Category: San Francisco Giants

Chris Sale shuts down Giants’ offense as Braves win middle game 3-1

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Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale pitches against the San Francisco Giants line up in the top of the first inning at Truist Field in Atlanta on Wed Jul 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Truist Park

Cumberland, Georgia

San Francisco Giants 1 (42-45)

Atlanta Braves 3 (47-37)

Win: Chris Sale (11-3)

Loss: Jordan Hicks (4-5)

Save: Raisel Iglesias (21)

Time: 2:27

Attendance: 38,834

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants’ offense was shut down and limited to just a run by Chris Sale and the strong Braves’ bullpen, as the Braves won the second game of this series 3-1 on another warm and muggy night in Cobb County.

Following a 5-2 homestand for the Giants, which was capped off by a series win against the Dodgers over the weekend, the Giants opened up this challenging road trip with a 5-3 win over the Braves last night. Wednesday night, the two teams would be right back at it at Truist Park.

Veteran all-star left-hander Chris Sale took the ball for Atlanta. Sale, a seven-time all-star, still has it at the age of 35. He came into Wednesday night 10-3 with a 2.70 ERA in his 14th major league season. Sale has done and seen it all, too. He’s gone to seven all-star games, cut the sleeves off jerseys he didn’t like and closed out the Red Sox World Series win over the Dodgers in 2018.

Sale promptly began the night with a 1-2-3 top of the first inning. Jordan Hicks, who has had quite an impressive first season as a starter, took the mound for the Giants in the bottom of the first. Hicks got off to a great start back in April, but he has struggled as of late, giving up a combined eight runs in his last two starts.

Wednesday night, Hicks would have to neutralize a powerful Braves’ offense in a live Truist Park. His night started off nicely with a scoreless inning in the bottom of the first.

Matt Chapman walked to start the top of the second, but Sale then retired the side in order. Austin Riley singled off Hicks to lead off the bottom of the second, and veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud singled Riley over to second base. That brought up Adam Duvall, who put the Braves on the board with a double to left field.

The Braves had a 1-0 lead, and a chance to quickly add on to it with runners at second and third and still nobody out. Bob Melvin had the infield come in, and it paid dividends, as Forrest Wall and Zack Short both grounded out and weren’t able to get d’Arnaud in from third. Jarred Kelenic struck out swinging, and Hicks escaped any further damage.

Hicks was able to keep the deficit to 1-0, but the Giants went down 1-2-3 in the top of the third. Hicks then settled down to throw a scoreless bottom of the third.

Sale pitched another scoreless inning in the top of the fourth. Wall walked with two outs in the bottom of the fourth and stole third, but Short lined out to Austin Slater in right to end the inning.

The score stayed 1-0 going to the fifth. David Villar and Nick Ahmed both struck out swinging for the first two outs of the top of the fifth, but just as Giants TV broadcasters Dave Flemming and Javier Lopez made note of the Giants being no-hit, Curt Casali singled to right-center to indeed get the Giants their first hit. However, the Giants wouldn’t be able to further make anything of it.

Hicks, meanwhile, retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of the fifth, but Marcell Ozuna lined an opposite-field base-hit to right, and Matt Olsen lined a single up the middle to center to put runners at first and second with two outs. Riley then came to the plate, and he doubled to right to score both runners and expand the Braves’ lead to 3-0.

d’Arnaud came up, and he lined a base-hit the other way to right. Braves Third Base Coach Matt Tuiasosopo waved Riley in from third, and the throw from Slater in right was right on the money, but Riley was called safe by Home Plate Umpire Ryan Additon.

The Giants challenged the play, and while we didn’t see it on the telecast, the umpires in the Major League Baseball Command Center in New York saw Casali tag Riley on the helmet before his hand touched home plate. The call was overturned, the scored stayed 3-0 Braves going to the sixth.

Perhaps, it would be a change in the fortunes for the Giants. The now-red-hot Jorge Soler led off the top of the sixth with a double to right. Soler moved over to third when Slater grounded out back to Sale for the first out of the inning. Heliot Ramos struck out looking, but Matt Chapman doubled to left to put the Giants on the board.

Former Brave Luke Jackson, who was part of the Braves’ Night Shift Bullpen when they won the World Series in 2021, came in for the Giants in the bottom of the sixth. An infield hit by Dovall, and a throwing error by Jackson on a chopper back to the mound by Wall put runners at the corners for Atlanta with nobody out.

Just as Hicks had to work out of a runner-at-third, no-one out jam in the bottom of the second, Jackson would have to pull off that same Houdini act in the bottom of the sixth. Jackson was given some help when Wall was caught trying to steal second.

With a drawn-in infield, Duvall was thrown out at home for the second out when Short reached on a fielder’s choice to short. Kelenic then struck out swinging to end the inning, and Jackson was able to keep the deficit at two going to the seventh.

