it.

Jung-hoo Lee expressed his gratitude for his fellow countryman, Ha-seong Kim. Lee said he believed that he would not have received his contract with the Giants if it was not for Kim. Lee also expressed hope that this will help bring more players from South Korea into Major League Baseball.

Oakland A’s Fall To 0-3 After 12-3 Loss To Cleveland Guardians

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The Oakland A’s Zack Gelof runs the bases against the Cleveland Guardians at the Oakland Coliseum in the third of the current four game series on Sat Mar 30, 2024 (Oakland A’s X photo)

Saturday, March 30th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

Oakland, CA – The Oakland A’s host the Cleveland Guardians in the third game of this opening series of the season. Oakland have started 0-2 to start the seasons and have started 0-2 for the third time in the last four years. After last night’s win, Guardians first year manager Stephen Vogt became the 5th skipper in Cleveland franchise history to begin his first season at the helm with a 2-0 record. On the mound for Oakland is JP Sears and for Cleveland it’s Tanner Bibee. 

The A’s who are looking for their first win for 2024 lost their third game of this four game series to the Guardians on Saturday 12-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

Kyle McCann at catcher is making his MLB debut for the A’s and putting down the signs. Sears had a scare when Jose Ramirez hit a ball that looked like it was going to be a homer, but JJ Bleday snatched it at the centerfield wall. 

Guardians were the first on the board in the second inning after Sears walked Tyler Freeman. Freeman’s walk set the tone, because it was followed up by an RBI triple from Andres Gimenez, 1-0 Cleveland. The triple was capitalized on when Gabriel Arias hit an infield single that scored Gimenez, 2-0 Cleveland, and the Guardians had a two run lead early. 

The A’s were able to tie it up in the second. With the bases loaded, a fielder’s choice scored JD Davis, who got on base with a single, 2-1 Guardians still up. McCann, who in his debut Major League at bat was walked, scored thanks to a Ryan Noda single, but Nick Allen was thrown out at third and the inning was over with the score tied at 2-2. 

In the third, the A’s took the lead after a single and two walks loaded the bases and McCann was at the plate. His second MLB at bat was another walk that scored Zack Gelof, 3-2 Oakland. 

Cleveland wasn’t going to let Oakland hold a lead for long. After Gimenez was hit by a pitch, an Arias single ran in a run to tie up the game. Arias then scored off an Austin Hedges sac fly, now 4-3 Guardians. It would be 5-3 for Cleveland when Steven Kwan hit an RBI single scoring Brayan Rocchio. 

Cleveland extended their lead by 2 runs. One scored on an error where Arias was safe at first, but then Arias would score from a Hedges double, 7-3 Guardians in the 5th inning. The rally would continue as 2 more runs would come in for Cleveland, 9-3 and the A’s needed some type of comeback. With only 5,425 fans in the Colliseum, it wasn’t like there was much energy in the park. 

Steven Kwan got his first homerun this season with a 2 out bomb in the 7th inning, 10-3 Guarduans and some fans started heading to the parking lot. 2 more runs for the Guardians in the 9th and after the A’s were shut down in the ninth, the ballgame was over. 12-3 Guardians.

Next game for the A’s is Easter Sunday, March 31st in the final game of this Cleveland series. On the mound for Oakland is Paul Blackburn and for the Guardians Carlos Carrasco. A’s 0-3 to start the season.

Oakland A’s podcast with Stephen Ruderman: A’s seeking first win against Guardians; Guardians manager Vogt shares some good A’s memories

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Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt meets with the media before Thu Mar 28, 2024’s opening night game. Vogt was managing against his former team the A’s (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Stephen:

#1 Stephen the Oakland A’s in their first two games taking tough loses opening night on Thursday a 8-0 shutout with Shane Bieber throwing part of a four hit shutout and on Friday night the 6-4 loss this after the A’s JD Davis had a two homer night.

#2 Kind of a homecoming for Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt winning these first two games. Vogt who used to catch for Oakland said it’s different managing than being a player.

#3 Vogt had some 25 guests visiting him and watching last Thursday in the opener against his for team the A’s. Vogt played six seasons in parts in his ten year career and he got a home run in his last big league at bat.

#4 Vogt said he was thrilled to be part of the Cleveland Guardians organization  “I just couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of a great organization.” said Vogt.

#5 The A’s are trying to get that first win here in game three of the four game series. The Guardians will be starting Tanner Bibee he’ll be opposed by the A’s JP Sears.

