Category: Uncategorized

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Ryan Vogelsong was cruising all the way into the top of the sixth inning, but it was in that inning that his night began to unravel.

Freddie Freeman hit a sharp single into right field, and Hunter Pence came up throwing and despite the fact that the ball beat Jason Heyward to the plate, Heyward was able to get under the tag.

The run scored by Heyward was huge, as it helped the Atlanta Braves defeat the Giants 5-0 before a sellout of 41,506, the 263rd consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

Bruce Bochy challenged the call, but after just 35 seconds, the play stood and the San Francisco Giants fell to 6-3 on the season in challenge

B.J. Upton then singled in Freeman, who advanced to second on the Pence throw to the plate and the Braves scored their final run of the inning, as Andrelton Simmons singled to left field to score Chris Johnson, who reached on a Fielders’ Choice that retired Evan Gattis at second base.

It was a Gattis triple to the right-center alley that got the Braves on the board in the top of the fourth inning, as Freeman scored all the way from first base after he walked with one out.

The other big story of the game was the pitching of left-hander Mike Minor, who entered the game with an 0-2 record and 6.97 earned run average.

All Minor did was allow just three hits in 6.2 innings of work, walked two and struck out six on his way to his first win of the 2014 season.

Vogelsong went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out a career-high tying eight; however his record fell to 1-2 on the season.

It was the sixth time in Vogelsong’s career that he struck out eight in a game, and the first time since April 21, 2012 against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

The Giants attempted to get a rally together in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Angel Pagan walked with two outs, breaking a streak of 16 in a row retired by Minor and then Pence doubled to left field; however Posey struck out to end the inning.

When Posey struck out to end the sixth inning, it was first time he struck out since April 29 against the San Diego Padres, a span of 52 plate appearances.

The Braves added another run in the top of the seventh inning, as Freeman beat out a throw from Brandon Crawford throw.

Originally Freeman was called out by first base umpire Lance Barrett; however Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez challenged the call and it was overturned after a 1:04 review.

Justin Upton was retired on the play on the attempted double play at second base on a great throw by Hector Sanchez, but the Crawford throw pulled reliever David Huff off the bag.

Tyler Pastornicky, who led off the inning with a single against Huff scored from third base.

By George Devine, Sr.

The Los Angeles Clippers left Staples Center tied in the western division semifinals with the Oklahoma City Thunder, 2 games apiece, thanks to some last-minute dramatics.

The visitors dominated the first period, 32-15. Even though the Clippers outscored them in the second, 31-25 — including a 14-3 run at one point — OKC led 57-46 at the half and it did not look good for L.A. In the third, it got tighter, with the Thunder leading only by a point, 18-17. Then, in the final frame, Darren Collison scored 8 of his 18 points for the evening and the Clippers took charge, 38-24. Even then, the home team did not lead until 1:21 left to play. And as the final buzzer was about to sound, Russell Westbrook had a three-pointer headed to the net, which swirled around one side of the rim and fell away, at 01.4 seconds to go, and Los Angeles won, 101-99.

Kevin Durant led for the Thunder, with 40 points, playing almost all of the game (44:54); he also had 7 boards. Westbrook had 27 points and 8 assists. Reggie Jackson had 10 points and Serge Ibaka 8. Oklahoma City was 44% with 29.2% on treys and 76.5 from the line.

For Los Angeles, Chris Paul played almost the entire time (44:58), scoring 23 points and contributing 9 rebounds. Blake Griffin scored 25 and had 9 rebounds as well. Collison, in addition to 18 points, was good for 7 boards. Jamal Crawford also scored 18. DeAndre Jordan had 7 points and twice as many rebounds.

The next game in the tied series will be at 6:30 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, May 13 at Oklahoma City.

By Jeremy Kahn

After seeing their closer do something unseen this season, the San Franicsco Giants were able to end their three-city, 10-game road trip on a high note.

Pablo Sandoval and Hector Sanchez drove in runs in the top of the 10th inning, as the Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 at Dodger Stadium.

With the victory, the Giants ended their trip through Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles with a 7-3 record and now return home for the first time since April 29 to face the Atlanta Braves and the Miami Marlins.