Sale was done after giving up just a run and three hits while striking out nine over six innings A.J. Minter then came in for Atlanta and threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh, and Sean Hjelle did the same for the Giants in the bottom of the seventh.

Joe Jimenez pitched a 1-2-3 top of the eighth for the Braves, and Hjelle came back out for his second inning of work to throw a scoreless inning in the bottom of the eighth. Matt Chapman singled off Braves’ closer Raisel Iglesias with one out in the top of the ninth, but Iglasias pitched a scoreless inning, regardless, to close out the Braves’ 3-1 win.

Plain and simply, the Giants were limited to only one run, because they ran into some really good pitching tonight. You can’t blame the offense for this one.

Chris Sale got the win; Jordan Hicks took the loss; and Raisel Iglesias picked up the save. The Giants fall to 42-45, and they will have another chance to take the series in the rubber match Thursday night.

Giants’ ace Logan Webb (6-6, 3.12 ERA) will take the mound Thursday night, and he will be opposed by the longtime veteran, Charlie Morton (5-4, 3.89 ERA). First pitch will be at 7:20 p.m. in Cobb County, and another stoner-friendly 4:20 p.m. start for Giants’ fans who want to get high back home in San Francisco.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Braves Sale picks up league leading 11th win defeat Giants 3-1

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Atlanta Braves starter Chris Sale delivers to the San Francisco Giants line up in the top of the first inning at Truist Field in Atlanta on Wed Jul 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 The Atlanta Braves Chris Sale allowed only three runs in six innings of work picking up his 11th win of the season as the Braves evened the three game series with the San Francisco Giants at 1-1 with two run 3-1 win at Truist Field on Wednesday night.

#2 Morris with the win Sale moved into a tie with the Kansas City Royals Seth Lugo for the most wins with 11. Sale in 2018 had a win total of 12-4.

#3 The Giants had a tough time trying to solve Sale who held them to four hits with the help of four relievers.

#4 Giants starter Jordan Hicks threw a good ball game Wednesday night but the team absolved the loss. Hicks went five inning, allowed eight hits, three earned runs, and struck out six. Well pitched game but tough game to lose.

#5 Giants try it again they’ll start RHP Logan Webb 6-6 ERA 3.12) and for the Braves RHP Charlie Morton (5-4, ERA 3.89) first pitch 4:20pm PT Thursday night at Truist Park in Cobb County.

Morris Phillips is a podcast contributor for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants start tough road trip with 5-3 win over Braves in Cobb County

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Jorge Soler provides some power for the San Francisco Giants belting a top of the fifth inning home run against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Field in Cobb County GA on Tue Jul 2, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Truist Park

Cumberland, Georgia

San Francisco Giants 5 (42-44)

Atlanta Braves 3 (46-37)

Win: Hayden Birdsong (1-0)

Loss: Dylan Lee (2-2)

Save: Camilo Doval (15)

Time: 2:45

Attendance: 34,047

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants got off to a strong and impressive start in their tough six-game road trip, as they came into Cobb County tonight to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3.

The Giants were coming off a 5-2 homestand, which they closed out by taking two of three from the Dodgers over the weekend. After a brutal 11-inning 14-7 loss to their hated rivals on Saturday, the Giants took it to the Dodgers with a 10-4 win on Sunday.

Now, they were back on the road in the hot and muggy confines of Truist Park in Cobb County, Georgia, just 11 miles northwest of Atlanta, to take on the Atlanta Braves. Tuesday night, the Giants’ offense, which has been swinging the bats much better over the last two weeks, would face a major challenge in the MLB ERA leader, Reynaldo Lopez.

Lopez pitched a scoreless top of the first inning, and Hayden Birdsong, who was making his second big league start, threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the first for the Giants.

Michael Conforto drew a one-out walk in the top of the second, and Mike Yastrzemski, in his first at-bat back from the Injured List, singled to right-field to move Conforto to second base with two outs. The Giants had an chance to strike early against the dominant Reyes, but Nick Ahmed flew out to left to end the inning.

Austin Riley hit an absolute bomb to the second deck out to left with one out in the bottom of the second, and Sean Murphy made it back-to-back with a bomb to left-center. Former Giant Adam Duvall nearly made it back-to-back with a double off the top of the wall in left-center, but Birdsong was able to escape further damage without Duvall scoring.

The Braves had a 2-0 lead with one of the best pitchers in Baseball this season on the mound going to the third. However, Truist Park is one of the most live ballparks in Baseball, and the Giants were not going to make things easy for Reyes.

Heliot Ramos and Patrick Bailey drew two-out walks in the top of the third, and Matt Chapman hit a shot out into the gap in right-center, but center-fielder Jarred Kelenic robbed Chapman with a running catch to end the inning. It was already the second time Tuesday night that Kelenic had robbed Chapman of a base-hit, as he also did so to Chapman his first time up in the second.

