Category: MLB

Sacramento A’s game wrap: Mariners Turn the Dial to Nineteen; Seattle explodes on Sacramento pitching 19-1

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Sacramento A’s catcher Jonah Heim (right) attempts to make the put out on the Seattle M’s baserunner Michael Arroyo in the top of the fourth inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Sat Sep 12, 2026 (AP News photo)

Mariners Turn the Dial to Nineteen

By Mauricio Segura

WEST SACRAMENTO–The Seattle Mariners wasted little time putting the Sacramento Athletics in a hole so deep that they almost ended up playing the Beijing Tigers! The Mariners pounded out a 19-1 win behind five home runs, 22 hits and a lineup that produced runs in six different innings Saturday night.

Dominic Canzone opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the first after J.P. Crawford singled. One inning later, Randy Arozarena delivered the bigger blow. Weston Wilson singled, Crawford was hit by a pitch, and Arozarena sent a three-run homer to left-center to make it 5-0.

That ended Gage Jump’s outing after two innings. The rookie left-hander allowed five runs on five hits, including two homers. The early damage continued a season-long problem for the Athletics, who had already allowed 218 home runs before the game, second most in the majors.

The A’s showed a brief sign of life in the third. Henry Bolte drew a leadoff walk and reached third when Bryan Woo made a throwing error on Jeff McNeil’s fielder’s choice. Shea Langeliers then brought Bolte home on another fielder’s choice, trimming the deficit to 5-1. It was a notable return for Langeliers, who had been reinstated from the injured list after recovering from surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Seattle quickly erased any thought of a comeback. Michael Arroyo doubled in the fourth and scored on Wilson’s single. Arozarena followed with another RBI single, stretching the lead to 7-1. In the fifth, Josh Naylor singled and Cole Young followed with a two-run homer to right-center.

Woo did the rest from the mound. The right-hander worked six innings, allowing one run on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts. The Athletics managed only one run against him despite putting runners at the corners in the first and again creating trouble in the third.

The Mariners were nowhere near finished. Arroyo hit a solo homer in the seventh, and Crawford followed later in the inning with a two-run shot after Wilson doubled. That pushed Seattle’s lead to 12-1.

The eighth inning turned the game into a rout. Victor Robles reached on an error, Julio Rodríguez singled, and Naylor doubled home Robles. Young drove in Rodríguez with a single, Arroyo singled home pinch-runner Brock Rodden, and Lazaro Montes drew a bases-loaded walk to force in another run. Seattle sent ten batters to the plate and scored four times.

By then, the Athletics had begun emptying the bench and rearranging the field. Carlos Cortes eventually moved from the outfield to the mound. He had already pitched eight times this season, making him the only position player in Athletics history to pitch more than five times in one season.

Seattle added three more runs in the ninth against Cortes. Cal Raleigh, Rodríguez and Rodden drew consecutive walks before Young lined a two-run single to left. Arroyo followed with a sacrifice fly, giving him another RBI in a game in which he also doubled, homered and singled.

Wilson finished with five hits, while Young drove in five runs. Crawford, Arozarena, Canzone, Young and Arroyo all homered. The Athletics, meanwhile, were held to five hits and did not score after the third inning.

The series wraps Sunday with left-hander Jacob Lopez (6-4, 4.78 ERA, 104 strikeouts) going for the Athletics against Seattle right-hander Bryce Miller (4-9, 4.22 ERA, 101 strikeouts), with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. Pacific and the A’s hoping the scoreboard gets a much quieter workout.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Giants fall short despite another spirited effort in 7-6 loss to Padres

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San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller (left) and catcher Luis Campusano (right) share congratulations after defeating the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Sep 12, 2026 (AP

San Francisco Giants game wrap:

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

San Diego Padres 7 (80-68)

San Francisco Giants 2 (62-87)

Win: Michael King (11-9)

Loss: Cesar Perdomo (0-1)

Save: Mason Miller (36)

Time: 2:33

Attendance: 40,146

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The fall sunshine shone on Oracle Park for another beautiful day for baseball, as Giants made another late charge Saturday, but a late mistake by Shea Whitcomb proved costly, and the Padres once again held on for a 7-6 win.