Hanley Ramirez sent the game into extra innings, as he hit a Sergio Romo hanging slider into the left field pavilion to tie up the game.

It was the first blown save of the season for Romo, who entered the bottom of the ninth inning 12-for-12 in save opportunities on the season.

After seeing their closer blow the save in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Giants did not waste anytime getting back on the board in the top of the 10th inning.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen came on in the top of the inning and promptly walked Angel Pagan, then Hunter Pence singled to center.

Jansen then unleashed a wild pitch that sent Pagan to third and Pence to second base, and it was decided to walk Buster Posey intentionally, Sandoval came to the plate.

Sandoval picked up his third hit of the afternoon in five at-bats to score Pagan and advance Pence and Posey an additional 90 feet.

Brandon Hicks struck out for the first out of the inning, and then Sanchez singled to left to score Pence from third and the bases stayed loaded.

Jansen was then replaced by J.P. Howell, but he was unable to keep the Giants at bay, as he unleashed a wild pitch with Michael Morse at the plate to score Posey with the third and final run of the inning.

Jean Machi came on to replace Romo in the bottom of the 10th inning, and was able to strike out Matt Kemp and then Andre Ethier grounded out; however the Dodgers did not go quietly.

Justin Turner walked, and then Scott Van Slyke singled to bring the tying run to the plate in the presence of Miguel Olivo.

Machi then did the unthinkable, as he threw a wild pitch that sent Turner to third and Van Slyke to second with two outs.

Olivo was unable to be the hero, as Machi struck out Olivo looking and the Giants left Los Angeles with a four and a half game lead over their rivals.

Sandoval got the Giants on the board in the top of the first inning, as he doubled in Pagan, who led off the game with a single off of Clayton Kershaw, who was making his season debut at Dodger Stadium.

Yasiel Puig tied up the game with one swing of the bat, as he planted a Tim Hudson pitch into the left field pavilion, a home run measured at 394 feet.

Hudson then gave up a double to Ramirez and then a single to Adrian Gonzalez that scored Ramirez and put the Dodgers into the lead ofr the first time on the afternoon.

That would be the score for a half-inning, as Brandon Hicks hit a two-run home run, measured at 414 feet off of Kershaw.

Sandoval came up with a huge hit in the inning, as he picked up his second hit of the game just prior to Hicks unloadig on a Kershaw pitch.

Posey gave the Giants what looked like a comfortable two-run lead, as he singled off of Chris Withrow in the top of the eighth inning to score Pagan, who walked and advanced to second on a Pence groundout.

Hudson went six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out two, as he did not fare in the decision.

Kershaw, who pitched in just his third game of the season after a stint on the disabled list, went seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, did not walk and a batter and struck out nine.

By Jeremy Kahn

This was a game that the San Francisco Giants could have won, but their usual stellar bullpen was unable to hold onto the lead and eventually the game.

Dee Gordon and Yasiel Puig snapped a 2-2 tie with consecutive RBI doubles in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Matt Kemp hit an opposite field home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Giants 6-2 at Dodger Stadium.

Once again, Zach Greinke was up to his dominant self, as he allowed just two runs on six hits, walking three and striking out eight in seven innings of work.

By allowing fewer than three runs or less once again, Greinke extended his streak to 20 consecutive starts, the longest streak by any pitcher in the “dead ball” era.

Greinke raised his record to 6-1 on the season, and move within three and a half games of the NL West leading Giants, who remain in first place.

After loading the bases in the first inning, Greinke was able to strike out Pablo Sandoval, as he last drove in a run on April 16 at AT&T Park against the Dodgers, a span of 20 games and 68 at-bats.

To make matters even worse for Sandoval, over his last 26 at-bats with runners in scoring position, Sandoval has just two hits.

The Giants loaded the bases in the top of the second inning with nobody out, they scored what proved to be their only runs of the game.

Hunter Pence drove in Angel Pagan with a sacrifice fly, and Brandon Hicks scored on a Buster Posey single to give them a 2-0 lead.

Cain pitch into the sixth inning, and was pulled from the game after two walks and a single to Puig in between that loaded the bases with nobody out.

