D-Backs drop a 10 spot on the Giants

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Photo credit: @Dbacks

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — If you thought the Arizona Diamondbacks scored enough to score to be all scored out, you are watching the wrong game.

Ildemaro Vargas reached on a fielding error by Pablo Sandoval that allowed Ketel Marte to score from third base, and then Kevin Cron hit a sacrifice fly to Kevin Pillar that saw Pillar fly in the air like Superman, got up and threw to Joe Panik, who in turn threw to Brandon Belt for the double play; however, Vargas was originally as no across the plate in time. Torey Lovullo challenged the call and it was reserved, as that would be all the runs that the D-Backs would need on their way to 10-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants before a crowd of 31,531 at Oracle Park.

“It’s bad baseball, there’s no getting around it,” said Bruce Bochy.

This was the first time that the D-backs scored at least 10 or more runs in back-to-back games since September 20, 2017 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, and then two days later against the Miami Marlins on September 22 at Chase Field.

As for the Giants, it was not as long, as they gave 10 or more runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 29 and 30 of 2018.

Andrew Suarez helped out his cause in the bottom of the second inning, as he legged out an infield single that allowed Brandon Belt to score from third base. That run batted in by Suarez would account for the Giants only run on the afternoon until Evan Longoria walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning that scored Mike Yastrzemski, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning.

Yastrzemski, who is the grandson of Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame left fielder Carl Yastrzemski was recalled from Sacramento and to make room for Yastrzemski, the Giants designated Mac Williamson for assignment.

In his debut, Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with a hit by a pitch, as he started in left field before moving to center field in the top of the eighth inning.

Things went from bad to worse for the Giants, as the D-Backs scored eight runs between the third and fifth innings to blow the game wide open.

It was a tough day for Suarez, who went four innings, allowing nine runs (seven of them earned), walked three and struck out four, also threw two wild pitches and allowed a home run and fell to 0-2 on the season.

The nine runs allowed by Suarez were a career-high, breaking the previous mark of eight that was set on August 4, 2018 against the D-Backs at Chase Field.

Tyler Clarke went 6.1 innings for the D-Backs, allowing three runs on six hits, walking three and striking out one, as he picked up his first major league win.

Marte hit a home run for the second time in as many games, as it was the second time in his career that he hit home runs in back-to-back games.

NOTES: On the double play that ended the first inning, that was the 16th outfield assist for the Giants this season, which leads the major leagues. The Miami Marlins are second in assists with 12.

Cron picked up his first major league hit and run batted in, as his father Chris Cron, who is the manager of the D-Dbacks Triple-A farm club, Reno Aces, looked on from the crowd.

UP NEXT: Shaun Anderson continues to look for that elusive first major league win, as the former Florida Gators pitcher faces Luke Weaver, who pitched for the Gators rival, the Florida State Seminoles and is looking for fourth win of the season for the D-Backs.

A’s Long Balls Key in 6-2 win over M’s; 7th straight for Oakland

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sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics’ Matt Olson, right, celebrates with Stephen Piscotty (25) and Marcus Semien, center, after hitting a three-run home run off Seattle Mariners’ Wade LeBlanc during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 24, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.


By Matt Harrington


The Oakland A’s mashed three home runs to beat the Seattle Mariners 6-2 and take game one of the weekend series. Matt Olson, Mark Canha and Stephen Piscotty all went deep for Oakland in a seventh-straight win.

Daniel Mengden started for the A’s going four innings and allowing a run on a Domingo Santana RBI single in the top of the first. Oakland would hit two two-run shots in the bottom of the fourth off M’s starter Wade LeBlanc, but Mengden was ineligible for the win after not reaching five innings.

The A’s added a run on a steal and wild throw in the bottom of the seventh, answering back after the M’s scored in the top of the frame to make it 4-2 at the time. Piscotty then took Connor Sadzeck deep in the bottom of the eighth.

