Category: MLB

Mason Miller Shines In Oakland Win Over Nationals 7-6; A’s score six in sixth in comeback win

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Left to right congratulations all around by Oakland A’s Darell Hernaiz (2), Seth Brown (15), Zack Gelof (20), Lawrence Butler (4) defeat the Washington Nationals for their third consecutive series win a first in three years. Game played at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Apr 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After trailing by the score of 6-1 going into the sixth inning a loss was beginning to look eminent for the Oakland A’s (7-9). The A’s never hung their heads and came away with an amazing six run inning winning the game 7-6 against the Washington Nationals (6-9). The A’s had 11 hits in the game with JJ Bleday and Lawrence Butler with three hits apiece. Mason Miller closed out this game with a 1,2,3 inning striking out two players. He has been something special this season.

Game recap: Neither team scored in the first two innings of the game but it was the Nationals who got up on the board first in the third inning and it did not end there. Washington scored not only two runs in the third but went on to score in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings taking a 6-1 lead.

In the third inning the National’s Jacob Young and CJ Abrams both scored giving Washington a 2-0 lead. In the fourth inning Young doubled driving Riley Adams home extending their lead to 3-0.

The Nationals would continue to add to their lead when Lane Thomas hit a solo home run for a 4-0 advantage. Oakland finally got on the board in the 5th inning when Shea Langeliers singled Lawrence Butler home but they had a whole lot of work to do.

It was looking grim for Oakland when in the sixth inning the Nationals hit a couple of singles that brought Trey Lipscomb and Joey Meneses both home and the A’s were looking at a rather daunting 6-1 National lead.

Oakland has shown a lot of fight this season and they refused to back down in this game. They had an amazing sixth inning not only tying the game but taking a 7-6 lead in an unlikely comeback. Abraham Toro, JJ Bleday, Tyler Nevin, Lawrence Butler, Shea Langeliers and Ryan Noda all crossed home plate to take the lead. A collection of singles, a wild pitch and a walk accounted for the six runs. It was a sixth inning that will not soon be forgotten.

The A’s had the bases loaded in the seventh inning with a great opportunity for some insurance runs but came away empty. Relief Pitcher Lucas Erceg breezed through the eighth inning and the A’s were three outs away from a third series win in a row.

Oakland went into the ninth inning with Mason Miller on the mound looking to close out this game facing Lane Thomas at the plate. Thomas struck out. Joey Gallo was next up at the plate and experienced the wrath of Miller striking out. Luis Garcia Jr. struck out for the third out and the A’s had one amazing win 7-6. This guy is something special and it was “Miller Time” indeed.

Game notes: Sunday afternoon the A’s took on the Nationals in game three of their series. The A’s took game one 2-1 in ten innings but dropped game two to Washington 3-1. Oakland got their third series win in a row. Alex Wood got the start for the A’s but struggled. He went 4.1 innings allowing 7 hits, and 4 runs with 4 strikeouts.

Monday the Oakland A’s will be back at work beginning a series against the St. Louis Cardinals. This will be a three game series with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM. Both teams have the same 7-9 record. Ross Stripling will take the mound for Oakland and Sonny Gray will start for the Cardinals.

Oakland A’s podcast with Augie Mesenburg: A’s win third straight series with win over Nationals at Coliseum

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Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof (left) throws to first baseman JD Davis (5) for the out against the Washington Nationals at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Apr 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Augie Messenburg:

#1 Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore had control on the Oakland A’s line up sending down 11 hitters on strike outs.

#2 Augie the A’s have had success on their last road trip going 4-2 and started this homestand with a 2-1 extra inning win over the Nats on Friday night. The A’s just couldn’t figure out Gore and while their getting the pitching their not getting the hitting.

#3 Gore pitched five innings of shutout against the A’s to top it off Gore never really cooled off he threw for 90 pitches and he struck out the last five batters he faced.

#4 Speaking of the A’s needing hitting Esteury Ruiz crushed a 400 foot plus home run that hit the wall in the back of the bleachers at Las Vegas Ballpark Saturday night . Ruiz was the stolen base leader for the A’s last season, he was hitting over .400 when he got sent down after the first week of the season. What is so wrong about Esteury Ruiz that he’s still in triple A Las Vegas?

