Category: Uncategorized

By Jeremy Harness

Joe Panik apparently really likes playing in New York.

Just one day after hitting a home run in helping the Giants take the series opener against the Metsat Citi Field, Panik, a native of the New York area, got the Giants on the right foot again with a two-run homer off Mets fireballer Matt Harvey in another win for the visiting team Wednesday night.

With the fact that rookie Chris Heston fired a no-hitter at the Mets Tuesday night, Wednesday starter Tim Hudson obviously had a tough act to follow.

Hudson lost his own no-hot bid right away, as he gave up a single to outfielder Curtis Granderson to lead off the game. He struggled to get out of the first inning, and Wilmer Flores eventually tied the game with a two-run single.

The Mets scored a run in both the fourth and fifth innings to give themselves a two-run lead, but the Giants teed off on Harvey in the sixth.

Panik led off the inning with a single before Angel Pagan worked the count full against Harvey before drawing a big walk. The next batter, Buster Posey, responded with a double that scored both players. Brandon Belt then launched a two-run homer that gave the Giants the lead, and right fielder Justin Maxwell would add a solo homer to cap a monster five-run inning that catapulted the Giants into the lead for good.

That was enough to give Hudson, who pitched five innings and actually left the game trailing 4-2, his fourth win of the season. From that point, the Giants used five different relievers to hold off the Mets and take the second game of this three-game series.

Meanwhile, the Giants are inching themselves closer to the National League West lead. However, the division-leading Dodgers held off the Arizona Diamondbacks to remain a game in front of the second-place Giants.

By Jeremy Kahn

Jeff Francoeur drove in more runs in two games for the Philadelphia Phillies than he did in 23 games for the San Francisco Giants during the 2013 season.

Francoeur hit a two-run pinch hit double off of Javier Lopez in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the Phillies defeated the Giants 6-4 at Citizens Bank Park.

Over the last two games, Francoeur drove in six runs, including a grand slam off of Madison Bumgarner on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Vogelsong gave up a leadoff single to Freddy Galvis, then after a double play, Ben Revere walked and then Francoeur lashed a double down rage left field line off of Lopez.

Vogelsong took the loss, as he fell to 4-4 on the season, as he went 6.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits.

Joe Panik picked up three hits for the Giants, extending his career-high hitting streak up to 12 games.

After falling behind 2-1 going into the third inning, Angel Pagan tied up the game with a double that scored Panik and Brandon Belt gave the Giants the lead after grounding into a fielders choice that scored Pagan.

Just one-half inning later, Odubel Herrera tied up the game, as he hit a Vogelsong offering 433 feet to center field.

Buster Posey got the Giants within two runs in the top of the ninth inning, as he singled in Nori Aoki, who reached on an error by Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon.

After Belt singled Posey to third base with two outs, Papelbon struck out Brandon Crawford to end the game.

By Jeremy Kahn

Madison Bumgarner threw two bad pitches on the afternoon.

Bumgarner went eight innings, allowing five runs on six hits, walking not a single batter and striking out 11 and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 at Citizens Bank Park. It was Bumgarner’s seventh win of the season.

It was second straight win for the reigning World Champions after a five-game losing streak against the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bumgarner gave up a grand slam to former teammate Jeff Francoeur and a solo home run to Andres Blanco.

Nori Aoki continues to hit well on the road, as he picked up three hits and drove in two runs and raised his batting average on the road .407, the best in the major leagues.

Once again, Santiago Casilla got the Phillies out in order in the bottom of the ninth inning to pickup his 17th save in 19 chances. It was the 10th loss in the last 12 games for the struggling Phillies.

After a 29 minute rain delay to begin the game, the Giants got to Phillies starter Severino Gonzalez early and often.

Angel Pagan drove in the first run of the game with a single, and then Brandon Belt hit a sacrifice fly to give the Giants 2-0 lead before the home-standing Phillies took the plate in the bottom of the first inning.

The Giants broke the game wide open in the top of the third inning, as they score four runs and chased Gonzalez from the game.

Bumgarner picked up two hits and a run batted in.

By Jeremy Kahn

Maybe seeing the President of the United States was something to possibly change the San Francisco Giants misfortunes of late.

Buster Posey hit a home run over the center field wall in the top of the seventh inning, as the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 at Citizens Bank Park.

Posey broke a 4-4 tie with his ninth home run of the season with two outs in the frame off of Phillies reliever Luis Garcia. It was second hit of the night for Posey, who ended up going 2-for-4 and broke out of a 4-for-28 slump.

The Posey home run made a winner out of Tim Lincecum, who skipped the trip to meet President Barack Obama on Thursday afternoon, so that he could prepare for the Phillies in Philadelphia.

