Hernandez saves the day with a walkoff; Giants shutout the D-Backs 1-0

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — When the San Francisco Giants needed the biggest hit of the game, they turned to the spark plug of the first half, Gorkys Hernandez.

After sitting on the bench for eight and a half innings, Hernandez hit a single to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Giants defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 before a crowd of 37,276 at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.

With the victory, the Giants are now six games behind the D-Backs, who are now with the Colorado Rockies atop the National League West, while the reigning National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers are a game behind.

This was the first walk-off hit of Hernandez’s career, as the Giants have won four in a row and six out of their last nine since being swept by the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark from August 17-19.

As for the first-place D-Backs, this was their fourth loss in their last five games and it was seventh time this season that they have been shutout.

The Giants have held the D-Backs scoreless over the past 23 innings, as the D-Backs last scored in the bottom of the fifth inning of the series finale on August 5.

Steven Duggar came up huge on both the offensive and the defensive sides of the diamond in the shutout win for the Giants.

After Austin Slater grounded out for the first out of the inning, Duggar drew a walk against losing pitcher Brad Ziegler. Then Nick Hundley singled to left field, and Duggar rounded second and was heading to third before putting on the breaks and slid back into second.

It was on that play where Duggar slid into second that showed everyone why the Giants called him up to be their everyday center fielder, as he jammed his shoulder into the ground and after stretching for the training staff, Bruce Bochy and others, Duggar did a few stretches and stayed in the game. Alen Hanson was announced as a pinch hitter, but Torey Lovullo countered with left-hander Jake Diekman and Hernandez was called onto pinch-hit and he came up with the biggest hit of the night to win the game for the Giants.

Duggar came up huge on defense in the top of the eighth inning, as he cut off a ball hit by David Peralta, threw to Brandon Crawford, who in turn, threw to Hundley to get Nick Ahmed at the plate after he went through the stop sign of third base coach Tony Perezchica.

Madison Bumgarner was sharp once again, as he went seven innings, allowing just four hits, walking four and striking out five, as he did not fare in the decision.

Bumgarner got into jams in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but it was vintage Bumgarner and he got out of all the jams unscathed.

Ketel Marte led off the top of the fifth inning with a double, but then Bumgarner regrouped to get Jeff Mathis and Clay Buchholz, but then John Jay walked and then A.J. Pollock flew out to Duggar in center for the final out of the inning.

Things got real dicey in the top of the sixth inning, as Bumgarner gave up a base hit to Paul Goldschmidt off the left field wall that kept Goldschmidt at first base and then walked Eduardo Escobar. Bumgarner got Steven Souza for the first out, but then Ahmed singled to load the bases.

Evan Longoria made a heads up on a Marte hit ball, as he threw to Hundley for the second out of the inning and the inning nearly came out of control, as Brandon Belt snared the Hundley throw before it went into the outfield to give the D-Backs the lead. Bumgarner then got out of the jam, as he got Mathis to fly out to Duggar to end the inning.

Once again, things got a little hairy in the top of the seventh inning, as Bumgarner fanned Buchholz for the second time, but then Slater lost the ball in the lights for a three-base error that allowed Jay to get to third base. Pollock then walked, but Goldschmidt, who just feasts on Giants pitching, was not able to get the run across, as he popped out to Joe Panik for the second out of the inning and then Escobar grounded out to Panik to end the seventh inning and yet another escape for the Giants and Bumgarner.

Buchholz also went seven innings, allowing just five hits, walking two and striking out three, as like Bumgarner, he did not fare in the decision.

It was a tough start to the night for Panik, as he grounded into a double play just moments after it looked like Andrew McCutchen stole second base in the bottom of the first inning, but Panik fouled the Buchholz pitch back to the screen.

Two innings later, Panik hit a ball to centerfield that sent McCutchen to third base and it looked like Panik got into second safely; however, Lovullo challenged the call and after a nearly two-minute review, the call was reversed and Panik was called out to end the inning.

NOTES: This was the Giants’ 12th shutout of the season, and their sixth at home.

It was the third time this season that they have shutout their opponents in back-to-back games, as they shutout the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first two games of the season, then the Philadelphia Phillies on June 1-2 and now the D-Backs.