After the Giants came back to finally get their first sweep of the season on Wednesday, they nearly pulled off another one Friday night, but fell just short. However, the momentum remained, and the Giants looked to capitalize on it, and play spoiler against the Padres, who came into Saturday with a half-game lead for the third wild card spot in the National League.

Cesar Perdomo made his third start of the season, and survived a jam in the top of the first inning. Michael King took the ball for San Diego, and the Giants got to work on him right away.

Drew Gilbert singled to lead off the bottom of the first, and up came the white-hot Rafael Devers. Devers hit his 37th home run of the season to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. Devers also got his 97th and 98th RBIs of the season. He is two away from being the first Giant to have 100 RBIs in a season since Buster Posey in 2012.

The Padres responded in the top of the second. With the bases loaded and two outs, Dustin Harris grounded a base-hit the other way to left to tie the game.

Shea Whitcomb hit a home run out to the Giants’ bullpen in left-center to put the Giants back ahead. Though, once again, the Padres had a response, and tied the game in the top of the third on a home run by Jackson Merrill.

Perdomo and King got off to similar starts, but they would go in completely different directions in the third. King went on to retire 14-straight after Whitcomb’s home run. As for Perdomo, the Padres tacked on a run in the fourth, and another one in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead.

Perdomo was done after four and two thirds. In addition to the five runs, Perdomo gave up ten hits.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit an absolute missile halfway up into the bleachers in left off Joel Kuhnel to start the top of the sixth to make it 6-3.

After Reiver Sanmartin finished the top of the sixth, Jason Foley was the man for the top of the seventh. The Padres had runners at first and second with two outs for Tatis, who hit a ground ball to Whitcomb at third. Whitcomb thought he could tag Xander Bogaerts, who was the lead runner at second. Whitcomb then looked over to Bogaerts, and without his eye on the ball, it went under his glove into left field. A run scored, and it was now 7-3.

Plain and simply, it was a rookie mistake by Whitcomb, who was notably flustered. For a young player like Whitcomb, it can be a learning experience.

The Giants now trailed 7-3. Hey, the Giants came back from down 6-1 to win on Wednesday, and almost came back from down 7-1 last night. 7-3 should be no problem.

The Giants would finally end King’s streak of 14-straight batters set down, when Jonah Cox singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh. However, that was immediately followed up by a double play.

So much for that. At least there were still two innings remaining. Bradgley Rodriguez came in for the bottom of the eighth. Drew Cavanaugh led off the inning with his first big league home run to right.

Alright, it was now 7-4. Christian Koss lined a base-hit to left, and Drew GIlbert hit one out to right that bounced into the water to make it 7-6. Now, it was exciting.

However, Adrian Morejon came in and set down the next three to end the inning. Mason Miller then came in to do his thing in the bottom of the ninth. By his thing, I of course mean that Miller threw a one, two, three inning to notch down the save.

Despite these two losses to the Padres, this is a Giants’ team with a lot of fight in them. To play this way against a talented Padres’ team that could very well find themselves in the Playoffs, that is no small feat for the 2026 San Francisco Giants.

Michael King got the win, and Cesar Perdomo was dealt his first big league loss.

The Giants fall to 62-87.

Logan Webb (8-8 ERA 4.10) will take the ball on his football jersey day late Sunday night, as the Giants will look to avert the sweep. Nick Pivetta (2-2 ERA 3.43) will go for San Diego.

I said “late,” because Sunday’s game is the NBC Sunday Night Game of the Week. That means first pitch will be at 4:20 p.m PDT.

Sacramento A’s podcast Tony Harvey: A’s Donavon slugs two run 10th inning walk off homer does in M’s 6-5 at Sutter Health

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Sacramento A’s Lawrence Butler swings for a two run home run in the bottom of the third inning off the Seattle M’s starter George Kirby at Sutter Health Park in Seattle on Fri Sep 11, 2026 (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s podcast Tony Harvey:

#1 Sacramento A’s Donavon Walton’s two run walk off home run put the A’s over the top with a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. Walton getting the home run off M’s reliever Eddie Bazardo.

#2 Earlier in the game the A’s got scoring help in the bottom of the first inning with Jeff McNeil hitting an RBI double scoring Henry Bolte to make 1-0 later in the inning Max Muncy got a infield hit that scored McNiel making it 2-0.

#3 In the third inning Lawrence Butler hit his 14th home run of the season a two run home run off Mariners starter George Kirby as the A’s took a 4-2 lead.

