A’s Don’t Help Themselves, Wild Card Race Tied After M’s 4-3 Walk-off Win

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Photo credit: @Mariners

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland A’s clinched a postseason berth Friday night, but it was hardly cause for celebration. By virtue of the Cleveland Indians losing earlier in the night, the A’s knew they’d be locked into a spot in the Wild Card game. The only question is where will that game be played?

The picture didn’t get clearer Friday. The A’s needed a win in Seattle to stay a game ahead of Tampa Bay for home field advantage in the do-or-die game, with the Rays winning earlier in the night. All signs were pointing up when Matt Olson hit a two-run homer in the seventh to give Oakland a 3-2 lead. But closer Liam Hendriks couldn’t hold on to the lead and the Mariners rallied to walk the A’s off 4-3 on a J.P. Crawford double. Now both Oakland and Tampa sit at 96 wins apiece.

Hendriks got a quick out before Mallex Smith singled. The A’s closer bounced back with a punchout of Dylan Moore, but Smith advanced to second and third base on wild pitches and scored easily on a Shed Long single to tie the game. Crawford then took a 3-2 pitch to left field on a line for the walk-off winner.

The A’s were trailing 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh after Seattle scored runs in the top of the first and third innings off Mike Fiers. Marcus Semien’s 33rd homer of the season in the leadoff spot was the lone as run off Justus Sheffield to that point. Matt Chapman singled off reliever Zac Grotz with one out in the seventh, then Taylor Guilbeau was called in to face Olson. Olson hammered a 3-2 count over the wall in left field to give the A’s the 3-2 lead. AJ Puk, Jake Diekman and Joakim Soria all pitched scoreless innings in relief of Fiers, who pitched five strong, but will most likely watch the Wild Card game from the dugout, thanks to the reemergence of Sean Manaea.

The Rays have yet to announce a starter for Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays, but Trent Thornton and his 5.00 ERA will await the Tampa hitters who will step up to the plate eagerly. For Oakland Brett Anderson takes the hill against Marco Gonzalez, who despite a 4.09 ERA has 16 wins to his credit.

San Jose State loses to Air Force 41-24 in Colorado Springs

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By Ana Kieu

The San Jose State football team had hoped to win two games in a row on Friday night against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Did it happen? Nope.

SJSU got the party started with a body blow. DeJon Packer punched it in from 1-yard out and the Spartans scored a touchdown on the opening drive for a 7-0 lead at 10:50 of the first quarter. Matt Mercurio kicked in the extra point.

But Air Force rained on SJSU’s parade and pretty much never looked back. Timothy Jackson scored on a 7-yard run to tie the game 7-7 with 4:57 left in the first. Jake Koehnke kicked in the extra point.

The game was tied 7-7 after the first.

Despite Bailey Gaither making a noteworthy catch on the sidelines and DeJon Packer having as many touchdowns so far this season (3) as in his first two seasons combined, Air Force poured in the points in the second quarter with 14. Donald Hammond III threw a pass to Geraud Sanders for a 64-yard touchdown with 8:43 left in the second. Taven Birdow plunged in from 1-yard out for the touchdown with 5:30 left in the second. Jake Koehnke kicked in both of the extra points.

SJSU cut their deficit to 11, thanks to Matt Mercurio’s 25-yard field goal with 48 seconds left in the second. After that, Air Force drove to the 4-yard line, but Jesse Osuna recovered a fumble and it was the Spartans’ football.

The Spartans trailed 21-10 at halftime.

Air Force, however, was ruthless in the third quarter. The Falcons opened the second half with a touchdown. Christian Mallard ran for a 3-yard touchdown for his first score of the season at 12:05 of the third quarter. Mallard then rushed for his second score, a 7-yard touchdown, at 10:10 of the third. The Falcons also held the Spartans on the 1-yard line and took over on downs. Jake Koehnke’s first kick was blocked, but his second kick was a success for the extra point.

The Spartans trailed 34-10 after three.

Once again, Air Force started things off in the fourth quarter. Taven Birdow ran for a 3-yard touchdown for a 41-10 lead with 7:48 left in the fourth. Jake Koehnke kicked in the extra point.

SJSU heated up late in the fourth, but it was too little, too late. Props to the Spartans for showing no quit though.

Nick Nash threw a pass to Andre Crump for a 30-yard touchdown to pull within 24 with 3:51 left in the fourth. The Spartans then got a 4th down stop on their own 22-yard line and it was their ball. Nash wrapped up the scoring with a pass to Derrick Deese Jr. for a 6-yard touchdown to pull within 17 with just 52 seconds left in regulation. Matt Mercurio kicked in both of the extra points.

