Angels Rally on Pair of Homers, Top A’s 4-3

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By Matthew Harrington

So many times this season the Oakland Athletics have lived by the long ball to win games, but Friday night in Anaheim, the dinger doomed the Green and Gold. The Los Angeles Angels hit two two-run shots, outscoring the A’s 4-3 in the first game of a three-game set. The A’s hit a pair of dingers themselves, a solo shot by Jed Lowrie and a two-run blast by Khris Davis, but Justin Upton and Kole Calhoun’s round-trippers tipped the scales in the Halos’ favor.

The Swingin’ A’s did just that in the first inning, jumping on Angels’ starter Felix Pena after Matt Champan launched his 16th homer of the year with one out and no one on. Jed Lowrie reached base, allowing Davis to crush his team-leading 33rd homer of the season for a 3-0 lead.

Brett Anderson would exit the game in line for the win, but the A’s margin for error was razor thin, nursing a 3-2 lead after Calhoun’s 16th homer of the year knocked in two runs in the bottom of the third.

A’s manager Bob Melvin’s most reliable reliever not named Blake Treinen, Lou Trivino, came into the game in the sixth, but struggled to stymie the Angels after Upton’s two-run shot. Former Athletic Jim Johnson picked up the win, despite throwing just 1/3 of an inning. Blake Parker picked up his 11th save of the season.

The A’s still remain 1 1/2 games up on the Seattle Mariners and they got positive results from newly-acquired reliever Fernando Rodney. He pitched a perfect inning, notching a punchout along the way. Edwin Jackson takes the hill for Oakland in game two, opposed by Tyler Skaggs of the Angels.

The A’s and Angels face each other for game two on Saturday night at 6:07 pm PDT.

Pirates storm back, but Giants hold on for 13-10 win on Orange Friday

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By: Ana Kieu

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — In a nutshell, the San Francisco Giants got on the board with a three-run first inning, the Pittsburgh Pirates stormed back in an attempt to tie the ballgame, but the Orange and Black held on for the 13-10 win at AT&T Park on an Orange Friday type of night.

The Giants didn’t waste any time in the bottom of the first inning. Andrew McCutchen homered to right field for his 13th home run of the season and a 1-0 lead. Austin Slater’s RBI single made it a 2-0 game. Alec Hanson drove in Brandon Crawford for a 3-0 lead.

The Pirates finally got on the board in the top of the second inning as Jordy Mercer hit a line drive single to score David Freese. The score, 3-1, was still in favor of the Giants.

The Giants certainly came on down in the bottom of the third inning. McCutchen’s bases-loaded walk scored Slater, who got his team ahead 4-1. Buster Posey and Evan Longoria added line drive singles. The score was 7-1 Giants after three innings.

Mercer scored the Pirates’ second run of the game, a line drive double that scored Steven Duggar, but the Giants still led 7-2 in the top of the fourth inning.

Not only that, San Francisco continued to pour in the runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Steven Duggar went down the line for a two-run double and Posey got an RBI single. The Giants were up 10-2 after four innings. A lot of fans thought the Pirates were done for the night, but that wasn’t the case tonight.

Freese singled on a sharp line drive to bring the Pirates within seven–a 10-3 lead–in the top of the fifth inning. But, the Giants weren’t too nervous, as Alec Hanson brought home Crawford to up San Francisco’s score to 11-3 over Pittsburgh in the bottom of the fifth inning.

It was all good vibes for the Giants until the Pirates’ Francisco Cervelli hit a grand slam to left center field to pull his team within five in the bottom of the seventh inning. The score was 12-7 Giants after seven innings.

The Pirates got even closer in the top of the eighth inning when Colin Moran tripled on a sharp line drive to score Jordan Luplow. Also, Cervelli’s line drive single, and in the top of the ninth inning, Adeiny Hechavarria’s fly ball homer–his fourth of the season–capped off the scoring for Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, San Francisco’s last run of the night came from Slater, who hit a line drive single to score McCutchen in the bottom of the eighth inning. That was arguably an insurance run, but the Giants had the game regardless.

The Giants held on for the 13-10 win over the Pirates in game one of the series.