This was the ninth walk-off win of the season for the Giants, and the first since Buster Posey singled in the bottom of the 13th inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs on July 11.

UP NEXT: The Giants and D-Backs close out their series with a Wednesday night finale at 7:15 pm PDT.

Dereck Rodriguez looks for his seventh win of the season on Wednesday night, as he takes the hill in the series and season finale against the D-Backs, who will send 13-game winner Zack Godley to the mound.

A’s snap the Astros’ six-game win streak with 4-3 victory

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s beat the Houston Astros 4-3 at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday night. The A’s snapped the Astros’ six-game winning streak and with the win, moved just 1 1/2 games behind the Astros for first-place in the AL West.

The A’s sent Edwin Jackson to do the pitching. Jackson gave up a run in the bottom of the second. Astros’ All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa singled leading off to get things going. Correa advanced to second on a passed ball. Marwyn Gonzalez groundout to first and that allowed Correa to go to third. Astros’ first baseman big Tyler White also grounded out, and Correa scored on the play. The Astros led 1-0 after two complete.

The A’s put three runs on the board in the top of the third. With two out, Astros’ starter Charlie Morton walked Jed Lowrie. He then hit Khris Davis with a pitch to put two men on with two out. A’s first baseman Matt Olson blasted his 24th home run of the year off the facade of the second deck in right field.

The Astros tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. The Astros loaded the bases with two out. A’s manager Bob Melvin left Jackson in to face Alex Bregman. Bregman doubled down the left field line to drive in two, and the game was tied at three apiece.

The game was now a contest between the two bullpens. Shawn Kelly got the final out of the fifth, and he pitched a scoreless sixth as well. Fernando Rodney and Jeurys Familia held the Astros scoreless in the seventh and eighth. The Astros ‘pen did the same to the A’s until the top of the ninth. Astros closer Roberto Osuna struck out Marcus Semien for the first out of the ninth. Ramon Laureano worked Osuna for a walk. Jonathan Lucroy singled to men on at first and second. Left Fielder Nick Martini doubled to deep right-center field. Laureano scored. Lucroy would have scored, but the ball bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double. Osuna retired Matt Chapman and Jed Lowrie to end the threat.

Blake Treinen pitched the ninth for the A’s. Treinen set the Astros down 1-2-3 to secure the A’s 4-3 win.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 80-53, and the Astros are now 81-53.

Jeurys Familia was the winning pitcher, and Roberto Osuna took the loss.

The A’s announced the Brett Anderson was being placed on the 10-day DL due to a forearm strain in his left arm. His teammate, Sean Manaea, also went on the DL with rotator cuff tendinitis in his left shoulder. He went to an orthopedic doctor in LA for a second opinion. It is not known when he will return to action. The A’s recalled Ryan Dull from Nashville to take his spot on the roster.

The A’s announced that Frankie Montas will face Seattle Thursday night. Mike Fiers will pitch on Friday, and Daniel Mengden will start on Saturday.

Up Next: The A’s and Astros conclude their series Wednesday at 11:10 am PDT.

Trevor Cahill (5-3, 3.44 ERA) will start for the A’s Wednesday, and the Astros’ Dallas Keuchal will be his opponent. Cahill has not pitched well on the road this year, and the A’s are hoping for a reversal of fortune.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Astros’ rally boots A’s out of the park 11-4; Pale Hose gets season-high fourth consecutive win over Yanks; plus more

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On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Houston Astros got seven hits and three consecutive doubles off A’s starter Brett Anderson. A’s relievers Lou Trivino and Emilio Pagan gave up three home runs in the 11-4 win. Are the Astros back?

#2 The White Sox are red-hot. Well, at least for now. They just matched their season-high for consecutive wins with four straight and got pitching help from Carlos Rodon, who had 18 pitches and five for strikes. The Yankees have been struggling at the plate as they lost to the Sox.

#3 Anthony Rizzo had a night for the Cubs with a home run and hitting his 1,000th career double. The Cubs’ Ben Zobrist got a go-ahead double as the Cubs defeated the New York Mets 7-4 at Wrigley Field.

#4 Turning to football since it’s the last week of preseason football. The NFL has a strict rule they already enforced several times during this preseason about lowering the helmet. The lowering of the helmet is considered a weapon in the NFL and players who lower their helmets will get hit with a 15-yard penalty and up to a suspension and fines.