In six innings of work, Lincecum gave up four runs on five hits, walking two and striking out four and improved his record to 6-3 on the season,

Matt Duffy and Justin Maxwell also hit home runs for the Giants, who put an end to their five-game losing streak.

Both Ryan Howard and Maikel Franco each hit home runs for the Phillies, who have dropped nine out of their 11.

The Phillies eighth inning ended in a bizarre way to say the least. With two on and one out, former Giants outfielder Jeff Francoeur hit a flyball to shallow right field that was caught and with Ben Revere running on the pitch and reaching second base, but he failed to touch second base on the way back to first base. The Giants then appealed the play and Revere was called out to end the inning.

Santiago Casilla pitched a perfect ninth inning to pickup his 16th save of the season.

By Jeremy Harness

Looking on the bright side for the Giants this week, at least they made their way to the White House to be honored by President Obama.

Other than that, there wasn’t a lot to smile about if you’re a Giants fan. After briefly grabbing the National League West lead from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Giants fell back down to earth with a thud this week as the Pittsburgh Pirates paid a visit to AT&T Park.

All the Pirates did was sweep the Giants in a three-game series and send the home team to a five-game losing streak to undo a five-game winning streak that saw the Giants catapult into the division lead.

Thankfully for the Giants, they get a change of scenery, with their road trip starting against a struggling opponent.

The Philadelphia Phillies, who have fallen on hard times since losing to the Giants in the 2010 National League Championship Series in six games, await the Giants’ arrival for a three-game series that starts Friday at Citizens Bank Park.

Tim Lincecum, who has had a nice season thus far with a 5-3 record and a 3.00 earned-run average, will take the hill in the series opener against former Giant Jerome Williams (3-5, 5.49 ERA), who has certainly had his ups and downs this year.

The Giants will then bring Madison Bumgarner, who has followed up a dominant season during which he willed the Giants to another World Series title with a 6-2 record an ERA of 3.12, front and center on Saturday opposite Philadelphia’s Severino Gonzalez.

Ryan Vogelsong (4-3, 4.26 ERA) will try to get things back on track in the series finale on Sunday against Philly’s Sean O’Sullivan (1-4, 5.03 ERA).

If the Giants are going to brings things back together, the best opportunity would be this weekend.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-After a six-game winning streak put the San Francisco Giants, the wheels have fallen off over the four days.

Chris Heston could not get out of the fourth inning, as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Giants 7-4 before a sellout crowd of 41,913, the 356th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

After the Giants took a 2-0 at the end of the first inning, things seemed to be going well for the Giants; however the third inning came and everything imploded.

The Pirates scored four runs, as Andrew McCutchen got the Pirates on the board with a single that scored Josh Harrison, who led off the inning with a single. Gregory Polanco scored the tying run on a Heston wild pitch.

Pedro Alvarez then gave the visitors from the “Steel City,” a two-run lead, when he doubled on McCutchen and Starling Marte.

After the Pirates took the lead in the top of the third inning, the Giants came back to tie it up, when Brandon Crawford hit his eighth home run; however it came with a little controversy.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle challenged the call of a home run, as it looked like a fan reached over the fence and interfered with the ball.

Hurdle’s challenge was denied, as after a four minute thirty five review, the play stood and the game was tied.

Nick Walker then gave the Pirates the lead for good in the top of the fourth inning, as he singled to score McCutchen.

Jordy Mercer gave the Pirates a two-run in the top of the fifth inning, as he hit his first home run of the season.

McCutchen then drove in the final Pirates run of the night in the top of the sixth inning that scored Polanco.

Heston lasted 3.2 innings, allowing five rubs on seven hits, walking three and striking out six, as his record fell to 5-4 on the season.

A.J. Burnett pitched five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out five and improved his record to 6-1 on the season.

Joe Panik grounded into a force play with the bases loaded to end of the bottom of the eighth inning.

Hunter Pence tried to give the Giants hope in the bottom of the ninth inning, as he led off the inning with a single off of Marc Melancon. Unfortunately, Posey and Brandon Belt each grounded out to second base, and Crawford popped out to Harrison for the final out.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Just three out away from a series victory over the Atlanta Braves, things completely fell apart in the top of the ninth inning for the San Francisco Giants.

Jace Peterson hit a bases clearing triple off of Santiago Casilla, as the Braves came back to defeat the Giants 7-5 before 41,553, the 354th straight sellout at AT&T Park.

Freddie Freeman hit his second home run of the series to get the Braves within a run at 5-4 with one out in the inning.