#4 With the score tied 4-4 in the last of the tenth you saw it M’s releiver Eddie Bazardo gave up a cookie and Walton took him deep and the A’s who are on a run having beat the M’s in Seattle three of four and two out of three to the Blue Jays in Sacramento and open this series with the M’s with a 6-5 razor close win.

#5 M’s and A’s go at it again Saturday night first pitch 6:40 pm PDT at Sutter Health Park starters for Seattle RHP Bryce Miller (4-9 ERA 4.22) for Sacramento LHP Jacob Lopez (6-4 ERA 4.78).

Tony Harvey does the Sacramento A’s podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

San Fancisco Giants podcast Stephen Ruderman: Giants-Pads match up in game 2 of 3 game set Saturday; Devers slam not enough in Friday loss

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San Francisco Giants Rafeal Devers (16) is congratulated by teammates at home plate in the fifth inning after hitting a grand slam against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Sep 11, 2026 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Stephen Ruderman:

#1 How did Rafael Devers’ grand slam in the fifth inning change the momentum of the game?

#2 What impact did Bryce Eldridge have on the Giants’ offense, and how did his final at-bat against Mason Miller end?

#3 How did Jonah Cox contribute to the Giants’ late-inning comeback attempt?

#4 What went wrong for Giants starting pitcher Anthony Molina during his three innings against the Padres?

#5 How did Yunior Marte help keep the Giants within striking distance after Molina left the game?

Stephen Ruderman is a San Francisco Giants beat reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Padres beat Giants 7-5, snapping San Francisco’s 3-game winning streak

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San Francisco Giants (#16) Rafael Devers is all smiles after hitting his ninth career grand slam and his 36th home run of the season in an MLB game against the San Diego Padres on Friday, September 11th, 2026, at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo credit to Jae Choi)

By Michael Villanueva

SAN FRANCISCO – After the San Francisco Giants’ 3-game winning sweep at home on the St. Louis Cardinals. The San Francisco Giants (62-86) hosted the San Diego Padres (79-68) on Friday night in San Francisco for game one out of three starting this weekend. However, it was the Padres taking game one 7-5, and San Diego’s starting pitcher, former San Francisco Giants pitcher as well, Robbie Ray would get the win. This gave Giants starter Anthony Molina his first loss.

This was the first time the San Francisco Giants faced off against LHP Robbie Ray since dealing him to San Diego at the trade deadline. Ray has gone 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA in his six starts with San Diego with the Padres losing four of the six games. Ray also posted a 6-1 record over 11 starts with San Francisco at Oracle Park earlier this year. This game was Robbie’s 100th career win as the winning pitcher.

The San Francisco Giants would strike first with Jonah Cox scoring. Cox would get on base with a single on a line drive to right field. Setting up his teammate Bryce Eldridge to bring him in, he delivers as Eldridge got himself a single and helped give the Giants their only lead of the night, 1-0.

Right after that, going into the top of the second inning, the San Diego Padres would respond. Padres Jackson Merrill hits a ground-rule double, his 24th of the season, to left-field. Then Dustin Harris would get a single on his turn at-bat and bring in Merrill to score and tie the game 1-1. Next, Freddy Fermin would also hit a double, his 12th of the season, and bring in Harris to score for San Diego 2-1.

After a quick three-out trip for San Francisco. The Padres weren’t done with their hitting spree. At the top of the third inning, Jake Cronenworth singles on a sharp line drive to right field. Luis Campusano would get a double, his 12th double of the season, and bring in Cronenworth to score for San Diego 3-1. Then Jackson Merrill comes back to hit and himself a single. With Campusano stealing to third base, and Merrill on first base. Padres Xander Bogaerts joins the fun with a double and brings in Campusano and Merrill to score, 5-1.

The Padres still weren’t done with the Giants; after Bogaerts’ double, Dustin Harris would get a triple to bring Bogaerts to score, 6-1. Then Freddy Fermin was still feeling hot as het would got another double at Oracle Park. So Harris would add on to the runs and change the score to 7-1, Padres leading through the third inning.

It wouldn’t take long for the Giants to get their hitting going. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Giants Andrew Knizner gets on base with a double, then Cox and Koss gets walked, getting the bases loaded and setting up big hitter Rafael Devers. So Devers delivers for San Francisco as he hits a grand slam to right field, also making this his 36th homer of the season. The score would get as close as 7-5 after Devers big hit in Oracle Park.