#5 The A’s are hoping to pick up a win against the Washington Nationals today in game 3 of the series. If they succeed this would be the third series they would have won for the season in their last three games series.

Augie Mesenburg is a podcast contributor for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants Snell coughs up two HRs and 7 runs over four innings in return to Tampa Bay loss 9-4

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Rough outing for San Francisco Giant pitcher Blake Snell as he gives up a hit in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg on Sun Apr 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, April 14, 2024

Tropicana Field

St. Petersburg, Florida

San Francisco Giants 4 (6-10)

Tampa Bay Rays 9 (9-7)

Win: Tyler Alexander (1-0)

Loss: Blake Snell (0-2)

Time: 2:20

Attendance: 19,470

By Stephen Ruderman

The Rays returned the favor after yesterday’s offensive explosion from the Giants, and lit up Blake Snell in his return to Tampa Bay, as they pounded the Giants 9-4 to take the series at the Trop.

After the Giants’ offense was stymied again Friday night in a tough 2-1 loss, they exploded for 11 runs yesterday in a performance that included five home runs. The offense looked to keep it going today in what would be a bullpen game for Kevin Cash and the Rays.

Shawn Armstrong was the opener for the Rays, and the Giants carried their momentum from yesterday into the top of the first inning today. Jung-hoo Lee lined a base-hit to right field to start the game and stole second. Wilmer Flores struck out looking, but LaMonte Wade Jr. singled the other way to left to knock in Lee.

Blake Snell would make the start for the Giants. Snell of course began his career with the Rays, as he was called up in 2016 and spent five years in Tampa. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2018, and helped lead the Rays to the World Series in the COVID-shortened 60-game sprint season of 2020.

After spending three years in San Diego with the Padres, where he won the National League Cy Young Award in 2022, Snell hit free agency at the end of last season. Snell signed with the Giants late in Spring Training, and made his Giants debut on April 8 against the Washington Nationals. Snell struggled with his control, and gave up three runs over three innings.

Today, Snell would coincidentally be making his second start with the Giants back at Tropicana Field, where it all started for him. It was also his first start and visit to Tampa since being traded following the 2020 Season, as the Padres did not go to Tampa Bay to play the Rays in the last three years.

It was a festive return home for Snell, but once the game started, the Rays wouldn’t be so festive. Yandy Diaz doubled to left-center to start the bottom of the first, and scored on a one-out base-hit off the bat of Randy Arozarena to tie the game at 1-1.

With two outs, Amed Rosario came up and hit a two-run home run to left that barely cleared the fence. Bob Melvin asked the umpires to review the play, which did not use up the Giants’ challenge, as challenges are not required to have a home run-related call reviewed. The call was upheld, and Blake Snell ended up giving up three runs in his first inning back at the Trop.

Armstrong and Snell both calmed down and pitched 1-2-3 innings in the second.

Tyler Alexander came in for the Rays in the third, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. As for Snell, the Rays got to him for another run in the bottom of the third. Harold Ramirez singled with one out and advanced to second on a ground out by Arozarena. Isaac Paredes then lined a single the other way to right to knock in Ramirez and make it 4-1.

Alexander threw another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, but Snell ran into more trouble in the bottom of the inning. Snell walked Curtis Mead and Niko Goodrun to start the inning, and struck out Jose Siris for the first out. Rene Pinto then came up and hit a three-run home run barely to the left of straight away center.

Snell finished the fourth without suffering any further damage, but that would be the end of his day. For Snell, it was a rude welcome back home, as he was torched for seven runs over four innings. Snell has struggled in his first two outings. The good news is that he also struggled in April and May last season, and bounced back with a powerful final four months to win the cy young.

Tyler Alexander pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, as he and Armstrong combined to set down 14-straight Giants after LaMonte Wade’s RBI single in the first. Kai-Wei Tang came in for Snell and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth for the Giants.

Tyler Fitzgerald, who got another start today, doubled to lead off the top of the sixth. It appeared that Fitzgerald would be stranded after Lee and Flores couldn’t advance him, but after Austin Slater pinch-hit and walked. Jorge Soler then singled to left to knock in Fitzgerald and make it 7-2.