Lou Trivino picked up the win after getting the final out of the seventh and finishing off the eighth. Blake Treinen closed out the ninth in a non-save. 

Olson and Canha went back to back in the fourth innning to get the A’s an early jump, Canha filling in for injured DH Khris Davis has been on a tear lately replacing the major league home run leader in the line up, “If you’re looking for a replacement for Khris, that’s the guy, he feels good at the plate, he’s getting good swings, seeing some pitches, taking some walks. Really good.” said A’s manager Bob Melvin.

A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty had a big night with the homer and two singles, putting him a 22 consecutive games to get on base leading the majors in reaching base. 

A’s starter Daniel Mengden started out the game walking four M’s hitters, but later A’s reliever Lou Trivino, who got the win and was the fourth of five pitchers was able to get four of five hitters out. 

Notes: Oakland A’s P.A. announcer Dick Callahan acknowledged A’s Spanish play by play announcer and our very own talk show host Amaury Pi-Gonzalez on the A’s scoreboard, who missed most of the first two months of the season after having surgery. Amaury looks great and says he’s been anxious to get back to work. 

Today’s 1:07 pm starters at the Oakland Coliseum for the Seattle Mariners Yusei Kikuchi (3-1, 3.43 ERA) vs. Oakland A’s starter Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.05 ERA).


Matt Harrington covers A’s baseball each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Pomeranz, Giants bitten by Diamondbacks 18-2

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Photo credit: @Dbacks

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — If you thought allowing another first inning run to an opponent was nothing new for the San Francisco Giants, just wait to see what happened over the next five innings.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Ildemaro Vargas home run, the Arizona Diamondbacks quickly relinquished that lead, when Austin Slater smashed a two-run home run to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

Unfortunately, that Giants lead would last only one-half inning, as the Diamondbacks scored 17 runs over the next six innings on their way to a 18-2 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 31,777 at Oracle Park.

The win by the Diamondbacks stopped their five-losing streak.

Ketel Marte tied up the game in the top of the second inning, as he singled in Nick Ahmed, who singled to lead off the frame.

Vargas then picked up his second run batted in of the game, as he singled to right field that scored Carson Kelly, who walked after Ahmed singled.

Robbie Ray helped out his own cause in the top of the third inning, as he hit a two-run single that scored Adam Jones and Ahmed.

That third inning would be the end of the line for Drew Pomeranz, as he went 2.2 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, while walking just one and striking out six and lost for the fifth time in six decisions this season.

It was a huge night for Jones, who went 4-for-5 with three runs and three runs batted in before being replaced by Blake Swihart in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Not only was a huge night for Jones, but Ray pitched a good game as well. Ray went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs, five hits, walking two and striking out and won for the fourth time in five decisions.

Ahmed got in on the run batted in parade in the top of the fourth inning, as he walked to Eduardo Escobar; however, the big hit in the inning was a two-run single by Tim Locastro.

The quartet of Marte, Vargas, Escobar and Jones racked up 14 of the 21 Diamondbacks hits on the evening.

Marte ended the night with three hits, Vargas with five, Escobar with two and Jones with four.

Escobar joined the home run parade in the top of the sixth inning, as he smashed a Nick Vincent offering onto the arcade for a three-run home run.

All in all, Vincent went 2.2 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits, and striking out two.

Derek Holland was cruising in the top of the seventh inning, as he got the first two outs; however, then the wheels fell off, as he gave up a single to Kelly, then hit Locastro, then Swihart grounded into a fielders choice that saw Donovan Solano throw the ball into right for another Diamondbacks run.

Marte then got in on the home run derby, as he smashed a Holland pitch into the left field bleachers.

The biggest applause of the night came in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Pablo Sandoval came into the game to pinch hit and promptly singled to right field.

Following the Marte home run, the fans began to chant Let Pablo Pitch, but it did not come to fruition and Holland returned to the mound, much to the chagrin of the remaining fans that hung around.

