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By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Friday, August 28, 2015

PHOENIX, Arizona – Not every player advances to first on a missed third strike and hits a home run in the same game. But then, Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt isn’t like every other player.

When Goldschmidt advanced on a passed ball after striking out in the sixth inning, he helped spark a game-tying rally. In the seventh inning, the All-Star first baseman cranked an estimated 486-foot two-run homer that capped a four-run go-ahead rally that gave the Diamondbacks a 6-4 interleague win Friday over the visiting Oakland Athletics.

“It was a slider on a 3-2 count,” Goldschmidt said. “I was just trying to put a ball in play. I got a slider, it’s a little slower pitch and he got it over the middle of the plate.”

On reaching base on a dropped third strike, Goldschmidt said, “It’s just baseball. That’s the rule since I was 12 years old. Most of the time, your momentum is already going toward first.”

Chris Owings led off the Arizona seventh with a double down the left-field line off A’s starter Sonny Gray (12-6). Aaron Hill, pinch-hitting for pitcher Randall Delgado, laced a double to the gap in right-center, scoring Owings.

After Nick Ahmed’s sacrifice bunt and reliever Pat Venditte stuck out Ender Inciarte, A.J. Pollock’s RBI single scored Hill. Goldschmidt followed with his 26th home run of the season.

With that titanic blast, Goldschmidt moved into fifth place on the Diamondbacks all-time home run list with 108 career round-trippers, passing Justin Upton (108). He needs two more to tie Mark Reynolds for fourth.

In the Oakland ninth, Brett Lawrie’s two-run home run chased reliever David Hernandez. Former A’s closer Brad Ziegler came on and coerced Marcus Semien to hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play, snagging his 24th save of the season.

Lawrie is 14-for-31 (.452) in his last eight games.

“His month has been phenomenal,” A’s Manager Bob Melvin said of Lawrie. “You don’t see too many balls hit that far in this park. That home run gave us a fighting chance.”

Oakland broke through with a pair of runs off D-Backs’ starter Chase Anderson in the top of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. Marcus Semien hit a one-out double, moved to third on Sonny Gray’s groundout to second and scored on a single to left by Billy Burns. Mark Canha followed with a double down the left field line that bounced around enough in front of the bullpen to allow the speedy Burns to score from first.

The Diamondbacks tied the game with two unearned runs in the sixth. After Inciarte led off with a walk and moved to second on a passed ball, Paul Goldschmidt struck out, but the third strike got away from A’s catcher Stephen Vogt, allowing the D-Backs slugger to advance to first and move Inciarte to third.

“That pitch, I believe, was a slider to Goldschmidt,” Melvin said.

“I started swinging, I saw (Vogt) dropped it and saw the ball bounce away,” Goldschmidt said. “It took off and fortunately, it kept rolling and let me get to first. It helped that the pitch was off the plate and outside, so I’m already going that way toward first. It was easier to see rather than a fastball down and in.”

David Peralta followed with a line drive double to right-center, scoring Inciarte and moving Goldschmidt to third. A’s right fielder Josh Reddick caught Wellington Castillo’s shallow pop foul, but his throw home was wide of the plate, allowing Goldschmidt to score from third.

“Josh’s throw looked like it was off line. The angle was a little different because he caught it in the stands before he threw it in,” Melvin said. “It looked like it was going to be to the other side of the plate. If he feels he can throw him out, and we’ve seen what Reddick can do, he did have a chance.”

Each team collected eight hits. Semien (with two doubles) and Danny Valencia each had two hits for Oakland, while Jake Lamb went 2-for-4 for the D-Backs.

Delgado (5-3) struck out one in a scoreless sixth inning to pick up the win in relief. Anderson gave up two earned runs on five hits in six innings.

Gray surrendered four runs – two earned – along with five hits in 6 1/3 innings. He also struck out five and walked two while throwing 98 pitches.

“Sonny threw more changes than he usually does,” Melvin said. “At times, Sonny goes out there with different stuff. This night was one of them. He probably didn’t have his best fastball, velocity-wise. But he threw a lot of cutters, a lot of changeups, and did what he needed to do to get outs.”

