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Ray hangs in there for solid outing to stay undefeated, and Koss’ grand salami carries Giants to wild 10-6 win over Arizona

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San Francisco Giants Jung Hoo Lee (51) is congratulated by teammates Heliot Ramos (far left), Mike Yastrzemski (5) in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue May 13, 2025 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Arizona Diamondbacks 6 (22-21)

San Francisco Giants 10 (25-18)

Win: Robbie Ray (6-0)

Loss: Brandon Pfaat (6-3)

Time: 3:00

Attendance: 30,960

By Stephen Ruderman

Robbie Ray pitched solid innings after giving up a three-spot in the top of the first inning, and Christian Koss’ grand slam—also his first big league home run—in the bottom of the second propelled the Giants to a wild 10-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

The Giants came into Tuesday night losers of four-straight after Corbin Carroll hit a pair of home runs and Merrill Kelly further stymied the Giants’ offense in the series opener Monday night.

Tuesday night, the Giants had the perfect man on the mound to be the stopper. That was none other than Robbie Ray, who was 5-0. Even better, the Giants came in 8-0 in Ray’s starts this season.

It was Tuesday night, which meant the Giants would be playing their third game in their new funky city connect jerseys. The only bad news was that they were 0-2 in them. Either the Giants were going to lose their first game with Ray on the mound, or they were finally going to win their first game in their new musical threads.

Unfortunately, all signs pointed to the former early on. While Robbie Ray’s night started off nicely with a strike out of Katel Marte, base-hits by Corbin Carroll and the veteran outfielder, Randal Grichuk, put runners at the corners for Arizona with one out.

Eugenio Suarez came up and roped a double down the left field line to put the Diamondbacks on the board. Then up came Josh Naylor, who grounded a base-hit up the middle into center field, which knocked in a pair of runs.

The Diamondbacks had an early 3-0 lead, and they were looking for more. Naylor stole second base, and then he advanced to third on a two-out infield hit by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Ray was on the ropes, but he was able to get Jordan Lawler to ground out to second, and at last, the inning was over. Ray had to throw 26 innings to get through the top of the first, and the three runs didn’t help either. However, despite their recent offensive struggles, the Giants have tended to respond to big innings by the other team.

Diamondbacks’ starter Brandon Pfaat threw a scoreless bottom of the first, but the Giants would have their response in the bottom of the second. Wilmer Flores started the inning with a base-hit, and Willy Adames drew a walk. LaMonte Wade flew out to right, which got Wilmer over to third, and Patrick Bailey loaded the bases.

Some people, including myself, have questioned Christian Koss’ role on the team. He had not been off to the best start, and he was seen by some as a waste of a roster spot. Last night, he knocked in the Giants’ only run with a two-out base-hit to right in the bottom of the fifth. Tuesday night, he was put in a big spot, as he stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded.

Koss took a sweeper down the pipe. Then he gulfed a sinker down and in, and he lined it to the first row of the bleachers out in left to suddenly put the Giants ahead. It was the big swing of the bat that the Giants had been lacking over the last few days. It also re-fired up the 30,960 at Oracle Park, who would make their presence known throughout the night.

The Giants had their big hit, and they had the lead. Meanwhile, Ray had settled down. After his laborious top of the first, he threw a scoreless top of the second, and a one, two, three top of the third.

The Giants threatened in the bottom of the third and fourth, but were unable to come through. The Giants threatened again in the bottom of the fifth, and this time, they were able to pad their lead. It happened with one out when Willy Adames gulfed a two-run home run in left to make it 6-3. Yeah, I know. It was the third home run in this series hit to the first row of the bleachers.

The Giants were not done. They proceeded to manufacture another run later in the inning. Wade and Koss each got base-hits, and Wade scored on a wild pitch.

Ray finished his night with a scoreless top of the sixth. Even after the three run top of the first, the rest of the night was not a cakewalk for Ray, but he hung in there to give his team six solid innings, which officially counts as a quality start. He also struck out nine. It wasn’t the greatest night for Ray, but it certainly was not a bad night.

Kyle Harrison, back up with the team in the bullpen, gave up a leadoff home run to Corbin Carroll in the top of the seventh. It was Carroll’s third home run of the series, and no, it went beyond the first row. It went into a tunnel beyond the wall in left-center, but it would have gone into the second, third or fourth row.

Harrison retired the next three to get through the top of the seventh. Camilo Doval found himself in trouble in the top of the eighth when the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with one out. Katel Marte hit a chopper back to the mound that Doval turned into a one, two, three double play. You don’t see those every day.

