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A’s to open road trip with 3-game series against Orioles starting Tuesday

Published on September 10, 2018September 10, 2018 by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics photo: A’s players wearing their favorite football jerseys as they board the plane to Baltimore, Md.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s start a six-game road trip against the Baltimore Orioles starting Tuesday. One of the problems that these teams may have is the weather. The forecast is as follows: Tuesday (thunderstorms) along with Wednesday and Thursday (scattered thunderstorms; Hurricane Florence). Hopefully, they will be able to play.

If the games are played, the A’s will be facing a Baltimore Oriole team that has the worst record in the AL. O’s manager Buck Showalter probably will be gone after the season as the team will be in rebuild mode. They traded Manny Machado to the Dodgers. Machado will be a free agent at the end of the season, and he will be getting a contract that will take care of him and his family for years. Jonathan Schoop has been traded to the Brewers. Ace reliever, Zach Britton, is now a Yankee. Kevin Gausman is now in Atlanta. Former A’s players Danny Valencia and Craig Gentry did not produce and are currently unemployed. Chris Tillman, who was once the O’s best starter, had a dismal season and was released on July 25th.

The O’s own a 41-102 record and are languishing in the basement of the AL East. They still have Adam Jones, but not much else. Slugging first baseman Chris Davis (not to be confused with the A’s DH Khris Davis) is having a terrible year. His batting average is a .177 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs on his tally sheet. The rest of the players with the exceptions of catcher Caleb Joseph, second baseman Jonathan Villar, and outfielder Trey Mancini are either young players or fill-ins. The veteran, Mark Trumbo, who is the O’s DH, is out for the season following knee surgery.

The A’s are rolling and would love to sweep the O’s. They travel to Florida to play the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. The weather won’t be a problem there as their games are played in a dome.

If the games are played in Baltimore, Mike Fiers will pitch Tuesday night. Fiers is 11-6 overall and 4-0 since coming to the A’s. His opponent will be Alex Cobb. Cobb got off to a terrible start with Baltimore after signing a free agent deal this year. Cobb has been pitching better in the second half. The A’s have not announced their starters for Wednesday and Thursday. Lefty Brett Anderson is due to come off the DL, and he may be available. A’s manager Bob Melvin might have to have two bullpen games if he can’t find a starter.

The A’s swept the three games from Baltimore when they played in Oakland on May 4th, 5th, and sixth. The A’s are just 2 1/2 games behind the AL West division-leading Houston Astros for first place and 2 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees for the first Wild Card spot.

After the two series on the road, the A’s play three with Minnesota and three with the LA Angels. They finish the season on the road with three against the Seattle Mariners and the last three of the year with the Angels.

What can we learn about SJSU following Pac-12 laugher against WSU?

Published on September 10, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — As you should already know, the San Jose State Spartans had a rough road test against the Washington State Cougars, who blanked the visiting team 31-0 inside Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash.

SJSU, however, may endure a more severe beating this Saturday, September 15 by the No. 20 Oregon Ducks. This will be yet another Pac-12 opponent for the Spartans. The Spartans have already suffered a loss to the Cougars. Plus the Ducks come into Saturday’s game 2-0 with wins over the Portland State Vikings and Bowling Green Falcons. The Spartans enter Saturday’s game with an opposite record of 0-2.

I know I’ve predicted that SJSU will win five games this season, but there’s only so many losses the Spartans could suffer before deciding not to give a darn. Last year’s 2-11 (1-7 MW) record can speak for itself, but it’s 2018 and the Spartans must get at least three wins or else. I spoke to some Spartan fans and all of them told me the offense has to do something this coming Saturday.

So what can we learn about SJSU following their Pac-12 laugher against WSU? Scroll down for the latest with Spartans head coach Brent Brennan.

What can you say about the Spartans’ vanishing offense?
“Well, I hope I could make it un-vanish,” Brennan said. “That was us playing a group in Washington State. They did a great job mixing up the pressure. They did a great job mixing up the movement with the offensive line and the defensive line. Their moves gave us problems all day that gave us some penalties. … I think we’re working hard to put the finishes touches on the offensive line. … Hopefully, this will give us a better chance if we continue to go up from here.”