Stephen Ruderman is a MLB podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks hoping to end 9 game skid tonight in St Louis

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The San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) and defenseman Jon Rutta (84) defend as the Minnesota Wild’s center Joel Eriksson Elk (14) tries to find the back end of the net in the first period on Thu Mar 28, 2024 at XCel Energy Center in St Paul MN (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Minnesota Wild broke 1-1 deadlock when they ended up scoring two goals in the third period to win it 3-1 handing the San Jose Sharks their ninth loss in a row.

#2 The Wild’s Matt Boldy scored a tie breaking goal to put the Wild in front at 18 seconds into the third period. The Sharks were hoping to get a win and snap out of their loss streak but rather than move ahead Boldy and the Wild held and took the game.

#3 Boldy said that guys in the dressing room are playing the game the right way and it’s coming out to wins. The Wild’s Joel Eriksson Elk got a goal, Ryan Hartman picked up an empty netter, and Kirill Kaprizov picked up two assists.

#4 Sharks head coach David Quinn said after the contest that the Sharks are dying for a win and he feels for the players but said you have to play for 60 minutes not 40 minutes.

#5 The Sharks face off against the St Louis Blues tonight at Enterprise Arena in St Louis. The Blues are fourth in the NHL Central at 39-30-4 and have won seven of their last ten games. How tough will this one be for the Sharks in St Louis and trying to end that nine game losing streak?

Catch the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday with Mary Lisa at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Harrison and Chapman lead Giants to first win of 2024 defeat Padres 8-3 at Petco

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San Francisco Giants hitter Matt Chapman (26) connects for a two run homer in the top of the ninth inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Fri Mar 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

Friday, March 29, 2024

Petco Park

San Diego, California

San Francisco Giants 8 (1-1)

San Diego Padres 3 (2-2)

Win: Kyle Harrison (1-0)

Loss: Joe Musgrove (0-1)

Time: 2:25

Attendance: 45,427

By Stephen Ruderman

Kyle Harrison pitched six strong innings, while allowing just two runs, and Matt Chapman went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs to lead the Giants to their first win of the 2024 Season, as they beat the Padres 8-3 on a cool Friday night at Petco Park in San Diego.

The Giants dropped the opener yesterday after the Padres scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Giants did not seem to be too bothered by it, and looked to get their first win of the year tonight. 

With Blake Snell not yet ready to go, Kyle Harrison begins the season as the number-two starter in the Giants’ rotation, and thus he got the start tonight. Harrison was opposed by the right-hander, Joe Musgrove.

Jung-hoo Lee signled to lead off the game, but Jorge Soler hit into a 6-4-3 double play. It appeared as if it was going to be a quick and quiet top of the first inning for the Giants. However, LaMonte Wade Jr. singled to center, and Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run to right-center field . 

Wilmer Flores was then hit in the elbow with a pitch. Michael Conforto got Flores to third on the longest single of the year that hit off the bottom of the wall in right-center, and Thairo Estrada singled to left-center to score Flores to make it 3-0.

Kyle Harrison survived a two-out double by Jake Cronenworth in the bottom of the first, and  both pitchers threw 1-2-3 innings in the second. The Giants were unable to do anything with a leadoff single by Wade in the top of the third, and Harrison gave up a one-out single to Jose Azocar, but pitched a scoreless bottom of the third.

Patrick Bailey walked with one out in the top of the fourth, and Nick Ahmed was hit by a pitch immediately afterwards. That put runners at first and second with one out for Lee, who hit a ground ball up the middle and into center field for a base-hit that scored Bailey to make it 4-0 Giants.

Manny Machado hit a bomb into the front of the second deck out in left to put the Padres on the board with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Ha-seong Kim followed Machado’s home run by lining a single to left. Harrison was being tested for the first time tonight, but he got Jurickson Profar to fly out to center, and got Luis Campusano to pop out to second to end the inning.

Musgrove pitched a 1-2-3 top of the fifth, and Eugy Rosario led off the bottom of the fifth by hitting a high fly ball to right-center that was dropped by right-fielder LaMonte Wade, but Wade regrouped and threw the ball in to second-baseman Thairo Estrada, who made the relay throw to throw to nail Rosario. Harrison then kept his groove going, as he retired the next two batters he faced to end the inning.

Bailey singled with two outs in the top of the sixth to knock Musgrove out of the game, and Padres Manager Mike Shildt went to Stephen Kolek, who got Ahmed to ground out and end the inning.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a home run to left to lead off the bottom of the sixth, this one deeper than Machado’s, as it sailed to the back of the second deck. Tatis’ home run made it a 4-2 game, but Harrison retired the next three men he faced. 