Notes

Up Next
The Giants and Pirates will meet again Saturday night at 6:05 pm PDT.

5 Takeaways From Raiders vs. Lions Preseason Game

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — Football was back at the Coliseum Friday night as the Oakland Raiders began the second stint of the Jon Gruden era against the visiting Detroit Lions in the 2018 preseason opener for both teams.

Check out five things that stood out to me from Oakland’s 16-10 win over Detroit.

Welcome back Gruden!
Is it 1998 because I sworn that was Jon Gruden on a Raider sideline?

Gruden, sporting his traditional Raiders visor, returned to the Raiders after spending the last nine years in the booth as a color analyst on Monday Night Football, reintegrated himself to Raider Nation by visiting the “Black Hole” prior to kickoff.

“It was awesome. I saw recognizable faces…saw some old friends,” said Gruden after the game.

Like I said all along, this is a great responsibility and the nostalgia has worn off and we got to do something with the opportunity, but great to see to the Raider fans and they stayed with us to the end I appreciate it.”

Clearly, the game didn’t look like it passed Gruden by on Friday night as the Raiders racked up 345 yards offensively against the Lions, but penalties were an issue for the Silver and Black who accumulated nine for 75 yards on the night.

“Beast Mode” is ready for the season.
As expected, Oakland’s first-team offense played one series but Raider Nation got a glimpse of running back Marshawn Lynch who looked in midseason form. On his first carry of the game, Lynch took the hand-off from quarterback Derek Carr and ran down the Raiders’ sideline for a 60-yard touchdown before it was called back by a holding call by rookie left tackle Kolton Miller.

Connor Cook should be Derek Carr’s primary backup.
Cook took over for Carr after Oakland’s first-team offense was forced to punt on their opening drive of the game and led the Raiders to a 13-7 lead at halftime. The third-year quarterback out of Michigan State finished the game completing 11-of-19 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Cook’s touchdown went to backup wide receiver Ryan Switzer for seven yards that pushed Oakland’s lead to 10-0 in the first quarter.

“He did some good things,” said Gruden of Cook. “There’s still a couple of things decision-wise I think he needs to correct, but he moved the football, he put points on the board, and I like the two-minute drill at the end of the half.”

Veteran quarterback EJ Manuel played in the second half but didn’t look good, driving the Raiders to the Lions’ six-yard line before fumbling the snap allowing Detroit to recover the football at their own seven-yard line.

Detroit drove down the field and added a 24-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Santoso to pull closer to Oakland, 13-10 early in the fourth quarter.

Manuel finished the game 4-of-6 for 46 yards, is listed third on the team’s depth chart behind Cook in training camp and heading into next Saturday’s game against the Rams in Los Angeles, that shouldn’t change.

P.J. Hall was impressive, Kolton Miller was not.
OK, it was just one preseason game, but rookie nose tackle P.J. Hall had an impressive showing Friday night, recording one sack and a batted pass on his first two NFL Series. The Sam Houston State product had 14 blocked kicks in his career for the Bearkats.

Unlike Hall, Miller didn’t fair well in his first NFL start.

Miller started at left tackle in place of Donald Penn, who is currently on the physically unable to perform list (PUP),  appeared to be shell-shocked at the speed of the game in the NFL. His holding penalty on the team’s opening drive negated a 60-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch.

Oakland’s first-round  draft choice this past April from UCLA was replaced by second-year tackle Jylan Ware on Oakland’s third offensive possession.

Raiders stay healthy, sort of.
Cornerbacks Antonio Hamilton (ankle) and Dexter McDonald (hand) were the only players appeared injured in the game.

Hamilton limped off the field twice in the second half, while McDonald was seen shaking his left hand in the second quarter while attempting to make a tackle.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A’s vs Mariners–Bullpen Mano a Mano

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By: Amaury Pi-González

Two Western Division teams fighting for one of the two Wild Card spots in the American League. One of them, the Seattle Mariners was supposed to be a contender, while the other one, the Oakland Athletics, is the biggest surprise in baseball this season.

Nobody can win a World Series without bullpen talent, all you have to do is go back during the past  few years and see the bullpens of the teams that won the title. The game today lends to starters–with some exceptions–to go between 5 to 6 inning, and then it is bullpen time.

