Author: Sports Radio Service

Headline Sports with Daniel Dullum: Suns take 2-1 lead into game four Wed night; Ohtani lead off hitter and pitcher

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Phoenix Suns absolutely had no answer for the Milwaukee Bucks Giannis Antetokounompo (34) who throws down against the Phoenix Suns in game 3 on Sun Jul 11, 2021 in Phoenix (AP News photo)

1 NBA Finals – Phoenix leads Milwaukee 2-games-to-1

2 Shohei Ohtani named as American League’s starting pitcher and leadoff hitter for All-Star Game

3 Trevor Bauer’s status with Dodgers still on hold

4 Angels fire play-by-play announcer Daron Sutton after 89 games

5 Pierre McGuire lands front office gig with Ottawa Senators

Join Daniel Dullum for Headline Sports podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary with Jeremiah Salmonson: Stephen A. Smith’s Ohtani can’t speak English comments weighing heavy; Olson and Bassitt representing A’s

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

ESPN’s Stephen A Smith apologized for saying that Los Angeles Angels designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani shouldn’t be the face of Major League Baseball that he’s a foreign player, can’t speak English and he’s contributing to harming the game (USA Today file photo)

Jeremiah filled in for That’s Amaury podcast this week:

#1 Jeremiah, please tell us your thoughts on New York Mets Pete Alfonso winning the home run derby two years in a row and the Oakland A’s Matt Olson participating in the derby as well.

#2 ESPN’s Stephen A Smith sure hit a nerve when he said that the Los Angeles Angeles Shohei Ohtani shouldn’t be the face of Major League Baseball, that he’s foreign player, can’t speak English, and he’s contributing to harming the game. Smith issued an apology for his comments on Tuesday.

#3 All Star game tonight in Denver A’s representatives first pitcher Chris Bassitt (9-3 ERA 3.28) is looking forward to participating in the mid summer classic particularly after having a fine first half.

#4 Matt Olson .282, 88 hits, 23 homers and 59 RBIs he’s seeing the ball well needless to say and participated in the home run derby on Monday night.

#5 The A’s first round draft pick Max Muncy 18 is hoping to be their future shortstop. Muncy no relation to the LA Dodger Max Muncy who was drafted fifth by the A’s in 2012 and shares the same birth date with the Dodger Muncy on Aug 25th.

#5 Jeremiah, the All Star game is tonight in Denver many a player who is there worked hard to get this far in the first half of the season who are the All Stars that we’ll see tonight that impressed you most?

Jeremiah Salmonson filled in for Amaury who is on La Mejor Musica on the Oakland A’s flagship station 1010 KIQI LeGrande San Francisco and look for his News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants Report: Giants have more draft picks than last year; Select Will Bednar College World Series MVP

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Mississippi State Bulldogs pitcher Will Bednar was selected along with the San Francisco Giants 14th overall pick. Bednar was the MVP in the College World Series seen here hoisting the MVP Trophy (file photo from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

By Jessica Kwong

The San Francisco Giants are heading into the All-Star break on a good note after sweeping the Washington Nationals in a three-game series that wrapped up on Sunday. The Giants (57-32) have maintained their spot at the top of the NL West.

Meanwhile, the biggest news for the Giants during the break is the 2021 MLB Draft. San Francisco has 20 picks this year which include one on Sunday, nine on Monday and 10 on Tuesday. That is far more than last season when they had just seven picks.

The Giants picked nine straight pitchers to start the draft. They selected Will Bednar, the College World Series MVP, with the No. 14 overall pick in the first round, and eight more pitchers after that. It was just what the organization — with many hitting prospects and not as many pitching options — wanted to do.

“We’re super excited about what we were able to do,” said Giants Director of Amateur Scouting Michael Holmes after the draft. “To be honest with you, yeah, we went on a nice little run of pitching there. I wouldn’t say it was primarily our focus when we started the day, it just started to kind of play out that way.”

Holmes said the Giants felt the draft had a lot to offer pitching-wise.

