Earthquakes dominate Galaxy in 3-0 Clasíco victory

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by Marko Ukalovic and London Marq

STANFORD, Calif- The San Jose Earthquakes put on a show in front of a record setting crowd in defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-0 in the first round of the annual California Classico on Saturday evening at Stanford Stadium.

With the win, San Jose is currently on a six game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) and for the moment jumped ahead of Minnesota FC and the Houson Dynamo for fifth place in the Western Conference with 25 points. Los Angeles is still in second place with 31 points.

It didn’t take long for San Jose (7-6-5) to draw first blood and send the 50,850 in attendance, the most to ever attend a Classico game, into a frenzy. In the 11th minute, Jackson Yueill’s free kick from 30 yards out found Magnus Eriksson. He fed a pass over to Vako who took one dribble to the right and fired a shot past Galaxy goalkeeper (and former Quake) David Bingham into the far left corner for his fourth goal of the season and third in the past two games.

The Quakes controlled the play from the beginning and all the way up to the end of the first half despite the possession being even at 50%. They had six shots on goal compared to only two for the Galaxy.

“It was a great spectacle”, said Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda, coaching in his first Cali Classico. “It’s always important to win. We know we have to keep on this path. We have improved and we should keep on improving.”

Los Angeles (10-7-1) was finally able to get a couple of scoring chances near the end of the first 45 minutes.  Dave Romney’s shot from 10 yards out was saved by Quakes goalkeeper Daniel Vega in the 38th minute. Galaxy leading goal scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s header off a set piece from 6 yards out was also thrawted away by Vega.

“We had a few good chances”, said Galaxy midfielder Perry Kitchen. “But the broke us on the counter twice.”

The Quakes back line did well to collapse in the middle of the box to keep Ibrahimovic and the rest of the Galaxy’s offense from creating quality chances.

San Jose put the game away in the 83rd minute as Vako led a counter attack. He crossed the ball going from left to right over to Shea Salians, who entered as a substitute in the 75th minute, and he rifled a shot into the upper left corner to beat Bingham for his fifth goal of the season.

“I’ve just been blessed to be put in good situations in this game”, said Salians who played his first game back from an injury. “It’s always fun to play well and score in front of 50,000 people.  I think we could’ve scored more goals. It was a good game for us.”

San Jose added on another goal just two minutes later in the 85th minute when Tommy Thompson carried the ball in from the right slot, dribbled around a Galaxy defender and then fired a shot that deflected off a Galaxy defender into the back of the net for an own goal that gave the Quakes a commanding 3-0 lead.

“I told him (Almeyda) ‘quiero esta en la concha’ I want to be on the field”, said Thompson regarding how he has been able to adapt to switching to play as a defender. “If one of the best coaches in the world says you can play this position, in your mind you gotta think I can play this position as well. It’s been new for me but it’s been a special year for me as well.”

Vega was huge in the net stopping all five shots on goal for his second consecutive shutout in just three days.

GAME NOTES: Los Angeles midfielder Flavio Alvarez was issued a yellow card in the 67th minute for an illegal tackle attempt.

Salians was isssued a yellow card for taking off his jersey in his post goal celebration.

Since 2003 San Jose is now 13-8-3 at home versus Los Angeles.

UP NEXT: The Quakes take on Minnesota FC on Wednesday 7/3 at 5:00pm at Allianz Field.

MLB podcast with Matt Harrington: MLB counting on London games to pay off; What will A’s do if City Council votes no on new stadium?; plus more

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Photo credit: @NYDNSports

On the MLB podcast with Matt:

#1 How important is it that MLB is played in London between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox marking a first time to play a regular season game across the pond?

#2 This will be a two-game weekend series and they’ll be big for each team. The Red Sox are nine games behind the first-place Yankees and it gives the Red Sox a chance to try and capitalize on them if they take two games.

#3 How big is it for the game of baseball to be played in London and will it be possible for baseball to be played in London as an annual event?

