Category: San Francisco Giants

Commentary: Both A’s and Giants looking for “The Bridge” trophy

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Friday, July 13, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO – The Swingin’ A’s of Oakland enter this weekend’s interleague series as one of the hottest teams in baseball. The host San Francisco Giants, not so much, making for an interesting dynamic as both teams look for something besides bragging rights in the Bay Area series.

That “something” is “The Bridge,” a trophy created from steel salvaged from the original East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

In his pregame comments Friday, Giants manager Bruce Bochy seemed less concerned about The Bridge, as he was about an Oakland team that has won 19 of its last 24 games.

“It’s not so much about the trophy, but the fact you have two teams that are trying to get to the postseason,” Bochy said. “There’s nobody playing better than Oakland right now. They’re playing great, throwing the ball well. They’ve made some great comebacks, scoring runs, winning games late, their bullpen, in general, has really done a great job.”

“You get on a run like they are, that means you’re playing really good baseball. Since they’ve been on their run, I’m sure they feel really good about where they’re at, trying to get to the postseason, and that’s what we’re trying to do – two teams trying to accomplish the same thing.

A couple more things about The Bridge: A list of frequently asked questions was issued. We learned that the idea was the brainchild of NBC Sports reporter Brodie Brazil when he heard White Sox announcers Ken Harrelson and Steve Stone discussing Chicago’s Crosstown Cup. And, if the six-game regular-season series finishes tied, the winner of the last game is awarded the trophy.

The San Francisco skipper said it didn’t make a difference to him if the Giants and Athletics met before or after the All-Star break.

“It doesn’t matter to me when we play them,” Bochy said. “If anything, it keeps both teams at home around the break, so I suppose that’s a good thing.”

The A’s still manage to surprise many observers by hanging around the American League Wild Card race, while the Giants continue their quest to try keeping its key players healthy while trying to a) salvage their season and b) decide on being buyers or sellers at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Oakland is faced with the same trade deadline decision. In recent years, the A’s have predictably been sellers. This year, speculation increases by the day that the Athletics may take the plunge and be buyers. Don’t bet on it, but the thought is intriguing.

The starting pitchers for Friday’s game couldn’t be more contrasting. Madison Bumgarner, despite the injuries that have plagued him the last couple of seasons, is still the ace of the Giants’ staff. Oakland counters with well-traveled Edwin Jackson, recently rescued from baseball’s scrap heap to not only play for his record-tying 13th team–he’s 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA.

A pitching duel ensued over the first three innings before San Francisco manufactured a run in the fourth, aided by a balk committed by Jackson. The A’s answered with a two-out solo home run by Chad Pinder to tie the game at 1-1.

As Bumgarner continued to mow down the A’s, San Francisco surged ahead 2-1 in the sixth on Buster Posey’s run-scoring single. But the Athletics weren’t quite finished.

Oakland loaded the bases and chased Bumgarner in the seventh. But Giants reliever Reyes Moranta retired Chad Pinder, Jonathan Lucroy and pinch-hitter Nick Martini in order to snuff out the rally. A defensive gem by Pablo Sandoval at third helped prevent further damage, when he snared Jonathan Lucroy’s sharp line drive.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Giants loaded the bases against the Oakland bullpen and capitalized with a two-RBI double by Steven Duggar to break the game open. When the dust settled, San Francisco batted around and took a 7-1 lead, which wound up as the final.

Fun stuff. And there’s five more of these. The winner gets a trophy.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Posey, Belt, and Crawford had All Star first half, but only Crawford will go

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael:

Michael goes over some of the Giants’ All-Star selections Buster Posey, who won’t be going due to his hip ailment. Posey hit .287, 81 hits, 5 home runs, and 28 RBIs. Posey will be resting the hip after Sunday’s game against the Oakland A’s as the All-Star break gives him four days to rest. Posey will be getting a cortisone shot for the hip after Sunday’s game.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford boasts .295 BA, 94 hits, 10 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a great first half asset and a key hitter in game-winning situations will be the lone Giant representing the Giants at the All-Star game.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt didn’t get that last minute push at the All-Star ballot box and didn’t make the All-Star team. Belt, who had a great first half, only to be interrupted by appendectomy surgery. Did his surgery slow down his chances at making the All-Star team?