“Although there were a lot of position players that we had extensive talks about and we were in play in different parts of today’s draft, it really kind of fell by the way of the pitcher,” Holmes said. “We’re really excited about the group of arms and the one position player at the end that we were able to add.”

That position player is outfielder Vaunt Brown.

All attention on Tuesday for the Giants will be on the other half of their draft picks.

The Giants will be back to the regular swing of things on Friday to start a three-game series against the St Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Crawford and Gausman looking forward to All Star Game; Posey looking forward to resting thumb

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants catch Buster Posey leaves the field after getting hit in the thumb against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the bottom of the sixth at Chase Field in Phoenix (AP file photo)

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 Catcher Buster Posey’s thumb has landed him on the ten day Injured List he’ll take the All Star break and then some the timing of the All Star break couldn’t have come at a better time.

#2 Posey is one of the notable players at the All Star game hitting a first half, .328, 12 homers, 28 RBIs in 58 games a decent first half.

#3 Posey was all set to go to the All Star game in Denver but said the thumb injury won’t allow him to hit or catch and his kids who were coming on the trip were disappointed.

#4 San Francisco starting pitcher Kevin Gausman has had a terrific first half (9-3 ERA 1.73) he’s also had a successful number of strikeouts at 124.

#5 Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford has had a great first half with the bat and glove hitting .282, 48 runs, 74 hits and 18 home runs.

Join Morris for the Giants podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: All Star picks Oakland gets no love; Bassitt lone representative of second place team

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt seen pitching against the Texas Rangers on Wed Jun 30, 2021 will be the A’s lone representative at the 2021 All Star Game in Denver on Tue Jul 13, 2021 (AP file photo)

On the A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 If your Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt (10-2 ERA 3.28) you had to work you tail off to get some attention in order to be selected by Tampa Bay and American League manager Kevin Cash as Bassitt is the lone A’s representative at the All Star game.

#2 Bassitt has had such a outstanding year losing only two games and winning ten he’s had some strong outings this season.

#3 Although he’s has a 3.28 ERA in the last seven games he’s got a 12.46 ERA so his earned run production has been elevated a little.

#4 In Bassitt’s last loss turned out to be against the Houston Astros 9-6 on Tue Jul 6th at Minute Maid Field. Bassitt doesn’t want to have a second half where his ERA get too inflated.

#5 Oakland A’s slugger Matt Olson will be representing the A’s in the home run derby on Monday. Olson is hitting .282, 23 home runs and 59 RBIs it should be a competitive contest for Olson.

Join Barbara for the A’s podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A’s New Ballpark July 20 might Not be the Day you Expect

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

An artist rendering of the Oakland A’s gondola that is expected to take fans from the 12th Street BART station in downtown Oakland to Howard Terminal (photo from Athletics Nation)

A’s New Ballpark July 20 might Not be the Day you Expect

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

OAKLAND–The Oakland Athletics last champions of the American League Western Division go into the All Star Break with a winning record for the third consecutive season and in second place 3 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros. July 20 will mark an important vote by the Oakland City Council to open the way for the construction of the Howard Terminal park.

Here are some key points:

1-The A’s committed to $450 million construction for the ballpark. However, the overall project on the table is in the billions.

2- The A’s will commit to a 20-year non-relocation agreement, but the City of Oakland wants a deal that will keep the team in Oakland for 45 years.

s3-City of Oakland, under the law, requires developers include affordable housing in projects, the A’s want an exemption. The team want future taxes to take care of that, Oakland City Council has a big problem with that.

4-Oakland taxpayers are still ‘not over’ on past leases/deals with the Raiders and Warriors and they are on the hook for millions of dollars after both teams left. This has nothing to do with the City or the A’s, but figures greatly in the minds of residents and voters.

5-Chinatown is less than one mile from the proposed site of the Howard Terminal Park. Traffic and parking will present a challenge. The amount of parking spaces (the team proposed 2,000 parking spaces) at the ballpark for the 35,000 seat ballpark and would affect the Chinatown neighborhood and their financial future.

