Giants unable to hold lead; lose to Mets 6-3

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

Chris Stratton was cruising, but then the seventh inning came and the New York Mets tied up the game with the help from a former San Francisco Giants outfielder.

Michael Conforto hit a sacrifice fly to score Jeff McNeill, who went 4-for-4 on the night, and then Austin Jackson tied up the game with a single to score Wilmer Flores. The Mets then added four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to even up the four-game series with a 6-3 victory over the Giants at Citi Field on Tuesday night.

McNeil picked up his fourth hit of the night to score Jose Reyes to give the Mets the lead for good in the bottom of the eighth. Two batters later, Conforto launched a three-run home run to put the final runs on the board for the Mets.

Evan Longoria hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning to give the Giants a 2-0 lead, and it looked like it would hold up until Stratton got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Stratton, who was recalled from Double-A Richmond earlier in the day, and Derek Law was optioned to Sacramento to make room for Stratton. In all, Stratton went 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits, not walking a batter and struck out four.

Tony Watson got into trouble in the bottom of the eighth inning, and was unable to keep the Mets off the board in the fateful frame, as he went one inning, allowing four runs on three hits, walking one and striking out one and fell to 4-5 on the season.

McNeill equaled his career-high with those four hits that included that double in the bottom of the eighth inning.

This was the second time since he was recalled that McNeill picked up four hits in the same game.

McNeill was not the only Mets player to have a big game, as Conforto hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs on the night.

The rookie picked up singles in his first three at-bats, and scored the Mets’ first run of the game on Conforto’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Longoria’s home run off of Steven Matz in the top of the first inning was the first home run by the Giants since Andrew McCutchen hit one on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

It looked like Matz was in line for a loss, but ended up with a no-decision, as he went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits in his second start since returning from a strained pitching forearm.

Hunter Pence made the defensive play of the night, as he made an over-the-shoulder basket catch with his back to the field, a la Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series not too far from Citi Field at the Polo Grounds, which happened to the Mets first home in their first two seasons of 1962-1963 before moving into Shea Stadium in 1964.

Austin Slater drove in the Giants final run of the evening, as he singled in the top of the ninth inning in the top of the ninth inning.

NOTES: Buster Posey sat out the game, and according to reports, Posey may hip surgery that would end his season. Dereck Rodriguez, who is currently on the 10-day disabled list with hamstring issues ran prior to the game, and will go through pitcher’s drill tomorrow. Rodriguez is set to be activated from the disabled list on Friday, and scheduled to start that night against the Texas Rangers in the opener of a three-game series at AT&T Park.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Mets will meet again Wednesday at 4:10 pm PDT.

Casey Kelly will make his second start of the season in the third game against the Mets in place of Rodriguez. Kelly went 4.1 innings on Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds, while the Mets will send Noah Syndergaard to the mound, who went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: 49ers GM Lynch says team is deeper and with game changers this season

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On the 49ers podcast with David:

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said he feels a lot better than last year saying the team is a lot deeper than last year and that their looking for game changers. Expectations are high for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo going into the season. For game 3 in Indianapolis this Saturday, David takes a look what to expect in a game where the starters get more time on the field.

Denver Broncos’ general manager John Elway tipped the scales of the Colin Kapernick collusion case. Elway said that he offered the former 49ers quarterback Kaepernick a $7 million deal, but Kapernick–who was making $11 million on his last deal–declined. The NFL is looking into a gag order violation involving any discussions regarding bringing Kaepernick back in the NFL.

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

We’ll Take It!: Giants need big assist from the bumbling Mets to win 2-1 in 13 innings

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By Morris Phillips

If you’re the offensively anemic San Francisco Giants, hanging around the ballpark until your opponent falls flat on their faces can be an effective strategy.

Trying to neatly pull everything together with five hits and a run over the game’s first seven innings, then add three singles over the final six innings of a 13-inning affair wasn’t going to cut it for San Francisco, but that’s precisely when Mets’ left fielder Dominic Smith ever so politely bumped into shortstop Amed Rosario, allowing Brandon Crawford’s fly ball to drop harmlessly in front of both as Andrew McCutchen crossed the plate with the game’s winning run.

If your the Giants desperately trying to interrupt a four-game losing streak, you’ll take it.