The Giants host the hottest team in the big leagues, the Oakland A’s, tonight. Michael takes a look at how tough a customer the A’s will be in this series.

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

 

Giants and A’s prep for Battle of the Bay

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants and the A’s will see a lot of each other in this next week.

Both teams are enjoying seasons that have exceeded preseason expectations and both sport winning records heading into this weekend. This will be on a crash course right for each other for the next six regular-season games, with the annual All-Star Game sprinkled in between.

The Giants head into the Battle of the Bay with a bit of momentum on their side, which was especially needed after the thumping they took in Colorado a week ago, being swept in three games by the Rockies.

They have since turned it around, splitting a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals and then taking two of the three-game series with the Chicago Cubs, who disposed of them in the 2016 playoffs before going on to win the World Series.

The A’s, meanwhile, are riding a huge wave. They currently have a 53-41 mark after taking three out of a four-game series from the defending World Series champ Houston Astros and have won 19 of their past 24 games overall.

Madison Bumgarner (2-3) will take the hill for Friday’s opener against Oakland righty Edwin Jackson (1-0). Bumgarner has won two of his last three decisions and came out with a victory despite giving up four runs to the Cardinals in only 5 1/3 innings on Sunday.

Jackson won his only decision this year on June 30, when he surrendered only a pair of runs over 6 2/3 innings to the Cleveland Indians. He faced the Indians again on Saturday and surrendered three runs on five runs but ended up with a no-decision.

Jeff Samardzija (1-5) will try to turn his season around on Saturday when he takes the ball opposite Oakland’s Brett Anderson. Andrew Suarez (3-5) will look to continue his positive momentum on Sunday against A’s righty Sean Manaea (8-6), who has a no-hitter to his name this season.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Bay Bridge Series Set for Friday; Plus Other Rivalries

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Photo credit: @NBCSAuthentic

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The San Francisco Giants will host the Oakland Athletics on July 13, 14 and 15 as the A’s end their last road trip previous to the first half of the season.

After the All-Star break, both teams will play in their first series at the Oakland Coliseum. The two Bay Area franchises have celebrated anniversaries in 2018–the Giants’ 60 years playing in San Francisco since they moved from New York in 1958, and the A’s 50 years in Oakland since they moved from Kansas City, Mo., in 1968.

Today, it is called The Bay Bridge Series or the Battle of the Bay, but it was called the BART Series in the past.

The Oakland Coliseum and AT&T Park are separated by a bridge and a bay 16.2 miles apart. The only two cities in America that have two MLB teams within their city limits are New York and Chicago.

The Yankees vs. Mets rivalry is still going strong after they met for the first time 56 years ago. Back in 2000, these two New York teams were in the World Series. I remember the arguments in the streets of New York, where you have to pick one or the other–because in the Big Apple, you cannot be a fan of both the Mets and Yankees.

Anyways, the Cubs and White Sox both have long, storied histories and a rivalry that spans 100-plus years. It all started in the 1906 World Series when they first met, and the Cubs lost in six games.

There are other rivalries, but are much more geographically apart, and also in different cities like the LA Dodgers and LA Angels, Washington Nationals and Baltimore, and vice versa. Notice these are all American League vs. National League teams. There are others, but they are much far apart inside the same states, like, say, Kansas City Royals and St Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays, etc. It takes hours by land or minutes by air to commute to those series. Of these, the only rivalry with a head-to-head World Series history was in 1985 when the Royals defeated the Cardinals in seven games.

The A’s and Giants met in one World Series in 1989 when the A’s swept the Giants, despite the uncertainty after the Loma Prieta earthquake interrupted the rivalry with a 6.9 intensity prior to Game 3 at Candlestick Park.

