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By Jeremy Kahn

Oscar Tavares did not waste any time to get himself anointed with the fans of the St. Louis Cardinals in his major league debut.

Tavares launched a Yusmeiro Petit pitch 418 feet into the seats in the bottom of the fifth inning, as the Cardinals defeated the San Francisco Giants 2-0 at Busch Stadium.

The loss put an end to the Giants four-game winning streak, as Michael Wacha pitched a great game, despite two different rain delays.

Wacha went six innings, allowing three hits in his fifth rain-delayed of the 2014 season.

This season alone, the Cardinals have amassed rain delays of six hours and 30 minutes, incluing two delays of 51 and 47 minutes respectively.

In his last start on Sunday afternoon, Wacha and the Cardinals were forced to sit thru a 61-minute rain delay against the New York Yankees.

Delays are obviously nothing new to Wacha, as he sat and watched the bullpen blow a lead and after 4.5 hours and finally the game ended at 3:14 A.M. against the Kansas City Royals.

Petit gave up jut two hits in six innings of work for the Giants in place of Matt Cain, who was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.

Jhonny Peralta put the finishing touches on the scoring in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he doubled off of George Kontos and the Cardinals put an end their three-game losing streak.

Buster Posey missed his third straigh game tightness in his lower back.

By Jeremy Kahn

After learning earlier in the day that Matt Cain was placed on the disabled list for the second time this season, Madison Bumgarner went out and proved why he can be considered to be one of the aces of the staff.

Bumgarner struck out 10 for the second game in a row, as the Giants won their fourth straight game with a 9-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

In seven innings of work, Bumgarner did not allow a run, gave up just three hits and walked just one.

Over his last two games against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday and tonight against the Cardinals, Bumgarner is 2-0 with just one walk and 20 strikeouts.

The Giants have won eight out of their last nine, and are now 35-19 on the season, the best record in the major leagues and are seven games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies in the National League West.

Hunter Pence hit a huge three-run home run, and added another hit, while Pablo Sandoval extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single and a double; however Sandoval’s streak of nine consecutive games with a RBI was stopped.

Both Gregor Blanco and Hector Sanchez each picked up two-run singles, as the Giants scored seven runs with two outs on the evening and on the season, the Giants have scored 117 runs with two outs, the most in the major leagues.

Giants leadoff batter Angel Pagan also got in on the act, as he picked up two hits and scored twice against the reigning National League Champions.

Adam Wainwright, who entered the game with a 20-inning scoreless streak and a major league leading 1.67 earned run average, lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing seven runs in eight hits and his earned run average raised to 2.32.

The Giants got Wainwright in the very first inning, as Pagan led off the game with a double, went to third on a Pence flyball and then scored on a two-out single by Michael Morse.

Things got ugly for the Cardinals and Wainwright in the top of the second inning, as the Giants exploded for four runs, as Pagan singled in Brandon Hicks and then Pence slammed a Wainwright pitch into BigMacLand, a 447-foot blast that gave the Giants 5-0 lead.

John Jay broke up the shutout in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he cleared the bases with a double off of David Huff and then Allen Craig added an RBI double off of Juan Gutierrez.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, May 29, 2014

Miguel Cabrera smacked a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the sixth inning for Detroit Thursday, and the Tigers hung on for a 5-4 win over the Athletics at the Coliseum in Oakland.

The A’s, who stranded 14 baserunners, have cooled off of late. Oakland is 2-2 on the current homestand and has lost six of its last eight games.

Rick Porcello (8-2) overcame a career-high six walks to pick up the win. Closer Joe Nathan survived a rough ninth inning to earn his 13th save.

In the ninth, Nathan surrendered a leadoff double to Josh Donaldson, a run-scoring infield single by Yoenis Cespedes, and an RBI double for Josh Reddick before retiring pinch-hitter Jed Lowrie on a game-ending groundout.

The Tigers built a 5-2 lead in the seventh when Victor Martinez hit a two-run double and Cabrera added an RBI groundout.

Nick Punto hit a two-run homer for the A’s in the fourth inning, his first round-tripper of the season. He also had a career-high tying three walks.

Losing pitcher Jesse Chaves (4-3) worked six innings, striking out three, walking two and giving up three earned runs.

Attendance was announced as 21,860. The A’s homestand continues with a three-game weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

A’s ACORNS: This weekend, the Athletics celebrate the 40th anniversary of their 1974 World Series championship, the third of three consecutive titles, something no other Bay Area major league franchise has achieved. Members of the ’74 A’s will take part in an autograph session in the Bar & Grille (formerly the Westside Club) on Friday, and a session with only Reggie Jackson and Rollie Fingers is scheduled for Saturday. Autograph tickets go on sale at 4:30 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at Section 216. Proceeds for all autograph sessions will benefit the Catfish Hunter ALS Foundation. … On Saturday, May 31, Oakland outfielder Josh Reddick will host a baseball fielding clinic for Richmond Little Leaguers when the A’s and PG&E dedicate Dr. Martin Luther King Field as part of the “Energize Your Field” program.