The Giants would add three more runs in the bottom of the eighth off left-hander Joe Mantiply. They all came on a three-run home run by Jung Hoo Lee, who was already somewhat the center of attention prior to the game on South Korean Heritage Night. Lee’s home run hit the green tin atop the 24-foot-high Willie Mays wall in right, so it technically didn’t even reach the first row.

Anyway, Lee’s home run made it 10-4. Naylor hit a two-run home run off Spencer Bivens in the top of the ninth to make it 10-6, but it would really be no problem. Gabriel Moreno grounded out to second to end it, and the Giants won it 10-6.

Robbie Ray gets the win and improves to 5-0. The Giants are now 9-0 in Ray’s starts this season. Brandon Pfaat got the loss.

The Giants get their 25th win to improve to 25-19. And before I forget, the Giants finally have their first win in the new city connects.

The Giants can take the series with a win in the matinee Wednesday at 12:45pm PDT. Jordan Hicks (1-4, 5.82 ERA) will go for the Giants. Countering Hicks for Arizona will be the veteran left-hander, Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 6.86 ERA).

First pitch will be at 12:45 p.m.

Earthquakes take down Republic 2-1 in Round of 32 of U.S. Open Cup

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San Jose Earthquakes striker Amahl Pellegrino celebrates his first half goal teammate Preston Judd during the Earthquakes 2-1 win over the Sacramento Republic at Pay Pal Park on Wednesday MAY 7, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Earthquakes scored two goals in the first half and hung on to defeat the Sacramento Republic 2-1 in the Round of 32 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose snapped their two-match losing streak against Sacramento and advanced to the round of 16 to take on the Portland Timbers on either May 20th or 21st. Sacramento bows out of the tournament after just one match.

“We made a 4-0 game into a 2-1 game. That part is disappointing, but it was positive to see the number of players on the field tonight that we haven’t given a whole lot of minutes and try to make some assessment of where they are.” Quakes head coach Bruce Arena said.

The Earthquakes drew first blood in the second minute of the match. Preston Judd crossed the ball into the middle where unmarked Amahl Pellegrino drilled a right footed shot past Republic goalkeeper Jared Mazzola for his first goal of the tournament.

San Jose doubled its lead in the 44th minute. Nick Lima sent a ball into the middle of the box. Niko Tsakiris made a touch pass off of his knee up over to Judd who beat Mazzola with a low shot for his first goal of the tournament.

“Any time out there I want to play as much as I can, so I don’t want to put myself in a position where I have to go out. … but getting the W is the main thing, and we’re happy about that the most, so now we’re looking forward to the game Saturday,” Judd said.

Sacramento didn’t record its first shot on net until the 68th minute.

Tsakiris played one of his best matches in an Earthquakes kit, creating numerous scoring chances for his teammates throughout the match.

“Tonight, there were moments and opportunities that I felt were open for me and moments where I felt like I could have done better. That’s all part of it. Getting these minutes were valuable for me and for this year. [I’m] just looking to take this and move forward with it,” Tsakiris said.

Jamar Ricketts was given a red card and an automatic ejection in the 83rd minute when he made a dangerous tackle against a Republic midfielder.

The Republic scored in the fifth minute of stoppage when Trevor Aman scored in the final minute of stoppage time when he curled around Quakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. for his first goal of the tournament.

GAME NOTES: The Earthquakes now hold a 22-19 all-time record in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play and 19-6 against non-MLS clubs.

The Quakes and Republic have now met six times in the U.S. Open Cup, with the home side winning all six contests. Host San Jose defeated Sacramento in 2014 (2-1), 2015 (2-2 regulation; 6-5 PKs) and 2019 (4-3), while the Republic won in 2022 (2-0) and 2024 (4-3 after extra time).

Hernán López made his first appearance since the second game of the MLS docket on March 1. The midfielder underwent right shoulder surgery March 14. He entered the match in the 66th minute.

Benji Kikanović made his 2025 debut in the 79th minute after undergoing knee surgery in January. The forward was born in San Jose but grew up in the Sacramento area, featuring collegiately for Sacramento State University (2018-19) and scoring nine goals in 34 games.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns to MLS action as they take on the Colorado Rapids on Saturday May 9th at 6:30pm at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Phillips OT heroics gives Eagles series lead in 3-2 win over Barracuda

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The Colorado Eagles forward Matthew Phillips celebrates a first period goal against the San Jose Barracuda with his teammates along the bench at Blue Arena on Tuesday MAY 6, 2025. (Ashley Potts-Colorado Eagles)

by Marko Ukalovic

Matthew Phillips scored the game winning goal five minutes into overtime to give the Colorado Eagles a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda in Game 3 of the Pacific Division Semifinals on Tuesday evening at Blue Arena.

