Category: Uncategorized

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – Tim Lincecum’s evolution from a Cy Young Award-winning thrower into a crafty veteran pitcher was on full display Wednesday night.

Coming off an underwhelming outing, the right-hander turned in a masterful performance against an always-tough Los Angeles Dodgers lineup Wednesday night, tossing seven shutout innings and giving up only three hits to lead the Giants to a 4-0 win at AT&T Park.

Lincecum now has not allowed a single run in the past 22 innings at home, and in the process, by striking out four batters on Wednesday, he surpassed Carl Hubbell to take fourth place on the all-time Giants strikeouts list.

In the meantime, the Giants continued a remarkable turnaround. After spending much of the first month of the season at the bottom of the National League West, they have slowly crept their way back into the thick of things to the point that they now only sit 2½ games back of the division-leading Dodgers.

“He’s got a lot of confidence going, and it shows,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s in a good rhythm, too. You look at his delivery, and it’s really consistent, especially here at home. He’s throwing strikes, he’s using his fastball well, going up and down with it, and he’s got really nice secondary pitches he can throw at any time.”

The contest started off as a nice duel between Lincecum (4-2) and Dodgers lefty Brett Anderson, who himself entered Wednesday with a respectable 3.50 earned-run average, as the two hurlers threw zeroes at each other all the way into the sixth inning.

Lincecum’s trek did not go without some trials, however. He did get into some trouble to start the fifth, as catcher Yasmani Grandal led off the inning with a double into the gap in right-center. He didn’t exactly help himself by uncorking a wild pitch to allow Grandal to get to third, but he rebounded very nicely.

He got Andre Ethier to ground out and Juan Uribe to pop out while keeping Grandal at third, and after surrendering a walk to his pitching counterpart, Brett Anderson, he coaxed a weak grounder to first out of Joc Pederson to keep the Dodgers off the scoreboard.

The Giants got a leadoff double of their own in the sixth, courtesy of Buster Posey, and for a moment, it didn’t look like they would get a run across, either. Hunter Pence got Posey to third with a soft grounder to second, but Justin Maxwell grounded out sharply to keep Posey at third with two out.

Andrew Susac drew a walk to keep the inning alive, and Brandon Crawford singled to left just in front of a diving Alex Guerrero to bring Posey in and give the Giants a 1-0 lead.

Angel Pagan kept that lead intact by making a leaping catch at the center-field wall to take at least an extra-base hit from Grandal in the seventh.

“We’re doing a really nice job of catching the ball, and that has made a difference, too,” Bochy said. “The defense has been really good recently.”

Then the Giants teed off on the Dodgers’ pitching in the bottom half, an inning that was capped off when Posey lined one just over the wall in left-center off reliever Yimi Garcia for a two-run homer that boosted their lead to 4-0.

Posey’s work wasn’t done just yet, however. Playing first base to give Susac some time behind the plate, he tracked down a pop-up from Pederson in the eighth that was headed into the visiting dugout and plucked the ball in front of the Dodgers’ bench.

By: Joe Lami

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Make it four straight wins for the San Francisco Giants, as they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in a pitching duel on Tuesday night.  It was a much needed performance by Tim Hudson, who was struggling entering the game. He pitched six and a third shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out two earning the win in San Francisco’s major league best sixth shutout of the season.

“He was getting the ball down, his sinker was working tonight.  You need to locate and he did that tonight”, added Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy on Hudson’s performance.

Though Hudson did have a great outing, it started out shaky, as he gave up a double to leadoff the game.  Bay Area bred, Joe Pederson, smacked a double into center. He eventually got to third, but was stranded when Scott Van Slyke struck out to end the inning.  “The stranding in the first was huge. It allowed me to settle in,” Hudson added.

Carlos Frias was handed the loss, although he wasn’t too shabby either.  He gave up one run on seven hits in a career high, six innings.  It marks his first loss of the season, with his down fall coming in the third inning. 

Joe Panik was able to start a two out rally in the third with a single. He advanced to second base on another hit by Angel Pagan, and then Buster Posey earned his only hit of the night knocking in Panik.  The lone hit for Posey extends his hit streak to 11 games.

Hudson had a scare in the six inning when Adrian Gonzalez crushed one to right field, but Hunter Pence, in his first game back at AT&T, was able to battle the wind and come down with it at the wall. A relieved Hudson said “that ball would’ve been gone anywhere else but here, he crushed it”.

“Coming home is special,” commented Pence, after he played his first game at AT&T since game six of the World Series after battling what has been a season long injury. Bochy added “he was excited to play here”. The dugout definitely got a boost mentioned Hudson, “he gets the mojo going in the dugout”.

The Dodgers threatened to tie it again in the seventh inning.  The bases were loaded after a single and two walks, but with two outs Sergio Romo got the biggest out of the game.  Howie Kendrick hit one right back up the middle, but Romo was able to flag it down and toss it over to first to retire the side and save the lead.

San Francisco padded their lead on a few Dodgers’ errors in the eighth. Brandon Belt smacked a ball out to the track in left field, but Van Slyke had trouble with it and eventually dropped it.  Belt reached second on the error. Pence moved him to third on a ground out. Belt would make it 2-0 on a passed ball, as Yasmani Grandal couldn’t handle a Chris Hatcher pitch in the dirt.

Santiago Casilla came on in the ninth to earn his tenth save of the year.

By: Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard

Despite what you might have heard, the Houston Rockets are no pushover. Houston was just one loss away from being the number six seed, and the Warriors were expected to rocket past them to the Finals. They might have picked up four emphatic victories over Houston in the regular season, but Tuesday was a whole different story.  Golden State held on to preserve a 110-106 victory over the Rockets, needing MVP Stephen Curry to make two free throws in the waning moments of the game to seal a victory.

The Warriors found themselves in an unfamiliar position on Tuesday, down as many as 16 points in the second quarter. But just as quickly as they fell, they picked themselves back up, riding a 21-4 run to end the half up three points. From then on, it was a tight battle between these the two top-seeded teams in the Western Conference, transcending to the billing of the matchup.

Curry finished with 34 points and won the battle, along with his team, against MVP runner-up James Harden. He also pulled down 6 rebounds and spread around the ball well, dishing out 5 assists to his teammates.

Unlike Curry, his “Splash Brother,” star guard Klay Thompson struggled on Tuesday, with the shooting woes that plagued him early in the series against Memphis resurfacing. Thompson scored just 15 points on a paltry 6-18 showing from the floor, including an uncustomarily low 1 for 7 from long range. Other than Curry’s 6 for 11 effort from three, Golden State struggled to make the three-ball, going 4 for 18 from deep.

Just like Houston with Curry, the Warriors had no answer for Harden, who scored 28 points on 11 of 20 shooting and kept his team in the game. He certainly wasn’t “overrated” as Warriors fans chanted throughout the game, nearly leading his team to an upset victory.

Houston not only lost the game, but one of its biggest contributors on Tuesday. Dwight Howard went down with a left knee injury, but didn’t play well before getting injured. He turned the ball over five times in the first half, scoring just 7 points. Regardless, his presence down low was missed. Given the nature of the injury, it’s unclear at this point whether or not he will be ready for Game 2 Thursday night at Oracle.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Warriors got it done. Now just image what could happen if they are anywhere near at the top of their game.

 

//

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.