Author: Sports Radio Service

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Giants can’t move past A’s in 2-1 one run loss at Coliseum

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San Francisco Giants center fielder Luis Matos makes a great grab in the webbing of his glove on Oakland A’s hitter Seth Brown at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Aug 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Oakland, California

San Francisco Giants 1 (61-50)

Oakland Athletics 2 (31-80)

Win: Trevor May (3-4)

Loss: Ryan Walker (4-1)

Time: 2:34

Attendance: 37,553

By Stephen Ruderman

OAKLAND–Fans packed into the Coliseum for the Giants and A’s first game in Oakland since the A’s announced their intent to move to Las Vegas, as Giants and A’s fans saw the A’s edge out the Giants 2-1 in the series opener on a cloudless afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum.

The Giants made solid contact off A’s starter, Paul Blackburn, in the top of first inning, as LaMonte Wade, whose home run accounted for the Giants’ lone run on Thursday, hit a high fly ball just foul down the right-field line before lining out to the A’s right-fielder Seth Brown.

Thairo Estrada, coming off the injured list and taking his first at-bat since July 2, also lined out to right. Wilmer Flores then singled to left, but that was all the Giants were able to show for it.

The Giants were gifted an opportunity in the top of the second when J.D. Davis reached on catcher’s interference to start the inning and got to second on a one-out walk to Patrick Bailey, but they were unable to get the hit to knock in Davis.

Ross Stripling, whose last outing came on July 30 in a bullpen game against the Red Sox, made the start, and he did not disappoint. Esteury Ruiz led off the bottom of the first with a single to left, but Stripling then set down the next 12 men he faced.

The Giants had runners reach in the third, fourth and fifth innings as well, but they had nothing to show for it. Just like in the Giants’ 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks on Thursday, their offense remained neutralized throughout the game.

Jordan Diaz then led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run to left-center to put the A’s on the board. Blackburn followed that up with his first and only 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth, and Stripling and Sean Manaea combined to throw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth.

The A’s brought in Austin Pruitt for the top of the seventh. Patrick Bailey led off the inning with a walk, which brought Brandon Crawford to the plate. Crawford hit a fly ball to left that seemed like it was going to fall in, but A’s left-fielder, JJ Bleday, made a sliding catch, and then got up to throw a strike to double up Bailey off first.

Manaea threw a scoreless bottom of the seventh, and Angel Felipe came in for the A’s in the eighth. LaMonte Wade struck out looking to start the inning, but Thairo Estrada then walked, and got to third on a base-hit by Wilmer Flores.

The Giants had runners at the corners with one out for Joc Pederson, as the A’s brought in their closer, Trevor May, to go for a five-out save, and Pederson hit a sacrifice fly to Esteury Ruiz to put the Giants on the board and tie the game.

It was 1-1 going to the bottom of the eighth, as Gabe Kapler brought in Ryan Walker. Mark Kotsay pinch-hit Aledmys Diaz for Tyler Soderstrom, and Diaz led off the inning with a base-hit up the middle. Tony Kemp walked to put runners at first and second for the A’s with nobody out, and Ruiz then bunted a foul ball off the home plate umpire, Dan Merzel, who went down, but remained in the game.

To add insult to injury, Kotsay challenged the play to see if the ball hit Ruiz, and after the call was upheld, Kotsay went out to argue with the third-base umpire and crew chief, Lance Barksdale, who surprisingly did not throw Kotsay out of the game. Ruiz was then able to successfully bunt the runners over to second and third.

Kapler then brought in the left-hander, Scott Alexander. Kotsay countered by pinch-hitting Jonah Bride, who lined out to Thairo Estrada at second for the second out.

Kapler elected to intentionally walk Zack Gelof to load the bases for Seth Brown, who singled to right to knock in Diaz and put the A’s back ahead. Kemp also tried to score on the play, but he was thrown out at the plate on a perfect strike from Michael Conforto to end the inning. Kemp tried to barrel past Patrick Bailey, but he was tagged out.

Trevor May came back out for the top of the ninth, and threw a 1-2-3 inning, as he got Brandon Crawford to ground out to second to end the game.