Both clubs are essentially out of playoff contention. The Athletics (55-74) have been mired in the American League cellar for much of the season, while Arizona hovers near .500 (63-65).

A’s ACORNS: After Friday’s game, the Athletics recalled RHP Aaron Brooks from Triple-A Nashville, and optioned INF Max Muncy to the Sounds. Manager Bob Melvin said Brooks will likely start Saturday’s game. … Earlier, the A’s announced that 1B Ike Davis underwent successful arthroscopic left hip surgery Friday to repair a torn labium. … The A’s are 8-7 in interleague play this season, 4-6 in their last 10 interleague games going into this weekend. … Oakland pitchers are hitting a collective .143 (2-for-14) in interleague action at National League parks this season. … This was the first game in which A’s Manager Bob Melvin faced Arizona skipper Chip Hale as opposing managers. Hale served as a coach under Melvin both with Arizona and Oakland.

TAGS: Oakland Athletics,Arizona Diamondbacks,Sports Radio Service,Paul Goldschmidt,Daniel Dullum

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Kelby Tomlinson sure knows how to come through in the clutch when needed for the San Francisco Giants.

Tomlinson hit a walk-off single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, helping the Giants to a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals before a crowd of 41,577, the 390th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

This was the Giants fifth walk-off victory of the season, and their first since Matt Duffy singled in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Miami Marlins on May 10

In his 21 games since being recalled, Tomlinson is hitting a robust .363 going 20-for-54 at the plate. He became the 15th Giants player, and sixth since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958 to hit a grand slam for his initial home run in the major leagues.

With the victory, the Giants remain 2.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the National League Western Division title. The Dodgers in a way helped the Giants, as they are hosting the Chicago Cubs this weekend at Dodger Stadium. With the loss, the Giants move within 4.5 of the Cubs for that second Wild Card spot in the National League.

It was the second consecutive day that Tomlinson came up with a big hit for the Giants.

In the bottom of the eighth inning in Thursday’s victory over the Cubs, Tomlinson hit his first career home run, a grand slam that gave the Giants their final four runs in a 9-1 victory.

If it is a Friday night, then Marlon Byrd must be hitting a big home run for the Giants.

Byrd gave the Giants an early 4-0 lead, as he hit a grand slam in the bottom of the third inning with his grand slam off of Cardinals ace Michael Wacha.

This was the second consecutive Friday that Byrd hit a home run on the sixth day of the week, as he hit a three-run home run in his Giants debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on August 21. This was Byrd’s third home run since joining the team, and his 22nd overall on the season.

Prior to the at-bat where Byrd hit his grand slam off of Wacha, Byrd was 0-for-18 including the postseason against the Cardinals right-hander.

After allowing just one hit in six innings in his first start following a stint on the disabled list on Saturday against the Pirates at PNC Park, Mike Leake showed the AT&T Park fans why the Giants acquired him for minor leaguer Stephen Johnson. Leake went six and one-third innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking one and striking out four.

Leake went through the Cardinals lineup unscathed the first time through, but the second time was a totally different story.

Matt Carpenter got the Cardinals first hit of the night, then Tommy Pham walked and after a Jhonny Peralta force out, Yadier Molina singled in Carpenter with the Cardinals first run of the evening. Kolten Wong then hit a ground ball to Kelby Tomlinson for a sure double play; however Ehire Adrainza was unable to turn the twin killing, as he bobbled the ball.

Stephen Piscotty, who went to Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton and then to Stanford got the Cardinals within one run with one swing of the bat. Piscotty’s line drive was just out of the reach of Nori Aoki in leftfield and rolled to the wall to score Carpenter and Wong.

The Cardinals manufactured a run in the top of the sixth inning, as Pham singled and then advanced an additional 90 feet on back-to-back flyouts to Byrd in right field and then scored on Leake’s second wild pitch of the game.

After a tough third inning that saw Wacha allow four runs on three hits, the right-hander regrouped and allowed only two hits over his final three innings of work.

Wacha went six innings, allowing those four runs (none of them were earned), on six hits, walking two and striking out two.

NOTES: Prior to the game, the Giants placed Matt Cain on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to August 26) with elbow nerve irritation. Chris Heston, who was sent to Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday will take Cain’s spot in the rotation on Sunday against Cardinals lefthander Jaime Garcia.

