Strong pitching and timely hitting lead the A’s to a 4-2 win over the Angels

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Stephen Piscotty singles in the seventh inning Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND –The Oakland Athletics (2-3) recorded their second win of the 2019 season as they defeated the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Saturday night. The keys to the win were the strong starting pitching of Brett Anderson and the timely hitting of the A’s batters.

Brett Anderson did not pitch perfect in his first three innings of work. He walked the Angels leadoff batter in the top of the first, but escaped without that man scoring. Anderson issued another walk and gave up a single in the second inning without it costing him a run. In the third inning, the lefty gave up a double to Mike Trout without it producing a run. Things were going Anderson’s way.

The A’s started slow
The Angels starter — Felix Pena — no-hit the A’s through the first 2.2-innings. It appeared that the A’s hitters were going to be in for a very long night.

In the bottom of the third inning with two out and the bases empty, A’s catcher Josh Phegley singled to left-center field. Robbie Grossman then singled through the hole between first and second moving Phegley up to second base. Pena then hit Matt Chapman with a pitch to load the bases.

Stephen Piscotty stepped into the batter’s box and hit a 3-1 pitch up the middle that brought Phegley and Grossman home to score. The A’s took a 2-0 lead into the top of the fourth inning.

There is power in the East Bay
It did not take the A’s long to pad their lead. The newest member of the team — Kendrys Morales — walked to leadoff the home half of the fourth inning. With two out and Morales still at first, Mark Canha hit a 2-1 pitch from Pena over the wall into the left field seats for a two-run home run which he punctuated with “controlled” bat flip to celebrate the big hit as he exited the batter’s box. It was his first home of the season and his RBI’s of the campaign.

The home run was the end of Felix Pena’s night as he was replaced by Noe Ramirez. It would not be the end of Pena’s pain as he would be tagged with the loss.

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Piscotty at first with Khris Davis at bat Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

The Angles mounted a rally
The A’s brought J.B. Wendelken in to relieve Anderson in the seventh inning. He continued pitching in the eighth, and things got tough quickly.

David Fletcher reached base for the Angels on a throwing error. Zack Cozart then doubled to left moving Fletcher up to third. Mike Trout then hit a fly ball to deep right field that was caught by Piscotty, but Fletcher was able to score from third while Cozart went from second to third.

Andrelton Simmons then singled through the hole on the left side of the infield that sent Cozart across the plate for the second Angels run of the inning. That would signal the end of the night for Wendelken. Blake Treinen was summoned from the bullpen.

A passed ball allowed Simmons to move up 90-feet to second base. Albert Pujols then singled to left sending Simmons to third base with just one out. A pinch runner was placed on first for Puljos. Treinen then struck out Justin Bour on a called third strike (Bour did not agree with the call) and Jonathon Lucroy ended the inning by popping out the second baseman.

As the game moved to the bottom of the eighth, the A’s still had a 4-2 lead, which would ultimately become the final score.

Key facts and figures
For Oakland, they scored four runs off seven hits and committed one error. The A’s left six men on base and went 1-for-3 with RISP.

The win goes to Brett Anderson (1-0) his first of the season. Blake Treinen gets credit for his first save of 2019.

The Angels (1-2) put up two runs off six hits and did not commit any errors. The Halos left seven runners on base and went 2-for-11 with Runners In Scoring Position (ouch).

Felix Pena (0-1) is the losing pitcher.

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Davis is thrown out at first base Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Post Game Notes
A’s

  • Brett Anderson made it three consecutive starting pitchers for Oakland to work six or more scoreless innings. That is the first time that has happened since August 24-26, 2005 when was done by Saarloos, Zito, and Blanton.
  • Brett Anderson now has a 34.1-inning scoreless streak at home in the Coliseum. That is the longest scoreless streak by an A’s pitcher since the team moved to Oakland in 1968.
  • After going 0-for-7 to start the season, Josh Phegley picked up his first hit of the season in this game.
  • Marcus Semien extended his hitting streak to five games after hitting a single in the sixth inning.

Angels

  • Felix Pena does not like pitching in Oakland. In four career games, he is now 0-2 with an 8.97 ERA.
  • Mike Trout had a 1-for-3 game on Saturday night. He hit a double and a sacrifice fly. For his career, Trout is now batting .312 (149-for-477) with 30 home runs and 75 RBIs versus the A’s.
  • Albert Puljos recorded two hits in the game and now needs just five hits to tie Ichiro Suzuki for 22nd on the all-time hits list.

Up Next
The A’s and Angels wrap up their four-game series on Sunday at 1:07 PM. Los Angeles will send LHP Tyler Skaggs to the hill to make his first start of the season. Making his first start of the year for Oakland, it will be RHP Frankie Montas.