For those who were there, that was one of the most unforgettable moments of our lives. Overall, the A’s have won four World Series during their 50-year history in Oakland, while the Giants have won three during their 60 years in San Francisco. Prior to the start of this 2018 season, the odds for these two teams to win the World Series this year where; 200-1 for the Giants and 300-1 for the A’s.

The Giants and A’s met for the first time in the regular season in June 1997 for their first year of inter-league play. For many years, they have played previous to the regular season, but those have been exhibition games as part of Spring Training.

The Giants and A’s will have something more to play for when the two teams meet this year in the Bay Bridge Series during the regular season–an 18-inch steel trophy salvaged from the original eastern span of the bridge. The first three games will be at AT&T Park on July 13, 14, and 15, and the last three at the Oakland Coliseum on July 20, 21, and 22.

Some folks describe the A’s as a small market team, yet they play in the same Bay Area with seven million people like the Giants, yet they do not call the Giants a small market team. It always makes me question their logic.

But, Louis D. Brandeis, an American lawyer and associate justice to the Supreme Court of the United States, once said, “The logic of words could yield to the logic of realities.” He was right. In other words, the reality is that the A’s are not a small market team, but they would be if they were still playing in Kansas City. That, my amigos, is a small market.

AT&T Park notes: First game(s) were played from April 11-13 vs. Dodgers, who swept the Giants. The last three games of 1999 and the final three in Candlestick Park history were also against the rival Dodgers.

It’s hard to believe it happened 18 years ago. I was there to call those games, including the first Splash Hit into McCovey Cove in right field by Barry Bonds on May 1, 2000. The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company paid $50 million for the naming rights for 24 years, so it has been known as the PAC Bell Park and SBC Park before ATT Park.

Also, if you take a closer look at the Willie Mays statue by the main entrance on 2nd and King, there are inaugural bricks of Giants’ broadcasters who were there for the inaugural season in 2000.

Mine read, “For those who could not leave Cuba and enjoy big league beisbol.”

ATT Brick - short.PNG

Play Ball!

Bye to Chi: Exhausting series with Cubs ends in the 13th inning with a Giants’ 5-4 win

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — For the second time in three days, the Giants emptied their tank–along with their bullpen–to get past the Cubs.

The 452nd pitch of the afternoon thrown by James Norwood was treated to Buster Posey’s classic inside out swing which sent the ball carooming off the padded advertisement at the base of the right field arcade, scoring Brandon Belt.

Posey’s signature All-Star moment ended four and half hours of baseball in the 13th inning with the Giants prevailing 5-4 at AT&T Park on Wednesday. And then it got Posey’s manager and teammates talking about the catcher’s grit and determination.

“For him to drive the ball like that with two strikes, that’s what’s impressive,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Posey’s final swing.

“For Buster to feel something the majority of the season, his hip, and still go out every day and hit the ball like he does, he’s just a different animal,” said Dereck Rodriguez, who as the son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, might understand what Posey deals with shouldering so much responsibility on daily basis despite the constant injuries and nicks earned behind the plate.

A different animal? Yeah, what else would explain catching 225 pitches over 13 innings, then delivering the game-winning hit on your seventh at-bat two days after announcing that an expedited, pain-relieving procedure is needed in a few days just for your season to continue after the All-Star break.

“He’s a future Hall of Famer,” Rodriguez said.

Posey, always in character and in a different tone than Rodriguez, wasn’t in need of All-Star treatment.

“Everybody’s got stuff they’re dealing with. I try not to make more of it than what it is,” Posey said.

Whether business or usual, or Herculean feat, Posey’s big hit kept the Giants trending in the right direction, moving within three games of the Diamondbacks in the NL West. Ultimately, being three games behind–and just three games over .500–won’t get the Giants much. But they continue to hang around, for 95 games now, just in case they’re capable of a whole lot more down the stretch of the season.

