San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Bochy says it’s the worst season he’s seen in awhile

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@BruceBochy file photo: San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy says this has been the worst season in awhile for the struggling Giants, who are on a five-game losing streak.

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the San Francisco Giants. The basics: no hitting and no pitching. Manager Bruce Bochy says its the worst season he’s seen in awhile.

#2 Up and down the lineup, they’re just not getting the hitting or run support from Joe Panik .245, Steve Duggar .242, Buster Posey .252,Brandon Belt .229, Evan Longoria .225, and Brandon Crawford .200.

#3 The Giants have also been lacking in their pitching help. For example, starters Drew Pomeranz, Andrew Suarez, and Shaun Anderson have pitched 11 2/3 innings and allowed 20 runs

#4 One item that has been discussed is local businesses have struggled near the ballpark. Merchants have said business has been down by half or worse and some say no one is coming into their business.

#5 Giants have a much-needed day off before heading to Florida. Starting for SF, Jeff Samardzija (2-3, 3.27 ERA) vs. the Marlins Trevor Richards (1-5, 4.14 ERA).

Morris does the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Nine Is Fine: A’s sweep Mariners, extend streak with 7-1 win

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — In a lot of ways, frustration trumped elation at the Coliseum on Sunday, as the Mariners’ winless road trip seemed like a bigger deal than the A’s nine-game win streak.

For one, the A’s established an early lead and cruised to a 7-1 win behind lesser names catcher Josh Phlegley and veteran starter Brett Anderson. Make no mistake, the A’s won, and looked good doing so, but the Mariners looked bad and felt worse after losing for the 30th time in their last 40 games, and seeing their season on the brink with still more than 100 games left to play.

“Some games we didn’t pitch that well, some games we didn’t play defense that well and some games we didn’t hit,” manager Scott Servais said of the Mariners’ 0-6 road trip, their worst since 2010. “When that happens and you can’t put a full game together, you are going to have a tough road trip. And that’s what we experienced.”

“We have to play good baseball and we haven’t done that,”

Servais and the Mariners’ frustration spilled over in the seventh inning when Mark Canha slid into second base outside of the constraints dictated by the rule designed to protect infielders on double play balls. Canha–running along the infield grass then finishing his slide with his leg up–appeared to go outside a direct path to the bag, which kept J.P. Crawford from unleashing a throw to first. Replay got involved, and Servais took out his frustrations on umpiring crew chief Mike Everitt, who then ejected Servais.

When play ensued, trail runner Jurickson Profar scored–along with Skye Bolt, on board with a walk — on Phlegley’s double that increased the A’s lead to 5-1.

“Clearly J.P. got taken out on the play. They saw it different in New York than I saw it. There was no explanation. It was just replay. If you argue replay, it’s not going to go well,” Servais said after the game.

Seattle starter Mike Leake approached second base umpire Bill Welke immediately after the double play was interrupted to take exception to the non-call. That was the beginning of the end of Leake’s afternoon as he steadied by striking out Ramon Laureano, but then saw Profar steal second on his watch, as he was issuing Bolt a four-pitch walk. Bolt, the rookie hitting .143, would go 0 for 3 in the game with a run scored. Bolt was Leake’s final batter, as acting manager Manny Acta lifted the starter, who left the mound in a huff.

“We need some guidance in the right direction. We’re all here fighting, being professionals. It could come from players or management, or both. I don’t know,” said a frustrated Leake, who has one win in his last nine starts.

One thing that has to get corrected when the Mariners return home on Monday is their inability to overcome deficits. The Mariners have lost 19 consecutive games in which their opponents have scored first, dating back to mid-April. On Sunday, Leake allowed a two-run shot to Matt Chapman in the first inning, and a solo shot to Phlegley in the second.

That and maybe take a cue from the A’s. By most accounts, the A’s most frustrating defeats in 2019 were to the Mariners, first in Japan to start the season, then in Seattle on their most recent, road trip. In both cases, the A’s have responded with winning baseball, and haven’t lost at all since losing 4-3 at Safeco Field on May 14.

Since that second, consecutive one-run loss to Seattle, the A’s are 9-0. The Mariners are 1-9. Thus the elation, and frustration.

The A’s open a three-game set with the Angels on Memorial Day at 1:05 pm at the Coliseum.

Aces win season opener, 83-70, behind Wilson and McBride

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20190526 - A'ja Wilson 03

Photo credit: Shawn McCullough (Sports Radio Service)

By Shawn McCullough

LAS VEGAS — The Aces are now learning “how” to win.

