Category: Uncategorized

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings made guard Isaiah Thomas a restricted free agent today extending a qualifying offer to him. By extending the offer to Thomas, the Kings now have the first right of refusal if another team makes a contract offer to the point/shooting guard. It would surprising if Thomas is not pursued by other NBA teams.

Thomas is a three-year veteran who was selected at number 60 in the 2011 NBA Draft. For his career, he has averaged 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.03 steals per game. Thomas has started 153 times over the three-year period.

It has reported by multiple sources that the Kings are interested in acquiring a true point guard. If that should happen, the general consensus is Thomas would become the sixth man off the bench – a role he has played before for Sacramento.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-After watching Odrisamer Despaigne just dominate the San Francisco Giants in the series opener on Monday night, there was no way it could happen two games in a row.

Jesse Hahn, who made his major league debut on June 3, went six inning, allowing two run on four hits, walking two and striking out eight and the San Diego Padres made it two in a row with a 7-2 over the Giants before a crowd of 41,546, the 286th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

Will Venable, the son of former Giants outfielder Max Venable got the Padres on the board in the top of the third inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to score Cameron Maybin from third base.

Alexei Amarista added another run in the top of the fifth inning after he doubled to score Jake Goebbert.

Venable made it 3-0 in the top of the sixth inning after he grounded out to score Maybin from third base.

Pablo Sandoval broke up the Hahn attempt at the Padres first ever no-hitter, as he beat out an infield single in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Michael Morse followed Sandoval and singled Sandoval to third, and Tyler Colvin got the Giants on the board after a ground out Amarista at second base.

The Padres broke the game wide open in the top of the sixth inning, as Maybin reached on a infield single that scored Chase Headley from third base.

Headley reached after his long double went to the base of the of the left-centerfield wall, and on the play, Gregor Blanco was able to throw to Brandon Crawford, who threw to Buster Posey to get Seth Smith on a great play at the plate after Smith led off the inning with a single.

Amarista drove in the second and third runs of the inning, as he singled to score Yasmani Grandal and Goebbert.

Tim Hudson could not get out of the sixth inning, as he went five and two-thirds innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits, walking two and striking out four and fell to 7-4 on the season.

Posey got the Giants within four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he doubled in Blanco, who led off the inning with a single.

Crawford beat out a single in the bottom of the seventh inning that was challenged by Bud Black, but after two minutes and nine seconds, the play stood.

Tommy Medica hit his first career pinch hit home run in the top of the eighth inning for the Padres, as he batted for Goebbert.

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, June 22, 2014

PHOENIX, Arizona – With two road wins in less than 24 hours, the San Francisco Giants have all but forgotten that six-game skid they were carrying into their weekend series in the desert.

“It’s a good way to finish the trip,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “When you’re in the midst of a losing streak, it’s tough for a ballclub. What could go wrong has gone wrong. But that’s baseball.

“You don’t have any choice but to keep looking forward,” he added. “These guys are bouncing back. You’re always going to have your ups and downs in this game – it’s a matter of how you deal with it, and I’ve got a good group here.”

The big hits the Giants weren’t getting just a few days ago are retuning; they collected four on Sunday. That, along with a near complete game from Madison Bumgarner, helped San Francisco defeat the Diamondbacks 4-1 and take the rubber game of the three-game set.

With the victory, San Francisco maintains its four-game lead over Los Angeles in the National League West Division.

In his eight-plus innings, Bumgarner (9-4) struck out seven, and allowed only infield singles by Cody Ross and Ender Inciante, along with one unearned run and two walks.

“Bumgarner was exceptional today, maybe the best I’ve ever seen him,” Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson said. “It seemed like his cutter was excellent, he was throwing his fastball wherever he wanted to, his curveball was good, so were his changeups. His curveball was as good as I’ve seen it.”

“Bumgarner pitched an excellent game. We had to try and hold him down, but we couldn’t do it.”

Bochy felt “it was real important” to get a quality start from Bumgarner.

“Your season is usually determined by your starters, because their consistency gives us a chance to win,” Bochy said. “Our guys are human, and they’re going to hit some bumps in the road, but we’ll be okay.”

After Ross’s hit in the second inning, Bumgarner retired 18 of the last 22 hitters he faced When the first two Arizona batters reached base in the bottom of the ninth, Sergio Romo came on to record his 22nd save.

“I felt like I got better as the game went on,” Bumgarner said. “I was making pitches, getting the ball over the plate, going down when I wanted them to go down and up when I wanted them to go up. I felt pretty good all the way around.”