The Giants will kick off the Battle of the Bay versus the A’s on Friday night at 7:15 pm PDT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Holland and Quintana matched up well in Tuesday’s contest; Former Giants coach Flannery is Giant PA announcer for a day

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mercurynews.com file photo: San Francisco Giants PA announcer Tim Flannery took the day off from his work at NBC Bay Area TV to work for Renel the regular Giants PA announcer who took the day off to M.C. Mayor London Breed’s  inauguration at San Francisco City Hall

On the SF Giants podcast with Marko:

Addison Russell of the Chicago Cubs hit a double off San Francisco Giants’ starter Derek Holland. Holland was lifted after Russell’s hit. Giant reliever Sam Dyson threw a wild pitch that allowed Russell to score. For Holland, it was a hard fought loss. Holland went 6.1 innings, one run, five hits, no walks and eight strikeouts.

The Cubs are a tough customer and their starter Tuesday Jose Quintana went six innings, three hits, two walks, three strike outs, Quintana improves his record to 8-6. The Cubs will be starting Mike Montgomery (3-3) going against Giants’ Johnny Cueto (3-1).

Cueto struggled in his last outing, giving up a combined five runs in the first two inning of his last start last Thursday at AT&T Park against the St Louis Cardinals.

Giants’ side note: Former San Francisco Giants third base coach Tim Flannery was the P.A. announcer for Wednesday’s Giants vs. Cubs game. Flannery was on NBC Bay Area Sports sitting in the P.A. booth practicing reading his notes in his P.A. voice on the live broadcast before the ball game.

Renel, who is the Giants regular P.A. announcer, missed her first two Giants games as announcer when her mother passed away and when Renel had a broken leg she was replaced by USF announcer Joey Hallisy both times. Renel was the announcer at the ceremony for Mayor London Breed’s inauguration at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday. Renel will be back in the P.A. line up Friday when the Giants host the Oakland A’s.

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

 

Huge throwing error cost Giants in 2-0 shutout loss to Cubs

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — With the possibility of taking the series on the horizon, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy switched his rotation up and Derek Holland got the start.

Holland pitched well, but it was his double to Addison Russell that proved to what the Chicago Cubs.

Russell doubled off of Holland with one out in the top of the seventh inning, and that was the end of the line for Holland, who pitched a great game.

Sam Dyson uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Russell, and on the play, Nick Hundley’s throw went past Pablo Sandoval that allowed Russell to score and the Cubs defeated the Giants 2-0 before a crowd of 39,113 at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.

Dyson then walked Kyle Schwarber, but Hundley threw Schwarber out at second base for the second out of the inning. It looked like the Giants might get out of the jam, but Dyson walked Ian Happ and then Victor Cartini doubled to right field that allowed Happ to score from first base.

It was a hard-fought loss for Holland, who went 6.1 innings, allowing just one run on five hits, not walking a batter and striking out eight, as he saw his record fall to 5-8 on the season.

The eight strikeouts by Holland tied his season-high, as he also struck out eight on June 26 against the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 Giants victory.

The two-run seventh inning made a winner out of Jose Quintana, who went six innings, allowing just three hits, walking two and striking out three, as he improved to 8-6 on the season.

Double plays cost the Giants as well, as they hit into two inning-ending double plays that could have possibly given them the lead.

With runners on first and second with nobody out in the bottom of the third inning, Hundley grounded into the first Giants double play of the evening.

Gorkys Hernandez led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a walk, but was cut down at second base, when Andrew McCutchen grounded into a double play that ended that frame and the Cubs took the lead in the following inning.

Hernandez, who was retired on the McCutchen double play to end the bottom of the sixth inning was the Giants runner to reach base, as the Cubs bullpen trio of Carl Edwards, Justin Wilson and Steve Cishek retired the final nine Giants batters.

Ray Black made his second appearance on the mound for the Giants after an inauspicious major league debut, where he walked two and gave up a pinch-hit three-run home run to Matt Carpenter in the top of the eighth inning in the Giants’ 13-8 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.