Birdsong settled back down with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third, and both pitchers pitched scoreless innings in the fourth. While the Giants had yet to get on the board, they were getting a lot of pitches out of Reyes.

The red-hot Jorge Soler led off the top of the fifth with a low-hanging home run to left to put the Giants on the board, and LaMonte Wade immediately followed it up with a home run to right-center to tie it. Ramos struck out swinging, but with the fact that Reyes had thrown 101 pitches, his night was over after just four and a third innings.

Duvall led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk, and Forrest Wall immediately followed it up with a bunt single to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Zack Short laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over to second and third, and Birdsong would have to bear down, which is exactly what he did.

Birdsong struck out Kelenic for the second out, and Ozzie Albies flew out off the end of the bat to left field to end the inning. Birdsong got out of it without any damage to finish his night, and the game remained tied going to the sixth.

Birdsong gave up two hits and four runs over five innings. It was a solid outing, but against a powerful offense in a live ballpark in his second-career start, it was quite impressive.

Left-hander Dylan Lee, who finished the top of the fifth, was back out for the sixth. Michael Conforto greeted him with a double to start the inning, and Brett Wisley sacrificed Conforto over to third. Bob Melvin had the right-handed-hitting Luis Matos pinch-hit for Yastrzemski, and Braves Manager Brian Snitker countered by bringing in former Giant Pierce Johnson.

Snicker had the infield play in with the go-ahead run at third. Matos hit a bullet to third that went off the glove of Braves’ third-baseman Austin Riley, which allowed Conforto to score and give the Giants their first lead of the night.

Something quite incredible also happened on this play. Riley was given an error, which has for probably obvious reasons, has become a very rare thing here in 2024.

Randy Rodriguez came in for San Francisco in the bottom of the sixth, and with his parents in the stands to watch him pitch in a big league game for the first time in his career, he threw a 1-2-3 inning. Nick Ahmed helped with a nice play to rob Marcell Ozuna of a hit to start the inning, so Rodriguez owes him one for that.

The Giants had runners at first and second off Johnson with one out in the top of the seventh, but Chapman grounded into a double play to end the inning. Ryan Walker came in for Rodriguez, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh.

Left-hander Aaron Bummer was the new pitcher for Atlanta in the top of the eighth, and Wisely lined a one-out double off the end of the bat to left. Matos lined a base-hit to left to move Wisely over to third, and Snitker brought in the 40-year old vet, Jesse Chavez to face Ahmed. Ahmed then got Wisely in with a sacrifice fly to left to make it 4-2.

The normally-reliable submariner, Tyler Rogers, ran into trouble in the bottom of the eighth. Kelenic lined a double off the wall down the right field line with one out, and Albies singled on a chopper up the middle and over the mound into center field to score Kelenic and make it 4-3.

Albies stole second to put the tying run in scoring position when Ozuna struck out for the second out, and Matt Olson grounded out to second to end the inning, which kept the Giants’ lead intact going to the ninth.

Chavez, who made his major league debut all the way back in 2008 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, would be back out for the top of the ninth. The Giants got their run back when Ramos hit an opposite-field home run to right with one out.

It was another two-hit night for Ramos, who has made adjustments after pitchers started to figure him out. Ramos has bumped his average back up to .298, and it is now legitimate to talk about him potentially going to the All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas two weeks from Tuesday night.

It was 5-3 Giants going to the bottom of the ninth, and Melvin of course brought in his closer, Camilo Doval. While Doval blew the save against the Dodgers Friday night, he has been pitching much better his last few times out.

Austin Riley led off the bottom of the ninth and hit a line-drive out to left-center, but center-fielder Heliot Ramos ran to his left and made a tumbling catch to rob Riley of a hit. Doval then struck Sean Murphy and Duvall both out swinging to end it, as the Giants won the series opener 5-3.

For Giants’ starter Hayden Birdsong, he gets his first big league win. Good going, kid! Dylan Lee takes the loss, and Camilo Doval picks up his 15th save.

In addition to Heliot Ramos’ two-hit night, Mike Yastrzemski also picked up a pair of hits in his return for the IL. It would have been more had Bob Melvin not pinch-hit Luis Matos, but it was a move that very much paid off.

The Giants have now won six of their last eight, as they get back up to two games under .500 at 42-44.

The Giants can make it three-straight in the second game of this series Wednesday night. Jordan Hicks (4-4, 3.36 ERA) will take the ball for San Francisco, and he will be opposed by the veteran all-star left-hander, Chris Sale (10-3, 2.79 ERA). First pitch will be at 7:20 p.m. in Cobb County, 4:20 p.m. back home in San Francisco.

