Category: Uncategorized

By DANIEL DULLUM

Sports Radio Service

Sunday, July 19, 2015

PHOENIX, Arizona – By his own admission, San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner wasn’t at his sharpest Sunday, but what he had was good enough to help the Giants edge Arizona 2-1 and complete a three-game weekend sweep of the Diamondbacks.

“After throwing 20 pitches every inning, it makes it tough to go any longer,” Bumgarner said. “I wanted to stay in longer, but you have to realize it’s a 2-1 ballgame and I didn’t have great stuff today. The guys in the bullpen were more than capable of coming in and shutting the door, which they did. It worked out great for us.”

It was the first sweep by the Giants over Arizona since April 29-May 1, 2013, and the win extended San Francisco’s winning streak to six. Justin Maxwell’s solo home run in the second inning and a run-scoring double by Hunter Pence accounted for the Giants’ offense, while Bumgarner and the bullpen did the rest.

“Both teams hit some balls to the walls, but (Bumgarner) kept the ball in the park and battled out there with a gutty effort,” Bochy said. “I think it’s fair to say Bum didn’t have his best stuff, he wasn’t real sharp, and he was off a little bit with his command, but he’s a tough competitor and found a way to get through it.”

In his first start since the All-Star Game, Bumgarner (10-5) threw 93 pitches in five innings, giving up one earned run on four hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Though five innings is generally a short outing for Bumgarner, Bochy had no intention of pushing his ace into the sixth inning.

“We pushed him far enough. That’s a lot of work in five innings,” Giants Bochy said. “The pitch count got up, and he did his job. I have to do what’s right for Bum or any other starter.”

Thanks to another strong bullpen effort, San Francisco (49-43) was able to make the two runs generated in the second and third innings stand up. In the second, Maxwell hit his seventh home run of the season, a line shot to the opposite field that cleared the right field fence out of the reach of Arizona’s Yasmany Tomãs.

“Justin has a great calmness about him and through tough times, you don’t see any change with him,” Bochy said. “He keeps the same attitude and doesn’t get on that roller coaster ride that some players do.”

Arizona (42-48) tied the game at 1-1 with the help of a replay reversal. Wellington Castillo walked, followed by back-to-back singles by Tomãs and Aaron Hill to load the bases with nobody out. After Chris Owings flied out to shallow left, Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin hit into what was originally called a double play, but Manager Chip Hale requested a replay review.

After a 1 minute, seven second review, the original call was reversed, Castillo scored from third, and Corbin was credited with a fielder’s choice and an RBI.

The Giants took the lead for good in the top of third when Joe Panik walked, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Pence’s double down the left-field line.

As they’ve done all weekend, the Giants bullpen came up big in the last four innings. George Kontos, Javier Lopez, Hunter Strickland and closer Santiago Casilla held the Diamondbacks scoreless on five hits.

In the D-Backs eighth, A.J. Pollock and Castillo hit back-to-back singles with two outs, but Strickland retired Tomãs on a fly to right, ending the threat. Casilla faced four batters in the ninth, gave up a one-out single to Owings, but retired pinch-hitter David Perlta and Nick Ahmed on infield groundouts to earn his 24th save in 27 opportunities.

“That’s asking a lot, the way our bullpen came in and closed the door for four innings,” Bumgarner said. “They’ve been great.”

“What a great job they do,” Bochy said. “Kontos saved us with two big innings and he’s done a terrific job all year. And I know I’ve got some guys on fumes. That was Strickland’s third game in three days. The bullpen saved us.

“In this park, you get a win, you take it.”

It was a tough loss for Corbin (1-2), making his third start after coming back from Tommy John surgery. Corbin gave up both Giants runs on four hits while striking out five and issuing one walk after facing 21 hitters in five innings,

Goldschmidt – 4-for-11 since the All-Star break – Pollock and Hill each collected three hits as Arizona outhit the Giants 9-5.

“There’s no one way to pitch to Goldschmidt. You make a mistake and he’ll usually hit it,” Bumgarner said. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I went with the approach that you throw good pitches until you get to two strikes, then throw one down the middle! That didn’t work!”

