Aces fall to Sky in tough loss, 88-86

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Photo credit: Phelan M. Ebenhack (Associated Press)

By Shawn McCullough

The improbable WNBA season began for the Aces, but not as they had hoped.

After the Aces led for most of the game, the Chicago Sky rallied back with an 11-0 run to finish the game to beat the Aces, 88-86, at the IMG Bubble in Bradenton, FL.

“We have a lot of potential, but we just let it slip in the last two minutes, we had the game,” said forward Angel McCoughtry.

McCoughtry scored 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds in her first game with the Aces after signing with Las Vegas back in February.

Aces All-Star forward A’ja Wilson added 22 points with 11 rebounds, combining with McCoughtry to score 47 of the Aces 86 points.

“We need scoring and they [McCoughtry and Wilson] are the two people who can provide the scoring,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “Those are the two horses.”

The Aces finished the game 0 for 5 from 3-point range, while the Sky went 9 for 27 from beyond the arc.

“We had control of the game throughout and just didn’t make the right plays,” said Laimbeer.  “But our team played better than I thought that we would play and I thought that overall it was a good showing for us.”

With the loss, the Aces fall to 0-1 to start a 22 game schedule in which Las Vegas will play each of the other 11 WNBA teams twice.

The entire WNBA is playing all games in Bradenton, FL in the IMG Bubble to protect players, staff, referees and media from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“You are so locked in, it really didn’t feel any different honestly,” said forward Dearica Hamby about playing without fans.  “It still felt like a real game.”

The Aces will next play on Wednesday against Angel McCoughtry’s former team, the Atlanta Dream.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com
Game Notes:

  • The Aces shot 46.8% from the field.
  • Las Vegas out-rebounded Chicago 42-33.
  • The Aces turned the ball over 17 times.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 35 Angel McCoughtry
C – 4 Carolyn Swords
G – 15 Lindsey Allen
G – 21 Kayla McBride

Headline Sports with Daniel Dullum: What’s in a name? Washington Football Team and Seattle Kraken; plus more

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The logo flag of the NHL’s newest franchise the Seattle Kraken flies atop the Seattle Space Needle where below the needle the Kraken will open up their new arena Climate Change Arena in the 2021-22 season (AP photo)

Daniel on Headlines podcast:

1 What’s in a name? Generic rebranding for D.C. football; NHL’s Seattle team hits a home run with its nickname selection

2 ESPN’s opening night Yankees-Nats broadcast a huge ratings hit

3 Nomadic Blue Jays may have found a home in Buffalo

4 Rutgers, Michigan State football teams in Covid-19 quarantine

5 Rockies’ Daniel Bard gets first MLB win in seven years

6 Swingin’ A’s hire Tom Hanks to serve as virtual concessions hawker

Daniel Dullum does Headlines podcasts every Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Qualifiers podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Post season starts Aug 1st; NHL telecasts with latest technology; plus more

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Contractors at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto lay down tarp over the many empty seats before Aug 1st’s qualifier and round robin games as no fans will be attending the NHL Stanley Cup post season (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Qualifier podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 August 1st around the corner and the NHL Stanley Cup Qualifiers drop the puck in the post season bubble of Edmonton and Toronto

#2 The league will have all the latest technology in coverage for this post season as they will be introducing LED screens, microphones on the ice level, new camera angles and the NHL promises it should be a real new experience that gives you that in person feel.

#3 Another new experience 24 teams 12 in the Eastern Conference and 12 in the Western Conference no fans in the stands and all employees by Covid-19 protocols must bring face masks and their own bag lunches another new experience.

#4 Mary Lisa talk about how the top four qualifiers will play in the round robins to get seeded for the playoffs.

#5 How much concern is there regarding the safety of the players playing a game that’s a contact sport that is known to swap sweat during hits and locker rooms that see wet sweaters after each game?

Mary Lisa does the NHL Stanley Cup podcasts every other Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Angels and Bundy bounce back on Saturday to hand the A’s a 4-1 loss

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics were not able to capitalize on their big Friday night extra-inning win on Saturday. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim came out and played the game as if Friday night never happened. In a term every little leaguer knows, “they just flushed it!” and beat the Athletics 4-1.

Dylan Bundy made the difference for LAA

Bundy (1-0) made his debut as an Angel after having been with Baltimore his entire career. As a former number one draft pick, much was expected of Bundy, but many have graded his time as an Oriole as a disappointment. He posted a record of 38-45 in 127 starts with a 4.67 ERA. During most of that time, the Baltimore baseball operations department has been less than stellar.

Bundy came to the Angels in an off-season trade in exchange for four minor league players.