The Padres tallied up 12 hits in this game against the Giants bullpen. This was the team’s eleventh meeting this season, with the Padres extending their season series lead to 7-4. Losing pitcher Anthony Molina for San Francisco had a shot at becoming the team’s third pitcher to win his first four games with the Giants since the franchise moved to San Francisco.

In the last and final moments of the game, San Francisco did have a chance for a comeback win. With the bases loaded and two outs. Giants Bryce Eldridge stepped up to the plate with the team on his back, hoping for a miracle. Eldridge in the last series had five hits and seven RBI’s, so the fans were right behind him for a miracle. However, going against the Padres closer Mason Miller would be brutal, as Miller would strike out Eldridge and give the team and the fans a home loss in this Friday night game. The final score for the game would be 7-5.

With two more games still to play this weekend, the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres will come back tomorrow, here at Oracle Park, for game two. First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m. with the game being broadcast on NBCS BA. San Diego will send RHP Michael King (10-9, 3.00 ERA) to hopefully keep the wins coming for them on their seven game road trip. The Giants will bring out LHP Cesar Perdomo (0-0, 0.90 ERA), who’s looking for his first win as a starter for San Francisco.

Sacramento A’s game wrap: Walton’s walk off gives A’s 6-5 win in 10 innings to open series with M’s

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Sacramento A’s starter Jeffrey Springs pitches to the Seattle Mariners line up at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Fri Sep 11, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Mauricio Segura

Sacramento A’s game wrap:

Walton Sends the Green and Gold Home Happy in Ten

Sacramento A’s Donovan Walton saved the best swing for last. The Seattle Mariners had taken a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th when Julio Rodríguez singled home automatic runner Randy Arozarena. Max Muncy then began the bottom half at second base, Michael Stefanic took his place as a pinch-runner, and Walton drove a two-run homer to right field for a 6-5 Athletics walk-off win. Walton finished 3-for-5, and the homer gave him seven this season, already more than the four he hit across his first six major-league seasons combined.

Seattle struck first in the opening inning. J.P. Crawford singled, Arozarena reached on a force out and stole second, and Dominic Canzone moved him to third with a single before Cal Raleigh’s grounder brought him home. The A’s answered immediately. Henry Bolte singled and stole second, Jeff McNeil doubled him home, and Max Muncy’s infield single scored McNeil for a 2-1 lead. Bolte’s steal was his 20th, putting him among only four A’s rookies in the last 39 years to reach 20 in a season.

The Mariners tied it in the second when Josh Naylor singled, Taylor Ward drew a walk and Weston Wilson’s force out scored Naylor. Sacramento answered again in the third. McNeil singled, and Lawrence Butler followed with a two-run homer to right for a 4-2 lead. Butler had been 0-for-15 before the game, three at-bats shy of the longest hitless stretch of his career, and his blast became his 14th homer of the season.

The fourth inning supplied one of the game’s biggest defensive turns. Cole Young tripled to right with one out, then Wilson lifted a fly ball to Butler. The Athletics challenged the play at the plate, and the ruling was overturned, completing a double play from Butler to catcher Jonah Heim and erasing what would have been Seattle’s third run.

Jeffrey Springs made the lead stand through five innings, allowing two runs. In his previous start, also against Seattle, Springs threw seven scoreless innings and ended a 13-game losing streak that had stretched from April into late August. He did not get a decision here, but he left with the Athletics ahead 4-2.

That advantage disappeared in the sixth. Josh Naylor reached on Scott Blewett’s fielding error, and pinch-hitter Lazaro Montes tied the game with a two-run homer to right-center. From there, both teams kept finding traffic without finding the run that would separate them.

Zack Gelof and Butler singled in the seventh before Seattle reliever Seranthony Domínguez escaped. Jonah Heim singled in the eighth, Denzel Clarke ran for him and moved to second on a passed ball, but Henry Bolte grounded out to end the inning. Butler doubled with two outs in the ninth and was stranded.

Seattle finally broke the tie in the tenth. Arozarena began at second, moved to third on Raleigh’s groundout and scored when Rodríguez singled to center. Naylor followed with another single and stole second, but Clarke caught Montes’ liner to center to keep the deficit at one.