The Giants’ next order of business before facing the Padres in San Diego is what to do with its roster. Jeremy Affeldt and Tim Hudson are due to come off the disabled list, and Hudson is the probable starter in Monday’s series opener at Petco Park.

“We’ll talk to Jeremy tomorrow and if he’s not ready to pitch, he might need another day,” Bochy said. “We won’t make any announcements until we get to San Diego. We have an idea of what we’ll do, and it won’t be easy. We knew it was going to get crowded, but these moves have to be made.”

The sweep came after San Francisco secured its 10th straight series win in the Valley of the Sun. Stats LLC reports the last time the Giants won 10-plus consecutive road series against an opponent in their park was when the New York Giants won 13 straight series against the Boston Beaneaters/Doves (Braves) at South End Grounds III and Rocky Point Park from 1903 to 1907.

GIANT JOTTINGS: Giants LHP Jeremy Affeldt made his second rehab start at Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday, throwing two scoreless innings in relief against Tacoma. Affeldt, who is out with left shoulder strain, struck out one and walked one. … Sunday’s announced attendance was 27,173. Total attendance for the three-game series in the Valley was 91,704. … Through Sunday, the Giants have the most wins of any opponent at Chase Field with 89. The Los Angeles Dodgers are next with 81. … San Francisco’s road trip continues Monday with a three-game series in San Diego. The Giants’ probable are Tim Hudson (Monday), Chris Heston (Tuesday) and Matt Cain (Wednesday), while facing the Padres’ Ian Kennedy, Odrismer Despaigne and James Shields. All are righthanders.

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, July 18, 2015

PHOENIX, Arizona – Just by pitching into the seventh inning, Jake Peavy gave San Francisco the quality start it was looking for after Friday’s extra-inning marathon against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Peavy (1-4) not only worked 6 1/3 solid innings for his first win of the season, his first hit since 2013 sparked an early rally that helped the Giants defeat Arizona 8-4 Saturday at Chase Field.

“Better check those stats. I got a double for the Red Sox against Colorado,” Peavy, a career .163 hitter, said proudly. ”That’s the last time I remember being on the bases. It felt good to put the ball in play and start a rally.

“When you play in a National League game, you take every at-bat as seriously as you can take it,” Peavy continued. “When I made the turn for second, I saw that it probably wasn’t a good idea and I almost went too far to get back!

“The pitchers have a little hitting competition with the rest of the team, and I was drafted dead last. But I got a couple of bunts down and got a hit, so I’m excited about being able to contribute a little bit at the plate.”

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said, “You don’t see me smile much during a game, but (watching Peavy on the base paths) was pretty entertaining, I enjoyed watching the old man (he’s 34) change his mind and scurrying back to first. He looked like a cat the way he was clawing the dirt!”

Peavy, a three-time All-Star and 2007 Cy Young Award winner, gave up four earned runs on eight hits, struck out four and walked one. He gave up solo home runs to David Peralta and Cliff Pennington, but also gave San Francisco a needed quality start after the Giants used 10 pitchers on Friday.

“Jake threw well. I thought he had good stuff,” Bochy said. “He got us into the seventh, which I thought was important after that long game last night. He battled and got a little tired there.”

It was the fifth consecutive win for the Giants, their longest winning streak this season since May 25-29. It was also Peavy’s first win since Sept. 16, 2014, also against Arizona. Peavy missed all of May and June because of lower back strain and hip discomfort.

“Maybe it’ll start rolling downhill and little bit now,” Peavy said. “It’s nice to get that behind you. These last three outings are something to build on, and it’s funny how the game works. You just find a way to get into that win column.”

Buster Posey, who started the game at first base and moved behind the plate in the fifth inning, continued his hot hitting. Posey has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games, with a .437 average and 22 RBIs during that stretch. Saturday, the three-time All-Star was 3-for-4 with four runs batted in.

“Ideally, I was hoping to give Buster a whole day off from catching,” Bochy said. “He caught over 200 pitches on Friday. But he’s all right. He got somewhat of a break, he’ll catch tomorrow and we’ll see where we’re at when we go to San Diego on Monday.”