Former Barracuda defenseman Jayson Megna found Phillips along the right wing on a three-on-two odd man rush. Phillips skated in and beat Cuda backup goalie Gabriel Carriere with a wrist shot for his first goal of the playoffs at the 5:02 mark of the overtime period.

Colorado can close out the series tomorrow evening as they went up 2-1 in the best of the five series. San Jose is on the brink of elimination for the first time in the playoffs.

The Eagles (2-1) drew first blood less than two minutes of the first period. Phillips centered the puck from behind the net out to Tye Felhaber who beat starting Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov to the stick side for his second goal of the playoffs at the 1:59 mark.

Colorado doubled its lead late in the opening frame with an even strength goal. John Ludvig’s shot from the point trickled behind Askarov and a crashing Megna chipped the puck into an open net for his third goal of the playoffs at the 17:02 mark.

San Jose (1-2) cut the deficit in half with a power play goal late in the second period. Filip Bystedt had a give and go with Colin Graf. Bystedt skated out to the right faceoff circle and beat Eagles goalie Trent Miner with a wrist shot to glove side for his second goal of the playoff at the 13:05 mark.

Cuda head coach John McCarthy pulled Askarov with over two minutes remaining in the third period for an extra attacker. San Jose cashed in on the 6-on-5 when Patrick Giles sent a on net that was initially saved by Miner. During a mad scramble in front of the net Pavol Regenda poked home the puck past Miner for his third goal of the playoffs with 1:35 remaining.

Just over a minute into the overtime session, Askarov had to come out of the game with alleged cramping. Askarov was replaced by Carriere who finished the rest of the game stopping two of the three shots he faced in suffering the loss. Askarov made 25 saves on 27 shots.

Miner finished the game stopping 29 of the 31 shots to earn his second victory of the playoffs.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-2 on the power play. Colorado went 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Phillips (1G, 1A) 2) Felhaber (1G,2A) 3) Megna (1G,1A).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado continue their best of five series in Game 4 on Wednesday at 6:05pm at Blue Arena.

Gushchin’s OT heroics propel Barracuda to 2-1 win over Eagles, series even

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San Jose Barracuda forward Pavol Regenda (center) celebrates his second period goal against the Colorado Eagles with teammates Scott Sabourin (#49) and Lucas Vanroboys #(67) at Tech CU Arena on Sunday MAY 4, 2025. (Joey Cascarano-Sport Shots)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Danil Gushchin scored the game winning goal 27 seconds into overtime as the San Jose Barracuda defeated the Colorado Eagles in Game 2 of the Pacific Division Semifinals on Sunday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose had 1:12 left in their power play to start the overtime period. Gushchin carried the puck inside the Eagles zone and created a give and go with Colin Graf. Gushchin’s backhanded attempt was saved by Colorado netminder Trent Miner. The rebound was kicked in through the five-hole of Miner by Chris Wagner as Gushchin earned his first goal of the playoffs and sent the sold-out crowd into a celebratory frenzy.

San Jose earned a split in the series as the next three games shift back to Loveland, CO. Colorado goes back home with home ice advantage for the rest of the series.

“Yeah I thought we executed pretty well, I liked our start,” said Cuda head coach John McCarthy. “Our first period was strong. And I thought penalties both ways, it got a little choppy in the second (period). I thought we pushed there at the end.”

The opening 20 minutes was scoreless as both teams displayed tight checking throughout the period. The Barracuda dominated the shot clock 14-6 over the Eagles yet neither goaltender Yaroslav Askarov nor Miner allowed a puck past the crease.

San Jose (1-1) started the second period on a four-minute power play due to Tye Felhaber taking a high sticking penalty that drew blood at the end of the first period. However, the Cuda power play did not generate enough quality scoring chances.

Colorado (1-1) drew first blood with a power play goal late in the middle frame. Matthew Phillips sent a cross-ice pass through the crease over to Calle Rosen who roofed a one-timer past Askarov for his second goal on the playoffs and second in as many games at the 13:13 mark.

The Barracuda scored a special team’s goal of their own with 1:48 remaining in the period except it was a short-handed tally. Pavol Regenda blocked a pass in the neutral and created a two-on-zero odd man rush with Collin White. Regenda finished off a nice give and go with White as he beat Miner with a wrist shot for his second goal of the playoffs.

“Whitey (White) made a good move, faked out the goalie and kind just opened it (the space for me). I’m happy for the short-handed goal. It helped in a game like this,” Regenda said.