It is more than just the building of the new baseball park. There are many moving pieces here that the City of Oakland and the Oakland A’s still will have to agree on. The Jack London Square/Port of Oakland area where the Howard Terminal is to be built is a busy place. Amtrak trains go-by right there in the streets of Oakland and that could be problematic during game-day crowds, walking from BART station at 12th street, as fans will have to cross train tracks.

Other modes of transportation for the one-mile walk, like Gondolas have been proposed, but more than likely bridges for people crossing would have to be build, infrastructure is key for safety of the people attending a baseball game.

In conclusion: This July 20 the Oakland City Council vote might not be the last one or decisive that many believe it will be; they already have said they might need more time to analyze the financial impact and we might have to wait at least until September. In the meantime Las Vegas looms as A’s officials have already made a few “scouting” trips to Sin City.

The Oakland City Council has a full plate these days and some issues that believe it or not, are more important than keeping the A’s in Oakland. Amid a recent spike in homicides and crime in general, the Oakland City Council voted to defund the police as they diverted $18 million from the police department into community prevention programs, prompting Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong to strongly voice his displeasure with such policy as he said “This will make it tougher having less officers on the field, particularly for marginalized communities like deep East Oakland” and added “We see clearly that crime is out of control in the City of Oakland, and our response was for less police resources”. According to all official stats, homicides, shootings, robberies and carjackings are up at alarming pace in Oakland.

I want the Athletics to stay in Oakland, where they belong. but Las Vegas doesn’t present any of the hurdles the team encounters at the proposed site in the City of Oakland. The construction of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Raiders took less than three years to be built. The Athletics and the City of Oakland cannot stop time, the clock keeps ticking.

The best option still remains. If there was a plan to keep the A’s and build in the current location, that would be an asset. I challenge anybody to tell me another pro-sports facility in the Bay Area with better access than the Oakland Coliseum.

Highway 880 to the west and BART station a 10-15 minute walk from the Coliseum, to the east. Plus an Amtrak, Capitol Corridor train, with scheduled stop at the Coliseum, those trains travel between San José and Sacranmento. where fans also come to watch A’s baseball.

There is plenty of land to re-develop that area, around the Coliseum. Mr. Rob Manfred, Commissioner of Baseball doesn’t support that idea and that is why he told the A’s to look for another location, or say Adiós to the Bay Area.

And so it goes. The Athletics return home for their first home-stand post-All Star Break on Friday July 16 for the first of 3 games against the Cleveland Indians then a quick 2-game set vs. the divisional rivals Los Angeles Angels.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead Spanish play by play announcer for the Oakland A’s on flagship station 1010 KIQI LeGrande San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB All Star Game Report: Housekeepers’ sharp eyes stop sharpshooters in Denver hotel

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

A vehicle in front of the Maven Hotel located just a block away from Coors Field home of the 2021 All Star Game where thousands were to attend the mid summer classic Monday and Tuesday. Police seized a huge amount of weapons and ammo on the eighth floor of the hotel on Friday Jul 9, 2021 arresting four suspects (AP News photo Denver)

By Morris Phillips

DENVER–Thanks to a housekeeper working at a nearby hotel near Coors Field in downtown Denver just a block from Coors Field home of the 2021 All Star game four suspects were arrested after the housekeeper spotted ammunition, dozens of long arm rifles, dozens of weapons and thousands of rounds in one of two rooms where suspects were staying.

The tip from the housekeeper might have save thousands of lives of fans, workers, employees and baseball personnel from injury or death. The housekeeper made the discovery at the Maven hotel on the eighth floor on Friday while doing cleaning duties. For some a flashback to what happened at the Las Vegas hotel that took place at the Mandalay Bay Hotel on the 32nd floor on October 1, 2017 which killed 60 when suspect Stephen Paddock took shots from that floor. Paddock later killed himself inside the hotel room.

