Category: MLB

Snell pitches gem for SF; Braves break 0-0 deadlock in 10th in 1-0 win

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San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell took a shutout into the 7th inning in another strong outing. The Giants couldn’t hold on in the top of the tenth as the Atlanta Braves squeezed by 1-0 on Mon Aug 12, 2024 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (NBC California photo still)

Atlanta (62-56). 000 000 000. 1 1. 4. 1

San Francisco (61-60). 000 000 000 0. 0 3. 0. 10 innings

Time: 2:35

Attendance: 30,134

Monday, August 12, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–In Monday night’s opener of the four game series between two recent powerhouses now battling for the final playoff spot in the National League, the stumbling but recovering San Francisco Giants fell to the bumbling Atlanta Braves, who had been smarting from being swept in four games at Coors Field. The final score was 1-0.

The Giants came to bat eight times with runners in scoring position. The only hit they  got in that situation was Mark Canha’s single in the first. They stranded six runners overall. The Braves went two for five with runners in scoring position and left a total of six on base.

Blake Snell, who finally has recovered the form he showed for San Diego in last year’s Cy Young award winning season and had been 2-0, including a no hitter, 1.15 with 49 Ks and a WHIP of 0.59 in his last six starts for the Giants threw 103 pitches Monday night before yielding his first base hit, a leadoff double to left by Marcell Ozuna, just over the glove of a leaping Matt Chapman.

The Braves’ second safety followed immediately after, a Matt Olson dribbler between third and the mound that didn’t advance Ozuna. After fanning Orlando Arcía, Snell left the game to thunderous applause, replaced by Randy Rodríguez.

He rose to the occasion, fanning Sean Murphy and Jarred Kelenic, pinch hitting for Ramón Laureano on nine pitches. The curse of the leadoff double strikes again! Snell’s totals for his 6-2/3 innings were no runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out 11 and ended up with a pith count of 114, 70 of them classified as strikes. He lowered his ERA to 3.91 but went home with a no decision.

The submariner Tyler Rogers torpedoed Atlanta 1,2,3 in the eighth before yielding to Ryan Walker to start the ninth. He gave the lie to his name by shutting the Braves down on nothing but a broken bat single by Ozuna. Taylor Rogers pitched the top of the tenth and allowed an almost preordained run on pinch hitter Travis d’Arnaeau’s sac fly to the right field warning track that brought in Arcía the zombie runner who had advanced to third on Sean Murphy’s single to left.

San Francisco had been patient with Snell, giving him time to recover from a late start to spring training and two stints on the IL before he hit his stride. The Braves, with Spencer Strider on the 60 day injured list, have been giving the remainder of their rotation an extra day’s rest between their scheduled starts.

Chris Sale, who took the mound at 13-3, 2.75 this evening was the most recent beneficiary of that sabbatical. He responded with a brilliant performance, yielding only three hits and striking out a dozen Giants in his seven inning stint.

No walks, no hit batters. He threw 107 pitches; only 30 were balls. Like Snell, lowered his ERA although he, too, had to settle for a no decision. Sale’s record now is 13-3, 2.61. Joe Jiménez held the Giants to a hit batter in the bottom of the eighth.

Luke Iglesias set the Giants down in order in the ninth to send the game into extra innings and returned to the mound to shut the Giants down in the tenth and earn the win, which left him at 2-1, 1.58.

The series continues Tuesday, at 6:45 with Atlanta’s Charlie Morton (6-7, 4.47) and San Francisco’s Kyle Harrison (6-5) toeing the rubber.

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s open up three game series at Citi Park against Mets on Tuesday

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Oakland A’s Brent Rooker belts a double against the Toronto Blue Jays in the top of the sixth inning at Rogers Centre Toronto on Sun Aug 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 Barbara, the A’s didn’t waste any time scoring six runs in the first inning and they needed all those runs as the Toronto Blue Jays made a run at the A’s later in the game cutting the lead to two runs for a 8-4 win.

#2 The A’s also got home run help from JJ Bleday and Zack Gelof in the top of the six inning to add some runs for the A’s total.

#3 The A’s are on a 58% winning pace to win 74 games for the season. The A’s picked up their 50th win of the season making them 50-69.

