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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, May 16, 2015

Undefeated San Jose used a career night from backup quarterback Nathan Stanley to rout the Spokane Shock 83-28 Saturday in Arena Football League play at Spokane (Wash.) Veterans Memorial Arena.

After the Jacksonville Sharks defeated the Philadelphia Soul, the SaberCats are the only remaining undefeated team in the AFL.

Stanley, in his second start for the SaberCats (8-0) completed 14 of 22 passes for 212 yards along with a career-best eight touchdown passes while leading San Jose to its highest point total of the 2015 season.

The SaberCats are the first AFL team to surpass 80 points this season.

San Jose scored first on a 14-yard TD pass from Stanley to Darius Reynolds. An interception by Ken Fontenette on the ensuing possession returned the ball to the SaberCats, who cashed in with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Stanley to Rich Ranglin.

Twice, the Shock pulled to within a touchdown of San Jose in the first half. Warren Smith’s 7-yard scoring pass to Anthony Amos cut the SaberCat lead to 14-7, and Mike Washington’s 6-yard TD reception made it 21-14.

In the second quarter, Fontenette grabbed a deflected pass and returned it for a touchdown, giving San Jose a 42-21 lead. A 3-yard touchdown run by Stanley gave the SaberCats a 49-21 halftime lead. San Jose extended that lead to 76-28 in the third quarter.

Individual leaders for San Jose include Reynolds, who caught four passes for 85 yards and three TD receptions (four total scores). Tennell, a former Shock receiver, caught six passes for 74 yards and three touchdowns.

Spokane was led by Amos, who caught nine passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Washington added eight catches for 74 yards and two TDs.

The SaberCats return home this Saturday to host the Cleveland Gladiators (5-3) on Military Appreciation Night at SAP Center. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

NEW RADIO HOME
The San Jose SaberCats announced Thursday that they have partnered with radio station KDOW (1220 AM) radio to provide live radio game coverage for the remainder of the season.

Longtime sports anchor and broadcasting veteran David Lewis will have the play-by-play call and Steve Papin, a former SaberCats’ two-time All-Arena wide receiver, will handle color commentary duties.

KDOW has been broadcasting over Bay Area radio airways since 2008, with its original stationing, KIBE, dating back to 1949. Known as the “Bay Area’s Business Leader” KDOW primarily has focused on 24/7 business and financial news and talk shows and the SaberCats’ game broadcasts will be the first of its kind on the station.

By Jeremy Kahn

After missing almost the first six weeks of the season with a broken forearm, Hunter Pence returned with a vengeance.

Pence went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Cincinnati Reds 11-2 at Great American Ballpark.

Brandon Crawford hit his fourth career grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs in the nine-run victory by the reigning World Champions.

Both Brandon Belt and Gregor Blanco each hit solo home runs for the Giants.

It was the second home runs in as many nights for Belt, who entered Friday night with no home runs on the season.

In the last two games, the Giants have scored 21 runs, their highest two-game total of the season.

Ryan Vogelsong won for the first time away from AT&T Park this season, as he allowed two runs on six hits in 5.2 innings of work.

Joe Panik’s career-high 11-game hitting streak came to an end, as he went 0-for-5.

By: Joe Lami

SAN JOSE, Calif.—The San Jose Earthquakes were victorious with a 2-nil victory over the Columbus Crew at Avaya Stadium on Saturday Night.  The Quakes can thank Mohammed Saeid for the three points, after he was given two yellow cards in the first 33 minutes and getting sent off.  The first yellow came in the 14 minute when Saeid grabbed Matias Perez Garcia from behind.  Referee, Kevin Scott, then handed Saeid his second yellow, ending in a red card, when Saeid had a nasty tackle on Shea Salinas in the 33rd minute.

San Jose coach, Dominic Kinnear, commented on the importance of making sure they use the advantage, “The red card is a red card, you got to make sure you take advantage of it. Sometimes ten men can be your own enemy, you can’t be taking your foot off of the gas”.

Columbus had the advantage in pretty much every stat in the first 33 minutes.  They were out-possessing San Jose 53-47%, which ended in the shot totals being 4-3  in favor of Columbus.  However, their numbers went down substantially after the sending off and San Jose was able to take advantage.

The Quakes jumped in front in the 55th minute, when Chris Wondolowski would give San Jose the eventual game winner.  Jordan Stewart sent in the cross from just inside the 18-yard box on the left side and it found Wondolowski’s face, where he was able to direct it past Columbus keeper Steve Clark.