Rockets knock Kings out of playoffs with 119-108 win

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Photo credit: @TSN_Sports

By Jeremy Harness

The Sacramento Kings saw their slim playoff hopes officially dashed on Saturday, as they were downed by the Houston Rockets, 119-108, inside of Houston’s Toyota Center.

The team has been feisty all season and held on to their postseason chances as long as they could, even on Saturday. Sacramento entered the fourth quarter with the lead, but they were outscored 28-15 in the final stanza as their fate was sealed.

The Rockets, meanwhile, are still fighting for one of the top spots in the Western Conference postseason picture to get home-court advantage for at least the first round. Houston is currently in the third spot with a 49-28 mark, three games behind Golden State and Denver, who are tied for the top spot in the West.

James Harden recorded a triple-double in spearheading the win, scoring 50 points while making 13 of his 31 shots in the process, to go along with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Clint Capela put up 24 points while going 10-of-13 from the field and also pulled down 15 rebounds, while Chris Paul had 22 points and five assists.

The Kings had a couple of guys get a double-double in the loss. Marvin Bagley III had 20 points and 12 rebounds – seven of those coming on the offensive end – while making 10 of his 20 field-goal attempts. Meanwhile, De’Aaron Fox scored 18 points and handed out 10 assists, while making four of his seven 3-point attempts.

Bogdan Bogdanovic just missed a triple-double while coming off the bench, leading the Kings with 24 points while pulling down nine rebounds with eight assists.

The Kings next play the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at 4:00 pm PT.

Giants finally get in the win column with a 3-2 victory over the Padres

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

Well, it took three games, but the San Francisco Giants got into the win column with the help of great pitching from their starter and bullpen.

Dereck Rodriguez went five innings plus, giving up two runs and five hits, as the Giants defeated the San Diego Padres 3-2 at Petco Park.

Rodriguez got into a jam in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he gave up a leadoff double to Manuel Margot and a single to Ian Kinsler that ended Rodriguez’s evening on the bump.

Travis Bergen came onto replace Rodriguez, but was treated rather rudely, as he gave up a two-run double to Eric Hosmer that cut the Giants lead down to 3-2.

Reyes Moronta then replaced Bergen, and responded by striking out the side, including Manny Machado, Will Myers and Hunter Renfroe to end the threat.

In two innings of work, Moronta struck out five in his season debut for the Giants and also gave up just one hit, before turning the ball over to Tony Watson, who gave up two hits in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Will Smith came on in the bottom of the ninth inning, striking out two to pickup his first save of the young season.

The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning, as Yangervis Solarte doubled in Steven Duggar, who singled off of rookie Nick Margevicius, who was making his major league debut for the Padres.

Joe Panik drove in the final two runs of the game, as he singled off of Robert Stock, who replaced Margevicius that scored Evan Longoria, who singled to score Solarte; however, Buster Posey was thrown out at the plate trying to stretch the Giants lead.

It was an impressive debut for Margevicius, who went five innings, allowing one run on five hits, while walking no one and striking out five.

NOTES: With the victory, the Giants avoided their first 0-3 start since the 2012 season, when they won their second World Series in three seasons under manager Bruce Bochy.

The Padres were going for their first 3-0 start since the 1984 season, when they went on to their first World Series appearance and ironically, the backup on that team was none than Bochy.

Another ironic twist to those two seasons is the fact that the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 World Series behind World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval, and in 1984, the Padres were defeated in five games to the Tigers.

Longoria left the game with a calf injury, and is day-to-day and Duggar was hit by a pitch in the first inning off the nose; however, he stayed in the game.

UP NEXT: Jeff Samardzija will make his season debut on Sunday afternoon, while the Padres will send Chris Paddock to the mound, as the right-hander will make his major league debut.

Barracuda take down Condors 4-2

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by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda exorcised their demon known as the Bakersfield Condors. San Jose never trailed in a 4-2 victory over the Pacific Division leaders for their third straight win on Saturday evening at Rabobank Arena.

A pair of streaks were snapped with the Cuda’s win. San Jose’s five game losing streak to Bakersfield is history and they finished the season series 5-5 against the Condors. Bakersfield also lost their six game winning streak.

Bakersfield (39-18-2-3) had the ice tilted in their favor in the first period as they out shot San Jose 15-7. However Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (21-8-2) stood his ground as the rookie net minder stopped all 15 shots he faced.