“As soon as I gave it up, it was on to the next [guy],” said Harrison. [I’ve] given up too many now to look down on it, or carry it on to the next pitch.”

That would do it for Harrison, who threw 76 pitches and gave up just two runs over six innings of work. One of Harrison’s struggles last season was his control, but tonight, he was in command, as he struck out five and didn’t issue a single walk.

“I’d say [I’ve] just been able to pitch; I’ve [been] able to slow the game down, and trust myself and trust my execution,” Harrison said of his differences between this and last season. “[It] felt good to be able to be in control of the game. I think that’s the big difference I felt.”

Kolek was back out on the mound for the Padres in the top of the seventh. Lee grounded out to second to start the inning, but Soler, who had grounded into a pair of double plays, doubled to right-center. Chapman then came up, and hit a double into the gap in left-center to make it 5-2. 

“With runners in scoring position, “[I] try to remind [my]self not to do too much,” said Chapman. “I just tr[ied] to put a good swing on the ball.”

Flores then singled to center to score Chapman and make it 6-2, and the Giants had their four-run lead back.

Landen Roupp came in to make his major league debut in the bottom of the seventh. Roupp hoped to mirror Erik Webb’s big league debut yesterday, where Webb threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth, but Roupp gave up a one-out base-hit to Campusano. However, Roupp retired Tyler Wade and Jackson Merrill to end the inning.

Enyel De Los Santos, who came in for Kolek after Flores’ RBI single in the seventh, was back out for the eighth. Bailey singled to right with one out, and when Tatis booted the ball, Bailey was fully expecting it, and did not hesitate in going to second. The Giants were in business to add to their four-run lead, but De Los Santos got out of the jam unscathed.

Tyler Rogers came in to make his 2024 debut in the bottom of the eighth, and went from a 3-0 count, to a 3-2 count, to a groundout to third from Xander Bogaerts to start the inning. Tatis then hit a line-drive home run to left that went into an open door and into the Padres’ team store at the base of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building for his second home run of the night to make it a 6-3 game.

Rogers has been very successful in his four-plus years with the Giants, but he has had a tendency to have those innings where everything went south on him. Rogers hit Cronenworth, and got Machado to a 3-2 count, as it appeared this was going to be one of those innings. However, Rogers threw a sinker that Machado hit to second for a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Pedro Avila came in for San Diego to start the ninth, and walked Jorge Soler, who later advanced to second on a wild pitch. LaMonte Wade struck out, but Matt Chapman hit his second home run of the night, a bomb that sailed into the upper deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building to give the Giants their biggest lead of the night at 8-3.

Giants Closer Camilo Doval had been warming up in preparation for a potential save situation, but with Chapman’s second home run, Bob Melvin went to Ryan Walker, who relieved Luke Jackson in the Padres’ four-run bottom of the seventh in the opener yesterday. 

Walker did give up a leadoff base-hit to Kim, but he then got Profar to ground into the not-so-common 5-6-3 double play to get the first two outs. Luis Campusano then grounded out to second, and the Giants had their first win of the season.

“I think yesterday, we took great at-bats, and we [were] still battling at the end of the game,” said third-baseman Matt Chapman. “Mikie [Conforto] hit that homer, and we were able to have that momentum going into today…..It’s nice when we can jump on them in the first inning like that.”

With the Giants in the in column for the first time this season, they are now 1-1. This is not only the Giants’ first win of the season, but this is Bob Melvin’s first win as the Giants’ manager. In his postgame press conference, Melvin gave all the credit to the team, particularly to Matt Chapman. It was only fitting that Chapman, who played for Melvin in Oakland with the A’s, was a big part of it.

Kyle Harrison got his first win of the season, and Joe Musgrove took the loss.

“The plan for me to[night] was to really just get ahead of guys and limit the walks,” said Harrison. “I was still pissed about the two bombs. Obviously, you don’t want to give those up as a pitcher, but we got the win, so that’s all that matters.”

Harrison also said that Logan Webb, who Harrison worked out and trained with in the off-season, was the first guy to reach out to him after his start tonight. Harrison expressed how grateful he was to have Webb on his side.

Over the first two games of the season, the Giants have been playing small ball and manufacturing runs. It’s a big difference from the over-reliance the team had on home runs under Gabe Kapler over the last four years. 

The Giants did play their fair share of situational baseball during their run in June last season, but for whatever reason, went back to overly relying on home runs. If the Giants can stay consistent with not overly relying on one approach this season, it will carry them a long way.