#5 Jemele Hill, a former ESPN host from the talk show His and Hers, was fired and got a buyout from reports up to $6 million and is not allowed to talk about the buyout. Hill had talked about President Trump, racism, and political issues on her Twitter account and was told by ESPN not speak about politics. Hill was suspended once and then a second time after talking politics again. ESPN said that on-air talent will stick to talking sports and leave politics out of it.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Last preseason game Thursday–what will the 49ers be looking for?; plus Kaepernick’s copyright phrase “I’m with Kap”

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On the 49ers podcast with David:

Here it is the final and last week of camp and the 49ers host the LA Chargers Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium. What are the expectations of this final preseason game?

Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has copyrighted the trademark phrase, “I’m with Kap.” The phrase has appeared on T-shirts and clothing items. With the copyright, Kaepernick could make a hefty income. Kaepernick had already donated $1 million to nonprofits and charities.

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Playing Spoiler: Giants, Stratton make life difficult for the Diamondbacks in 2-0 shutout

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Chris Stratton’s storyline ran hot in April, May and the first half of June, and just that quickly, times changed.

Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez raised their profiles and became the story, Stratton didn’t pitch as well, and with the 28-year old showing wear and tear, the Giants pushed the reset button.

Stratton was demoted on August 3rd and of course, in San Francisco and other major league outposts, we didn’t hear much else. But Stratton’s story and his breakout season wasn’t quite finished.

The Diamondbacks got introduced to Stratton a year ago. On Monday, the NL West leaders and the crowd at AT&T Park were reintroduced to the Giants’ first round pick in the 2012 draft with his eye-catching display.

In his best start of the season, Stratton shut down the D-Backs, going in eight innings in a 2-0 Giants’ win. It marked Stratton’s ninth win of the year, and the lengthiest outing of his big league career.

“He was really good,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Stratton. “Really good with his command and all his pitches: curveball, slider, change, really spotted his fastball well, and we needed it, their guy threw well.”

Of all the statements made about Stratton Monday, the fact that his performance rivaled Arizona starter Patrick Corbin’s outing spoke volumes. Corbin was dominant, shutting down the Giants without a peep outside of the 3-1 pitch thrown to Steven Duggar in the second inning that exited the park in a hurry.

“It might have been off the plate, but a really good swing there to put some runs on,” Corbin said. “It was still early in the game there (and) it felt like just put up some zeros and just tonight their guy pitched a little better than me.”

Outside of that pitch, Corbin allowed three other hits, struck out nine and walked one in seven innings. And whike it felt as if Arizona would support Corbin’s brilliance, it never happened. The D-Backs went quietly, managing just a pair of ninth inning walks after John Jay tripled with two outs in the fifth.

The Giants and D-Backs continue their series Wednesday night at 7:15 pm PDT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: Giants get third consecutive win, beat first place D-Backs to start the home cooking 2-0

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On the Giants podcast with Michael and Morris:

On the homestand, the San Francisco Giants took two out of three from the Texas Rangers and entertained the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are in first place as they come into town a game ahead of Colorado and 2 1/2 ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The one thing the Diamondbacks didn’t expect was to get shutout by Giants starter Chris Stratton Monday night.

The Giants rested a few regulars Monday night in anticipation of facing the Dodgers this weekend, but Stratton was in control. He pitched great going eight innings, five hits, no runs, no walks and six strikeouts. Three straight wins for the Giants having been more than four games under.

Catch Michael and Morris on the Giants podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Astros win their sixth in a row as they trounce the A’s 11-4

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Houston Astros, who had struggled when they had three All-Stars on the DL, pounded the Oakland A’s at Minute Maid Park on Monday night by a score of 11-4. Jose Altuve, George Springer, and Carlos Correa, are all back in the Astros’ lineup and they showed the A’s why they are the defending World Series champions.

The A’s scored two in the second and two in the third on the strength of a two-run Marcus Semien blast in the second and a two-run Matt Chapman big fly in the third to lead 4-0 halfway through the third.