Ryan Vogelsong will take to the hill on Saturday afternoon for the Giants, while Lance Lynn will take the ball for the Cardinals.

With Minor League Baseball coming to a conclusion, the playoffs are going on and the Dominican Summer League Giants won their semifinal game vs. the Dominican Summer League Yankees 3-2 to advance to the championship game that will be played on Saturday afternoon.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-It looks like the day off did not help break the San Francisco Giants from recent rut against the National League Central.

Kyle Schwarber hit a three-run home run in the top of the third inning for the only runs that the Chicago Cubs would need on their way to a hard fought 8-5 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 41,595, the 387th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

This is the third straight loss for the Giants, and they have lost five out of their last six games overall.

Jake Arrieta continued his masterful season, as he went six innings, giving up one run, while allowing scattering four hits, walking just one and striking out eight on his way to improving his record to 16-6 on the season.

On the other hand, it was a short night for Matt Cain, who lasted just five innings, allowing six runs on eight hits, walking two, striking out three and giving two home runs on his way to seeing his record fall to 2-4 on the season.

Miguel Montero hit a two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning that lengthened the Cubs lead, and they were far from done.

Castro then added a double, and then scored when Tommy La Stella hit a single for the Cubs third run of the inning.

With one out in the top of the sixth inning, Castro picked up his third hit of the night, as he hit his sixth home run of the season off of Yusmeiro Petit.

Arrieta that got in the act following Castro’s home run, as he doubled down the left field line, after La Stella grounded out for the second out of the inning, Dexter Fowler reached on a fielding error by Brandon Crawford that scored Arrieta from third base.

The Giants finally got to Arrieta in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Kelby Tomlinson singled, advanced to second on a Nori Aoki groundout, moved an additional 90 feet on a Matt Duffy fielders choice when Arrieta’s throw went into centerfield. Tomlinson then scored on a zany play that saw the ball go off Anthony Rizzo’s glove at first base, and bounce to La Stella at second, who threw back to Rizzo to get Brandon Belt. Buster Posey then extended the inning, as he singled to left; however Arrieta got Crawford to strikeout swinging to end the inning.

Things got very interesting in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Giants got four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Andrew Susac got the big hit of the inning, as he hit a bases clearing double that scored Juan Perez, Marlon Byrd and Gregor Blanco. Brandon Belt scored the first run of the inning on a single after he reached on a fielders choice that retired Duffy at second base. Duffy led off the inning with his second hit of the game.

NOTES: Since leaving the Bay Area on August 16, Hunter Pence was placed on the disabled list with a strained left oblique, Chris Heston was optioned to Sacramento. Byrd was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds. Mike Leake was activated from the disabled list, as was Aoki and today Jeremy Affeldt was placed on the disabled list after suffering a knee injury on the team’s off day at his home in Spokane, WA. Michael Broadway was recalled from Sacramento to take Affeldt’s place on the roster.

Jake Peavy takes the mound on Wednesday, while the Cubs will send Kyle Hendricks to the mound.

By Jeremy Kahn

PITTSBURGH-From the get go things did not go so well for Ryan Vogelsong in the series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Vogelsong gave up three runs in the bottom of the first inning, as those were the only runs that the Pittsburgh Pirates would need on their way to a 5-2 victory before a crowd of 31,364 at PNC Park.

“I didn’t make good pitches when I needed to, the ball were starting in the strike zone and running out I just couldn’t find that really good place to start anything and keep it in the strike zone,” said Vogelsong.

One of Saturday’s heroes, Jung Ho Kang drove in the first run of the inning, as he drew a bases loaded walk that scored Saturday’s other hero Starling Marte, who hit the walk-off home run off of George Kontos in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Pirates the victory.

Neil Walker then singled in Andrew McCutchen with the second run of the frame. Pedro Alvarez drove in the third and final run of the frame, as he hit a sacrifice fly to Nori Aoki in left field that scored Aramis Ramirez.

Despite going 2-5 on this road trip, the Giants are 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top in the National League West and are six vanes behind the Pirates in the Wild Card race.

Three of the five losses on the trip were decided by one run.