The Giants fall to 61-50, and they will try and salvage a split tomorrow afternoon with Alex Cobb on the mound.

Meanwhile in the stands, Giants and A’s fans stood in unison, and chanted “SELL THE TEAM,” following 30 seconds of silence to start the top of the fifth. Despite the fifth inning chants not being as loud as chants in prior games, they chanted even louder during the replay review in the bottom of the eighth, as fans continued to make it clear that the A’s belong in Oakland.

Starters for Sunday for the Giants right hander Alex Cobb (6-3 ERA 3.05) and for the A’s right hander Luis Medina (3-8 ERA 5.35) first pitch is slated at 1:07pm PT at the Oakland Coliseum.

Pac 12 podcast with Michael Roberson: With teams leaving will Pac 12 dissolve and disband?

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The Pac-12 logo is shown at Sun Devil Stadium during the second half of an NCAA college football game between Arizona State and Kent State in Tempe, Ariz., Aug. 29, 2019. (AP file photo)

On the Pac 12 podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 Michael, talk about the big announcement last Thursday regarding the Colorado Buffaloes leaving the Pac 12 this being the third team now to leave with USC and UCLA how will that impact the league.

#2 Now with three teams departing the Pac 12 do you see the Pac 12 getting the opportunity to add some teams or could they end up disbanding?

#3 The Pac 12 ironically has won more championships than any other league but now the league has lots questions about it’s future.

#4 The Pac 12 has problems with their TV contract regarding it’s media rights contract did that play into the three teams departures knowing that they can’t stay profitable.

#5 Talk about the team you cover the Cal Bears how this all plays out loosing such opponents such as USC, UCLA, and Colorado.

Join Michael Roberson for the Pac 12 podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Ohtani on pace to be the GOAT; Nadel back behind the mic in Texas; plus more MLB news

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Shohei Ohtani gets congratulated for hitting his 40th home run in the Los Angeles Angels dugout. Ohtani has been putting up Hall of Fame type numbers pitching and hitting (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Los Angeles Angels Shohei Ohtani leads the majors with 40 home runs and has a 9-5 ERA 3.32 pitching record. Like you mentioned last week he had hit two home runs in a game and the next night he went out and pitched a one hitter.

#2 Some question can Ohtani be as good as Babe Ruth it’s too early to answer Ruth was 94-46 as a pitcher and had 714 home runs as a hitter, Ohtani whose doing both at the same time career he is 37-19 and has 167 career home runs. Can he catch Ruth?

#3 Eric Nadel who is in the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame and is the Rangers broadcaster missed the first 109 games of the season due to mental illness. Nadel was suffering from depression, anxiety and insomnia. Nadel has been calling Rangers games for 44 years since 1979.

#4 Domingo Herman has been suspended for the rest of the season by the New York Yankees. The starting pitcher flipped over a couch in the Yankees locker room and smashed a TV set on Thursday. Teammates tried to calm him down. Herman was reportedly under the influence of alcohol and had a verbal argument with manager Aaron Boone. Herman will be seeking treatment for his substance abuse. Herman was suspended in 2020 for domestic violence on his girlfriend when he slapped her at a charity event in front of his teammates.

#5 Amaury, Detroit Tigers pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez said that he refused to be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers who are a first place team in the NL West at the trade deadline last Tuesday. Rodriguez refused to come west because Detroit is where his family is and it wasn’t anything against the Dodgers or playing in the west. Rodriguez said he’s happy being in Detroit even though they have a losing record at 48-60. Rodriguez a left hander is 7-5 ERA 2.96.

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

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Wade provides offense for Giants; Giants-A’s open Bay Bridge series tonight

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San Francisco Giants’ LaMonte Wade Jr., right, celebrates with Joc Pederson, left, after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu Aug 3, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen:

#1 Stephen you got to hand it to Giants LaMonte Wade Jr who came through with the only run of the game Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the bottom of the fourth inning.

#2 The Giants also got some great pitching from the opener Scott Alexander and five other pitchers that followed him.