The Spartans won the turnover battle, came up with three interceptions and only gave the ball away once on a fourth-quarter interception. What else did they need in order to win?
“Well, I think we need to continue to re-define what our effort looks like on both sides of the football,” Brennan said. “I thought the thing that needs to make another really important push for us is just our effectiveness on third down. That has to change. And then we got to find a way to run around the football. That has been hit-or-miss, as we certainly struggled with that a week ago. But we need to find a way to move the football, and if we don’t, it’s going to be a long day.”

The Spartans’ offensive line had a rough night with penalties and pass protection at Washington State. Will Montel Aaron get help on the offense against Oregon?
“Well, I sure hope he does,” Brennan said. “That’s why we practice. Obviously, there were some things we weren’t getting. Washington State did a nice job making it hard on our o-line. … I really believe in coach (Kevin) McGiven and coach (Joe) Bernardi. Bernardi does a great job and he’s going to get those guys running. … If they continue to play together and continue to get some chemistry when they’re up there, I think we’ll get results.”

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Schoop is all the poop as Brew Crew take down Giants 6-3 with both benches emptying

Published on September 10, 2018September 10, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner walks towards Milwaukee Brewers hitter Ryan Braun (8) who in turn steps towards Bumgarner’s direction only to be intercepted by Giants catcher (5) Nick Hundley Sunday afternoon at Miller Park in Milwaukee

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 In a heated battle, the San Francisco Giants lost their eighth straight game to the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-run loss at Miller Park on Sunday afternoon. The game didn’t go without some frustrations. The Brewers’ Ryan Braun at the plate. Giants starter Madison Bumgarner threw his first serving to Braun high and up that backed Braun off the plate. The second pitch up and high, and the third one hit Braun in the elbow as Braun was walking up the first base line he was jawing with Bumgarner, which brought out both dugouts.

#2 Brewers manager Craig Counsell came out to argue with plate umpire Tom Hallion. who had just warned both benches. Counsell argued that Hallion should have tossed Bumgarner and that the Brewers didn’t do anything to precipitate Bumgarner to throw at Braun.

#3 The Brewers’ Jonathan Schoop hit a grand slam home run to help the Brewers get a three run lead. The Giants, who ended the six-game road trip Sunday, went 0-6, and if that wasn’t tough enough, they come back to San Francisco to host the first-place Atlanta Braves.

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

49ers Lose to Vikings 24-16; Fail Season Opening Test

Published on September 10, 2018September 10, 2018 by joelamiLeave a comment

Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

Jimmy Garoppolo is no longer undefeated as a starter in the NFL, as the Minnesota Vikings outlasted the Niners 24-16.

Injuries, missed opportunities, bad timing, and turnovers from the 49ers assisted Kirk Cousins in his Viking’s debut. Minnesota’s new quarterback went 20-of-35 for 244 yards and two touchdowns.

He found success with Minnesota’s most dangerous targets, Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook with each of them bringing down six catches. Thielen finished the day with 201 yards receiving, while Cook had 55 yards catching out of the backfield

Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph each caught a touchdown. ‘

The 49ers are prepared to go into scramble mode thanks to injuries with several key pieces going down, including Marquise Goodwin, Joshua Garnett, and Mike Person.

Person and Garnett both went down with foot injuries, while Garnett’s appeared to be extremely serious needing a cart to assist him off the field from a non-contact play.

Goodwin attempted to return from his quad injury for the entirety of the game, as he was seen jogging and warming up on the sideline numerous times. Fortunately, the injury to Garcon seems to be the least severe of the three.

The Niners also missed opportunities the entire game. Pierre Garcon and George Kittle both had critical drops that would’ve led to touchdowns. Garcon was in the end zone, while Kittle’s was on a deep ball down the left sideline.

The drop ended up costing the Niners immediately, as Garoppolo threw his first of three interceptions. Rookie, Mike Hughes will remember his first interception for a long time, making a great play on the ball and jumping a Kenrick Bourne route for a pick 6 extending Minnesota’s lead to 17-3.

Earlier in the game, the Niners put together an eight-minute drive but once again the red zone offense completely shut down, eventually fumbling the ball on the one and giving the Vikings all of the momentum.