The Spartans (2-2) lost to the Falcons (3-1) by a final score of 41-24.

The Spartans return home to host the New Mexico Lobos on Friday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on CBS Sports.

Safeway Open: NorCal natives on top of the leaderboard

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Photo credit: golfweek.com

By Jeremy Harness

NAPA–The Safeway Open is being held in Northern California, so it’s only fitting that two guys who grew up in the region are in the top two spots as the tournament heads into the weekend.

Bryson DeChambeau shot into the lead with an eight-under round of 64 on Friday. A native of Clovis, which is in the Fresno area, the 26-year-old started off hot and did not really let up the rest of the way. Starting on the 10th hole, he began by birdieing the first three holes in a row and would pick up two more shots on his first nine.

He would go on to birdie three more holes on the second nine and did not record a single bogey in the entire second round.

“Well, I made a couple good putts, that was obviously awesome, and I struck it lot better than I did yesterday,” DeChambeau said. “I scrapped it around, I got it in at four-under, and then I knew today if I could go work on my swing like I did yesterday and come out and feel comfortable like I did today, I’d come out and shoot a low number.”

Meanwhile, Nick Watney, who currently lives in Las Vegas but grew up in nearby Dixon, fired a seven-under round of 65 to vault himself into second place, only two strokes behind DeChambeau. He birdied his first two holes and would birdie two more holes on the front nine but dropped a shot with a bogey at the par-four eighth.

Watney recovered very nicely and finished with quite a flourish. He birdied holes 14 through 16, and he closed things out with a chip-in birdie at the par-five 18th hole.

“It was pretty smooth,” Watney said. “It was kind of like this course, if you keep it in front of you, you’ve got a chance to shoot a good score, so I’m happy with the day.”

However, Friday wasn’t all smiles. Tony Romo, who shot a two-under round of 70 on Thursday to give himself a chance, he shot a six-over 78, which was marred by six bogeys on the front nine and led the way to his missing the cut.

“(I) didn’t hit many fairways today,” Romo said. “With the firmness of the greens, it’s just difficult when you put yourself in some of the spots I was.

“I didn’t putt well. Started (with) three three-putts, I think, on the first eight holes. Kind of gets you a little antsy as far as trying to get some of them back.”

Barracuda shut out Eagles 3-0 in preseason opener

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Photo credit: @SJBarracuda

Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda kicked off the 2019-20 season with a 3-0 pre-season victory over the Colorado Eagles on Friday evening at Solar4America Ice at San Jose.

Playing the first of only two pre-season games, San Jose featured many new faces and some familiar faces on the ice against Colorado.

A new power play unit of Krystof Hrabik, Sasha Chmelevski, Ivan Chekovich, Thomas Gregoire and Noah Gregor made an instant impact just five minutes into the game. Chmelevski fed a pretty pass over to Hrabik and the Czech power forward wristed a shot past Eagles goalie Adam Werner for his first goal of the preseason.

The Cuda controlled played in the first 20 minutes as they outshot the Eagles 15-10.

San Jose (1-0) started the second period much like the first period scoring early on the power play. Tristin Langan sent a pass over to Gregor, who skated into the left slot where he threw a back door pass cross-ice to a wide-open Maxim Letunov, who buried a quick one-timer into an empty net for his first goal of the preseason at the 1:25 mark. The former second round pick of the St. Louis Blues scored with one second left on the power play.

Despite being outshot 8-6 in the middle frame, San Jose’s defense as well as Cuda goalie Andrew Shortridge kept the Eagles off the scoreboard. Shortridge had a pair of nice saves during the second period, including one breakaway attempt where completely sprawled out to keep the puck out of the net.

The Cuda iced the game on the power play midway through the third period. A delay of game call gave San Jose its third power play of the period. A turnover by Colorado found the stick of Gregor and he fired a quick wrist shot going top shelf for his first goal of the preseason at the 8:25 mark.

Shortridge stopped all 24 shots he faced to earn the shutout in his exhibition debut. Werner made 32 saves on 35 shots in suffering the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 3/5 on the power play. Colorado was 0/1.

UP NEXT: San Jose closes out the short two-game preseason hosting the Colorado Eagles on Saturday, September 28 at Solar4America Ice at San Jose.

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Quakes’ unforeseen losing skid continues; plus more

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. The Quakes lost to the defending MLS champion Atlanta United 3-1 last Saturday.

