MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Braves and Phillies battling in NL East, Cardinals and Brewers battling in NL Central ; A’s can move into first today…if they can beat Houston

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Photo credit: @Cardinals

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel:

1 Pennant race deck getting shuffled–Braves, Cardinals making a move in NL, Houston trying to hang on in AL.

2 Swingin’ A’s tied for first in AL West, take first two of weekend series against Astros.

3 Tigers add Nolan Blackwood as player to be named later in deal with A’s for Mike Fiers.

4 Matt Harvey takes no-hitter into the sixth, Reds beat Bumgarner, Giants 7-1.

5 Indians retire Jim Thome’s #25.

Daniel Dullum does the MLB podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers lose to the Texans 16-13 and SF’s defense looks unreliable

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Photo credit: @49ers

By Jeremy Harness

In preseason games, the starters are only in the game for less than a quarter, so there’s really not much to draw from or to analyze, since these games are mostly played by guys who won’t be on the field much when it counts or won’t even make the team anyway.

So this will be mostly be about less than a quarter of action from Saturday’s game, which was won by the Houston Texans by a 16-13 score over the San Francisco 49ers at NRG Stadium. This was the 49ers’ second glorified practice of season.

Jimmy Garoppolo was in for two drives, and he completed 10 of his 12 throws for 136 yards, a touchdown and was intercepted once. While he was in the game, the offense looked sharp and ready to go for the season to start, as Garoppolo was able to extend plays and find open receivers when the protection broke down.

The 49ers’ first drive culminated with Garoppolo finding Trent Taylor in the back of the end zone to give his team a 7-0 lead.

His second drive did not end so well, but they still moved the ball very well nonetheless. Once the 49ers again crossed into the Texans’ territory, Garoppolo was a little high in his pass over the middle to rookie Dante Pettis. As a result, the ball was tipped in the air, and the ball was scooped up by Johnson Bademosi.

So overall, not a bad showing by the 49ers’ starting offense at all. However, the defense still has some concerns attached to it. Just as Garoppolo carved up the Texans’ defense, Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson did the same to the 49ers’ defense.

Watson, who was missing his star wideout in DeAndre Hopkins on Saturday, still was able to gouge the 49ers’ starting unit, and he also ended his first drive with a touchdown. He went 5-for-8 for 73 yards and that score. That was his first–and only–drive of the game, and he then made way for Brandon Weeden.

Granted, the defense was without many of its key players, including cornerback Richard Sherman, defensive lineman Solomon Thomas and linebacker Malcolm Smith. But overall, it was just not a good look for a defense that was said to have improved over the past year.

As it stands right now, expect the 49ers to score some points, but also give up quite a bit of points at the same time.

The 49ers visit the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, August 25 at 1:30 pm PDT.

Wondo’s sub heroics help Earthquakes earn draw against Toronto FC 1-1

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

By Marko Ukalovic and Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Just when the San Jose Earthquakes (3-13-8) were left for dead, the heroics of their captain Chris Wondolowski, who came off the bench as a sub rescued his team and prevented another home loss in a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC (6-12-6) at Avaya Stadium on Saturday evening. San Jose still only has one win at home on the season.

The first half would go scoreless. However, the Quakes had three great chances to break open the deadlock. In the 22nd minute, Vako dribbled between three defenders inside the box only to have his right foot shot blocked away by Toronto FC goalie Alex Bono.

Vako would create another chance three minutes later when he dribbled in to the right of the box, back flipped the ball to defenseman Joel Quiberg, who made a perfect cross over to Eriksson, whose rocket of a shot was thwarted by Bono.

“Feels like those chances reflect on (how) our season (has gone) so far,” said Eriksson. “We are playing better as a team, creating chances. But we still missed the three points, especially (here) at home.”

The best opportunity for the Quakes came at the 35th minute when Danny Hoesen received a ball from 12 yards out and centered a ball off the hands of Bono that trickled out to the middle of box where Eriksson had a wide-open net to shoot at. His attempt was deflected over the net on a desperation tackle by Justin Morrow.