At the top of the Giants’ order, Angel Pagan had two hits and a run, Joe Panik had two hits, a walk and two runs, and Matt Duffy had three hits and two runs.

“We’re getting some nice hitting at the top of the order. They’re doing a good job of using the whole field and going the other way,” Bochy said. “That’s what you’re hoping for, the table setters doing their thing by getting on base. Joe’s done it all year, and Duffy too. Those two have played great ball on both sides and they’re finding ways to get on base.”

As they did on Friday, the Diamondbacks took an early lead. David Peralta led off the Arizona second inning with a triple to the left-center field power alley and scored when Chris Owings’ sharp grounder eluded Duffy at third base for an RBI single.

“I felt like I made some good pitches in the third, after giving up that triple in the second,” Peavy said. “You don’t like to give up homers, but that pitch to Peralta was a pretty good pitch. I was pitching in the wrong ballpark to give those kind of hits up.”

San Francisco responded with a four-run rally in the top of the third, sparked by two-run singles by Posey and Brandon Crawford. The Giants followed that with three more runs in the fourth.

Peavy and Angel Pagan opened the Giants’ third with back-to-back singles. After Joe Panik struck out, Duffy singled to load the bases for Posey, who delivered a single to right, scoring Peavy and Pagan. Posey, meanwhile, advanced to second on a throwing error by right fielder Ender Inciarte. With two out, Crawford drove in Duffy and Posey with a single to center.

The Giants extended their lead to 7-1 in the fourth while sending eight hitters to the plate. After Andrew Susac tripled and scored on Angel Pagan’s sacrifice fly to center, Anderson hit Panik with a pitch and Duffy singled. Posey’s RBI single chased Arizona starter Chase Anderson, who was replaced by David Hernandez. Pence’s RBI single, scoring Duffy, closed out the rally.

Anderson (4-4) labored through 3 2/3 innings, giving up seven of San Francisco’s eight earned runs on 10 of the Giants’ 14 hits.

Susac left the game with a sprained right thumb, suffered when he slid awkwardly around the third base bag on his fourth-inning triple. X-rays were negative.

“Going into third, I just went straight into the bag with a weird slide,” Susac said. “It’s just one of those things you don’t think about. It happens. As soon as I hit the bag, (the thumb) was all right and I just wanted to make sure I got back to the base. I stood up and it felt numb and tight. I knew something wasn’t quite right.”

“Right now, it’s looking like Susac might be out a week or 10 days. He sprained it pretty good,” Bochy said. “We’ll have Hector Sanchez ready if we need him.”

Arizona pulled to within 7-2 when catcher Oscar Hernandez got his first major league hit, a double in the fifth inning off Peavy, and scored on Inciarte’s base hit to right. Inciarte led the D-Backs with three hits.

Josh Collmenter, the third Diamondbacks pitcher, breezed through the fifth inning but dug a huge hole for himself in the sixth, walking Panik, Posey and Pence to load the bases with two out. But the potential rally ended when Crawford grounded out to second.

Peralta led off the D-Backs sixth with his ninth home run of the season, just clearing the left field fence near the 376-foot marker. In the Arizona seventh, pinch-hitter Cliff Pennington hit his first homer of the season to the right field pavilion, cutting the Giants’ lead to 7-4 and chasing Peavy in the process.

“The pitch to Pennington was a mistake too,” Peavy said. “But we got through it, the boys swung the bats, played great defense. It’s great to win the weekend series and still have our guy (Madison Bumgarner) come out tomorrow with a chance to sweep these guys.”

San Francisco tacked on another run in the eighth when Panik singled and scored on Posey’s third hit of the game. The Giants’ bullpen crew of Hunter Strickland, Josh Osich and Sergio Romo held the Diamondbacks scoreless over the final 2 2/3 innings.

“Getting that last run was big,” Bochy said. “That allowed us to use the bullpen a little different.

Romo, the Giants’ former closer and primary setup man, picked up his first save of the season.