2. The Quakes lost to the Philadelphia Union 2-1 on Wednesday.

3. The Quakes host the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.

4. San Jose State left Arkansas with a 31-24 win last Saturday.

5. What does San Jose State need to do in order to beat Air Force tonight?

Ana does the San Jose Earthquakes podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Ford puts himself through the test, plays through injuries; Garoppolo finds success in last two games

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Photo credit: sfchronicle.com

On the San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami:

#1 49ers defensive end Dee Ford said he played through injuries during the 2018 season in addition to two playoff games.

#2 Ford says that you’d be surprised what NFL players play through during the season.

#3 Ford said he plays through pain “and a lot of stuff” but he toughed it out last season and he’s looking to getting in the line up on Monday Night Football on Oct 7th .

#4 After going 3-0, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been successful hitting receivers and leading SF to those wins.

#5 After Garoppolo’s last two games, it has been some solid performance overshadowing his critics from earlier this season regarding the five pick practice and some tough exhibition games.

Join Joe for the 49ers podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Can Carr read the defense and get the throws to his receivers this Sunday?

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Photo credit from sfgate: Minnesota Vikings tight end Irv Smith (84) is upended between Oakland Raiders defenders Daryl Worley, left, and Curtis Riley (35) after making a reception during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, in Minneapolis.

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes:

#1 Linebacker Dakota Allen was surprised to find out the Raiders had signed him from the Rams practice squad. What does Allen mean to the linebackers position at this juncture?

#2 The Raiders had a number of injuries to their linebackers after Sunday’s game in Minnesota.

#3 The Raiders promoted linebacker Justin Phillips and received receiver Ryan Grant and the Raiders got Quentin Polling to their practice squad.

#4 After Sunday’s trouncing at the hand of the Minnesota Vikings, Raider quarterback Derek Carr was asked if he had any chances to throw downfield after trailing 21-0.

#5 The Raiders play game two of their six-game out of town schedule in Indianapolis this Sunday as Joe Hawkes sets up the outlook for this week’s game.

Joe Hawkes has your Raiders podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Safeway Open: Scott, Landry blaze their way to the top

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Photo credit: cbssports.com

By Jeremy Harness

NAPA–The Safeway Open has annually been the opening event of the PGA Tour season, but that is not the case this year. Regardless of that, the fans showed up in full force for Thursday’s opening round at Silverado Golf Resort.

Of course, when you have well-known commodities such as Stephen Curry and Tony Romo, the fans are bound to show up.

Two guys who definitely showed up and showed out for the first round were Andrew Landry and Adam Scott, who each shot seven-under rounds of 65 and are tied for the lead after Thursday’s action.

Scott went four-under on the front nine, including an eagle at the par-5 fifth that saw him make a 54-foot putt for his three. He took his only bogey at the par-four 13th, but he more than offset that with three more birdies on the back nine.

“(The eagle was a) fun way to kind of keep the momentum going and get the most out of the round,” Scott said. “If I had any complaints about last season, I didn’t get the most out of my good rounds or my good weeks.

“Today, I felt like I kind of got the most out of myself.”

Landry had no such hiccups, firing a bogey-free 65. He made a pair of birdies on the front side, but he lit the course up on the back nine, making five birdies, including back-to-back birdies to close out his round.

“I can make a lot of putts right now,” Landry said. “That’s kind of what I did all day, I made a lot of putts. Ball-striking wasn’t as good as I wanted, but the putting was there, and it made up for it.”

Right behind those two is Francesco Molinari, who is best known for his heroic play for Europe in the 2018 Ryder Cup, who is one stroke behind with a six-under 66. He made four birdies on the front nine, and made three more on the back to offset a dropped shot at the par-four 14th.

Also one behind is Matthew NeSmith, who spent last season on the Korn Ferry Tour (formerly known as the Web.com Tour). His round of 66 was a bogey-free one, making four birdies on the front and two more on the back.

Romo, who spent many years as the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and now makes his living as an NFL color analyst for CBS, showed that he’s got plenty of game on the golf course. He fired a two-under round of 70 on Thursday and stands a good chance of making the cut and playing into the weekend.

A’s near a playoff berth after defeating the Mariners 3-1

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s downed the Seattle Mariners 3-1 on Thursday night at T-Mobile Park. Their magic number to clinch a playoff berth is down to one. Any combination of an A’s win or Cleveland loss will give the A’s a Wild Card berth. The Indians lost again to the Chicago White Sox and are now three games behind the A’s. The Tampa Bay Rays did not play. The A’s lead them by one game in the race for the first Wild Card. If the A’s hold on and win the first Wild Card, the one-game elimination will be played in Oakland next Wednesday.