#4 The A’s Lawrence Butler has made up a big difference providing some great on base hitting and base running and adding critical runs. Butler went had three hits in Sunday’s game.

#5 A’s open up a three game set with the New York Mets Tuesday night at Citi Park the Mets second place in the NL East eight games off the pace and have won four of their last six games. Starting pitcher for the A’s might be an opener as Mark Kotsay has not named a starter yet. For the Mets former A’s starter Paul Blackburn (5-2, ERA 3.86) first pitch at 4:05pm PT.

Barbara Mason does the Oakland A’s podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Havana was Vegas before Vegas was Vegas

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La Habana is July 26, historic Revolutionary Day celebrated in Havana each year. Havana was Vegas before Las Vegas became Vegas and what a Havana A’s team would look like (Getty file photo)

Havana was Vegas before Vegas was Vegas

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Cuba is the perfect country for the Oakland A’s because there will be no more complaints about ownership. In Cuba, the government owns everything, including baseball. No free enterprise or capitalism is allowed. Bad news for some fans.

1-If you are a fan and you show up at a game in Cuba with a sign that reads SELL, the government will arrest you and call you an “enemy of the State.” They will incarcerate you and use you years later as hostage-trade-bait with the US government, which will pay good money for your return.

2-Revenue sharing. Sure, “one-stop shopping.” All 29 teams will pay the Cuban government for the right to have an MLB team in La Habana. Cuban government officials will get many perks, like a free trip to Las Vegas and other tourist spots and twelve months a year to stay in luxurious hotels. In other words,since private ownership is not allowed, the money goes to the Cuban government.

3-No more negotiating. In Cuba, you do not need the MLPA; the Cuban government pays the players, and there is no Unionized work in Cuba on anything. One owner, one check, no “in-between”or, like some like to call it, no Outsourcing.

4-Promotions for the fans? According to government laws, all players with the Cuban A’s will sign autographs for all the fans on special days. Players cannot charge for autographs or go to a special show where they get paid for autograph signing; that doesn’t happen in Cuba.

5-Non Profits? No problem; in Cuba, the only profit is made by the Cuban Government. So you do not have to worry about that. The government gets the funds, they take care of themselves and their families first, and whatever is left, they “re-distribute” with the Cuban citizens.

6-No Habla Spanish? No hay problema. They will learn the official language, Spanish, according to the Cuban government, so that players will have no problems. The government will have tutors waiting for you to let you know about the Cuban communist revolution.

You will get a complimentary invitation to the Fidel Castro Museum to learn. Some might even memorize (Like Cuban kids are forced to do) some of Fidel’s great five hour speeches, not to mention when he was a pitcher for the Universidad de La Habana. Legend has it that in the 1950s, the NY Giants offered Fidel a $5,000 bonus, but being the excellent communist he was, he denied it and never came to play in the United States Major League Baseball.

Special Day? The only special day for the Cuban A’s while they make their home in La Habana is July 26, historic Revolutionary Day. This is the day that Fidel Castro’s revolution began, eventually taking over the country in 1959 and ruling Cuba since today.

Remember, Havana was Vegas, before Vegas!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead radio voice 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

Birdsong struggles, wasted opportunities and base-running blunders cost Giants, who fail to sweep Tigers and drop series finale 5-4

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San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman (left) is tagged out by Detroit Tigers pitcher Brenan Hanifee (right) in the bottom of the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun Aug 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Detroit Tigers 5 (56-63)

San Francisco Giants 4 (61-59)

Win: Keider Montero (3-5)

Loss: Hayden Birdsong (3-2)

Save: Will Vest (1)

Time: 2:52

Attendance: 40,447

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–Wasted opportunities and boneheaded base-running burned the San Francisco Giants, and Hayden Birdsong struggled, as the Giants were unable to complete the sweep and lost the series finale to the Detroit Tigers 5-4 on Sunday.

The Giants came into Sunday winners of 12 of their last 15. After finally getting to three games over .500 for the first time all season with their fourth-straight win Saturday, the Giants had a chance to complete the sweep on this beautiful mostly-cloudy afternoon at Oracle Park.