Zach Godley pitched the final three innings to pick up his second save of the season for the Diamondbacks.

On the other side of things, the usually stellar Giants bullpen was anything but that, as they 13 runs (nine earned) on 13 hits, walked two and struck out six. They also gave up three home runs over the final seven and one-thirds innings.

NOTES: The 18 runs scored by the Diamondbacks are the most by a visiting team in the history of Oracle Park breaking the record of 17 that was set by the Colorado Rockies on May 5, 2016.

Also, the 18 runs scored by the Diamondbacks tied for the second most in team history, and the most ever on the road.

Their 21 hits are also the second most in team history, one shy of the team record that was set on August 24, 2013, when they smashed 22 hits against the Philadelphia Phillies.

UP NEXT: Andrew Suarez makes his second start of the season, as he takes the mound for the Giants on Saturday afternoon. Right-hander Tyler Clarke will toe the rubber for the Diamondbacks, as he looks for that elusive first win of the season

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants’ Williamson and company lacking the hits

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

On the Giants podcast with Miguel:

#1 What’s off with the Giants’ Mac Williamson swing? He was striking out five times on Thursday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves

#2 Five times they needed that bat of Williamson to make hay in a one-run loss that went 13 innings.

#3 Williamson is trying to make this club and be a main stay. We ask Michael is this a temporary hang up or something that needs a quick fix?

#4 Another bat out of the Giants’ lineup: shortstop Brandon Crawford, who missed Thursday night’s contest due to pink eye.

#5 The Giants opened a three-game series on Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks started Robbie Ray (3-1) and the Giants went with Drew Pomeranz (1-4)

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

NHL Stanley Cup Final podcast with Joe Lami: Joe talks Sharks free agency plus Bruins-Blues, who’s the best?

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photo from wbur.org: Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask stops a penalty shot by Columbus Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner during Game 4 of their second-round series.

On the Stanley Cup Final podcast with Joe:

#1 The San Jose Sharks’ season ended last week as the players cleaned out their lockers the discussion of free agency was turned up as the Sharks might shop or drop free agents, forwards, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Joonas Donskoi, Michael Healy, and Gus Nyquist.

#2 The Sharks are also looking at their defensemen free agents who may not return next season — Erik Karlsson and Tim Heed

#3 Will restricted free agents Timo Meier and Kevin LaBanc be back?

#4 The Boston Bruins swept through the Stanley Cup Playoffs and made it look easy. Joe takes a look how easy it will be against the St. Louis Blues in the Final.

#5 The Bruins have home ice and had plenty much of a flawless postseason, going almost error free.

Listen for Joe Lami on the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: By trade deadline, you can expect a lot of changes to come to the Giants

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photo from nbcsports.com: San Francisco Giants pitcher Shaun Anderson during his second major league outing last Tuesday at Oracle Park. Anderson pitched five innings and gave up eight hits and two runs.

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca:

The San Francisco Giants are everything you would have expected them to be the way the pitching staff has been going were not sure if manager Bruce Bochy could name the five man starting rotation. The Giants are playing to the trade deadline, you can expect a lot of changes to come to this team.

On Tuesday night, for the 27th time in their entire history, they came from behind for a win in the ninth inning and there were 12,000 more people in the ballpark than usual. The Giants were 21-27 after their loss on Wednesday night at Oracle Park. The Giants are desperate for runs they have won eight of their last 10 wins by one run and 13 of 21 wins of one run.

Michael and Morris do the Giants podcasts weekly at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Well Worth the Wait: Braves take first lead in the 13th, beat the Giants 5-4

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — The list of youthful sluggers that have raked in their Oracle Park debuts is growing lengthier.

Yandy Diaz, Gleyber Torres, Aaron Senzel, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and now Austin Riley have all had big games. Consequently,  the Giants win-loss record is suffering.