In 16 career games against Arizona, Bumgarner has given up 25 earned runs in 94 1/3 innings. In his last four starts against the Snakes, Bumgarner has given up only one earned run in 25 innings.

“I wouldn’t have thought that, because they’re a tough team,” Bumgarner said. “I feel like it’s always a battle to come in here and play them.”

Diamondbacks starter Mike Bolsinger (1-3) gave up one earned run on five hits and one walk. He also struck out four before leaving with two out in the eighth. Relievers Evan Marshall and Joe Thatcher gave up the Giants’ three ninth-inning runs.

“Other than the pitch to Colvin, I thought (Bolsinger) pitched real well today,” Gibson said. “Those three runs in the ninth really hurt us, because you’re trying to hang in there and hope to get to a guy like Bumgarner. But we didn’t.”

Tyler Colvin snapped a scoreless tie for San Francisco with his RBI double in the fifth inning, scoring Brandon Crawford, who walked. Colvin was thrown out trying to stretch his double into a triple.

The Giants tacked on three more runs in the ninth. Hunter Pence singled and scored on a Buster Posey double, and with one out, Crawford’s single to right-center drove in Posey. After Colvin struck out, rookie second baseman Joe Panik doubled to left, scoring Crawford from first base for his first big league run batted in.

“Panik has a nice stroke, doesn’t try to do too much, and he’s got some pop,” Bochy said. “It’s nice to have a left-handed bat that is comfortable hitting against lefties.”

Things got interesting in the bottom of the ninth, when Diamondbacks pinch-hitter Jordan Pacheco reached on an error by Crawford and Ender Inciante beat out an infield hit. That combination chased Bumgarner and Romo was brought in to face Martin Prado, who promptly singled to center to score Pacheco from second, cutting the Giants lead to 4-1.

For the second game in a row, Romo would face Paul Goldschmidt in a key situation, and again, Romo prevailed, getting the Diamondbacks slugger to hit into a double play. Romo struck out Aaron Hill to end the game.

Now, the Giants head home, riding a two-game winning streak.

“Everybody is still in good spirits,” Bumgarner said of the new winning streak. “This was a big series for us to win.”

GIANT JOTTINGS: It was Bark in the Park day at Chase Field, with 313 dogs accounted for. Human attendance was 27,862. … San Francisco SS Brandon Crawford’s seventh-inning triple was his seventh three-bagger of the season. … Giants INF Joe Panik got his first major league hit, a single in the fifth inning off Arizona starter Mike Bolsinger. Panik was called up from Triple-A Fresno on Saturday. … RHP Sergio Romo needs seven more saves to match Rod Beck for the most saves at the All-Star break in the San Francisco-era team history. Beck had 29 first-half saves in 1997. … The Giants head back to AT&T Park Monday to start a 10-game homestand against San Diego, Cincinnati and St. Louis. San Francisco’s probable starters against the Padres are Matt Cain (1-5) on Monday, Tim Hudson (7-3) on Tuesday and Tim Lincecum (5-5) on Wednesday.

TAGS: (San Francisco Giants,Arizona Diamondbacks,Daniel Dullum,Sports Radio Service)

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, June 21, 2014

PHOENIX, Arizona – For the first time in a week, the postgame music returned to the ambiance of the San Francisco Giants’ clubhouse.

No dancing or yelling, though – just the quiet confidence that comes from snapping what was, for the National League West-leading Giants, an annoying six-game losing streak.

Eight batters contributed to the Giants’ 12-hit attack as San Francisco outlasted the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 Saturday night at Chase Field.

“It was a good win for us to break this streak,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “Everybody had a hand in it, the back end of the order did a nice job, (Ryan) Vogelsong battled hard out there and the bullpen stepped up and did a real nice job.”

Tyler Colvin drove in three of the San Francisco runs, and Pablo Sandoval drove in two while going 3-for-5. Buster Posey had two hits, as did Hunter Pence, whose 11th home run of the year, a solo shot in the sixth inning, landed in the upper deck in left field. Pence’s blast gave the Giants their final margin of victory.

“I’m pretty sure it was a changeup,” Pence said of his home run pitch.

Though the Giants had a two-run cushion going into the bottom of the ninth, there was some drama when, with one out, pinch-hitter Roger Kieschnick doubled and Didi Gregorius followed with an infield single off closer Sergio Romo. Gerardo Parra moved the runners up with a groundout to second, bringing D-Backs slugger Paul Goldschmidt to the plate with first base open.

After a brief meeting on the mound, Goldschmidt swung on the first pitch from Romo and sent a line drive to right that hung up long enough for Pence to make the catch, ending the game,

“I was just talking about the situation, and Sergio was aware of it. I just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page,” Bochy said. “You’re in a position where, if you put him on, the guy behind him (Aaron Hill) is having a good day. But he found a way to get it done.