In the third period, emotions ran high as the chippiness began to flow after the whistle. Colorado had two power play opportunities early in the period weren’t able to cash in on either one as the Cuda penalty kill led by Askarov kept the Eagles from scoring the go-ahead goal.

Devante Stephens set up Gushchin’s heroics when he went to the sinbin for tripping Danil Gushchin with 48.1 seconds left in the period.

Askarov finished the game stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced to earn his third win of the playoffs. Miner suffered his first loss of the playoffs as he made 34 saves on 36 shots.

“He (Askarov) played great, he won us the game tonight,” McCarthy said.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-6 on the power play. Colorado went 1-for-5.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gushchin (1G,0A) 2) Regenda (1G,0A) 3) Rosen (1G,0A).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado battle it out in Game 3 on Tuesday May 6th at 6:05pm at Blue Arena.

Espinoza’s brace powers Earthquakes past Timbers 4-1

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Cristian Espinoza and Cristian Arango of the San Jose Earthquakes celebrate Espinoza’s first goal of his brace against the Portland Timbers at Pay Pal Park on Saturday MAY 3, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Cristian Espinoza scored two goals and DeJuan Jones had two assists in his first start of the season as the San Jose Earthquakes blasted past the Portland Timbers in 4-1 victory on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose snapped its three-match losing streak and has won two of its past three at home. Portland had its seven-match unbeaten streak snapped as it suffered its first loss since March 8th against Nashville 2-0.

The Earthquakes (4-6-1) drew first blood 16th minute. Cristian Arango sent a long ball out to the right wing. Dejuan Jones, who made his first start in a Quakes kit and in his second game since being acquired from the Columbus Crew, centered the ball into the box over to Cristian Espinoza and the Argentine hit a low shot into the left corner of the net for his third goal of the season.

“It was really important to start the game that way. We knew that we needed this victory. We need the three points tonight. We were preparing ourselves the whole week for this moment. We know when we stay together, we keep the compactness inside the field, the result will come. Tonight was a great answer,” Espinoza said.

Jones first point as an Earthquake was the assist that gave Espinoza third place on the franchise’s all-time career club scoring list as he passed Jeremy Ebobisse with his 35th (and later his 36th) for the Black and Blue.

Espinoza recorded his brace in the 24th minute. Espinoza had a nice give and go with Ousseni Bouda as the Quakes captain got behind the Timbers defense and dribbled in all alone before firing a right footed shot past Timber’s goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau for his fourth goal of the season.

San Jose scored its third unanswered goal of the first half on a counterattack. Chico Arango fed a pass up the right sideline to Jones who quickly returned it back to Arango with a nice touch pass. Arango raced down the right wing before rifling in a right footed strike for his team leading seventh goal of the season in the 27th minute.

“Whenever you can get to a new club and make an impact with the scoring right away, that’s helpful. And I’m building chemistry quickly with my teammates. They make it really easy. It’s fun playing with them, so to get the 4-1 win is good. We use the momentum to keep getting more wins,” Jones said.

Portland (5-3-3) broke through with its only goal just before halftime in the 42nd minute. Anthony Santos made a drop pass over to David De Costa just outside the box. De Costa centered the ball over to Felipe Mora who beat Quakes goalkeeper Daniel with a chip shot for his team leading sixth goal of the season.

In the second half VAR played a pivotal role in taking away two potential goals for San Jose. In the 58th minute, Arango thought he had his own brace when his one-timer off of a Vitor Costa centering pass was kicked into the back of the net. However, after a VAR review, Arango was ruled offside.

Crepeau stoned Arango’s second chance at a brace when stopped a point-blank chance after Espinoza centered the ball into the box.

A minute later Beau Leroux made a move around David Ayala inside the box. Ayala apparently tripped Leroux with his leg that resulted in referee Fortis Bazakos ruling it a penalty. Once again VAR called down for a review and the penalty was overturned frustrating the Quakes faithful.

Third time was the charm for San Jose as they finally earned its fourth goal of the match in the 88th minute. Arango crossed the ball into the middle from the left wing over Bouda who finished off the pass with a one-timer into the right corner of the net for his 2nd goal of the season. Espinoza, who had the secondary assist on the goal, recaptured the league lead with his seventh helper on the season and 78th in MLS play, extending his club record.

“It’s a good win against a very good team. I thought Portland was dangerous throughout the game. Our guys responded. The three goals in the first half are huge. We knew they would come at us real strong to start the second half and we weathered the storm. In the last 15 to 20 minutes of the game, we settled in the right way to try to just protect our lead and get out of here with three points. We did a good job with that. They’re a very good team, so we’re pleased with the win,” Quakes head coach Bruce Arena said after the match.