Despite everything that went wrong for the 49ers, they still hung in there until the very end. That is until Garoppolo started throwing interceptions, marking the first time in his career he’s thrown three in the same game. It just also happens to be his first loss as a starter.

San Francisco did have a few bright spots in all of the darkness. Tight end, George Kittle had five catches for 90 yards, though he’ll be remembered in this one for the wide-open drop.

Deforest Buckner appears to be an absolute beast in the pass rush. He was able to get to Cousin’s 2.5 times for sacks while recording 3 tackles for loss and seven total tackles.

Third round draft pick, Fred Warner not only was named a starter, but the linebacker was incredible. Having one of the best games out of any rookie, Warner started hot for the 49ers. In the first 20 minutes of the game, he recorded seven tackles and a forced fumble that Richard Sherman eventually fell on. He finished with 12 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble.

Sunday was a great measuring stick for the 49ers. Going up against one of the best defenses in the league and a team that made it to the conference championship game last year proves what this team is all about.

Kyle Shanahan was not kidding when he said that this team can go out and have a legit chance to win any game they play this season. We’ll see if they can finally strike gold at Levi’s next Sunday against the Lions at 1:05 pm PDT.

Melvin puts his bullpen on speed dial in A’s 7-3 come-from-behind win over the Rangers

Published on September 9, 2018September 10, 2018 by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — The first sign of something gone horribly wrong was actually the precursor to things going smoothly as usual at the Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

A’s starter Trevor Cahill–undefeated (5-0) and extraordinarly comfortable pitching at the Coliseum–couldn’t find the strike zone, walking the first three batters he faced on just 14 pitches. After escaping a first inning disaster, Cahill was done before the end of three innings, trailing 3-0, having walked six of the 14 batters he faced, and doing so in an perversely economical 53 pitches.

“I don’t think the stuff was bad, just the command of it was not so good,” said manager Bob Melvin of Cahill’s rocky start.

But after Cahill departed, the Oakland bullpen kicked in as did the bats in a five-run, fifth inning that highlighted the A’s 7-3 win. Minus Cahill, the now familiar formula involving late offense and sting relief pitching rang true again. Are these A’s as hot as your grandmother’s A’s? Apparently so, they’ve won 53 of 74, the hottest the club has been in the last 20 years over a stretch that long.

When you’re this hot, and have this many buttons to push, a Cahill dud is quickly absorbed. And while Melvin acknowledges his club has way more answers than questions these days, it’s something that demands a discerning eye at all times.

“We were getting deeper contributions from the starters there for a while,” Melvin said. “Right now, maybe not so much, and we’re having to cover a lot of the game, but my feeling is that they’ll respond and they’ll start going deeper in games so we can cut down on the amount of relief we use.”

That Oakland resourcefulness kicked over to the offense in the fifth, when the A’s did a little of this, and took a little of that in fashioning their five-run explosion. Matt Olson and Ramon Laureno provided the explosiveness with a double each, Nick Martini’s infield hit scored a run, and then a second when Roughned Odor threw the ball away. Three other batters walked, including Matt Joyce to load the bases with two outs, and the Rangers contributed as well with Odor’s error and Ariel Jurado’s wild pitch.

The one you probably don’t focus on is the Joyce at-bat. And that ended up probably being the biggest at-bat of the inning to load the bases with two outs. If he makes an out, the inning’s over,” Melvin recounted. “A lot of guys contributed today, but Matt Joyce’s at-bat was huge.”

Like the A’s have done in recent weeks, the Rangers employed the featured reliever approach with Jurado as the guy scheduled to get the first and lengthiest relief stint. But this time, the strategy imploded as the A’s took off when Jurado entered. The A’s weren’t expecting Cahill to pitch so poorly, but Melvin quickly turned to his bullpen with seven guys making appearances after the starter departed.

The A’s have used 23 different relievers this season, and with the addition of Ryan Dull to the active roster before Sunday’s game, Melvin has 15 at his disposal currently. Blake Treinen remains the unquestioned star of relief, his one-inning stint closed Sunday’s contest, and the closer lowered his ERA to a Major League best 0.87.

Both the Yankees and Astros lost on Sunday, bringing the A’s within 2 1/2 games of both teams in their quest to host one or more playoff games.

