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Ogden gets a jump on Ballers in 13-9 win Thursday

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The Oakland Ballers lost a tough contest against the Ogden Raptors on Thu May 22, 2025 at Raimondi Park in Oakland (Oakland Ballers photo)

Ogden Raptors (2-1) 250 240 000 13 11 2

Oakland Ballers (1-2) 103 004 001 9 14 3

Time: 3:14

Attendance: 3,118

Thursday, May 22, 2025

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–On this chilly Thursday evening in May, more suitable to football than to baseball, the Ogden Raptors thrashed the Oakland Ballers by the football score of 13-9. It would have been a close game had they been playing that other sport. But they weren’t, and it wasn’t.

Ironically, the drubbing came as a moral victory for the Oaklanders. They had endured two innings of self-inflicted misery that would have caused a lesser outfit to abandon all hope, but the flawed hometown heroes kept a slim but real hope alive until the penultimate put out.

Carter Mize’s two run shot over the right field fence off starting pitcher Mac Lardner put the Raptors up 2-0 in the first. The Ballers responded by scraping up a run in the bottom of the frame on Tramayne Cobb’s leadoff double, two walks and a throwing error by shortstop Elliot Good on Cam Buffard’s grounder We now had the makings of a tight ball game.

They ended in the top of the second, in which the Raptors made 11 plate appearances, but they didn’t bat around the order; they walked around it. The visitors scored five runs on two hits, both singles, and five bases on balls.

Ogden tagged on two more tallies in the fourth and another four in the fifth, in which the B’s found new ways to self-destruct. Good led off with a single to right. In the next two plays, the Ballers made errors on sacrifice bunts. Edwin de la Cruz reached first on a throwing error by pitcher Brady Eglite, who had mercifully relieved Lardner after he had faced six batters in the second without retiring any of them. Kenny Oyama then reached first on a throwing error and took second on the ensuing action, in which de la Cruz advanced to third and Good scored. De la Cruz then crossed the plate on a passed ball, Oyama taking third. The Raptors picked up two more runs by more conventional methods (a single and a sac fly) before they were done.

From the depths of this despair, with fans deserting Ernie Raimondi Park in droves, the Ballers battled back. Cobb smacked a one out double to right off of Braydon Bonner, who had relieved Matthew Colucci, who in turn had relieved starter Eli Ellliott in the bottom the fifth.

Lou Helmig drove Cobb home with a single, also to right and then reached third on when Davis Drewek got yet another single. He, too, advanced 180 feet on a single to right, this one off the bat of Christian Almanza, driving in Helmig. Bufford’s double to left plated Drewek.

Michael O’Hara followed up with as ground out to first, which brought in Oakland’s fourth and final run of the frame. The B’s still trailed, 13-8, but the worm had turned. They still had a shot at a comeback. They managed to score an unearned run in the ninth, but that was all they could muster.

But the team’s self respect had been restored. They even outhit their guests, 14-11, but with so many gifts of walks and errors, the Raptors really didn’t need many hits. They used five pitchers to subdue the B’s, the win going to Colucci. Manager Aaron Miles and pitching coach Jim Dedrick also sent a quintet to the mound. A trio—Carson Lambert, Conner Sullivan, and Cameron Edmonson—kept Ogeden off the board over the final four frames, two of which were handled by Lambert. The loss went to Lardner, now 0-1 with a gaudy ERA of 63.00.

Colucci was the winning pitcher. There was no save.

The season’s still young; 93 games still remain in it. There’s room for plenty for surprises. Let’s wait until Friday, evening at 6:35pm to see what new ones await us in the fourth game of this six game series.

Skahan’s extra time heroics propel Earthquakes to 1-0 win over Timbers, advance to quarterfinals

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The San Jose Earthquakes Starting XI posed for a pic before their showdown with the Portland Timbers in the Round of 16 match of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at PayPal Park on Tuesday MAY 20, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Jack Skahan scored in the 116th minute as the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 in the Round of 16 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday evening at PayPal Park.

San Jose advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup where they will find out their opponent on Thursday morning when officials from the U.S Open Cup will perform a draw for the remaining eight teams. Portland bowed out of the tournament after one win.

Preston Judd connected with Mark-Anthony Kaye along the left wing. Kaye made one touched before firing the ball on net that pinballed off of a Timbers defender and then off of Skahan into the back of the net past Timbers goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau for his first goal of the tournament.

San Jose started the match with two free kicks from just outside the box in the first six minutes of the contest. They weren’t able to capitalize on either chance as Portland’s defense cleared out both attempts.

The Earthquakes nearly got on the scoreboard in the 20th minute. Cristian Espinoza corralled a long ball and made a back pass into the middle of the box. Ousseni Bouda deked out one defender before depositing the ball high into the stands with his shot attempt.

Portland’s best scoring chance of the opening 45 minutes came in the 30th minute off of an Earthquakes turnover. Arie Lassiter’s left footed shot from 15-yards out was gobbled up with a diving save by Quakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.

San Jose head coach Bruce Arena made one change to the lineup at halftime when he substituted in Judd for Hernan Lopez, who made his first start since coming off of his shoulder injury. Lopez also received a yellow card in the 40th minute for a bad foul.