“Been the story of this road trip, lot of close games,” said Bruce Bochy.

Francisco Liriano pitched 5.1 innings for the Pirates, as he gave up two runs (both unearned) on seven hits, walking three and striking out five on his way to his ninth win of the season.

Vogelsong went 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking four and striking out two and his record fell to 9-9 on the season.

This was the 12th loss in the last 17 road games for the Giants, as they are now 31-34 away from AT&T Park this season.

With this being the final meeting of the regular season between the Giants and the Pirates, the Pirates finished with a 6-1 record versus the defending World Champions this season.

On their 26-game stretch, where they do not play a team with a record of under .500, the Giants are now 7-10. The next time the Giants play a team with a record under .500 will be on September 3 when they play the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The Giants finally got to Liriano in the top of the fifth inning, as Matt Duffy picked up his third hit in as many at-bats, went to third on a Posey fielders choice that fell in between Alvarez and Walker and on the wild throw to second.

It was a tough road trip for Buster Posey, as he went 3-for-26 on the trip with just one run batted in.

“I felt like I hit the ball hard a few times, but a little bit off and I do not feel too far off,” said Posey.

This was the 12th loss in the last 17 road games for the Giants, and they are 31-34 away from AT&T Park this season.

Matt Duffy singled for the third time in as many appearances, and then advanced to third base when Posey’s popup fell in between Alvarez and Walker, and Walker’s throw went awry. Duffy then scored the Giants first run of the game, when Alvarez was unable to hold onto Ramirez’s throw for the second error of the inning.

After not scoring for the first four innings of the game, the Giants added another run in the top of the sixth inning, when Gregor Blanco reached second base on when his batted ball went through the legs of Alvarez for an error, went to third on a pinch hit single by Juan Perez and scored on a Nori Aoki single to left field.

With a chance to keep the rally going, Duffy hit a ground ball to Kang, who threw to Walker at second and in turn, Walker threw to Alvarez for the double play. Bochy challenged the call, but after two minutes and six seconds, the play stood.

“Duff had a good day, real good day and their guy has great stuff, we were pretty confident that he was safe at first base,” said Bochy.

McCutchen stretched the lead back to two runs in the bottom of the inning, as he took the first pitch he saw from Jeremy Affeldt over the left-center wall for his 19th home run of the season.

After losing his challenge in the top of the sixth inning, Bochy was able to win a challenge in the bottom of the seventh inning. A Crawford throw pulled Posey off the base for a throwing error; however the umpires reviewed it and the call was reversed after a 1:51 challenge. Just two batters later, Alvarez hit his 20th home run into the left-centerfield seats off of Josh Osich.

By: Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard

It was Fan Appreciation Day at the O.co Coliseum on Sunday — and the A’s delivered for their fans, unlike they have for most of the season.

Kendall Graveman pitched six brilliant shutout innings and the offense put up a seven-spot in the seventh inning to help the A’s avoid getting swept at the hands (Or fins? Stingers? Wings?!) of the Rays with a 8-2 win. 

There were only 19,425 fans in attendance, but those who came brought it with full force to help fuel the A’s victory. Even before Sunday’s game, Melvin lauded the Oakland fanbase:

“They’re awesome. They really are. They’re so supportive that you want to give each and everyone some time. You see shirts and t-shirts from long long ago and some newer stuff. Really, the theme is that they are A’s fans no matter who is in the uniforms. I am extremely honored to be able to manage this team for these people.. especially after a game like last night, they can really be uplifting and pick you up…They’re one of a kind fans that support the team no matter what.” 

After being stymied by Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi, the A’s were happy to see a bullpen besides their own implode. Once Odorizzi was pulled after 6+ innings of one-run ball, the A’s rode eight hits for seven runs in the seventh inning to come back from a 2-1 deficit. Brett Lawrie tied the game with an RBI single, and then it hit the fan for the Rays. The A’s got the fans roaring after reaching base seven consecutive times, including three extra-base hits, one of them a bases-clearing RBI triple by first baseman Mark Canha. Eric Sogard broke the tie with a two RBI single, and before you knew it, the Rays were sunk back to the bottom of the ocean, or a 8-2 hole.