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants haven’t exactly been known as a hitting team for the past few years, but they have bucked that trend lately, and it has paid dividends.

The Giants used that wave of momentum to move past the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a four-game weekend series, 6-5, at Busch Stadium Thursday night.

For much of the season, Pablo Sandoval was stuck in a funk at the plate without a real end in sight. In fact, during the first two months of the season, Sandoval’s batting average hovered just above .200, which isn’t exactly what you wish for when you’re in the final year of your contract, a situation that he happens to be in.

But boy, have times changed. He has slowly brought his average back up to a somewhat-respectabe .247, to the point that manager Bruce Bochy has moved him back up to the No. 3 spot in the lineup, right behind slugger Michael Morse.

Sandoval justified Bochy’s move by launching a solo homer into left-center in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 3-3.

Meanwhile, Morse continues to make a serious case for becoming a National League All-Star this season. The big outfielder went 2-for-4 on Thursday and blasted a tape-measure shot that traveled halfway up the bleachers in left-center for a solo homer in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1.

Morse is currently batting .290 and has added more than his fair share of majestic shots into the bleachers that tend to have a lasting effect on fans who have a big part of the All-Star selection come July.

Six innings later, he broke a tie with a hard liner into right-center that skipped past center fielder Peter Bourjos and bounced all the way to the wall, a play that scored two runs and gave the Giants a 6-4 lead.

Starter Ryan Vogelsong didn’t have his best start, but he did give the Giants 6 1/3 innings while giving up four runs on seven hits, walking three while striking out four.

Thankfully, his bullpen was slightly better, particularly Javier Lopez – who earned the win Thursday, thanks to Morse’s go-ahead hit – and Jean Machi, who combined to completely shut down the Cardinals and give the ball to Sergio Romo in the ninth with a two-run lead.

Romo did surrender a run in the final inning, as Matt Carpenter scored Jon Jay with a single, but the closer settled down to get his 17th save of the season.

BY PAUL GACKLE OAKLAND — A hot-spring day in Oakland felt like October as the Detroit Tigers topped the A’s 5-4 at O.co Coliseum on Thursday.

The A’s failed to cash-in on several opportunities in the final contest of a four-game set with the Tigers, leaving 14 runners on base and going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, triggering memories of the team’s shortcomings in playoffs over the last two years.

“We had plenty of opportunities today,” Manager Bob Melvin said. “We had some situational at bats where we didn’t come through.”

The first bungle came in the second inning when the A’s loaded the bases with no outs but failed to score after Eric Sogard hit into an unconventional 1-2-3 double play and Coco Crisp bounced out to first.

The A’s botched another scoring chance in the fifth when they put runners on the corners with no outs before Josh Donaldson struck out, Brandon Moss popped out and Yoenis Cespedes was robbed of a hit by a diving J.D. Martinez in left field.

“That’s the game of baseball,” starter Jesse Chavez said, referring to the A’s missed opportunities. “That’s going to happen and, unfortunately, today we didn’t get that big hit.”

Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello tried to lend the A’s a hand in the sixth, walking Nick Punto and Coco Crisp and hitting Eric Sogard with a pitch to fill the bases with two outs. But pinch hitter Derek Norris popped up to first, leaving three more runners on base.

The A’s collected nine walks and nine hits in the contest.

The Tigers opened the scoring in the third when Ian Kinsler doubled off Chavez and Miguel Cabrera brought him in on a fielder’s choice.

The A’s jumped ahead 2-1 in the fourth when Nick Punto hit his first home run in an A’s uniform with Alberto Callaspo aboard, but the Tigers responded with two runs in the top of the fifth and they added two crucial insurance runs in the seventh off former-closer Jim Johnson, taking a 5-2 lead.

Johnson is now 0-2 with a 14.04 ERA at home this season. Once again, he was booed as he walked off the mound at the Coliseum.

Melvin said he’s uncertain about what Johnson’s role in bullpen will be going forward.

“We’ll continue to try to find a good spot for him and get him going,” he said.

Chavez (4-3) continued his May backslide, surrendering three earned runs on eight hits in six innings of work. After a dazzling April in which he went 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA, Chavez’s numbers are starting to even out. He posted a 2-3 record with a 3.90 ERA in May, giving up eight hits in each of his last two starts.

But the A’s made things interesting in the ninth, scoring two runs off doubles from Donaldson and Josh Reddick and a single by Cespedes. They put to go-ahead run on base with two outs, but Jed Lowrie grounded out to first to end the game.

The A’s return to action at O.co Coliseum on Friday taking on the second-place Los Angeles Angels, who have closed the gap in the American League West standings to two games.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-If people thought that the injury to Brandon Belt would be devestating to the San Francisco Giants, they do not know this team.

Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse have picked up the slack in place of Belt, and they showed it again in the second game of the three-game series against the Chicago Cubs.