The Timbers had a chance to breakthrough in the 50th minute when Andrew Guerra got behind the Quakes defense on a long ball. However, Edwards Jr. aggressively came out and made a sliding tackle to keep the ball out of harm’s way.

Crepeau was busy in the first 10 minutes of the second half when San Jose had shot attempts on target, including making a fingertip save on a shot by Beau Leroux in the 56th minute that went out for a corner kick.

In the 86th minute Kamal Miller dragged down Espinoza just outside the box. Miller was animated on the call that came late after the play and was issued a yellow card for arguing with the officials. Espinoza’s ensuing free kick was knocked away by Crepeau.

San Jose had a golden opportunity in the 111th minute to break the seal when Benji Kikanovic fed a long ball out to Jack Skahan along the left wing. Skahan dribbled in all alone on Crepeau, but his chip shot attempt was saved by Crepeau.

Edwards Jr stopped all five shots on target to earn his first clean slate of the tournament. Crepeau made eight saves on nine shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 12 corner kicks. Portland had two.

San Jose is now 3-2 against Portland in U.S Open Cup play.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns to MLS action when they host the Houston Dynamo on Saturday May 24th at 7:30pm at PayPal Park.

Earthquakes battle to 3-3 draw with Messi and Inter Miami

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Inter Miami’s midfielder Lionel Messi (left) battles for the ball with San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Beau Leroux during the teams 3-3 draw at Pay Pal Park on Wednesday MAY 14, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Messi Mania lived up to the hype in Silicon Valley.

Inter Miami came back from a one-goal deficit at halftime in an exciting 3-3 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday evening in front of a pro-Messi sold-out crowd at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose is unbeaten in their last three MLS matches. Inter Miami has earned points in two of its last three matches.

World renowned soccer superstar, many have called him the G.O.A.T., Lionel Messi made his triumphant debut in the South Bay with his Inter Miami squad to 18,000 frenzied fans who consistently chanted his name all night long throughout the match. Messi helped create two of the three goals against San Jose.

Messi only needed 35 seconds to make his impact on the match. After a corner kick, Messi made a pass back up to Jordi Alba and the Inter Miami defender crossed the ball into the middle of the box where an unmarked Maximiliano Falcón headed the ball past Quakes goalkeeper Daniel for his first goal of the season.

San Jose (5-6-2) answered two minutes later thanks to a blunder by Miami’s goalkeeper Oscar Ustari. Cristian Espinoza intercepted a clearing attempt by Ustari inside the box. Espinoza found Chico Arango all alone in the middle and the Colombian striker buried the ball into an open net for his team leading ninth goal of the season.

The first half explosion of offense continued for the Earthquakes in the 37th minute when they earned its first lead of the match. Vitor Costa found Ian Harkes just outside the box. Harkes attempted move into the box deflected over to Beau Leroux who drilled a shot off of the hand of Ustari into the bottom right corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

Inter Miami (6-2-4) evened the game in the 44th minute when Messi sent in a long ball out Alba. The Spanish fullback crossed the ball into the middle of the box where Allende finished off the tic-tac-toe play with a one-timer into an open net for his first goal in over two months.

“I think the biggest mistake we could have made tonight was to be too respectful of Messi. Some teams maybe get players around him a little tighter and try to dive the ball. We just want to play our game and try to be the better team tonight. At the same time, obviously have the greatest respect for a player of his skill and talent and all of that. So hopefully the people in the stands enjoyed the game,” Arena said.

The Earthquakes received a scare in the 31st minute when Arango had to leave the pitch after suffering a left leg injury. Arango was able to walk off under his own power but was replaced by Amahl Pellegrino.

San Jose responded and regained the lead four minutes into stoppage time to conclude a wild first half scoring bonanza. Pellegrino found Leroux along the right wing with a cross-pitch pass. Leroux quickly one-touched the ball over to Ian Harkes who beat Ustari with a left footed shot from 18 yards out for his first goal of the season.

Harkes’ goal was the 17th Inter Miami’s suspect defense has conceded in its last six matches.

A controversial foul by Pellegrino, who also received a yellow card on the play from referee Joe Dickerson, just outside the box with seconds left in the opening 45 minutes gave Messi a chance to even the score on the last play of half. However, his free kick sailed just wide to the right of the net.

Inter Miami scored the equalizer in the 52nd minute on Allende’s brace. Messi set up Baltasar Rodríguez along the right wing. Rodríguez crossed the ball into the middle where an unmarked Allende one-timed the ball into an open net for his fourth goal of the season.

The Quakes thought they had regained the lead in the 62nd minute when Ousseni Bouda found Espinoza along the right wing and Espinoza fired a shot into the back of the net past Ustari. However, Bouda was ruled offsides by the linesman on a late call.

Both teams had chances to score the winning goal during the five minutes of stoppage time in the second half. In the second minute, Alba found Messi all alone along the left side of the box. Messi’s shot attempt from point-blank range was kicked away by Daniel at the last moment to keep the score deadlocked. Then in the waning moments of the match, Hernan Lopez, who played his first MLS game since May 1 and came in as a substitute for Pellegrino in the 79th minute, fired a shot from 20 yards out that deflected off of Falcon and just wide right of the net.

