Category: MLB

Oakland Gets Past the Rangers 7-3 in Game Two

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Oakland A’s Matt Chapman (left) hits the first of two home runs against the Texas Rangers in the second inning gets congratulations from third base coach Mark Kotsay (7) at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Sat Aug 14, 2021 (AP News photo)

Oakland Gets Past the Rangers 7-3 in Game Two

By Barbara Mason

Saturday night the Oakland A’s took on the Texas Rangers in Game Two of their series. After a rough game yesterday laden with errors Oakland really needed to clean up their act and get back on track. There is no way the A’s should be losing to the Rangers although during this season Texas has seemed to have Oakland’s number at times.

A clean game void of errors should be the pathway to the A’s first win in this series.

Oakland got off to a good start in the first inning when Jed Lowry singled driving Starling Marte home jumping out to a 1-0 lead. The Rangers would tie up the game in the inning 1-1. The good news was that the A’s did not fall behind in the early innings.

In the second and the sixth innings those home runs started coming in. Matt Chapman had one in the second and Matt Olson had a home run in the sixth inning for a 3-1 lead. The Texans answered and tied up this game 3-3. After six innings this game was closely contested.

The A’s had scored in three innings but really got going in the seventh inning. Two more home runs, one by Mitch Moreland and Matt Chapman had his second homer of the game. The A’s were really rolling at this point. Marte doubled and Olson singled as well in this taking the lead 7-3.

It was a quick eighth inning as relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit took care of business in short order. The A’s were three outs away from the win and tying up the series.

The Texans could not contain those Oakland home runs and in the ninth inning Seth Brown knocked another one out of the park. This was a season high five home runs for the A’s as they led 8-3. They had scored in five different innings.

Oakland cleaned up those errors, they had a great defensive game and those home runs made all the difference in this A’s win.

Game Three is scheduled for 11:35 AM with the A’s looking to win the series. Sean Manea is set to take the mound for the A’s while the Rangers Kolby Allard will get the nod for Texas.

Field of Dreams Game; Most Watched game in 16 years

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The Field of Dreams in Dyersville Iowa on Thu Aug 12, 2021 hosted by Major League Baseball featuring the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. The most watch game in 16 years. (photo from Fox Sports TV)

Field of Dreams game. Most Watched game in 16 years.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary.

By Amaury Pi-González

Fox’s Field of Dreams game that aired last night (Aug 12th) on the FOX network was the most watched regular season baseball game in the US in 16 years.

Years past Major League Baseball games were played in different countries. MLB has played regular season games in: England, Japan, México, Puerto Rico, Australia. The game has become more international than ever, and there is nothing wrong with that. We live in a smaller world with social media and instant communications; everybody is more “tuned-in” than ever before. In some of these games outside the US, the game was the season opener.

It is worthwhile to remember that this great game of baseball that we love was originally invented here in the United States of America. There was nothing wrong, but a touch of genius by The Commissioner of Baseball and the powers-to-be, to come up with the idea of a Field of Dreams game, at the same location where the popular 1989 movie of the same name took place.

In the small country town of Dyersville, Iowa, in the middle of the country. The #1 corn producer in the country, Iowa was the scene for the game this Thursday, a total Home Run by all involved.

Baseball is the ultimate team sport, but at the same time, it emphasizes individualism, like no other sport. When a hitter stands alone at the plate, he stands there, trying to hit the ball and help his team into victory, which is exactly what Tim Anderson did in the ninth inning.

The Field of Dreams game was a total success and shows how great baseball can be. The romanticism and escapism of the location (a field build next to the original field and house, where the movie was filmed) was an awesome thing to see. FOX TV carried the game and spectacular shots, specially doing the sunset with a sky that could have been painted by sports painter-artist LeRoy Neiman.

“It was a small movie” said star of the film Kevin Costner, who is the first to say, it has become a film that forever will be a reminder of what baseball can do. He said: “A movie where there was no car chase, no love scene, but the final scene was a man playing catch with his father.”

Any of us who had played baseball from little league to high school or beyond, understand the love involved of playing catch with your father. That connection that is forever connects us all. One of the most poignant scenes was prior to the game, when Kevin Costner came out of the corn field followed 30 seconds later by players from both teams, New York and Chicago, walking slowly and shaking hands with Mr. Costner.