“It was a tough call, putting your pitcher in a tough situation there,” Bochy added. “Sergio wants to go after everybody. That’s his mentality out there.”

Ryan Vogelsong (5-3) worked five innings, giving up five hits, four earned runs and three walks while striking out three to get the win. Jeremy Affeldt, Jean Machi, Santiago Casilla and Romo pitched four scoreless relief innings. Romo picked up his 21st save.

“It was a great collective effort from everybody,” Pence said.

Diamondbacks starter Brandon McCarthy (1-10) got off to a rough start and never recovered McCarthy gave up five earned runs on 10 hits, struck out two, walked one and hit a batter.

San Francisco batted around against McCarthy in the top of the first inning, jumping to a 3-0 lead. With one out, consecutive singles by Hunter Pence, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval accounted for the first run, as Pence scored on Sandoval’s RBI single and Posey moved to third on leftfielder David Peralta’s error.

After a sacrifice bunt by Michael Morse moved Sandoval to second, Brandon Crawford was walked. Tyler Colvin followed with a two-RBI single to left-center, driving in Posey and Sandoval.

The Giants made it 4-0 in the second when Posey doubled with two out and scored on Sandoval’s single to center.

Back-to-back doubles by Aaron Hill and Miguel Montero put Arizona on the board in the bottom of the second. Martin Prado’s groundout moved Montero to third, and Peralta followed with a double off the centerfield wall, scoring Montero, cutting the San Francisco lead to 4-2.

The Giants added a run in the fifth when Crawford tripled and scored on Tyler Colvin’s groundout to second, but the Diamondbacks responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Jordan Pacheco – pinch-hitting for McCarthy – doubled, followed by walks issued to Didi Gregorius and Paul Goldschmidt. Aaron Hill hit a two-out single to right-center scoring Pacheco and Gregorius, but was thrown out at second to end the rally.

GIANT JOTTINGS: Giants 1B Michael Morse left the game in the sixth inning due to back tightness. He’s day-to-day. … The Giants have not lost more than six straight games since losing seven in a row June 26-July 10, 2010. … Prior to Saturday’s game, the Giants purchased the contract of INF Joe Panik from Triple-A Fresno. Panik hit .321 with five home runs, 45 runs batted in and 50 runs scored in 74 games with the PCL Grizzlies. To make room on the 25-man roster, the Giants optioned OF Juan Perez to Fresno. … Panik, pinch-hitting for P Jean Machi in the eighth inning, walked in his first major league plate appearance. … U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) was part of the announced crowd of 37,916. … Probable pitchers for Sunday’s series finale are LHP Madison Bumgarner (8-4) for San Francisco against the Diamondbacks’ Mike Bolsinger (1-2). Game time is 1:10 p.m.

TAGS: (San Francisco Giants,Arizona Diamondbacks,Daniel Dullum,Sports Radio Service)

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Friday, June 20, 2014

PHOENIX, Arizona – The tailspin continues for the first-place San Francisco Giants, and, understandably, it’s not a popular topic of conversation in the clubhouse.

“You go through those challenges in baseball,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said following Arizona’s 4-1 win Friday at Chase Field. “You don’t have a choice on how you get through it. You just get ready to play tomorrow and put the games with adversity behind you. We can’t change what has happened. What we can change is coming out here and being ready to play tomorrow.”

San Francisco has lost six straight games, and nine of their last 10. Their lead over Los Angeles in the National League West has dwindled from 9.5 games to 4. Despite their recent struggles, the Giants still have the National League’s best record at 43-29, while Arizona resides in the NL West cellar at 32-45.

“I don’t sense anybody dragging,” Bochy said. “We created many chances out there and just came up short. The mood here has been good, and unfortunately, you’re going to have these moments from time-to-time in this game. Everything was going our way early. I’d rather look at 60-plus games when we played really well as opposed to these 10 games.”

San Francisco scored first with a two-out rally in the first inning. Buster Posey singled and scored from first on Pablo Sandoval’s second triple of the season, a liner to the left-center power alley. Michael Morse walked, but Brandon Crawford flied out to right to end the rally.

The Diamondbacks surged ahead with two runs in the fourth off San Francisco starter Tim Lincecum (5-5). After Paul Goldschmidt was issued a one-out walk and moved to second on Miguel Montero’s infield groundout, he scored on a base hit by Aaron Hill. Martin Prado followed with a double to center that plated Hill from first with the go-ahead run.