Daniel finished the match with two saves on five shots on target while Ustari made three saves on six shots.

“We came out to the field with that in mind, the mindset to deliver three points. There were a lot of moments where we had control of the game, but obviously they have a really good player. So that’s why the game was really open for both teams. But it’s really important to get points. Either it’s three points or at least one point tonight. As I said before, we tried everything. So, we went for the three points, but at least we got one point. We need to keep growing as a team,” Espinoza said.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with seven corner kicks. Inter Miami had two.

San Jose is 0-1-1 all time versus Inter Miami.

Arango moved into second in the MLS Golden Boot race to Philadelphia’s Tai Baribo, who has 10. It was the Colombian forward’s 62nd career MLS goal. He also played in his 200th MLS game tonight.

Espinoza recorded his eighth assist of the season on Arango’s goal to keep the MLS assist lead. It was his 79th career assist, a club record. He also continues to lead the league in key passes (49).

The Quakes continue to lead all MLS with 29 team goals after adding three more tonight. They are also tops in expected goals (29.78).

UP NEXT: San Jose travels to New England to take on the Revolution on Saturday May 17th at 4:30pm at Gillete Stadium.

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Giants’ comeback falls just short, as Diamondbacks hold on for 8-7 win to take series

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Arizona Diamondbacks third base coach Shaun Larkin (88) congratulates Ketel Marte (right) after hitting a two run home run in top of the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Arizona Diamondbacks 8 (23-21)

San Francisco Giants 7 (25-19)

Win: Ryan Thompson (1-0)

Loss: Jordan Hicks (1-6)

Save: Shelby Miller (3)

Time: 3:14

Attendance: 30,078

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants came back from down 8-2 to put the tying run 90 feet away at third base in the bottom of the ninth inning, but at the end, the Diamondbacks held on to win this thriller by a final of 8-7 Wednesday.

After a wild win Tuesday night, the Giants looked to take the series over their division rivals Wednesday. However, Giants’ starter Jordan Hicks has had his struggles in the early going this season, and they would continue Wednesday.

Katel Marte shot a home run just fair down the right field line with one out in the top of the first inning to give the Diamondbacks an early 1-0 lead. Arizona then scored two more runs in the top of the second on RBI base-hits by Geraldo Perdomo and Alek Thomas.

The Diamondbacks led 3-0, and they looked to blow it open early, as they still had the bases loaded with nobody out. Hicks caught a break when Corbin Carroll lined a bullet to first-baseman David Villar, who turned an unassisted double play. Marte, who had homered an inning prior, struck out to end the inning, and Hicks got out of it down by just three.

The Giants had their response against Diamondbacks’ starter Eduardo Rodrigurez in the bottom of the second. Just like last night, the suddenly-hot Christian Koss came up with the bases loaded and one out. He didn’t hit a grand slam like last night, but he fisted a base-hit to right, which knocked in Willy Adames to put the Giants on the board. Heliot Ramos then knocked in catcher Sam Huff with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 3-2.

However, the struggles continued for Hicks in the top of the third. Lourdes Gurriel led off the inning with a double, and after Josh Naylor got Gurriel over to third on a bloop single, Hicks was done after just two-plus innings.

Bob Melvin brought up the reliable Hayden Birdsong. Birdsong has been off to a great start this season, and he came into today’s game with a 1.33 ERA. Unfortunately, this would not be Birdsong’s day, as Eugenio Suarez greeted him with a three-run home run to left to open Arizona’s lead back up to 6-2.

After the Giants went down one, two, three against Rodriguez in the bottom of the third, Birdsong was tagged for another home run with one out in the top of the fourth. This one was the second home run of the day for Katel Marte, who hit a two-run shot over the high wall in right-center. The Diamondbacks now had an 8-2 lead.

However, despite their recent offensive struggles, the Giants have never given up, and they have been known to come back and win games. The Giants put runners at first and second with two outs in the bottom of the fourth for Heliot Ramos. Ramos lined a double down the left field line, and both runners scored to make it 8-4, and the Giants had sent their message.

Birdsong got through the fifth, and Spencer Bivens pitched scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh.

Though they went down scoreless in the fifth and sixth, the Giants continued to chip away at Arizona’s lead in the bottom of the seventh against Ryne Nelson. Wilmer Flores singled with one out, and Jung Hoo Lee hit a two-run home run to right-center to make it 8-6.

Erik Miller threw a one, two, three top of the eighth, and Nelson retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of the eighth. Then there was some drama. Koss drew a walk, and Heliot Ramos reached on an infield hit to third. However, Koss rounded second and collided with Diamondbacks’ shortstop Geraldo Perdomo. Koss fell to the ground and appeared to be hurt, and he was promptly tagged out.

However, after Melvin came out to argue, the umpires called Type 2 obstruction on Perdomo. Type 2 obstruction is called when a runner is impeded by a fielder without the ball while a play is not being made on him. With type 2 obstruction, the play continues, and then the umpires determine where the runner would have gone had the obstruction not occurred.

