NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Joe Lami: Lightning take a 2-1 series lead on Stars in 5-2 win

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The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stephen Stamkos (arms raised behind the net) scores a big goals after returning from an injury with the Dallas Stars goalie  Anton Khudobin (35) swatting away the puck in first period (AP News photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Joe:

#1 How crucial was it for for the Tampa Bay Lightning to even the series 1-1 after losing game 1. They certainly didn’t want to go to game 3 tonight down 2-0.

#2 For game 3 tonight the Lightning are really depending on goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy who stopped 27 shots on Monday night.

#3 A narrow win Joe 3-2 and all three goals by Tampa Bay really counted to secure them for the rest of the game.

#4 Bolts head coach Joe Cooper said with a 3-0 lead shrunk down a one goal 3-2 lead the team never goes into panic mode.

#5 So its Lightning and Stars once again tonight for game 3 Joe talk about how you see this one finishing out in the bubble in Edmonton.

Joe Lami did the NHL podcasts throughout the 2020 season on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ramon Laureano’s home run in the ninth wins it for A’s 6-4

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The Oakland A’s Ramon Luareano (22) hits a two run home run in the top of the ninth inning that would later put away the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium to even the series between both clubs on Wed Sep 23, 2020 (AP News photo)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, as they have done many times this season, found a way to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. With the win, the A’s evened the series at one apiece. The rubber game will be played Thursday night.

The Dodgers used two relievers to face the A’s for the first two innings. Dodger reliever, Joe Kelly, who pitched Tuesday night, allowed two hits to the first two hitters. A’s second baseman Tommy La Stella doubled to right.

Robbie Grossman doubled to left to put a run on the board. Kelly walked Marcus Semien to put men on at first and second with no out. They advanced to third and second on Jake Lamb’s ground out 4-3. Mark Canha, playing first base in place of Matt Olson, drove in Grossman with a sacrifice fly to center-field.

Semien tagged up and went to third. Dodgers’ centerfielder, Cody Bellinger, throw to third bounced into the Dodger dugout. Semien scored the third run of the inning. The A’s lead 3-0.

In the bottom of the third, with two out and a man on first, Max Muncy took Manaea deep to cut the lead to 3-2. For Muncy, it was his twelfth of the season.

The A’s plated a run in the seventh. Julio Urias had handcuffed them for four innings. Until the seventh, the young lefty from Mexico had faced thirteen hitters. He did not allow a hit. The only base runner reached on a walk.

Mark Canha walked to get the rally going. Stephen Piscotty singled to send Canha to second. Ramon Laureano, mired in an 0-for-16 slump, singled to drive in Canha with the A’s fourth run. The Dodgers cut the lead to one when Cody Bellinger homered to make it 4-3. A’s manager replaced Sean Manaea with Joakim Soria. Soria retired the next three batters to end the inning. The A’s lead 4-3.

The Dodgers tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. Jake Diekman was pitching for Oakland. Diekman had not allowed a run in eighteen plus innings of relief. Dodger manager Dave Roberts had left-handed hitter, Edwin Rios, pinch-hit for Justin Turner. Rios blasted his sixth dinger of the year to tie the game at four.

The A’s won the game in the ninth. Former A’s closer Blake Treinen was on the mound to face his former mates. Treinen struck out Matt Olson for the first out. Piscotty singled and then stole second to get into scoring position.

Treinen retired Khris Davis for the second out. It was now up to Ramon Laureano to come through for the A’s. Laureano came up big. He hit a line drive into the left-field seats to put the A’s ahead 6-4. A’s closer Liam Hendriks set the Dodgers down to secure the win. The A’s win 6-4.

Game Notes- The line score for the A’s was six runs, six hits, and no errors. The Dodgers’ line was four runs, seven hits, and one error.

With the win, the A’s improved to 34-21. The Dodgers dropped to 39-17.
Sean Manaea went six-plus innings. He allowed three runs, six hits, and two home runs. Jake Diekman received credit for the win. Liam Hendriks recorded his fourteenth save. Blake Treinen absorbed the loss. He is now 3-3 for 2020.

The Dodgers had three more home runs Wednesday night. They have hit seven in the two games played. They lead MLB with 107.
The A’s have hit two.

Mike Fiers will go for Oakland Thursday night. The Dodgers will counter with Walker Buehler. The game will start at 6:40 pm.