Jordan Hicks is scheduled to make his Giants debut tomorrow in what will be his first start of his reliever-to-starter experiment. Hicks pitched five no-hit innings in the Giants’ exhibition game in Oakland against the A’s on Monday night. 

Tomorrow’s game is set to be nationally televised by FOX with the first pitch at 4:15 p.m., but with rain in the forecast in San Diego, there is no guarantee that tomorrow’s game will be played.

News and Notes:

  • The Giants made two roster moves prior to tonight’s game. 

Luke Jackson was placed on the 15-day Injured List after tweaking his back in the Giants’ opener yesterday; and Mike Yastrzemski, whose wife is expected to give birth to the couple’s second child, has been placed on the paternity list. 

Luis Matos and Kei-Wei Teng were called up. Teng, a right-handed relief pitcher, was born in Taiwan, and if he appears in a game with the Giants, he will be the first taiwanese-born player in franchise history.

Wranglers quick start doom Barracuda in 4-2 win

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Calgary Wranglers Defenseman Jonathan Aspriot (#48) tries to jam home the puck past San Jose Barracuda goalie Magnus Chrona during the Wranglers 4-2 win at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday MAR 29, 2024. (Calgary Wranglers)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Calgary Wranglers scored three unanswered goals to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 4-2 on Friday evening at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

San Jose has dropped three out of its past four games as it anchors the Pacific Division. Calgary won its second game in a row and is 5-3-1-1 in its last 10 games.

Calgary (34-23-5-3-76 points) needed just 49 seconds into the first period to draw first blood. Clark Bishop caromed the puck off of the boards to Rory Kerins who then banked the puck off of ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona into the back of the net for his 13th goal of the season.

It was Kerins’ first goal in his last eight games.

The Wranglers doubled its lead late in the opening frame with a power play goal. William Stromgren sent a pass back up to the point and Jeremie Poirier quick one-timer went off the glove of Chrona for a fluky goal, Poirier’s third goal of the season at the 17:12 mark.

Ben Jones scored the Wranglers’ third unanswered goal early in the second period. Mitch McLain skated down the right wing before finding Jones with a backdoor pass as the Calgary center buried the puck into an empty net for his 21st goal of the season at the 5:48 mark.

San Jose (20-32-9-2-51 points) finally broke through with 21 seconds left in the middle frame with a power play goal. Cole Cassels was in the right place at the right time. A pass over to Kyle Rau bounced off of him and right over to Cassles who beat Wranglers goalie Connor Murphy for his 10th goal of the season.

With Chrona pulled for an extra attacker late in the third period, Adam Klapka ended any comeback attempt by San Jose when he scored an empty net goal, his 20th of the season at the 17:51 mark.

Brandon Coe completed the scoring with 12th goal with 1:03 remaining in the game. Ethan Cardwell and Jack Studnicka recorded assists on Coe’s fourth goal in his last five games.

Murphy (3-2-2-1) finished the night stopping 27 of the 29 shots he faced to earn back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Chrona (5-16-4) made 28 saves on 31 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-3 on the power play. Calgary was also 1-for-3.

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

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Poirier 2) Kerins 3) Murphy.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Calgary conclude their two-game weekend series on Sunday 3/31 at 12:00pm at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Exum hits 3 pointer and Irving leads with 30 as Mavericks upend Kings 132-96

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Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford (21) scores on the Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) in the second half at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Fri Mar 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Friday night inside Golden One Center in Sacramento. The Kings and Mavs were set to play for the second time this week after the Mavs routed the Kings 132-96 on Tuesday evening. The Mavs and Kings were both coming off two days of rest and ready for a rematch of Tuesday night. The game tipped off at 7 PM PST.

GAME RESULT: In the first quarter, the Kings got off to a quick start offensively. The Kings outscored the Mavs in the first quarter 34-26. Harrison Barnes and Keon Ellis started the game red-hot with 11 points each in the first quarter. The Kings were playing a much more physical style of basketball than they did on Tuesday.

In the second quarter, the Kings kept up the intensity to limit good shots on the Dallas end of the floor. However, Luka and the Mavs kept the game within reach while withstanding the Kings push. The Kings outscored the Mavs by a point in the second quarter, 26-25.

Harrison Barnes continued his hot start, adding six more in the second to finish the half with 17 points. Kyrie Irving led the Mavs in the first half with 14 points. The Kings led going into halftime 60-51.