It marks Wondolowski’s 99th career MLS goal. Wondolowski commented on the importance of coming close to hitting the century mark “100 is a number, but it’s a number that some of the best players to have played in this league have. It’s unbelievable that I’m so close”.  Kinnear added “99 is an incredible achievement, it’s great that all of his hard work is showing off”.

The goal also marks Wondo’s first at Avaya Stadium and his sixth of the year. He commented on getting the monkey off his back in his new home “it’s always nice to score at home, especially when it’s in front of the Ultras”.

San Jose was buzzing and extended their lead just five minutes after, when Shea Salinas found the back of the net for his first of the year.  Salinas ripped it into the back of the net with his right foot from eight yards.  The second tally came off of a give and go with the assist coming from Perez Garcia.

The Quakes up their record to 5-4-2 (17 points) on the young season, good enough for fourth in the Western Conference

By Jeremy Kahn

There was a fire in the ballpark, and the San Francisco Giants were on fire on the field of play against the Cincinnati Reds.

Brandon Belt hit his first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the top of the first inning and the Giants defeated the Reds 10-2 at Great American Ballpark.

Buster Posey hit his team leading sixth home run of the season, as the Giants bounced back from a demoralizing loss in the opener of the four-game series, when Marlon Byrd hit a solo home run off of Sergio Romo in the bottom of the eight inning to give the Reds a 3-2 victory.

A bizarre thing happened in the top of the sixth inning, when one of the two riverboats smoke stacks that celebrate Reds home runs caught fire due to a malfunctioning propane valve.

Madison Bumgarner gave up eight his in seven innings of work, as he improved his record to 4-2 on the season.

Jason Marquis lasted a season-low three innings, he allowed a season-high six runs in the eight-run loss.

Joe Panik extended his career-high hitting streak to 11 games, as he singled in the top of the first inning.

Hunter Pence will rejoin the team on Saturday after doing a rehabilitation assignment with the Sacramento Rivercats, where he was recuperating after breaking the hamate bone in his left arm.

By Jeremy Harness

Not too long ago, the Houston Astros were thought of as the laughingstock of the majors. This year, on the other hand, not so much.

The Astros are the most surprising team in baseball this young season, leading the competitive American League West with a roster full of up-and-coming players that are hungry to prove themselves on the big stage.

One of those budding stars is outfielder George Springer, who unleashed a solo home run off left-handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt to break a tie in the eighth inning and led the Astros past the Giants on Wednesday, 4-3, at Minute Maid Park.

The ball is known to fly out of this small ballpark – particularly in one of the shortest left fields in the majors – and there were certainly no shortages of longballs on Wednesday.

Buster Posey gave the Giants a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning with a two-run homer into the short porch in left field. In the bottom half, however, the Astros narrowed it when Jason Castro’s blast sailed over the center-field wall.

Houston tied things up in the sixth inning when Luis Valbuena belted one into the right-field seats to set up Springer’s heroics two innings later.

After losing more than 100 games last season, the Astros are now 4 ½ games in front of the Angels in the AL West with a 21-13 record. Meanwhile, the Giants, after making a resurgence after falling way behind in the National League West, fell back to .500 and are currently 5 ½ games behind the division-leading Dodgers.

After getting the split in Houston, the Giants will now head to Cincinnati to start a four-game series that begins on Thursday before hosting the Dodgers, whom they swept in their previous home series last month, for a three-gamer that starts Tuesday night at AT&T Park

By Jeremy Kahn

This will be a night that young Chris Heston of the San Francisco Giants will probably not forget for a very long time.

Heston picked up his first complete game, while striking out 10 and gave up just two hits, as the Giants defeated the Houston Astros 8-1 at Minute Maid Park.

The rookie right-hander retired the final 22 batters, as his streak of allowing two runs or fewer extends to five out of his seven starts.

Another rookie came up huge in their first ever trip to Houston, as Matt Duffy continues his hot hitting.

Duffy picked up three hits and drove in five runs, the most runs batted in for a Giants rookie since Buster Posey drove in six on July 7, 2010 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

The infielder cleared the bases with a double in the top of the second inning, and then topped off his five RBI night with a two-run single.

By scoring eight runs on the evening, the Giants scored their most runs of the young 2015 season.

It was also a good night for Angel Pagan, as he picked up three hits and the Giants continue their recent good play, as they have won eight out of their 11.

