Category: San Francisco Giants

Tatis, Jr., goes yard in Padres win

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photo from sfgate: San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. gestures after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Saturday, July 27, 2019, in San Diego

By Jeremy Kahn

If the San Francisco Giants want their streak of series wins to continue, they will have to do it in the series finale.

Wil Myers drove a double into the left-field corner to break up a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning that scored Hunter Renfroe, helping the San Diego Padres to a 5-1 victory over the Giants at Petco Park.

The win by the Padres stopped an eight-game losing streak at home, and it was just the fifth loss in the last 23 games for the Giants.

Cal Quantrill went 5.1 innings, allowing one run on just three hits, walking four and striking out four to pick up the win for the Padres and put a stop to a six-game losing streak against the Giants.

It was a tough loss for Shawn Anderson, as the right-hander went five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out seven.

Fernando Tatis Jr., made matters worse for Anderson in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he hit a two-run home run that was just out of the reach of Kevin Pillar in center field.

It was a huge night for Tatis, Jr., as he went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in, with one of those three hits being his 17th home run of the season.

The Giants’ only run of the game came in the top of the sixth inning, as Pablo Sandoval singled to left-center field scoring Mike Yastrzemski from second base.

Greg Garcia put the finishing touches on the scoring, as he hit a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the sixth inning that scored Myers and Luis Urias.

NOTES: Minor League pitcher Logan Webb was reinstated after serving an 80-game suspension, Webb was serving the suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. To make room for Webb on the 40-man roster, Ty Blach was designated for assignment.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner looks for his first win on the road since May 18 when he takes the mound in the series finale on Sunday afternoon for the Giants. Since that win in Arizona, Bumgarner 0-2 with a 4.79 earned run average in four road starts.

Sandoval wins it for the Giants in extra innings again, 2-1

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photo from sfgate.com: Chris Rice hands Giants second baseman Pablo Sandoval his 5-month-old daughter, Roya, in the dugout before Saturday’s game against the Padres at Petco Park in San Diego. Rice’s bare-handed catch of Sandoval’s game-winning home run Friday night while holding Roya became an instant sensation.

By Jeremy Kahn

It seems that the San Francisco Giants just love to play extra innings and they are back where this hot streak started.

Pablo Sandoval hit a solo home run with two out in the top of the 11th inning, as the Giants defeated the San Diego Padres 2-1 at Petco Park.

Sandovals home run off of Logan Allen was his 13th of the season, and it gave the Giants their 12th win since the All-Star break and 18-4 since July 1, when they began a three-game series against the Padres in San Diego.

Mark Melancon pitched a perfect 10th inning, as he struck out two in the inning and improved to 4-2 on the season.

Will Smith came on to close it out in the 11th inning, as he saved his 25th game of the season, which a game-ending double play off the bat of Eric Hosmer.

Jeff Samardzija was strong again, as he went six innings, allowing one run, scattering four hits, walking three and striking out six, as he did not fare in the decision.

Bay Area native Joey Lucchesi also pitched six innings, as he gave up just one run on only two hits, walking four and striking out eight.

Lucchesi was cruising, as he was able to get the first six Giants in order; however, he then walked Tyler Austin, who then stole second and then scored when Donovan Solano doubled to center field.

Samardzijas only mistake came when Austin Hedges hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning that landed on the third level of the balcony of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building.

The Giants bullpen was lights out, as the quintet of Reyes Moronta, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson, Melancon and Smith threw a combined five innings, allowing just one hit, not walking a batter and striking out four.

NOTES: Derek Holland, who was designated for assignment by the Giants earlier this week, was traded to the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations.

Bruce Bochy, who announced during Spring Training that he would be retiring at the end of the season was honored prior to the game by the team that he managed from 1994-2006.

During his 13 years with the Padres, he led them to the World Series, where they swept by the New York Yankees.

“It’s where I made my start in 1995,” Bochy said. “A young general manager named Randy Smith took a chance on me and I’m forever grateful for that. We had some great times here. We got to the World Series in ’98. That’s a highlight. When we won the pennant, Trevor Hoffman threw the pitch that led to a fly ball to Steve Finley and we were into the World Series,” Bochy added.

In his 12 years with the Padres, Bochy won a team record 951 games during his tenure.

“We got some division titles here. Didn’t quite get the championship but had some great memories with a lot of great players, who I still have really good relationships with. No question there’s a ton of memories here, including this ballpark. I started at Qualcomm/Jack Murphy. It’s nice to be part of what was built here.”

Bochy was given a bottle of wine, and fishing poles in a pregame ceremony that included former Padres Steve Finley, Mark Sweeney, Carlos Hernandez and Andy Ashby, also current Padres owner Ron Fowler joined in on the ceremony for Bochy, who also played for the Padres in the 1980s.