On Saturday, Bundy gave up just one run (earned) on three hits while striking out seven and walking none in 6.2 innings. He faced 24 batters and threw 90 pitches (64 strikes).

Manaea was not a mystery on Saturday

Justin Upton put the Angels up on the board in the fourth inning when took a 1-1 pitch from Manaea over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season. It was also the 299th home run of Upton’s career.

Manaea had retired the previous 11 hitters he faced.

The fifth inning proved to be Manaea’s downfall. The Angels scored three runs off four hits. That sent Manaea (0-1) to the showers as J.B. Wendelken came on in relief.

With their 4-0 lead, the Angels never looked back.

A’s threatened in the seventh

With two out in the bottom of the seventh, Stephen Piscotty doubled down the left-field line. After a pitching change, Robbie Grossman drove Piscotty home with single to left. Grossman was able to steal second base and Chad Pinder walked. Grossman moved up to third on a wild pitch by Keynan Middleton. Austin Allen then grounded out to end the inning.

That would be all of the scoring for Oakland in the game.

The highlight for the A’s

Jesus Luzardo entered the game in the top of the sixth inning for Oakland. Everyone was anxious to see if the young pitcher could pick up where he left off from last season.

Luzardo threw 3.0 scoreless innings allowing just one hit while striking out two and walking one batter. He faced 10 hitters and tossed 44 pitches (28 strikes).

Luzardo ended 2019 with four scoreless outings and now has a 10.0-inning scoreless streak. He has given up just two runs in 15.0 career innings with 1.20 ERA.

Up next

There will many eyes watching the game on Sunday. The Angels will send their two-way superstar – Shohei Ohtani – to the mound to make a pitching start for the first time since 2018. He was unable to pitch in 2019 while recovering from “Tommy John Surgery’. In 2018, Ohtani posted a record of 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts. He recorded a 1.16 WHIP.

Mike Fiers will make the start for the A’s. Fiers finished 2019 with a record of 15-4 in 33 starts and an ERA of 3.90. He worked 184.2 innings and struck out 126 batters with a 1.19 WHIP.

Flores homers in Giants first win of the season 5-4

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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Max Muncy, center, is hit by a pitch thrown by San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Los Angeles. Mark J. Terrill/AP

By Jeremy Kahn

After seeing Will Smith bring the Los Angeles Dodgers within one run, San Francisco Giants reliever Trevor Gott regrouped in a hurry.

Gott was able to get Max Muncy, Mookie Betts and reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger in succession and the Giants hung on to defeat the Dodgers 5-4 at Dodger Stadium.

Things were looking great for the Giants, especially after being outscored 17-2 in the first two games of the shortened 2020 season.

Darin Ruf got the Giants on the board in the first inning, as he singled in Austin Slater to give them a quick 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, the lead would not last long, as Justin Turner hit an opposite field double to score Bellinger in the bottom of the first inning.

The Giants would take the lead for good in the top of the second inning, as Dodgers pitcher unleashed a two-out wild pitch that allowed Mike Yastrzemski to score from third base.

Wilmer Flores hit the Giants second home run in as many days, as he launched a Wood offering and planted it into the left field pavilion to extend the Giants lead up to 3-1 in the top of the top of the third inning.

It looked like that Donovan Solano broke the game wide open in the top of the fourth inning, as he lined a two-run double to center field that scored both Jaylin Davis and Tyler Heineman.

After seeing the Giants jump out to a 5-1 lead on them, the Dodgers decided that enough was enough and began to get back into the game slowly but surely.

Solano, who hit a huge two-run double in the top of the fourth inning, made a huge fielding error that opened the flood gates for the Dodgers.

Corey Seager cut the Giants in half, as he slapped a two-run single to right field to score Bellinger and Turner to narrow the lead down to 5-3 entering the ninth inning.

Things did interesting when Smith led off the bottom of the ninth inning off of Gott; however, the right-hander regrouped to get the next three batters out in order to end the game.

Logan Webb made the start for the Giants, as he went the first four innings and due to the fact that he did not go the required five innings, Webb did not get the decision, despite leading when he left the game.

The decision went to left-hander Caleb Baragar, who pitched two strong innings with a strikeout in his major-league debut.

After Baragar threw his two innings, the Giants once again went to the reliever by committee role to close out the game.

Shawn Anderson, Tony Watson, Tyler Rogers and Gott pitched the final three innings to give the Giants their first win of the season.

Wood went three innings, allowing three runs on three hits, walking three and striking out four in his season debut for the Dodgers.

Austin Slater went 0-for-1 with a run scored; however, he did reach three times via the walk against Dodgers pitching.

Thus far thru three games of the season, the Dodgers so-called Killer Bees, of Bellinger and Betts are not getting off to a great start to the abbreviated season, as they are a combined 4-for-29 at the plate.