Rapids roll through Earthquakes in 5-0 shutout win

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by Marko Ukalovic

COMMERCE CITY, Colo- The San Jose Earthquakes are stuck in an abyss they can’t escape from. Its latest tough pill to swallow was a 5-0 shutout loss to the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday evening at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

San Jose is winless in eight straight games since the regular season resumed. Colorado has won two matches in a row and three out of their last four.

Colorado (5-4-4) dominated the first half attempting nine shots on goal. They controlled the possession battle 64%-36%.

Kellyn Acosta appeared to have have scored his second goal of the season at the 29th minute. He recovered his attempted pass that was blocked by a Quakes defender. His shot from 20 yards out beat Quakes goalkeeper Daniel Vega to far right. However a video review showed that midfielder Jack Price was offsides before he fed a pass to Acosta as referee Drew Fischer overturned the call.

Price redeemed himself six minutes later off a set piece. Price placed a free kick into the middle of the D box where an unmarked Cole Bassett headed the ball past Vega to the far left corner for his fourth goal of the season at the 35th minute.

Giving up goals off of set pieces have been a big glaring weakness for San Jose this season.

“We definitely practice it enough, and I think it’s more of a concentration thing and communication thing,” said Chris Wondolowski regarding his team’s failure on set pieces. “I think that set pieces are a bit more complicated than they sometimes look. There is a lot of crossing. There are picks, but there is a lot of time where easy communication can sort that out and sort that out easily. I think that we’re lacking on that right now.”

San Jose’s (2-6-5) best chance to get on the scoreboard came in the 39th minute. Acosta fouled Tommy Thompson setting up a free kick from 15 yards out. However, Jackson Yueill’s shot attempt sailed to the right of the net.

The Rapids doubled its lead just five minutes into the second half. Acosta made a pass out to a racing Jonathan Lewis who flew in from the left slot and chipped a ball past a challenging Vega for his fifth goal of the season at the 50th minute.

Danny Hoesen, who returned to action as a substitute in the 63rd minute after missing the past two games with a lower body injury, came with in two yards of cutting the Rapids lead in half. Chris Wondolowski, who came on as a sub to start the second half, kicked in a ball into the middle off a corner kick that landed right on the foot of Hoesen. However, Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough made a point blank save to keep San Jose off the board.

Colorado iced the game in the 70th minute thanks to some bad luck from San Jose. Andre Shinyashiki received the ball after a throw-in and made a nice move around Tanner Beason near the goal line. Shinyashiki’s centering attempt was deflected into the net off the foot of Thompson for an own goal.

Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda is beyond frustrated and still looking for answers.

“Realistically, we have all been really looking at ourselves. There are no excuses. It’s really sad to lose the way we have been losing, mostly because we have fans that have accompanied us at a distance. Every team has their history, some more successful than others but nonetheless it’s all history. This is a moment I’ve never experienced in my life. I have some of the blame to not find a way…”, Almeyda said.

The Rapids kept pouring it on after some shady defense by the Quakes. Auston Trusty crossed a ball into the middle from the right to a wide open Nicolás Mezquida, a sub in the 60th minute who went in all alone against Vega and chipped the ball into the left corner of the bet for his first goal of the season in the 79th minute.

Colorado finished off the scoring in the 84th minute when Bassett led a two-on-zero break with Shinyashiki. Bassett touched a pass to the left and Shinyashiki buried the ball past Vega for his second. goal of the season.

This match was very similar to the Quakes last match against Portland where the Quakes conceded three goals in the last 20 minutes of the second half.

Yarbrough finished with four saves for his second shutout of the season. Vega also finished with four saves in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had three corner kicks. Colorado had four.

Colorado won the possession battle 60%-40%.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels to Los Angeles to take on LAFC on Sunday 9/27 at 7:30pm at Banc of California Stadium.

San Jose Sharks Stick with Boughner

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San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner will get another season behind the bench for the Sharks as general manager Doug Wilson is happy to bring him back for 2020-21 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

On Tuesday, the San Jose Sharks announced that Bob Boughner would be their ninth Head Coach. Boughner took over as Interim Head Coach for the Sharks half way through last season, replacing Peter DeBoer.

In Tuesday’s press release, the Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson assessed Boughner’s time as Interim Head Coach. “Bob did a tremendous job last season, getting our group back to playing with an identity and structure that we need in order to be successful,” said Wilson. “We saw a marked improvement in our play in several key areas during the second half of the season, before losing some key players to injury.”

After a long NHL playing career and several successful seasons coaching Junior Hockey, Boughner joined the Sharks in 2015 as an assistant coach. In 2017, he was named Head Coach of the Florida Panthers. Two seasons later, he was replaced by Joel Quenneville in Florida and returned to the Sharks as an assistant coach. As a Head Coach in the NHL, his record is 94-82-25.