San Jose (35-20-2-4) finally drew first blood early in the second period. Anti Suomela sent a pass over to Marcus Vela whose shot was partially fanned on that deflected off of Matt Fonteyne’s stick past Condors goalie Shane Starrett (25-5-5) for his fifth goal of the season at the 3:09 mark. was credited with the secondary assist.

Bakersfield scored the equalizer in the final minute of the middle frame. Luke Esposito scored his sixth goal of the season at the 19:11 mark. Cameron Hebig and Jacob Stukel received assists.

The third period featured three goals in the first five minutes. With Evan Polei in the sin-bin for hooking, the Cuda’s Cavan Fitzerald didn’t waste any time giving San Jose the lead. The faceoff came right to the stick of Fiztgerald who blasted the puck off the far bar and into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season 28 seconds into the period.

Bakersfield responded as P.C. Labrie found an open Cooper Marody and he buried the puck past Korenar for his 19th goal of the season at the 4:25 mark. Tyler Benson received the secondary assist.

San Jose regained the lead just 31 seconds later. Nick DeSimone found Maxim Letunov open in the high slot. Letunov skated in and wristed a shot on the short side over the pad of Starrett for his 11th goal of the season at the 5:06 mark.

Bakersfield pulled Starrett for an extra attacker in the last 1:40 of the third period but Jeffery Viel iced the game with an empty net goal for his 10th goal of the season with 58 second left. Alex True and DeSimone were credited with assists.

Kornear stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced to earn his 21st win of the season. Starrett made 25 saves on 28 shots in suffering the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/4 on the power play. They have scored a power play goal in three straight games. Bakersfield was 0/6.

DeSimone is currently on an eight-game scoring streak.

San Jose is now 4-6-1-2 when they are tied after 2nd period.

The announced attendance was 6,502.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home to host the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday 4/3 at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

Sharks Break Bad Streak, Beat Knights 4-3 in OT

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks ended their seven game losing streak Saturday, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime. It was a good preview of the playoffs, possibly even a playoff matchup if the standings remain as they are. Each team got credit for 40 hits. Between hits, a lot of goals were scored too. For San Jose, goals came from Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Brent Burns. Las Vegas goals came from William Karlsson, Cody Eakin and Shea Theodore. Martin Jones made 23 saves in the win while Vegas goaltender Malcolm Subban made 30 saves in the loss.

Vegas scored first at 3:54. The Sharks had just thwarted a nice play by Vegas, turning what could have easily been a goal into a puck behind the net. Unfortunately, Vegas had control of that puck and Jonathan Marchessault made a pass from below the goal line to the slot, where William Karlsson was open with a clear view of Martin Jones. It was Karlsson’s 24th of the season. Assists went to Marchessault and Reilly Smith.

The rest of the period was littered with matching penalties. An interference penalty to Marcus Sorensen was matched by an embellishment penalty to Colin Miller. Joe Thornton’s high-sticking penalty was matched by a roughing penalty to Ryan Reaves. Reaves also got a misconduct on that one.

The Sharks tied the game just under a minute into the second period. Tomas Hertl caught a stray rebound from a Joonas Donskoi shot. Hertl then wove his way around a defender and poked the puck between skaters and shot it past the Malcolm Subban. It was Hertl’s 35th goal of the season. Assists went to Donskoi and Timo Meier.

Just before a fight between Barclay Goodrow and William Carrier (at 3:01), Brenden Dillon was called for cross-checking, so the crowd was presented with the odd sight of a power play coming out of a fight. It did not change the score but took a little explaining.

That power play probably did set the Knights up to score at 5:30, moments after it expired. Cody Eakin was right in front of the blue paint when Deryk Engelland’s shot came in and dropped dead off of Jones’s pads. Eakin was able to gather it up and put it in the net. Assists went to Engelland and Ryan Carpenter.

The Sharks tied it again at 7:22 of the third. Tomas Hertl burst into the Vegas zone trailing one defender and slipping around another on his way to the net. He didn’t get a shot off but drew all the attention his way as he went behind the net and sent the puck forward for one of several Sharks to take a shot. Two couldn’t catch it but Evander Kane was coming in as the trailer and he found the rebound for a quick shot into an empty net. Subban was stuck in traffic to the side of the net, unable to get back for the save.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic gave the Sharks their first lead of the night at 11:26 with a slap shot off an offensive zone faceoff. Logan Couture got the assist. It was Vlasic’s third of the season.

That lead only lasted for 38 seconds. Shea Theodore did almost exactly what Vlasic did, taking a shot off an offensive zone faceoff win by William Karlsson. It was Theodore’s 12th of the season.