Reliever Sean Dootlittle praised the team’s ability to come back:

Their numbers might not totally reflect how resilient this team is, because this team has come back a lot this year…Man, they fight… It was awesome to see the way that they bounced back…I didn’t envision being the guy that started the scoring in the seventh, but they picked me up and got me off the hook…I thought it was awesome the way they passed it from one guy to the next…

But it wasn’t all so easy in the early going — Doolittle, freshly off the disabled list, had blown the A’s 1-0 lead that Kendall Graveman had held after six shutout innings. His control was off, walking two hitters and giving up a hit, and was charged with two runs.

Doolittle said he felt good, but noted that the energy and environment at the Coliseum wasn’t something he had been used to after months on the DL.  He hadn’t pitched with runners on base in his rehab stint, and wasn’t back to tip top shape.

Doolittle expressed optimism and after his outing on Sunday: “Obviously when you’re visualizing it for months over the rehab process, you picture it differently. When I came out I was happy with how I felt, but [once I got out there] the adrenaline was going really fast. No matter how much I tried to slow myself down, I was going a little too fast and my location was a little inconsistent. All that stuff is fixable. Already, that feeling that it’s cool to be back is gone and it’s time go get to work.”

Graveman was excellent, bouncing back from a rough patch after the All Star Break, in which posted a 7.00 ERA in six starts since the time off. He gave up just three hits, walking one and striking out three.

However, he was removed after just 84 pitches because of an oblique strain, which is of greater concern to the Athletics. Graveman said he felt it get hurt on the second-to-last pitch he threw. He will receive an MRI at the Coliseum on Monday.

In other news of injury importance, after returning to the lineup after missing a couple games with knee tendinitis, Danny Valencia appeared to tweak the same knee while chasing down a foul ball in the second. Earlier on Sunday, Melvin said he felt good enough to play, and is “willing to DH or do whatever he can to play on a day-to-day basis.” Melvin also didn’t know if he had dealt with this same issue in the past before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, August 22, 2015

Reggie Gray’s second touchdown reception of the night, a 6-yard scoring pass from Erik Meyer with eight seconds to play in regulation, provided San Jose with the final go-ahead score as the SaberCats edged Arizona 70-67 in the Arena Football League’s National Conference championship game.

The victory not only sent San Jose back to the Arena Bowl, but avenged three straight playoff losses to the Rattlers. San Jose, the No. 1 seed, will host Arena Bowl XXVIII next Saturday against either Jacksonville or Philadelphia.

The National Conference title game was a rare home-away-from-home contest for the SaberCats played at the Stockton Arena due to renovations being made at SAP Center.

Trailing 60-55 with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, San Jose scored on a 9-yard pass from Meyer to Rich Ranglin, followed by a 2-point conversion, putting the SaberCats up 63-60.

The Rattlers recovered the ensuring onside kick, setting up their go-ahead score on an 8-yard TD pass from Nick Davila to Kerry Reed. San Jose completed its game-winning drive in 14 seconds.

Arizona’s Alex Zendajas fell short with a field goal attempt, and Gray snared the ball off the nets as time expired.

Meyer racked up 351 passing yards and nine scoring passes to five different receivers. Maurice Purify led the SaberCats with nine receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown while facing his former team. Darius Reynolds had three catches –all for touchdowns – for 104 yards.

Davila completed 22 of 37 passes for 260 yards and eight touchdowns for Arizona.

Kickoff for Arena Bowl XXVIII is scheduled for 4 p.m. Pacific Time. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and radio station KDOW (1220 AM).

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Very little went right for the Oakland Raiders in their second preseason contest. They dropped a 20-12 decision to the undefeated Minnesota Vikings, with starters barely getting in a quarter and two-thirds of work due to a thunderstorm that suspended the game for over an hour.

The majority of starters exited the contest at the 6:45 mark, the moment that lightning struck near TCF Bank Stadium forcing the officials to evacuate the bowl of the stadium. At that point, the two teams were tied 6-6 after the Raiders cashed in on a Latavius Murray two yard run and Minnesota put six on the board with a 10 yard connection from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to Charles Johnson. Raiders Quarterback Derek Carr completed 4 of 8 passes, putting up 78 yards.

