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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.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Buster Posey put the San Francisco Giants in an unfamiliar place with one swing of the bat, first place.

Posey hit a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw from Mike Foltynewicz in the bottom of the first inning, helping the Giants to a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves before 41,311, the 352nd consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

The native of Leesburg, Georgia added a ground rule double in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave the Giants a two-run lead that scored Joe Panik, who led off the inning with a walk.

After walking Brandon Belt intentionally, the strategy backfired, as Brandon Crawford singled to score Posey.

Coupled with the Los Angeles Dodgers being shutout by the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the Giants are in first place by a half-game for the first time since Opening Day on April 6.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Giants overall, and the sixth straight at home since losing to the Miami Marlins on May 9.

Since April 21, the Giants are 26-10, the best record in the major leagues since that date.

Tim Hudson pitched a exceptional game, as he went seven innings, allowing one run on five hits, while walking just one and striking out four against his former team.

When Hudson allowed Andrelton Simmons to score on a base hit by Cameron Maybin in the top of the third, it was the first run allowed by the Giants in 39 innings, tying the team record that was originally set from July 11-30, 1948.

Despite allowing the two-run home run to Posey in the bottom of the first inning, Foltynewicz was fantastic for the Braves, as he went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walking one and striking out eight.

After allowing back-to-back singles to Brandon Crawford and Angel Pagan in the bottom of the second inning, Foltynewicz retired the next 11 batters in a row until he walked Nori Aoki, leading off the bottom of the sixth inning.

Things got interesting in the top of the ninth inning, as closer Santiago Casilla gave up to a solo home run to Freddie Freeman to straightaway centerfield that was measured at 430 feet. It was the first home run for Freeman since May 5 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field.

Following the Freeman home run, Nick Markakis walked, then Chris Johnson struck out for the second out of the inning. Former Giants catcher A.J. Pierzynski then walked to out the tying run on first base; Todd Cunningham grounded out to Panik on the first pitch to end the game.

It was the 15th save of the season for Casilla.

This was the Giants 21st win of the month, their first 21-win month since 1968 and the team record for the most wins in a month was set in 1954, when they went 24-4 on their last World Championship until they won it all in 2010.

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants rebounded very nicely from two ugly losses in Colorado with a dominant effort in Milwaukee for three straight games, finishing off a sweep of the Brewers with a 3-1 win at Miller Park Wednesday afternoon.

Ryan Vogelsong has had a real resurgence this month, and it continued on Wednesday with a superior effort. He went six strong innings and allowed only one run on six hits en route to winning his third straight start and boosting his record to 4-2 for the year.

After surrendering an RBI single in the fourth, Vogelsong kept grinding away and got the led he was looking for when Joe Panik hit a two-run homer off Milwaukee starter Mike Fiers.

In the top of the ninth, Gregor Blanco gave closer Santiago Casilla just enough cushion when his sac fly brought in Angel Pagan to give the Giants a 3-1 lead. Casilla responded with a one-two-three ninth to secure the Giants’ fifth win on this seven-game road trip.

The Giants will now head back home in time for a four-game series that starts Thursday night against the Atlanta Braves, a team that is basically treading water in the National League Central, a place that they are rather unfamiliar with, and sit with a 22-23 record at press time.

As for the Giants, they sit in second place in the National League West, but due to this surge, which includes another recent three-game sweep of the division-leading Dodgers, they are now only 1 ½ games out of the top spot.

They have a real chance to take over first place in the division, since the Dodgers will now head to St. Louis to face a Cardinals team that owns the best record in the majors at 31-16, and to make things worse for the Dodgers, it is a place where they have historically had trouble winning, particularly in the postseason.

By Jeremy Kahn

It may just be May, but what a difference one month makes when you are the defending World Champions.

Madison Bumgarner pitched six innings, allowing three runs and four hits, as he improves to 5-1 in his last six starts and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 at Miller Park. Over the last two May’s, Bumgarner is now 9-1.

Bumgarner raised his record to 6-2 on the season, and closer Santiago Casilla picked up his 13th save of the season.

Matt Duffy, Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt each hit home runs, as the Giants have won 10 out of their last 12 games.

It is a totally different story for the Brewers, who have list four in a row and have lost six out of their seven.

Pence got the Giants rolling in the top of the first inning, as he hit a solo home run, Duffy’s came in the top of the fourth inning, just over the outstretched glove of Carlos Gomez in centerfield that lengthened the Giants lead up to 5-0. Belt closed out the scoring in the top of the seventh inning, as he hit a solo home run.

Buster Posey saw his 16-game hitting streak come to an end, as he went 0-for-3 at the plate; however Posey set a career high by reaching base in his 26th consecutive game, when he walked in the top of the fifth inning.

By Jeremy Kahn

On a day where Chad Bettis came within a few pitches of his first career complete game, Nolan Arenado topped him.

Arenado picked up four hits and drove in four runs, as the Colorado Rockies defeated the San Francisco Giants 11-2 at Coors Field.

Troy Tulowitzki and Nick Hundley also drove in two runs each, as the Rockies and Giants split the four-game series that saw rain delays of over seven hours during the series.