The end of the third was spent mostly in penalties. First, matching roughing penalties were assigned to Timo Meier and William Carrier at 16:10. At 10:05, almost a minute after the four-on-four ended, Colin Miller was called for hooking.

That power play carried over into the extra period, right up to Brent Burns’s game winner 22 seconds into overtime. That shot came off of Couture’s pass along the blue line. A secondary assist went to Kevin Labanc.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 5:00 PM PT against the visiting Calgary Flames.

Earthquakes shut out by LAFC 5-0

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

By: London Marq

SAN JOSE–Major League Soccer’s best, currently in the form of the glamorous Los Angeles Football Club, travels north to battle the bottom ranked San Jose Earthquakes. Though San Jose bested LAFC in the preseason, it has been a tale of two different clubs since the season began. LAFC has a league-best 10 points entering play with 10 goals to their cause versus an Earthquakes team that has yet to earn a point through their first three matches. San Jose, who have only managed two goals on the season, looked to create a rivalry with their southern neighbors under the guidance of head coach Matias Almeyda.

The first half saw the Earthquakes struggle to find any cohesion as LAFC applied constant pressure in every sector of the pitch. The fullbacks struggled to advance the ball into the midfield, and it would be a problem for San Jose from the earliest moments of the game. In the eighth minute, LA forward Carlos Vela would steal the ball from a defender and knock it into the area of the Quakes goalie Mario Vega. Vega attempted to clear the ball out of the box and whiffed, leaving the crowd stunned and the goal wide open. Vela would score the first goal of the match.

Mario Vega’s whiff was only the beginning of his very long day. Though he made several saves and blocks, Vega found himself one-on-one with the opposing strikers and back line offered little resistance. Carlos Vela would go on to score twice more, including a beautiful arcing shot from outside the box into the far corner in the 66th minute to complete his first MLS hat trick. LAFC also had goals from Steven Beitashour and Diego Rossi in the 26th and 68th minutes, respectively.

For Almeyda and the Quakes, it’s back to the drawing board. Frustrations mounted in the second half as the match became more physical. There were some questionable fouls made by the referees, who at different points in the match had lengthy conversations with Coach Almeyda and Quake midfielder Tommy Thompson. At one point, Thompson became so frustrated after a whistle blew for a foul against him, that he picked the ball up threw it across the pitch. Frustrations aside, the Quakes seem stagnant and unsure of themselves. They still seem to lack a sense of group cohesion that successful teams possess and until they find it, they will continue to struggle.

FINAL: LAFC defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 5-0.

UP NEXT: The next match for the Quakes will take place at Avaya Stadium on Saturday, April 6th versus the Portland Timbers.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: With five games remaining, DeBoer says Sharks have time

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Photo credit: @theScore

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The Sharks come into tonight’s game against the Vegas Knights with a seven-game skid and the odds of winning their next five games straight are a long shot.

#2 The Sharks have injuries with Joe Pavelski and Erik Karlsson, who the team are still measuring when they’ll return. Without them, the climb out of the hole is going to be a lot tougher.

#3 Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer says the team has time, but playing from behind every night is something you can’t do and try to finish strong in the regular season.

#4 The Sharks host the Western Conference Champions Vegas Golden Knights (42-29-6) tonight. The Knights are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday night.

#5 We asked Len if the recent skid is a matter of being snake bitten or there are seen and unseen problems with the team.

Len Shapiro is a former California Golden Seals media relations manager the Seals were the Bay Area’s first NHL team. Len can be heard each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Canes stop postgame celebrations, Wild skate past Knights in 3-2 win; Yotes drop three points behind Avs; plus more

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smirfitts.com file photo: The Carolina Hurricanes propose to stop celebrations like these after getting criticism from other teams saying “it’s not professional”

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Carolina Hurricanes have put an end to the postgame celebrations called the “Storm Surge.” They also will not bring it back in the event they were to get into postseason. Was there a behind the doors nudge by the league or someone that said these kind of celebrations had to stop?

#2 The Minnesota Wild got a one-goal win over the Vegas Golden Knights, a team Matt will be seeing tonight. Devan Dubnyk stopped 32 shots for the Wild. The Knights, even though they lost Friday night’s game, clinched because the Arizona Coyotes lost their game.

#3 Speaking of the Arizona Coyotes, they dropped a shootout when the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon’s goal was the gamer. The Avs move close to a wild card spot with the win.

#4 The Nashville Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne stood on his head for 60 minutes, stopping 42 Pittsburgh Penguin shots. Rinne was closing in on his fifth season shutout until the Pens’ Nick Bjugstad scored with 1:03 remaining in the game.