“From my perspective, it was the best 45 minutes of the season,” said head coach Mikael Stahre. “We created five really big chances in the first half. If we score in the first half, we would win the game.”

Toronto FC’s best chance in the first half came when Marco Delgado centered ball into the middle of the box where Jordan Hamilton was one-on-one with Quakes goalie Andrew Tarbell, but Hamilton was whistled offside at the 17th minute.

Lukas Janson, who made his debut for the defending MLS champions, drew first blood for Toronto FC in the 59th minute after taking a pretty centering feed from Gregory van der Wiel, who came in as a substitution for Ashtone Morgan a minute earlier. Janson tapped the ball into an empty net for his first career MLS goal.

Wondolowski’s equalizer for the Quakes in the 77th minute came on his own rebound. His initial shot from eight yards out was stopped by Bono, but he was not able to hold on to the rebound. Wondolowski crashed the net and kicked the ball into an empty net for his seventh goal on the season.

“You want to prove that you deserve time out there,” said Wondolowski. “Earn minutes anyway you can. I try to make any impact I can. I do like starting though. But I don’t mind coming off the bench.”

San Jose had one last chance to escape with a win late in the match, but Kashia’s header off a Chris Wehan free kick in the second minute of stoppage time sailed wide of the net.

GAME NOTES: Defenseman Shea Salinas had to sit out the game due to a red card he received last week against the Colorado Rapids. Toronto FC was without forward Jozy Altidore and defenseman Chris Mavinga, who were both suspended.

WONDO COUNTDOWN! Wondolowski is now four goals away from the all-time lead in MLS history with 141 goals. Former Quake Landon Donovon is the leader with 145 goals.

Dominic Oduro made his debut for the quakes as a substitute for Eriksson in the 89th minute. Oduro was acquired in a trade on August 8th that sent Quincy Amarikwa to the Montreal Impact.

Guram Kashia received a yellow card in the 52 minute of the match when dragged down Janson.

The Earthquakes are in the midst of a 10-game home winless run (0-5-5), tied for their longest such streak in club history, June–August 2000.

Tarbell has conceded 10 goals from outside the box this season. Since 2010, only one keeper has allowed more such goals in a single season.

Toronto FC has one win in their last seven-league away games (0-3-3), allowing 2+ goals in five of the seven matches.

The overall series is now 5-5-5.

UP NEXT: The Quakes take on the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, August 25 at Avaya Stadium at 7 pm PDT.

Pride and persistence in San Jose State scrimmage

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Photo credit: @AnaKieu

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — While the Mountain West Conference continues to innovate by combining modern music and high-end technology, the San Jose State Spartans are simply looking to pick up more than two wins in 2018.

Like I’ve mentioned many times before, San Jose State has no choice but to Spartan up and give it all they’ve got to prepare for this coming season. SJSU held their second (and final) scrimmage of this year’s Fall Camp at CEFCU Stadium, and although there wasn’t a sold out crowd, there were plenty of positive things to say about the current Spartans’ roster.

College football is just around the corner, and the Spartans embodied the City of San Jose’s character and temperament with their grit and toughness. The best is yet to come for the generally young Spartans, who hope to prove the know-it-alls wrong.

Both the Spartan offense and defense looked pretty good on the field. The offensive line moved the ball in an exceptional manner, while the defensive line did a decent job in stopping the runs, going after opponents and coming up with turnovers.

Here are the post-scrimmage questions I asked Spartans head coach Brent Brennan after the scrimmage.

1. The Spartans have a lot of cornerbacks, but do they have starting-caliber cornerbacks?
I think that group is coming along. I think they’ve been doing some work. Obviously, Dakari (Monroe) is a good player and he’ll continue to show great leadership and great play. He didn’t play today, but the other guys that are starting to come along in that group like Zamore Zigler, who has made some plays, but I think some of this is going to have to be battle-tested before we know who the other cornerback is. But those guys are ready.

2. How are the Spartans going to replace the position and leadership of Frank Ginda last year?
Ethan Aguayo was off to a great start and I think the senior class is really taking the respective leadership and they’re the ones that are really driving the team right now, which is the way it needs to be. They’re the ones that are playing the games, and anytime you get great leadership from your senior class–and the guys that have been here the longest and invested the most–it gives you a great chance.