Black struck out National League All-Star starting catcher Wilson Contreras to begin the inning for his first Major League strikeout. Russell then made it two strikeouts in a row, as he struck out for the second out of the inning. After falling behind Schwarber 3-1, Black regrouped to get Schwarber to pop out to Brandon Crawford for the third out of the inning.

Steve Cishek pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up his third save of the season, just one night after being the losing pitcher in a 2-1 Giants win in the opener of the three-game series.

Even though he committed the error that ultimately gave the Cubs the game, Hundley was able to throw two runners out at second base. Hundley got David Bote to end the top of the second inning, after Bote got the first hit of the game for the Cubs.

Hundley then got Schwarber just after he walked in the top of the seventh inning, where the Cubs scored all the only runs of the game.

Chase d’Arnaud made his first start as a Giant, and responded by getting a single in the bottom of the fifth inning.

NOTES: Johnny Cueto will take the mound on Wednesday afternoon, as the Giants look for the series win., while Mike Montgomery will take the hill for the Cubs.

Unless the two teams meet each other in the postseason, Wednesday afternoon will be the final time that the two teams will meet this season.

After not having a day off since June 25, the Giants will be off on Thursday before opening a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night at AT&T Park.

During the 16-game stretch with one game remaining before the day off, the Giants are 8-7, as they faced the Rockies twice, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cubs.

Joe Panik could be back in about three weeks, instead of close to six weeks that was originally stated.

“It’s getting batter, still a lot of season left and the team is playing well,” said Panik.

Evan Longoria is increasing his baseball activity, and should be back around the first week of August.

“All hands are on deck, (meaning starters) for guys who need a break out of the bullpen,” said Bruce Bochy.

This was the first time that the Giants were shutout at home this season, and the first time since September 16, 2017 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

UP NEXT: The Giants conclude their series with the Cubs Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 pm PDT.

Feature: He Was a Giant? Former Giant Bill Bordley (1980)

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Photo credit: alchetron.com

By: Tony The Tiger Hayes

HE WAS A GIANT?
BILL BORDLEY — LHP — 1980 — #34

It made national news in 1979 when the Giants won the rights to acquire this strapping, hard-throwing, uber blue-chipper out of USC. Bordley was viewed as a southpaw Tom Seaver with a brilliant college pedigree and a ceiling as high as the moon.

But like a lot of scenarios for the Giants in the early ’80s, Bordley turned out to be more Fools Gold than a Golden Ticket.

Despite all the fanfare he arrived with, Bordley ended pitching in just eight games for the Orange and Black and never made it back to the majors.

Why was he a Giant?
Before the secondary phase of the ’79 draft, Bordley–who had a family medical hardship–stated a desire to play on the West Coast. Cincinnati drafted him anyways. After some legal posturing, Bordley was eventually released from the Reds’ grips and the names of five teams that fit the pitcher’s criteria were dropped in a hat. The Giants won.

Before and after
Bordley was a super star all the way up to joining the Giants. At Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, the southpaw set school records across the board, leading to a scholarship to USC. Once there He set the college freshman strikeout high watermark – a record that stood until Tim Lincecum broke it in 2004. After two seasons as a Trojan, Bordley’s record stood at 26-2 and led USC to the 1978 College World Series title.

Bordley was signed to a Major League contract and fast tracked through the minors. Within a year he was with the Giants. Two years and two elbow surgeries later, he was out of pro ball.

Bordley went back to USC earned a degree in finance and then began a career with the Secret Service. He was on President Bill Clinton’s detail for several years and was called upon to testify in the Monica Lewinsky mess.

Eventually, Bordley made it back to the big leagues and is now MLB’s Vice President for security.

He was no Tom Seaver. But…
He beat Tom Seaver. In his Giants debut, Bordley out-dueled the Hall of Famer, allowing three runs over six innings in an 8-4 win over the Reds at Candlestick Park (6/30/80). He also collected his lone big league hit that day off Tom Terrific.