#5 The Detroit Red Wings got a 4-0 shutout over the New Jersey Devils. The Wings used two goalies for the shutout: Jonathan Bernier and Jimmy Howard.

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

Another loss drops Giants to 0-2

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

If it was not for an Evan Longoria home run in the top of the ninth inning, the San Francisco Giants would have turned something that never was accomplished in the 137-year history of the team.

Longoria’s home run in the top of the ninth inning stopped the chance of the San Diego Padres of shutting out the Giants in the first two games of a season

The Padres jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Giants in the bottom of the second inning, as Manuel Margot doubled in Eric Hosmer and Fernando Tatis, Jr., and the Padres defeated the Giants 4-1 at Petco Park, in a game that ended with some controversy.

Following the Longoria home run off of reliever Phil Maton, Padres manager Andy Green turned the game over to his closer Tyler Yates; however, the Giants were not phased the closer.

After Brandon Crawford grounded out for the first out of the inning, the Giants began to flex their muscles against Yates, as Joe Panik singled to center, then Stephen Duggar walked and then Eric Kratz was hit by a Yates pitch and then the controversy began.

Gerardo Parra struck out looking on what looked like a pitch out of the strike zone, much to the dismay of Parra and Brandon Belt struck out looking on a high pitch that home plate umpire Lance Barksdale called strike three to end the game that upset Belt.

As Barksdale left the field, he felt the barrage from Belt, Parra and even Bruce Bochy, but to no avail and the Giants dropped their second game in as many days to open the season.

Ian Kinsler stretched the Padres lead up to 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning, as he hit his first home run of the season and also first as a member of the Padres, when his 354 foot blast landed in the left field seats against Giants starter Derek Holland, who was making his season debut.

The Padres got their final run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Franmil Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to score Thursday’s hero Will Myers from third base.

Myers doubled to right field off of Trevor Gott, but Kinsler was thrown out at the plate for the first out of the inning that denied Myers another run batted in against the Giants in the first two games of the season.

Newly signed Manny Machado then singled to left field, but Myers was held at third base and then Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to lengthen the lead.

Holland pitched four innings, allowing three runs on four hits, while walking two and struck out five.

Joey Luchessi went 5.1 innings, allowing just three hits, walking two and striking out seven in his season debut.

NOTES: Prior to the game, catcher Tom Murphy was traded by the Giants to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for minor league reliever Jesus Ozoria. In his first seasons as a professional, Ozoria is 5-5 with a 3.31 ERA, walking just 14 and striking out 73 in 20 games with 10 of them in starting roles.

Murphy played in one exhibition game with the Giants after being acquired by the organization from the Colorado Rockies on Monday. He was then designed for assignment by the team on Thursday, when the team began their season.

UP NEXT: Dereck Rodriguez will make his 2019 season debut, as he takes the mound on Saturday night, while the Padres will send Nick Margevicius, who will be making his major league debut.

A’s Pen Blows Lead, Halos Rally in Eighth to Beat Oakland 6-2

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

The strength of the 2018 Oakland A’s was a weakness Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum, with the A’s bullpen blowing a two-run lead after seven innings. Joakim Soria surrendered four runs in the eighth to pick up the loss in a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels. 

Marco Estrada pitched a gem, going six innings while scattering two hits and Khris Davis hit a two-run homer, but the rally punctuated by Andrelton Sinmons’ two-run single proved the difference. Mike Trout also doubled in two runs in the Angels’ first win of 2019.

Estrada and Halos starter Matt Harvey dueled to five scoreless innings each, but Davis tagged Harvey for a two-run jack in the sixth to give the A’s the lead. Enter the lockdown pen.

Lou Trivino picked up a hold after a clean 7th but offseason acquisition Soria entered in the eighth and found himself in hot water instantly. Former Athletic Jonathan Lucroy and Brian Goodwin singled back-to-back to open the inning, then Kole Calhoun doubled in Lucroy.

Soria  (0-2, 22.50 ERA) walked Trout to load the bases before departing the game for Ryan Buchter. Buchter walked Justin Bour to tie the game, giving way to Liam Hendriks. Hendriks coughed up Simmons’ two-run single before collecting all three outs of the inning.

Fernando Rodney but gave up three singles and got a double play in the first few batters he faced. Then Trout tagged him for a two-run double and a 6-2 Halos lead. Cody Allen finished the game off for the Halos pen after winning pitcher Hansel Robles (1-0, 0.00) and Ty Buttery pitched scoreless frames. 

Brett Anderson takes the hill for the A’s Sunday looking to pick up the second win of the season for the Green and Gold after also dropping two games in the Tokyo Dome to the Mariners earlier in the month. The Angels will send Felix Pena to the mound.