“We had our struggles there in some pretty good situations where we just needed to hit a groundball,” manager Bruce Bochy explained. “We had a hard time. We had a tough time getting the big hit. We got a break and you take it.”

Breaks have all but disappeared for the Giants in August when it comes to scoring runs. The Giants are hitting .229 as a team and have just seven home runs and 59 runs scored in 17 games. Those numbers have dropped the team into the National League’s bottom three in each of those categories. And that lack of production didn’t get a measurable jump on Monday, not even close.

Former Giant Zac Wheeler was simply following the established script when he held the Giants scoreless for the game’s first six innings Monday before allowing a run in the seventh.

Wheeler struck out a season-best 10 batters, and was still throwing gas in the seventh when Alan Hansen’s softly-hit double fell in, scoring Brandon Crawford. But while Hansen’s extra-base hit did the trick, it merely tied the game. With a runner in scoring position, Hunter Pence grounded out to end the inning, leaving the game tied.

Wheeler, having expended 113 pitches, was done for the evening, but the Mets’ bullpen took it from there hanging five more zeros on the scoreboard. The Giants threatened only once in the 11th, but failed when Brandon Belt struck out to end the inning with runners at first and third.

Derek Holland got the start for the Giants, and he was effective, allowing five hits and a run in four innings. Six Giants’ relievers would follow, and all acquitted themselves well, including Tony Watson in the seventh.

In the Mets’ best threat, pinch hitters Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto singled with one out, only to see Rosario ground into an inning-ending double play.

With all three NL West contenders idle, the Giants moved within 7 1/2 games of division-leading Arizona. In between, Arizona and the Giants, the Dodgers and Rockies complicate the Giants situation with 36 games remaining in the season.

 

Khris Davis puts on a show as the A’s roll over the Rangers 9-0

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — Oakland A’s Mike Fiers was magnificent as he dominated the Texas Rangers and won his ninth game of the year. The A’s trounced the Rangers 9-0 at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday night. The A’s pounded Rangers’ starter Bartolo Colon for seven runs, and as a result, Colon’s record dropped to 7-11.

The A’s scored three times in the bottom of the second. Stephen Piscotty started the rally off Colon, with a double to left. Marcus Semien followed with another double to drive in Piscotty with the A’s first run. A’s rookie Ramon Laureano, facing Colon for the first time in his short Major League career, hit his first home run as a Big Leaguer to put the A’s ahead 3-0. Laureano took Colon’s 89 MPH fastball over the wall in right-center field.

A’s manager Bob Melvin signaled for the ball to be returned to the dugout so that Laureano could put it in his trophy case at home. Jonathan Lucroy continued the hit parade with another double, but Colon settled down and was able to get out of the inning with no further damage.

The A’s DH, Khris Davis, led off the bottom of the third with his 37th round-tripper of the year. The ball left his bat traveling at 111 MPH and went an estimated 439 feet. The ball hit the concrete just below the glass that protects the fans in the suites in left field.

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The A’s sent Colon to the showers in the bottom of the sixth. Piscotty led off the inning with a single. Semien also singled to put men on at first and second with no out. The next hitter, Laureano, who hit the first home run of his career in the second inning, did it again as he slammed Colon’s pitch into the seats in the seats in left field to put the A’s in the driver’s seat with a formidable 7-0 lead. Piscotty homered in the seventh to make it 8-0, and the A’s tacked on another run in the eighth to win by a final score of 9-0.

Game Notes: A’s Mike Fiers was magnificent as he dominated the Rangers Monday night. Fiers gave up just one hit, one walk and hit a batter in his seven innings of work. He retired the last 18 batters he faced for his ninth win of the year.

The A’s hitting stars of the night were Stephen Piscotty, Marcus Semien, Ramon Laureano, and Jonathan Lucroy. Piscotty had a single, double and home run. Semien had two singles and a double. Laureano had two home runs and five runs batted in. Jonathan Lucroy had two singles and a double.

The A’s hit four home runs Monday.

With the win, the A’s are now 75-50 and were back in first place following the Houston Astros’ 7-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.

Time of game was two hours and 48 minutes and 9,341 fans went home happy.

