Category: Uncategorized

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – Ryan Vogelsong gave the Giants every opportunity to win Wednesday night. However, when it was all said and done, he was not the one who got the official credit.

The right-hander was magnificent, throwing 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball at the Arizona Diamondbacks while giving up only two hits, striking out three and overcoming a season-high five walks as the Giants scooted away with a 5-0 win at AT&T Park.

The win – the eighth straight home win and the longest such streak since winning nine straight in 2011 – allowed the Giants to stay within 2½ games of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West race while remaining on top of the NL’s wild-card standings with a four-game advantage over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Vogelsong had a lot to do with that Wednesday night.

The problem was that, although they made a number of very nice defensive plays behind him, his teammates did absolutely nothing for him on offense – a theme that has been disturbingly common in Vogelsong starts – while he was in the game.

To be exact, Wednesday marked the seventh time in 15 home starts this season that he has not gotten a single run of support.

Sadly enough, even though he did almost all the work, someone else ended up getting the “W” attached to his record.

Vogelsong was taken out with two outs in the top of the seventh, and Jean Machi retired Jordan Pacheco to end the inning and preserve the scoreless tie.

“He pitched a great game, which is what we needed,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He was getting a little out of sync (in the seventh), so we figured we get someone going, in case something happened.”

The Giants were up against a tough out in starter Josh Collmenter, who entered Wednesday’s game with a 3.81 ERA. Collmenter tossed six scoreless innings and surrendered only three hits while striking out three and walking two.

In the bottom of the inning, the Giants finally strung some hits together to break the deadlock, as soon as they were able to get into Arizona’s bullpen.

Hunter Pence led off the inning by getting a walk off reliever Oliver Perez before the next batter, Gregor Blanco, who has really found a home for himself in the sixth spot in the lineup, smoked one down the right-field line off Perez.

When right fielder Alfredo Marte could not initially handle the ball cleanly after tracking it down, Pence was able to motor home from first to put the Giants ahead.

They weren’t done, however. After Brandon Crawford legged out an infield single, pinch hitter Matt Duffy smacked one the other way past Marte, bringing in Blanco. Crawford soon scored on a wild pitch while Duffy would scamper home on a sac fly to give the Giants a suddenly-commanding 4-0 lead.

The Giants tacked on another run in the eighth, when Travis Ishikawa singled in Pablo Sandoval, who had doubled with one out and moved to third on an infield single by Pence.

NOTES: The Giants surpassed the three-million-fan attendance mark for the 2014 season Wednesday night, marking the fifth straight year that the club has drawn more than 3,000,000 fans to AT&T Park.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Since joining the starting rotation in place of the struggling Tim Lincecum, Yusmeiro Petit continues to find that certain groove.

Petit went the distance, allowing one run on four hits, walking zero and striking out nine and the Giants defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 before 41,683 at AT&TPark, the 318th consecutive sellout.

On the evening, Petit threw just 84 pitches, the fewest by a starting pitcher that threw a complete game and the fewest by a Giants pitcher ever thrown in a complete game.

The former Diamondbacks pitcher, who nearly threw a perfect game on September 6, 2013 against the Diamondbacks, raised his record to 3-0 all-time against his former team.

This was the Giants seventh consecutive win at home, the Giants longest winning streak at home since April 8-22, 2013, when they also won seven in a row.

Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley lasted only two innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walking four and striking out one.

Angel Pagan and Joe Panik led off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back singles, and then after back-to-back outs by Buster Posey and Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval walked to load the bases and then Andrew Susac walked to drive in Pagan.

Petit got in on the hit parade in the bottom of the second inning, as he singled with one out, Pagan then singled for the second time in as many at-bats, as did Panik.

Posey then grounded into a Fielders’ Choice that scored Petit from third base, and retired Pagan for the second out of the inning.

Pence then walked to load the bases, and then Sandoval drove in a run, as he walked off of Miley to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.

When Panik singled off of Will Harris in the bottom of the eighth inning, it was the fifth hit of the night for the rookie, his first five-hit game as a big leaguer.

Panik picked up four hits in two different games, with the last coming against the Milwaukee Brewers on August 29.

He is the first Giants rookie since Fred Lewis on May 13, 2007 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field to have a five-hit game.

Panik is the youngest Giants player to have five hits in a game since Garry Maddox on May 26, 1973.

It was also a huge night at the plate for Pagan, as he went four-for-five at the plate against Diamondbacks pitching

Ender Inciarte broke up the shutout in the top of the fourth inning, as he put a Petit pitch into McCovey Cove to give the Diamondbacks their lone run of the night.