Riley capped his first trip to San Francisco as a big leaguer with a two-run, game-tying home run in the eighth inning, then topped himself with the game-winning base hit in the 13th inning of the Braves’ 5-4 victory over the Giants.

The homer was Riley’s third in the series, and his fifth in his first eight, big league games. That second feat makes the slugger the fastest to hit his fifth home run in the history of the Braves franchise.

“To be able to do that is an honor,” Riley said. “The last hit was even more special to me because it put the team ahead and got the job done.”

Getting the job done in Riley’s case required driving Reyes Moronta’s 97 mph offering into the right field corner with a swing that was executed with Riley lunging and off balance. That came with two outs, and scored Darby Swanson, running at Moronta’s release, and scoring from first base.

That effectively ended the Giants’ afternoon in which they held 2-0 and 4-2 leads but couldn’t close the door. Adding to their frustration, Madison Bumgarner’s impressive, six innings of work was squandered. The Giants’ ace departed in line for the win.

“We just couldn’t get the bats going later on against their bullpen,” said manager Bruce Bochy.

While Riley showed off a natural swing that belied his age and experience, the Giants flailed. After pinch hitter Tyler Austin homered in the seventh to give the Giants’ a two-run cushion, the home team went scoreless over the final six frames. But more disturbing than the zeros was the quality of the at-bats.

In the eighth, with a runner on, Kevin Pillar and Mac Williamson fanned to end the inning. In the ninth, with two runners aboard, Buster Posey hit a chopper to the third on the first pitch. Pablo Sandoval got his opportunity as a pinch hitter in the ninth, and struck out on a pitch in the dirt.

Continuing the theme, Evan Longoria struck out in the 13th without unleashing a swing, and Williamson fanned five times, prompting questions after the game.

“We’ll talk about it,” Bochy said. “It was a rough day for Mac. I know he’s probably pressing… I can’t say probably. That’s a tough day there. So anyway, we’ll huddle up and see what we can do to add some offense here.”

The Giants open a three-game set with the Diamondbacks on Friday at Oracle Park.

A’s Thursday off day report: Preview of A’s-Mariners series starting Friday

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s return home after a successful 6-2 road trip. The A’s were beating the Tigers in one game that was suspended due to bad weather. That game will be completed when the Tigers play the A’s in September. The two losses on the trip happened when the A’s played the Mariners in Seattle.

The Mariners and A’s have met four times this season, and the M’s have won them all. The A’s lost the first two in Japan to open the season and the last two in Seattle on May 13th and 14th. The games in Seattle were close. The Mariners won on May 13th 6-5 even though the A’s hit five home runs in that game. They beat the A’s again on May 14th, 4-3. Since that time the A’s won three in Detroit and three in Cleveland.

The A’s have also moved up in the standings in the AL Central. Oakland ‘s record is 25-25, and they are in third place just 1/2 game behind the surprising Texas Rangers. Seattle, on the other hand, played well to start the season but have fallen on hard times. They currently reside in last place in the AL West with a record of 23-29. They have lost 3 in a row and are 3-7 in their previous 10 games.

The Mariners have placed several key players on the 10-day IL. They include second baseman Dee Gordon, first baseman Ryon Healy, pitcher King Felix Hernandez, and third baseman Kyle Seager.

The Mariners still have a potent lineup. First baseman Daniel Vogelbach, DH Edwin Encarnacion, outfielders Jay Bruce, Domingo Santana, and Mitch Haniger all have power, and all of them have hurt the A’s with their bats. Infielder Tim Beckham has also punished the A’s with his power.

The pitching matchups for the series will be the following. On Friday, Oakland will send Daniel Mengden (1-1 3.65 ERA) out to pitch. Mengden is 0-2 with an ERA of 5.89 in four career starts against the Mariners. The Mariners will counter with lefty Wade LeBlanc. LeBlanc, in his last outing against the Minnesota Twins, went 2 and 1/3rd innings and gave up seven hits and seven runs. LeBlanc missed five weeks due to a strained oblique. In two starts against the A’s last year, LeBlanc held the A’s scoreless for eleven innings.