Sunday would be a test for young Hayden Birdsong. After a solid first six big league starts in which he didn’t allow more than three runs, he suffered his first bad outing in his last start in Washington on Tuesday. It doesn’t matter who you are; bad outings happen. The question is how Birdsong would respond Sunday.

Birdsong would be tested right away. Matt Vierling stepped up to begin the game, and he lined a home run to the first row out in left-center field to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead. Birdsong then retired the side.

The Giants would be up against the young right-hander, Keider Montero in this pitching matchup of kids who made their major league debuts this season. Tyler Fitzgerald would be first up, and he led off the bottom of the first with a ground-rule double to right-center.

One thing was apparent early on: the ball was carrying today. LaMonte Wade walked, and Heliot Ramos got Fitzgerald to third on a flyout to right. 

You gotta give credit to Fitzgerald. Tigers’ right-fielder Akil Baddoo made the catch in shallow right field and made a solid throw to third. It was pure gutsy base-running by Fitzgerald, and it paid off.

Michael Conforto walked to load the bases, and that brought up Matt Chapman. Chapman shot a base-hit into right-center, and two runs scored to give the Giants the lead.

Birdsong retired the first two men he faced in the top of the second, but Zach McKinstry singled with two outs, and that brought up Dillon Dingler. Dingler hit a high fly ball to right-center, and with the ball carrying the way it was today, it sailed into the Tigers’ bullpen, which put Detroit back ahead.

The Giants rallied in the bottom of the second. Jerar Encarnacion walked to start the inning, and Tyler Fitzgerald singled with one out. 

Wade hit a fly ball to deep right-center, and Tigers’ center-fielder Parker Meadows made a tremendous running catch as he collided and even somewhat trampled over right-fielder Alex Baddoo. It was reminiscent of an iconic catch that Willie Mays made while leaping over Bobby Bonds in 1970, but this one came against the Giants, who ended up not scoring.

Birdsong pitched a scoreless top of the third and a 1-2-3 top of the fourth. Montero pitched 1-2-3 innings in the bottom of the third and fourth.

The Tigers have a lineup full of guys whose names you would have expected to see in a lineup in either the 19th Century, or in Star Wars. Considering that Sunday was Star Wars Day at Oracle Park, it made perfect sense. In the top of the fifth, those names did some damage against Birdsong.

Dillon Dingler, who hit the home run in the top of the second, led off the top of the fifth with a ground-rule double to right-center. Akil Baddoo got Dingler to third with a flyout to center, and Matt Vierling laced a double down the left field line to knock in Dingler and make it 4-2. 

That did it for Birdsong, who struggled again Sunday. Birdsong did not struggle anywhere near as much as he did Tuesday in D.C., and he was burned by the fact that the ball was carrying Sunday, but it was still a rough outing. 

Left-handed flame thrower Erik Miller came in, and after Bligh Madris hit a chopped back to the mound, Colt Keith got Vierling in with a base-hit to make it 5-2. 

Montero threw a scoreless bottom of the fifth, and Miller ran into trouble in the top of the sixth. Miller walked Gio Urshela to start the inning, and two batters later, McKinstry walked to put runners at first and second with one out.

Bob Melvin brought in Sean Hjelle to face Dingler, who was 2-for-2 with the home run and ground-rule double. The Tigers were poised to blow this game open, but Hjelle and the Giants caught a break when Dingler hit a bullet right to Matt Chapman at third for the second out. Baddoo flew out to center, and the Giants were able to keep the deficit at three.

The Giants were able to stay in the game, and it paid dividends in the bottom of the sixth. Michael Conforto, who has been heating up here in August, hit one of the wall in left that he was able to leg out for a triple. 

Some weirdness happened while Conforto was at third. As Montero was going into his motion, he stopped and was called for a balk, and Conforto was sent home. However, First Base Umpire D.J. Reyburn had called time, because center-fielder Parker Meadows was out of position. The umpires conferred and sent Conforto back to third.

No big deal. Conforto would score on a base-hit by Matt Chapman. Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch pulled Montero for Tyler Holton, and former Tiger Mark Canha drew a pinch-hit walk. However, Patrick Bailey grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, which seemed to snuff out the rally.