UP NEXT: Julio Urias will take the mound for the Dodgers in the finale, while the Giants have yet to announce their starter.

NHL Stanley Cup Qualifier podcast with Matt Harrington: Taking a look at the NHL Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule

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The Stanley Cup Qualifiers starts Aug 1st with the Eastern Conference in Toronto and the Western Conference Qualifiers in Edmonton on Aug 2 (photo from sports.yahoo.com)

Matt Harrington on NHL podcast:

#1 Matt lets take a look at the first two games of the qualifiers starting on Aug 1st in Scotiabank Arena in Toronto with the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers and The Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers

#2 The next two games Florida Panthers and New York Islanders and Montreal Canadians and Pittsburgh Penguins.

#3 Here’s some excitement that will keep Alberta Cup Crazy the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place in Edmonton host of the Western Conference qualifiers.

#4 August 2nd the Arizona Coyotes and Nashville Predators, in the Round Robins Boston and Philadelphia, and St Louis and Colorado

#5 More qualifiers Rogers Centre in Toronto for Sun Aug 2; John Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets meet the home town favorites the Toronto Maple Leafs then back to Edmonton for Minnesota Wild and the Vancouver Canucks.

Catch Matt each Saturday for complete coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Nakken uniform enshrined at the Hall of Fame; Loss on opening night was not Cueto’s fault

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Alyssa Nakken’s uniform is Cooperstown-bound. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Miguel on the Giants podcast:

#1 Michael how important is it that Alyssa Nakken the first women to coach a game had her jersey as she coached first base in against the A’s Mon Jul 20th in the Hall of Fame?

#2 Former Angels Media Relations manager and Hall of Fame media president Tim Mead said that Nakken’s jersey “It should make for a nice addition to our collection!”

#3 Talk about some of the reactions of Alyssa’s Sacramento State teammates reaction regarding that they weren’t surprised that she made it on to coach a big league club.

#4 The Giants opened up their season to a 8-1 loss was this a matter of Giants starter Johnny Cueto struggling or the Dodgers having a potent line up.

#5 Michael talk about catcher Tyler Heinieman it looks as if he’s taking over the position for Buster Posey and Joey Bart talk about hows he fitting in.

Michael Duca does the Giants podcasts every other Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

A’s game wrap: Olson takes Halos deep in extras for 7-3 tenth inning grand slam

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(nbcsports.com photo) The Oakland A’s Matt Olson (28) lays some good wood off of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Hoby Milner in the 10th inning for a walk off grand slam four run win to open the four game series at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Jul 24, 2020

Opening Day At the Coliseum Oakland A’s vs Los Angeles Angels

By Barbara Mason

It’s been a long time coming. The hoops that MLB had to jump through were unprecedented. We haven’t seen the likes of a virus that we are now seeing in most of our lifetimes. Despite all of that MLB and the Players Association plowed through all the red tape and we have come out of the other end of a very long tunnel. The prize is the start of the 2020 baseball season and it’s good, it’s very good for the entire nation. We need sports, not just the fans but the entire nation for not only our entertainment but for our sanity.

Tonight’s game is not your run of the mill opening day of baseball that we have seen for years, it’s much more than that. So with that being said let’s escape for just a few hours and PLAY BALL!

The A’s come into this opening game after losing a pair to the San Francisco Giants in a vastly shortened pre-season. They now take on Mike Trout and the Angels for four games at the Oakland Coliseum to open their season. A very tough start for the A’s but this is a young talented team that is looking forward to the challenge.

The powerful Frankie Montas started the game for Oakland hoping for good control along with the speed that he always pitches with. Montas got out of a sticky situation in the first inning striking Albert Pujols out with the bases loaded and the A’s dodged the early bullet. The first inning was a tough one for Montas throwing 27 pitches. Through 3 innings Montas had thrown 55 pitches and had settled in nicely. The game remained scoreless going into the 4th inning.

The Angels would break through in the 4th inning taking a 1-0 lead off a single by Brian Goodwin driving in Pujols. The A’s would tie up the game when Ramon Laureano homered to right for the 1-1 score going into the 5th inning. Montas would come out of the game with 81 pitches and it would be Yusmeiro Petit on the mound. The A’s would load the bases in the 5th inning with Marcus Simien at the plate but would come away empty. Both teams had had excellent scoring opportunities that came up empty.

TJ McFarland would pitch to start the 6th inning. Soria would take over in the 7th. A sacrifice fly by the Angel’s David Fletcher brought in Simmons to break the tie and give the Angel’s a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the 7th inning. The play that would haunt the A’s was an error by Matt Chapman throwing to Matt Olson that missed it’s mark.