Dee Gordon scored the Dodgers first run of the game on a double play off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez and then Kemp tied up the game with a single.

Cain pitched five runs, allowing two runs on three hits and walked four in his first start since coming off the disabled list earlier in the day.

This was the first start for Cain since April 23, and missed two starts due to cutting his right finger with a knife while trying to catch the knife in the clubhouse prior to a start at AT&T Park against the San Diego Padres.

Brian Wilson was able to get out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the eighth inning, as retired Pence on a popup to Drew Butera behind the plate.

By Jeremy Kahn

On a night where Madison Bumgarner pitched eight innings, and Brandon Crawford went deep for the third time on this trip, those things were overshadowed by one pitch.

Brandon Belt was hit by a Paul Maholm pitch in the top of the second inning, and after receiving X-Rays, it was confirmed that Belt suffered a broken left thumb.

Belt could be lost to the team for six weeks due to the injury, and this will be the second time on the disabled list for Belt, who missed time due to a broken arm in 2011.

As for the game, Crawford hit a two-run home run off of Maholm in the top of the fifth inning, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 at Dodger Stadium.

This was the 12th win in the last 15 games for the Giants, and increase their lead to 2.5 over the Colorado Rockies and 4.5 over the Dodgers.

It was the third home run of the road trip for Crawford, who hit two in Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

Bumgarner pitched a great game, as he went those eight strong innings, allowing one run on four hits, with eight strikeouts and won for the second consecutive game after losing three in a row.

Over his last six starts at Dodger Stadium, Bumgarner is now 5-2 with a 1.45 earned run average and over that span, Bumgarner has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of those starts.

Joaquin Arias, who replaced Belt at first base, drove in the third and final run of the game for the Giants, as he hit an infield single that scored Hunter Pence.

The lone mistake by Bumgarner came off the bat of Yasiel Puig in the bottom of the sixth inning, but on the home run trot by Puig, there was chirping from both Bumgarner and Puig.

After Puig hit his long home run over the center field wall, he flipped his bat and as he crossed home plate, there were things said between the two.

Luckily for both Buster Posey and home plate umpire Will Little, things did not escalate beyond the yelling between the two.

Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth inning to pickup his 12th save in 12 opportunities this season.

By George Devine, Sr.

With the series returning to Staples Center, and the angst over team ownership winding down, the Clippers had an opportunity to take the lead in the second round. They just were overpowered by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 118-112.

It was a tightly played contest in which Los Angeles led in the first and third quarters, and the lead went back and forth throughout the evening. But Oklahoma City pulled ahead in the fourth, and the rest was history.

For OKC, MVP Kevin Durant played almost the entire game (45:48) and led the scoring with 36 points. He contributed 8 rebounds — all defensive — and 6 assists, enough to make the difference. Russell Westbrook had 25 points, 13 assists and 8 boards. Serge Ibaka had 20 points and 6 rebounds. Reggie Jackson, who was poorly defended, was able to score 14 points, as was Caron Butler. The team as a whole shot 85.7 from the free throw line, well over the typical NBA pcrcentage.

For the Clippers, Blake Griffin was on the court for 42:16, pouring in 34 points; he also was responsible for 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. Chris Paul was in for almost as long (42:01) and scored 21 points. More importantly, he contributed a spectacular number of assists with 16. Jamal Crawford had 20 points, Matt Barnes 14 and DeAndre Jordan 10, with 11 boards.

The next game is at 12:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday, May 11.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, May 8, 2014

The Oakland Athletics had Thursday off and start a three-game home interleague series against the Washington Nationals.

On Sunday, the A’s will host their 16th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day to honor those who have courageously battled breast cancer. In a pregame ceremony, more than 350 Bay Area breast cancer survivors will form a symbolic human pink ribbon on the field. A breast cancer survivor raffle will determine who throws out the ceremonial first pitch.

For the 11th straight year, the Athletics will donate $5,000 as part of “A Gift of Faith” grant to Pink Access Foundation in memory of Faith Fancher, the late KTVU Channel 2 reporter.