The television production was supreme, in a surreal setting in the middle of a corn field, where an 8,000 seat baseball park and diamond was build. Two Major League teams, contending to go deep in October, the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox, played an exciting game, a “traditional” nine innings game like it would had taken place in the 1920’s with uniforms of that time. Then a Hollywood ending when the lead changed twice in the ninth, culminating with the dramatic home run to right field by Tim Anderson, the leader of this White Sox team, their shortstop and leadoff hitter.

The main reason this was a total success? The players loved it, and let’s face it; the players are the key part of the game, which is what people come to see. The players were truly enjoying this game, they were smiling, they were talking, they seemed to be part of ‘taking it all in’ the whole experience. Most of these players where little boys, some not even born, when Field of Dreams first came to the screen 32 years ago.

Commissioner of Baseball Fred Manfred told everybody, “This will not be the only time”. This was a great idea by MLB, to marry the nostalgia and romanticism of a great baseball film-story to a real baseball game, not an exhibition, but a game between two contending teams in a typical American setting, a small town in the Midwest. Norman Rockwell would have loved this. Burt Lancaster was there in spirit.

This Field of Dreams game sends us all back to the days when baseball was the National Pastime.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Flores goes deep in Giants close win 5-4

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San Francisco Giants Wilmer Flores (41) gets congratulations from teammate Austin Slater (13) after hitting and scoring on his three run home run in the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco Fri Aug 13, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Wilmer Flores came up with the biggest hit of the night for the San Francisco Giants.

Flores hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, helping the Giants to a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies before a crowd of 36,126 at Oracle Park, for the Giants sixth win in a row.

With the victory, the Giants now have 75 wins on the season, and this is just the second time since the Giants moved to California in 1958 that they have 75 wins thru their first 116 games of the season. The last time they did it was in 1993, when they won 103 games and finished in second place in the National League West, one game behind the Atlanta Braves.

Austin Slater led off the bottom of the inning with a double, after a flyout by Kris Bryant, Buster Posey walked and then after a Darin Ruf flyout for the second out of the inning, Flores then launched his 15th home run of the season into the left field bleachers to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.

Thairo Estrada then got in on the act, as he singled in Donovan Solano, who followed Flores by walking and then Mike Yastrzemski then singled to advance Solano to second, who then scored on the Estrada single to give the Giants a 4-0 lead at the end of the first inning.

Anthony DeSclafani pitched the first five innings for the Giants, as he allowed two runs on two hits, walking two and striking out four. It was the 11th win of the season for DeSclafani against five losses.

Over the final four innings of the game, Gabe Kapler turned the ball over to his bullpen and the quartet of Jay Jackson, Tony Watson, Tyler Rogers, Jake McGee and Zack Littell preserved the win over the Rockies.

Austin Gomber went four innings for the Rockies, as he allowed five runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out two, as he saw his record fall to 9-7 on the season.

The Rockies got on the board in the top of the second inning, as Sam Hilliard walked with one out, then Garrett Hampson singled Hilliard to third and then Gomber helped out his own cause, as he dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt that allowed Hilliard to easily score from third base.

After the Giants batted around in the bottom of the first inning, Austin Slater led off the inning by doubling and he then scored the Giants fifth and final run of the inning, when he scored on a Ruf single off of Gomber.

CJ Cron drove in what proved to be the final run of the game for either team in the top of the third inning, as he singled off of DeSclafani to score Ryan McMahon, who walked to lead off the inning.

McMahon then singled in the top of the fifth inning, as he extended his hitting streak to 10 games, a new career high.

After going 0-for-3 in his first three at-bats on the evening, Bryant ended up picking up two hits in his final two at-bats.

Slater continues to hit the ball well, as he went 3-for-5 on the evening with two runs scored and Flores also picked up two hits and three runs batted in for the Giants, who maintain their five-game lead in the National League West over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won earlier over the New York Mets 6-5 at Citi Field on a two-run home run by Will Smith off of Jeurys Familia in the top of the 10th inning.

The San Diego Padres lost on a Daulton Varsho walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Padres 3-2 at Chase Field. With the loss, the Padres are now 10 games behind the Giants in the National League West and are now five games behind the Dodgers in the Wild Card race and only 2.5 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the second wild card spot.

Former Giants outfielder Connor Joe got the Rockies within one run in the top of the ninth inning, as he hit a two-run home run off of McGee; however, McGee was able to get pinch-hitter Trevor Story to ground out to Flores at first base for the second out. Brendan Rogers then extended the game, as he singled off the right field wall, Charlie Blackmon then singled up the middle just moments after he barely missed hitting what would have given the Rockies a 6-5 lead.

Zack Littell came on to replace McGee and he was able to close it out with a strikeout of Cron to end the game.