GIANT JOTTINGS: When San Francisco used 10 pitchers in Friday’s win, it tied the franchise record, and it was the most hurlers used by the Giants in a game with a 25-man roster. The Giants used 11 pitchers on Sept. 4, 2012, against Arizona with an expanded roster. … Starting pitchers for the series finale are lefthanders Madison Bumgarner (9-5, 3.33) for San Francisco and Patrick Corbin (1-1, 5.40) for the D-Backs. Game time Is 1:10 p.m. … This report is dedicated to the memory of George Devine Sr., a friend, and a valued and respected colleague at Sports Radio Service, who passed away this week at 74.

By Joe Lami & Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Fans at Avaya Stadium were treated to international rugby on Saturday night.  The Pacific Nations’ Cup opener marked the first non-soccer event held at Avaya, as Canada, Japan, United States and America Samoa all took part in the festivities. Over 10,000 fans joined the fun to watch four teams all ranked in the top 20 of the world duke it out.

The night started slow with Japan defeating Canada 20-6.  The only try of the match came early for Japan in the 16th minute, when Yoshikazu Fujita converted to give the Japanese a 8-0 lead.  Canada would stop the bleeding in the 19th minute, as Gordy McRorie converted his first of two penalty kicks.

Ayumu Goromaru was outstanding on the penalties for Japan, as he knocked in five for the match.

Canada is competing in just their third ever Pacific Nations’ Cup and hopes to defend their home turf the next time out, as they host Tonga in Burnaby, British Columbia on July 23rd.

While Japan’s stifling defense and Fujita’s leg ruled the day in the opening contest, the second match of the night proved a much closer affair. In the nightcap, Samoa defeated the United States 21-16, with the U.S. pressing for a final try deep in the Samoa end of the field as time expired.

Samoa’s Patrick Faapale nailed his first two penalty kicks to give the exports a 6-0 lead 15 minutes in to the contest. The Eagles responded with an AJ MacGinty kick in the 21^st minute, but just under a minute later Faapale tucked another ball between the post to restore the six-point lead.

In the 29^th minute, Manu Samoa collected the first try of the match on a brilliant run by Ah See Tuala. Tuala dipped and darted through four Eagles to cross the U.S. 22 meter line in a stunning showing of lateral quickness and elusiveness. Tuala was ultimately brought down on his back, but he managed to toss the ball off to teammate Alesana Tuilagi. Tuilagi, Samoa’s captained, barreled his way through an American tackle attempt across the tryline for the five points. Faapale converted to put Samoa on top 16-3.

“It was no easy task,” Said MacGinty of Samoa.  “They ran very hard. There were good parts and simple errors. I have to improve on them if we want to start winning a few tests.”

Samoa added another try in the final ten minutes after Tuilagi booted the ball into the American 22 meter box. See Tuala recovered to put Samoa up 21-3 at the end of the first half.

“That put us in a hole,” said United States coach Mike Tolkin . “Defensive lapses and veteran play out of their own end was a big problem in the first half.”

The Eagles rallied back, hitting the first two penalties to cut the Samoa lead to 21-9 but still found themselves trailing the ninth-ranked team in the World with 17 minutes to play.

“In the second half, we turned the tide around,” said Tolkin. “We had a couple subs, a couple guys who came on and made a difference. We had better line speed and better execution in the attack.”

The U.S. connected on its only try of the match in the 71^st minute, with reserve Titi Lamositele scoring his first international try of his career. The Eagles were battling on the tryline but it appeared Samoa would not concede the final inch for the score. Ultimately Lamositele found his way across the line by the slimmest of margins under a heap of bodies, sending Eagles supporters in the near end zone into a frenzy. Their celebration was confirmed by the referee’s flag and five American points were put on the board. MacGinty converted to put the U.S. a try away from a tie 21-16.

The Eagles led one final push, getting across the Samoan 22 meter line and just a few steps from the tryline, but they couldn’t finish the drive. The final horn sounded, souring the American’s chances at prevailing on the day.

While the result wasn’t what the Eagles were hoping for, it was still a solid showing for the squad. It was just their first match of the campaign together and the first since November, and for many players it was their first cap on the National side.

“You want to take positives out of the game,” said Tolkin. “The second half was a big advantage for us territorially. Progression wise, we wanted to take some more points out of it. Certainly we were in a position to do it. The second half was a big improvement from the first half. We just have to build off that.”