Las Vegas won their season opener, 83-70, over the Los Angeles Sparks at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

“We’ve got to learn how to win and today’s a good start,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.

A’ja Wilson led the Aces with a double-double, 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Kayla McBride scored 20, shooting 9 of 15 from the field.

Dearica Hamby also contributed a double-double, scoring 12 and pulling down 14 rebounds.

With this just being the team’s second season in Las Vegas, the young Aces are starting to feel a chemistry among teammates.

“We know each other, we get our vibes,” said Wilson. “We understand each other, we know exactly where to put each other in situations to get the best out of them when we need them. Last year was tough, because we didn’t know one another, but this year, the energy is there, we’re all vibing off each other, we’re all feeding off each other on and off the court. That is something special.”

Newly acquired center Liz Cambage sat out the game due to an Achilles injury, but liked what she saw.

“That had me so hype, watching these girls go out there and play hard, a real team game,” said Cambage. “Everyone getting their points, everyone hustling, that’s the team game that I like to play.”

With the win, the Aces started the season 1-0, after starting 0-4 last season.

The Aces will next travel to Phoenix on Friday to face the Mercury before returning home to the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sunday to play the Connecticut Sun.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • Former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant was in attendance, along with Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis.
  • Sparks star Candace Parker sat out with a hamstring injury.
  • The Aces took their first lead with 2:44 left in the first quarter and never trailed after.
  • 7,249 fans were in attendance.

Game Starters:

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

Wondo surpasses expectations in Earthquakes’ 2-1 win over Toronto FC

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Photo credit: @NBCSAuthentic

By: Ana Kieu

Chris Wondolowski passed Landon Donovan for most career goals last week. Fast forward to this week and Wondo surpassed the expectations in the San Jose Earthquakes’ 2-1 win over Toronto FC at BMO Field on Sunday night.

Check out the Quakes’ starting lineup below.

Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

Sure, Toronto FC got on the board first, but that was their lone goal of the game. Richie Laryea, a Toronto native, notched his first goal in his hometown in the 28th minute.

The officials handed Tommy Thompson a yellow card in the 34th minute, but that didn’t get in the way of the Quakes’ success on the road.

Wondo tied the game 1-1 in the 37th minute. As a result, Wondo recorded his 149th career goal and the Quakes’ social media staff reportedly needed a new hashtag for the goal king.

The game was tied 1-1 at the end of the first half. San Jose settled for the draw, despite the fact Cristian Espinoza almost scored the go-ahead goal, but it went just wide of the net.

The second half featured a lot of yellow cards. Liam Fraser received a yellow card for his hard tackle on Tommy Thompson in the 61st minute. Then, back-to-back yellow cards were handed to Cristian Espinoza and Magnus Eriksson in a five-minute span.

The Quakes’ first substitution of the game occurred in the 73rd minute as Danny Hoesen replaced Magnus Eriksson.

Wondo scored the go-ahead goal for a 2-1 lead in the 81st minute. As a result, Wondo recorded his 150th career goal and the Quakes’ social media staff reminded the blue and black fanbase that they weren’t dreaming. Wondo now stands as the all-time MLS leader in game-winning goals with 42.

The Quakes won 2-1. With the win, San Jose has a two-game winning streak.

The Quakes take on DC United at Audi Field on Saturday, June 1 at 5:00 pm PT.

D-Backs break out broom on Giants

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Photo credit: @carskelly

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — This will be a series that the San Francisco Giants will want to put behind them, and look forward to hitting the road.

Ketel Marte hit a solo home run off of Shaun Anderson in the top of the first, and then Eduardo Escobar scored on a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones and the Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Giants after a 6-2 victory before a crowd of 37,017 at Oracle Park.

This was the first sweep by the Diamondbacks over the Giants in San Francisco since June 12-14, 2015.

In the three-game series, the Giants were outscored by the Diamondbacks 34-8.

If you’re going to look now (on Memorial Day weekend), now’s the time. That’s the worst series of the year. I can’t remember one where we had three consecutive games with that kind of baseball we just played. Starters had a hard time getting the ball where they wanted. Anderson (pitch location) was up early, he finally made an adjustment. But along with the hits, the mistakes he made. Now you throw in bad defense and that’s a recipe for what happened today. You know that’s three games where we just played our worst ball, said Bruce Bochy.

Escobar singled following the Marte home run, advanced to second on an Anderson wild pitch and then scored on the Jones sacrifice fly.

Buster Posey got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the first inning, as he doubled in Joe Panik, who led off the inning with a double that came up feet short of Paniks third home run of the season.