Panik picked up his third hit of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning that drove in Gregor Blanco, who reached on an infield single against Diamondbacks reliever Zeke Spruill.

Posey drove in his second run of the night, as he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Pagan with the Giants fifth and final run of the evening.

NOTES: Petit joins Don Robinson, who threw 90 pitches against the Montreal Expos on August 20, 1990 and Bill Swift against the Cincinnati Reds, when he threw 85 pitches on September 17, 1993.

Ryan Vogelsong takes to AT&TPark mound for the Giants on Wednesday night, while Josh Collmenter will start for the Diamondbacks.

By Morris Phillips

With 19 games remaining, the Giants are looking good in the wild card race, but if they want to overtake the Dodgers in the NL West, the process needs to start this week.

Following three games with the last place Diamondbacks, the Dodgers visit AT&T Park for three games that will likely decide the divisional race in favor of Los Angeles if the Giants can’t capture two or three games in the series.

After the Dodgers dispatched the Padres Monday behind the pitching of Clayton Kershaw, the lead stands at 3 ½ games.

And if overcoming a 3 ½ game lead with 19 games remaining to play doesn’t appear daunting enough, think about this:

Monday’s game in which Kershaw needed just 89 pitches to run through eight innings of work—allowing just three hits—means he will be perfectly aligned for what could be the biggest start of his season on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco.  Kershaw’s reputation as a big-game pitcher and Giants’ slayer is already cemented, but on Sunday he’ll be looking for his MLB-leading 19^th win and a capper to an almost certain Cy Young season and possible MVP season as well.

Along with Kershaw, the Dodgers will have a pair of 14-game winners start Friday and Saturday in Hyun-Jin Ryu and Zack Greinke.   The Giants will counter with 17-game winner Madison Bumgarner in the opener, but then Tim Hudson, whose season has gone south since the All-Star break and fill-in starter Yusmeiro Petit in a matchup with Kershaw.

If the Giants can walk through this gauntlet then they should be poised for the rest of their schedule which appears tougher than the Dodgers’ remaining schedule if only because Los Angeles is more fortunate to have four game with the rebuilding and experimenting Cubs in Chicago.

Of course, where the Giants are now from their positioning a few weeks ago is dramatic.  The team has begun to hit, starter Jake Peavy has really settled in and Buster Posey is providing star power that’s needed this time of year.

But the Giants’ resurgence and what will be required of them this week are two different animals, this challenge is as big any faced by a big league club anywhere all season. 

So to the Giants, we wish them the best of luck.

On Tuesday,  Petit faces Arizona’s Wade Miley at 7:15pm.

 

 

By: Phillip Torres

SANTA CLARA- The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys by a final score of 28-17 in the season opener on Sunday afternoon in Dallas. They will look to stay undefeated in the early going of the season as they will host the Chicago Bears in week two of the season.

The game against the Bears will be at Levi’s Stadium, the first regular season game in the history of the new billion dollar stadium. The 49ers will host Chicago on Sunday Night Football as the inaugural home opener will be nationally televised.

San Francisco will have to wait and see if they will be fully loaded in the secondary as three of their defensive backs went down with injuries. Chris Culliver, Tramaine Brock, and first-round pick Jimmie Ward all suffered injuries where they did not return to action in Dallas.

With the 28-17 victory in Dallas, the 49ers are extremely confident with how the offense played. 201 yards and two touchdown passes from quarterback Colin Kaepernick to Vernon Davis lead the way on offense. Rookie running back Carlos Hyde added his first career touchdown to the offensive explosion.

The defense played phenomenal without their two All-Pro linebackers Aldon Smith and NaVarro Bowman. The defense forced four turnovers, including a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Culliver to start the scoring on the afternoon.

The 49ers will be facing the 0-1 Bears, who lost a heartbreaker to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The defense will have a tough task with a small secondary trying to cover the two top Chicago receivers. San Francisco will most likely need to find outside help if any of the defensive backs cannot play on Sunday.

San

By George Devine, Sr.

Coming out of Cal’s 55-14 rout of Sacramento State last Saturday (September 6), local sports pundit Steve Kroner said to me, “You can’t win ’em all….until you win the first two!” That sums it up well, since the Golden Bears now have a confidence that hasn’t been present in a long time. They now have wins over Northwestern and the Hornets, and a week off as they look towards their next game — and first Pac-12 opponent — at Arizona on September 20.

Given his golden arm, it is no surprise that Jared Goff would complete 17 of 22 passes, resulting in 4 TDs. What is perhaps more significant is that his backup, Luke Rubenzer, completed a touchdown pass after experiencing the disappointment of being intercepted in the previous Saturday’s win at Northwestern. It was also a good day for RB Daniel Lasco, who went 94 yards on 9 carries.