UP NEXT: Shawn Anderson takes the mound on Saturday night for the Giants, while the Padres will send Cal Quantrill to the hill.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Team chemistry might be reason for Bumgarner not being dealt yet

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Sources say that it’s unlikely that the Giants will make a deal to trade Giants starter Madison Bumgarner. Would this be due to Bumgarner’s right to wave any trade or Farhan Zaidi, the Giants general manager, just couldn’t get a better offer to make the trade?

#2 Michael talks about what makes Bumgarner so valuable to the team.

#3 If Bumgarner doesn’t get dealt, does the team chemistry of having Bumgarner around play a part in that reason? The players expressed how much Bum means to the team.

#4 The deadline is not here yet. Can you see Giants reliever Will Smith getting dealt before July 31st? He’s also been so key for saving ball games for the club this season.

#5 The Giants had the day off on Thursday and open a three-game series with the Padres at Petco Park on Friday night for the Giants. They’ll be sending Jeff Samardzija (7-4, 4.08 ERA) vs. the Padres starter Joey Luchessi (7-5, 4.27 ERA).

Michael Duca does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

White-hot Giants could go for it, be buyers at the deadline

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Photo credit: @sfgiants_fanly

By Jeremy Harness

Two weeks ago, the Giants were sure-fire sellers at the trade deadline, as they were in no position co contend and general manager Farhan Zaidi already saying that he plans to rebuild sooner or later.

Now, it appears that the Giants could very well put those rebuilding plans on hold for now, as they have suddenly found themselves in the thick of the National League’s wild-card race following a 17-4 spurt to start the second half of the season.

Zaidi now has a decision to make, and the team’s weekend series against the San Diego Padres will be a very important one, a series that starts Friday night at Petco Park.

Despite the changed state of the team, the Giants could still make the trades that have been widely discussed for most of this season, notable starter Madison Bumgarner and closer Will Smith, and get the rebuilding process off the ground.

On the other hand, they could decide to capitalize on their suddenly-winning ways and add to the roster, and therefore, become buyers at the deadline, which is this Wednesday, if they truly believe that it can make a run in the postseason and make manager Bruce Bochy’s last season a memorable one.

But it appears the moment of truth starts Friday night, when Jeff Samardzija (7-8, 4.08 ERA) takes the hill for the Giants opposite San Diego’s Joey Lucchesi (7-5, 4.27 ERA).

Meanwhile, Bumgarner (5-7, 3.66 ERA) is scheduled to take the ball against Padres righty Chris Paddack (6-5, 2.84 ERA). He has given up nine hits combined in his last six outings, and he has appeared to have flipped the switch and reminded people of the form that saw him carry the Giants to the 2014 World Series crown.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders’ Gruden expects Carr to lead team in offense; Jimmy G has a brand new knee, looking good in drills; plus more

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Photo credit: @NBCSRaiders

On Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 What are the expectations of Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden for quarterback Derek Carr and will Carr get the protection he needs?

#2 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo says that it was a tough process to rehab from the ACL injury he had last season, but says he ready and he’s agile and mobile.

#3 You can’t win them all. The SF Giants took on the NL Central first place Chicago Cubs and lost two out of three. The Cubs are one of baseball’s toughest clubs in the majors.

#4 The A’s are a wild card team, but for them to play catch up to the Houston Astros is a reach. The A’s lost two out of three to the Astros, including an 11-1 laugher to open the series on Thursday.

#5 Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said that Andre Iguodala’s move to the Memphis Grizzlies was like a punch in the gut and Iguodala’s absence will no doubt impact the Warriors as he was considered one of the best presences on the club.

Tony Renteria does the Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Heavy Trumps Hot: Streaking Giants cooled by the Cubs’ home run bats, 4-1

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Now that the Giants have achieved some level of competency by surpassing the .500 mark in 2019, know that these two statistical numbers weigh heavily on the mind of GM Farhan Zaidi as the July 31 trade deadline fast approaches.

The Giants have hit 108 home runs this season, 30 fewer than the Major League average, 65 fewer than the Dodgers, and 83 fewer than the Twins, who are threatening to smash the major league record for home runs in a season and become the first team to hit 300.

Entering play Wednesday afternoon, the Giants had won 17 of 20, becoming only the second team to win so frequently over a 20-game stretch in 2019 (Dodgers). And what has that hot stretch earned the scrappy, upwardly-mobile Giants?

According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Giants have just a 13 percent chance to qualify for the playoffs, despite passing six NL clubs during their hot streak.

Disbelieving of what you just read? Believe this: the Giants winning ways were interrupted Wednesday in a 4-1 loss to the Cubs, as Chicago sluggers went deep three times off San Francisco starter Tyler Beede in the first four innings.

And the Giants’ offense? You had to ask.