Giants News and Notes:

With Yastrzemski’s return from the Injured left, right-handed pitcher Landen Roupp, who had been called up prior to Sunday’s game against the Dodgers, was sent back down to Triple-A Sacramento.

The Giants claimed left-handed pitcher Kolton Ingram off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. Ingram will report to the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants come off successful series with Dodgers; SF opens 3 games with Atlanta Tuesday

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Hit Parade: San Francisco Giants line up to congratulate each other at Oracle Park after taking two out of three games from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sun Jun 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman led the way with his 11th home run of the season, Chapman has now hit safely in each game of the seven game homestand.

#2 The Giants came out big slugging ten doubles against the Los Angeles Dodgers in their six run win at Oracle Park 10-4. They no doubt got some run production.

#3 The Giants 10-4 win on Sunday helped set a Giants record of the most runs against the Dodgers in Oracle Park history with 21.

#4 Giants RHP Spencer Bivens who pitched five innings, allowed four hits, one earned run, and struck three helped keep the Dodgers runs down. Bivens got help from three relievers in the win. Bivens improves his record to 2-1.

#5 The Giants move onto Atlanta on Tuesday after taking a day off on Monday. The Giants will start RHP Hayden Birdsong (0-0, ERA 5.79) and the RHP for the Atlanta Braves Reynaldo Lopez (6-2, ERA 1.70) a 4:20pm PT first pitch.

Join Marko for the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants bats swinging with 10 doubles, Chapman goes yard; SF clobbers LA 10-4 at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman connects for a two run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sun Jun 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, June 30, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Los Angeles Dodgers 4 (52-33)

San Francisco Giants 10 (41-44)

Win: Spencer Bivens (2-1)

Loss: James Paxton (7-2)

Time: 2:27

Attendance: 40,428

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants made a statement today following a tough reality check loss last night, as they annihilated the Dodgers in a huge 10-4 win to take the series from their hated rivals.

Brett Wisely walked off the Dodgers with a two-run home run to end Friday night’s thriller, and then the Dodgers pounded a tired Sean Hjelle for seven runs in the top of the 11th inning Saturday to even the series. Sunday, the Giants looked to take the series on another beautiful day for baseball at Oracle Park.

It appeared that today was going to be another bullpen day for the Giants, but Bob Melvin decided to go to Spencer Bivens for his first major league start. Bivens started the day with a 1-2-3 top of the first inning.

The Dodgers went to left-hander James Paxton. For the second game in a row, Jorge Soler led off the bottom of the first inning with a double down the left field line. Austin Slater walked, and Heliot Ramos lined a base-hit the other way to right field to load the bases with nobody out.

However, Patrick Bailey did exactly what he did with the bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth inning Sunday, and struck out. Matt Chapman knocked in Soler with a sacrifice fly to left, but Luis Matos popped out, and the Giants were only able to get a run out of it.

Bivens threw another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, and David Villar and Nick Ahmed started the bottom of the second with base-hits.

Tyler Fitzgerald lined a base-hit off the end of the bat down the right field line, and the bases were going to be loaded. However, Third Base Coach Matt Williams held Villar up at third base after he had already rounded the bag, and Ahmed, who was almost half-way to third was thrown out when he tried to get back to second.

Soler lined a double off the wall in center to score Villar, and Austin Slater knocked in Fitzgerald with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 3-0. However, with the wasted opportunity in the bottom of the first, and the snafu with Williams, Villar and Ahmed, the Giants should have had a bigger lead.

Bivens pitched a scoreless top of the third, and Luis Matos hit a two-out double in the bottom of the third, but got to third on an error by Dodgers’ left-fielder Teoscar Hernandez. Villar doubled the other way to right to make it 4-0, and the Giants had scored in each of the first three innings.

The Giants would finally get a bigger lead in the bottom of the fourth. In fact, it would be a much bigger lead. Fitzgerald grounded a single to left to start the inning, and Soler drew a walk to put runners at first and second with nobody out.

Austin Slater flew out to center, but Ramos hit a double out to the gap in right-center to score Fitzgerald and make it 5-0. Bailey then came through with a two-run double to left to open the lead to 7-0.

That brought up Matt Chapman, who put his stamp on the rally with a two-run home run to left to make it 9-0. The Giants scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth, and they got to James Paxton, who had only lost one game all season coming into Sunday for nine runs over four innings.

Chris Taylor put the Dodgers on the board with a solo home run to straightaway center to make it 9-1. Bivens then gave up a base-hit to Kiké Hernandez, but he struck out Ohtani to end the inning, and let out some emotion on his way off the field.

“[We] just tr[ied] to hit low line drives,” said Manager Bob Melvin. “[Paxton] manages the top of the zone pretty good. [We] tr[ied] to stay off that pitch up there, and to that, a lot of times, you want to stay on top of the ball.”