Saturdays’ game will feature Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.05 ERA) going for his fourth win of the year. Fiers has an ERA of 2.53 over his last five starts, and that includes the no-hitter that he had against the Cincinnati Reds. Fiers is 2-2 with an ERA of 6.36 in 10 starts against Seattle. Rookie Yusei Kikuchi (3-1, ERA 3.43) will go for the M’s. Kikuchi is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.03 in his last four starts.

On Sunday, The A’s will have lefty Brett Anderson on the mound. Anderson (5-3, ERA 4.14)is returning to action after he left the game last Monday in Cleveland with a cervical strain. Anderson is 8-5 and has an ERA of 2.38 in 20 games against the M’s. Mike Leake goes for Seattle. Leake is 3-5 for the year and has an ERA of 4.73. Leake is 2-2 against Oakland in nine career starts.

The A’s are playing better as the offense has come alive and the pitching has been better. The A’s have seen improvement from Chris Bassitt, Mike Fiers, and Frankie Montas. Anderson has pitched well, and Mengden is still a work in progress.

Following the three-game series with Seattle, the A’s will face the LA Angels and then host the first-place Houston Astros.

 

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Bucks now find themselves tied with mighty Raptors; Blues-Bruins to battle in final; plus more

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Photo credit: @BleacherReport

On Headline Sports podcast with Tony:

#1 The tables have turned on the Milwaukee Bucks. After winning the first two games, the Toronto Raptors have won Games 3 and 4 to tie up the series 2-2.

#2 The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo led all Bucks scorers with 25 points, but it wasn’t enough in Game 4 as the Raptors took care of business 120-102. It’s a brand new series.

#3 The San Jose Sharks, who won Game 3 on a glove-handled puck 5-4, set the St. Louis Blues on fire. The Blues came back to win three straight and win the series to move on against the Boston Bruins for the NHL Final.

#4 The New York Yankees had nearly 17 starters or key players out with injuries so the Yanks called up the reserves and they came through. The one player to admire is the Yankees’ Gleyber Torres, who has hit 10 homers in 11 games against the Baltimore Orioles.

#5 The Oakland A’s are one of the big league’s hottest teams, winning their sixth straight game and a four-game sweep over Cleveland as they head back to Oakland for a Friday night contest with the Seattle Mariners.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford MBB’s Bryce Wills selected to participate in USA Basketball U19 Training Camp

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By: Ana Kieu

Rising Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball sophomore Bryce Wills has been invited to participate in the USA Basketball U19 World Cup Team Training Camp.

Wills, a regular starter for the Cardinal as a freshman, is one of 34 athletes selected for the training camp, set for June 15-18 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Following training camp, a 12-member roster for the 2019 USA Basketball U19 World Cup Team will be selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee. The USA Basketball U19 World Cup Team will compete in the FIBA World Cup in Greece in June.

Wills, the youngest player in the Pac-12 and seventh youngest player in Division I this past season, started 23 of 30 games in his first year on The Farm. He averaged 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game overall, increasing those averages to 7.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists from the guard spot during Pac-12 action. He scored in double figures in seven Pac-12 games. He scored four of his 11 points in the final 14 seconds, including the go-ahead basket in the final seconds, in Stanford’s 79-76 win over USC at Maples Pavilion. A couple days later, he scored 10 points in 17 minutes in the win over UCLA to complete the home sweep of the Los Angeles schools. Following the season, he was the recipient of Stanford’s Roy Young Toughness Award, recognizing an individual for giving the extra effort on both ends of the floor.

As the recognized governing body for basketball in the US by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA national teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored 5-on-5 and 3×3 international competitions, as well as for some national competitions along with the development of youth basketball.