3. What’s the thought process on kickoffs right now?
Well, the new rule…I think it’s going to change the way people return kicks and kick the ball. It’ll be interesting to see what people say about that. You know, there’s all kinds of schools of thought out there, so everyone is going to have their own theory on it. But it’s definitely an interesting rule because now you can fair catch the ball anywhere inside the 25 and you get the ball on the 25. So if you have a strong-legged kicker, you can still kick it out of the end zone, and if you don’t, you can try kicking it for some time, and hopefully a fair catch.

Notes
The male and female Spartans spent some time Friday voluntarily helping out students with moving into their dorms on the San Jose State campus.

33 youth football teams held their under-18 scrimmages prior to the Spartans’ scrimmage of the offseason at 5 pm PDT.

Senior cornerback Dakari Monroe celebrated his birthday Saturday.

Up Next
San Jose State has two much-needed day offs on Sunday, August 19 and Thursday, August 23. SJSU has practices from August 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29. SJSU will kick off the 2018 season with a home opener versus UC Davis on August 30 at 7 pm PDT.

Bumgarner, Giants shelled in embarrassing 7-1 loss to Reds

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Photo credit: @SanDiegoGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

When this key road trip began, thing were looking good for the San Francisco Giants; however, by the end of the week, it is a totally different story with the Cincinnati Reds.

Matt Harvey took a no-hitter into the top of the sixth inning, while Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera each hit home runs and the Reds defeated the Giants 7-1 at Great American Ballpark on Saturday.

One night after picking up three hits in the opener of the three-game series, Scooter Gennett did it again and scored three runs, sending the Giants to their third straight loss after winning three straight.

Madison Bumgarner did not pitch well at all, as he gave up a season-high six runs and eight hits in six innings.

Things were going good until the bottom of the fourth inning, and that is when the Reds scored the only runs that they would need off of Bumgarner.

Peraza led off the inning with a home run into the left field seats, and then Brandon Dixon completed the scoring in the inning, as he hit a two-run double.

It got even worse in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Friday’s hero Phillip Ervin hit a sacrifice fly that scored Peraza from third base and then Eugenio Suarez scored on a throwing error by Steven Duggar to extend the lead.

Herrera launched a 419-foot home run into the center field seats that gave the Reds a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Suarez rounded out the scoring in the bottom of the seventh inning, as his single to center field scored Gennett.

The Giants scored their only run of the evening in the top of the eighth inning, as Evan Longoria grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Andrew McCutchen from third base.

Harvey did not give up a hit until there were two outs in the top of the sixth inning, as Joe Panik beat out an infield roller that was snared by Peraza and Panik just beat out the throw from Peraza.

NOTES: Hunter Strickland made his return to the active after being out since June 10 when the team leader in saves with 13 was placed on the disabled list with a fractured right hand. To make room for Strickland on the 40-man roster, Pablo Sandoval was transferred to the 60-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring and is out for the rest of the season.

Strickland pitched one inning, allowing one run on two hits after replacing Bumgarner in the bottom of the seventh inning.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Reds will wrap up their series on Sunday at 10:10 am PDT.

Andrew Suarez looks to get the Giants back into the win column on Sunday, as he takes the mound at Great American Ballpark for the first time in his major-league career. Suarez faced the Reds on May 16 at AT&T Park, and lost to the Reds 6-3.

The Reds will send Luis Castillo to the mound, as they look for the sweep.

A’s are “double trouble” for Astros as they win 7-1 and tie Houston for first place

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Davis-Melvin
Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 7-1 at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday afternoon and are now tied for first place in the American League West. Fans were in disbelief that the A’s (74-49) were in contention for the Wild Card in the AL, but now, the Green and Gold are fighting to win their division. Virtually none of those fans thought that was a possibility before the season began.

Strong starting pitching and power hitting was the key to the A’s win on Saturday.