Bivens was not supposed to go any more than four innings, but Melvin let him back out for the fifth, and he gave the Giants five strong innings when his team needed it the most.

“To go five innings, and strike out Ohtani to get the win, pretty special day for him,” said Melvin. “I think everybody got goosebumps on that one.”

“The first-career start, I’ve been waiting my whole life for that,” said Bivens. It was really special to be able to help the team win…..Whatever they have me do, I’ll do it. [I’m] just happy I was able to help them out.”

“He’s got a much better pitch mix now with the changeup,” Melvin added. “To let him go through Ohtani three times, we have a lot of faith in him. Two times tops [was] what I was looking at, but [we] wanted to get him the win out there…..After a couple of outings, he’s got control of his emotions. We leaned on him today pretty hard, so he’s rewarding us almost every time he goes out there.”

Michael Peterson pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth and a scoreless bottom of the sixth for the Dodgers. Taylor Rogers pitched a 1-2-3 top of the sixth for the Giants, but the Dodgers got to Landen Roupp, who was called up prior to the game, for a run in the top of the seventh.

Yohan Ramirez pitched through some trouble in the bottom of the seventh for the Dodgers, and Roupp pitched a scoreless top of the eighth for the Giants. Evan Phillips came in for Los Angeles in the bottom of the eighth, and with one out, Ramos was hit on the hand by a 96-MPH sinker from Phillips that he swung at for a painful strike.

Ramos appeared to be a bit dinged up, as Melvin and the trainer came out to check on Ramos, but he stayed in, and ended up lining a double down the right field line for his third hit of the game. Bailey then hit a ground-rule double to right-center to knock in Ramos and make it 10-2.

Ramos had cooled off over the last couple of weeks, as the league has begun to figure him out. However, he is making his counter adjustment, and he is showing the poise of a true major leaguer.

Melvin had Roupp go back out for his third inning in the top of the ninth, but after Roupp retired the first two men he faced, Chros Taylor walked, and Kiké Hernandez singled to left.

The Dodgers were not going to make it easy for the Giants to win the series. Melvin brought in Tyler Rogers, who was not available last night, and was now pitching for the fourth time in the Giants’ last six games. Austin Barnes doubled to right to knock in a pair and make it 10-4, but Rogers struck out Ohtani swinging to end the game.

Spencer Bivens got the win, and James Paxton took just his second loss of the season.

In addition to Ramos’ three hit game, Soler, Bailey, Villar, Ahmed and Fitzgerald all had two-hit games, every single Giants’ starting position player got a hit Sunday.

The Giants, just as they have all season, went out and responded to a tough loss with an offensive explosion and a big win.

“We’re resilient,” said Melvin. “After tough losses, we come out and do stuff like that, it seems, almost every time.”

“We’re in a tough position right now,” Melvin continued. “We have to start winning series. We gotta roll some games together leading up to the [All-Star] Break, and this was a good start in what is a tough stretch right now.”

The Giants improve to 41-44, and they will head back out on the road for a six-game road trip through Atlanta and Cleveland against two more strong teams. After a day off Monday, the Giants will begin a three-game series Tuesday night at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta, against the Atlanta Braves.

Hayden Birdsong (0-0, 5.79), who gave up three runs in four and two thirds innings against the Chicago Cubs in his major league debut on Wednesday, will take the ball for the Giants on Tuesday, He will be opposed by Reynaldo Lopez (6-2, 1.70 ERA). First pitch will be at 7:20 p.m. at Truist Park, 4:20 p.m. back home in San Francisco.

Giants News and Notes:

Right-handed pitcher Landen Roupp was called up prior to Sunday’s game, as mentioned in the recap. The Giants designated right-handed pitcher Spencer Howard for assignment as the corresponding roster move

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Giants recover Sunday after Dodgers comeback Saturday

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Sean Hjelle got lit up in the top of the 11th inning for six runs by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Jun 29, 2024 (McCovey Chronicle file photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen:

#1 Stephen, the Giants coughed up a lot of runs in the top of the 11th inning against the Dodgers on Saturday night at Oracle Park no doubt it was a breakdown in Sean Hjelle’s effort in trying to close the door.

#2 The Dodgers Will Smith got a hit that knocked in two runs that help start the 11th inning rally and the difference was seven runs as the Giants would lose by a touchdown 14-7.

#3 Hjelle was hit hard in the 11th after Shohei Ohtani was walked Smith got a two run double and the Dodgers put together five hits in row for the win in extra innings.

#4 It was a tight close game until the 11th inning arrived and took the Giants out of it for good. Talk about how close this one was until the 11th inning.

#5 Ohtani always a threat and a concern comes into today’s game as the lead off hitter with a .321 average, 26 home runs and 62 RBIs. One thing he’s understated about he can steal bases he has 16 and has been caught only twice.