Usually, if a player stops after Type 2 obstruction is called and stays put or assumes he’s entitled to the next base—as is the case with Type 1 obstruction, which is called when a runner is being impeded by a fielder without the ball while a play is being made on him—and he gets tagged out in the process, the out stands.

Diamondbacks Manager Torey Lovullo was furious. His argument very well may have been that Koss was sitting on the ground after the obstruction, and thus should have been out. However, since Koss was hurt and unable to get up and go back to second, he was awarded second base to nullify the obstruction. What also complicated things was that the obstruction was not called until after the play ended.

First Base Umpire and Crew Chief Mark Ripperger explained the crew’s decision to Lovullo, who would be thrown out of the game. On the other hand, Melvin and Giants Third Base Coach Matt Williams did not like that Koss was unable to move up to third.

However, as I mentioned earlier, Koss would have been awarded third on Type 1 obstruction if a play was being made on him while he was impeded. Since this was Type 2 obstruction, because play was not being made on Koss, he had to stay at second.

After all the chaos ended, Wilmer Flores popped out to end the inning.

Giants’ closer Ryan Walker pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the ninth, and the Giants rallied against Shelby Miller in the bottom of the ninth.

Matt Chapman hit a base-hit to left with one out, and then Willy Adames hit a ground-rule double to left-center. After being down 8-2 back in the fourth inning, the Giants had the tying run in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

Patrick Bailey, who came in for Huff to catch in the top of the inning, drew a walk to load the bases for Mike Yastrzemski. Yastrzemski struck out swinging, and Melvin sent in LaMonte Wade to pinch-hit for Villar. Wade walked, and Chapman scored to make it 8-7.

Now, the tying run was standing just 90 feet away at third, and the winning run was in scoring position at second. Up came Koss with a chance to be the hero. He took the first two pitches for strikes, and then he took two more pitches to work the count to 2-2. At the end, Koss flew out to center-fielder Alek Thomas in shallow right-center, and the Giants came up just short.

The Diamondbacks ended up taking the series, and it was a tough loss for the Giants. However, the fact that the Giants came back from down 8-2 to put the tying run at third in the ninth shows just how good, resilient and determined the 2025 Giants are. It was a tough loss, but the Giants should hold their heads high as they leave the ballpark and be ready to go against the A’s on Friday.

Eduardo Rodriguez only pitched four innings, so it was Ryan Thomas, who pitched the bottom of the fifth for the Diamondbacks, who got the win. Jordan Hicks took the loss, and Shelby Miller picked up his third save.

The Giants fall to 25-19, and they will get a day off on Thursday. On Friday, the Oakland/Sacramento A’s will come to Oracle Park for a three-game set. Giants’ ace Logan Well (4-3, 2.60 ERA) will take the ball in the series opener Friday night. The A’s have yet to announce their starter.

First pitch will be at 7:15 p.m.

Ray hangs in there for solid outing to stay undefeated, and Koss’ grand salami carries Giants to wild 10-6 win over Arizona

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San Francisco Giants Jung Hoo Lee (51) is congratulated by teammates Heliot Ramos (far left), Mike Yastrzemski (5) in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue May 13, 2025 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Arizona Diamondbacks 6 (22-21)

San Francisco Giants 10 (25-18)

Win: Robbie Ray (6-0)

Loss: Brandon Pfaat (6-3)

Time: 3:00

Attendance: 30,960

By Stephen Ruderman

Robbie Ray pitched solid innings after giving up a three-spot in the top of the first inning, and Christian Koss’ grand slam—also his first big league home run—in the bottom of the second propelled the Giants to a wild 10-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

The Giants came into Tuesday night losers of four-straight after Corbin Carroll hit a pair of home runs and Merrill Kelly further stymied the Giants’ offense in the series opener Monday night.

Tuesday night, the Giants had the perfect man on the mound to be the stopper. That was none other than Robbie Ray, who was 5-0. Even better, the Giants came in 8-0 in Ray’s starts this season.

It was Tuesday night, which meant the Giants would be playing their third game in their new funky city connect jerseys. The only bad news was that they were 0-2 in them. Either the Giants were going to lose their first game with Ray on the mound, or they were finally going to win their first game in their new musical threads.

Unfortunately, all signs pointed to the former early on. While Robbie Ray’s night started off nicely with a strike out of Katel Marte, base-hits by Corbin Carroll and the veteran outfielder, Randal Grichuk, put runners at the corners for Arizona with one out.

Eugenio Suarez came up and roped a double down the left field line to put the Diamondbacks on the board. Then up came Josh Naylor, who grounded a base-hit up the middle into center field, which knocked in a pair of runs.

The Diamondbacks had an early 3-0 lead, and they were looking for more. Naylor stole second base, and then he advanced to third on a two-out infield hit by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Ray was on the ropes, but he was able to get Jordan Lawler to ground out to second, and at last, the inning was over. Ray had to throw 26 innings to get through the top of the first, and the three runs didn’t help either. However, despite their recent offensive struggles, the Giants have tended to respond to big innings by the other team.