Daniel finished with four saves on five shots to earn his fourth victory of the season. Crepeau made four saves on eight shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with two corner kicks. Portland had six.

Earthquakes move to 7-19-10 all-time vs. Portland, with a 7-5-6 record at home. 

Espinoza became the 21st player in MLS history with 15 career game-winning goals and 15 career game-winning assists. He also extended his consecutive games streak—a club record and the longest active run in MLS—to 120, good for third all-time and second among field players.

Pay Pal Park celebrated Colombian Heritage Night with food stands and vendors that featured items and food from the Colombian culture.

UP NEXT: San Jose takes on Sacramento Republic FC in the Round of 32 of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday May 7th at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Hicks hangs in there, and Chapman’s grand salami carries Giants to 6-3 win over Rockies

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San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman (26) rounds the first base after hitting a sixth inning grand slam is congratulated by first base coach Mark Hallberg in the bottom of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat May 3, 2025 (AP News photo)

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Colorado Rockies 3 (6-27)

San Francisco Giants 6 (21-13)

Win: Randy Rodriguez (2-0)

Loss: Jake Bird (0-1)

Save: Ryan Walker (6)

Time: 2:21

Attendance: 40,049

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants appear to be back on track, as Jordan Hicks hung in there for five innings, and Matt Chapman hit a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning to propel the Giants to a 6-3 win over the Rockies.

The Giants snapped their first three-game winning streak of the year with a 4-0 win Friday night, as Robbie Ray struck out eight over seven shutout innings.

Saturday, Jordan Hicks looked to follow that up with a strong outing of his own. Following three-consecutive rough starts, Hicks had a much better outing against the Texas Rangers on Sunday, when he gave up two runs over five innings.

Hicks got off to a solid start Saturday, as he opened the game with three scoreless innings. So did Rockies’ starter Bradley Blalock, who retired the first seven men he faced.

The Giants struck first when Luis Matos hit a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the third. Other than that, Blalock kept dealing, and the Giants struggled to mount any sort of rally against him.

As for Hicks, he cruised through five shutout innings, but he ran into trouble in the top of the sixth. Brenton Doyle walked to start the inning, and after back-to-back base-hits by Jordan Beck and Ryan McMahon tied the game, Hicks was done.

Randy Rodriguez came in, as he has many times for Giants’ starters so far this season. Hunter Goodman greeted Rodriguez with a base-hit to left to give the Rockies the lead. Rodriguez retired the next two, but Kyle Farmer chopped a base-hit off Rodriguez’s ankle that scored McMahon to make it 3-1.

It was an unfortunate end to what was a solid outing for Hicks, who got charged for three runs over five-plus innings, but struck out seven.

10 of the Giants’ 20 wins had come with them trailing by two or more runs, and here they were again trailing by two.

Blalock walked Matos to start the bottom of the sixth, and then he walked Mike Yastrzemski with one out. Rockies Manager Bud Black brought in Jake Bird, who walked Willy Adames to load the bases. Jung Hoo Lee then lined a base-hit up the middle into center field to make it 3-2.

Up came Matt Chapman. Chapman fouled off the first pitch, and then he hit a grand slam to right-center to give the Giants a 6-3 lead.

The Giants’ bullpen then handled the rest. Camilo Doval threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the seventh, and Erik Miller threw a scoreless top of the eighth. Ryan Walker, who last picked up a save exactly two weeks ago on April 19 in Anaheim, came in for the ninth, and he threw a one, two, three inning to get his sixth save of the year.

Randy Rodriguez, who came in for Hicks in the top of the sixth, picked up the win. Jake Bird was saddled with the loss, and Ryan Walker got the save.

The Giants picked up their 11th win when trailing by two or more runs, as they improve to 21-13.

The series finale will be Sunday, and the Giants will look to win the series with their ace, Logan Webb (3-2, 2.83 ERA), on the mound. Countering Webb for the Rockies will be the veteran, German Marquez (0-5, 9.82 ERA).

The matchup is obvious on paper, but it’s baseball, and the game still has to be played before we know for sure what happens and who will win. First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m at Oracle.

Ray shines with eight strikeouts over seven shutout innings, as Giants snap skid with 4-0 win over Rockies

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Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Colorado Rockies 0 (6-26)

San Francisco Giants 4 (20-13)

Win: Robbie Ray (4-0)

Loss: Antonio Senzatela (1-5)

Time: 2:02

Attendance: 35,036

San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray pitches to the Colorado Rockies line up in the top of the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri May 2, 2025

By Stephen Ruderman

Robbie Ray struck out eight and gave up just two hits over seven strong shutout innings, which is exactly what the Giants needed to snap their first three-game losing streak of the year with a 4-0 win over the Rockies Friday night.