Stephen Ruderman is a MLB podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Bruce Magowan: Interviews and meeting with Mays and Cepeda experiences

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Bruce shared many memories of his experiences with Orlando Cepeda (left) and Willie Mays (right) interviewing and speaking with them (photo from facebook.com)

San Francisco Giants podcast with Bruce Magowan:

#1 Bruce, we didn’t get to talk to you about the passing of two Giants legends this month of June and that of Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda. What did each of these players mean to the Giants and their history.

#2 Giants manager Bob Melvin called the passing of Mays and Cepeda a gut punch and it’s puts a big hole in the Giants history with the passing of these two Hall of Famers.

#3 Mays passing just two days before the Rickwood game in Birmingham that paid tribute to him and the Negro Leagues something no doubt that Mays would have liked to have attended.

#4 Orlando had those two memorable seasons with the St Louis Cardinals in 1967 and 1968 as their first baseman and leading the Cards to the World Series in each of those years.

#5 On a personal note for you Bruce can you recall any great stories or memories you’ve had with with either Orlando or Willie?

Bruce Magowan is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O: Cepeda the second of Giants Heroes to pass in June; Gallen back in D-Backs rotation; plus more

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No Bull, Orlando Cepeda was one of the best he shined when playing for the St Louis Cardinals in the 1967 and 1968 seasons leading them to the World Series in each of those years. Here is Cepeda taking in a slide scoring on the New York Mets catcher JC Martin at Shea Stadium in 1968. (AP file photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Orlando Cepeda the St Louis Cardinals first baseman who went to the World Series as their starting first baseman for the 1967 and 1968 seasons. Cepeda won the National League MVP in 1967 passed away on Friday night at age 86. Cepeda was a longtime San Francisco Giant before going to the Cards after the 1966 season.

#2 San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin called Cepeda’s passing a gut punch as his passing is the second Giants Hall of Famer to go as the legendary Giants outfielder Willie Mays passed away on Tue June 18, 2024. It’s been a very rough month for the Giants Hall of Famers and fans.

#3 The Arizona Diamondbacks Zac Gallen has returned to the pitching rotation he started Saturday’s game against the Oakland A’s at Chase Field. Gallen a right hander faced only one batter in his last outing on May 30th. Gallen had a left hamstring strain where he was placed on the IL.

#4 The A’s opened up their three game series on Friday with a win that snapped a long 11 game road losing streak and ended their six game skid. Defeating the Diamondbacks at Chase Field 9-4. It’s been a long tough road but the A’s figured it out on Friday night.

#5 Los Angeles Dodgers bat boy Javier Herrera snared a line drive foul ball that was headed into the Dodger dugout and could have take out Shohei Ohtani but Herrera’s quick thinking and fast hands caught the drive barehanded avoiding hitting Ohtani who just so happened to be right behind Herrera. Ohtani said of the line drive catch and Herrera “my hero.”

Join Charlie O for Headline Sports podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Adiós Cha Cha Cepeda, Descansa en Paz, RIP

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Flashback: Hall of Fame acknowledgement for Orlando Cepeda in 1999 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. From left to right: Lon Simmons Giants broadcaster (seated), Amaury Pi Gonzalez Giants Spanish broadcaster, Giants manager Dusty Baker, Orlando Cepeda Hall of Famer, and Giants managing partner Peter Macgowan (seated) (photo furnished by Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

Adios Cha Cha Cepeda, Descansa en Paz, RIP

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Ten days after Willie (“The Say Hey Kid”), Mays left us, Adiós today to Cha Cha. Rest in peace. Orlando Cepeda passed on June 28, 2024, at 86, in the Hall of Fame, elected by the Veterans Committee. He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico; the first baseman played for 17 seasons in the major leagues, and ended with a .297 average, 379 Homeruns, hit over .300 nine times in his career, a six-time All-Star who in 1958, won the National League, Rookie of the Year honors, was the 1966 Comeback Player of the Year Award, the 1967 Most Valuable Player in the National League, and 1973, at the end of his career won the DH of the Year Award.

Orlando’s debut was in 1958 with the San Francisco Giants, where he played most of his 17 seasons. He also played in St. Louis, Atlanta, Oakland, and Boston, and his last season with the Kansas City Royals was in 1974. A power hitter from Puerto Rico, Orlando made his debut in the majors just three years after his compatriot Roberto Clemente, who in 1955 was a rookie with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

I had the chance to speak with Orlando on many occasions, just talking baseball with him in Spanish and all the great memories of his days as a player that he shares with yours truly, the years when he (like many African-American and Latino players) were discriminated in the minor leagues and later here in the big show.

His telephone at home had a recording with Salsa music in the background. He once told me he would be either a musician or a ballplayer. He shared a great love for Latin music and always had a smile when we spoke about that topic.