Rene Pinto hit his second home run of the game, an opposite field shot to right, with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and Michael Conforto homered to right to lead off the seventh. The home run parade continued when Isaac Peredes homered to left with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to make it 9-3.

The Giants couldn’t do anything with a two-out double in the top of the eighth, and that would do it for Tyler Alexander, who ate up the bulk of the game for the Rays with six innings.

Teng retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of eighth, and then he was pulled for the submariner, Tyler Rogers, who struck out Pinto to end the inning.

Kevin Kelly came in for Alexander in the top of the ninth, and the Giants were able to get to him for a run, as Tyler Fitzgerald tripled in Thairo Estrada to make it 9-4. Jung-hoo Lee then popped out to shallow left, as the Rays’ shortstop, Niko Goodrum, made the catch and nearly collided with Arozarena to end the game.

Tyler Alexander got the win for the Rays, and Snell got the loss, as he is now 0-2 to start the season.

The good news is that the Giants’ offense did somewhat keep the momentum from last night into today. They struck early in the top of the first inning, and were able to get a pair of RBI hits with runners in scoring position.

The Giants are now off to a 6-10 start in their first 16 games, but another piece of good news is that they will make the short trip to the other coast of Florida to Miami, where they will take on the 3-13 Marlins for three games starting tomorrow night. This series will be an opportunity for the Giants to pick up two or three wins, get closer to .500 and give them a bit of momentum.

Kyle Harrison will make his fourth start of the season to start the series tomorrow. First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m. in Miami, 3:40 p.m. back home in San Francisco.

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

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

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Tropicana Field

St. Petersburg, Florida

San Francisco Giants 11 (6-9)

Tampa Bay Rays 2 (8-7)

Win: Logan Webb (1-1)

Loss: Ryan Pepiot (1-2)

Time: 2:27

Attendance: 17,411

By Stephen Ruderman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday, April 13, 2024

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

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

Time: 2:35.

Attendance: 3,330

By Lewis Rubman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday, April 12, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

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

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

Time: 2:36

Attendance: 5 ,777

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Giants Lose Defensive Battle to Rays 2-1

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

By Barbara Mason

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On the A’s relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, Schools over Stadiums is in the Nevada State of Appeals Court trying to get the language for a petition drive to get an initiative on the state November ballot to stop SB1 public funding for the Tropicana ballpark for the A’s. In appeals court on Wednesday Schools over Stadiums remarks to the court were “John Fisher does not pay his lawyer because he cares about the finer points of constitutional law in Nevada…” and “What this has been about from the beginning is delay, driving up our bills, and keeping this off the ballot.”

#2 NBC reported that Schools over Stadiums also said in court on Wednesday that polling results from Jackson County MO an Emerson Poll show that 52% say no to the public funding and 32% say yes that “a majority of Las Vegas voters oppose public money going towards a baseball stadium for the A’s, taxpayers should have the opportunity to vote on where this public money goes.”

#3 Also reported when the A’s president David Kaval turned down the Oakland Coliseum’s five year $97 million offer Kaval said it was above market rate and Oakland Mayor Chief of Staff Leigh Hanson countered saying while the deal was above market rate the city is not receiving parking revenue from the Coliseum, the city gets no cut from concessions from food or beverages and is only getting a small share of the ticket revenue. Kaval then said “this isn’t going to work for us.” Hanson said this isn’t about getting the cheapest deal for you but what is going to work for the city.

#4 Daniel, the national media has been working on this story about Schools over Stadiums being in the Nevada Court of Appeals and there is an indication that if allowed by the court to put the language on the petition drive it could spell trouble for the A’s financing for the Tropicana ballpark could it force John Fisher and David Kaval to possibly return to the table with the City of Oakland or hatch a deal with Sacramento. There could be a legal fight to try and keep the A’s in Oakland that’s a ways down the road right now.

#5 June 1st is the due date to have 102,000 signatures in from the petition drive. The language on how a ballot initiative will read to stop SB1 the decision will rest in the hands of a seven member Supreme Court. Lawyers from both sides of the argument from the labor union arguing this measure will prevent jobs and have an economic impact on Las Vegas and Nevada. Schools over Stadiums lawyers argued that being the 48th state in education and 49th in class room sizes the $380 million of public money going to a stadium should be going to education and the time is critical to get the petition started.