Every team goes through their struggles, and that is what the Giants have somewhat gone through this week. They were swept by the Padres in a short two-game set down in San Diego, and it was only the third time this season that they had lost consecutive games. The Giants then lost the series opener to the Colorado Rockies, the worst team in Baseball, Thursday night.

The Giants had lost three in a row for the first time all year, and Friday night they looked to snap their skid. They had the perfect man on the mound in Robbie Ray, who came into Friday night’s game 3-0. The Giants also came in 6-0 in Ray’s starts this season.

Ray walked Brenton Doyle to start the game, which I’m sure got some Giants’ fans nervous. Not to worry, Doyle was thrown out trying to steal second base, and Ray set down the next two men he faced.

Rockies’ starter Antonio Senzatela threw a scoreless bottom of the first inning. Ray followed that up with a one, two, three inning in the top of the second.

With this somewhat slump the Giants have been in, they needed a big inning, and they got that in the bottom of the second.

Wilmer Flores led off the frame with a double to center field, and then he got to third on an infield hit by Heliot Ramos. LaMonte Wade came up to the plate. Wade, now one of the longest-tenured Giants, came into Friday night’s game hitting .123. The Giants needed a big inning, and Wade really needed a big hit.

Wade got that hit, as he pulled a pee-rod off the glove of Rockies’ first-baseman Michael Toglia that ricocheted into foul territory in right field. Wilmer Scored; Ramos went down to third; and the Giants had a 1-0 lead.

Sam Huff tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly to right that knocked in Ramos to make it 2-0. Christian Koss came to the plate, and Senzatela threw a wild pitch, which allowed Wade to come in from third to make it 3-0.

The Giants had their big inning. They put a big fat three spot on the board, and Ray was in complete control.

Matt Chapman added a run with a home run to left-center with one out in the bottom of the third to make it 4-0

Ray ended up retiring ten straight after Doyle was caught stealing in the top of the first, and the only real jam he found himself in was when the Rockies had a pair of runners on in the top of the sixth. Ray got out of that, and capped off his night with a one, two, three top of the seventh.

Ray really shined tonight, as he gave up just two hits over his seven shutout innings. He struck out eight, and walked two.

Bob Melvin brought in Hayden Birdsong, who has very-quietly gotten off to a superb start this season. Birdsong threw a scoreless top of the eighth, and a one, two, three, top of the ninth to end it.

Robbie Ray got his fourth win of the season, and Antonio Senzatela took the loss.

Oh yeah, the Giants got their 20th win, and improve to 20-13.

The Giants can make it two in a row Saturday afternoon. Jordan Hicks (1-3, 6.12 ERA), who has been off to a bumpy start in his return to the rotation, will take the ball. He will be opposed by Bradley Blalock (0-1, 10.29 ERA), who will make the start for Colorado.

As I said, it will be afternoon baseball at Oracle Park, as first pitch will be at 1:05 p.m.

Eagles dominate Barracuda in opening game of semifinal series 6-3

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Colorado Eagles Collen Rosen celebrates his first period goal against the San Jose Barracuda during Game of the Pacific Division Playoffs at Tech CU Arena on Friday MAY 2, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Colorado Eagles scored three goals in the second period en route to a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Barracuda in Game 1 of the Pacific Division Semifinals on Friday evening at Tech CU arena.

The Eagles enjoyed a first round bye as the division winner in the Pacific Division as this was their first game of the Calder Cup Playoffs. San Jose came off a two-game sweep over the Ontario Reign in its first round series.

Colorado (1-0) drew first blood late in the first period. A turnover in the neutral zone led to a counterattack. Jayson Megna found Calle Rosen in the slot and Rosen fired a one-timer past Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov for his first goal of the playoffs at the 16:16 mark.

San Jose (0-1) dominated the majority of the play in the opening 20 minutes as they outshot Colorado by a two-to-one margin at 12-6, including a couple of short-handed chances that were stopped by Eagles goalie Trent Miner. However, they trailed as they headed into the first intermission.

The Eagles doubled its lead with its first power play goal of the game early in the second period. Jacob MacDonald’s shot from the slot was tipped in front of the crease by Chris Wagner for his first goal of the playoffs at the 3:02 mark.

Colorado scored its third unanswered goal with its second straight power play goal when Donovon Houle took a double-minor penalty for high sticking. Rosen’s shot from the point was cleaned up by Megna for his first goal of the playoffs at the 7:19 mark.