“I just wasn’t executing,” Lincecum said of Hill’s RBI single with a 0-2 count. “When I was ahead, it was curveballs, breaking balls, with fastballs away. But I wasn’t getting any of that today. I was leaving too many pitches over the plate, and you saw what you did with them.”

Asked if there was any additional pressure to try and get a win to snap the losing streak, Lincecum said, “There’s no more pressure than what I put on myself. It’s nice to be in a position to try and get that win, but I didn’t do that today.”

Arizona added a run in the fifth when Ender Inciarte singled and scored on a triple to center by Chris Owings, who tried to stretch his drive off the centerfield wall to an inside-the-park home run. Owings was thrown out at the plate on a relay from centerfielder Gregor Blanco to shortstop Crawford to catcher Hector Sanchez, prompting Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson to request a replay review.

Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna’s on-field ruling was upheld. Time of the review was 1:01.

Goldschmidt, who went 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored, still isn’t sure why he enjoys ongoing success against Lincecum (a .556 career batting average with seven home runs against the former Cy Young Award winner).

“I don’t know,” Goldschmidt said. “I got some pitches today that were up in the zone a little bit. Fortunately, I could get a couple of those tonight. I just try to have good at-bats. Sometimes, there are guys you do well off of, other times; some guy will have your number. … I just try to have good at-bats.”

“He’s a pretty patient guy and I don’t seem to execute on pitches against him,” Lincecum said. “That, and he’s a three-level hitter.”

Lincecum worked six innings, giving up all four Diamondbacks runs on seven hits and a sacrifice fly. He struck out one and walked one.

On Goldschmidt’s leadoff double in the sixth, Lincecum said, “Yeah, those things can really bite you in the butt. Then the inning becomes something much bigger than it should have been.

Josh Collmenter (5-4) lasted five innings, the minimum to qualify for a win. He gave up one earned run on four hits, struck out four, walked four and threw 109 pitches.

The Giants had their chances, stranding two runners in the first, third and fifth innings against Collmenter. Then, the oft-maligned Diamondbacks bullpen stepped up and collectively retired the last 10 San Francisco hitters. Addison Reed struck out the side in the top of the ninth to record his 17th save.

“It’s kind of been that way through this tough streak,” Bochy said. “We’re missing that big hit to keep the line moving. We had some good at-bats, but (Collmenter) dodged some bullets and you give him credit. That’s always frustrating.

“We had some good at-bats. We just couldn’t finish them off.”

On Saturday, Ryan Vogelsong (4-3, 3.94) starts for San Francisco, facing former Oakland Athletic Brandon McCarthy (1-9, 5.18) of the Snakes in a matchup of righthanders. Game time is 7:10 p.m.

GIANT JOTTINGS: The first four runs of the game were scored from first base. No word from Elias Sports Bureau as to the last time that happened… Arizona took 2 of 3 games the last time they met the Giants April 8-10 at AT&T Park. … Giants OF Angel Pagan, who has missed the last three games with a stiff back, underwent an MRI that revealed inflammation. … The Giants have won 14 of their last 20 games at Chase Field. … Prior to Friday’s game, the Diamondbacks designated RHP J.J. Putz for assignment and reinstated OF Ender Inciarte from the seven-day concussion disabled list. Putz, 37, is second on Arizona’s all –time save list with 83, but lost the closer’s role last season. Putz saved 43 games in 2011, but was 1-1 with a 6.59 ERA and no saves this season. … Attendance for Friday’s game was 29,295.

TAGS: San Francisco Giants,Arizona Diamondbacks,Daniel Dullum,Sports Radio Service

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, June 19, 2014

Oakland’s Scott Kasmir worked seven strong innings, Yoenis Cespedes cranked his 14th home run of the season, and the Athletics defeated Boston 4-2 Thursday night at the Coliseum.

Not only did the A’s (45-28) maintain their lead in the American League West, they improved to a season-high 17 games over .500 – the best record in the Major Leagues and Oakland’s best start since 1990. In the process, the A’s snapped Boston’s three-game winning streak.

Kasmir (9-2) had extended his streak of innings without allowing an earned run to 18 1/3 before the Red Sox’ Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Overall, Kasmir struck out eight, issued no walks, and is 4-0 with a 1.27 ERA in his last five starts.

Cespedes had homered against Boston previously. He hit a two-out solo dinger off Jake Peavy (1-5) in the third inning. Oakland also had help from Stephen Vogt, who had two singles and two runs batted in, Jed Lowrie scored twice (with Vogt batting), and John Jaso singled in a run in the seventh.

Vogt’s RBI single in the fourth gave Oakland a 3-0 lead. Luke Gregerson pitched a scoreless eighth, and Dan Otero did the same in the ninth for his first career save.