Diamondbacks’ starter Brandon Pfaat threw a scoreless bottom of the first, but the Giants would have their response in the bottom of the second. Wilmer Flores started the inning with a base-hit, and Willy Adames drew a walk. LaMonte Wade flew out to right, which got Wilmer over to third, and Patrick Bailey loaded the bases.

Some people, including myself, have questioned Christian Koss’ role on the team. He had not been off to the best start, and he was seen by some as a waste of a roster spot. Last night, he knocked in the Giants’ only run with a two-out base-hit to right in the bottom of the fifth. Tuesday night, he was put in a big spot, as he stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded.

Koss took a sweeper down the pipe. Then he gulfed a sinker down and in, and he lined it to the first row of the bleachers out in left to suddenly put the Giants ahead. It was the big swing of the bat that the Giants had been lacking over the last few days. It also re-fired up the 30,960 at Oracle Park, who would make their presence known throughout the night.

The Giants had their big hit, and they had the lead. Meanwhile, Ray had settled down. After his laborious top of the first, he threw a scoreless top of the second, and a one, two, three top of the third.

The Giants threatened in the bottom of the third and fourth, but were unable to come through. The Giants threatened again in the bottom of the fifth, and this time, they were able to pad their lead. It happened with one out when Willy Adames gulfed a two-run home run in left to make it 6-3. Yeah, I know. It was the third home run in this series hit to the first row of the bleachers.

The Giants were not done. They proceeded to manufacture another run later in the inning. Wade and Koss each got base-hits, and Wade scored on a wild pitch.

Ray finished his night with a scoreless top of the sixth. Even after the three run top of the first, the rest of the night was not a cakewalk for Ray, but he hung in there to give his team six solid innings, which officially counts as a quality start. He also struck out nine. It wasn’t the greatest night for Ray, but it certainly was not a bad night.

Kyle Harrison, back up with the team in the bullpen, gave up a leadoff home run to Corbin Carroll in the top of the seventh. It was Carroll’s third home run of the series, and no, it went beyond the first row. It went into a tunnel beyond the wall in left-center, but it would have gone into the second, third or fourth row.

Harrison retired the next three to get through the top of the seventh. Camilo Doval found himself in trouble in the top of the eighth when the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with one out. Katel Marte hit a chopper back to the mound that Doval turned into a one, two, three double play. You don’t see those every day.

The Giants would add three more runs in the bottom of the eighth off left-hander Joe Mantiply. They all came on a three-run home run by Jung Hoo Lee, who was already somewhat the center of attention prior to the game on South Korean Heritage Night. Lee’s home run hit the green tin atop the 24-foot-high Willie Mays wall in right, so it technically didn’t even reach the first row.

Anyway, Lee’s home run made it 10-4. Naylor hit a two-run home run off Spencer Bivens in the top of the ninth to make it 10-6, but it would really be no problem. Gabriel Moreno grounded out to second to end it, and the Giants won it 10-6.

Robbie Ray gets the win and improves to 5-0. The Giants are now 9-0 in Ray’s starts this season. Brandon Pfaat got the loss.

The Giants get their 25th win to improve to 25-19. And before I forget, the Giants finally have their first win in the new city connects.

The Giants can take the series with a win in the matinee Wednesday at 12:45pm PDT. Jordan Hicks (1-4, 5.82 ERA) will go for the Giants. Countering Hicks for Arizona will be the veteran left-hander, Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 6.86 ERA).

First pitch will be at 12:45 p.m.

Earthquakes take down Republic 2-1 in Round of 32 of U.S. Open Cup

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San Jose Earthquakes striker Amahl Pellegrino celebrates his first half goal teammate Preston Judd during the Earthquakes 2-1 win over the Sacramento Republic at Pay Pal Park on Wednesday MAY 7, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Earthquakes scored two goals in the first half and hung on to defeat the Sacramento Republic 2-1 in the Round of 32 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose snapped their two-match losing streak against Sacramento and advanced to the round of 16 to take on the Portland Timbers on either May 20th or 21st. Sacramento bows out of the tournament after just one match.

“We made a 4-0 game into a 2-1 game. That part is disappointing, but it was positive to see the number of players on the field tonight that we haven’t given a whole lot of minutes and try to make some assessment of where they are.” Quakes head coach Bruce Arena said.

The Earthquakes drew first blood in the second minute of the match. Preston Judd crossed the ball into the middle where unmarked Amahl Pellegrino drilled a right footed shot past Republic goalkeeper Jared Mazzola for his first goal of the tournament.

San Jose doubled its lead in the 44th minute. Nick Lima sent a ball into the middle of the box. Niko Tsakiris made a touch pass off of his knee up over to Judd who beat Mazzola with a low shot for his first goal of the tournament.

“Any time out there I want to play as much as I can, so I don’t want to put myself in a position where I have to go out. … but getting the W is the main thing, and we’re happy about that the most, so now we’re looking forward to the game Saturday,” Judd said.

Sacramento didn’t record its first shot on net until the 68th minute.