San Jose broke through on the scoreboard with a shorthanded goal just over a minute later. Filip Bystedt stripped the puck from inside his own blue line and raced down the ice on a breakaway. Bystedt beat Miner through the five-hole with a wrist shot for his second goal of the playoffs at the 8:25 mark.

The Eagles regained their three-goal lead on a delayed penalty on the Cuda late in the middle frame. Macdonald found John Ludvig along the right point. Ludvig skated in and wired a wrist shot through a sea of traffic for his first goal of the playoffs at the 17:55 mark.

The Barracuda cut the Eagles lead in half late in the third period. Collin Graf picked up a loose puck along with the right end boards that jumped out from behind the net. Graf sent a seeing-eyed wrist shot that tied up Miner and went into the back of the net for his second goal of the playoffs at the 13:16 mark. Lucas Carlsson was credited with the only assist on the play.

San Jose made it a one-goal game at the 17:41 mark with a 6-on-5 goal as they pulled Askarov for an extra attacker. Patrick Giles centered a pass over to Colin White who blasted a one-timer past Miner for his first goal of the playoffs.

Colorado iced the game with two empty net goals in the final two minutes of the game of the game. Megna scored his second goal of the contest at the 18:29 mark and Ty Felhaber scored his first goal of the playoffs with 29 second remaining.

Miner finished the game stopping 25 of the 28 shots he faced to earn his first win of the playoffs. Askarov made 18 saves on 22 shots as he suffered his first loss of the playoffs.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-3 on the power play. Colorado went 2-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Megna (2G,1A) 2) Rosen (1G, 1A) 3) MacDonald (0G, 2A).

UP NEXT: Game 2 of the best of five series continues on Sunday May 4th at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Graf’s late go propels Barracuda into second round with 2-1 win over Reign, sweep series

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By Marko Ukalovic

Collin Graf scored the game winning goal with 2:18 left in the game as the San Jose Barracuda defeated the Ontario Reign 2-1 in Game 2 of the Pacific Division first round series on Saturday evening at Crypto.com Arena.

The sixth seeded San Jose swept the third seeded Ontario two games to none as they won their first playoff series since 2017. The Barracuda will play the division winner Colorado Eagles in the semifinals of the Pacific Division Playoffs.

Ethan Cardwell set up Graf’s heroics when he centered a pass out to Graf who beat Reign goalie Phoenix Copley with a sliding backhander for his first goal of the playoffs. Collin White received the secondary assist on the play.

The first period was scoreless as San Jose had two power play opportunities compared to just one for Ontario. Neither team was able to find pay dirt as both penalty kills were dominant in the opening 20 minutes.

Early in the second period was where the momentum shifted toward the Barracuda. Cuda goalie Alexander Askarov made a point-blank save on Martin Chromiak who was camped out in front of the crease when Charles Hudon threw the puck at the net just under seven minutes into the middle frame.

Less than a minute later, San Jose (2-0) drew first blood. Cuda captain Jimmy Schuldt sent the puck down to the goal line. White centered the puck from behind the net to Anthony Vincent who beat Copley with a one-timer to the short side for his first goal of the playoff at the 7:40 mark.

Ontario (0-2) answered back in the third period with an even strength goal. Glen Gawdin centered the puck over to Chromiak in the high slot. Chromiak beat Askarov with a one-timer for his first goal of the playoff.

The Reign pulled Copley with under two minutes left in the game for an extra attacker. However, San Jose bent but didn’t break as they kept Ontario from scoring the equalizer and escaped Southern California with a series win.

Askarov finished the game stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced for his second win of the playoffs and first series win. Copley made 23 saves on 25 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-3 on the power play. Ontario went 0-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Askarov (29 SV/30SA), 2) Graf (1G,0A) 3) Chromiak (1G,0A).

UP NEXT: San Jose takes on the Colorado Eagles in the semifinals of the Pacific Division Playoffs. Schedule TBD.

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Evoldi stymies Giants, as Verlander can’t get support in Rangers’ 2-0 shutout

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Texas Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi deals to the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Apr 25, 2025 (AP News photo)

Friday, April 25, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Texas Rangers 2 (15-11)

San Francisco Giants 0 (17-10)

Win: Nathan Evaldi (2-2)

Loss: Justin Verlander (0-2)

Save: Luke Jackson (8)

Time: 2:40

Attendance: 40,080

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants’ offense was unable to give Justin Verlander the runs he needed for his first win, as Nathan Evoldi just stymied them with six strong shutout innings and seven strikeouts, and the Rangers shutout the Giants 2-0 in the series opener Friday night at Oracle Park.

I know this next sentence is going to sound odd, but Bruce Bochy brought the Rangers into town for a 2010 World Series rematch to start what will be a series and weekend of celebrating old times.