“I think getting a home game here is very important,” said Stephen Piscotty, who homered in the seventh to provide insurance. “Get a playoff game in the Coliseum with our rowdy fans. I think that gives us a definite advantage.”

Schoop’s grand slam send Giants to their eighth straight loss 6-3

Published on September 9, 2018September 9, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @CarlDeff

By Jeremy Kahn

Jonathan Schoop came up with the biggest hit of the day when the Milwaukee Brewers needed it the most.

Schoop hit a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning that gave the Brewers the lead for good on their way to a 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park on Sunday afternoon.

The win by the Brewers helped them sweep the Giants, who went 0-6 on the road trip and have lost eight games in a row overall.

Madison Bumgarner allowed the grand slam to Schoop just after Bumgarner hit Ryan Braun in the back that forced the Brewers players to come out of the dugout and led to the ejection of manager Craig Counsell by home plate umpire Tom Hallion.

It was a bit of sweet redemption for Schoop, who struck out in his first at-bats against Bumgarner and then in the bottom of the sixth, he launched a Bumgarner pitch over the wall to give the Brewers a 5-2. This was the fourth home run for Schoop as a member of the Brewers since July 31 from the Baltimore Orioles.

Bumgarner was looking for the Giants, as he was cruising into the sixth inning and the Giants led 2-1. Braun doubled off Bumgarner in the first inning that scored a run, but he then retired the next 15 batters before he gave up a walk to Christian Yelich with two outs in that fateful sixth inning.

After the Yelich walk, Bumgarner gave up a single to Jesus Aguilar, which allowed Braun to come to the plate. The first pitch to Braun was inside, and then Bumgarner threw another pitch inside that ended with a stare down between the two. Bumgarner then hit Braun to load the bases, and brought the Brewers players out of the dugout, and eventually led to the ejection of Counsell, who was upset that there was no warning given to Bumgarner.

With the victory, the Brewers were able to maintain their 2.5 game for the top wild card spot over the St. Louis Cardinals, who defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-2 at Comerica Park.

The eight straight losses for the Giants is a season-high, as they cut the Brewers lead down to two in the top of the eighth inning, as Austin Slater hit an RBI triple; however, Schoop put the finishing touches on the game, as he drove in a run with a Fielders’ Choice in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Bumgarner ended up going six innings, allowing five runs on six hits, walking just one and striking out four.

Gregor Blanco gave the Giants a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly off of Brewers starter Zach Davies, who was not involved in the decision. Corbin Burnes picked up his fourth win of the season, as he struck out two of the four batters that he faced and Corey Knuble went 1.1 innings of perfect ball to nail down his 15th save in 18 opportunities.

Blanco gave the Giants an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as he hit a Davies pitch over the right field wall for his second home run of the season.

NOTES: Ryder Jones started at first base for Brandon Belt, who was scratched from the game with a sore right knee on Saturday night came on in the top of the fifth inning, to replace Jones, who was forced to leave the game with a dislocated knee after he fouled off a pitch.

UP NEXT: The Giants will return home to host the Atlanta Braves for a three-game series starting Monday night at 7:15 pm PDT.

Dereck Rodriguez will take to the AT&T Park mound on Monday, as he looks to stop to the bleeding of this eight-game losing streak against the National League East leading Atlanta Braves, who will send Sean Newcomb to the mound.

NCAAF podcast with Michelle Richardson: Arizona State gets last second field goal to edge Michigan State; Stanford wins shocker over USC 17-3; plus more

Published on September 9, 2018September 9, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @richardbera

On the NCAAF podcast with Michelle:

#1 Arizona State gets a last second field goal to defeat Michigan State 16-13 in a defensive game.

#2 How shocking was Stanford’s (#10) win over (#17) the USC Trojans 17-3? The Trojans got 332 yards of offense, but only scored one field goal.

#3 No. 2 Clemson got a nail-biter against Texas A&M. A&M did score with less than a minute left in the game, but Clemson held on for a 28-26 win.

NCAAF podcast with Michelle is heard every Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Three takeaways from Stanford vs. USC

Published on September 9, 2018September 9, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By: Ana Kieu

The Stanford Cardinal downed the USC Trojans by a final score of 17-3 at Stanford Stadium on Saturday night. The majority of folks believed that these two teams would’ve fought each other until the very end, but that wasn’t the case, as Stanford took an early lead and never looked back. USC’s lone score came in the middle of the third quarter on Chase McGrath’s 35-yard field goal to reduce the deficit to 14-3, but the Trojans were unable to mount a comeback on the road.