Tsakiris played one of his best matches in an Earthquakes kit, creating numerous scoring chances for his teammates throughout the match.

“Tonight, there were moments and opportunities that I felt were open for me and moments where I felt like I could have done better. That’s all part of it. Getting these minutes were valuable for me and for this year. [I’m] just looking to take this and move forward with it,” Tsakiris said.

Jamar Ricketts was given a red card and an automatic ejection in the 83rd minute when he made a dangerous tackle against a Republic midfielder.

The Republic scored in the fifth minute of stoppage when Trevor Aman scored in the final minute of stoppage time when he curled around Quakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. for his first goal of the tournament.

GAME NOTES: The Earthquakes now hold a 22-19 all-time record in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play and 19-6 against non-MLS clubs.

The Quakes and Republic have now met six times in the U.S. Open Cup, with the home side winning all six contests. Host San Jose defeated Sacramento in 2014 (2-1), 2015 (2-2 regulation; 6-5 PKs) and 2019 (4-3), while the Republic won in 2022 (2-0) and 2024 (4-3 after extra time).

Hernán López made his first appearance since the second game of the MLS docket on March 1. The midfielder underwent right shoulder surgery March 14. He entered the match in the 66th minute.

Benji Kikanović made his 2025 debut in the 79th minute after undergoing knee surgery in January. The forward was born in San Jose but grew up in the Sacramento area, featuring collegiately for Sacramento State University (2018-19) and scoring nine goals in 34 games.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns to MLS action as they take on the Colorado Rapids on Saturday May 9th at 6:30pm at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Phillips OT heroics gives Eagles series lead in 3-2 win over Barracuda

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The Colorado Eagles forward Matthew Phillips celebrates a first period goal against the San Jose Barracuda with his teammates along the bench at Blue Arena on Tuesday MAY 6, 2025. (Ashley Potts-Colorado Eagles)

by Marko Ukalovic

Matthew Phillips scored the game winning goal five minutes into overtime to give the Colorado Eagles a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda in Game 3 of the Pacific Division Semifinals on Tuesday evening at Blue Arena.

Former Barracuda defenseman Jayson Megna found Phillips along the right wing on a three-on-two odd man rush. Phillips skated in and beat Cuda backup goalie Gabriel Carriere with a wrist shot for his first goal of the playoffs at the 5:02 mark of the overtime period.

Colorado can close out the series tomorrow evening as they went up 2-1 in the best of the five series. San Jose is on the brink of elimination for the first time in the playoffs.

The Eagles (2-1) drew first blood less than two minutes of the first period. Phillips centered the puck from behind the net out to Tye Felhaber who beat starting Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov to the stick side for his second goal of the playoffs at the 1:59 mark.

Colorado doubled its lead late in the opening frame with an even strength goal. John Ludvig’s shot from the point trickled behind Askarov and a crashing Megna chipped the puck into an open net for his third goal of the playoffs at the 17:02 mark.

San Jose (1-2) cut the deficit in half with a power play goal late in the second period. Filip Bystedt had a give and go with Colin Graf. Bystedt skated out to the right faceoff circle and beat Eagles goalie Trent Miner with a wrist shot to glove side for his second goal of the playoff at the 13:05 mark.

Cuda head coach John McCarthy pulled Askarov with over two minutes remaining in the third period for an extra attacker. San Jose cashed in on the 6-on-5 when Patrick Giles sent a on net that was initially saved by Miner. During a mad scramble in front of the net Pavol Regenda poked home the puck past Miner for his third goal of the playoffs with 1:35 remaining.

Just over a minute into the overtime session, Askarov had to come out of the game with alleged cramping. Askarov was replaced by Carriere who finished the rest of the game stopping two of the three shots he faced in suffering the loss. Askarov made 25 saves on 27 shots.

Miner finished the game stopping 29 of the 31 shots to earn his second victory of the playoffs.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-2 on the power play. Colorado went 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Phillips (1G, 1A) 2) Felhaber (1G,2A) 3) Megna (1G,1A).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado continue their best of five series in Game 4 on Wednesday at 6:05pm at Blue Arena.

Gushchin’s OT heroics propel Barracuda to 2-1 win over Eagles, series even

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San Jose Barracuda forward Pavol Regenda (center) celebrates his second period goal against the Colorado Eagles with teammates Scott Sabourin (#49) and Lucas Vanroboys #(67) at Tech CU Arena on Sunday MAY 4, 2025. (Joey Cascarano-Sport Shots)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Danil Gushchin scored the game winning goal 27 seconds into overtime as the San Jose Barracuda defeated the Colorado Eagles in Game 2 of the Pacific Division Semifinals on Sunday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose had 1:12 left in their power play to start the overtime period. Gushchin carried the puck inside the Eagles zone and created a give and go with Colin Graf. Gushchin’s backhanded attempt was saved by Colorado netminder Trent Miner. The rebound was kicked in through the five-hole of Miner by Chris Wagner as Gushchin earned his first goal of the playoffs and sent the sold-out crowd into a celebratory frenzy.

San Jose earned a split in the series as the next three games shift back to Loveland, CO. Colorado goes back home with home ice advantage for the rest of the series.