Japan and the United States will face off in the second match of the PNC on July 24^th. While the Cherry Blossoms won’t prove as tough a team as Manu Samoa, they’ll prove a superior tactical opponent and will be riding a decisive victory over Canada. The contest will be decided at Sacramento’s Bonney Field, home to the Earthquakes UFL affiliate, the Republic.

“We do want to play a performance that’s more similar to our second half,” said Tolkin. “We also want to play better than we did in the second half.”

By Joe Hawkes

By a show of hands, how many people believe that former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens deserves enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016?

Both of my hands are in the air.

Recently, Owens made an appearance on the The Rich Eisen Show and noted that he isn’t too worried about if (or when) he will be selected to join the likes of Jerry Rice, Cris Carter, Michael Irvin, and Andre Reed.

“I can’t wrap my head around that whole process because it really, literally, doesn’t mean that much to me,” Owens said Thursday. “I understand what I’ve done on the field and it’s probably well deserving of (the Hall), but I’m being honest, it really doesn’t bother me whether I get in or not.”

When I heard that statement from Owens, 41, it hit me like a bolt of lightning and I was holding a metal pole.

Take a look at Owens’ 15-year career numbers: sixth all-time in catches (1,078) and third in receiving touchdowns (153), trailing Rice (197) and Randy Moss (156). His 15,934 receiving yards is good for second all-time behind Rice’s 22,895.

Owens is definitely a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but will the voters really try to stick it to Owens and make him sweat a few years a la Andre Reed? Reed finished with 2,736 yards and 66 fewer touchdowns than Owens, despite playing 16 years in the NFL.

Owens, who rubbed some coaches and teammates the wrong way from his time in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Dallas, so he could be waiting for that phone call from Canton for a bit, but he shouldn’t.

Sure Owens was competitive, cocky, brash, and loquacious on the football field, but he backed it up.  Owens could take a simple five-yard slant and take it the distance no matter which cornerback he was matched up with.

“I guess (being in the Hall) from a standpoint of a legacy or what my kids can really see what I’ve done, the body of work and appreciate it, then yeah, and my family,” Owens added. “But me, personally, it doesn’t do anything for me because I never played the game for that. I played it because I was competitive. I played it to the point that I realized my talent and I became pretty good at it. That was my motivation. I wanted to win at all costs.”

And the prolific wide receiver nearly led Philadelphia to a Super Bowl championship in 2004. Six weeks after breaking his ankle, Owens was back on the field for Super Bowl XXXIX, finishing with nine catches and 122 yards in the Eagles’ 24-21 loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Maybe if Donovan McNabb, who vomited and wore down as the game wore on found Owens for a touchdown, Owens walks off with the MVP trophy, a trip to Disney World, and a ring.

At this point of his life, Owens appears to be comfortable in his own skin and doesn’t think that it’s a big deal if he doesn’t get into the Hall in 2016, or at all.

It would be an absolute injustice if Owens isn’t enshrined into Canton within the next five years, but hey, that’s just my opinion.

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Friday, July 17, 2015

PHOENIX, Arizona – Over the course of the 5 hours and 11 minutes it took to play this game, even with the new rules to speed things up, San Francisco stranded 15 baserunners. But the Giants pushed a run across when they needed to as they outlasted the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 in a 12-inning contest at Chase Field.

All-Star shortstop Brandon Crawford, who went 3-for-6 with a pair of doubles and a run batted in, scored what became the game-winning run in the top of the 12th inning on a throwing error by Diamondbacks shortstop Cliff Pennington.

Crawford, Joe Panik, Matt Duffy and Hunter Pence each collected four hits in the Giants’ 16-hit attack, while the bullpen did the rest, giving up one run in the last eight innings. Pence’s two-run home run sparked a three-run rally in the seventh.

“What a great game. The guys fought hard and it was a great win,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “It had everything. A great comeback by us, (the Diamondbacks) had the winning run on base, it was a hard fought game on both sides.

“Crawford put on a show. What a beautiful game he had. It was fun to watch,” Bochy continued. “A great game by a great ballplayer; that’s why he made the All-Star team. And Panik did a terrific job. Everybody contributed. We had a lot of good things happen.”