Leadoff batter Brandon Belt, who’s not really a leadoff batter, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Tuesday night’s hero, Pablo Sandoval was 0 for 3 with a walk, and the Giants managed just five hits, no home runs and one run against fill-in starter Tyler Chatwood and a pair of Cubs relievers. Alex Dickerson, the Giants’ preferred cleanup hitter was out of the starting lineup for the second time in three games, dealing with back issues.

“They’ve got to be running on fumes,” said manager Bruce Bochy, referencing his Giants’ grueling schedule that saw them conclude a stretch of 14 games in 13 days on Wednesday. “They were doing all they could to get this one. We just came up short but the fight was there.”

Throw all that information into your baseball diamond-calibrated computer, and what spits out?

Buy or sell?

Sell is the smart move.

Of course, it’s buy.

In reality, it’s complicated like a personal profile on Facebook. The Giants are red-hot, but it might not much matter if they don’t tear it up in San Diego over the weekend, then fill up on the Phillies next week in Philadelphia.

Simply, it’s an four-game schedule, and the 2019 Giants will be defined by what they do in the first half of the upcoming road swing. Lose, three of four, fall below .500 and it would be prudent for the club to sell. Win three of four, and the front office and the team put all their focus on catching the Cardinals, Brewers and Phillies.

“Everyone wants to win, whether it’s players, coaches or the front office,” said Stephen Vogt. “I think everybody in this building wants to win, and we’re going to do everything it takes.”

One last statistical snap shot of the completed home stand: the Giants won 5 of 7, but were outscored 27-22.

On Friday, Jeff Samardzija takes the hill for the Giants at Petco Park. At presstime, the Padres had not named a starter for any of the three games in the series.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Giants play their 4th extra inning game in 6 games; A’s come back on Astros for 1-run win; plus more

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

On Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 If you like extra innings, the San Francisco Giants have played four extra inning games in their last six. On Tuesday night, the Giants were down by two runs, but came back to tie the game and force extra innings against the NL Central first place Cubs. This team has a lot of fight in them.

#2 The Houston Astros, one of baseball’s toughest nemesis, a team that has given the Oakland A’s fits all season long. The A’s battled with the Astros to an 11-inning duel. The Astros opened up the game with two runs and the A’s came right back with three runs in the top of the ninth and the Astros came right back and tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. The A’s got the game-winner in extra innings in the top of the 11th to break the deadlock for the 4-3 win to even the series at Minute Maid Field on Tuesday night.

#3 Hard work pays off the Oakland Raiders. Antonio Brown is reportedly working his hardest where some coaches say his work ethic is as hard as former Raider Jerry Rice. He was seen tossing a brick from hand to hand while moving side to side during drills.

#4 San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been rehabbing well since tearing his ACL last season in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Garoppolo said he was able to do pretty much everything and it was a rigorous process to come back.

#5 The San Jose Earthquakes continue to plow on through. They have gone undefeated in their last four games, which included a friendly, and defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in their most recent game last Saturday. They’ll host the Colorado Rapids (5-5-11). The Rapids have struggled of late, they have not won a game in four tries, including a friendly against the Arsenal.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday and is a beat writer for the San Jose Earthquakes at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sandoval wins it in a Giants walk-off in the 13th

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Pablo Sandoval sent the San Francisco Giants players and fans into a frenzy with one swing of the bat.

Sandoval hit a pitch barely off the ground and over the left field wall in the bottom of the 13th inning off of Brad Brach, as the Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-4 in 13 innings before a crowd of 39,747 at Oracle Park.

That was two inches off the ground again like the ball he hit down the line yesterday and then to go to the opposite field like that in this ballpark, it’s a testament to the flight of the ball, said Cubs Manager Joe Maddon.

Brach got Buster Posey to strike out for the first out of the inning, and on the first pitch to Sandoval, the Giants won their third straight game.

It was the fifth career walk-off for Sandoval, and his first since August 9, 2018 against the Cubs, when he hit a single to left field.

This was the Giants fifth consecutive win by one run, and they are 24-10 this season in one run games, the best record in the major leagues. They are 10-2 in extra-inning games this season, including 4-0 on this current home stand.

Overall, the Giants have won three in a row, 10 out of their last 11 and 17 out of their last 20 game to move to 52-50 on the season.

The last time that the Giants won 17 out of 20 was from July 25 until August 16, 2001.

Sam Coonrod pitched a perfect 13th inning to pick-up his first win of his major-league career. Coonrod struck out Javier Baez and Kris Bryant before getting Anthony Rizzo to ground out to Joe Panik for the final out of the inning.

Things were looking good for the Giants, as they entered the top of the eighth inning with a slim 4-3 lead and the bullpen in full force.

Unfortunately, that was not the case, as Kris Bryant doubled, then went to third on a Rizzo groundout back to Reyes Moronta and after a walk to Peninsula native Daniel DeScalso, Tony Watson gave up the game-tying single to Jason Heyward. Watson was able to regroup and struck out Robel Garcia to end the threat.