The Astros put five on the board in the bottom of the third. With one out, Martin Maldonado singled to start the rally. The Astros then hit three consecutive doubles to close the gap to 4-3. George Springer, Alex Bregman, and Jose Altuve all doubled. Marwyn Gonzalez singled to drive in Altuve with the fourth run of the frame. Gonzalez advanced to second on the throw home and he scored on Tyler White’s single to put the Astros ahead 5-4.

Neither team was able to put any runs on the board until the bottom of the eighth. Houston scored six times in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach. Rookie Lou Trivino gave up a single to Josh Reddick. Reddick went to third on Nick Martini’s fielding error. Trivino retired Maldonado for the first out, but walked Springer. Bregman homered to up the lead to 8-4. Altuve walked and that ended the night for Trivino.

A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Emilio Pagan to pitch. Pagan, who was recalled from Nashville due to Sean Manaea going on the DL, retired Carlos Correa for the second out. He then walked Gonzalez and was rocked by a blast by Tyler White. The A’s did not score in the ninth and the game was over. The Astros won 11-4

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s fall to 79-53 and are now 2 1/2 games behind the Astros.

A’s Brett Anderson took the loss. His record is now 3-4. He went just 2 2/3 innings and gave up seven hits and five runs.

Astros’ Gerrit Cole was not at his best, but he still received credit for the win. His record is now 12-5. He pitched six innings and allowed four hits and four runs.

Astros’ Alex Bregman and Tyler White each homered. Both players had four RBIs.

After the game, Bregman had this to say about the recent success of his team: “We just had to get right. If we’re healthy, we’re the best team in the world.”

Up Next: Game two of the three-game series will be at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday night at 5:10 pm PDT.

Edwin Jackson (4-3, 2.97 ERA) will go for the A’s. The Astros will counter with Charlie Morton (13-3, 3.05 ERA). Neither pitcher was effective the last time they pitched. Jackson was rocked by the Rangers and Morton was tagged for six runs by the Mariners.

Brent Brennan talks upcoming San Jose State football season

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State Spartans head coach Brent Brennan held his preseason press conference at Simpkins Stadium Center on Monday afternoon.

As usual, Justin Allegri–the voice of the Spartans–started things off with his atypical announcements. Brennan was surprisingly calm in his introductory speech, which eased the media members and fans into the upcoming season. Brennan was also enthusiastic and electrified about the Blue and Gold.

Brennan first stated that he was glad that everyone on the Spartans’ roster trained hard during training camp and added that he was really excited about the leadership of the senior class.

“We’re excited to play and it feels like it has been forever,” Brennan said. “Our players are really excited to get out there and play on Thursday.”

Brennan went in-depth on the Spartans’ offense during training camp. The Spartans’ offense was most definitely a bright spot for this up-and-coming team.

“We had a good offense during training camp,” said Brennan. “They’re really coming along. The upperclassmen are playing a lot of football and doing a nice job with the rushing yards and what not…I’m excited about our first group. I’m excited about our second group. Our second group looks great and I hope they’ll be game ready.”

Brennan briefly spoke about the Spartans’ quarterback situation. Brennan said that the quarterback will be a gameday decision.

Brennan went on to talk about the culture of the Spartans. Brennan emphasized the work that he and his team has done has been “so much cleaner” and “so much better” as opposed to the work that they’ve done a year ago in his first year as a head coach at San Jose State.

Brennan asserted that Thursday’s game was the “most important game of the year” and added that everybody knows that, too. The Aggies are allegedly well-aware that they’re playing a better team in the Spartans, so they’re likely going to be extremely executed and disciplined. That being said, San Jose State has to be ready to take on UC Davis on Thursday night.

The Spartans host the UC Davis Aggies for its home opener inside CEFCU Stadium on Thursday, August 30th at 7 pm PDT. There won’t be television and live streams, but you can tune into the radio broadcasts on KLIV 1590 AM and KSJS 90.5 FM.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Lots of catching up to do if SF plans to get back into the playoff hunt

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On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 The Giants, who are eight games behind Arizona, seven back of Colorado, and five and half back of Los Angeles in the NL West. They are eight games out for second in the NL Wild Card race.

#2 The Giants got a 3-1 win behind the pitching of Derek Holland (7-8), who went six plus, one run, three hits, three walks, and four strikeouts against the Texas Rangers on Sunday at AT&T Park.