David Peralta led Arizona with three of the Diamondbacks’ 14 hits with A.J. Pollock, Paul Goldschmidt, Wellington Castillo and Chris Owings with two hits each. But the Snakes stranded 11 baserunners, six in the last five innings.

Ryan Vogelsong (7-6) – the 10th pitcher of the night for San Francisco – picked up the win, his first in relief since 2005 and his first win since June 24 against San Diego. In his two innings of work, Vogelsong, who was moved to the bullpen after the All-Star break to clear space in the rotation for Tim Hudson’s return from the disabled list, struck out two, walked one and gave up two hits while holding Arizona scoreless.

“It’s a little easier to get a win this way, in two innings,” Bochy said. “He came out with great stuff and good command. He hasn’t had a lot of success coming out of the pen, but this should do a lot more for him.”

“For Vogey to come in for two innings and do what he did, it’s not always that easy to do,” Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain, who wound up with a no-decision, said. “He hasn’t been in for a long time, and for him to come in and be really sharp was really nice.”

San Francisco (48-43) surged ahead in the 12th when Crawford singled, advanced to second on a passed ball during Gregor Blanco’s at-bat, and scored on what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt by Vogelsong. When Vogelsong’s bunt eluded losing pitcher Randall Delgado, the ball found a gap in the defense, allowing the pitcher to reach on an infield single, loading the bases.

Angel Pagan then grounded to reserve shortstop Cliff Pennington, whose errant throw home short-hopped catcher Wellington Castillo, allowing Crawford to score the go-ahead run. With the bases still loaded, Joe Panik struck out and Matt Duffy grounded out to short, but the Giants took a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the 12th.

Delgado (4-3) was the seventh D-Backs pitcher in the game.

In the Arizona 12th, Paul Goldschmidt led off with a single up the middle, but was erased when Yasmany Tomâs grounded to Panik for a double play. After Jake Lamb walked and Castillo singled to right, Chris Owings grounded into a force out at second, ending the game.

Both teams were scoreless in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th innings.

San Francisco tied the game at 5-5 with three runs in the top of the seventh. Panik started the rally when he singled and moved to third on a Duffy base hit, then scored on Buster Posey’s sacrifice fly to right. Pence followed with a two-run home run, his fourth of the season, a line shot just past the 413-foot marker in right-center field that took starting pitcher Matt Cain off the hook.

“Early on, Matt made a few mistakes, but his last inning was his best. That was the Matt that we know,” Bochy said. “He was missing spots, but in this ballpark, he helped keep us in the game.”

San Francisco reliever Sergio Romo retired the D-Backs in order in the bottom of the eighth. In the Giants ninth, Arizona closer Brad Ziegler returned the favor.

With one out in the Arizona ninth, lefthander Javier Lopez replaced Romo on the mound. Peralta struck out, and righthander Yusmeiro Petit came on to face Goldschmidt, who reached on a Texas League single to left-center. But Tomâs stuck out to send the game into extra innings.

Arizona (42-46) used its All-Star tandem to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Pollock doubled, moved to third and scored from third on a sacrifice fly to right by Goldschmidt.

The Giants tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second when Hunter Pence singled and scored on a double by Crawford.

Cain continued to struggle in the bottom of the third, when the Diamondbacks roughed him up for two more runs to surge ahead 3-1. Pollock doubled to left-center and scored when Peralta tripled to center. Goldschmidt delivered a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Peralta.

A solo homer by Chris Owings leading off the Arizona fourth extended the Diamondbacks’ lead to 4-1, prompting a visit to the mound from San Francisco pitching coach Dave Righetti. Cain, who threw 99 pitches, stayed through the fifth inning, giving up four earned runs on eight hits while striking out five with no walks.

“It was a little bit hit-and-miss early,” Cain, who was reinstated off the 15-day disabled list (flexor tendon strain) on July 2, said. “I made some bad mistakes that they hit really well. You don’t want to make those kinds of mistakes out there and (Arizona) has too many good hitters to take advantage of it.”