Nori Aoki led off the game in the top of the first inning with a single off of Bettis, and the next time Bettis allowed a hit was to Matt Duffy, who led off the eighth inning.

Bettis went 8.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking two and striking out a career-high seven.

Tim Hudson lasted just 3.2 innings, as he gave up eight runs and six hits and remains winless in his career at Coors Field.

In his career, Hudson falls to 0-3 in 10 career starts at Coors Field.

Arenado got his big day started in the bottom of the second inning, as he tripled and later scored.

The Rockies blew the game wide open in the bottom of the fourth inning, as they scored eight runs in the frame, backed by run-scoring singles from Daniel Descalso and Nick Hundley. Troy Tulowitzki added a two-run single and then on the first pitch he saw from Jean Machi, Arenado hit a three-run home run.

Arenado made it a four-hit day in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he singled and extended the Rockies lead up to 10-0.

The Giants finally got on the board in the top of the ninth inning, as Aoki doubled to lead off the inning and then scored on a Joe Panik single that broke up the shutout. Buster Posey extended his hitting streak up to 16 games with a single.

Brandon Belt ended Bettis’ shot at the complete game, as he doubled in Panik and Brooks Brown was summoned to put an end to the game, which he did and after a two-hour 10 minute rain delay that began the day, the Rockies and Giants split their four-game series.

Prior to the game, the Giants designated Casey McGehee for assignment.

By Jeremy Kahn

After a late night close victory over the Colorado Rockies in the opener, the San Francisco Giants returned for a doubleheader.

Brandon Crawford drove in three runs, as the Giants held on for a 10-8 victory over the Rockies in Game One of a doubleheader at Coors Field.

Chris Heston pitched 5.2 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and won for the fourth time this season.

It was the eighth straight win for the Giants, their longest winning streak since winning 10 in a row in May of 2004.

The Giants jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but the Rockies came back and hit within 7-4 in the bottom of the fifth after a Charlie Blackmon hit a two-run home run.

Joe Panik and Brandon Belt helped the Giants extend the lead up to 10-4 in the top of the sixth inning, as Panik hit a single that scored Andrew Susac and then Belt hit a two-run double that extended the Giants back to six runs.

Wait Weiss’ team would not go away, as they scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to get within 10-6.

After bringing Sergio Romo, the Rockies got within 10-7, when Nolan Arenado singled to score Blackmon.

Santiago Casilla came on to close the game; however Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki each hit singles to get the Rockies within 10-8.

Casilla then got Willin Rosario to ground out to third base as the tying run to end the game, and give Casilla his 12th save of the season.

After witnessing Casilla pickup his 12th save in the first game, a Bay Area product came up huge for the Rockies in the second game.

Daniel Descalso, who went to Mountain View’s St. Francis High School hit a two-run home run off of Yusmeiro Petit in the bottom of the sixth inning and the Rockies gained a split with a 5-3 victory.

In gaining a split of the doubleheader, the Rockies put an end to the Giants eight-game winning streak.

After two long rain delays that totaled three hours and 13 minutes for the two games.

David Hale picked up his first win as a member of the Rockies, as he went 6.2 innings, allowing three runs.

John Axford picked up his sixth save of the season in as many opportunities.

Axford gave up a leadoff single to Gregor Blanco, and after a Blanco steal of second, he was thrown out at third base on a throw by Blackmon, when Angel Pagan flew out to the center fielder.

Casey McGehee then reached on a Descalso fielding error that brought Hunter Pence to the plate as the tying run.

Pence grounded out to Descalso, who threw to D.J. LeMahieu for the final out of the game.

By Jeremy Kahn

It may have been the weirdest way to win a game for the San Francisco Giants to win a game this season, but in the end, it dies not really matter.

Ryan Vogelsong pitched six scoreless innings, as the Giants hung on for a hard fought 11-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies on a rain-soaked evening at Coors Field.

Vogelsong gave up just two hits, as the Giants extended their scoreless inning streak up to 34 innings.

The streak came to an end when George Kontos gave up a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to D.J. LeMahieu.

Thirty-four innings scoreless innings is the sixth-longest streak in team history, coming four innings shy of the team record of 38.

Brandon Belt hit his fourth home run in the last seven games, a two-run home run that was measured at 475 feet and landed in the third deck.

Since the opening of Coors Field in 1995, the Belt home run is just the 34th home run to land in the third deck.

Matt Duffy added a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning, as the Giants stretched their lead up to 11-4 and then the bottom of the ninth inning showed up.

Jeremy Affeldt gave up three straight singles to begin the inning, and that is where the one hour 44-minute rain delay began. After the end of the delay, two more hits and it was 11-7 before you blinked.

Seeing enough, Bruce Bochy called on closer Santiago Casilla, who retired the first two batters and then Ben Paulsen extended the game to cut the Giants lead down to just three.
Casilla ended the game, as he struck out Nick Hundley for his 11th save of the season.

Kyle Kendrick saw his record fall to 1-6 on the season, as he last won in the season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 6. In 6.1 innings of work, Kendrick walked three and struck out four.

Buster Posey picked up a single and a double on the night, as he extended his hitting streak up to 14 games.

With the victory, the Giants extend their winning streak up to seven games and remain a game and a half behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.