NOTES: Brandon Crawford and the Giants agreed to terms on a two-year extension that will have the Bay Area native in a Giants uniform through the 2023 season.

Prior to the game, the Giants activated DeSclafani from the 10-day injured list, while Camilo Doval was optioned to Sacramento and Aaron Sanchez was placed on unconditional release waivers.

This was the 39th home win of the season for the Giants, as they are now 39-17 at home, good enough for the best home record in the major leagues.

The Flores home run in the bottom of the first inning was the Giants 60th home run of the season with two outs.

With the 7-0 shutout of the Rockies on Thursday night, the Giants now have 13 shutouts, tying them with the Milwaukee Brewers for the most in the Major Leagues.

On the other side of things, the Rockies were shutout for the 15th time in the 7-0 loss in the series opener and it is most times that they have been shutout in a season. In their inaugural season of 1993, they were shutout 13 times during the entire season.

UP NEXT: While the Giants have yet to announce a starter, the Rockies will send Jon Gray to the mound in search of his eighth win of the season.

Texas Tops Oakland 8-6 to open series in Arlington

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The game wasn’t a laugher but Yohel Pozo of the Texas Rangers gets a laugh after taking Oakland A’s pitcher Sergio Romo deep in the the sixth inning for a three run homer at Globe Life Park in Arlington on Fri Aug 13, 2021 (AP News photo)

Texas Rangers Top Oakland 8-6

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night recap:The Oakland A’s are on a roll winning the past seven games in a row. In those seven games they swept a four game series with the Texas Rangers followed by sweeping a very good Cleveland Indian team.

Game Three against the Indians was a wild affair with the A’s winning by the score of 17-0. Everyone was hitting in that game and tonight they took on the Texas Rangers in another three game series looking to extend their winning streak.

When we look at the Rangers they are struggling mightily sitting in last place in the American League West with a record of 40-75 while the A’s have a record of 67-48, and only 1 1/2 games out of first place in the division.

This is a series that Oakland should comfortably win although in the first game of their last series it took extra innings to put the game away.

Friday night recap: The first inning in this game could not have started more miserably for the A’s. They fell behind 3-0 in the inning and were not able to score until the fifth inning. Oakland really put the pedal to the metal in not only the fifth but the sixth inning as well.

In the fifth inning, Seth Brown doubled and Marte singled giving Oakland a couple of runs but still trailing 3-2. The sixth saw the A’s take the lead 4-3. In the inning Moreland tripled and Chapman singled.

The Rangers came right back with a homerun by Yohel Pozo with two runners on base taking back the lead 6-4. In the seventh inning Matt Olson hit his 29th home run. With the score 6-5, although trailing, the A’s seemed to have things under control. We have seen those comebacks more often than not.

The Rangers really threw a wrench into the A’s planned comeback when DJ Peters hit the Rangers second home run of the game with a runner on base taking a 8-5 lead.

Seth Brown hit a double in the eighth inning allowing Matt Chapman to score and going into the ninth inning Oakland still trailed by the score of 8-6. Andrus would pop fly out, Marte strike out and Matt Olson thrown out at first base.

This was a disappointing loss for the Oakland A’s in a game that they should not have lost. The Rangers had two unearned runs in the first inning when the A’s had some costly errors. Sergio Romo had a disappointing outing which we have not seen in quite awhile and the offense was off after the display that we all saw last night.

It will be onto game two of the series with the A’s looking for their first win. There is no doubt that we will see a different team tomorrow with first pitch at 4:05 PM. Oakland will clean up those errors and James Kaprielian will be on the mound for the A’s looking to tie up the series.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: DeSclafani gets the starting nod for tonight’s contest with Rockies; plus more Giants news

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Anthony DeSclafani will get the start against the Colorado Rockies Fri Aug 13, 2021 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP photo file)

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Morris Phillips wrote in his column this morning that Colorado Rockies pitcher German Marquez is on his way to having the most wins for his big league career but against the San Francisco Giants he’s 0-4 with a 13.82 ERA against them.

#2 Marquez other than the Giants is 10-9 with an ERA of 3.77 and says “I continue to make my pitches and continue to work, but I’m really not sure,” when asked about his struggles against the Giants

#3 One pitcher who didn’t struggle last night was Giants starter Logan Webb who pitched six innings, gave up three hits and struck out eight batters.

#4 You have to hand it to the job that Giants leadoff hitter LaMonte Wade Jr has done in Thursday night’s game he hit a key three run homer in the six run fourth inning for the Giants it was Wade’s 15th home run.