Both clubs have made additions to their bullpens. Earlier this season, M’s manager Jerry DiPoto, brought veteran Alex Colomé from the Tampa Bay Rays (with 12 saves) to join their tremendous closer Edwin Nuñez (43 saves). This year, the A’s began with Blake Treinen, who saved 17 games for the team last season, but this year, he became one of the best closers in the game with 29 saves as well as his first ever selection to the MLB All-Star Game.

When the A’s got really hot and passed the M’s for the No. 2 position in the wild card race, the A’s management went to work. First, they acquired the New York Mets’ Jeurys Familia, a man that saved 51 games in 2016, then Minnesota Twins’ Fernando Rodney, who is 40 years old and a 16-year veteran who has played for five different teams and made 325 saves in his career. He packed his imaginary arrow and came to the Bay Area.

The A’s have 10 games remaining with the M’s, seven in Oakland, beginning next Monday for the first three and then three in Seattle during the last week of the season. This could be a battle of bullpens. The M’s Félix Hernández has been their No. 1 starter and he still is on paper.

However, King Félix, a leader on that pitching staff for 14 years, doesn’t bring the same dominant stuff to the mound anymore. He has a 8-10 record with a 5.73 ERA in 23 starts. Many years ago in Seattle, I saw Félix make his last start at Triple-A with Tacoma. Tremendous stuff, but that doesn’t last forever. Their No. 1 today was lefty James Paxton is 10-5 with a 3.63 ERA in 23 games (two completed games). He is their real top of the rotation man.

Edwin Jackson has done a terrific job for the A’s and now Mike Fiers, after a very good outing against the Dodgers, is part of the rotation. The A’s No. 1 is without a doubt, Sean Manaea, the young lefty is 10-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 24 starts and one complete game, a no-hitter against the Red Sox in Oakland back in April. It is worthy to mention that M’s Marco Gonzáles is having his best season. He is 12-7 and 3.79 ERA in 23 starts with one complete game.

As far as for both of these contending team starters, the M’s might have a slight edge, but when it comes to the bullpen, the A’s bullpen is much deeper than the M’s. That is just a fact. Will the A’s bullpen continue to perform as good? It is hard to find a better bullpen in baseball, maybe the Yankees, but definitely not many as solid as the A’s relievers. The A’s also picked up Nationals reliever Shawn Kelley, who began his career with the M’s, who gave up a completely meaningless ninth inning home run to Austin Jackson, which turned the Nats’ 23-run win into a 21-run win. He was mad about giving up that homer, threw his glove really hard on the ground, and that was his last game with the Nats. So the A’s told him, “Pick your glove up”and come our way!

Starting next Monday, when the A’s return from their trip to Anaheim against the Angels, I expect a bullpen battle between the A’s and M’s. This is when the rubber meets the road. Also, in this home stretch, the A’s will be facing other division teams like Houston, Texas and Los Angeles Angels, and of course a battle royale when the New York Yankees invade the Oakland Coliseum in the first week of September.

Fastens your seat belts, it going to be quite a ride!

Listen to the A’s games in Spanish on KIQI 1010AM/990AM, covering the San Francisco Bay Area as well as Sacramento, Stockton, and the Valley.

Ellie Mae Classic: New leaders come to the top; Steph Curry struggles

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By Jeremy Harness

Friday’s second round saw a ton of movement at the top of the leaderboard, and one player in particular had a chance to touch a bit of history.

Alex Purgh, who is from Spokane, Wash., grabbed a two-stroke lead at the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic after an eye-popping round, and his 10-under round of 60 was only two shots shy of the tour’s single-round scoring record of 58, which was set by Stephan Jaeger in this tournament two years ago.

Two behind him is Josh Teater, a Lexington, Ky. native who has had numerous stints on the PGA Tour. Teater followed up an opening round of 64 with a round of 62.

Despite being a stroke worse than he was on Thursday, Spaniard Samuel Del Valle didn’t lose too much ground, as his second-round score of 64 put him three shots behind the lead. He is currently tied with Trevor Cone, who also recorded rounds of 63 and 64 for the first two days.