#3 The Giants’ Aramis Garcia will be catcher Nick Hundley’s backup. Garcia came up from the minors Sunday and is working with catching instructor Bill Hayes whose getting him prepared when he gets in his first game.

#4 Giants’ pitcher Jeff Samardzija couldn’t make the come back as he’s been plagued by shoulder pain and is scheduled to meet with Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Tim McAdams. No confirmation if Samardzija will have surgery.

#5 The Giants will open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at AT&T Park. The Giants will need to start winning series or sweeping series in order to make up lost ground and to get back into the postseason hunt.

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

Don’t worry about tomorrow: A’s lose Manaea, but keep winning in Minnesota, bump Twins 6-2

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By Morris Phillips

The A’s lost their indispensable starting pitcher, but they held on to their home run stroke on Sunday afternoon.

The day started with the news that Sean Manaea, the team’s wins leader with a 12-9 record, will miss his next start on Thursday and go on the disabled list with shoulder impingement, more popularly described as tightness in his shoulder.  Manaea has made 27 starts this season without missing a turn, and given that he returns in the next two weeks, is still on track to better his career-high 29 starts set last year. But the A’s lose their only remaining season-opening starter just as the schedule hits its most demanding stretch with the team scheduled to play the next 10 days without a break.

And the teams response to the sour news on the eve of their final series against AL West-leading Houston?

Another series victory–this one high in the degree of difficulty–over the Twins with a 6-2 win featuring four home runs, two off the bat of Matt Chapman. The A’s have dropped just one series since mid-June, and they pulled this one out by winning three straight days at Target Field after dropping the opener on Thursday.

“We’ve been hit with a lot of adversity and we’ve been able to keep pushing forward and finding ways to win, having different guys step up,” Chapman said of the day’s events.

If the A’s have an approach to such situations, it’s simple: grab a bat and swing. The four home runs gave the team a major league-leading 114 homers in road contests (65 games). Three of the four home runs came off Twins’ reliever Matt Magill, and none from the game’s biggest home run hitter, Khris Davis. But even without Davis weighing in (the slugger was 1 for 5 on Sunday with three strikeouts) the A’s got plenty from red-hot sluggers Chapman and Stephen Piscotty, who led off the sixth inning with a shot that gave the A’s a 4-1 lead.

Jed Lowrie and Chapman hit back-to-back homers in the seventh to finish Magill and the scoring for the afternoon. The A’s escaped the series without taxing their bullpen, and that’s even with spot starter Chris Bassitt being lifted with two outs in the fifth inning. Manager Bob Melvin opted to use Blake Treinen in the ninth with a four-run lead and the closer did his part, keeping his ERA below one (0.97).

Bassitt was recalled from Nashville to make the start, which was originally part of a plan to buy an extra day for each member of the starting rotation. While Bassitt survived, he struggled with his command, throwing a bunch of pitches to get into the fifth, and issuing three walks. But Bassitt got some big outs, allowed just one run, and was followed by five relievers, none throwing more than one inning, in keeping with the plan for the A’s to lean heavily on its stocked bullpen.

Now with Manaea disabled, Bassitt will likely stick around with Frankie Montas returning to the rotation, and Daniel Mengden joining the club as a long reliever initially. It’s not the best of situations having the rotation so unsettled with the next seven games against the Astros and Mariners, but the A’s won’t hesitate to pull any pitcher at any juncture if he struggles.

The A’s improved to 45-16 in their last 61 games that have transformed their season, and moved a season-high 27 games above .500. All the winning, and league-leading performers have Oakland in line for a playoff appearance, but catching either the Yankees or Astros are essential to keeping the club out of a win-or-go-home playoff appearance on the road. The A’s have opened a significant, five-game gap over the Mariners, but that could change with the upcoming series at home against Seattle. For now, the club will turn its attention to the World Champs in the last three of 19 meetings.

“There are some implications. It’s the last time we play each other head-to-head, and we’re neck-and-neck for first place in the division,” Chapman said, deftly employing back-to-back anatomical descriptions of the critical, upcoming series.

Houston’s Gerrit Cole faces Oakland’s Brett Anderson in the opener on Monday. All three Houston starters scheduled have double-digit win totals, the three A’s starters–including Edwin Jackson and Trevor Cahill–have five wins or less.