#5 Starting pitchers for tonight’s game at Oracle Park the Rockies are going with Austin Gomber (9-6 ERA 3.79) and for the Giants Anthony DeSclafani (10-5 ERA 3.28) first pitch at Oracle at 6:45pm

Join Michael for the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: The hits keep on coming in A’s 17-0 laugher; A’s open up three game series in Texas tonight

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Oakland A’s pitcher Cole Irvin wipes his brow as he will be the starter tonight against the Texas Rangers in Arlington at Globe Life Field (file photo from White Cleat Beat)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Oakland A’s (67-48) in the first four innings were able to score big on Cleveland (55-58) starting pitcher Eli Morgan scoring five earned runs on three hits. The A’s jumped to a 5-0 lead.

#2 The A’s got two home runs from Mitch Moreland and starting pitcher Chris Bassitt won his 12th game.

#3 Bassitt and four relivers combined for a 17-0 shutout of Cleveland on Thursday

#4 The Cleveland crowd in the ninth inning realizing it was all out of hand and knowing Oakland third baseman Matt Chapman needed one more walk to tie the MLB all time most walks in a game at six stood and cheered for Chapman to get a base on balls. But after going 0-2 Chapman knew it was over and struckout.

#5 Jeremiah, the A’s make another trip to Arlington tonight for a three game series against the Texas Rangers (40-75). Starting pitcher for the A’s Cole Irvin (8-10 ERA 3.45) and for the Rangers Dane Dunning (5-7 ERA 4.07) a 5:05 pm first pitch.

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

Webb, Wade help give Giants their biggest NL West lead of the season in a 7-0 romp over the Rockies

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–German Marquez may be on pace for his most wins in his six major league seasons along with his first All-Star Game appearance last month, but he can’t beat the Giants.

Marquez is 0-4 against the Giants this year with a 13.82 ERA, and last night’s 7-0 drubbing at Oracle Park may have been his worst outing yet against the G-Men. Against everyone, Marquez is 10-9 with a 3.77 ERA.

“I continue to make my pitches and continue to work, but I’m really not sure,” Marquez answered when asked about his struggles against San Francisco.

 “He was really focused tonight to turn the tide on these guys,” manager Bud Black said of German. “It’s just that he didn’t make any pitches.”

In his career, German is 4-9 against the Giants with an ERA of 7.19. But in his six years in Denver, he’s never seen a Giants’ team this good. Or a Giants’ team that treats him this bad. On Thursday, German expended 81 pitches to get through four innings, capped off by a six-run outburst in which everything the Giants hit was hit hard. Lamonte Wade Jr. typified the inning with a 430-foot bomb above Triples Alley where home runs rarely land. In fact, experienced Giants’ hitters know not to elevate pitches in that area of the ballpark because they usually result in frustrating outs.

But the fourth inning on Thursday was its own animal for Marquez. After Brandon Belt was retired, Brandon Crawford, Mike Yastrzemski and Curt Casali reached on hard-hit balls. Alex Dickerson was intentionally walked to get to pitcher Logan Webb, but Webb disrupted that strategy with a two-run single that traveled 399 feet and almost got out. Wade followed with his blast that had him looking like Barry Bonds with the poor location of the pitch and his classic swing follow through. Wade’s ball left the yard at 107 mph.

I joke around saying I’m gonna hit a home run and I almost did,” Webb said afterwards.

Webb was just as impressive with his pitching performance in which he went six innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight. Webb has become the Giants’ best pitcher of late by stringing together four, consecutive quality starts while the other starters have had their post All-Star break struggles. Webb is 4-0 at Oracle Park and his strikeout totals (17 combined) in his last two outings are eye-opening.

“Ever since he came off the IL, he’s been an absolute gem on the mound and a bulldog,” Curt Casali said of Webb.

The Giants increased their lead in the NL West to five games with the win, the first time they’ve held a lead that large this season. They’ve won five straight and 10 of 12 to improve their major-league best mark to 74-41. The Giants haven’t had a won-loss record this good after 115 games since 1993 when Dusty Baker’s first year as manager saw them open 77-38.

On Friday, the Giants turn to Anthony DeSclafani in a matchup with Austin Gomber. DeSclafani hasn’t won any of his last four starts since beating the Washington Nationals on July 10.