“Yeah I thought we executed pretty well, I liked our start,” said Cuda head coach John McCarthy. “Our first period was strong. And I thought penalties both ways, it got a little choppy in the second (period). I thought we pushed there at the end.”

The opening 20 minutes was scoreless as both teams displayed tight checking throughout the period. The Barracuda dominated the shot clock 14-6 over the Eagles yet neither goaltender Yaroslav Askarov nor Miner allowed a puck past the crease.

San Jose (1-1) started the second period on a four-minute power play due to Tye Felhaber taking a high sticking penalty that drew blood at the end of the first period. However, the Cuda power play did not generate enough quality scoring chances.

Colorado (1-1) drew first blood with a power play goal late in the middle frame. Matthew Phillips sent a cross-ice pass through the crease over to Calle Rosen who roofed a one-timer past Askarov for his second goal on the playoffs and second in as many games at the 13:13 mark.

The Barracuda scored a special team’s goal of their own with 1:48 remaining in the period except it was a short-handed tally. Pavol Regenda blocked a pass in the neutral and created a two-on-zero odd man rush with Collin White. Regenda finished off a nice give and go with White as he beat Miner with a wrist shot for his second goal of the playoffs.

“Whitey (White) made a good move, faked out the goalie and kind just opened it (the space for me). I’m happy for the short-handed goal. It helped in a game like this,” Regenda said.

In the third period, emotions ran high as the chippiness began to flow after the whistle. Colorado had two power play opportunities early in the period weren’t able to cash in on either one as the Cuda penalty kill led by Askarov kept the Eagles from scoring the go-ahead goal.

Devante Stephens set up Gushchin’s heroics when he went to the sinbin for tripping Danil Gushchin with 48.1 seconds left in the period.

Askarov finished the game stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced to earn his third win of the playoffs. Miner suffered his first loss of the playoffs as he made 34 saves on 36 shots.

“He (Askarov) played great, he won us the game tonight,” McCarthy said.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-6 on the power play. Colorado went 1-for-5.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gushchin (1G,0A) 2) Regenda (1G,0A) 3) Rosen (1G,0A).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado battle it out in Game 3 on Tuesday May 6th at 6:05pm at Blue Arena.

Espinoza’s brace powers Earthquakes past Timbers 4-1

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Cristian Espinoza and Cristian Arango of the San Jose Earthquakes celebrate Espinoza’s first goal of his brace against the Portland Timbers at Pay Pal Park on Saturday MAY 3, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Cristian Espinoza scored two goals and DeJuan Jones had two assists in his first start of the season as the San Jose Earthquakes blasted past the Portland Timbers in 4-1 victory on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose snapped its three-match losing streak and has won two of its past three at home. Portland had its seven-match unbeaten streak snapped as it suffered its first loss since March 8th against Nashville 2-0.

The Earthquakes (4-6-1) drew first blood 16th minute. Cristian Arango sent a long ball out to the right wing. Dejuan Jones, who made his first start in a Quakes kit and in his second game since being acquired from the Columbus Crew, centered the ball into the box over to Cristian Espinoza and the Argentine hit a low shot into the left corner of the net for his third goal of the season.

“It was really important to start the game that way. We knew that we needed this victory. We need the three points tonight. We were preparing ourselves the whole week for this moment. We know when we stay together, we keep the compactness inside the field, the result will come. Tonight was a great answer,” Espinoza said.

Jones first point as an Earthquake was the assist that gave Espinoza third place on the franchise’s all-time career club scoring list as he passed Jeremy Ebobisse with his 35th (and later his 36th) for the Black and Blue.

Espinoza recorded his brace in the 24th minute. Espinoza had a nice give and go with Ousseni Bouda as the Quakes captain got behind the Timbers defense and dribbled in all alone before firing a right footed shot past Timber’s goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau for his fourth goal of the season.

San Jose scored its third unanswered goal of the first half on a counterattack. Chico Arango fed a pass up the right sideline to Jones who quickly returned it back to Arango with a nice touch pass. Arango raced down the right wing before rifling in a right footed strike for his team leading seventh goal of the season in the 27th minute.

“Whenever you can get to a new club and make an impact with the scoring right away, that’s helpful. And I’m building chemistry quickly with my teammates. They make it really easy. It’s fun playing with them, so to get the 4-1 win is good. We use the momentum to keep getting more wins,” Jones said.

Portland (5-3-3) broke through with its only goal just before halftime in the 42nd minute. Anthony Santos made a drop pass over to David De Costa just outside the box. De Costa centered the ball over to Felipe Mora who beat Quakes goalkeeper Daniel with a chip shot for his team leading sixth goal of the season.

In the second half VAR played a pivotal role in taking away two potential goals for San Jose. In the 58th minute, Arango thought he had his own brace when his one-timer off of a Vitor Costa centering pass was kicked into the back of the net. However, after a VAR review, Arango was ruled offside.

Crepeau stoned Arango’s second chance at a brace when stopped a point-blank chance after Espinoza centered the ball into the box.