In the partial season as Interim Head Coach for the Sharks, Boughner saw his team win just 14 of 37 games, continuing the abysmal trend they were on when Peter DeBoer was fired. To make an already terrible season worse, the team lost Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson to injury shortly after Boughner took over.

After the announcement Tuesday, Boughner thanked the Sharks owner and General Manager for bringing him back:

I’m very excited about the opportunity to return to the San Jose Sharks organization as head coach. I want to thank Hasso Plattner and Doug Wilson for their trust in me. Last year was a difficult season for everyone but I think we learned a lot about ourselves as a group and we made some positive strides over the second half of the year.

The roster that Boughner will have when regular play resumes will be somewhat changed from last season. While the injured players will likely be back, some long-time Sharks were traded at the deadline, such as defenseman Justin Braun and forward Barclay Goodrow. After struggling as the team did through the abbreviated 2019-2020 season, the Sharks would likely benefit from change. Whether the new Head Coach is enough of a change remains to be seen.

The Sharks also added Rocky Thompson as associate coach and John Madden as assistant coach. Of Thompson and Madden, Wilson said: “We’re also very pleased to add Rocky and John to our staff. Both come with a wealth of experience, both in playing the game and as teachers and leaders. With a healthy and motivated group of players, we are confident that this staff will do a terrific job leading our group in the coming years.”

Bob Boughner looks forward to working with his new coaches. In the Sharks press release, he said:

Rocky and John will bring some fresh energy and excitement to our group. Both have been head coaches, worked on coaching staffs in the NHL and have lots of experience working with and developing young players. It was important that anyone we brought in from the outside come from a culture of winning, which is what we are used to in San Jose. Rocky and John have the credibility and work ethic to help us get our talented team back to that level.

The coaching staff is rounded out by Evgeni Nabokov as goaltending coach, Dan Darrow as assistant video coach and Charlie Townsend as analyst/assistant to the NHL coaching staff. All are returning from last season.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Baseball Hispanic Month – The Largest Minority

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Since 2018 the HHBM’s large mural at the Club Level entrance of the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, home of the 2020 Western Division Champion Oakland Athletics, has been seen by thousands (photo by Mauricio Segura Escalante)

Baseball Hispanic Month – The Largest Minority

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Hispanics/Latinos in the United States are not a monolithic group, they come from all the countries where Spanish is the official language, Latin American countries as well as Spain. Baseball is very similar to the total population of the US who speaks Spanish, which (before the current Census being taken) were around 45 million people or 18.5 percent of the total population.

However, that was ten years ago. It would be very interesting to see the Census numbers after its completion this year. Hispanics will continue to be the largest minority in the US for years to come and in baseball (even with no minor leagues this year, where the numbers are higher) will continue to have an abundance of talent.

Of all the five professional sports leagues in the country, MLB,NFL, NBA,NHL,MLS, Major League Baseball with around 30 percent of all players Spanish-speaking is “Número Uno”. MLS (Major League Soccer) at the start of each season, their teams are permitted eight international spots on a 30-player roster.

There is no such rule in baseball; all you have to do is look at the Chicago White Sox team this season. The White Sox roster included 13 players and Rick Rentería the Manager. The Chicago White Sox were the first team in history to have a Cuban-born player in each of the top four slots in the starting lineup plus Gio González as the starting pitcher on that game.

The White Sox clinched a playoff berth and occupy first place in American League Central. They are a young team and one of the most exciting teams, like the San Diego Padres.

This past September 5th, MLB commemorated “Roberto Clemente Day” an annual celebration, honoring the great Puerto Rican player’s life and legacy and also named the month of September as Hispanic Heritage Month. Clubs celebrated the great Hall of Famer and humanitarian.

This September 18, The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame held an induction in the New York area, the event was held outside, because of the Coronavirus restrictions in the New York area. See below.

http://bronx.news12.com/hispanic-baseball-hall-of-fame-welcomes-new-inductees

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame was founded in 1998 in San Francisco, California as a non-profit organization. Since 2018 the HHBM’s large mural at the Club Level entrance of the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, home of the 2020 Western Division Champion Oakland Athletics, has been seen by thousands.

Stay well and stay tuned.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president for the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame in San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Dodgers blast four home runs down A’s 7-2 at Chavez Ravine; LA wins West NL’s top seed

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The Los Angeles Dodgers Mookie Betts scores behind Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy on a Corey Seager single in the first inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Tue Sep 22, 2020 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, newly crowned as American League Western Division championships, faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in LA Tuesday night. The Dodgers, owners of the best record in baseball, needed one more win to win the National League Western Division. They took the A’s down 7-2 to accomplish the goal.