San Francisco cut the D-Backs’ lead to 4-2 in the top of the fifth when, with Pence batting, Arizona starter Robbie Ray uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Panik to score from third. Panik had singled and advanced to third on base hits by Duffy and Posey.

Arizona added its fifth run in the sixth off Giants reliever Jean Machi, who replaced Cain. Castillo doubled to right and scored on Aaron Hill’s double. After that, the Giants bullpen committee of George Kontos, Josh Osich, Hunter Strickland, Sergio Romo, Javier Lopez, Petit, Santiago Casilla and Vogelsong held the Diamondbacks scoreless on four of their 14 hits, while logging a combined nine strikeouts and three walks.

“Our bullpen did a tremendous job,” Cain said. “To come in and shut the door, just giving up the one run in the sixth inning, the rest of the guys just went about their business. They got in some trouble, but picked each other up. Hunter (Pence) did the same thing with a great night for us. That two-run homer was huge.”

GIANT JOTTINGS: Giants LHP Jeremy Affeldt (left shoulder strain) began his rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A Sacramento, tossing one scoreless inning at Tacoma. … An announced crowd of 26,922 braved the 82 degrees and 44 percent humidity to attend Friday’s game. … At the end of seven innings on Friday, the summary lines for both teams were identical – 5 runs, 11 hits, no errors, seven left on base. … Beginning with Friday’s game, the Giants will play 16 of their next 22 games – and 23 of their next 35 – on the road. … The Giants and the Tampa Bay Rays are the only teams to have their first 18 games after the All-Star break all against teams at or below .500. … Posey has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 contests. He’s hitting .416 with 17 RBIs during that stretch. … Cain is four wins shy of becoming the sixth pitcher In the Giants’ San Francisco-era history to reach 100 victories. He would join Juan Marichal (238), Gaylord Perry (134), Kirk Rueter (105), Mike McCormick (104) and Tim Lincecum (108). … Saturday night’s starters are a pair of righthanders – Jake Peavy (0-4, 4.71) for the Giants and Chase Anderson (4-3, 3.91) for the D-Backs. Game time is 5:10.

By Jeremy Harness

In baseball, the best thing that you can have is an opportunity. The Giants have that as the season’s second half gets under way.

The Giants will kick off the second half of their season Friday night in Arizona against the third-place Diamondbacks, a team that they have had significant success against this year.

However, there is one obstacle in that series that stands in the Giants’ way. They have yet to figure out how to get National League MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt out on a regular basis, and that will need to be addressed if they are to distance themselves from the Diamondbacks and get closer to the top of the NL West.

Following that series, they will head a little bit west to pay a three-game visit to the San Diego Padres, another squad that the Giants have feasted upon this year to keep themselves afloat in the division.

If the Giants are going to narrow the 4 ½ -game gap between themselves and the first-place Dodgers, the best foreseeable opportunity would be this coming weekend. The Dodgers open their second half on the road against the potent Washington Nationals, who at 48-39, lead the NL East by a pair of games.

Upon leaving the nation’s capital, they will head down to Atlanta to face the Braves, which currently have a losing record but have shown a real knack for surging in the second half of the season to turn themselves into playoff contenders.

But then again, the Giants have been used to trailing the Dodgers in the division race in recent years, and that has worked out fairly well for them, to say the very least. While the Dodgers have won the division each of the past two seasons, they failed to reach the World Series each time.

Meanwhile, the Giants picked up yet another World Series ring.

By Jeremy Harness

Sure, things can be better at this stage of the season. But also, given everything the Giants have been through thus far, they can be a whole lot worse.

The Giants are currently 4 ½ games behind the front-running Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, for they should feel very fortunate at this point due to the fact the they have struggled in different areas for much of the first half.

For one, the Giants have yet to establish their winning ways at AT&T Park. The Giants have yet to show a real dominance in their friendly confines, but they showed signs of getting that back on track with a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies just before the All-Star break.

They had also struggled to find a replacement for Pablo Sandoval at third base. They thought they had found that in Casey McGehee, whom the Giants picked up as a free agent from the Miami Marlins. However, the move proved to be a disappointment, and the Giants designated him for assignment for a second time a few weeks ago, and the third baseman eventually returned to the Marlins.