A minute later Beau Leroux made a move around David Ayala inside the box. Ayala apparently tripped Leroux with his leg that resulted in referee Fortis Bazakos ruling it a penalty. Once again VAR called down for a review and the penalty was overturned frustrating the Quakes faithful.

Third time was the charm for San Jose as they finally earned its fourth goal of the match in the 88th minute. Arango crossed the ball into the middle from the left wing over Bouda who finished off the pass with a one-timer into the right corner of the net for his 2nd goal of the season. Espinoza, who had the secondary assist on the goal, recaptured the league lead with his seventh helper on the season and 78th in MLS play, extending his club record.

“It’s a good win against a very good team. I thought Portland was dangerous throughout the game. Our guys responded. The three goals in the first half are huge. We knew they would come at us real strong to start the second half and we weathered the storm. In the last 15 to 20 minutes of the game, we settled in the right way to try to just protect our lead and get out of here with three points. We did a good job with that. They’re a very good team, so we’re pleased with the win,” Quakes head coach Bruce Arena said after the match.

Daniel finished with four saves on five shots to earn his fourth victory of the season. Crepeau made four saves on eight shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with two corner kicks. Portland had six.

Earthquakes move to 7-19-10 all-time vs. Portland, with a 7-5-6 record at home. 

Espinoza became the 21st player in MLS history with 15 career game-winning goals and 15 career game-winning assists. He also extended his consecutive games streak—a club record and the longest active run in MLS—to 120, good for third all-time and second among field players.

Pay Pal Park celebrated Colombian Heritage Night with food stands and vendors that featured items and food from the Colombian culture.

UP NEXT: San Jose takes on Sacramento Republic FC in the Round of 32 of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday May 7th at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Hicks hangs in there, and Chapman’s grand salami carries Giants to 6-3 win over Rockies

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San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman (26) rounds the first base after hitting a sixth inning grand slam is congratulated by first base coach Mark Hallberg in the bottom of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat May 3, 2025 (AP News photo)

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Colorado Rockies 3 (6-27)

San Francisco Giants 6 (21-13)

Win: Randy Rodriguez (2-0)

Loss: Jake Bird (0-1)

Save: Ryan Walker (6)

Time: 2:21

Attendance: 40,049

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants appear to be back on track, as Jordan Hicks hung in there for five innings, and Matt Chapman hit a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning to propel the Giants to a 6-3 win over the Rockies.

The Giants snapped their first three-game winning streak of the year with a 4-0 win Friday night, as Robbie Ray struck out eight over seven shutout innings.

Saturday, Jordan Hicks looked to follow that up with a strong outing of his own. Following three-consecutive rough starts, Hicks had a much better outing against the Texas Rangers on Sunday, when he gave up two runs over five innings.

Hicks got off to a solid start Saturday, as he opened the game with three scoreless innings. So did Rockies’ starter Bradley Blalock, who retired the first seven men he faced.

The Giants struck first when Luis Matos hit a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the third. Other than that, Blalock kept dealing, and the Giants struggled to mount any sort of rally against him.

As for Hicks, he cruised through five shutout innings, but he ran into trouble in the top of the sixth. Brenton Doyle walked to start the inning, and after back-to-back base-hits by Jordan Beck and Ryan McMahon tied the game, Hicks was done.

Randy Rodriguez came in, as he has many times for Giants’ starters so far this season. Hunter Goodman greeted Rodriguez with a base-hit to left to give the Rockies the lead. Rodriguez retired the next two, but Kyle Farmer chopped a base-hit off Rodriguez’s ankle that scored McMahon to make it 3-1.

It was an unfortunate end to what was a solid outing for Hicks, who got charged for three runs over five-plus innings, but struck out seven.

10 of the Giants’ 20 wins had come with them trailing by two or more runs, and here they were again trailing by two.

Blalock walked Matos to start the bottom of the sixth, and then he walked Mike Yastrzemski with one out. Rockies Manager Bud Black brought in Jake Bird, who walked Willy Adames to load the bases. Jung Hoo Lee then lined a base-hit up the middle into center field to make it 3-2.

Up came Matt Chapman. Chapman fouled off the first pitch, and then he hit a grand slam to right-center to give the Giants a 6-3 lead.

The Giants’ bullpen then handled the rest. Camilo Doval threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the seventh, and Erik Miller threw a scoreless top of the eighth. Ryan Walker, who last picked up a save exactly two weeks ago on April 19 in Anaheim, came in for the ninth, and he threw a one, two, three inning to get his sixth save of the year.

Randy Rodriguez, who came in for Hicks in the top of the sixth, picked up the win. Jake Bird was saddled with the loss, and Ryan Walker got the save.

The Giants picked up their 11th win when trailing by two or more runs, as they improve to 21-13.

The series finale will be Sunday, and the Giants will look to win the series with their ace, Logan Webb (3-2, 2.83 ERA), on the mound. Countering Webb for the Rockies will be the veteran, German Marquez (0-5, 9.82 ERA).

The matchup is obvious on paper, but it’s baseball, and the game still has to be played before we know for sure what happens and who will win. First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m at Oracle.