Now here comes the bad news. Let’s all take a moment…

If you waited until the weekend to see Stephen Curry up close and personal at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, unfortunately you missed your shot.

That’s because unlike what Curry’s used to on the basketball court, the Warriors’ star guard was off target a lot on Friday, and his front nine alone took him out of any chance to make the cut, which was projected at four-under at press time.

After giving himself a fighting chance on Thursday with an opening round of 71, which is good for one-over par, Curry got off on the wrong foot almost immediately. After parring the first hole, Curry bogeyed the par-3 second before the par-5 third ate him alive.

By the time Curry walked off the third green, he was forced to write a nine–a quadruple bogey–on the scorecard. It didn’t get much better on the front nine, as Curry would go on to record a bogey, a double bogey and even a triple bogey to finish the front side 11-over par.

Curry started to piece things together on the back side with a birdie at the 10th and also recorded a birdie at the par-four 14th. However, Curry was plagued with a bogey and a triple in between those birdies, but the damage was already done by this point.

When it was all said and done on Friday, Curry signed a card that read a Friday score of 86, or 16-over par. But looking at this another way, Curry didn’t become a worldwide star and a cultural icon for his golf game.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Stiff competition for jobs as it showed during a very physical scrimmage between Lions and Raiders

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On the Raiders podcast with Joe:

The competition for a job on either team–the Detroit Lions or the Oakland Raiders–is stiff even if it means if they have to fight for it literally such as it was on Tuesday during scrimmage when both teams were practicing. There were a couple of small scuffles on the sidelines, but it got ugly later when it blew up into a full scale brawl with both benches emptying as frustrations were mounting in the scrimmage.

The Detroit Lions’ quarterback Matt Stafford was able to hit his receivers in practice. He showed his accuracy with his receivers. With both teams practicing together long and hard and watching their frustrations, this could very well carry over into Friday night’s game at the Coliseum as they will be fighting for jobs all night long.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr might end up hating head coach Jon Gruden as he will be in everyone’s grill and pushing hard. Knowing Gruden, will he get the best out of Carr and the Raiders this preseason?

This is the first of the last two seasons for the Raiders in Oakland. J Hawkes talks about the kind of reception the Silver and Black will receive as this is their first game since announcing they will be moving to Vegas.

Join Joe each week for the Raiders preview at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s on the road for brief three-game series in Anaheim; Oakland coming off 7-1 homestand

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman:

The Oakland A’s went 7-1 on their last homestand against the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was like the A’s were a knife going through butter as they made it look so easy. The A’s are playing with a lot of confidence and after acquisitions of pitchers Mike Fiers from Detroit, Sean Kelly from Washington, Jeurys Familia from the New York Mets, and picking up Fernando Rodney from Minnesota on Thursday night, the A’s have a real pitching nucleus.

Fiers, who pitched on Wednesday night for five innings plus, didn’t get the win, but was instrumental with 5.1 innings, four hits, one earned run, and eight strikeouts. A’s third baseman Jed Lowrie started working on his leg by doing sprints, treadmill, and lower body workouts.

Tonight, the A’s open a three-game series in Angels Stadium as they’ll start Brett Anderson (2-3, 4.64 ERA) going up against the Angels Felix Pena (1-3, 4.97 ERA).

Joey does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants injuries, errors, lack of offense mounting drop third straight home game

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USA Today file photo: Pittsburgh Pirates starter Trevor Williams hands his father a signed ball as Williams starts against the Giants tonight at AT&T Park in game two of the four game series this weekend

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

The San Francisco Giants who got dumped by the Houston Astros got a taste of what the Pittsburgh Pirates were all about on Thursday night in a five run 10-5 loss. The loss drops SF to seven games below in the Wild Card and the NL West. The Giants starter Andrew Saurez got rocked in the second inning surrendering two consecutive homers.

For Saurez’ pitching line, three runs, two homers, five innnings, seven hits, three earned runs, for his eighth loss. The defense Saurez didn’t help much committing three errors by Joe Panik, Evan Longoria, and Hunter Pence. The Giants will try it all over again tonight at AT&T Park Trevor Williams gets the call 9-8 and for the Giants Derek Holland 5-8.