Up Next: Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at 7:05 pm PDT. The A’s will send Brett Anderson (2-3. 3.90 ERA) to the mound and the Rangers will counter with Ariel Jurado (2-2, 6.41 ERA)

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Davis getting close to setting some home run records

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Photo credit: @numberFire

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

#1 The Oakland A’s Khris Davis hit two home runs on Sunday and both of them coming off Houston Astros’ starter Justin Verlander. Davis needs five more to break Mark McGwire’s record for home runs in three consecutive seasons at 125 through 1995-97.

#2 Davis is also in position to join former Philadelphia Athletic Jimmie Foxx (1932-34) to hit 40 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons. Davis needs four more home runs to achieve that status.

#3 Verlander pitching against the A’s got the win (12-8) going five plus innings, seven hits, four earned runs, one walk and six strikeouts. We ask Amaury was it a matter of Verlander being dominate or were the A’s hitters just a little off on Sunday.

#4 It’s an A’s lineup that has everybody doing something: Nick Martini .300, Matt Chapman .276, Jed Lowrie .270, and Khris Davis .259.

#5 The A’s will start pitcher Mike Fiers (8-6) to open the three-game series against the Texas Rangers tonight at the Coliseum.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio play-by-play and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Cracks showing as the Giants fall eight off the pace with a dimming postseason

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Photo credit: @KNBR

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris:

The last time the Giants used a position player to pitch was 27 years ago. Utility man Chase d’Arnaud pitched a scoreless eighth. The Reds, who swept the series, started three pitchers with 4.46, 5.19. 5.04 ERAs and the Giants could only get four runs to the Reds’ 11.

The Giants’ Joe Panik, who has six hits in two games, is one of the few Giants hitting. The Giants open a four-game series against the Mets Monday night at Citi Field. The Mets are 14 1/2 out of first in the NL East. The Giants are now eight games out of first and their chances are sinking for their playoff hopes.

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: This Week in 1980, Charlie O. Finley Sold the A’s for $12.7 Million

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Photo credit: thesportsesquires.com

By: Amaury Pi-González

On August 21, 1980, Athletics owner Charlie Finley announced at a news conference that he has sold his A’s to Walter A. Haas, Jr., the chairman of the board of the Levi Strauss clothing empire, Haas’s son Walter Jr., and son-in-law Roy Eisenhardt for $12.7 million.

In 1980, Finley agreed in principle to sell to businessman Marvin Davis, who was planning to move the A’s to Denver, but before that, Finley and Davis were to sign a contract, as the NFL’s Oakland Raiders announced they were moving to Los Angeles in 1982. The City of Oakland and Alameda County officials didn’t wanted to be held responsible for losing Oakland status as a big league city and refused to let the A’s out of their lease with the Coliseum. So the A’s were sold and stayed.

Although they have changed ownership a few times since, today’s A’s are in solid ground to continue playing in Oakland. These days, the last thing in mind for the A’s is to move out of Oakland, because soon they will be the only professional team left, after the Warriors move to San Francisco and the Raiders to Las Vegas. That is the good news. Plus, MLB commissioner Robert Manfred has said it all along, “the Bay Area is a two-team market.”

However, there is presently a group called Protect Oakland’s Shoreline Economy that is questioning the A’s proposed move to their favorite location of the Howard Terminal near Jack London Square. Here in the greater Bay Area, there is never a shortage of groups that oppose construction of sports facilities. and this one is the most recent. This is the second chapter of this novela. In December of last year, the A’s plans to build a 35,000 seat ballpark near Lake Merritt was stopped cold, when the community college refused to start negotiations about the proposed park.

All these recent concerns have been rather silenced by the A’s current play on the field, as they have been shocking the baseball world. They just took two out of three from the Mariners and two out of three from the Astros–two of their biggest rivals. This Monday, the Rangers open a three-game series at the Coliseum and then the A’s go on a six-game road-trip to Minnesota and Houston. They return the 30th of this month to say adios to August and welcome September with a four-game series against the M’s, three against the contending Yankees and the Rangers again. I do not believe the A’s bandwagon is close to capacity yet, as there are still a lot of folks who are not 100 percent certain they are going to see postseason play at the Coliseum. But I think they will.