I thought we battled back in the eighth inning. Anytime you play that long and hang in there I mean it’s nice to see nobody give up and still go out there and compete. It just wasn’t our night tonight, said Bryant.

Madison Bumgarner went seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking just one and striking out seven, but he did not fare in the decision.

The Cubs took the lead in the top of the first inning, as Baez doubled off of Bumgarner, then Bryant singled in Baez; however, the inning ended when Pablo Sandoval, who was playing in the shift near second base, made a great play to on a ball hit by Rizzo, as he tagged Bryant and threw to Brandon Belt to complete the double play.

That was the lead until the bottom of the second inning, as the Giants tied up the game, as Alex Dickerson doubled to lead off the inning and then slid away from the throw by Kyle Schwarber to the plate on a Yastrzemski sacrifice fly.

Unfortunately, the tie would not last long, as the Cubs retook the lead in the top of the third inning, as Bryant singled to score Baez, who singled and then stole second and third.

Dickerson got the rally started, as he hit a solo home run to left field to tie up the game, then Brandon Crawford singled, which was followed by a Mike Yastrzemski walk and then Kevin Pillar hit a Yu Darvish offering to the left-center field power alley to give the Giants the lead.

Darvish went six innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking just one and striking out six, as like Bumgarner, he did not fare in the decision. He also saw his 13.0 inning scoreless streak come to an end in the bottom of the second inning, and the four runs allowed marked his first runs since July 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

NOTES: The last time that the Giants picked up four walk-off wins in a six-game span was in the year that they moved to San Francisco in 1958. During that season, the Giants defeated the Milwaukee Braves, the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals from July 5-13, 1958.

Rizzo went 0-for-5 on the night, as his 13-game hitting streak came to an end.

UP NEXT: Tyler Beede closes out the home stand on Wednesday afternoon, as he looks for his fourth win of the season for the Giants. Jon Lester will take the Oracle Park mound for the Cubs, as he looks to get his 10th win of the season.

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Pacquiao can still win at 40; Wizards trying to sign Beal; plus more Wiz

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Photo credit: @MPac_Foundation

On Headline Sports podcast with Barbara:

#1 Manny Pacquiao thrilled them again last Saturday night. Pacquiao won and is now with a record of 62-7-2 and 39 KOs. It was a 12-rounder won by the 40-year-old Pacquiao.

#2 The Washington Wizards have offered guard Bradley Beal a three-year deal worth $111 million. Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said he wanted to sign Beal at the first opportunity he got.

#3 Detroit Tigers outfielder Nick Castellanos says that Comerica Park in Detroit is a joke. Castellanos says that one day his hair will turn gray, it’s something you can’t control how. Castellanos said he hit a homer to center right for some 372 feet.

#4 Is Derek Carr quarterback for the Oakland Raiders playing for his job? Or is he playing for someone else? The Raiders will be looking for a quarterback that can not only get them wins, but enough of them to get to postseason?

#5 Here’s the San Francisco Giants, who were living in last place most all season, but are now just 2 1/2 games out of first place for the National League Wild Card.

Barbara Mason does Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Cubs’ Garcia and Schwarber start game with 2 big flies; Twins get rare triple play against Angels; plus more

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Photo credit: @robelgarcia16

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Chicago Cubs got a splash hit and a home run at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Monday night. Robel Garcia hit a tremendous drive into McCovey Cove and Kyle Schwarber hit his 22nd home run of the season.

#2 The Minnesota Twins got a 5-4-3 triple play in the first inning on Monday night when the Los Angeles Angels’ Edwin Encarnacion hit a grounder to Twins third baseman Luis Arraez, who tagged third and relayed the throw to second with the Twins’ Jonathan Schoop covering and Schoop threw to first baseman Miguel Sano for the triple play.

#3 The Houston Astros pitcher Gerritt Cole is the second fastest pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts in baseball history and he did it against the Oakland A’s in a 11-1 rout. For the A’s, it was their second straight loss, and for Cole, he was in total command and showed why he reached 200 strikeouts so quickly.

#4 As the trade deadline gets closer, the San Francisco Giants; key pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith are up for grabs. There also has been talk that Giants manager Bruce Bochy has talked with team president Farhan Zaidi about possibly keeping Bumgarner and Smith. It’s possible the Giants might not move them the later it gets.

#5 Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow says with the roster, the Astros have they could win the whole thing. Luhnow said that with the four starters they have, they can win on good pitching and get deep into the postseason.

Amaury Pi-González is a pioneer in establishing Spanish baseball radio play-by-play in the Bay Area that dates back to 1970s. The Spanish broadcast for 72 games are heard on KIQI 1010AM/990AM with studios in San Francisco, serving also the Sacramento/Stockton market and does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com