Giants’ footprint
As a baseball security chief, Bordley is not only in charge of keeping every MLB player safe from harms way but also every fan, he has visited AT&T Park several times during his time with the commissioner’s office.

Tony The Tiger Hayes does Giants features for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Posey to sit out All-Star game to rest hip will get cortisone Sun ; Can A’s win a series in Houston?

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mercurynews.com file photo: Giants catcher Buster Posey slides in file photo will be out of the All Star game to rest hip and get a cortisone shot after Sunday’s game

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

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey announced before Monday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs at AT&T Park in San Francisco that he will sit out next week’s All-Star game to rest his hip. The St. Louis Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina will be the National League’s signal-caller in place of Posey.

For the A’s-Astros series in Houston, the question is can the A’s break the spell and win a series at Minute Maid Field? The A’s have played some great ball of late with key hitting and great closer help from Blake Treinen, who has 22 saves, just might make a series out of it.

The Chicago White Sox’s Jose Abreu could be joining the Astros during this current Astros homestand. Abreu for the season is hitting .259 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs. It would be ironic if he could join the Astros during this series against the A’s.

The Arizona Diamondbacks had an executive from the club scouting at Comerica Park last Sunday to watch pitcher Michael Fulmer 3-8 ERA 4.11. Last Sunday, Fulmer delivered seven strong innings. The Diamondbacks are looking to get some help in their quest to hold onto first place and the postseason and Fulmer is someone they feel that can help the club.

On Monday, there were possible trade possibilities between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles. The Brewers were very interested in obtaining Manny Machado’s services and sending Brett Phillips to the O’s. Phillips had a great minor league season last year, hitting .317; but has struggled in the Brewers’ triple-A system this year. The Yankees have also expressed interest in Machado, which actually is a very likely scenario for Machado.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio play-by-play talent and goes through all the trade rumors and All-Star break news at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Playoff Atmosphere: Giants show well in 2-1, extra innings win over the Cubs

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Monday night’s tense, playoff-like meeting of the Cubs and Giants needed a hero. In the 11th inning, Pablo Sandoval emerged as that guy.

One day after Sandoval came up with five RBIs in the Giants’ 13-8 win over the Cardinals, the Panda delivered the game-winning hit against the Cubs. Never an insignificant feat, Sandoval gained difficulty points by delivering against a five-man infield while facing formidable reliever Pedro Strop.

“You can’t let that affect your at-bat, and I don’t think it affected Pablo at all,” said manager Bruce Bochy of the crowded infield and Sandoval’s cold-blooded approach.

When Sandoval delivered the two teams had been locked into a 1-1 duel for nearly six innings. While the Giants realized more run scoring opportunities, the Cubs and manager Joe Maddon had answers with starter Kyle Hendricks, who pitched into the ninth, and relievers Randy Rosario and Steve Cishek.

In the tenth inning, Cishek extricated the Cubs from a one-out, runner at third situation by striking out inexperienced hitters Chase d’Arnaud and Steven Duggar. That stranded would-be hero Hunter Pence, who tripled to put the Giants in position, prompting Maddon to move versatile outfielder Ben Zobrist to the infield the first time.

One inning later, the Giants were in the advantageous spot with Strop summoned to face the more dangerous Sandoval, after the Cubs elected to walk All-Star Brandon Crawford ahead of him.

“He’s our best hitter right now,” Sandoval said of Crawford. “I just dropped everything from my mind. I got the opportunity and I took advantage of it.”

Starter Andrew Suarez impressed again by allowing one run on three hits in six innings of work. Suarez struggled with his command, walking four, but got big outs when needed.

Five Giants relievers would follow Suarez, each pitching an inning without falling into stressful situations. Of the five, only closer Will Smith allowed a hit, Zobrist’s two-out double in the ninth. Smith recovered by retiring David Bote to end the inning.

The Giants improved to 3-2 on their lengthy, 10-game homestand, and moved within three games of the idle, first-place Arizona.