That was all Walton needed. Claimed off waivers from the Angels in July, he had already hit six homers in 77 games after totaling four in his first six big-league seasons. His third hit of the game ended it, gave the Athletics their seventh win in nine games and moved them ahead of Seattle 6-5 in the season series.

Game 2 brings a fresh pitching contrast, with Athletics left-hander Gage Jump (6-10, 5.12 ERA, 106 strikeouts) facing Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (11-9, 4.03 ERA, 158 strikeouts), with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m. Pacific.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez: Padres Robbie Ray returns to face former team; Pads-Giants open series Friday night

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Former San Francisco Giant now with the San Diego Padres Robbie Ray will face his former teammates Fri Sep 11, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (photo from Instagram)

SF Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez:

#1 Can Logan Webb set the tone for the Giants against a Padres lineup featuring Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill? Webb is coming off a strong outing against St. Louis, striking out eight while allowing one run.

#2 Will Rafael Devers continue to carry the Giants’ offense against San Diego? Devers has been one of San Francisco’s biggest offensive threats, while rookie Bryce Eldridge has also emerged as a key power bat.

#3 Can Bryce Eldridge keep making an impact in the middle of the Giants’ lineup? The rookie has 16 home runs and recently delivered a crucial game-tying hit against St. Louis.

#4 Will Grant McCray’s speed create problems for the Padres? McCray has been one of San Francisco’s standout baserunners as the Giants have emphasized aggressive stealing and taking extra bases.

#5 Can the Giants’ young core—including Shay Whitcomb and Dylan Smith—help them challenge a Padres club still fighting for the postseason? San Francisco has leaned heavily on rookies and newcomers, while San Diego entered the final weeks of the season in the NL wild-card race.

Lincoln Juarez does the San Francisco Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson: Five A’s pitchers combine in 2-0 shutout over Toronto; A’s host M’s Friday night

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Sacramento A’s pitcher Hogan Harris pitches into the eighth inning in releif against the Toronto Blue Jays at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Wed Sep 9, 2026 (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson::

#1 The Sacramento A’s come away with a 2-0 win against the Toronto Blue Jays. The A’s releiver Scott Blewitt picked up the win for Sacramento and was the second pitcher out of five pitchers to combine for a A’s 2-0 shutout.

#2 A’s got key runs one in the bottom of the third on a Henry Bolte home run it was Bolte’s tenth home run of the season and there is no doubt he’s been seeing the ball to get some of those big flies.

#3 A’s starting pitcher Brady Basso pitched four innings allowed three hits, two walks, and struck out four hitters. Great work by Basso setting up the relief duties for Blewitt.

#4 In the bottom of the fourth inning the A’s picked up another run on a wild pitch by Michael Lorenzen when Tommy White scored on a wild pitch that advanced Max Muncy to second and that would be all the scoring for Sacramento got for the afternoon for the win.

#5 It’s the Seattle Mariners Friday night and their looking for revenge after the A’s took three of four from them last week in Seatle. It will be the first of a three game series with Seattle starting RHP George Kirby (9-11 ERA 4.18) and for Sacramento LHP Jefferey Springs (4-13 ERA 6.02) gets the call a 6:40pm first pitch at Sutter Health Park.

Jeremaih Salmonson does the A’s podcasts Thursdays at www.sportsradioservice.com

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Giants 2026 Season Organizational Failure

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San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer can only hope for a better future as poor decisions and a struggling team have hampered the club all 2026 season long (photo from Axios)

Giants 2026 Season Organizational Failure

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The San Francisco Giants’ failure this season is an organizational failure. I cannot blame a rookie manager who has never played or managed a single game in the minor leagues or the majors for this failure. The team signed Tony Vitello for three years with an option for a fourth season. Personally, I didn’t like the novice manager hire, like a pilot telling passengers, “Buckle your seat belt; this is my first flight, and I’ve never flown before, so wish me good luck”

But it is silly to blame him; the best Jockey in the world cannot win if his horse is limping. I thought the Giants should have given the skipper’s job to Ron Washington, their current infield coach. He has managed before, unlike Vitello, and has a great reputation in the baseball world. This team’s failure rests with the front office and the people who built it. The front office allocated minimal financial resources to upgrade or heavily retool the back end of the bullpen, which proved to be a liability all season long. Nobody wins without a good bullpen; today, the average starter throws between 5 to 6 innings.

