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By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 28, 2015

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – On a 94-degree afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium, 8,893 fans cheerfully spent 2 hours and 52 minutes watching a 2-2 nine-inning exhibition baseball tie between the San Francisco Giants and a split-squad of the organization’s top prospects.

It was the Giants’ second tie game of the spring, and their first since March 9 (5-5 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers).

Second baseman Austin Slater was 2-for-2 with a solo home run for the Futures, and outfielder Jaret Parker went 2-for-4. Third baseman Mitchell Delfino drove in the other Futures run.

Slater, an eighth-round draft choice in 2014, hit .350 last year at Stanford. In his first season as a pro, Slater hit a combined .346 with two home runs and 23 RBI for the Arizona League Giants and Salem Keizer (Northwest League)

The Giants Futures scored both of their runs in the top of the fourth. With one out, Slater homered to right. Mac Williamson and Parker followed with singles, and Delifino grounded out to second, scoring Williamson.

San Francisco tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch-runner Blake Miller – replacing Hector Sanchez, who singled – went to second on a wild pitch, to third on a fly to center and scored when Devin Harris doubled to center. Joaquin Arias, who walked, scored the second Giants run on a wild pitch by Rodolfo Martinez.

Harris was 2-for-3 and collected the Giants’ only RBI.

Nine different pitchers saw action for the Futures. Though Martinez wound up with a blown save, he struck out two and gave up one hit. Collectively, the Futures pitchers gave up five hits and no earned runs.

Yusmeiro Petit worked the first five innings for the Giants, logging five strikeouts, one walk and two earned runs. Chris Stratton, Keury Melia, Chase Johnson and Luis Ysla held the Futures scoreless on three hits over the final four innings.

The Giants have three more games in Scottsdale before heading back to the Bay Area for the annual preseason series with Oakland April 2-4. The Giants host the Dodgers (Sunday), travel to Mesa on Monday to play the Chicago Cubs, then return to Scottsdale for games agaisnst Colorado (Tuesday) and Cleveland (Wednesday).

CACTUS NEEDLES: San Francisco announced after the game that RHP Curtis Partch was reassigned to the club’s minor league camp. Partch, a 2005 Giants draft choice, spent 2013 and 2014 with Cincinnati. … INF Casey McGehee has started 18 games at third base forthe Giants this spring. … Giants OF Nori Aoki is tied for the Cactus League lead with three triples. … 1B Brandon Belt leads San Francisco with three homers, eight RBIs and a .327 average coming into Saturday’s game. … The Giants’ annual Play Ball Luncheon will be held Friday, April 3, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Hilton San Francisco (333 O’Farrell). This is the Giants Community Fund’s largest fundraising event. … Word out of the Athletics camp in Mesa is that Tyler Clippard will start the season as Oakland’s closer, Manager Bob Melvin told the media. Clippard, the winning pitcher in the 2011 All-Star Game, had spent most of his career as a setup reliever in Washington before he was acquired by the A’s this past winter. He was pressed into duty as the Nats’ closer in 2012, when Drew Storen became ineffective. Sean Doolittle, the A’s incumbent closer, is set to start the season on the disabled list (shoulder). … A’s LHP Barry Zito has looked impressive enough in Mesa that other teams are seriously scouting the former Cy Young Award winner in case the A’s cut him loose. Zito has enjoyed a solid spring and may head north with the Athletics as a fifth starter or long reliever.

By Jeremy Harness

Once again, Stanford is making a deep run in a postseason tournament.

The Cardinal, one year removed from their improbable trek into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, are making the most of their opportunity this season, even though they are not in the Big Dance.

They moved on to the semifinal round of the NIT tournament Tuesday night by beating Vanderbilt, 78-75, at Maples Pavilion. Stanford will move on to New York’s Madison Square Garden and face Old Dominion, who defeated Murray State in their own quarterfinal Wednesday night.

Anthony Brown, who has made huge strides this season, led the Cardinal with a season-high 26 points while making nine of his 15 shots from the field and also pulled down eight rebounds to help keep Stanford’s season going.

Meanwhile, Chasson Randle, who was Stanford’s leading scorer this year, chipped in with 16 points on six-of-15 shooting, while Stefan Nastic had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Vanderbilt, however, kept the game close with its 3-point shooting in the second half, and the Commodores actually had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. However, freshman Matthew Fisher-Davis, who had hit a 3-pointer with 28.8 seconds left to narrow Stanford’s lead to 77-75, misfired on a deep 3, and Stanford escaped with the victory.