By then, we will see how are the Atléticos de Oakland doing, with two very possible scenarios: 1) winning the division or 2) advancing as one of the two Wild Card teams.

Listen to the A’s games in Spanish on KIQI 1010am/990am, covering the Bay Area, Sacramento, Stockton and the Valley, and on the SAP Channel on NBC Sports California.

Dream turns Aces’ finale into a nightmare 93-78 loss

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ACESDREAM 1q
Atlanta led 20-19 after the first quarter Photo: @LVAces

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Las Vegas Aces (14-20) knew the game on Sunday was their last game of the 2018 season. The Aces had been eliminated from the playoffs on Friday night in Dallas. They hoped to put on a good show for the crowd in their finale and keep the Atlanta Dream from earning a double bye in the first round of the playoffs.

The Aces did put on a good show for the fans–at least for three quarters–but they came up short on their plan to beat the Dream. Atlanta (23-11) beat Las Vegas 93-78 handing the Aces their 20th loss of the season.

The Dream held just a 64-62 lead at the end of three quarters. It looked like the Aces were well positioned to make a run to win the game in the final quarter, but it was not meant to be. Atlanta outscored Las Vegas 29-16 in the final period and ran away with the game. When the final buzzer sounded, the Dream had won the game 93-78 and earned a double bye to escape the single elimination games in the playoffs.

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The Aces trailed by just two points after three quarters Photo: @LVAces

“Games like this are always tough,” said Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer in his postgame comments. “You get eliminated from the playoffs and have to go out there and find the motivation to keep working. We are professional basketball players, so I told the team before that we are going to play a lot of people tonight.  I want to compete – to win the game – and for the most part, I think we did for a half. We came out in the 3rdquarter and you could see we just didn’t have it anymore, mentally, they didn’t put forth the effort to win the game. [Atlanta] needed it badly, they did the job, they got the win.  I told [the team] after the game – be proud of this year, it was a great year for the Las Vegas Aces. We launched a franchise.  We competed and showed who we were – individually and collectively – and our franchise and our fans got to come out and enjoy a great product and a great sport, and MGM did a wonderful job launching this franchise. So, I told them to be proud of themselves.  Yeah, we didn’t make the playoffs, but we are really looking forward to next year.”

Aces Postgame Notes

  • A’ja Wilson put up 21 points to score in double figures for the 33rd time to start her career. She also scored 20-plus points for the 18th time in 2018.
  • Dearica Hamby–14 points–posted double figures for the 12th time this season.
  • Kelsey Bone scored nine points, which was one off of her season-highs.
  • The Las Vegas Aces won six more games (14 to 8) this season than they did as the San Antonio Stars in 2017.

Atlanta Postgame Notes

  • The Dream finished the season with a franchise record 23 regular season wins.
  • Elizabeth Williams led the Dream in scoring with 20 points–her 14th double-digit scoring game of the season.
  • Renee Montgomery posted 16 points and dished out a season-high nine assists on Sunday.
  • Atlanta’s record is now 16-3 when they score 80-plus points in a game.
  • The Dream swept the season series with the Aces.

Our Turn: Astros respond with 9-4 win to recapture first place in the AL West

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — First, the Oakland A’s smashed a team-record eight doubles on Saturday to cap a 53-game run to a share of the AL West lead. Then the world champion Houston Astros responded on Sunday with five home runs to reclaim the division lead to themselves.

And what can we conclude from this series of events? Life at the top of the AL West–baseball’s toughest division–isn’t for the faint of heart. That, and look for something truly special to take place over the final 38 games of the season as the three playoff hopefuls in the West chase two playoff spots.

“These guys are no fluke whatsoever,” said Sunday’s winning pitcher Justin Verlander of the A’s. “We have the toughest division in baseball, without a doubt. The three teams are going to fight and claw all the way to the finish.”

Woven into the competition between the Astros, A’s and Mariners are the numerous accomplishments racked up along the way. Verlander’s 200th win of his career on Sunday ranks among the biggest, as 200 wins for a Major League starting pitcher has taken on the significance that 300 wins once held. Verlander, no stranger to the Coliseum and making himself at home wherever he pitches, moved himself into exclusive company as only the third active pitcher to achieve the milestone, joining C.C. Sabathia and the ageless Bartolo Colon.