Rockies Rocked by Giants Wade 4th inning blast in 7-0 laugher

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San Francisco Giants DeMonte Wade Jr finds the sweet spot of the bat to belt a three run fourth inning home run part of a six run rally against the visiting Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park on Thu Aug 12, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–LaMonte Wade is having quite a month and Thursday night was no exception as Wade contributed to a big bang offense for the San Francisco Giants (74-41) with a fourth inning home run six run fourth inning as the Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies (51-64) 7-0.

The Giants have been pouring it on of late the win was San Francisco’s fifth straight and their seventh out of their last eight games. This was just the first game to open the three game series against the Rockies after coming off a two game sweep over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Giants pitcher Logan Webb helped his own cause with a bases loaded two RBI single. Webb said that his teammates keep telling him that he’ll hit one out someday just hit the weight room. Webb’s battery mate Curt Casali said that it’s nice to see pitchers get a hit and help their own cause. Webb is feeling it when he puts the bat through the ball and he’ll look to take more BP and maybe he’ll get that big fly sometime this season.

Alex Dickerson belted an RBI double in the second inning and Casali also hit a double that began the six run rally in the bottom of the fourth. The Giants are now a whopping 33 games over .500 and have the best record in baseball. The Giants are on a path to win 103 games the same amount of wins that the 1993 Dusty Baker team had. That Giant team was 77-38. It really speaks to the fine managerial job that manager Gabe Kapler has done in San Francisco.

For Webb he improved his win-loss record (6-3) striking out eight over six innings of shutout ball. Webb gave up only three hits and he has now won five straight games. Webb hasn’t loss a game since May 5 against these same Colorado Rockies. His teammates played well behind him turning two doubles in each of the first and second innings.

The Rockies and Giants continue the four game series with game two on Friday night at Oracle starting pitcher for the Rockies Austin Gomber (9-6 ERA 3.79) and for the Giants Anthony DeSclafani (10-5 ERA 3.28) a 6:45 pm (PDT)

A’s rout Indians 17-0; Moreland belts two homers

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Oakland A’s Mike Moreland gets congratulations from teammates in the A’s dugout after belting a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians on Thu Aug 12, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s completed a three-game sweep over the Cleveland Indians as they routed the Tribe 17-0. The A’s did not have to have late-inning rallies to win on Thursday as the Indians’ pitchers had trouble throwing strikes. Five Cleveland pitchers walked ten A’s hitters and hit three batters. Eight of the players that walked scored.

The A’s got the laugher going when they scored three runs in the second inning on just one hit. Indians’ starter, Eli Morgan, hit Mitch Moreland with a pitch. The next hitter, Josh Harrison, walked. A’s catcher Sean Murphy doubled to drive in Moreland And Harrison to take an early 2-0 lead.

Morgan walked Matt Chapman to put two men on with no out. Morgan then retired Seth Brown and Elvis Andrus. Morgan got Mark Canha to hit a ground ball to the shortstop Amed Rosario. Chapman, running on the pitch, beat Rosario’s throw to second to load the bases. Morgan hit Starling Marte with a pitch to force in Murphy with the A’s third run of the inning.

The A’s scored two more in the fourth. Morgan walked Chapman for the second time to start the fourth. With one out, Andrus single sent Chappie to third. Mark Canha’s ground out plated Chappie with the A’s fourth run of the game. Andrus was safe at second. He scored on Starling Marte’s double to left. The A’s lead 5-0 after four.

The onslaught continued in the fifth. Mitch Moreland led off the fifth with a solo blast into the seats in right field. The A’s put four more on the board to take a commanding 10-0 lead. Justin Garza was now pitching for the Indians. Garza faced three batters and walked all three. Indians skipper, DeMArlo, Hale, had seen enough. He brought in lefty Francisco Perez to pitch.

Perez was making his Major League debut. He retired Seth Brown for the first out. Perez walked Andrus to force in Tony Kemp with the A’s seventh run. Mark Canha’s fly ball to right was not deep enough to allow Murphy to tag and score. Starling Marte singled to drive in Chapman. Matt Olson singled to plate two more.

The A’s onslaught continued in the sixth as they scored twice. In the eighth, four hits produced four more runs. Mark Canha’s double scored two, and Stephen Piscotty’s single added two more. The final run of the game came in the ninth on Moreland’s second dinger of the game. The A’s win 17-0.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s line was 17 runs, 14 hits, and one error. The A’s pitchers held the Indians to three hits and no runs. Chris Bassitt was the winning pitcher. He is now 12-3 for the year, and his ERA dropped to 3.06. He threw 81 pitches. A.J. Puk, Adolis Guerra, and Jake Diekman each pitched a scoreless inning for Oakland. Eli Morgan was the losing pitcher. He went four innings, allowed three hits and five runs.