The Cardinal are slated to play in the semifinal game on Tuesday, while Miami will play Temple, who routed Louisiana Tech in their quarterfinal Wednesday night.

The last time the Cardinal was in the NIT, they won the entire thing in 2012.

By: Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard
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The good vibes continued for the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, but the hard work isn’t done yet. The Warriors won their first Pacific Division title in 39 years with their 122-108 victory over Portand, their last being in the 1975-76 season. Golden State still has several things to work on before the playoffs, but it can continue to rest its star players with the division in hand.

As Stephen Curry put it, “We might be a little subdued, but I think everybody is proud of what we’ve done. We still have 11 games left to keep getting better so I think everybody is focused on that. But I think everybody is pretty happy right now.”

Curry led the charge for Golden State, scoring 32 points and dishing out 10 assists, good for a double-double. In a matchup of star point guards, Curry slightly outplayed Damian Lillard, who scored 29 points and added 5 assists in a losing effort.

Lillard had to do much of the heavy lifting for the Blazers, who were without All-star LaMarcus Aldridge, forward Nicolas Batum, Chris Kaman, and guard Wesley Mathews. Matthews had averaged 15.9 points per game before his season-ending Achilles tear on March 5, and the Blazers have dropped five of their last eight games in his absence.

Golden State also had some injury concerns of their own, but certainly not to the same extent as Portland. Head coach Steve Kerr limited Klay Thompson to 25 minutes after missing three games over the Warriors’ perfect homestand due to a sore ankle. Nonetheless, Thompson still managed to score 16 points on 6-13 shooting. Overall, it was an outstanding night for the Warriors from the floor, who shot an impressive 60.2% from the floor, the first time since 2012 that a team had shot over 60% in Portland.

The Warriors did not get to clinch without some adversity. They fell behind 53-41 in the second quarter, but Curry’s shooting prowess left Golden State down just 62-57 at the half. Golden State then rode a strong third quarter, doubling Portland’s output in the period 36-18 to coast to a decisive victory. The Warriors will now move on to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday in a potential Western Conference playoff preview. Memphis’ ability to control the pace of the game will prove trying for Golden State, which thrives upon controlling the tempo.

  

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have signed forward David Wear to a 10-day contract. Wear was playing for the Kings D-League affiliate in Reno. 

Wear, a 6-10 forward, averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 30 minutes per game for the Bighorns.

He is a 47.8-percent field goal shooter who hits the 3-pointer 39.4-percent of the time. Wear has hit seven 3-pointers in a game twice this season. 

Wear played his college ball at UCLA. 

David Wear will be available to play in the Philadelphia 76ers game on Tuesday night. 

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 21, 2015

MESA, Arizona – The Oakland Athletics announced that CT scans were nagative on outfielder Sam Fuld, who was injured during the A’s exhibition game Friday against Colorado at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale.

Fuld left the game against the Rockies in the seventh inning after he was hit in the jaw by an errant throw from the shortstop while running to first base.

The tests were performed at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center. Fuld is listed at day-to-day.

This spring, Fuld is hittingh .265 with a .441 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .316 in 12 games. He has two doubles, two triples and six runs batted in, and was 7-for-21 in his last seven games.

A’s belt Cincinnati

On Saturday, Oakland used a 12-hit attack to defeat Cincinnati 8-1. Third baseman Brett Lawrie belted a two-out three-run homer in the bottom of the first off Reds starter Raisel Iglesias. Catcher Josh Phegley added a two-run shot in the sixth off Cincinnati reliever Aroldis Chapman.

The hit parade didn’t end there for the A’s. Second baseman Eric Sogard, hitting in the No. 9 slot, had a pair of doubles, as did DH Mark Canha. A’s starter Jesse Hahn worked five innings of shutout ball to get the win. Hahn struck out two, walked two and gave up four hits. Aside from one run allowed in the seventh, the Oakland relief crew of Evan Scribner, Fernando Abad and Kevin Whelan scattered four hits. Scribner struck out three.

The A’s head to Goodyear for their next two spring games, facing Cincinnati Sunday and Cleveland on Monday.