Chapman did go to third on the double play, as Jerar Encarnacion came up with two outs. Encarnacion lined a double the other way to right to score Chapman and make it 5-4.

Hjelle returned to the mound for the top of the seventh, as the Tigers threatened again. Andy Ibanez singled with one out, and Justyn-Henry Malloy walked with two outs. 

Gio Urshela came up, and he hit a sharp chopper off the end of the bat to first. Wade dove to his left to come with it, and he flipped it to Hjelle to end the inning, as the Giants had dodged another bullet. 

Holton and Brenan Hanifee combined for a scoreless bottom of the seventh for Detroit, and Taylor Rogers came in to throw a 1-2-3 inning for the Giants.

Chapman tripled to lead off the eighth, and the Giants had the tying run 90 feet away. The Tigers then played the infield in for Mark Canha, who hit a sharp ground ball to short. Despite the drawn-in infield, Chapman took off for the plate, and he was caught in a rundown for a crushing and embarrassing first out. Chapman sat at the plate in disbelief as he caught his breath. 

Canha alertly took second on the play, but then he was caught in a rundown and tagged out when Bailey hit a chopper back to the mound. Back-to-back boneheaded base-running plays had single-handedly taken the Giants out of a rally, and Jerar Encarnacion grounded out to end the inning.

Jordan Hicks pitched through a pair of singles in the top of the ninth, and Hinch went to Will Vest in the bottom of the ninth. Vest retired the first two men he faced, but Wade worked a 1-2 count into a walk to extend the game for the potential winning run in Heliot Ramos.

Ramos was 0-for-4, and he was up there pressing, as he quickly fell behind 0-2. He then fouled off a fastball and took a changeup down for ball one, but he was caught looking at a 96-MPH fastball right on the outside corner to end it. Ramos had a few words for Home Plate Umpire Charlie Ramos—no relation—but Heliot Ramos had nobody to blame but himself there.

Keider Montero got the win; Hayden Birdsong took his second-career walk; and Will Vest got his first save of the season.

The Giants wasted a lot of opportunities Sunday, as they went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Despite the run they have made, they have gone 31-for-161 with runners in scoring position since July 25. If that does not improve, you can forget about this team getting into October Baseball.

As much as the wasted opportunities hurt Sunday, once Chapman and Canha had their base-running blunders in the eighth, that pretty much sucked the life out of them. 

“[I’m] disgusted at myself for doing that,” Chapman bluntly said, taking full ownership of his mistake like the true leader that he is.

Those were the postgame words of a man who went 3-for-4; knocked in three of the Giants’ four runs; and had two of the Giants’ three hits with runners in scoring position Sunday.

Now, the Giants will have to move on and be ready to go when the Braves come in for a crucial four-game series starting Monday night. Not only are the Giants currently chasing the Braves for the third wild card spot, but if the Giants can at the very least split this series, they will have a winning record against the Braves and will hold the tiebreaker. 

However, with their schedule about to get much harder, the Giants really need to take three of four from the Braves. Another potential problem is that Jorge Soler will be making his return to Oracle Park after Farhan Zaidi traded him at the Deadline on July 30, and Soler will certainly be motivated to stick it to his former team.

Blake Snell (2-3, 4.31 ERA) will make the start for the Giants, and he will be opposed by veteran all-star left-hander Chris Sale (13-3, 2.75 ERA). First pitch Monday night will be at 6:45 p.m.

National League Wild Card Standings:

*1. Diamondbacks 66-53 +4.0

*2. Padres 66-53 +4.0

3. Braves 61-56 —

Mets 61-57 0.5

Cardinals 60-58 1.5

GIANTS 61-59 1.5

Cubs 59-60 3.0

Reds 57-61 4.5

Pirates 56-61 5.0

*Tiebreaking procedures taken into effect.

Tigers avoided Sweep (1-2) against Giants in Final game of the Series, 5-4; Star Wars Day in the City by the Bay

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Detroit Tigers Dillion Dingler (above) celebrates his two run home with a big hug to Zach McKinstry (39) in the top of the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco against the San Francisco Giants on Sun Aug 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Detroit Tigers (56-63) salvaged the three-game series versus the San Francisco Giants (61-59), with a 5-4 victory on an overcast Star Wars Day.