#4 The Oakland A’s new ballpark discussion has reached the topic of what happens if the Oakland City Council doesn’t come to an agreement to have the A’s build their own ball park at Howard Terminal. The top issues that concern the council are how are fans and the public going to get to the stadium with mass transit being a huge concern and secondly how the stadium, housing, hotels, and retail built by the A’s plan to cover the cost by charging a tax on each business and property.

#5 The A’s Matt Olson continues to crush the ball with two home runs and five RBIs sending the A’s to a five-run 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium in Anaheim on Friday night.

Matt Harrington does the MLB podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Crawford reaches milestone in Giants’ 6-3 win over D-Backs

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Since coming to the San Francisco Giants, Alex Dickerson has been a spark plug for the team.

Dickerson hit a mammoth solo home run, and Buster Posey added two runs batted in, as the Giants evened up this four-game series with a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in front of 35,391 at Oracle Park.

In all eight games while in a Giants uniform, Dickerson has reached safely and is hitting .423 (11-for-26) with four doubles, a triple and two home runs and 12 RBIs during that stretch.

With the victory, the Giants stopped a five-game losing streak against the Diamondbacks at Oracle Park.

This was the 5th time this season that the Giants have gotten at least 12 hits, and their first since getting 15 on June 15 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Dickerson home run was measured at 412 feet, and bounced into McCovey Cove, as the Giants took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Posey nearly got in the act in the bottom of the third inning, as he hit a ball high off the 24-foot wall in right field that was initially called a home run by first base umpire Rob Drake; however, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovell challenged the ruling and after a 2:00 minute delay, the call was reversed.

Brandon Belt, who walked with one out in the inning, easily scored from first base to lengthen the Giants lead.

Jake Lamb cut the Giants lead in half in the top of the fourth inning, as he singled to center field to score Jarrod Dyson, who singled to lead off the inning. On the Lamb single, David Peralta advanced to third after he walked two batters prior to Lambs base hit.

Once again it was Posey to drive in another run, as he singled to right field to score Joe Panik and on the play, Mike Yastrzemski went to third and Posey advanced to second on a throwing error by Jones.

Nick Ahmed narrowed the Giants lead down to one for the second time on the evening, as he singled in the top of the sixth inning to Eduardo Escobar, who doubled with one out in the inning and then went to third on a Lamb fly out to Yastrzemski in right field.

Tyler Austin added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he grounded out to Lamb at first base with the bases loaded that allowed Crawford to score from third.

Dickerson drove in his second run of the night in the bottom of the seventh, as he singled to right field to score Yastrzemski.

The Giants final run of the evening came when Matt AdRise uncorked a wild pitch that scored Posey from third base.

Jarrod Dyson drove in the final run of the game for the Diamondbacks in the top of the ninth inning, as he singled off of closer Will Smith that easily scored Carson Kelly from third base. Kelly led off the inning with a single off of Smith.

It was a huge night for Crawford, as the veteran shortstop picked up three hits and his third hit of the night was the 1,000th of his career.

After being mired an 0-for-13 slump since Monday against the Colorado Rockies, Posey broke to 3-for-4 on the night.

The two runs batted in for Posey gave him his first multi-RBI game since May 5 against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, and his first at home since April 26 against the New York Yankees.

Posey also picked up his first three-hit game since August 10, 2018 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Shawn Anderson went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out three on his way to his third win of the season.

Merrill Kelly went five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out two, as his record fell to 7-8 on the season.

NOTES: Crawford joined some elusive company in the 1,000-hit club for the Giants, as he is just the fifth left-handed batter to get at 1,000 hits for the team since they moved to San Francisco in 1958. He joins Willie McCovey (1,974), Barry Bonds (1,951), Will Clark (1,278) and J.T. Snow (1,007).

Rich Aurilia is the only other shortstop to get at 1,000 hits for the Giants, as he picked up 1,226 hits in his Giants career.

Two of the Giants minor leaguers have been picked for the SiriusXM Futures Game at Progressive Field in Cleveland on July 7. Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos of the Single-A San Jose Giants will be heading to Cleveland, and will play for the National League in the new format that begins this season.