CACTUS NEEDLES: An announced crowd of 9,057 watched the A’s and Reds do battle Saturday at Hohokam Stadium. … Going into this weekend, the Athletics have the third-best record in the Cactus League – 12-7-1 – trailing Kansas City (12-6) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (9-4-6). … OF Billy Burns continues to raise eyebrows of Cactus League observers. Burns has five multiple-hit games this spring while hitting .520 (13-for-25) in his last nine games. Burns leads the CL with four stolen bases, and is fifth in batting (.415). … Four of OF Billy Butler’s five hits this spring have been for extra bases (two doubles, two home runs). … OF Coco Crisp is 2-for-8 in his last three games after coming back from a week off to address an elbow injury. … C Josh Phegley is tied for the CL lead in doubles (5). … On Friday, Oakland’s split squads earned wins – one over the Dodgers, the other against Colorad. RHP Sonny Gray threw 5 1/3 innings against LA, but LHP Barry Zito threw the final three innings to earn his first win of the spring. Zito has a 3.09 ERA, has struck out nine with one walk in four games.

By: Joe Lami

STANFORD, Calif.—Hall of Fame coach, Tara VanDerveer earned her 800th victory at Stanford on Saturday night, as her Cardinal defeated Cal State Northridge 73-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  It’s only the tenth time in NCAA history where a coach has accomplished the feat of coaching one team to 800 wins.  The win also marked the 500th at Maples Pavilion. “This was an exciting one, one to remember,” mentioned VanDerveer post game.

The Cardinal came out of the gates on fire, going on an 8-0 run to start the game.  Their lead was as high as 13 with 11:48 to play in the first half, but then Northridge stormed back.  The Matadors were able to string together an 18-2 run to eventually take the lead into halftime 29-28.

However, strong shooting and tenacious defense in the second half helped the Cardinal prevail.  Stanford shot an outstanding 59%, while holding Northridge to only 39%.  Much was in thanks to a Matadors scoreless streak that lasted 7:10, which helped the Cardinal eventually make a comeback and bullhead by 14, their largest of the game. Stanford was then able to cruise to victory, getting help from the foul line, where they finished 19 of 25.

Northridge senior, Ashlee Guay, led all scorers with 27 points, finishing 41% from the field.  However, she was really the only one to get things going for the Matadors, as the next closest soccer was Camille Mahlknecht finishing with eight.  All eight of Mahlknecht’s points came in the first half. 

Taylor Greenfield was once again the difference maker for the Cardinal, leading the team with 19 points.  She has been on fire of late, scoring 56 points in the last three games.  This was after she was scoring an average of 4.6 per game.  Part of her great play of late she references to tournament play, “part of it is the excitement of the tournament,” explains Greenfield. She later added, “I don’t think it was the game of my life, but since ASU it’s been repetitive”.  Her reference to the ASU game was where she put up 17 points in the semi-final of the Pac-12 tournament.

CSUN head coach, Jason Flowers commented on Greenfield’s play after saying, “she was a tough matchup offensively.  She became the difference maker on the floor”.

The Cardinal were led by three other players to get into double figures.  Lili Thompson soon followed Greenfield, finishing with 17 points.  Bonnie Samuelson was lights out from three-point territory hitting three of four to finish with 14 points.  She also played all 40 minutes for the first time in her career.  Capping off the double digit scorers was Erica McCall with ten.

The Cardinal advance to take on the Oklahoma Sooners on Monday.  Oklahoma was victorious in an impressive victory 111-84 over Quinnipiac in the first game played at Maples on Saturday afternoon.  VanDerveer commented on the Sooners play, “They’re very well balanced”.  That they are, as six players scored double figures, three of which scored more than 15.

By Tony Renteria

Once again the home town Sacramento Kings (22-44) have lost to a superior visiting team, the Los Angeles Clippers (43-25) came into tonight and simply the cream rose to the top as the won, 116-105.

The Kings were with out All Star DeMarcus Cousins who was with out with a right calf strain.  It was Rudy Gay who put in extra work with an outstanding statistic line game, 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Once the Kings were beaten by a better team that could expose the average defense and lack of inside game with Cousins’s 23.7 points per game that are scored in the paint.

J.J. Redrick led the southern California NBA franchise with 27 points from some great 3 point shooting going 7 for 12 beyond the arch.

Just simply the playoff bound Clippers are better and they showed it this evening.

The Clippers move on to play the Wizard’s in D.C on on Sunday while the Kings head to basketball country in North Carolina to play the Hornet’s

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 14, 2015

MESA, Arizona – The road to recovery for San Francisco pitcher Matt Cain may have hit a speedbump in Saturday’s 5-2 win by Oakland over the Giants split squad at Hohokam Stadium, but the Giants’ ace righthander isn’t letting one rough outing define his recovery from last year’s elbow surgery.

“It felt all right,” Cain said of his right elbow, which had bone chips surgically removed last August. His last game on the mound, prior to spring training, was last July 9.

So far, Cain said his range of motion is nearly back to normal.