Andrelton Simmons then walked, and then Christian Betancourt hit what looked like a sure fire game-ending double play ball to Brandon Crawford at shortstop. Unfortunately, Crawford was unable to snare the ground ball and everybody was safe on the error.

Former Giants catcher A.J. Pierzynski then hit a bloop single that loaded the bases for Peterson, and he sent a Casilla offering into the right-center field gap to clear the bases.

Closer Jason Grilli was able to get the final three outs, despite giving up a two-out double to Joe Panik.

Grilli got Hunter Pence to fly out to Nick Markakis in right field for the final out, and picked up his 15th save of the season.

Things were going great for the Giants in the early going, as both Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the second inning, which gave starter Madison Bumgarner breathing room.

This was the first time that the Giants hit back-to-back home runs since Nori Aoki and Panik did it on May 3 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Bumgarner was his usual self, as he was perfect through four innings; however the wheels got stuck and so did Bumgarner.

Jonny Gomes broke up the perfect game with a sharp single into left field, he went to second on a Juan Uribe groundout and then advanced 90 feet on a Buster Posey passed ball, then scored on a Chris Johnson single.

The Braves then took the lead on a Uribe two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning, then after consecutive singles, Bruce Bochy saw enough and brought on George Kontos to finish the inning.

Donnie Veal replaced Teheran, and promptly gave up the lead, as the Giants scored three runs to take back the lead. Panik came up with the big blow in that inning, as he hit a two-run home run and things looked bright, that is until the top of the ninth inning when the usual stellar Casilla gave up four runs and eventually the game.

Bumgarner lasted 6.1 innings, allowing three runs in five hits, walking just one and striking out six.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, May 30, 2015

San Jose struggled early, then righted the ship in the second quarter at Portland on Saturday, as the SaberCats extended their Arena Football League winning streak to 10 games without a loss by holding off the Portland Timber 61-42.

The SaberCats improved to 10-0, while Portland slipped to 3-6.

San Jose’s defense held the Portland offense to 28 points – the Thunder had two TD’s on special teams. The SaberCats lead the AFL with an average of 37.4 points against.

Leading the defensive charge for the SaberCats was Ken Fontenette, who snagged two end zone interceptions, giving him a league-leading nine on the season.

SaberCats quarterback Erik Meyer, last week’s AFL Player of the Week, completed 31-of-40 passes for 264 yards and seven touchdowns. Reggie Gray caught 15 passes for 137 yards and five touchdowns, matching his mark of five TDs last week against Cleveland.

San Jose receiver Adron Tennell had his third straight multi-touchdown game, hauling in eight passes for 57 yards and two scores. Making his first appearance of the season, SaberCats receiver Jeremy Kelley added eight receptions for 70 yards.

Odie Armstrong ran for the first and last touchdowns of the game for San Jose, giving him 96 career TDs – third most in AFL history.

The SaberCats pulled away with 20 unanswered points in the second quarter, taking a 33-15 halftime lead in the process. Portland pulled to within 40-29 in the third quarter on a 39-yard TD pass from Alex Carder to Jared Perry, but the SaberCats outscored the Thunder 21-13 thereafter.

The SaberCats return home to the SAP Center on Friday, June 5 to face their other Pacific Division foe, the Spokane Shock. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

TAGS: San Jose SaberCats,Arena Football League,Sports Radio Service

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-When Tim Lincecum looks back on his night against the Atlanta Braves, he can stop watching in the top of the fifth inning.

Lincecum lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out five and the Braves put an end to the San Francisco Giants five-game winning streak with a 8-0 victory before 42,005, the 353rd consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

Andrelton Simmons got the Braves on the board in the top of the second inning, as his ground ball up the middle went just underneath the glove of Brandon Crawford to score Nick Markakis and end Lincecum’s scoreless streak at 23 innings.

Williams Perez was masterful for the Braves, as he went seven innings, allowing zero runs on four hits, while walking four and striking out three.

Jace Peterson scored the Braves second run of the evening when Cameron Maybin drove him with a single in the top of the third inning.

Former Giants third baseman and the newly acquired Juan Uribe score the third run of the evening against his former team, as he scored on a single by Christian Betancourt.

Peterson scored the Braves fourth of the night, as he scored on a Freddie Freeman single in the top of the fifth inning.

Uribe scored his second run of the night in the top of the eighth inning, as Simmons singled for the second time on the evening.

Maybin drove in his second run of the night in the top of the ninth inning when he singled in Peterson from third base, after Peterson tripled off his third hit of the night.

Uribe put the final runs on the board with one swing of the bat, as he hit a two-run home run into the left field bleachers.