It’s mind boggling to think how many lives that housekeeper could have saved after making such a discovery. Denver police removed 16 long guns, body armor, and thousands of rounds of bullets. Major League Baseball moved the All Star game from Atlanta to Denver because of voter suppression laws that were passed in Georgia which restricted voters particularly minorities and people of color’s access to vote in Georgia and that was questioned as a motivating factor for the suspects. Police noted however that one of the suspects had posted a message on Facebook that he was recently divorced and said on his page that he wanted to go out in a big way.

Police are still investigating what the actual intent of the suspects were. It was reported that one of the suspects had a child, a long criminal history, and worked construction. The suspects rooms were located on the eighth floor at the Maven Hotel. The Maven was closed as police combed through the hotel and it was reported by a witness that he saw a car being put on a flatbed. Police concluded there is no further threat to the public.

Morris Phillips is a San Francisco Giants beat writer and is covering the 2021 All Star Game in Denver for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Gausman solid in helping Giants in sweep of Nationals 3-1 at Oracle

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman throws to the Washington Nationals line up on Sun Jul 11, 2021 at Oracle Park in San Francisco in the first inning. The contest was the finale of the three game series. (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Kevin Gausman may not have been able to pitch in the All-Star Game in hometown of Denver, but what a showing he put on in his final start of the first half.

Gausman went six innings, allowing one run on four hits, walking three and striking out nine and the San Francisco Giants completed a three-game sweep with a 3-1 victory over the Washington Nationals before a crowd of 26,639 at Oracle Park. With the victory, Gausman raised his record up to 9-3 on the season and lowered his earned run average from 1.74 to 1.65.

All the offense that the Giants needed came on one swing from Curt Casali, who launched a three-run home run into the Garden area beyond the center field wall in the bottom of the second inning.

Casali took a Erick Fedde pitch and planted it into the netting for his fourth home run of the season, and the Giants went into the All-Star break with the best record in baseball for the first time since the 2016 season and it is seventh time in team history that they have reached the All-Star break with the best record in the majors.

Since coming off the injured list last month, Casali is now 17-for-42 (.404) with four home runs during that stretch.

Brandon Crawford led off the inning with a single, and after Donovan Solano struck out for the first out of the inning, then Steven Duggar singled and then Casali hit his three-run home run.

Crawford continues to swing the bat well, as he went 3-for-4 on the afternoon, and picked up his fifth three plus game in his last eight games.

Fedde, who allowed the three runs in the bottom of the second inning, ended up going five innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, walking three and striking out and saw his record fall to 4-6 on the season.

The Nationals knocked Gausman out of the game in the top of the seventh inning, as both Juan Soto and Josh Bell walked to lead off the inning, then Starlin Castro singled to load the bases and Castro was the last batter that Gausman would face.

Dominic Leone came on to replace Gausman and got Josh Harrison to ground into a force play that scored Soto, but Leone then got pinch-hitter Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to Duggar in centerfield for the second out and then got out of the inning, when he got Victor Robles to strikeout for the final out of the inning.

Asides from scoring those three runs in the Giants wasted ample opportunities, as they put the first two runners of the inning on base in the bottom of the first inning and then again in the bottom of the third inning; however, Fedde was able to get out of the inning unscathed.

Tyler Rogers came on in the top of the eighth inning to replace Leone, and continues to be one of the best relievers in the National League during the first half, as he retired the Nationals in order.

Closer Jake McGee replaced Rogers in the top of the ninth inning, and picked up his 19th save, tying his career high that he obtained with the Tampa Bay Rays during the 2014 season.

McGee gave up a two-out double to Castro, but then got Harrison to line out to Solano to end the game.

NOTES: Caleb Baragar was recalled from Sacramento, while Tyler Beede was optioned back to Sacramento.

The Giants have now hit 132 home runs on the season, the most in the majors and lead the Toronto Blue Jays by two home runs, as they have hit 130 home runs on the season. This is just the third time since moving to San Francisco in 1958 that the Giants have led the majors in home runs at the All-Star break, they also led the majors in 1958 with 95 and then in 1989, when they went into the All-Star break with 80 home runs.