The 8th inning would see Jake Diekman come into the game as the A’s were running out of time. It would be a quick inning for the Oakland defense going into the bottom of the 8th. Ramon Laureano would come up with another big hit, down the right field line allowing Marcus Semien to score and tie up the game 2-2. More than making up for his error Matt Chapman hit a deep triple center field as Laureano scored giving the A’s their first lead of the night 3-2. Chapman would get picked off third trying for home in a tough outing for Chapman.

Liem Hendriks would come in to close for the A’s in the top of the 9th inning. He would face Pujols, Jason Castro and Goodwin. The Angels would tie up the game on a homer by Castro 3-3. The A’s would now be looking for a walk-off. While Mark Canha was able to get on base that was all the A’s could muster. The game would go into extra innings.

In extra innings a runner would start on second base. The A’s Burch Smith would pitch to start the 10th inning for the A’s. The Angels were unable to do much of anything in the 10th and so the A’s Marcus Semien would start on second base in the bottom of the 10th. With the bases loaded and 1 out Matt Olson had the opportunity to close out this game which was right about the 4 hour mark. The hero of the A’s opener was Matt Olson with a grand slam winning the game off the first pitch 7-3. The win included a gatorade bath for Olson as Oakland takes the extra inning win.

Muncy homers twice in Dodgers 9-1 win; LA crushes Giants pitching all game long

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Dodgers Max Muncy, #13, celebrates his homers with Cody Bellinger, #35, with an elbow tap during first inning action against the SF Giants at Dodger Stadium Friday, July 24, 2020. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

By Jeremy Kahn

Through the first two games of the Gabe Kapler era as manager of the San Francisco Giants, things are not looking good.

Max Muncy went 3-for-4, including two home runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Giants 9-1 at Dodger Stadium.

Muncy gave the Dodgers a quick 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, as he took a Tyler Anderson offering and planted it into the right field pavilion.

The seven-time defending division champions did not stop there, as there scored in every inning with the exception of the third inning against Giants pitching.

Anderson lasted 1.2 innings, as he gave two runs and walked three and did not strike out a batter.

Kevin Gausman went four innings, allowing three runs (two of them earned) and gave up six hits, while walking one and striking out two.

Cory Seager also picked up three hits in four at-bats for the Dodgers, who have outscored the 17-2 thru the first two games of the season.

Ross Stripling looked to be in mid-season, despite the fact that it was his first start of the season, as he went seven innings, scattering four hits, not walking a batter and striking out one.

Jaylin Davis came up with the lone bright spot of the night, as he launched an opposite field home run in the top of the third inning off of Stripling.

The Giants defense picked up four errors on the evening, including the second error in as many days by Wlimer Flores.

There was a scary scene in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Chris Taylor reached on a throwing error by Flores and as Taylor was running down the line, he ran smack dab into the backside of Pablo Sandoval and crashed to the Dodger Stadium turf. Taylor, who looked like he was a running back for the Los Angeles Rams and Sandoval was a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers got up and stayed in the game.

UP NEXT: Left-hander Alex Wood will take the mound for the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon, while the Giants have yet to announce a starter.

MLS is Back Tournament podcast with London Marq: Quakes wait for their next opponent sit on top of Group B

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The San Jose Earthquakes Shea Salinas in the second game of the MLS is Back Tournament against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wed Jul 15th runs off in celebration after booting the winning goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time (sjearthquakes.com photo)

Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 Who would have thought but their they are on the top of Group B the San Jose Earthquakes who started the tournament with a scoreless draw against the Seattle Sounders on July 10th, then in a game that might have sparked the team the Quakes down 3-2 to the Vancouver Whitecaps came back with two goals to win 4-3.  London I’ll let you talk about those first two matches to start.

# 2 The Quakes in their third match last Sunday faced the Chicago Fire and picked up a shutout victory 2-0 and the Quakes are 2-0-1 who would have thought after the season was on hold for four months they would come back and playing in the bubble that they would have got this far.

#3 London just to review the Sunday game against Chicago regarding the two goals scored by the Quakes Midfielder Jackson Yueill got the ball to Christian Espinoza, who made a move past his defender and took a left-footed shot past Fire goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm. You’ve seen Espinoza in the past he’s a real ball handler.

#4 On the second goal by the Quakes Carlos Fierro and Chris Wondolowski came in as substitutes in the 82nd minute Fierro kicked a left footed cross and Wondolowski head butted in past Kronholm for the 2-0 lead.

#5 So at 2-0-1 the Quakes are awaiting who will their next opponent Real Salt Lake on Mon Jul 27th a 5:30 pm start. A win here will further improve their perfect record and put them at a higher seed in the tournament.

Join London Marq for the MLS is Back Tournament podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com