#3 The Giants second pitcher on Thursday Tristan Beck went the longest with four innings of work giving up just two hits and three strikeouts.

#4 Giants manager Gabe Kapler really worked his pitching staff outside of Beck he had Alexander and four other pitchers go less than two innings and the Giants pulled off a shutoff.

#5 Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfraadt pitched a fine game but lost going seven innings, two hits, one earned run, and seven strikeouts. Pfraadt pitched good enough to win but didn’t get the run support.

#6 Giants and A’s battle here at the Oakland Coliseum tonight for a brief two game series in another Reverse Boycott contest where A’s fans invited Giants fans to chant “Sell the Team” in efforts to stop the move of the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas is this message getting through to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred or is it getting lost in the preparation of the relocation vote coming in November?

Join Stephen for the Giants or MLB podcasts Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum: Dodgers offense too much for A’s; Oakland returns home to host San Francisco Saturday

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The Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Amed Rosario (31) completes the double play on this throw as the Oakland A’s Ramon Laureano slides in too late in the top of the first inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thu Aug 3, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Daniel:

#1 The Los Angeles Dodgers Freddie Freeman was seeing the ball well against the Oakland A’s on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium getting three hits, Freeman is second in the big leagues with a .341 batting average.

#2 Freeman who hit two doubles now leads the majors with 40 doubles. Freeman in his last at bat in the bottom of the eighth slugged a solo homer his 22nd of the year. A’s pitching just couldn’t shut him down.

#3 Freeman provided much of the offense in the Dodgers win against the A’s 8-3 Thursday night and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Freeman has a calmness about him and he’s playing MVP caliber baseball whether he’s hitting it the opposite way or against a left handed pitcher.

#4 The A’s became the first club since 1960 to drop it’s first 80 games in 110 games since the 2003 Detroit Tigers and 1962 New York Mets had 29-81 records. The A’s came away with a 30-80 record after losing to the Dodgers on Thursday night.

#5 Daniel the A’s return back to Oakland Saturday night for a 4pm PT first pitch against the San Francisco Giants neither team has announced a starter. It will be another reverse boycott game and the fans are expected to be as boisterous as ever with both Giants and A’s fans are expected to find common ground in chanting “Sell the team” a drive to save the A’s from moving from Oakland to Las Vegas.

Daniel Dullum was filling in for Jeremiah Salmonson who does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s relocation almost as controversial as Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants was

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Oakland A’s fans voiced their opinion back on Jun 13, 2023 photo regarding a reverse boycott at the Oakland Coliseum. Fans in Colorado and Los Angeles have joined in the sell the team chant when the A’s have been on the road. A’s fans plan to have a joint reverse boycott at the Coliseum this Sat Aug 5, 2023 with San Francisco Giants fans (AP file photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, talk about the MLB fans now getting behind the movement to try and get John Fisher to sell the Oakland A’s by the “Sell the team” chants. It happened on this last road trip for the A’s in Colorado and in Los Angeles.

#2 Daniel, talk about some of the owners who are not to favorable to relocation and in the A’s case this has to be the biggest protest against a team relocating since the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants coming out west.

#3 Some owners and sources mentioned New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is not too excited about moving a storied team like the A’s to Vegas and playing in a much smaller park in the smallest TV market.

#4 Daniel, a Bally’s executive said there is not a lot of room for error in the design and roofing of the Tropicana ballpark. The A’s have consulted with competing architects who are vying to design a final rendering for the new Vegas ballpark.

#5 Bally’s and the Tropicana said Thursday that everything is on hold until the MLB owners take the relocation vote in November. Although the feeling from Bally’s seems 85% certain that the owners will vote in favor of the new park but their not taking any chances just yet.

Join Daniel for the Oakland A’s podcast heard Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s preview: Oakland Heads Into Two-Game Series With San Francisco at Coliseum

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Paul Blackburn will get the call for the Oakland A’s against the San Francisco Giants at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Aug 5, 2023. (San Jose Mercury News file photo)

Oakland Heads Into Two-Game Series With San Francisco

By Barbara Mason

Friday the Oakland A’s had an off day, taking a little time to reflect on their last series as well as looking forward to their upcoming series.