“I don’t think it’s that big of an adjustment,” Cain said. “You’re just not used to being able to do it, being pretty much off for the whole offseason. Now, it’s just making sure the arm is used to doing it. “I felt fine with what I was throwing. It’s something I just need to keep repeating.”

Cain (0-1) took the loss after the Athletics roughed him up for four earned runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings, with one strikeout and no walks. Cain left after throwing 44 pitches, but said he didn’t think he was on a strict pitch count.

“The biggest thing is to eventually get to the sixth inning,” Cain said. “That’s always a goal. You just want to get there.”

“I got the pitch count up a little more, got to work pretty much every scenario, I just have to make better pitches in certain situations, and I have to have better location.”

Cain’s first spring start was a two-inning no-decision outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 9. That day, Cain tossed a pair of scoreless, hitless innings. Saturday’s 1 2/3-inning stint didn’t go quite as well, but the veteran right-hander is more concerned with staying on course as his recovery process continues.

“It was good to go out there and try some different things,” Cain said, adding that in the A’s three-run second, “I didn’t make some pitches that I wanted to.”

Asked about how soon he’ll return to the mound, Cain said, “I’m sure it’ll be the normal five days rest, and go from there.”

A’s split-squad downs Giants

Center fielder Billy Burns continued his hot-hitting for the Athletics with a two singles and a triple. Burns leads the Cactus League in base hits with 12, to go with a .419 average, three stolen bases and three triples. He also scored three of Oakland’s five runs on Saturday.

Ben Zobrist, who is hitting .368 this spring, had a double and two runs batted in. A’s shortstop Niuman Romero, a non-roster invitee, was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Jesse Chavez (2-0) went the first 4 1/3 innings to get the win. Chavez struck out four without a walk, and gave up two earned runs on five hits. Brock Huntzinger, another non-roster invitee, struck out one and walked one in a scoreless ninth to earn his first CL save.

San Francisco third baseman Casey McGehee was 2-for-3 and drove in both of the Giants’ runs with a pair of doubles. Five Giants relievers – Braulia Lara, Jake Dunning, Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Casilla and Brett Bochy – combined to give up one run on six hits over the last 6 1/3 innings.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, the Chicago Cubs defeated the other Oakland squad 3-1. Kris Bryant, a Las Vegas native, homered twice for the Cubs. Max Muncy drove in the only A’s run, his sixth Cactus League RBI.

CACTUS NEEDLES: Al Rosen, former president and general manager of the Giants and standout third baseman for the Cleveland Indians, died Friday at 91. Rosen, a four-time All-Star, is the last Cleveland Indian to win the American League MVP award (1953). He also served as an executive with the Yankees and Houston, and, while running the Giants, was Executive of the Year in 1987. … Former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito is trying to make the A’s as a non-roster invitee. Zito, who sat out last season, has made two appearances with Oakland with no decisions (one start), and a 7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings. Zito has struck out three and walked one. … Going into Saturday’s games, San Francisco pitchers have posted a 6.26 ERA and surrendered 17 home runs, most of any team in either the Cactus or Grapefruit Leagues. … Oakland INF Rangel Ravelo underwent successful surgery on a partial ECU tendon tear in his right wrist. He will be recovering for the next six to eight weeks.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, March 12, 2015

No last-second drama for the Cardinal this time.

In the first half of Stanford’s Pac-12 men’s basketball Tournament quarterfinal game against Utah, the Cardinal led by as many as eight points early and took a five-point lead into the break. Two and a half minutes into the second half, Stanford still led by two.

Then the No. 3-seeded Utes took over, dominated the second half, and routed Stanford 80-56 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Utah (24-7) will meet Oregon in the semifinals, while the Cardinal (19-13) await word on which other postseason tournament they could land in. Stanford could still be selected to the NCAA Tournament, but likely has a better shot at the National Invitation Tournament.

With 16:54 remaining in the second half, Delon Wright drained a 3-pointer that put the Utes ahead to stay at 42-41.

Stanford pulled to within 53-49 at the 11:15 mark on a jumper by Chasson Randle. Utah responded with a 14-point run over the next seven minutes – capped by a Jordan Loveridge 3-pointer – to build a 67-49 lead.

Randle led the Cardinal with a game-high 22 points, Anthony Brown grabbed six rebounds and Robert Cartwright had two assists.

Wright topped the Utes with 20 points, Loveridge contributed 18 points, eight boards and five assists. Jakob Poeltl added 16 points.

Utah held a 39-24 rebounding advantage, and shot 50 percent from the field.