In the third quarter, the Kings held the edge. The Kings and Mavs traded baskets all quarter to end up in the same place as they started the quarter. The Kings and Mavs both scored 22 points in the quarter for the Kings to maintain the nine point lead. Luka Doncic was leading the way for the Mavs, and De’Aaron and HB both had 17 points to end the third. The Kings would lead 82-73 going into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Mavs came storming back. The Mavs came back to take a 99-98 lead with 3:45 left to play. The Kings squandered another lead, hoping to regain momentum and not drop both games to the Mavs at home.

The Kings couldn’t regain the lead and lost to the Mavs 107-103. Fox led the Kings in defeat with 23 points. The Mavs outscored the Kings 34-21 in the fourth. Kyrie Irving led the Mavs with 30 points.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to take on the Jazz at 6 PM PST.

JD Davis goes yard twice but A’s fall short to Guardians 6-4 at Coliseum

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Oakland A’s JD Davis (5) rounds third base and is congratulated by third base coach Eric Martins (left) after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Mar 29, 2023 (AP News photo)

Cleveland (2-0). 300 002 100. 6. 9 0

Athletics (0 -2). 000 111 010. 4. 8 2

Time: 2:39

Attendance: 3,837

Friday, March 29, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–It was a cold, damp, and depressing 54 degrees at 6:39 this evening at Rickey Henderson Field at the Oakland Coliseum when the 34 year old ex-Dodger, ex-Blue Jay, and ex- Giant Ross Stripling threw his first pitch as an Athletic. It was a strike to Steven Kwan,who went down swinging.

Six batters later, Stripling retired the side, and the A’s were trailing the visitors, 3-0 on a single by Andrés Giménez, a 353 foot homer to right by José Ramírez, a double by Josh Naylor, an error by JD Davis at third, and a balk.

By the end of his tenure, the 6’1″, 215 lb right hander (no mere stripling, but a mighty oak) had thrown 92 pitches, 58 for strikes, over fiver innings in which he surrendered five runs, four of them earned, and given up seven hits, issued a couple of free pases, committed a balk,and unleashed a wild pitch.

He was charged with the loss and ended up sporting an ERA of 7.20. Mitch Spence, making his big league debut, replaced him to open the visitors’ sixth. At game’s end, the visiting Cleveland Guardians had defeated the nominally hometown A’s, 6-4.

Starting for Cleveland was southpaw sophomore Logan Allen, who had gone 7-8, 3.81 in his freshman year for the crew from the shores of Lake Erie. This was his maiden voyage on the shores of Lake Nimitz. Tonight, he left after hurling 5+ mediocre innings and yielding three talleys, all earned, on six hits, a pair of which left the park. He threw 82 pitches, 54 for balls, and was the winning pitcher, going back to the hotel with a record of 1-0, 5.40. Eli Morgan replaced him on the mound in the sixth.

Davis atoned for his first inning error by leading off the “home’. have of the fourth with a four bagger to straightaway center field that travelled 410 feet for the first Athletics run of the game and the season.

Cleveland got that run back in their next turn at bat. Kwan led off with a single to right, stole second and advanced to third on Langliers’ errant throw before scoring on Giménez’s double to right. (The run was earned). They added to their lead when Jack Brennan singled him home from third, where he had gone on a ground out to short out by Josh Naylor. The green and gold got one of those two runs back on Esteury Ruíz’s sacrifice fly that drove in Nick Allen.

In the sixth, Davis gave an encore of his leadoff blast of the fourth in the bottom of the sixth, the only difference being that his second dinger, which reduced Cleveland’s lead to 5-3, travelled an additional four feet. That was what caused manager Stephen Vogt to yank Allen and replace him with Morgan.

Stripling’s replacement, Spence, retired Cleveland in order in the sixth but yielded back to back doubles to Kwan and Giménez, the first to batters in the top of the seventh to up the Guardian’s lead to 6-3.

Hunter Gaddis put the A’s down. 1-2-3 in the seventh. Scott Barlow took over for him to open the eighth; He promptly walked pinch hitter Seth Brown and Gelof to bring the. potential tying run to the plate with nobody down and Davis at bat. But he couldn’t turn the hat trick and went down swinging. Langliers hit a broken bat fly to left that plated Brown, but Abraham Toro popped out to short to abort the threat.

The newly acquired Austin Adams was called upon to hold the A’s deficit to two in the top of the ninth. He issued a passport to Kwan, who was eliminated when Langeliers threw him out trying to pilfer second. Giménez fouled out to first, breaking his bat in the process. Ramírez lined out to third to end the inning.