Nick Ahmed started off the second inning by singling, stole second and went to third, when Andersons pitch got by Posey. After a Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt and Ahmed, when Anderson failed to look Ahmed back to third base.

Jarrod Dyson got in on the act, as he singled in Kelly. Following the Dyson single, Marte drove in his second run of the game, as he singled, went to second on the throw and when the throw hit the third base bag, Dyson scored easily from third base.

Weaver picked up his fourth win of the season, as he went five innings, allowing one run on six hits, walking two and striking out six, before leaving the game with tightness in his right arm.

Anderson went five innings, as he gave up six runs (four of them earned) on nine hits, walking one and striking out one and lost for the first time in his major-league career.

It was a huge day at the plate for rookie Mike Yastrzemski, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored; however, he will be best remembered for what happened on his first major league hit. Yastrzemski wandered too far off of first base, and as he attempted to get back to first base, he was thrown out by left fielder Blake Swihart.

In comparison, it took Yastrzemskis grandfather, Hall of Famer Carl, 10 games to notch his first three-hit game in the majors. The 21-year old Yastrzemski picked up his first three-hit game on April 29, 1961 for the Boston Red Sox against the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium.

Sam Coonrod made his major-league debut, as he pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

NOTES: With the 34 runs scored in the series, the Diamondbacks broke their team record of 32 for most runs in a three-game series on the road. The previous record was set from June 3-5, 2014 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The 34 runs tied a team record that was set at Chase Field from September 12-14, 2016 against the Rockies.

This was the second time this season that the Giants have been swept at home, as the New York Yankees swept the Giants from April 26-28.

Overall, the Giants have lost 14 out of their last 20 games at Oracle Park.

To make room for Coonrod on the roster, the Giants optioned Saturdays starter, Andrew Suarez to Triple-A Sacramento.

Posey picked up his 13th double of the season, giving him 259 in his career, which is fourth all-time in SF history. The late Willie McCovey is third all-time with 308 doubles during his two stints with the Giants.

UP NEXT: After an off-day on Monday, the Giants begin a three-city, nine-day road trip on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.

Jeff Samardzija will take the mound for the Giants, while Trevor Richards will open the series for the Marlins.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s take 8-game win streak into series finale with M’s today

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 The Oakland A’s won their eighth straight game defeating the Seattle Mariners by a run 5-4 on Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum. With the win, the A’s move into second place trailing first place Houston by 7 1/2 games.

#2 The A’s have won five of their last six series and have swept series in Detroit and Cincinnati. They’ve been very focused on the road during this streak as well.

#3 They have been getting timely hitting from designated hitter Mark Canha whose been filling in for the injured Khris Davis.

#4 The A’s, with the win on Saturday, also move into a tie for second in the Wild Card race proving winning a whole bunch and having some success on the road can move you up in the standings.

#5 A’s and Mariners wrap it up today at the Coliseum. For Seattle, Mike Leake (3-5, 4.73 ERA) vs. Oakland’s Brett Anderson (5-3, 4.14 ERA).

Joey does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Daniel Dullum: Sharks’ Karlsson tweet sounds more like a farewell; Blues-Bruins update from the Finals; plus more

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nbcsports.com file photo: San Jose Sharks Erik Karlsson acknowledges the San Jose crowd at SAP Center in San Jose during the third round of the playoffs against the St. Louis Blues.

On the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Daniel:

1 Blues reach the Stanley Cup finals after mid-season turnaround

2 Sharks fans are worried about cryptic Karlsson tweet

3 Report: Penguins, Wild discussing trade involving Phil Kessel

4 Recent trend: NHL execs returning to familiar franchises

5 Modano returns to NHL roots; joins Wild as an advisor

Catch Daniel right here throughout the NHL Finals at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s have won eight in a row after beating the Mariners 6-5 on Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
AM4
Matt Olson bunts for a single Photo: @NBCSBA

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Every analyst and reporter that covers the Oakland Athletics kept telling fans that their team was going to wake up and start playing up to their potential any day now. They (including this reporter) kept reminding you that the A’s started slowly last season but found their legs in June.

After a while, it began to feel like the front office, team, media, and the fans were all in the same sports bar after a game trying to convince each other that the turnaround was going to happen.

Now, the great turnaround of 2019 is underway. The A’s have won eight consecutive games. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Oakland has won five of their last six series. The A’s swept the series in Detroit and Cincinnati.

This is how the A’s turned their season upside down in 2018 by winning series after series at home and on the road. The 2019 A’s may be on the verge of unlocking the secret to repeating that accomplishment.