Trevor Cahill (5-2) started the game for Oakland. He has been pitching the lights out in the Coliseum with an ERA under one at home. Cahill continued his mastery of opponents in his home stadium as pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing the Astros just one hit. The right-hander struck out seven batters and walked just one. Cahill threw 100 (62 strikes).

The A’s also went on another power surge on Saturday as they hit eight doubles which tied an Oakland single-game record, but you were not allowed to hit just one double – you had to hit two. All of the extra base hits were recorded by four A’s hitters. Khris Davis (24), Stephen Piscotty (33), Matt Olson (26) and Josh Phegley (6) hit all of the “two-baggers” for Oakland versus Houston. The A’s posted a total of 11 hits in the contest.

More A’s

  • The A’s were trailing the Astros by 12 games back on June 18. Today they are tied for first place.
  • Oakland’s 74-69 (.602) record is tied for third best in the majors. It is tied for fourth place in A’s history after 123 games.
  • Khris Davis’ double in the first inning snapped a 0-13 hitless streak.
  • Matt Olson’s two doubles extended his hitting streak to six games.
  • Matt Chapman’s 14 game hitting streak and 30 game on-base streak came to an end on Saturday when he went 0-for-4 in the game.
  • Add on Trevor Cahill: he retired 20 of the 22 batters he faced in the game. The A’s have won Cahill’s last seven starts.

Astros’ notes

  • The A’s scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning which means the Astros opponents have now outscored them 56-55 in the first inning.
  • Alex Bregman’s road on-base streak continues as he picked up a base-on-balls on Saturday. His streak currently stands at 38 games.
  • The ‘Stros recorded just two hits in their loss on Saturday. It was just the third time this season they posted two or fewer hits in a game.
  • Dallas Keuchel (9-10)–who was charged with the loss–saw his four-game road winning streak come to an end.

Up Next

The A’s and Astros wrap up the three game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm PDT on Sunday.

The Astros will send RHP Justin Verlander (11-8, 2.52) to the mound in an attempt to salvage one win in the series. The A’s will go with their ace LHP Sean Manaea (11-8, 3.44). Manaea won his last start on Monday in Oakland over the Mariners 7-6. He is 1-1 in three starts versus the Astros this season.

Raiders fall short in 19-15 loss to Rams

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Jeremy Kahn

In their first game back at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since the end of the 1994 season, the Oakland Raiders return was spoiled by the current tenants, the Los Angeles Rams, on Saturday.

John Kelly ran for 56 yards and a touchdown, helping the Rams to a 19-15 victory on a balmy Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles.

After trailing 16-0, the Raiders came all the back to get within one point, as Chris Warren ran for 110 yards and a touchdown in front of a partisan Raiders crowd at the stadium that they called home from 1982-1994.

Kelly got the Rams on the board in the second quarter, as he scored on a two-yard run to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.

That Kelly touchdown would be the only one that the Raiders defense would allow, as it became a field goal for the Rams, who are coming off a NFC West Division a season ago.

Greg Zuerlein gave the Rams their next six points, as he nailed a 42-yard field goal with 2:05 remaining in the half and then kicked a 28-yard field goal to send the Rams to the locker room with a 13-0 lead.

Sam Ficken stretched the lead up to 16-0, as he nailed a 31-yard field goal straight thru the uprights for the Rams.

On their next possession, the Raiders finally got on the board, as Warren scored on a three-yard run; however, the Raiders attempt at a two-point conversion was not successful.

Mike Nugent, who is trying to make the team as the teams’ kicker behind rookie Johnny Townsend cut the Rams lead down to seven, as he kicked a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

James Cowser made the defensive play of the game, as he intercepted a Brandon Allen pass at the Rams’ 36-yard line and returned it to the 21-yard line for a 15-yard return.

Just four plays later, the Raiders pulled within one point, as E.J. Manuel found former Stanford standout Griff Whalen for a 10-yard touchdown pass; however, the Warren rush on the two-point conversion came up short and the Rams maintained their one point lead.

Following the Whalen touchdown, Allen drove the Rams all the way down to the Raiders’ 14-yard line and the Rams were held to a 32-yard Ficken field goal.