The Tigers pounced upon the Giants right away, with a solo homer from leadoff designated hitter Matt Vierling. After a half inning, the Tigers led 1-0. However, the Giants had an immediate response in their bottom frame.

San Francisco scored during their first at bats on a two rbi single by third baseman Matt Chapman. He knocked in shortstopTyler Fitzgerald and Lamonte Wade Jr.. After an exciting first inning, the Giants led 2-1.

Detroit was right at it again in the top of the 2nd inning, scoring two more runs on another home run. Catcher Dillon Dingler hit his first “Dinger” of his career, plating shortstop Zach McKinstry, as well as himself. After two full innings, the Tigers led 3-2.

That lead lasted until the top of the fifth, when the MoTown Felines extended the advantage to 3 runs. Veiling reared his head again, this time with an RBI double, scoring Dingler. Next, second baseman Colt Keith hit an RBI single to right field, resulting in the aforementioned Vierling to cross the plate, for the Tigers’ fifth and final run. Detroit led 5-2 after 5 innings. Could they hold on to the lead, avoiding the Sweep in San Francisco?

Bottom of the 6th, the Giants made an attempt to cut into the lead and possibly eak out a come from behind win. Chapman belted an RBI single, knocking in Michael Conforto. Later, Jerar Encarnacionhit hit an RBI double, scoring Chapman. After six innings, 5-4 Tigers.

The Giants had an excellent chance to either tie or win the game in the bottom of the 8th inning. After Chapman opened the inning with a triple, they were poised to tie it up on a hit or sacrifice. Unfortunately, Chapman and Mark Canha were thrown out on back to back rundowns. Next, Encarnacion grounded out to Third, and a seemingly promising inning turned feeble, with 0 runs to account for. Still 5-4 going into the ninth inning.

The final inning was just a formality, as the Tigers kept their claws onto the 5-4 lead, while taking down the Giants with ease in the bottom of the 9th, only allowing a walk, while RHP Will Vest closed the game. The Detroit Tigers won 5-4!

The Tigers have Monday August 12 off, before they host Seattle the following day at 6:40 PM EST, with LHP Tarik Skubal (13-4, 2.57) on the mond versus TBD for the Mariners. The Giants host the Atlanta Braves 8/12 at 6:45 PM PDT with LHP Chris Sale (13-3, 2.75) vs. LHP Blake Snell (2-3, 4.31).

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants open up four game series with Braves Monday

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San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman (left) gets tagged out at home plate by relief pitcher Brenan Hanifee (75) in the bottom of the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Aug 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 The Detroit Tigers avoided getting swept by the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco with a 5-4 win.

#2 The Tigers got home run help from Dillon Dingler and Matt Vierling. For Dingler it was his first career home run.

#3 The Giants in the bottom of the eight some bad base running, Matt Chapman was thrown out at home on a run down and then Mark Canha was hung up and thrown out at third base. That was an inning that basically saved the Tigers in the one run game.

#4 The Giants scored twice in the first and twice in the sixth but couldn’t capitalize in the eighth and in didn’t get one those heroic ninth inning walk offs.

#5 The Giants open a four game series with the Atlanta Braves on Monday night at Oracle Park with the Braves sending left hander Chris Sale (13-3, ERA 2.75) against the Giants starter Blake Snell (2-3, ERA 4.31) first pitch slated for 6:45pm

Marko Ukalovic does the Giants podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

JP Sears Leads A’s To Series Win Over Blue Jays 8-4; Oakland six run first stands up in two run win

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Oakland A’s Lawrence Butler (4) beats the throw on a slide at second base under the glove of the Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Leo Jimenez (49) in the top of the fourth inning at Rogers Centre in Toronto (Canadian Press via AP photo)

By Barbara Mason

JP Sears had a banner day on the mound Sunday in game three of Oakland’s series with Toronto. He was on a tear going through the Toronto Blue Jays (54-64) lineup like a knife through butter. He went seven innings only allowing three hits and three earned runs.