One key to the game, which will be essential for the rest of the season, is an offensive line which is superior to last year’s, giving Goff and Rubenzer enough time to select and find their receivers, and allowing the running backs to break through the defensive lines on their way to racking up yards.

The remaining games in the season are:

9/20 @ Arizona

9/27 Colorado

10/4 @ Washington State

10/11 Washington

10/18 UCLA

10/24 Oregon (at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, 7 p.m. PT)

11/1 @ Oregon State

11/13 @ USC, 6 pm PT

11/22 Stanford

11/29 BYU

Except for the Oregon and USC games, all kickoff times are TBA.

By Jeremy Kahn

Derek Carr may have thrown two touchdown passes in his NFL debut, but he probably wishes of a different outcome.

Chris Ivory scored on a 71-yard run midway thru the fourth quarter that proved to be the winning score, as the New York Jets hung on late to defeat the Oakland Raiders 19-14 at MetLife Stadium.

It was a tough day for the Raiders offense, as they could only muster 158 yards of total offense against Rex Ryan’s stingy defense.

Ivory carried the ball 10 times with 102 yards rushing, including that 71-yard touchdown run that ultimately clinched the game.

Carr found Rod Streater with 2:43 remaining in the first quarter, as the Raiders overcame a 45-yard field goal by Nick Folk.

The Jets took the lead for good in the second quarter, as Geno Smith found Chris Johnson for a five-yard touchdown pass.

Folk then added a 42-yard field goal late in the third quarter, and then Ivory put the game out of reach with his run.

Carr got the Raiders within five, as he found James Jones on a 30-yard touchdown pass, as Jones made a fantastic catch in the end zone.

Following the touchdown, Sebastian Janikowski lined up for an onside kick; however Greg Salas recovered the ball for the Jets and then clinched the win.

The 158 yards by the Raiders were the fewest since they put up 124 yards against the New York Giants during the 2009 season.

Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden combined to carry the ball 13 times for just 26 yards rushing, an average of 2.0 yards per carry.

Carr ended the afternoon by going 20-for-32 with 151 yards passing and two touchdowns.

This was the Raiders 14th straight loss in the Eastern Time Zone, and are now 0-3 under Dennis Allen since took over the head coaching duties in 2012.

By Jeremy Kahn

Madison Bumgarner got run support in the very first inning from his battery mate, and the San Francisco Giants never looked back.

Andrew Susac hit a two-run double in the first inning, as the Giants scored four runs in the opening inning and hung on to defeat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 at Comerica Park.

Buster Posey continues his late push for National League Most Valuable Player award, as he picked up three hits on the afternoon, including a solo home run for the Giants who have won nine out of their last 11.

Bumgarner pitched six strong innings for his fourth consecutive victory and his career-high 17th victory of the season

The left-hander failed to walk or a strikeout a batter for the first time in his major league career.

Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs for the Tigers, giving him 20 for the season, while Victor Martinez hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning, that gave him a career-high 30 home runs on the season.

David Price came back after a rough first inning to pitch eight and two-thirds innings, as he struck out 11.

Posey hit his 20th home run of the season in the top of the fifth inning to give the Giants a two-run lead.

Cabrera got a little redemption when hit his home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he hit his home run off of Sergio Romo, who struck out the 2012 American League Triple Crown winner to clinch the Giants second World Series championship in the last last three years.

This was the second multi-home run game for Cabrera of the season, with both of them occurring this week.

Madison Bumgarner got run support in the very first inning from his battery mate, and the San Francisco Giants never looked back.

Andrew Susac hit a two-run double in the first inning, as the Giants scored four runs in the opening inning and hung on to defeat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 at Comerica Park.

Buster Posey continues his late push for National League Most Valuable Player award, as he picked up three hits on the afternoon, including a solo home run for the Giants who have won nine out of their last 11.

Bumgarner pitched six strong innings for his fourth consecutive victory and his career-high 17th victory of the season

The left-gander failed to walk or a strikeout for the first time in his major league career.

Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs for the Tigers, giving him 20 for the season, while Victor Martinez hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning, that gave him a career-high 30 home runs on the season.

David Price came back after a rough first inning to pitch eight and two-thirds innings, as he struck out 11.

Posey hit his 20th home run of the season in the top of the fifth inning to give the Giants a two-run lead.

Cabrera got a little redemption when hit his home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he hit his home run off of Sergio Romo, who struck out the 2012 American League Triple Crown winner to clinch the Giants second World Series championship in the last last three years.

This was the second multi-home run game for Cabrera of the season, with both of them occurring this week.