The A’s got off to a good start when Robbie Grossman homered off the left-field foul pole to make it 1-0. The Dodgers answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first to tie it 1-1.

The A’s scored a run in the third without the benefit of a hit. A’s catcher Sean Murphy walked to start the inning. Murphy advanced to second and third on two ground outs. He scored on a wild pitch. the A’s led 2-1. They would not score again. The Dodgers put two on the board in the bottom of the third. With two out, Corey Seager singled. Former Athletic, Max Muncy, blasted his twelfth of the year to give the Dodgers the lead 3-2.

Montas gave up two more solo home runs in the fourth. Dodger second baseman Chris Taylor hit his eighth, and A.J.Pollock his thirteenth. LA leads 5-2.

The Dodgers added one in the fifth when Corey Seager hit his fourteenth off T.J.McFarland. The Dodgers’ final run came in the seventh. Mookie Betts reached on a rare error by Matt Olson. A’s pitcher walked Seager and Muncy to load the bases with no out. Cody Bellinger’s infield single drove in Betts with the Dodgers’ seventh run. LA wins 7-2.

Game Notes- Frankie Montas had another rough outing Tuesday night. His line was four innings, seven hits, five runs, and he was rocked for three big flies.
With the win, the Dodgers improved to 39-16. They will be the number one seed throughout the playoffs. The A’s are now 33-21.

The A’s hitters struck out thirteen times. The line for the team was two runs, five hits, and one error. The Dodgers’ line was seven runs, eleven hits, and one error.
Sean Manaea will go for Oakland Tuesday Night. Julio Arias will pitch for LA.

Pinch hit home run by Dickerson gives Giants huge win 5-2

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Alex Dickerson’s pinch hit home run in the bottom of the seventh inning got the Giants the eventual win as Colorado Rockies pitcher Jario Diaz just can’t look on Tue Sep 22, 2020 game at Oracle Park in San Francisco (photo from sfchronicle.com)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Alex Dickerson came up with the biggest hit of the night at the most opportune time.

Dickerson came off the bench to hit a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the seventh inning and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-2 at Oracle Park.

The Dickerson home run was his 10th of the season, and he is now 14-for-29 against the Rockies this season with four doubles, six home runs and 10 runs batted in.

With the victory, the Giants are now in a three-way tie in the wild card with the Cincinnati Reds, who lost to the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies, who were swept in a doubleheader against the defending World Champion Washington Nationals.

Austin Slater got the Giants on the board in a hurry, as he took a Kyle Freeland pitch into the left field bleachers in the bottom of the first inning to give the Giants a quick 1-0 lead.

It was the first career leadoff home run for Slater and his fifth home run of the season, as the Giants try and clinch one of the two wild card playoff spots in the 2020 MLB Postseason.

With the victory over the Rockies, coupled with the Philadelphia Phillies being swept in a doubleheader by the defending World Champion Washington Nationals and the Cincinnati Reds losing to the Milwaukee Brewers, all three teams are at the .500 mark.

Joey Bart gave the Giants that all important second run of the game, as he doubled over the head of former Giants centerfielder Kevin Pillar to score Daniel Robertson in the bottom of the fifth inning.

That Bart RBI double was huge, as just one-half inning in the top of the sixth inning, Charlie Blackmon pulled the Rockies within one run, as he grounded into a force play that scored Pillar from third base.

Drew Smyly went 5.1 innings, allowing just one run, while scattering four hits, walking two and striking out five

Freeland pitched an admirable game for the Rockies, as he went six strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walking three and striking out just one.

Robertson, who is usually an infielder came up with the defensive play of the night from left field, as he threw Garrett Hampson out at second base, as he tried to stretch a single into a double.

That play by Robertson was huge, as Raimel Tapia singled two batters later and then Pillar tied up the game, when he doubled off the left field wall to score Tapia.

Robertson, who started the game at shortstop was forced to move to left field after Luis Alexander Basabe was forced to leave the game in the top of the fourth inning due to an apparent leg injury.

Bart came up with his second double of the night in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he was one of two Giants players to have multiple hits against Rockies pitching. Slater, who led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run, hit an infield single that sent Bart to third base.

The Dickerson home run made a winner out of Tyler Rogers, who gave up the game-tying double to former teammate Pillar just one-half inning earlier.