Christian Ponder, showered by boos from a crowd ungrateful of his four years under center in the Twin Cities, led the second team on a drive to take the lead fresh off the resumption of play. Ponder helped author a 9 play, 54 yard advance that ended in a 26-yard Giorgio Tavecchio field goal and a 9-6 advantage for the Silver and Black with 4:18 left in the half.

The Vikes rallied to take the lead late in the first half, finding the end zone on a four yard pass from Shaun Hill to Chase Ford with 8 seconds left. The Raiders pulled within a point on a 37-yarder from Tavecchio with 5:25 left in the third, but failed to generate any offense beyond that in the second half. Back-up quarterbacks Matt McGloin (5-for-7,  20 yards) and Chris Fajardo (1-for-4, 11 yards) each threw a pick during their sets of snaps. McGloin’s interception came at the Raiders own 12 yard line, putting Minnesota in the red zone for an easy scoring opportunity. They would convert, with Blake Renaud scoring from the 1 yard line for the final score of the game to make it 20-12 with 2:42 left in the third.

The Raiders defense allowed 22 first downs, including allowing Minnesota to move the chains on 9 of 17 third-down situations. On both sides of the ball Oakland reverted back to its old ways. One week after taking two penalties, the Raiders were flagged for 13 penalties totaling 106 yards.

Oakland went straight from the game to the airport to catch a charter back to the Bay Area. The Silver and Black will return to Napa where they’ll resume training camp, wrapping it up before Sunday night’s contest against the Arizona Cardinals.

NOTES:

Christian Ponder saw the first reps with the second team, putting him in line to take on the back-up role from Matt McGloin….Michael Dyer had the majority of carries, collecting 45 yards on 12 carries. Latavius Murray was second with four carries….Trindon Holliday and Trent Richardson each took a kick-off, with Holliday bringing the ball back 23 yards to Richardson’s 11…Amari Cooper had a team-high 40 receiving yards, all coming on a single catch that preceded Murray’s touchdown in the first quarter. Brice Butler had a team-topping 3 catches, but only 26 yards. Michael Crabtree was only targeted once and had no catches…

By Jeremy Kahn

PITTSBURGH-Three swings of the bat by the Pittsburgh Pirates sent the San Francisco Giants to a demoralizing defeat.

Starling Marte hit a George Kontos pitch over the left field wall on the first pitch, as the Pirates defeated the Giants 4-3 before a sellout crowd of 38,259 at PNC Park.

“Made little one mistake that wasn’t quite executed as much as well as well I would have liked,” said Kontos.

It was a tough loss for the Giants, who dropped to 2-4 on their seven-game road trip that ends on Sunday night.

Mike Leake came back from a 19-day layoff and pitched six strong innings, allowing one run on just one hit, walking one and striking out six.

“Control wasn’t completely there, a little sporadic, yanking balls, Buster (Posey) did a good job, mix and matching,” said Leake.

The only hit that Leake allowed was a solo home run to Jung Ho Kang that broke up Leake’s shutout and no-hitter at the same time.

It was a big day for Kang, as he hit two home runs on the afternoon, for his first multi-home run game of his young career.

Ehire Adrianza drove in the first run of the game for the Giants in the top of the fifth inning, as he drove in Gregor Blanco, who led off the inning with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by former Giants catcher Chris Stewart.

The Giants tied up the game in the top of the eighth inning, as Matt Duffy walked went to second on a Brandon Belt single, advanced to third on a Buster Posey double play and then scored the tying run on a wild pitch by Joakim Soria with Marlon Byrd at the plate.

Kang gave the Pirates their first lead of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he took a Hunter Strickland pitch over the left-center field wall for his 12th home run of the season.

By Jeremy Kahn

PITTSBURGH-What a first impression for Marlon Byrd in his first game for the San Francisco Giants.

Byrd hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning, and added a single and then a double and the Giants evened up the series with a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates before a sellout crowd of 37,693 at PNC Park.

“Swing felt pretty good, just one of those days where even when he’s throwing a good pitch, you’re fouling them off and you keep battling and battling and finally get a pitch you can drive,” said Byrd.

Not to be out done at the plate, Madison Bumgarner hit his second home run of the week in the top of the second inning and his fifth of the season.