#6 Daniel, deputy executive director of government relations for the NSEA Chris Daly said that time is running out that once the court is to approve the legal language for the ballot initiative that gives Schools over Stadiums just less than 75 days to get these petitions printed and petition gatherers on the ground and start seeking over 102,000 signatures.

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: The JP stands for Just Pitching as Sears takes no hitter into 7th against baseball’s champs

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Oakland A’s pitcher JP Sears gets a congratulations for a job well done after being relieved in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington on Thu Apr 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Oakland A’s pitcher JP Sears put the old baseball saying good pitching beats good hitting to use going into the seventh inning with a no hitter against baseball’s World Champs the Texas Rangers. Sears left after surrendering a hit in the seventh.

#2 Sears had everything working for him he didn’t give up a run walked three batters and struck out five innings.

#3 Despite walking batters in the first three innings Sears was able to get out of each of those innings. Things have dramatically have turned around since the A’s had a rough opening homestand to start the season taking two out of three from the Detroit Tigers and Rangers on the road.

#4 Sears said after the game that the A’s are just trying to win every games and when things are going bad and no expects you to win you just put your head down and go to work.

#5 Amaury the A’s are back home and after having the kind of road trip that they had going 4-2 they open up a series against the Washington Nationals (5-7) who have lost six of their last ten games can the A’s keep it going?

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice for the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Sacramento Baseball A’s and River Cats

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Sutter Health Park a panoramic view. The Park will be the interim home of the A’s for the 2025-28 seasons.

Sacramento Baseball: A’s and River Cats

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The most recent statistics from the State of California list the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom Metro Area with 2,397,382 residents. Only the Los Angeles-San Bernardino-Ontario-Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Metropolitan Area, the nine-country San Francisco-San José-Oakland Metropolitan Area and San Diego and the surrounding area have a higher population concentration than the Sacramento Metro.

The baseball question many have in mind. Are there enough baseball fans to support a Major League team in the Sacramento Area? Since 2016, these are the official attendance records for the Minor League Sacramento Rivercats. 2016: 609,666. 2017: 562,237. 2018: 538,785. 2018: 549,440. 2020: Covid. 2021: 256,714. 2023: 388,246.

Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento’s capacity is 10,624 (fixed seats), 14,014 total. Including Fixed Seats, Lawn, and Standing Room). If you are wondering about minor league baseball parks, Sahlen Field, home of the International League Buffalo Bisons, has the highest seating capacity of all active Triple-A teams in the US, 16,600, while Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium has the lowest capacity, 6,500.

It could be complicated for the A’s and the Rivercats to share Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento starting in 2025; with such a small capacity that it is not close to Major League standards, they need many improvements.

In a recent release from NBA Sacramento Kings, the majority owner of the River Cats said MLB is working with both teams to ensure that their schedule meets MLB and MiLB guidelines and that they have dedicated facility space.

They plan to modify Sutter Health Park, which had just undergone a multi-million dollar renovation, which includes upgrading LED lighting and adding a clubhouse scheduled to be completed before the 2025 season.

By now, it is known that Mr.Vivek Ranadivé, owner of the Kings and the River Cats, is the most powerful man in Sacramento regarding sports. Tony Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, will have to approve all of the above for the 2025 season and for the Oakland A’s to play in Sacramento before the 2025 season.

This is what is happening with Sutter Health Park in Sacramento to date. According to the Las Vegas Business Review, the Nevada Supreme Court did not decide Tuesday after hearing arguments regarding a challenge to the Oakland Athletics public funding bill of $380 million.

Schools Over Stadiums were each given 17 minutes to argue their sides to the seven Supreme Court justices on why a lower court’s 2023 decision regarding a petition opposing Senate Bill 1, the A’s stadium public financing bill signed into law last year, should be upheld or appealed.

That one is now in the hands of the lawyers, and when lawyers get involved, only God knows. Mark Twain (1835-1910) observed correctly about lawyers: “Lawyers are like other people–fools on the average; but it is easier for an ass to succeed in that trade than any other.” And this is how the ball bounces.

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