Brandon Belt broke the game open, as he came off the bench to pinch hit for Wilmer Flores and hit a two-run double that scored Bart and Slater.

Sam Coonrod pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up his third save of the season, as he struck out two, including the last pitch to Tapia that was clocked at 100 miles per hour.

NOTES: Prior to tonight’s game, Chadwick Tromp was placed on the 10-Day IL with a right shoulder strain and Tyler Heineman was recalled from the Alternate Training Site.

On this date in 1969, Willie Mays hit his 600th career home run off of Mike Corkins of the San Diego Padres and it ended up being the game-winner, as the Giants defeated the Padres 4-2 at San Diego Stadium.

UP NEXT: Ryan Castellani will take the mound for the Rockies on Wednesday night, while the Giants have yet to name a starter.

Aces bounce back to even series with Sun in 83-75 win

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Photo credit: AP Photo

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces needed a spark after a game one loss and found exactly that in the WNBA MVP.

A’ja Wilson scored 29 points, pulled down seven rebounds and blocked seven shots to lead the Aces past the Connecticut Sun, 83-75 at the IMG Bubble in Bradenton, FL.

“She kept us in the game the whole way and then won the game for us down the stretch,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer of Wilson.  “That’s what leaders do.  That’s what MVPs do.”

The Aces improved defensively from game one, holding the Sun to 44.9% from the field and causing 17 turnovers.

“Defense won this game for us,” said Wilson.  “When you get stops, the offense just flows into it.”

“I think that when we have the mentality that we are the best defensive team in the league, that is what carries us,” said guard Kayla McBride.

Angel McCoughtry, Dearica Hamby and McBride each added 11 points.

The best of five series is now tied one game apiece heading into game three on Thursday.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com


Game Notes:

  • A’ja Wilson’s 29 points were a career playoff high.
  • Bill Laimbeer is now 9-1 following a double-digit loss in a playoff series.
  • He has won five of his last six series when losing game one.


Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 35 Angel McCoughtry
C – 4 Carolyn Swords
G – 3 Danielle Robinson
G – 21 Kayla McBride

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Barbara Mason: Raiders winning their first home game is what’s staying in Vegas

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The Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller (83) is grabbed around the right ankle by New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (23) in the first half on Monday Night Football at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (AP News photo)

On the LV Raiders podcast with Barbara:

#1 The Las Vegas Raiders is a name that’s going to take a little getting used to saying, but also winning their first two games of the season is something Raiders head coach Jon Gruden can get used to real quick as the Raiders win in their inaugural game at Allegiant Stadium on Monday Night Football 34-24.

#2 The Raiders converted five out of seven third downs in the first half and forced a half time tie with the Saints at 17-17 and gained some confidence coming out of the locker room at the half.

#3 The second half the Raiders held the Saints to no scores in the third quarter. Quarterback Drew Brees looked like he was running for day light to find a receiver and just came up empty.

#4 Talk about the Raiders hosting this first game at their new digs particularly with no fans did this give them more time to focus on the Saints, did the new building help influence the game for the Raiders?

#5 The Raiders at 2-0 head to New England for their next game against the Patriots who are coming off a tough 35-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. How do you see this match up in New England.

Barbara Mason hosts Headline Sports each Tuesday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s glad wild card series best possible 3 games instead of one and done

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Oakland A’s pitcher Frankie Montas will get the start for Oakland tonight at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles as the A’s open a three game series in the Southland in the battle of two first place teams (file photo from the San Francisco Chronicle)

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury one thing you can say about this year’s post season for the A’s they don’t have to play a one game wild card game unlike last season they went to New York and were one and done. This year’s wild card is the best two out of three.

#2 How badly will the A’s miss Matt Chapman for the post season as he’s out with a hip injury and Jack Lamb has been playing at third in his place?

#3 Lamb has provided some offense since taking over for Chapman Sunday he got a two run RBI single in the sixth and he’s hitting .200 and has been instrumental on defense during the series against the Giants at the Oakland Coliseum over the weekend.

#4 The A’s got two shutouts during the series with the Giants on Friday Chris Bassitt pitched over six inning giving up just three hits and on Saturday Jesus Luzardo pitched six innings of shutout ball and gave up five hits. The A’s pitching staff should be ready by next week when post season starts.

#5 Starting pitching to open the series with the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight at Dodger Stadium for the A’s Frankie Montas (3-4 ERA 5.86) for the Dodgers Dustin May 1-1 (ERA 2.86) first pitch is at 6:40pm.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio lead play by play announcer on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com