Many times, either at Candlestick or later after 2000 at what is today Oracle Park, Orlando will come to the Spanish broadcast booth to join me as he enjoyed doing commentary. He was not part of the broadcast team, but it was an honor for us to welcome him, his experience, knowledge, and stories of his great career.

In February 2018, after a fall, he suffered a cardiac episode, a head injury, and a stroke after falling in a parking lot. Orlando Cepeda’s father was one of the most famous baseball players in Puerto Rico. Nicknamed Perucho was a solid professional baseball player in the “Isla del Encanto” trans “Island of the Charm.”

Orlando told me his dad could have played in the major leagues, but he did not want to suffer the discrimination that Hispanic players were subjected to. His father’s full name was Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes.

In 1998, through Orlando Cepeda, I met Garbiel (Tito) Avila Jr, who had the idea of starting a Hispanic Baseball Museum in the United States. I joined Avila Jr and, with him, co-founded the museum, which is still going strong after 25 years of traveling across the country.

In 2002, Orlando Cepeda was inducted into The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame (hhbmhof.com). Orlando shared their passion for the game as he was part of the HHBM during many of our public events and always hopes that we will have the permanent site for the Museum near the San Francisco Giants Park.

As a fan I always remember Orlando Cepeda aka The Baby Bull for his pure power at the plate; he hit a lot to centerfield and had power to spare.

Que en Paz Descanse una de las leyendas de Latinoamerica, el gran Boricua Orlando Cepeda.

Adiós Cha Cha Cepeda, Descansa en Paz, RIP.

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

Dodgers open up the floodgates with seven run 11th inning beat Giants 14-7

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Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) joins the chorus of teammates with manager Dave Roberts left and to the back concluding Sat Jun 29, 2024’s contest against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

Saturday, June 29, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Los Angeles Dodgers 14 (52-32)

San Francisco Giants 7 (40-44)

Win: Daniel Hudson (5-1)

Loss: Sean Hjelle (3-2)

Time: 3:45

Attendance: 39,663

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–After a tight and hard-fought seesaw game through 10 innings, the Dodgers exploded for seven runs in the top of the 11th inning to beat the Giants 14-7.

After Brett Wisely hit a walk-off home run to cap off a thrilling 5-3 Giants’ win over their hated rivals last night, the Giants and Dodgers were set to go at it again today in a nationally-televised late-afternoon affair at Oracle Park.

Without a single cloud in the sky, the 4:15 p.m. start time meant there would be a lot of shadows, which would make it a very hard day for hitting.

It would be yet another bullpen game for Bob Melvin’s beat-up pitching staff. Erik Miller would be the opener, and as the Giants took the field, he ran in from the bullpen in left-center field. Hey, he’s a reliever, and the man has his routine. Anyway, Miller started off the day with a 1-2-3 top of the first inning.

Tyler Glasnow made the start for the Dodgers, and Jorge Soler lined a double down the left field line to lead off the bottom of the first. Soler moved to third on a ground out by LaMonte Wade. Ramos then knocked in Soler on a sacrifice fly to right-center field.

The Dodgers responded off Spencer Howard in the top of the second. Andy Pages doubled on a duck snort off the end of the bat to right, and Miguel Rojas knocked in Pages with another suck snort to tie the game

Matt Chapman led off the bottom of the second with a double, just as Soler did in the first. However, the rally was immediately snuffed when Chapman was picked off while taking off for third base prior to the pitch.

It was unfortunate, because he would have scored when Michael Conforto immediately followed that with a double off the center field wall. The Giants would end up wasting the opportunity entirely, as the game went to the third tied 1-1.

Chapman’s gaffe and the Giants’ wasted opportunity would come back to bite them in the top of the third. Shohei Ohtani in particular made it hurt with a home run to straight away center to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

Not to worry, the Giants had a response in the bottom of the third. Nick Ahmed walked to start the inning, and Soler doubled to right to knock in Ahmed and tie the game. Wade reached on a broken-bat ground ball to short, in which Soler was thrown out trying to advance to third.

It was the Giants’ second base-running gaffe of the game, but thankfully, it didn’t hinder the rally. Heliot Ramos singled up the middle to center, and Patrick Bailey singled to right to score Wade and put the Giants back ahead.

Matt Chapman reached on an infield hit to third that was bobbled by Dodgers’ third-baseman Cavan Biggio—which could have been ruled an error—to knock in Ramos and make it 4-2. Michael Conforto walked to load the bases, and Bailey scored when Luis Matos reached on a fielder’s choice to make it 5-2.

The Giants scored four runs in the bottom of the third, and the Dodgers would score four of their own against a tired Spencer Howard in the top of the fourth. Andy Pages walked with one out, and base-hits by Jason Heyward and Miguel Rojas made it 5-3.