Former Stanford star Jason Castro drove in the Astros’ only run on the evening, as he homered off of Heston in the bottom of the second inning.

It was an off-night for Astros starter Colin McHugh, as he gave up seven runs on seven hits in just 4.2 innings of work and lost for the first time since August 2014. The first loss for McHugh in 12 decisions.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Matt Duffy came up with the biggest hit of the game at the most opportune tine for the San Francisco Giants.

Duffy hit a walk-off single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning off of Steve Cishek , helping the a Giants to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins before a crowd of 41,889, the 347th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

It was the first career walk-off for Duffy in his brief major league career, and the fourth walk-off win of the season for the Giants.

Of the 16 wins on the season, nine of them have been by one run, the most in the majors this season.

Things looked bleak entering the bottom of the ninth inning, as they trailed the Marlins and were 1-16 after the eighth inning and trailing.

This was just the second loss of the season for the Marlins after they led after eight innings, as they fall to 14-2 in such games.

Justin Maxwell struck out to lead off the inning, then Andrew Susac singles, following a Gregor Blanco doubled to send Pinch runner Joaquin Arias to third, and it looked like Ichiro Suzuki deked Arias to staying at third.

Buster Posey, who was given the day off by Bruce Bochy was called on to pinch hit for Casey McGehee and he was walked intentionally to load the bases.

Angel Pagan struck out for the second out of the inning, and then Nori Aoki walked to tie up the game and Duffy ended with a single to left field to win the game.

Sergio Romo came onto replace Ryan Vogelsong in the top of the eighth inning, and struck out Jhonathan Solano to leadoff the inning, Justin Bour and then Dee Gordon doubled the right line. Solano then ran for Bour, and scored the eventual winning run for the Marlins.

Michael Morse, who played for the Giants during the 2014 season and helped them to their third World Championship in five years hit a ground run double in the top of the fourth inning.

Christian Yelich singled off of Ryan Vogelsong with two outs in the inning for the Marlins.

Brandon Belt tied up the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he singled in Nori Aoki, who singled to leadoff the inning.

Vogelsong went seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits, not walking a batter and striking out five.

Mat Latos went seven innings for the Marlins, as he allowed one run on seven hits, did not walk a batter and struck out seven,

Blanco picked up three hits for the Giants, asides from the double in the ninth, as he hit an infield hit that Marlins manager Mike Redmond challenged; however after a two minute 19 review, the play was upheld.

By: Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard

SAN JOSE, CA–

They call Reggie Gray “Big Time” for a reason, and he wasted no time proving that in Sabercats’ 61-28 victory over the Las Vegas Outlaws, scoring a 28-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. The touchdown was just the first of his 3 scores, carrying San Jose’s roaring third-ranked offense. Head coach and owner Darren Arbet praised his team’s focus in practice the previous week, mentioning that their hard work “carried over into the game.”

Las Vegas quickly answered with a big play of their own, a 38-yard strike to Clinto Solomon from quarterback J.J. Raterink, setting up his own one yard quarterback sneak touchdown to tie the game. But Gray and the Sabercats responded in a big way, outscoring the Outlaws 35-7 in the rest of the half, taking control on both sides of the ball. Gray adding two more touchdowns, making that three total in the first quarter alone. Gray would finish with 175 all-purpose yards, but didn’t score any more touchdowns, sitting for all of the second half with an injury. Arbet said that Gray “was tough to cover, because when he gets the ball in his hands, he can go the distance any time.” Go the distance he did, and then some.

The momentum swung decisively in San Jose’s favor with the score at 14-7 with 10:18 to go in the second, when Eric Crocker forced return man Gerald Young to fumble on the runback after Gray’s second touchdown. David Hyland recovered the fumble for San Jose, setting up Odie Armstrong’s one yard touchdown scamper. The Sabercats’ defense was utterly dominant by AFL standards, forcing two fumbles and holding Las Vegas to 305 yards. 

The Outlaws might have outgained the Sabercats 185-175 in the first half, but that was largely due to the disparity in kick return yards, shortening the field for San Jose. Gray had 83 return yards on just three runbacks, keying the Sabercats’ offense.

The Sabercats’ big stop on fourth down with 3:51 to go in the second put the game in the refrigerator. Down 35-14, the Outlaws had driven all the way to San Jose’s six yard-line, but big linebacker Francis Maka stuffed Raternick’s run short on 4th and 2. The Sabercats quickly scored again, on a deep fade to receiver Darius Reynolds, his second score of the game, giving San Jose a commanding 42-14 halftime lead. The formidable duo of Reynolds and Gray combined to total 230 all-purpose yards and 5 scores, propelling San Jose to the victory.