Speaking of old times, two longtime pitchers in Nathan Evoldi and Justin Verlander squared off, as the Giants looked to build on another big comeback win yesterday. Oh yeah, and our old friend, Joc Pederson, was also on with the Rangers.

However, there was one little problem. The game would be on Apple TV, which most fans do not have, so at best, they would have to listen to Friday night’s game on the radio.

Both pitchers started off well, as they traded zeros in the first two innings. The Rangers then fired the opening salvo in the top of the third, as Jake Burger hit a leadoff double, and Wyatt Langford got him in with a two-out base hit to left field.

Evoldi continued to shut the Giants down, as he pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the third, and threw a one, two, three bottom of the fourth. Verlander also continues to deal, as he threw back-to-back one, two, three innings in the fourth and fifth.

Evoldi threw another scoreless inning in the bottom of the fifth, but Verlander ran into trouble in the top of the sixth. Josh Smith led off the inning with an infield hit, and up came Langford. The Ranger appeared to have made it 2-0 when Langord hit a double that bounced off the wall left-center. However, upon review, the ball had bounced up against the back wall at the left end of the Giants’ bullpen, so it was ruled a ground-rule double, and Smith was sent back to third base.

However, the Rangers would get that second run when Joc came up. Joc had snapped his brutal 0-for-41 stretch on Wednesday, so of course he would burn his old team. Joc hit a ground ball to second that hit off the glove of the diving second-baseman, Tyler Fitzgerald, into right for a base-hit, and Smith scored to make it 2-0.

Oddly enough, Verlander would get out of the rest of the inning without any further damage. Verlander struck Adolis Garcia out swinging, and he got Marcus Semien to ground into a double play to end the inning.

That did it for Verlander, who had a good night. He threw six solid innings and gave up two runs to a strong Rangers’ team.

Evoldi completed his strong night by striking out the side in a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth. Evoldi ended up striking out seven in his six innings of work.

Randy Rodriguez pitched a pair of scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. Ryan Walker then came in for a big outing in the top of the ninth. Walker blew a save in Anaheim on Sunday when the Giants led 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth. He then nearly blew a non-save situation on Wednesday against the Brewers before Doval came in and got the emergency save. Plain and simple, he needed a big inning.

Yesterday, Bob Melvin insisted after Camilo Doval’s second-straight save that Ryan Walker would be the man tonight. Tonight, Walker’s job was to keep the deficit at 2-0. Walker proceeded to get the one, two three inning he desperately needed.

Lefty Robert Garcia had thrown a one, two, three, bottom of the eighth, and Bruce Bochy had him go back out to face the left-handed-hitting Jung Hoo Lee to start the bottom of the ninth. Lee had the count at 2-2. Garcia’s 2-2 pitch was a fastball in on Lee that appeared to hit him on the back of his left hand.

Rangers’ catcher Kile Higashioka asked Home Plate Umpire Austin Jones to appeal down to Third Base Umpire Nestor Ceja. Ceja ruled that he went around, and Lee suffered a rough first out.

Replays then showed that the ball that hit the handle of Lee’s bat and not Lee himself, which means that it should have been a foul ball and Lee’s at-bat should still be alive. Crew Chief and First Base Umpire Todd Tichenor gathered the crew and then explained the call to the crowd.

What’s weird is that before the Rangers appealed down to third, they were the ones that would have wanted the ball to hit Lee’s bat. Now the Giants wanted that. However, since a non-hit by pitch call would not have originally benefited the Giants, they were not able to have the call reviewed according to Major League Baseball’s rules on replay.

The Giants essentially got burned and had to move on. While everything was going on, Bochy quietly brought in his closer, Luke Jackson. Jackson got Matt Chapman to ground out, and struck Wilmer Flores out to end it.

Nathan Evoldi got the win; Justin Verlander took his second loss to fall to 0-2; and Luke Jackson picked up his eighth save.

The Giants fall to 17-10, and despite their strong and exciting start, they have now weirdly been shut out for the fourth time this season, tying the Pirates for the most times shut out in Baseball. Even the best teams have their issues. The Giants have also struck out 240 times the season, the fourth-most in Baseball.

I’m not too worried about the shutouts. Weird things like that happen. However, the Giants do need to get the strikeouts down.

Saturday is Brandon Crawford day, and he will have his official retirement ceremony on the field prior to the game.

Then two undefeated pitchers will square off. Robbie Ray (3-0, 4.07 ERA) will take the ball for the Giants, and he will be opposed by Tyler Mahle (3-0, 0.68 ERA.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m PT, but with Crawford’s ceremony, that could be delayed, which is worth it.