With a chance to win the game, the Raiders began their final drive of the game, but the offense stalled, as the Raiders could only get to the Rams 47-yard line and then Manuel was sacked for a 10-yard loss and that would be the last time that the Raiders would get the ball.

Following the Townsend punt, the Rams ran the ball and were able to run out the clock and give the preseason tilt to the Rams.

Without the services of David Carr, Marshawn Lynch, Amari Cooper and many other would be regulars, the Raiders were led by Manuel, who went 10-for-16 for 89 yards and a touchdown. Connor Cook started the game for the Raiders, and went 6-for-12 for 49 yards, as he competes with Cook for the backup quarterback position to Carr when the season begins on September 10 at the Oakland Coliseum.

Warren took advantage of Lynch not playing, as he carried the ball 18 times for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Both rookie Paul Butler and Jalen Richard each caught three passes for 35 yards for the Raiders, who fall to 1-1 on the preseason.

NOTES: The Raiders and the Rams will see each other once again in just 23 days, as the two teams will face each other in the season opener on September 10 in Oakland in the second game of the Monday Night doubleheader.

UP NEXT: After the short trip to Los Angeles, the Raiders return home for their home preseason finale on Friday night, as they will face the Green Bay Packers at the Oakland Coliseum at 7:30 pm PDT.

MLB The Show Podcast with Matt Harrington: A’s close the gap in the AL West; Dodgers crush Mariners–now 2 out; White Sox, 25 games out, but still attract loyal fans

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On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

The Oakland A’s are the toast of baseball with their series opening win over the Houston Astros in 10 innings on Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum 4-3. The A’s now move just one game back behind first place Houston in the AL West. The Astros have been snake bitten with five of their key players on the disabled list.

The Los Angeles Dodgers keep the pressure up as they pick up their second straight win this time in a laugher at Safeco Field against the Seattle Mariners 11-1. For the Mariners, their third loss in their last four games and trying to get some traction since the A’s passed them up in the AL West standings the M’s are now 4 1/2 games back. The Dodgers are now just two games back of first place Arizona in the NL West.

Despite being 25 games out of first place in the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox have won three straight in a 9-3 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Friday night. Their not drawing record breaking crowds but considering where they are in mid-August. They drew over 24,000 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The New York Yankees–still holding onto a wild card spot and some 10 1/5 games behind first place Boston–were able to get a two run win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yanks’ Neil Walker hit a three-run homer and Giancarlo Stanton hit an opposite field homer in the cause.

The race for the NL East between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies got a little interesting Friday night. The Braves who lost and the Phils, who won tighten their pace by a 1/2 game. The second place Phils are now a 1/2 game out as the first place Braves lost to the Colorado Rockies 11-5 and the Phillies got a two-run win over the Mets 4-2 after the Mets crushed the Phillies on Thursday 24-4.

Matt Harrington does the Oakland A’s coverage each Friday and MLB The Show podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Olson’s First Walk-Off Homer Puts A’s One Game Back of Astros After 4-3 Win in 10 Innings

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Photo credit: @MLB_News247

By: Matt Harrington

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s now have a chance to exit the weekend series against the Houston Astros with a one-game lead in the American League West, and momentum is on their side. The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a play at the plate, then Matt Olson launched his first career walk-off hit, a homer of Tony Sipp, in the bottom of the 10th for a 4-3 win over the division leaders at Oakland Coliseum on Friday night.

Olson pulled the A’s to within one game of the division lead after working a full count off Sipp. Sipp’s 3-2 pitch, a slider low in the zone just below the belt, found its way over the right field wall for Olson’s 23rd longball of the year and Sipp’s first loss of the campaign (1-2, 1.80 ERA). He almost didn’t get a chance for his heroics. The A’s trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. The leadoff man Mark Canha grounded out against reliever Hector Rondon to leave the A’s two outs away from defeat. Pinch hitter Chad Pinder walked, then was replaced by rookie Ramon Laureano, a pivotal substitution by A’s manager Bob Melvin.

The next batter, Nick Martini, laced a ball to right, with Laureano racing home from first. Josh Reddick’s throw home beat him to the plate and Astros catcher Martin Maldonado appeared to block off the plate perfectly to tag out Laureano as he dove headfirst across home. Home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez thought so, too, calling Laureano out.