The Giants have now gone with Matt Duffy, who has taken advantage of the opportunity to play every day while McGehee fizzled, and he has not looked back.

The team now has most of their key pieces back in the mix as well. Matt Cain, for instance, has returned to the rotation after missing almost a year while recovering from elbow surgery.

Meanwhile, Hunter Pence missed much of the first half after suffering a forearm fracture in spring training, but he has returned to the lineup. His presence was certainly felt when he unleashed a grand slam into the right-field seats.

At this point, there is reason to be carefully optimistic, but for the Giants, there is plenty of work to do. However, they have been in this position many times before.

By Jeremy Kahn

Even though the outcome was not the way that they wanted, the San Francisco Giants were well represented for the National League squad.

Yes, the American League gained home field advantage once again after defeating the National League 6-3 at Great American Ballpark; however look what happened last season when the Kansas City Royals were home for Game 7 against the Giants.

Bruce Bochy and his coaching staff represented the Giants and the National League as a result of making and winning the World Series last fall.

The Orange and Black were represented by a catcher, a pitcher and their double play combination in the “Queen City.”

Buster Posey got the start behind the plate, as he went 0-for-2 in his only two plate appearances on the evening.

Madison Bumgarner pitched one inning, allowing a hit and a strikeout and faced two Royals in his only inning of work.

Brandon Crawford hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in a run for the National League

Joe Panik flew out to left field to end the game in his second at-bat.

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Sunday afternoon, the Oakland Athletics pair of All-stars were stealing the spotlight with Sonny Gray outdueling the reigning Cy Young winner in a complete-game two-hit shutout in a start bolstered by Stephen Vogt’s two-run homer.While they were putting cherries on top of their All-league resumes, two other members of Oakland’s organization were getting a taste of the All-Star festivities in Cincinnati.

A pair of teammates for Oakland’s double-A affiliate, the Midland RockHounds, found themselves on opposite sides of the diamond in Sunday’s MLB Futures Game, a contest pitting some of the top American prospects against their World counterparts in a showcase of emerging talent. MudHounds first baseman Matt Olson saw his U.S. side trounce designated hitter Renato Nunez’s World team 10-1 in the classic before the Midsummer Classic.

Olson, a compensation pick in the first round (47th overall) of the 2012 amateur player draft, finished the day 1 for 2 with a run scored and a strikeout. The 21-year-old prospect, rated 73rd overall by MLB.com before the season, absolutely exploded onto the scene last season at High-A Stockton, mashing 37 homers with 97 runs batted in and a .262 batting average.

A move from the hitter-friendly California League to Texas League in his fourth professional season has led to a dip in power for the left-handed hitting slugger. Over 84 games, he’s only left the yard 8 times to go with a .227 average. The Atlanta, Georgia native still is on base for near 90 rbis though, having plated 38 runs already.

For Nunez, the honor was his second-straight appearance. He also appeared in the 2014 iteration from Target Field in Minnesota counting Joey Gallo, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant as some of his fellow All-Stars.  In 2014, he went 1 for 2 but failed to reach base Sunday in his encore, stranding a pair of runners in the process.

The 21-year-old Venezuelan may have had a worse performance than Olson, but his season so far has been impressive. Like Olson, Nunez raked in Stoctkon last season, launching 29 homers in 124 games. This year at Midland, he’s already ripped 12 dingers in just 60 games while splitting time at first and third base as well as DH.

While neither player will be in Oakland anytime soon, they’ll bring some strong expectations when they arrive at the show. Some players who have seen time in the majors that previously appeared as a member of the Athletics include Addison Russell (2013), Michael Choice (2012), Chris Carter & Jemille Weeks (2009) and Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill & Cliff Pennington (2008).Of course, its no guarantee to superstardom, with unknowns like Grant Green and busts like Michael Ynoa also having donned the Futures game garb.

Only time will tell if this pair of would-be A’s will man the hot corners at the Coliseum in the future, but for now they’re on the fast track to stardom. Perhaps Sunday won’t be the last time the two are in the same place at the ballpark come All-Star Week.