With the win, the Cardinal climbed its way back to No. 9 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll. Not only that, freshman offensive center Branson Bragg tweeted a shoutout to his current team and wrote, “I chose the right place to spend the next 4-5 years of my life.” In case you need a refresher, Bragg is a four-star center from Texas who committed to Stanford this summer. The Cardinal also chose the right center to be a great blocker up front.

Here are three takeaways from Stanford vs. USC. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

3. The early bird gets the worm
As I’ve mentioned in the introduction, Stanford took an early lead and never looked back.

Prior to the game, @gostanfordnotes tweeted that Stanford has won 18 of its last 21 games when scoring first. After the game, @gostanfordnotes tweeted that Stanford has won 19 of its last 22 games when scoring first. Do you see a pattern here?

Trojans quarterback JT Daniels was arguably the more talented quarterback coming into Saturday’s game, but the Cardinal tormented Daniels for most of the night. It’s obvious that Daniels needs help from the his backfield.

This was the first time the Cardinal held the Trojans under 10 points since 1992 when the Cardinal prevailed over the No. 11 Trojans in a 23-9 rout under head coach Bill Walsh.

2. The Bryce Love factor
Cardinal running back Bryce Love had himself a night with 136 rushing yards and 1 touchdown–a 6-yard rushing touchdown–that gave his team a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter to kick off the rivalry matchup. Love also averaged more than 6 yards per carry versus the Trojans.

Love, a front-runner in the Heisman Trophy race, bounced back after a dismal start in the Cardinal’s season opener against the San Diego State Aztecs. Love rushed for just 29 yards in the opener.

Love may not be the ideal size as he stands at 5-foot-11 and weighs 202 lbs, but his explosiveness and visions likely will make him one of the first-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft.

1. The dominant Cardinal defense
The Cardinal defense stifled the Trojans in the 17-3 rout on Saturday. Every time the Trojans terrorized, the Cardinal defense responded in a big way. Moreover, the Cardinal defense to less than three points in this series since a 13-0 shutout at the Coliseum in 1941.

If you need a refresher, you catch watch the video below.

The defense fired on all cylinders last night.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/nY6LvfhCdJ

— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) September 9, 2018

The Cardinal will host the UC Davis Aggies on Saturday, September 15 at 11:00 am PDT on Pac-12 Network.

Three takeaways from SJSU at Washington State

Published on September 9, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

In case you missed it, the San Jose State Spartans were shutout by the Washington Cougars 31-0. Okay, you didn’t miss much, unless if you were a Cougar fan. But seriously, the Spartan fans deserve better; and it doesn’t even have to be a pretty Cinderella story. It just has to be more than two wins this season.

Here are three takeaways from SJSU at WSU. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

3. Vanishing offense
If you follow SJSU, you should already know that the Spartan defense was there. Inside linebacker Jesse Osuna was one of the few bright spots for the Spartans, as he led their defense with 7 tackles and 1 interception at the half.

But where was the Spartan offense? That’s a question that may never receive a concrete answer. The offense was nowhere to be found in the first half and it certainly didn’t show signs of life in the second half. Moreover, quarterback Montel Aaron looked nervous during parts of the game and threw off his back foot countless times. Aaron just didn’t look like he was able to handle the inevitable pressure.

2. Lack of yards from scrimmage
The Spartans had just 109 total yards, as opposed to the Cougars’ 544 total yards. For the Spartans, 9 of those 109 yards were rushing. For the Cougars, 124 of those 544 yards were rushing. Those were major differences among the two teams, and SJSU has nowhere to go but onward.

1. No power of interceptions
The Spartans caught three interceptions, but were unable to capitalize on any of them. Sure, it was awesome freshman linebacker Kyle Harmon came away with an interception for his first career interception and third interception of the game, but the Freedom High School alum was unable to capitalize on it.

SJSU will take on No. 15 Oregon on Saturday, September 15 at 2:00 pm PDT on the Pac-12 Network along with KLIV 1590 AM and KSJS 90.5 FM.