Oakland just got swept by the first place Los Angeles Doders in their last series. The A’s did make a bit of a run in game one of the series with the Dodgers but fell short getting clobbered in games two and three. Their offense just wasn’t enough. It was a very disappointing series for the team and it does not get any easier for Oakland this weekend.

Saturday and Sunday the A’s take on the rival San Francisco Giants in a two- game series over the weekend. The Texas Rangers will come into town for a three game series on Monday so some challenging times ahead for Oakland. The good news for the A’s is that they will be at home for these two series and once again their fans will continue to protest with no plans to stop. Their message will keep on resonating across the nation.

Saturday Paul Blackburn will take the mound for Oakland. Blackburn has a 2-2 W/L record and an 4.83 ERA. The Giants will send Ross Stripling to start. Stripling is struggling with a 0-4 Win/Loss record and a 5.52 ERA. We have seen this team rise to the occasion against some of the best teams in the league. They will need some of that magic if they hope to succeed in any of these upcoming games. The home crowd will no doubt lift them up and provide some real encouragement as they take on these power house teams.

First pitch in Oakland on Saturday is scheduled for 4:07 PM. So come on out and proudly wear your “SELL” tee’s. Tickets are going fast. Less than 4% of total tickets in the venue are available. It is for sure going to be a great time out for both A’s and Giants fans.

Oakland Roots Shut Out Charleston Battery 1-0 To Secure Three Points In The Table

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The Oakland Roots used their heads in this one as they got by the Charleston Battery at Patriots Point Soccer Complex in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on Fri Aug 4, 2023 (@oaklandrootssc photo)

Friday, August 4th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

Oakland Roots face the Charleston Battery as the Roots try to hold on to their third place standing in the Western Conference at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina -. This is the first time either team has ever played each other in their team histories and the game started with Charleston playing an aggressive style of defense with hard tackles and pressure on the ball the moment it touches a Roots player.

Oakland goaltender Paul Blanchette had the spotlight on him, because he comes into this game top of the league in saves and second in shutouts heading into the weekend.

In the 40th minute, the scoring chances opened up for Oakland off a set piece that developed into a pass from outside the box to Daniel Barbir for a header that hit the back of the net and put the Roots over 1-0.

As the final minutes of the first half wind down the tempers started flaring and a yellow was given to leading scorer Johnny Rodriguez and the final whistle blew with Oakland up 1-0. The second half of this started off slow with both teams taking their time and picking their spots.

Charleston had attacks that scared the Oakland defense, but no one was able to find the net in that first 20 minutes, because Oakland jumped on every chance they had. Players keep getting knocked down by Charleston defenders. It almost feels like a hockey game with how many times Roots players are getting checked.

The duration of the second half was not only a stalemate amongst both offenses, but a test of endurance where a rush would go the distance, but once challenged would be shut down  and possession would change hands.

With nine minutes of stoppage time Johnny Rodriguez goes down with what looked like an ankle injury, but this injury took a lot of time away from Charleston to try to equalize the score. As the final minutes ran off, you can see frustration on the face of Charleston players and that’s due to never capitalizing on the scoring opportunities they had, but Oakland kept them at bay the whole match and then the final whistle blew and Oakland walked away with the win.

Paul Blanchette awarded another shutout and the Roots can exhale knowing that their third place was secure headed into the weekend. The next game for the Roots will be at home against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks and this game will be the only home game of the month for Oakland.

San Francisco Giants day off report: Giants prepare for Bay Bridge Series vs. A’s

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants took a much-needed day off after winning three of four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park and seven out of nine at home. Here’s what you need to know.

A Crosstown Rivalry
The Giants (61-49, 2nd NL West) are preparing for the upcoming Bay Bridge Series with the Oakland Athletics (30-80, 5th AL West) at the Oakland Coliseum this weekend. The first game will be on Saturday at 4:07 pm Pacific, while the second will be on Sunday at 1:07 pm Pacific. The starting pitchers for both games are TBD.