Peavy, meanwhile, is winless over his last 10 starts. He allowed five hits over 6 1/3 innings, struck out four and walked three, and retired eight of the final nine hitters he faced.

The weekend series continues Friday, when Brad Mills makes his Oakland debut against the Red Sox’ Felix Doubront in a battle of left-handers. Mills was acquired from Milwaukee earlier this week.

A’s ACORNS: Cespedes is batting .343 with four home runs and 12 RBIs through 17 games in June. He has 49 RBIs on the season…. Otero was serving as the A’s closer Thursday because Sean Doolittle had pitched the previous two games.

By Jeremy Harness

Two weeks ago, the Giants were the best team in baseball. Now, they can’t seem to get out of their own way.

Wednesday afternoon, not even Tim Hudson could get the Giants back on the right track.

Last week, Hudson was able to lead the Giants in avoiding a four-game sweep at the hands of the Washington Nationals. They have not won a game since that Thursday, and the Chicago White Sox pounded on him to beat them, 7-6, at US Cellular Field.

The hits came early and often against the right-hander, who has been known as the team’s stopper thus far. Hudson lasted only 4 2/3 innings and gave up seven runs on 12 hits, walking one batter and not recording a single strikeout.

The White Sox scored two runs in the very first inning, two more in the fourth and an additional three in the fifth to build a 7-2 lead.

The Giants, to their credit, built a comeback in the late innings. In the seventh, Buster Posey’s sac fly brought in a run.

The next inning, Gregor Blanco doubled in a run to further cut into the lead, and Hunter Pence immediately followed that by bringing in another one with a fielder’s choice.

The Giants have now lost five straight games as well as eight of their last nine contests. Besides all of that, they entered Wednesday’s game tied with Oakland for the best record in the major leagues.

There will likely be brighter days in the not-too-distant future. Their next game is on Friday, when they head to Arizona to start a three-game series with the Diamondbacks, who are 30-44 and stand 14 games behind them in the National League West.

BY PAUL GACKLE

OAKLAND — Yoenis Cespedes flashed his speed, leather and hitting prowess at O.co Coliseum on Wednesday, propelling the Oakland A’s into baseball’s penthouse.

Cespedes went 2-for-4, scored a key run and made a highlight-reel catch in left field as the A’s topped the Texas Rangers 4-2 to move past the San Francisco Giants, claiming Major League Baseball’s best record at 44-28

“At any point in time in the season, if you can say you have the best record in baseball, it’s satisfying,” A’s Manager Bob Melvin said. “But there’s a lot of baseball yet to be played.”

In addition to having the best record in the game, the A’s currently hold a five-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West standings.

Cespedes’ speed was on full display in the fifth inning when he scored from first base on a Brandon Moss double down the right field line, breaking a 2-2 tie by sneaking his left hand under catcher Robinson Chirinos’ glove. The lead stretched to 4-2 a couple of batters later when Stephen Vogt brought in Moss on a sacrifice fly to left.

The A’s scored their first two runs in the third inning when John Jaso doubled to left-center, scoring Craig Gentry, and Josh Donaldson brought in Jaso with a two-out single up the middle, notching his 52nd RBI of the season.

Cespedes showed off his muscle at the plate in the first inning, smacking a line drive over center fielder Leonys Martin’s head that one-hopped off the wall for a double.

As the A’s bats took care of business, Sonny Gray (7-3) returned to form on the mound, surrendering only two earned runs on six hits in seven innings of work.

After earning American League’s Pitcher of the Month honors in April, Gray cooled off toward the end of May and he entered Wednesday’s contest with a 5.63 ERA in his previous three starts.

“He’s a pretty driven kid,” Melvin said. “I don’t think he worries too much about thinking about, I need to bounce back. He’s just preparing for each outing and has high expectations for himself.”

Gray struck out the first two batters he faced on Wednesday and retired 10 of the first 11 Rangers that stepped up to the plate.

He received help from Cespedes in the fourth when the left fielder leaped in the air on the warning track to catch a rocket off the bat of Adrian Beltre, robbing him of extra bases with a runner on first.

“There always seems to be a couple of plays like that in a game, where if they don’t make the play, you never know where the game’s going to go from there,” Gray said. “At the time, it was a huge, huge play.”

Gray ran into trouble in the fifth when the Rangers scored a pair of runs off a Shin-Soo Choo single after loading up the bases with a pair of walks and an infield single. But after that, he retired six of the last seven batters he faced before Luke Gregerson pitched a scoreless eight and Sean Doolittle picked up his ninth save of the season, extending his scoreless innings streak to 22 1/3 innings.