This is the first selection for Bart, and it is the second for Ramos, who played in the game last season at Nationals Park in Washington. Ramos went 1-for-1 in his only at-bat in a 10-6 loss to the United States team.

Steven Duggar, who is currently on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain is expected to join the Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats on Saturday, as he will begin his rehabilitation assignment for the Rivercats, as they face the Albuquerque Isotopes at Raley Field.

UP NEXT: Drew Pomeranz will take the mound for the Giants in the third game of this four-game series, while the Diamondbacks will counter with Zack Greinke.

Olson Homers Twice, A’s Crush Halos 7-2

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland Athletics mashed their way to a 7-2 win over the hosting Los Angeles Angels Friday night in SoCal, thanks to the bat of Matt Olson. The A’s Gold Glove first baseman hit two homers and knocked in five runs while designated hitter Mark Canha went deep as well. Mike Fiers went 6 2/3 innings, giving up only one run.

Olson opened the first inning with a bang, taking opener Noe Ramirez deep on an 0-1 pitch with a runner on and two outs for a 2-0 lead. After Ramirez (L, 3-1, 3.32 ERA) was removed after an inning for long reliever Felix Pena, Olson again would strike in his next at-bat. With runners on first and second, Olson this time went to right field for a 5-0 lead.

Fiers was dominant, working around six hits to only give up the one RBI on an Albert Pujols single in the 5th inning. Friday marked his eighth straight start of six-plus innings and three runs or fewer. In fact, of his last 12 starts, all were three-run or less affairs, though a May 13th outing only lasted five innings. Friday he went 6 2/3, while throwing 104 pitches to improve his record to 8-3 with a 4.01 ERA.

After Pena went five innings, only yielding the three-run shot to Olson, Luke Bard took over the seventh. Mark Canha tagged him with a two-run blast. Canha was filling in for Khris Davis who was hit by a pitch earlier in the week.

The A’s bullpen was almost flawless, but Lou Trivino gave up a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning off the bat of one-time Athletic Jonathan Lucroy. The run was unearned due to a passed ball earlier in the inning.

The A’s hope to have Davis back in the lineup Saturday when they send Brett Anderson to the mound. He’ll be opposed by Tyler Skaggs of the Halos.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants’ climb to get out of the cellar a long way off

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Photo credit: mccoveychronicles.com

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 The San Francisco Giants’ loss last night represented their fifth loss in six games and they have not been out of the NL West cellar since May.

#2 They faced some solid pitching from the Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Alex Young (1-0, 1.80 ERA) who pitched five innings against the Giants for three hits and five strikeouts holding the Giants to just one run.

#3 Michael talks about putting on a finger on what’s wrong with the Giants hitters. Everyone in the lineup on Thursday night are hitting below .300.

#4 The Giants starter Tyler Beede pitched 5 1/3 for four hits, two earned runs and three strikeouts — a good outing, but the relievers gave up three more runs in the 5-1 loss.

#5 Starting pitchers for Friday night at Oracle Park. For the Diamondbacks, Merrill Kelly (7-7, 3.93 ERA), and for the San Francisco Giants, Shaun Anderson (2-2, 3.94 ERA).

Catch Michael for the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Quakes shutout Dynamo 2-0, Quakes prep for Cali Clasico; plus more

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. The Quakes shutout the Houston Dynamo 2-0 at Avaya Stadium Wednesday to earn three points.

2. With the win, San Jose soared in the current MLS Western Conference standings.

3. The Quakes recently signed Mexican winger Carlos Fierro pending his P-1 visa.

4. The Quakes prepare for the Cali Clasico against the LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium on Saturday, June 29.

5. The US men’s soccer team shutout Panama 1-0 in the Group D decider Wednesday.

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

Aces’ 2-game winning streak ends in 86-74 loss to Sparks

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Photo credit: (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces got 18 points from center Liz Cambage in an 86-74 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Aces shot just 41.7% from the field while hitting just 29.4% from three point range.

A’ja Wilson and Dearica Hamby each scored 13 points.