Gavin Lux singled to right, and as Dodgers Third Base Coach Dino Ebel waived in Heyward, Luis Matos threw a perfect strike to the plate, but it was dropped by catcher Patrick Bailey. Heyward scored, and Rojas, the tying run, was now standing just 90 feet away at third.

Biggio laid down a bunt but popped out to first base, and Ohtani walked to load the bases. That did it for Howard, as Melvin brought in Randy Rodriguez.

Will Smith came up and hit a slow ground ball to short that Nick Ahmed charged and bare handed, but Smith beat it out, and Lux scored to tie it. Freddie Freeman then walked with the bases loaded, and the Dodgers were back ahead.

Tyler Glasnow was pulled after the Giants’ four-run bottom of the third, and it was the first time this season that he did not go at least five innings. He was replaced by Yohan Ramirez for the bottom of the fourth. Ahmed reached on an infield hit to start the inning, but Ramirez retired the side in order afterwards.

As the shadows started to eclipse home plate, the scoring almost stopped entirely. Rodriguez threw a 1-2-3 top of the fifth, and Ramirez got Bailey to ground out to start the bottom of the fifth.

Matt Chapman lined a base-hit the other way to right, and Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts pulled Ramirez for Alex Vesia, who immediately walked Michael Conforto to put runners at first and second with one out.

Matos was unable to get the job done, as he flew out to left, but Brett Wisely got jammed and floated a broken-bat base hit to center to score Chapman to tie it.

It was now a 6-6 game heading to the sixth. Rodriguez and left-hander Taylor Rogers combined for a 1-2-3 top of the sixth. Wade doubled off Vesia with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and Ramos walked after Roberts brought in Michael Petersen. However, Bailey and Chapman both struck out and the game remained tied.

Freeman doubled off Rogers with one out in the top of the seventh, but Ryan Walker came in to strike out Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages. Anthony Banda threw a scoreless inning in the bottom of the seventh, and the game remained tied going to the eighth.

Walker got out of a jam in the top of the eighth, and Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth for LA to send it to the ninth.

Camilo Doval came in for a non-save situation in the top of the ninth. Doval has had a rough go of things here in June, but he has particularly struggled in non-save situations.

Doval struck out Ohtani to start the inning, but Will Smith singled, and Freeman walked. However, Doval bore down and struck Hernandez and Page out—both swinging—to get out of it unscathed.

Evan Phillips then pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for the Dodgers to send this game into extra innings. This would be the second time in their last three games that the Giants were going extras.

Melvin went to Sean Hjelle for the tenth, and Andy Pages was the automatic runner at second for the Dodgers. Miguel Rojas gave the Dodgers the lead with a base-hit to center.

The veteran, Daniel Hudson, came in for LA in the bottom of the 10th, and Brett Wisely was the runner at second. Nick Ahmed grounded out to short to start the inning, but David Villar hit a pinch-hit double into the gap out in left-center to tie it.

Hudson fell behind 3-1 to Wade, and then Roberts decided to put him on. Ramos then reached on a swinging bunt along the third base line to load the bases for Patrick Bailey. It was a break for the Giants, as the ball appeared to have hit Ramos’ foot, but it was not a reviewable play.

Roberts brought in Chris Taylor from center field to be the fifth infielder, as the Giants had a chance for their second-straight walk-off win, but Bailey struck out swinging at a low slider, and Matt Chapman fouled out.

So it was off to the 11th, and with Tyler Rogers not available after pitching in three of the Giants’ last four games, Hjelle was back out. I’m not going to waste everyone’s time with the long and painful details, but the Dodgers pounded Hjelle into submission for seven runs.

Melvin had Ohtani put on to start the inning, and once Will Smith drove in a pair with a double to left-center, the floodgates opened. The first out of the inning wasn’t even made until Jason Heyward scored the inning’s seventh run on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Rajos.

As for the bottom of the 11th, Ryan Yarbrough pitched a 1-2-3 inning to end it, and the Giants took a brutal loss on the chin 14-7.

The win goes to Daniel Hudson, and the loss goes to Sean Hjelle, who was just thrown into a tough situation having to eat innings for the Giants’ beat-up bullpen at a bad time.

The Giants fall to 40-44, and they can once again try to win the series in the finale Sunday afternoon. Lefty James Paxton (7-1, 3.39 ERA) will make the start for the Dodgers, and for the Giants, you guessed it, it will be another game bullpen game. First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

Blake Snell will make another on Wednesday in Sacramento against the Reno Aces. If his start goes well, the Giants hope to have him return to the rotation the following week during the Giants’ series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oracle Park.

The Giants added a memorial pass for Hall-of-Famer Orlando Cepeda, who passed away yesterday. Like Mays’ memorial patch, Cepeda’s has the orange number 30 under the name “Cepeda.” which is also in orange in a black circle surrounded by a circular orange outline.