Oakland is two-hundredths of a percentage point out of second place in the AL West. Both Texas and the A’s trail the Astros by 7.5 games. The A’s are in a virtual tie for the second Wild Card spot in the American League (don’t laugh — it’s never too early to look at the Wild Card when Houston is in your division).

Fiers first home start since the no-hitter

Mike Fiers took the mound for the A’s on Saturday and did not throw a no-hitter, but he did keep his team in the game. The veteran worked six innings giving up three runs (all earned) off five hits. Fiers struck out three Mariners and walked two. He also earned the win which upped his record to 4-3.

Fiers faced 23 batters and gave up just two extra-base hits. Domingo Santana hit his 10th home run of the year off Fiers in the fourth inning and Mitch Haniger hit his 13th round-tripper off the starter in the fifth.  Jay Bruce hit his ninth double of the season off the starter. Fiers threw 89 pitches (66 strikes). He has pitched at least five innings in each of his last six starts, which dates back to April 26 in Toronto.

The A’s scored first

AM2
Chapman celebrates the 50th HR of his career Photo: @athletics

The A’s are 18-9 when they score first this season.

Matt Chapman put the A’s first run up on the board when he hit his 12th home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning off Seattle starter LHP Yusel Kikuchi with two out and the bases empty. Chapman is hitting just .229 versus left-handed pitching, but he has six home runs in 48 at-bats against southpaws.

Ramon Laureano went 2-for-3 on Saturday with a double and an RBI. Laureano extended his hitting streak to eight games (12-for-31) which is also a new career high. His double in the fifth inning tied an Oakland record. It was the fifth consecutive game in which Laureano had hit a double tying a record that has been done five times in A’s history. The last to do it before Saturday was Miguel Tejada back in 2003.

Treinen gets the save

Blake Treinen picked up his 62nd save as an Athletic (10th of 2019). The save did not come without some excitement. Treinen gave up two runs (earned) on three hits, including a home run, but he held on to get the save.

Seattle

The M’s have now lost five consecutive games and are 2-8 in their last 10 games. Seattle currently is in sole possession of last place in AL West 5.0 games back of the A’s and 12.5 games behind the division-leading Astros.

Starter Yusel Kikuchi lasted just 3.1 innings, his shortest start of the season since April 26. Kikuchi gave up five runs (4 earned) off 10 hits including one home run. He struck out one and walked one batter. Kikuchi was tagged with the loss and his record now stands at 3-2.

Kyle Seager made his first appearance of 2019 since coming off the injured list — it was his first ever trip to the IL. Seager hit his 250th career double in the ninth inning of the game on Saturday.

Domingo Santana had quite a game. He went 2-for-4 on the day with both his hits being home runs. He has touched them all 11 times this season. It was his first multi-home run game of the year.

Mitch Haniger loves to face the A’s. He is batting .296 (45-for-152) including 11 home runs versus Oakland in his career. Haniger went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI on Saturday.

Seattle is now 0-18 when their opponent scores first this season. The Mariners have scored 147 of their 278 runs (52.9-percent) via the home run.

Up Next

The A’s and M’s will wrap up their three-game series on Sunday at 1:07 PM. Seattle will go with RHP Mike Leake (3-5, 4.73 ERA) while the Oakland will counter with LHP Brett Anderson (5-3, 4.14 ERA).

NHL Stanley Cup Final podcast with Matt Harrington: Bruins pack em in the Garden just for a morning skate; B’s fans just can’t get enough

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photo from boston.com: Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie Coyle of the Boston Bruins take in a morning skate on Friday at TD Waterhouse Garden in preparation of Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final series starting on Monday night in Boston.

On the Stanley Cup Final with Matt:

#1 What is it like for the Boston Bruins to come off a 10-day layoff and open the series at home on Monday night against the St. Louis Blues?

#2 During the layoff, the Bruins had their morning skates at TD Waterhouse Garden, and despite no numbers on the practice jerseys, the fans packed the entire arena and as Matt always says everyone loves a winner.

#3 Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask said, “Guys seemed to be huffing and puffing when they came out. I think once you go 10 days no playing, I think it’s good to get a little action in, get used to that pace. I think that’s what we wanted to accomplish, and it looked good.”

#4 What’s it like for the Blues that the media is lending all it’s attention on the Bruins for the upcoming series? They know with all the B’s hype, they’re the underdogs in this one.

#5 Blues right winger Vladimir Tarasenko is having a great run in the playoffs, leading the Blues in points in the last series against San Jose and the Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington with a 1000% save percentage, a combination like that spells trouble for their opponents during the postseason.

Matt Harrington does the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com