Matt Chapman tied an Oakland record with five walks. Matt scored three times. Mark Canha hit one hit and three RBIs. Starling Marte had a single and double. He, too, had three ribbies. Mitch Moreland blasted two bombs, and he scored three times.

It was the fifteenth time in Moreland’s career with two or more homers in a game. Tony Kemp, who entered the game in the second inning, had three hits, two RBIs, and scored three times. Seam Murphy’s day included two hits, two RBIs, and three runs. It was quite a day for the Oakland offense.

It was the eleventh shutout of the year for the A’s pitching staff. It was the largest shutout ever in the A’s history.

The A’s are going to Arlington Texas, to face the Rangers for three games. Friday night’s pitching matchups will see Cole Irvin (8-10, 3.45 ERA) going for Oakland and Dane Dunning. (5-7,4.07 ERA) pitching for Texas. The game will start at 5:10 pm.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: 2021 Giants is it something in the fog?

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San Francisco Giants slugger Brandon Belt who has had a great deal with the home run ball during the Giants trip in Milwaukee is seen here hitting one out in the 11th inning for a two run homer on Sat Aug 7, 2021 against the Milwaukee Brewers (AP News photo)

2021 Giants: Is it something in the Fog?

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Al Michaels, this year’s winner of the Ford C. Frick Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, for excellence in broadcasting, was the play by play announcer of the San Francisco Giants in 1974. Al Michael owns one of the greatest calls in the history of American sports with his famous “Do you believe in miracles?” when the USA Olympic Hockey team beat the powerful USSR in the 1980 Olympics.

Could Al Michaels apply that same line to the current San Francisco Giants? You will be hard pressed to find anybody that picked the Giants to do anything this year, but trying to stay away from the doldrums of the NL West with the Rockies and Diamondbacks.

The Giants are enjoying one of the best seasons ever, since they moved from New York to San Francisco in 1958. In the 1960’s the Giants had players like Gaylord Perry, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, all in the Hall of Fame, yet they never won a World Series.

Decades later came Barry Bonds an All Star player who ended his career (2007) with a history-leading 762 home runs and a group of very good players, yet they never won a World Series, until 2010, when they won the first of three in 6 years.

The cry from Giants fans over the years since they moved to their current park; PacBell Park, SBC Park, AT&T Park, and Oracle Park was, it was not a home run park. In 2021 the Giants are leading all of Major League Baseball in home runs. For the 2020 season the team moved the fences. The left-center field from 404 to 399, center field is 391 now, eight feet shorter than before and Triples-alley is now 415 feet not 421 feet. I’ll bet you Barry Bonds is salivating today, thinking “Hey I could have hit 900 home runs if I played a little bit longer”.

For the trio of veterans that played during those three World Series titles, Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt, for them this 2021 marks the last year of their contracts. Unless the Giants re-sign them, they all will be Free Agents after the season. Third-baseman Evan Longoria who will be on his last year of a five-year contract, will be making $19.6 million in 2022.

Longoria has not produced what the Giants had envisioned when they signed him coming from Tampa Bay, and had not played much this season, out with injury. However, for Buster Posey, especially if the Giants can go all the way and win the World Series, will make this year the crowning for a possible induction into the Hall of Fame, he is the leader of this 2021 team.

By-the-way, if Giants are lucky enough to win the World Series this year, Posey will have four (4) World Series title rings. Not many players that have worn a SF Giants uniform can claim that. Posey, Crawford and Belt have been strongly supported by many players that came over to the Giants from other places; all courtesy of their President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi (should be the Executive of the Year in the National League).

It has been the “perfect storm” for the Giants with guys like Wilmer Flores, Tommy LaEstella, Donovan Solano, Darin Ruf, LaMonte Wade Jr. Kevin Gausman (contender for the Cy Young Award) Alex Wood, Logan Webb, Jake McGee and others in a solid pitching department, that have all contributed to this sensational story in baseball so far this 2021.

Rest of schedule favors the Giants. They will play 13 games against lowly Rockies and Diamondbacks. Giants will play the Colorado Rockies four games this month of August. In September will play the LA Dodgers three games, Colorado Rockies six games, Arizona Diamondbacks three games, San Diego Padres for seven games and the LA Dodgers for three games. Dodgers and Padres are well positioned to classify as wild card teams in postseason. A Bay Area thing: The Giants will visit the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum the weekend of the 20, 21 and 22 of August.

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