The rookie, however, felt he had gained the plate legally, gesturing as soon as he rose from his slide. His manager challenged the play, and following a lengthy review, Laureano was deemed both correct and safe and Oakland was tied 3-3. Blake Treinen (6-2, 0.87 ERA) worked around a runner at second with two outs, while striking out three Stros to pick up his sixth win of the year.

The A’s had to play catch-up three times. They trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth after starter Edwin Jackson gave up solo homers Alex Bregman and Maldonado in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. They loaded the bases against Houston starter Charlie Morton with no outs, but Jonathan Lucroy only plated one runner on a double-play grounder. Matt Chapman would plate another run in the inning, but the big damage was avoided with the A’s forced to settle for the 2-2 tie.

The tie would be short-lived, as Houston scored in the top of the sixth. Lou Trivino struck out Carlos Correa but walked Marwin Gonzalez and Evan Gattis to put himself in trouble. Reddick capitalized against his former team, singling in Gonzalez. Trivino wriggled out of the jam trailing 3-2 after getting first baseman Tyler White to bounce into a double play.

The A’s don’t need to do any scoreboard watching if they want to lead the division by the end of play Saturday. They just need Trevor Cahill to take the bump and stymie the Houston batters. Oh, and they also need to beat Dallas Keuchel, a former Cy Young award winner.

The A’s and Astros will square off for game two Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

Ervin’s first career walk-off helps Reds to 2-1 win over Giants in 11 innings

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Photo credit: @Reds

By Jeremy Kahn

Phillip Ervin ended the pitchers’ duel between the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds with one swing of the bat.

Ervin hit the first pitch he saw from Ray Black over the center field wall, helping the Reds to a 2-1 over the Giants at the Great American Ballpark on Friday.

It was the first walk-off home run for Ervin since he hit one in his sophomore year of college for Samford against Auburn.

The loss by the Giants was the second straight loss after starting the road trip with two straight come-from-behind victories over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday and Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

Casey Kelly made the start in place of the now disabled Dereck Rodriguez, who is on the disabled list (retroactive to Monday) after straining his hamstring during the bench clearing brawl between Nick Hundley and Yaisel Puig.

Kelly, who was making his 10th Major League start of his career and first since May 22, 2016 for the Atlanta Braves had a long-time fan in the Reds’ dugout, his father Pat, who is the bench coach for the Reds.

Prior to the game, Kelly looked into the Reds dugout, and the two saluted each and then it was the Giants and the Reds.

Kelly, who pitched 1.1 innings on Wednesday night in the series finale against the Dodgers went 4.1 innings, allowing just one run on nine hits, walking one and striking out two.

Not only was Kelly’s father in the Reds dugout, but Kelly also faced former high school teammate, Scooter Gennett, who ended the night with three hits.

Five Giants relievers 5.2 innings, allowing just that one run on two hits, walking one and striking out nine.

It was the second loss of the season for Black, who went one inning and one batter, allowing the eventual game-winning home run to Ervin, on one hit and struck out the side in the bottom of the 10th inning.

David Hernandez pitched a shutdown 11th inning, as he struck out two of the three batters he faced in the inning to up his record to 5-0 on the season and the Reds ended a four-game losing streak.

Curt Casali gave the Reds a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, as singled in Tucker Barnhart, who doubled.

That was not the score for long, as the Giants tied the game in the top of the third, as Steven Duggar hit a leadoff double, then Kelly sacrificed to third and then Duggar scored the tying run on an Andrew McCutchen single off of Reds starter Andrew DeSclafani, who went 7.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits, walking one and five strikeouts.

McCutchen picked up three hits on the evening for the Giants.

NOTES: With Rodriguez on the disabled list, Hunter Strickland will be activated from the 60-day disabled list after missing two months with a broken right hand.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Reds will face each other again Saturday at 4:10 pm PDT.

Madison Bumgarner takes the hill on Saturday for the Giants, as they look to even up the series, while Matt Harvey takes the mound for the Reds.