The Giants now have offered to pay it’s fans to come to September games as ticket sales have fallen.

Numbers do not lie: The San Francisco Giants have recorded 22 blown saves out of 48 save opportunities, a 54% save success rate, contributing directly to a large portion of their late-game struggles. The Giants are #11 in total payroll among the 30 teams in Major League Baseball. Teams with much smaller payrolls are fighting for a postseason berth. In fact, the Tampa Bay Rays have the #17 payroll, the Chicago White Sox #29, and the Miami Marlins #30. With about 15 games left for most teams, the Rays lead the American League East, the Chicago White Sox lead the American League Central, and the Miami Marlins are in third place behind two powerhouses: the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies. I would not be surprised if the Marlins make it as a wild card team. The Marlins won two World Series (1997 and 2003) as a Wild Card.

If money won you anything in baseball, the Mets today should have close to 100 wins, but look at the standings, living around the cellar of the NL East with a Payroll the size of the Pentagon. The Dodgers are also in that group, and with all that talent and bankroll behind them, yes, they are in first place, but teams like Milwaukee and the Cubs, with half those riches, are there contending with a real shot at a World Series. Dodgers Shohei Ohtani’s injuries are hurting the World Champs, but he was back in the lineup on September 7th; he probably will not pitch anymore this season.

.I am old enough to remember how important Major League scouts were to the game, but today front offices are all about Analytics; soon, if not already, AI (Artificial Intelligence) will be running baseball. Why not? They are already running everything else, and Data Centers are on the way. WAR in baseball stands for Wins Above Replacement, an advanced statistic that estimates the total number of wins a player contributes to their team compared to a minor-league replacement player or a free-agent fill-in. About Artificial Intelligence: Former Anthropic and OpenAI researcher Jacob Coxon stated that AI could kill all of humanity by the end of this decade, so by then we will not need a bullpen.

The San Francisco Giants have about a dozen games left this year, and then, like they say in New York, “fuhgeddaboudit”

Jorge Posada, former catcher for the New York Yankees, criticized the modern game as “garbage” and too analytical, arguing that the heavy reliance on numbers has made the sport overly robotic.

The Giants now have offered to pay it’s fans to come to September games as ticket sales have fallen. For any season ticket holder that attended the last series against the St Louis Cardinials they will be offered a credit “equal to 15% of that ticket’s value.” Including a five percent credit as season ticket holders got in the three game series with the Cards which works out to 20%.

Quote: “Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer: –Ted Williams.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

While in the Bay Area, great food and great prices. 998cuba.com

Sacramento A’s podcast Bridget Mulcahy: A’s take two out three from Jays; Bolte slugs tenth HR of season

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Sacramento A’s Henry Bolte rounds the bases after slugging his tenth home run of the season off Toronto reliever Michael Lorenzen in the bottom of the third inning for the A’s first run of the game at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Wed Sep 9, 2026 (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s podcast Bridget Mulcahy:

#1 The Sacramento A’s come away with a 2-0 win against the Toronto Blue Jays. A’s releiver Scott Blewitt picked up the win for Sacramento and was the second pitcher out of five pitchers to combine for a A’s 2-0 shutout.

#2 The A’s got key runs one in the bottom of the third on a Henry Bolte home run it was Bolte’s tenth home run of the season and there is no doubt he’s been seeing the ball to get some of those big flies.

#3 A’s starting pitcher Brady Basso pitched four innings allowed three hits, two walks, and struck out four hitters. Great work by Basso setting up the relief duties for Blewitt.

#4 In the bottom of the fourth inning the A’s picked up another run on a wild pitch by Michael Lorenzen when Tommy White scored on a wild pitch that advanced Max Muncy to second and that would be all the scoring for Sacramento got for the afternoon for the win.

#5 It’s the Seattle Mariners Friday night and their looking for revenge after the A’s took three of four from them last week in Seatle. It will be the first of a three game series with Seattle starting RHP George Kirby (9-11 ERA 4.18) and for Sacramento LHP Jefferey Springs (4-13 ERA 6.02) gets the call a 6:40pm first pitch at Sutter Health Park.

Bridget Mulcahy does the A’s podcasts Wednesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.