Oakland A’s (50-69) bats were on fire outhitting Toronto 12 hits to five as the A’s took two out of three from the Jays 8-4. The A’s had a perfect blend of long balls and base on hits winning this series. Lawrence Butler, JJ Bleday, Zach Gelof and Brent Rooker were also instrumental in the win. Mason Miller capped off the win with another brilliant inning on the mound, three up and three down to once again close the door in relief.

Game recap: Whatever the A’s had in their Cheerios this morning they came out on fire scoring six runs in the first inning. They show-cased a blend of home runs and base hits. The first run of the inning came in thanks to a Blue Jays throwing error which allowed Lawrence Butler to score for the early one run lead and the A’s were just getting started.

Bleday hit a two run home run with Rooker on base followed by a Gelof two run homer with Seth Brown aboard and Oakland had a 5-0 lead. They finished off the inning with a Butler single and Daz Cameron scored taking a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the first inning.

Oakland extended their lead in the fourth inning with a Bleday single that brought Butler home for a 7-0 lead. The Blue Jays finally got on the board in the fourth with a solo home run from Daulton Varsho. That was all Toronto was able to muster so far in the game trailing 7-1.

The A’s tacked another run on in the sixth inning taking a 8-1 lead into the seventh inning. Rooker who was having a great day doubled to left and Max Schuemann scored from second base.

Going into the eighth inning, the Blue Jays were running out of time to make any kind of move, in fact, they were pretty close to finished after six innings. Through seven innings, the A’s had 12 hits while the Blue Jays were quiet with only three.

Sears was having a banner day going into the eighth innings with only 97 pitches in some amazing efficiency. He left the game in the beginning of the eighth inning after walking both Spencer Horwitz and Davis Schneider.

He had an amazing game going seven innings only allowing three hits, three runs, three walks and four strikeouts. Michel Otanez relieved him in the inning. Toronto made a huge move in the eighth inning with only one out.

Luis De Los Santos doubled Spencer Horwitz home and George Springer singled both Davis Schneider and Luis De Los Santos home. Toronto scored three runs to cut Oakland’s lead in half.

A monster threat came to the plate in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. This guy is capable of changing a game with one swing of the bat but he grounded into a double play to end the threat. The A’s were now three outs away from winning this series.

Mason Miller closed out this game in the manner that has become customary for him. It was a three up, three down ninth inning. Oakland really took it to Bassitt in this game who is typically a great starter. He allowed eight hits, seven runs, two walks and five strikeouts and only lasted four innings.

Game notes: Saturday, the A’s tied up their series with the Blue Jays after dropping game one on Friday. Game two featured a tense pitchers duel with the A’s finishing on top 1-0 thanks to the pitching of Osvaldo Bido and the closing brilliance of Mason Miller.

There was not much offensive effort from either team and it was the home run from Brent Rooker in the sixth inning that decided this game. In game three today, Oakland will be looking for their bats to get hot. JP Sears was the winning pitcher on Sunday improving his record to 10-8.

The Blue Jays started Chris Bassitt got lit up, Bassitt went four innings, allowed eight hits and seven earned runs. The stadium welcomed over 35,000 fans on hand for this game despite neither team having any chance for a playoff run.

Oakland will now travel to New York for a three game series with the Mets. The Mets are in third place in the National League East a half game behind the second place Atlanta Braves. Another familiar name will take the mound for the Mets in Paul Blackburn.

Blackburn was recently traded to New York in an effort to bolster the Mets rotation. His 3.86 ERA is solid as is his 5-2 win/loss record. The A’s will go with Ross Stripling with a 2-11, 5.72 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for Tuesday at 4:10 PM.

Oakland A’s podcast with Augie Mesenburg: A’s even series as Bido and bullpen blank Jays 1-0 in Toronto

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Oakland A’s Brent Rooker gets congratulations for his home run in the top of the sixth inning at Rogers Centre in Toronto which turned out to be the only run of the game (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Augie:

#1 The Oakland A’s starter Oavaldo Bido with the help of three relievers got a two hitter blanking the Toronto Blue Jays in a close one 1-0 at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Saturday.

#2 Bido had another strong outing for Oakland and it was enough to ward off the Blue Jays. Bido went six innings allowing two hits, one run, and five strikeouts. He had his variety of pitches working for him.