Michael does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Pirates provide the pop, Giants’ offense shows up late in 10-5 home loss

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — All the warts associated with the Giants’ offense were there to see on Thursday night.

No offense early? With Pirates’ starter Ivan Nova’s fastball darting around the strike zone, the Giants’ bats were over a hour late arriving at the ballpark. Their first hit didn’t materialize until the fifth inning. Clutch hits with runners aboard? Forget about it. Power game with home run pop? In the dense air and damp weather, San Francisco hitters would have been fortunate to sniff the warning track let alone clear the outfield wall.

But the Pirates’ hitters did. Three times. And Josh Bell, Elias Diaz and David Freese aren’t guys you normally associate with home runs. On Thursday, the Pittsburgh trio surprised themselves.

“I haven’t pulled a ball like that virtually all year,” Bell said of his solo shot, one of two back-to-back homers in the second inning that put Giants’ starter Andrew Suarez in an early hole. “It’s definitely a good sign I’m heading in the right direction.”

When early became not early in the fifth, the Giants finally got cooking. Austin Slater picked up the Giants’ first hit, then Alan Hanson tripled home Slater. Later in the inning Steven Duggar singled in Hanson.

But as quickly as the offense commenced it concluded. Gorkys Hernandez and Andrew McCutchen failed in opportunities to tie the game ending the fifth. And Nova finished his evening by stopping the Giants in the sixth.

We digress here: the Giants had dropped seven of eight at home coming in, then, we pause, they went the first eight innings Thursday trying to subsist on three hits.

That was a recipe for disaster before Mark Melancon’s seventh inning relief stint was marred by Joe Panik’s exchange error and Evan Longoria’s throwing error on consecutive plays. Run scoring hits of Melancon preceded a three-run homer by David Freese off Derek Law, and the Pirates extended their one-run lead to 8-2.

Freese’s home run was the 100th of his career, and the only space vessel to leave the yard after the second inning. No small feat given the air grew heavier as the evening wore on, and Freese doesn’t resonate as a power source.

“It’s a good feeling, I won’t lie. … For a guy that pounds the ball on the ground, not too bad,” Freese said of the home run and the milestone.

The Giants have scored 22 runs in their last eight home games, which qualifies Thursday’s ninth inning as a breakout. Panik doubled home a pair of runs, and Steven Duggar doubled home Panik. But the game ended with Hunter Pence’s groundout.

Derek Holland will get the start Friday when they attempt to break the 0-3 streak on the homestand.

Ellie Mae Classic: Curry opens with 71, still can make cut

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By Jeremy Harness

The first round of the Ellie Mae Classic is in the books, and there are some new faces on top of the leaderboard, and those guys hope to use this tournament to get–or stay–inside the top-25 of the Web.com Tour.

One of those names is Seth Reeves, who started Thursday’s play ranked 88th on the tour’s money list, and he could get inside the top-25 list with a win. He is tied for the lead after shooting an opening-round seven-under 63.

Among those also tied at the top are Adam Long, who is currently No. 23 on that list and could rise up to fourth with a win, and Spaniard Samuel Del Val, who could jump 82 spots from his current position at No. 117.

The main attraction, of course, has been Golden State Warriors’ star Stephen Curry, and he made an even bigger impression than he did in last year’s event. And, of course, he drew the much bigger crowds than the other group that took to the course on Thursday.

Starting on the 10th hole Thursday morning, Curry stumbled a bit out of the gate. He parred his first three holes but then bogeyed three of the next four holes.

However, Curry rallied very nicely on his second nine. After bogeying the second hole, he began turning things around with a birdie at the par-five third. He then got two birdies in a row at the seven and eighth to walk into the clubhouse with a first-round score of 71, which is three strokes better than his opening-round 74 from last year.

Technically, Curry can still make the cut, but he will have to have a dynamite round on Friday to do it. The cut line, which will be determined at some point Friday, figures to be at least two-under par. So, in other words, his showing has certainly improved over the past year, but he will need to do much more if the crowds that have flocked to TPC Stonebrae hope to see him through the weekend.