After a tough start on the mound, where he allowed two runs in the first two innings and then regrouped to pickup his 15th win of the season.

“Command wasn’t as good as we would prefer it was certainly good enough to compete and kind of make pitches,” said Bumgarner.

In 6.1 innings of work, Bumgarner gave up three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out six before giving way to the Giants bullpen.

Sergio Romo came on to replace Bumgarner, and threw 1.1 innings, allowing one run and striking out one.

In what was probably the biggest out of the game came from Josh Osich, as he got Starling Marte to groundout to Brandon Crawford to end the eighth inning.

“Definitely we needed this game, a big team effort, feel great, kind of privileged to pitch for this team in those situations,” said Osich.

Santiago Casilla regrouped after allowing a leadoff walk to Neil Walker, as he got Gregory Polanco to ground into a double play and then got Marte to groundout to Brandon Crawford to end the game.

Prior to the game, Chris Heston was optioned to the Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats.

“Give him a little break, he’ll get 10 days and be back on the 31 and for the day will make a move,” said Bruce Bochy.

In place of Heston, who was slated to in Saturday’s game, Mike Leake will start against Gerrit Cole.

This was the first time this season that the Giants have defeated the Pirates, as their season record stands at 1-4.

With the loss, the Pirates are now 17-4 against the National League West and are 9-2 against the West at PNC Park.

By Jeremy Kahn

PITTSBURGH-After spending 2014 in Miami and Philadelphia, I decided to change up my road trip with the San Francisco Giants for the 2015 season.

Unlike the previous five seasons, where I traveled alone to New York, Philadelphia (twice), Washington, Chicago NL, Detroit, San Diego, Los Angeles NL, Colorado, Arizona and Miami, this time, my girlfriend Jill is here in Pittsburgh with me and was with me in St. Louis.

After leaving SFO on Sunday night, we arrived in St. Louis early Monday morning and after a few hours sleep, we headed out for a taste of St. Louis barbecue.

From viewing the first season of Man v. Food with Adam Richman, it was decided that we will go to Pappy’s for some barbecue. Jill decided to go with a half-slab of ribs, and I went with the Burnt Ends. This walk in the St. Louis heat was well worth it, as it was the best barbecue I have ever eaten.

Following our fantastic lunch, we decided to walk it off and ended up at Scott Joplin’s house in St. Louis. Joplin was a Ragtime musician, who is most famous for releasing “The Entertainer,” which was made popular in the movie “The Sting,” a movie that took the Best Picture Oscar in 1973.

The reason why we came to St. Louis finally was here, and we finally made it to Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals that was opened in 2006.

Entering the stadium was a thrill in itself, as it is one of the newer stadiums in the sport.

Despite the losing effort by the Giants, the stadium was filled with fans wearing their beloved Orange and Black.

Tuesday led us back to Busch Stadium, as we took a Behind-The-Scenes of the home of the 11-time World Champion Cardinals.

We got learn the nuances of the ballpark, and the rich Cardinals history, a team that was founded in 1892.

After the tour, it was time to go back to the hotel and return to the hotel for Tuesday night’s game. It was a happy night for the Giants, as they evened up the series with a 2-0 victory.

Finally on our last day in town, we made it to the Gateway Arch, the largest man made structure at 630 feet in the United States. Going up into the arch, you go into a pod that is like a CT Scan and ascend the 630 feet to the top. After a five minute ride to the top, you proceed out of the pod and into the arch and look out the windows to see views of both St. Louis, the Mississippi River and East St. Louis, Illinois.

Our next stop took us two and a half miles south of the Arch, as we took another tour of another St. Louis historical landmark, the Anheuser Busch Plant. An interesting tour that taught you how their beers were made and ended with a free beer if you were over the age of 21.

Following the tour of Anheuser Busch, we went back to the hotel and then returned to Busch Stadium for the series finale, where the Giants fell to the Cardinals 4-3.

We got up this morning, and headed to Pittsburgh; however there was a problem with our flight and we ended up separate planes. I was able to get a direct flight to Pittsburgh, while Jill took a flight to Pittsburgh with a layover in Detroit. Finally, we both made it to Pittsburgh and are both in attendance for the opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.