Including the playoffs, Verlander has beaten the A’s 16 times, and been dominant in a few of those outings, including the clinching Game 5 win in the 2012 ALDS that forced a full house at the Coliseum to spend the evening sitting on their hands as Verlander’s Tigers cruised to a 6-0 victory.  On Sunday, the 35-year old right hander got all he could handle early as the A’s hottest hitters–Khris Davis and Matt Chapman–combined for three homers off Verlander before the conclusion of the third inning.

Yuri Gurriel allowed Verlander to survive the early onslaught with one swing of the bat, as his three-run shot off Sean Manaea gifted the Astros a brief 4-2 lead. Davis’ second home run–his 36th of the season–got the A’s even, but little went right for Oakland after that.

While the Astros added single runs in the the fourth and fifth to chase Manaea, then added three more off reliever Emilio Pagan in the seventh and eighth innings, the A’s offense went quiet, one of the rare occasions that the A’s didn’t take control of a ballgame late. Marwin Gonzalez capped the Houston outburst with his solo shot in the eighth–the seventh extra base hit for the Astros one day after the A’s tallied eight.

The Astros won for just the second time in their last nine games, part of their struggles with reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve on the disabled list. Altuve started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Fresno on Sunday, giving Houston hope that the second baseman can rejoin the club this week. The Astros continue their road trip in Seattle on Monday, the opener of a three-game set.

The A’s open a series with Texas at the Coliseum on Monday night at 7:05 pm PDT with Mike Fiers facing either Mike Minor or Colon for the Rangers, who have a beat up rotation, and have not announced a starter for any of the three games in Oakland.  The Rangers have dropped four straight to the A’s, and have lost 10 of their previous 13 games at the Coliseum.

Reds rout Giants 11-4 to break out brooms at home

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Photo credit: @Reds

By Jeremy Kahn

After losing the first two of the series, the San Francisco Giants were looking to the salvage the finale against the Cincinnati Reds with rookie Andrew Suarez on the mound.

Unfortunately, the rookie could not get of the third inning, as the Reds scored seven runs in the inning on their way to a 11-4 win over the Giants at Great American Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.

Eugenio Suarez hit a two-run home run helping the Reds to their second consecutive sweep over the Giants in the City of Cincinnati.

Jose Peraza added a two-run run home run for the Reds, who took the season series 4-2 over the Giants, who have lost four in a row.

The seven runs allowed by the Giants were the most they gave up in an inning this season. During the 2017 season, the Giants gave up seven or more runs in an inning on five different occasions.

Over the final two games of the series, the Reds outscored the Giants 18-5 after the Reds defeated the Giants 2-1 in 10 innings in the opener on Friday night.

Suarez ended up going a season-low 2.2 innings, allowing seven runs (five earned), and seven hits.

Scooter Gennett continued his hot hitting, as he hit a two-run triple in that fateful third inning that also saw Suarez hit his career-high 27thhome run of the season.

Curt Casali also picked up two hits and drove in two runs in that third inning.

Luis Castillo went 6.2 innings, allowing three runs and six hits, while striking out nine, as he won for the seventh time on the season.

Brandon Belt hit leadoff for the Giants, as it was the first time that a first baseman hit leadoff since David Bell did so on July 6, 2002 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at then Bank One Ballpark.

The last left-handed first baseman to hit leadoff was Mike Aldrete against the Atlanta Braves on May 4, 1987 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Will Clark leads all Giants first baseman with 28 starts from the leadoff position.

Chase d’Arnaud pitched the bottom of the eighth inning for the Giants, becoming the second Giants position player to pitch this season. Pablo Sandoval pitched the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first game of a day-night doubleheader on April 28.

d’Arnaud is just the fifth Giants position player to pitch since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958. He joins Sandoval, Greg Litton, Dave Kingman and Matty Alou.

Despite allowing a hit in the bottom of the eighth inning, d’Arnaud is the third to not allow any runs, joining Alou and Sandoval.

UP NEXT: The Giants take on the New York Mets for a four-game series starting Monday at 4:10 pm PDT.

Derek Holland looks to get the Giants back into the win column on Monday, as he makes just his second ever start against the Mets, who will send Zach Wheeler to the mound.