Notes
Giants right-handed pitcher Camilo Doval (3-3, 2.47 ERA) made his MLB-leading 33rd save in Thursday’s game against the Diamondbacks.

Giants fans can retweet this tweet to win an Alaska Airlines trip for two as part of the Giants’ Happy Flight Sweepstakes. More information can be found here.

History Matters
The Giants and St. Louis Cardinals will play a regular-season game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

Rickwood Field, the former home of the Negro League’s Birmingham Black Barons, where former Giants star Willie Mays once played, will host these two historic teams on June 20, 2024, at 4:00 pm Pacific on FOX. Rickwood Field’s the oldest professional ballpark in the United States.

The Giants-Cardinals was scheduled around Juneteenth and will include a tribute to Mays, a Birmingham, Ala. native and the oldest living Hall of Famer at 92, and the Negro Leagues. Mays, better known as the Say Hey Kid, played for the Black Barons in 1948 before his professional career with the New York/San Francisco Giants from 1951-52 and 1954-72 and the New York Mets from 1972-73.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: To Call the A’s a “small market team” is a travesty

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From left, lobbyists Alfredo Alonso and John Griffin, Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher, President Dave Kaval and lobbyist Jessica Ferrato inside the Legislature in Carson City on May 31, 2023. (Nevada Independent file photo)

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–For years now I have heard executives and even baseball so called “experts” call the Oakland Athletics a “small market team”. According to the Official US Census in 2020, the Bay Area has a population of over 7 million people in nine counties and 101 cities.

If that is a small market, then I must have been born yesterday on planet Mongo. Major League Baseball generate great part of their overall revenues via Television, that’s where the money is, forget radio. For the past several years, Nielsen has ranked the Bay Area market, the sixth largest TV market in the country. Actually throughout the 1980s and 1990s it had been the fifth largest.

Not everybody that attends A’s games live in Oakland, just like Giants fans are not only those that live in San Francisco. There is a reason we are the “Bay Area”. Leaving Oakland for Las Vegas is indeed leaving a 7 million people market to a market with a population of 640,000.

The Las Vegas media market is #40 in the US; the Oakland-Bay Area is #6. These are the facts. Yes, Las Vegas (according to the Las Vegas Statistics Bureau) is one of the most popular places to travel not only in the US, but in the world. And according to their statistics, the city has approximately 32 million visitors every year.

The Oakland Raiders have been successful as well as the last and current Stanley Cup Champions Las Vegas Golden Knights. In the NFL you play a 17 game season with about half played at home, in the NHL is an 82 game season with 41 games at home.

In MLB is a 162 game season with 81 home games. To sell most games during an 81 game season at home inside a 30,000 seat stadium, you have to sell out most of the time, to make it around 2 million in attendance.

The ‘powers to be’ in Las Vegas are counting with tourism to buy tickets for baseball, but that is a stretch. Good luck with that. However, I can see Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and other fans of big teams that travel well to see their teams for a three day weekend in Las Vegas, where most people go to watch shows and participate in gambling.

It is also a favorite spot for honeymooners. You can still get married at the Elvis Chapel and if it doesn’t that work, drive north to Reno and get a divorce. Finally, and of course, I wanted the Oakland A’s to stay in Oakland where they had won four World Series and were their roots really are.

But if they leave, as it looks today, even with all the thousands of people and reverse boycotts at different parks, including the two games coming this weekend at Oakland against the Giants, that is all nice and entertaining, but in the end I do not think Mr. Fisher is shaking and sweating when and if he seen those demonstrations, because he still owns the team and at the end, with all respect to the people demonstrating, in this country, under our free enterprise system, you cannot force a private citizen to sell if he/she doesn’t want to sell. It is as simple as that.

I have heard all scenarios by now on this debacle, and all I can go by is what is happening, we all live day to day. Some people are speaking like 2028 is just “around the corner”. 2028 is the projected year for when the Oakland A’s become the Las Vegas A’s.

Construction companies, baseball owners, lawmakers in City Halls in different cities and others maybe in the Stock Market as investors usually can plan for five years ahead, but most people I know they cannot tell you where they are going to be five years from today. Can you?

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