The A’s had one last chance in the bottom of the ninth. Emmanuel Chance, closing for Cleveland, got Bleday out on a fly to center. Ryan Noda, who had pinch hit. for Darrell Hernaiz in the seventh, singled on a grounder up the middle, and Allen moved him to second with a single to right center. But Butter bounced into a game ending 6-4-3 double play, and that was that.

The series will be resumed tomorrow, Saturday, afternoon at 1:07, weather permitting. JP Sears is slated to start for the Athletics and Tanner Bibee, for the Guardians.

Warriors Easily Handle Hornets 115-97; Curry scores 23 to lead Golden State

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By Barbara Mason

The Golden State Warriors (39-34) beat the struggling Charlotte Hornets (18-55) Friday night. The Hornets got close a few times in this game but could not handle the Warriors despite Golden State being without Jonathan Kuminga and Klay Thompson. The final score was 115-97.

Game recap: The Warriors were off to the races from the start of the first quarter leading after the first 12 minutes 26-17. The Hornets pushed back outscoring Golden State in the second quarter 28-24 and at halftime Golden State had a 50-45 lead.

This game was close partially due to the eight turnovers in the first half by the Warriors but the good news for Golden State was that they had held the Hornets to 36% shooting. With the Warriors shooting around 51%, 36 % will not win very many games.

The Warriors really pushed this game out in the third quarter after the Hornets pulled to within six points. After the first seven minutes of the quarter Golden State began to take this game away leading 77-59. After three quarters, the Warriors had this game well in hand, despite the drama that has plagued the team, leading 89-71. The Warriors were 12 minutes away from their 21st win on the road.

The Warriors upped their intensity mid-way through the fourth quarter leading 108-87. The final was 115-97 in favor of Golden State. For the third straight game, the Warriors had held their opponent to under a 100 points. With this season winding down there can be no further missteps this season and they really did a number on Charlotte Friday. Golden State is on a roll right now. They are 13-3 on their last 16 road trips.

Stephen Curry had the high with 23 points and Andrew Wiggins continues to step up scoring 20 points with eight rebounds. Off the bench Moses Moody had 15 points and he was 4 of 5 from beyond the Arc. Draymond Green came back well in this game with eight points and eight rebounds. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Chris Paul also scored double digits. This was a true team win with everybody chipping in.

Post game notes: Friday night the Warriors took on the Hornets for the second time this season. The Warriors won the first game back on February 23 by the score of 97-84. They won this game but Golden State has seen far stranger things especially since the season is winding down.

The Warriors are reeling after Green had his fourth ejection of the season. Green did say that he deserved to be ejected but the question still remains why does this keep happening?

This is a critical time of the season for the Warriors and they can ill afford any more blow-ups from Green while they are fighting to remain relevant in the playoff picture. They are currently fighting to remain in the tenth place.

Despite the ejection, the Warriors stepped up big time against a very tough Orlando Magic winning that game 101-93. Andrew Wiggins was a huge part of the win scoring the team high of 23 points.

The Hornets are struggling this season but had a huge win over the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night. The Warriors played without Kuminga who continues to miss another game with left knee soreness and Thompson who missed tonight’s game with right knee tendinitis.

The Hornets LaMelo Ball will miss the remainder of the season with ankle tendinopathy. He has not played since January 26th and originally was injured last year on November 26th. He has missed so many games this season and is a large part of the struggles that Charlotte has had.

Easter Sunday afternoon the Golden State Warriors will take on another struggling team in the San Antonio Spurs. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Mavs and Kings match up for a second time at Golden 1 tonight

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The Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) looks to pass the ball against the Sacramento Kings (center) Alex Len (25) in the first half at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Thu Mar 28, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 How important is it for the Kings to shut down Luka Doncic tonight against the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center.

#2 The Mavericks Doncic scored a leading 28 points against the Kings last Tuesday at Golden 1 in the Mavericks 132-96 win.

#3 Doncic with the hot hand also added 11 rebounds and six assists and had three steals. Doncic is a difficult player to defend.

#4 The Mavericks have now won five straight games and are looking for a sixth. The Kings have home floor advantage tonight at Golden 1. What is the top game plan or Kings head coach Mike Brown tonight is it shutting down Doncic and trying to keep the Mavericks guessing on defense?

#5 Do you find it advantageous for the Kings to face the Mavericks in back to back games in having seeing last Tuesday or a disadvantage because the Mavericks have an idea how to run the table against the Kings after seeing them this week?

Join Jeremiah for the Kings podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com