With all of Gray’s success, it might be easy to forget that someone was throwing him the ball. Sabercats’ quarterback Nathan Stanley had a very efficient game under center, completing 18 of his 20 attempts and throwing seven, count ’em seven touchdowns. Maka praised Stanley, who has been in the throws of a quarterback controversy, saying that “he’s not a backup. We rode him throughout the playoffs, and he’s our guy.” With Eric Meyer out, Stanley had to be their guy, as he was the only quarterback on the active roster. Receiver Diondre Borel played some quarterback in college, and would have been available in an emergency.

The barrage of Gray touchdowns stopped in the second half, but the Sabercats’ dominance did not. Defensive end Rodney Fritz added a 32-yard touchdown trod after fellow end Donte Paige-Moss sacked Raternick on fourth down and forced a fumble. The score would end the third quarter, and gave San Jose a 55-21 lead heading into the final period. The big 270 pound lineman’s explained his mentality on the play: “Pick it up and don’t get caught. As long as I don’t, I’ll be alright.” Simple, but true.

 

By: Joe Lami

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Since 2010, the Miami Marlins have owned San Francisco at AT&T Park with a record of 15-6, the highest winning percentage in past five years.  Saturday night was no different as the fish dominated the Giants, who were sporting their new black jerseys in front of 42,258, as they defeated the orange and black 6-2.

The Giants hopes were high, sending out ace, Madison Bumgarner, to the bump.  However, his night was short lived, pitching only five innings and giving up three runs in the process.  Bumgarner’s pitch count at the end of five was 99, mostly due to his ten strikeouts. “He had good stuff, the strikeouts showed it, but there was a couple of missed spots and they took advantage,” added Giants’ manager, Bruce Bochy. It was the first time this season Bumgarner struck out at least ten.  Bumgarner commented on his high pitch count, “I got to get quicker outs, and just let the strikeouts come to me. I can’t be looking for them. That’s way too many pitches”.

Trouble started in just the third inning for Bumgarner, although he was able to avoid any damage due to a fan interference play.  With two outs in the top half of the third and Christian Yelich on first, Martin Prado hit a ball down the left field line, that ended up being interfered with by a fan near the bullpen.  If the ball wasn’t interfered with Yelich would have been able to score, but since it was, the umpire ruled it a ground-rule double forcing Yelich to stop at third with two outs.  Giancarlo Stanton was brought to the plate, but it was just not his night as Bumgarner mowed down Stanton to end the frame.  Stanton ended the evening with a total of four strikeouts, three of which came from the hand of Bumgarner.

Miami however, wouldn’t hold a gruge against the fan, as they were able to account for all three runs that Bumgarner gave up in the fourth.  The inning started ugly when Marcell Ozuna hit his second homerun of the series on a deep ball out to left center field. Ozona also went yard on Hudson on Thursday. Bumgarner would next walk J.T. Realmuto, who was brought in by Jeff Baker right after on an RBI double.  Adien Hechavarria then brought in Realmuto with another RBI double.

The Giants first run came in the fifth inning as Brandon Crawford hit in Justin Maxwell from second base, where he reached on a double. 

The Marlins were able to add three more runs in the eighth inning, as they strung together three hits and a walk off of Jean Machi.  The third run came off of an overturned video review where Hechavarria was initially called out on a bang-bang play at first, which would have ended the inning.  However, the play was challenged by the Marlins and was overturned to bring in the sixth run of the game for Miami.

San Francisco added one late in the ninth with two outs as Joe Panik roped a double down the left field line bringing in Matt Duffy to make the 6-2 loss look less severe.

The highlight of the game for the Giants came in the first inning on a bloop hit by Oduna to right field, but Maxwell came sprinting in and laying out in a Superman styled dive on superhero night to take away the base hit.

Bumgarner’s record drops to 3-2, as the Giants drop below .500 with a 15-16 record, which was much improved after San Francisco was able to string off 11 wins in 16 games entering Saturday’s game.

David Phelps earned the victory for Miami in his fifth start of the season.  He ups his record to 2-0, while bringing Miami’s overall record to 15-16.  The loss for San Francisco ensures they won’t win the series, as they look to take half of it tomorrow.  The Giants haven’t won a series with the Marlins at AT&T since 2009, and that streak will continue.