#3 A’s slugger Brent Rooker accounted for the game’s only run with his 29th home run of the season in the top of the sixth inning. Rooker has been having success with the long ball this season.

#4 For the A’s they’ve won a number of series of late and the good pitching beating the good hitting has been a great help as Saturday’s game was the A’s ninth shutout of the season.

#5 A’s closer Mason Miller shut the door on the Jays pitching in the ninth and striking out three hitters without giving up a run. Miller has been one of the big key reasons why the A’s have won the close games.

Augie Mesenburg is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice and is a reporter at 1080 KWAI Honolulu

Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O: White Sox new manager Sizemore says he’s a different voice; Ohtani interpreter’s bookie pleads guilty to running illegal gambling business; plus more news

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Chicago White Sox manager Grady Sizemore takes a walk on the field at Guarantee Rate Field in Chicago in his first game at the helm replacing former manager Pedro Grifol. Sizemore lost in his managerial debut against the Chicago Cubs on Fri Aug 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Chicago White Sox are making headlines for all the wrong reasons and general manager Chris Getz changed managers because of it. After the Sox ended a 21 game losing streak short of tying the major league record on Tue 6th Getz fired manager Pedro Grifol and replaced him with Grady Sizemore who had been a coach.

#2 Sizemore said he was surprised and excited when he was offered the job. There was no doubt that Getz wanted to take the Sox in a different direction. Sizemore said he is a different voice and is a different person. In Sizemore’s first game at the helm on Friday he lost to crosstown rivals the Chicago Cubs 7-6.

#3 Matthew Bowyer who was the bookie for Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty to running an illegal gambling business. Bowyer also plead guilty to money laundering and filing a false tax return. Mizuhara who used Ohtani’s money to place bets is recorded as winning $142 million and losing $183 million a net loss of $41 million. There was no evidence that Mizuhara bet on baseball. It was found that Mizuhara was tied to Bowyer in placing 100s of bets.

#4 The long anticipated return of Dodgers infielder Mookie Betts has arrived. Betts has been out of the Dodgers line up since June 16th with a fractured left hand. Betts will start in rightfield rather than at shortstop next week. Betts making the return at the stretch drive of the campaign and manager Dave Roberts has to be relieved to get him back in the line up.

#5 This week the African American Sports and Entertainment Group sewed up a deal with the Oakland A’s buying their half of the Oakland Coliseum property making them sole owners. AASEG says they plan to develop the property as giant entertainment and sports complex. If AASEG were able to develop a stadium that would rival say a So Fi or Allegiant Stadium would that give them enough leverage to get the attention of luring back an NFL something that AASEG said they wanted to do going into the deal. On the face of it AASEG does not have the money to build an NFL stadium but they have been pretty ambitious in their ideas of developing the Coliseum.

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

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Giants move 3 games over .500 for first time since Sep 2023

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The San Francisco Giants Jerar Encarnacion (left) and Mike Yastrzemski (5) celebrate scoring on Brett Wisely’s RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Stephen:

#1 San Francisco Giants are now three game over .500 for the first time since September 15, 2023 that’s nearly a year’s worth of time. Stephen at this rate can you still see this team having a shot at a wild card spot.

#2 Tyler Fitzgerald has been doing it all first with the bat with 12 home runs. Now with some base running with his fourth career multi stolen base game. Fitzgerald stole three bases last Thursday in Washington.

#3 The Giants Brett Wisely has been key of late this time on Saturday he slugged a two run RBI double during a three run six inning rally in a two run 3-1 win for the Giants over the Detroit Tigers.

#4 Giants pitcher Logan Webb once again lights out pitching seven innings, surrendering four hits and no runs and striking out eight. Webb has three shutouts and two complete games this season so he’s bringing it this season he improves his record to 10-8.

#5 Tigers and Giants match up Sunday and a shot for San Francisco to sweep the series at Oracle Park. Tigers starter RHP Keider Montero (2-5, ERA 5.62) for the Giants Hayden Birdsong (3-1, ERA 4.73) first pitch at 1:05pm PT. The Tigers have been struggling losing eight of their last 11 games.

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