UP NEXT: Following the All-Star break, the Giants will fly to St. Louis for a three-game series against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium that begins at Busch Stadium on Friday night. After the three-games in St. Louis, the Giants will head to Los Angeles, where they will face the Dodgers for a four-game series and this will be the final time that the Giants travel to Dodger Stadium during the 2021 regular season.

NBA Finals podcast with Joe Hawkes: Suns rolling could they put Bucks on their backs tonight?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Phoenix Suns Devin Booker (right) drives on the Milwaukee Bucks Khris Middleton (left) in the first half of game 2 of the NBA Finals on Fri Jul 9, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the NBA Finals podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Joe the Phoenix Suns got to a big jump on the Milwaukee Bucks with a 2-0 series lead what would you allude being the biggest reason for that happening.

#2 Joe, talk about the Suns big three who scored in double figures in game 2 Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, and Chris Paul they were potent in the playoffs and wasted no time getting off the dime in the first two games of the Finals.

#3 The Suns defense is also credited by keeping the Bucks at bay with the game 2, 118-108 win. The Suns have demonstrated what kind of team they’ve been from the defensive side of the ball.

#4 For Giannis Anteokounmpo he led the Bucks in scoring with 42 in game 2 it seems like when the Bucks go on offense the balls going to him but they Bucks are going to need a lot more than Giannis to try and come back and get back in these Finals.

#5 Game 3 tonight Suns up 2-0 Bucks have the home floor there will little doubt the Bucks will be fired up to try and get a win on the home floor.

Joe Hawkes does the NBA Finals podcast Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s rally for four runs in 11th to beat Rangers 8-4

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland A’s Stephen Piscotty (left) and Jed Lowrie (right) forearm bash after Piscotty’s two run home run in the top of the 11th at Globe Life Park in Arlington Sat Jul 10, 2021 (AP News photo)

A’s Win Marathon Against Rangers 8-4

By Barbara Mason

Saturday afternoon the Oakland A’s took on the Texas Rangers in game two of their series. In game one the A’s suffered a meltdown in the sixth inning after leading 2-0 failing to score again in the game losing 3-2.

They will attempt to get back on the winning track in this second game with James Kaprielian on the mound. The Rangers started Mike Foltynewicz.

The A’s came up empty in the first inning of this game but such was not the case for the Rangers. They hit two solo home runs, one by Gallo and a second by Garcia for a 2-0 lead.

The A’s answered in the second inning with two home runs of their own. Sean Murphy hit a solo homer and Seth Brown hit a second home run to tie up the game at 2-2. It was a sight for sore eyes to see those long shots once agains.

Oakland’s Deolis Guerra came into the sixth inning to relieve Kaprielien with the A’s still in the lead 3-2. James had completed six innings to qualify for the win. The seventh inning for Oakland was a 7 pitch appearance by Yusmeiro Petit and it was on to the eighth inning.

The eighth inning was a tough one for Diekman who allowed a Jonas Heim single and two walks. The Heim single brought in White to tie up the game 3-3. Lou Trivino would close out the inning keeping the damage to a minimum.

After a non-productive ninth inning the game would go into extra innings and a marathon would ensue. The A’s would take the lead in the tenth inning 4-3 when Sean Murphy scored and Oakland would try to hang onto the slim lead. The Rangers were stubborn and tied the game once again 4-4.

The eleventh inning was golden for Oakland. The hits started coming. Olson walked, Lowrie singled and Andrus scored. Olson scored on a wild pitch, the score now 6-4. The A’s sealed the deal with a Stephen Piscotti home run bringing in Lowrie and extending their lead 8-4. Oakland fought hard in this game and it paid off handsomely. The highlights of this game were the four home runs by Murphy, Brown, Lowrie and Piscotti.

While kudos to the team for staying in this game there were still some disappointing performances. The defense as always was solid but Andrus, Olson, Chapman, Bolt and Kemp did not have a single hit all day. Hopefully they will show up for tomorrow’s game to win the series. While it is not uncommon for players to have a slow game, it is curious that all five of these guys couldn’t manage a single hit. Tomorrow is a new day and a chance for another win.

First pitch in tomorrow’s game is scheduled for 11:35.