With the loss, the Aces fell to 6-5 on the season heading into a game on Saturday against the Indiana Fever at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • The Aces turned the ball over 20 times.
  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures for the 43rd time in 44 career games.
  • Jackie Young handed out a career-high 9 assists.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 21 Kayla McBride
C – 8 Liz Cambage
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

San Jose State football walks the walk on ending violence against women

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State football team hasn’t went above and beyond in the past two seasons under head coach Brent Brennan, but here’s a silver lining on the team.

For the second summer in a row, the Spartans stood tall and took an evening stroll in high heels in their support to end all forms of violence against women in the Silicon Valley YWCA’s annual “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” fundraiser.

More than 110 Spartan players and coaches joined community leaders and concerned citizens in the quest to end violence against women everywhere.

“Love conquers hate. I was raised by women. I appreciate everyone out here,” said wide receiver Tre Walker, a junior from Los Angeles who led last year’s team in receiving yardage and yards per catch.

Raised funds for “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” 
For the Spartans to participate in this year’s event held in San Jose’s Santana Row, they raised the $1,500.00 registration fee through donations and a 2018 GoFundMe page in conjunction with t-shirt sales from the October 6 home game vs. Colorado State. The game was promoted as the “Set the Expectation” game in recognition of nationally-known rape survivor Brenda Tracy’s determination to raise and increase awareness of a problem that affects everyone.

Funds raised from this year’s event will provide support for domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking survivors through life-changing and life-saving services provided by the YWCA Silicon Valley. This year’s fund-raising goal is $185,000.

Part of the Spartans’ “Beyond Football” initiative
SJSU’s participation in the “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” fundraiser is one of its many “Beyond Football” initiatives. The week’s activities included a visit from city of San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia and members of the police department.

To support the Spartans’ participation in the Silicon Valley YMCA’s annual “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” fundraiser, visit www.ywca-sv.org and click on the “Events” tab.

Angels down the A’s 8-3 to win the series opener

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Photo credit: @Angels

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s dropped the opener of the four-game series to the LA Angels by a score of 8-3 at Angel Stadium on Thursday night. A’s starter Tanner Anderson had a rough outing Thursday night in Anaheim. The Angels rocked him for two runs in the second and five in the third.  Anderson went 2.2 innings and allowed eight hits, and seven runs (all earned).

Angels starter Griffin Canning went six innings and allowed three hits and two runs. Home runs by Ramon Laureano in the second and Matt Olson on the fourth were the only damage done by the A’s offense.

The Angels added a run in the sixth, and the A’s put their third run on the board in the eighth.

Anderson gave up two two-run homers to the Angels. Kole Calhoun hit his 17th in the bottom of the second to put the Angels ahead 2-1. In the bottom of the third, Shohei Ohtani hit his 10th with a man aboard to make it 4-1. The Angels scored three more before A’s manager removed Anderson from the game.

Game Notes: The A’s drop to 43-39 and the Angels improved to 42-40. The Angels have now won four in a row. The Angels have welcomed back two position players back to their lineup. Justin Upton was in left field Thursday. Upton missed over 70 games with a turf toe injury. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons was back in the lineup after missing 39 games.

The A’s missed an opportunity to pick up a game on the Houston Astros as the Astros lost to Pittsburgh 10-0 Thursday. They trail the Astros by seven games in the race for first place in the AL West. The Texas Rangers are in second place with a 2 1/2 game lead over the A’s. The Angels are in fourth place, and they trail the A’s by one game.

Time of game was two hours and 46 minutes. 40,631 fans watched the Angels win the fourth in a row.

Up Next: Game two of the four-game series will be played Friday night. Game time will be at 7:07 pm. Mike Fiers (7-3, 4.20 ERA) will go for Oakland. Fiers’ ERA is 2.51 in his last nine starts. The Angels will use an opener to start the game. Felix Pena will come in after the first or second inning. The Angels have used an opener in 10 of Pena’s 11 appearances.

The A’s line score was three runs, five hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was eight runs, 12 hits, and no errors.