Pink Access Foundation is a Bay Area nonprofit organization that raises funds to fight cancer in disadvantaged communities.

Proceeds from the sale of commemorative pins, hats, pink jerseys and head ribbon pendants, an A’s autographed quilt raffle tickets, and varied fan and sponsor support will benefit the American Cancer Society.

Since 1990, the Athletics have raised more than $1.3 million to assist with breast cancer education and research.

By Jeremy Harness

Well, at least there’s one team in the Bay Area that is able to beat LA.

The Giants shook off the sting of the Pittsburgh loss pretty quickly. When you think about it, however, it’s not like they had a whole lot of time to think about it, either.

Following the Wednesday defeat to the Pirates at PNC Park, the Giants flew across the country in time to meet the Dodgers in Los Angeles Thursday night. The lack of a layoff certainly paid off for the Giants, as they came back to beat the Dodgers, 3-1, in 10 innings.

The Giants got a great outing from starter Ryan Vogelsong, who went 7 1/3 innings and gave up only a run on five hits against a potent Dodgers lineup.

“He threw the heck out of it,” Brandon Hicks said of Vogelsong. “I thought for a while that he was going to throw a no-hitter. He had it going tonight.”

He got a huge save from his bullpen after he gave up a pinch-hit single to Chone Figgins in the eighth. Jeremy Affeldt made a great fielding play to get Dee Gordon while Santiago Casilla got Yasiel Puig swinging after a long battle at the plate to end the inning.

Casilla was not done, however. With closer Sergio Romo warming up in the bullpen, Casilla went through the heart of the lineup and had considerable help in doing so. Shortstop Brandon Crawford made a fantastic diving stop to nail Hanley Ramirez while Hicks ranged well to his right in shallow right field to get Adrian Gonzalez.

The righty finished off the inning himself, as he struck out Matt Kemp to send the game into extra innings.

The Giants had a big opportunity in the 10th inning, as Angel Pagan and Hunter Pence each reached base with one out, forcing reliever Jamey Wright to have to pitch to Buster Posey.

Posey worked the count to 3-0 before Wright fought back to get it to 3-2, with Posey fouling off a couple of pitches before coaxing a walk out of Wright to load the bases.

Hector Sanchez capitalized for the Giants by launching one to the warning track in right field, plenty deep enough to score Pagan from third, before Brandon Belt brought Pence in with a single through the left side of the infield to give the Giants a 3-1 lead.

The Giants had trailed 1-0 in the seventh inning before Hicks, who has quickly been known to get the big hit, connected for a solo home run off Dodgers starter Josh Beckett, who himself had a great performance in giving up only that one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings.

by George Devine, Sr.

By George Devine, Sr.

As a hometown crowd in Oklahoma City chanted “MVP! MVP!” at Kevin Durant, he and his Thunder teammates overcame the Los Angeles Clippers to tie the second round playoff series at a game apiece. The final score of 112-101 represented the home team’s surge in the third and fourth quarters, but it was a tight contest until halftime and beyond., with L.A. leading at one point in the second period.

Durant — who received his MVP trophy before the game — was the crowd’s favorite, and the top scorer with 32, 17 of those points in the first period. Russell Westbrook was just behind him with 31, contributing 10 boards and 4 assists. Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefoloska — typically a defensive standout — had 14 each.

For the Clippers, J.J. Redick had 18 points despite being guarded effectively. by Sefoloska. Blake Griffin had 15; Chris Paul led his teammates by scoring 17, and contributed 11 assists.

Game 3 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PDT at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

By Jeremy Harness

The Warriors have fired head coach Mark Jackson after three seasons at the helm, amid internal strife and strife.

The firing comes after the Warriors finished a season during which the team won 51 games and made the playoffs for a second straight year before losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games.

According to numerous reports, the reason behind the dismissal was the fact the Jackson did not get along with team management, particularly owner Joe Lacob.

Jackson had issues with some of his assistant coaches in the past season, including Brian Scalabrine, whom Jackson re-assigned to the Warriors’ D-League affiliate due to “differences in philosophy.”

Regarding the short list of candidates, the Warriors are reportedly looking at Steve Kerr as well as Stan Van Gundy.