Morse hit a run-scoring single in the bottom of the first inning, added a double in the bottom of the fourth, while Sandoval picked up a key hit in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs 4-0 before a crowd of 41,060, the 273rd consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

Tim Hudson was his usual solid self, as he went seven innings, allowing zero runs on six hits, walking zero and striking out five, as he won for the fifth time against two losses.

By not walking anyone again, Hudson continues to not have broke the double figure plateau in free passes, as he stands at six walks with 44 strikeouts.

In six starts at AT&T Park this season, Hudson has issued just two walks, both coming against the Cleveland Indians on April 25.

Buster Posey drove in two runs for the Giants, as he hit two sacrifice flies, the first in the bottom of the first and only run that the Giants would need.

Posey drove in Angel Pagan from third base, after Pagan singled, and advanced to third on a Hunter Pence siand then scored on the sacrifice fly.

Following a Sandoval groundout to shortstop, Morse drove in Pence with a single.

Posey drove in the Giants third run of the evening after Ehire Adrianza singled to lead off the inning, stole his first career base and then scored the all important third run of the night for the Giants.

Following the Posey sacrifice fly, Sandoval blooped a single into left field that scored Pagan with his second run of the night, after he singled for the second time in the game.

Despite taking the loss, Jake Arrieta pitched admirably, as he went six innings, allwoing four runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out six.

By George Devine, Sr.

The Oklahoma City Thunder took game 3 in the west from the San Antonio Spurs, 106-97, to head off a sweep and make it a 2-1 series. The hometown crowd roared with enthusiasm after the team’s return from Texas, and even more so when Serge Ibaka was seen in uniform and ready to play. The popular and effective defender was considered finished for the year with a calf strain but was back in action for just under thirty minutes. He made the difference, and likely prevented more points than he scored.

Ibaka did score 15 points, or an average of a point every two minutes. Just as importantly, he had 4 blocks and 7 rebounds, 5 of them on defense. He was not the high scorer. That honor went ot Russell Westbrook with 26; he also contributed 7 valuable assists and 8 boards. Kevin Durant was close behind in points with 25 and had 10 rebounds. Reggie Jackson matched Ibaka at 15 points and had 5 assists.

Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio in all quarters but the first, and dominated from the floor with a 45.7 percentage as distinct from the visitors’ 39.6; the Spurs led in the other offensive categories, however (93.8-85.9 from the line and 38.5-27.8 on treys).

For the Spurs, Manu Ginobili hit for 23, Tim Duncan had 16 points and 8 rebounds; Kawhi Leonard had 10 points and Tony Parker was held to 9.

The series continues with Game 4 at 9 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 27.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-It seems that the San Francisco Giants have found their groove, and they just love feasting on teams from the American League Central.

Michael Morse hit a bases clearing double in the bottom of the fifth inning that broke open what was a close game, as the Giants defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-1 before a crowd of 42,590, the 271st consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

It was a huge day for Morse at the plate, as he doubled three times in four at-bats and added a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning.

The Giants are now a perfect 6-0 versus the American League Central this season, after sweeping the Twins this weekend and having swept the Cleveland Indians from April 25-27.

Not to be out done, but Madison Bumgarner was absolutely solid against the Twins, as he went seven innings, allowing just one run, on only three hits, walking zero and striking out 10 and improves to 6-3 on the season.

By striking out 10 Twins on the afternoon, it was the 15th time in Bumgarner’s career that he topped the double figure plateau in strikeouts and the second time during the 2014 season.

Bumgarner also struck out 10 against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 5, a game that the Giants won by the final score of 7-2 at Dodger Stadium.

Pablo Sandoval got the Giants their first run of the game in first inning the bottom of the first inning, as he singled in Hunter Pence.

Morse then followed Sandoval with a hard hit sacrifice fly to left field that scored Buster Posey, who singled with one out.

Brian Dozier drove in the only Twins run of the afternoon in the top of the second inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Eduardo Escobar.

Hunter Pence gave the Giants a three-run in the bottom of the third inning, as he supplanted a Ricky Nolasco offering into the left field bleachers for his sixth home run of the season.

Tyler Colvin drove in the eighth and final run of the afternoon in the bottom of the eighth inning on a great play by Joe Mauer.

Other than great play at first base by Mauer, this is a day that he will probably by the time the Twins get on the plane and head back to Minneapolis that he would love to forget.

Mauer struck out three times versus Bumgarner, just the fifth time in his major league career that Mauer struck out three times in the same game.

In the series, Mauer went 4-for-13 with a double, a run scored and a RBI, the fourth hit of the series for Mauer came in the top of the ninth inning, as he singled off of George Kontos.

The other pitchers to turn the feat were C.C. Sabathia on two different occasions, John Lackey and Ryan Dempster

It was not a good day for Nolasco, as he went 4.2 innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits, walked one and struck out three and saw his record fall to 2-5.