It was a very emotional night in Seattle for their fans and for Felix Hernandez. Hernandez, who had been the ace of the Mariners’ staff for many years, was probably making his last appearance as a Mariner. His record coming into the game was 1-7. His effectiveness and velocity had been affected by shoulder injuries. Hernandez, in the past, had owned the A’s. The Green and Gold feared facing him. However, times changed, and he was just another pitcher. Hernandez had other thoughts on Thursday night as he wanted to go out as a winner.

Fernandez pitched very well for Seattle. He went 5 1/3 innings and allowed five hits and three runs. When he left in the top of the sixth, the Mariners fans gave him a standing ovation that lasted well over a minute and Fernandez, with tears in his eyes, made a final curtain call.

The offensive player of the game for Oakland was Matt Chapman. With one out in the first inning, Chapman walked. A’s first baseman Matt Olson singled to right. Chapman went to third on the play, and when he saw the throw from the right fielder was slow coming into the infield, Chappie took off and rounded third and score. The A’s had an early 1-0 lead.

In the top of the second, Marcus Semien worked Hernandez for a walk. The next hitter, Matt Chapman, as he did Wednesday night in Los Angeles, blasted his 36th home run of the year to make it 3-0.

The A’s Sean Manaea, making his fifth start of the year, was very effective. He gave up a run to the M’s in the bottom of the fifth. A’s manager Bob Melvin let Manaea go one more inning. Sean went six innings and allowed four hits and one run. Lefty Jesus Luzardo pitched the seventh and eighth and retired all six hitters he faced. Liam Hendriks retired the Mariners in order in the ninth to secure the win for Oakland and earn his 25th save of the year. The A’s won 3-1.

Game Notes: The A’s improved to 96-63 with three games left on the schedule. The Tampa Bay Rays have three games left with the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto. The Indians will finish the season in Washington with three games against the Nationals.

The A’s won 97 games last year, and if they sweep the Mariners, they will finish with 99 wins.

The Houston Astros appear to have the best record in the American League. They will play the winner of the AL Wild Card game. The Minnesota Twins will face the New York Yankees in the other ALDS. The Twins have become the first time in MLB history to hit more than 300  homers in a season. They have hit 301 so far this year. The Yankees need one more to be the second team. They have hit 299.

Up Next: The A’s will send Mike Fiers to the hill Friday night. Fiers is 15-4 for the year, and his ERA is 3.91. Lefty Justus Sheffield will go for Seattle. Game time will be at 7:05 pm PT.

Sharks Win First of Preseason, 4-1, on Four-Goal Third Period

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By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks finally won in the 2019 preseason, besting the Calgary Flames 4-1 Thursday night at the SAP Center. Dylan Gambrell helped his cause to make the opening night roster by scoring two goals, line mates Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl scored a goal apiece and Brent Burns notched assists on all four goals.

Both teams were scoreless entering the third period, but Kane opened the flood gates by beating Flames netminder Artyom Zagidulin 3:17 into the third. San Jose then scored three goals in a span of 2:58. Tomas Hertl tipped a Burns blast past Zagidulin at the 10:59 mark then Gambrell beat Zagidulin twice for a 4-0 lead.

Gambrell opened the game on the second line with Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl, but couldn’t take advantage of his opportunities and found himself on the potential fourth line with Melker Karlsson and Goodrow. His odds of factoring into the opening night roster, be it as a skater or a scratch were dwindling, especially with Lukas Radil excelling with Kane and Hertl throughout the preseason. The pressure coach Peter DeBoer has put on the young Gambrell paid off in spades with his performance down the stretch, with production from the fourth line being a necessity this year as the Sharks try to replace Joe Pavelski’s production.

One of the many Sharks assured a spot in the lineup October 2nd, Brent Burns still turned in a stellar performance, collecting four assists in a period. The feat would match a franchise record were the game to have counted.

The Sharks got solid goaltending from Martin Jones with the incumbent starter making 24 saves on 25 shots. The lone goal came with 4:02 left in regulation after Justin Kirkland punched home a rebound to cut the lead to 4-1. The same could not be said of Calgary’s goalie Zagidulin. The 24-year-old former KHLer gave up four goals on 12 shots, entering the game to start the third period. Cam Talbot was perfect to open the game, turning aside 24 Sharks shots to enter third tied 0-0.

Up next for the Sharks are some roster decisions and a match-up with the same team the Sharks will face twice in the season’s first two games. San Jose will face the Vegas Golden Knights Monday on the road before opening the season at T-Mobile Arena on October 2nd.