Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s make no moves at the deadline, could some Astros moves wind up hurting them?

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@Athletics photo: Oakland A’s Khris Davis swings so hard. He’s just a blur. That’s the way things have been going for him at the plate as of late.

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

1) The Trade Deadline has come and gone and the A’s did not make any last minute roster moves. Did that surprise you?

2) Houston made several moves which we expected but you say one may help while another may wind up hurting the Astros.

3) Seattle made deals, but did any of those deals help them get better?

4) The Yankees may well be in the AL Wild Card game, which is where the A’s could be headed — how did they improve at the deadline?

5) What’s coming up for the A’s this week?

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic: Johanna Konta humbled Serena Williams in 6-1, 6-0 blowout

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Photo credit: @MubadalaSVC

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The 2018 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic continued Tuesday at the Spartan Tennis Complex in San Jose, Calif. And, as you might’ve expected, tennis star Serena Williams stole the show. Well, at least the night match in this lovely city.

Ladies Singles — Round One
ROU’s Mihaela Buzarnescu defeated USA’s Sachia Vickery in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory. Buzarnescu’s next opponent will be either CHN’s Qiang Wang or USA’s Amanda Anisimova.

HUN’s Timea Babos defeated FRA’s Kristina Mladenovic in a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Babos’ next opponent for round two will be GRE’s Maria Sakkari.

GBR’s Heather Watson defeated USA’s Claire Liu in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

BLR’s Vera Lapko defeated CHN’s Shuai Zhang, a No. 7 seed, in a 7-6, 6-0 victory. Lapko will face USA’s Danielle Collins in round two.

GBR’s Johanna Konta crushed USA’s Serena Williams with a final score of 6-1, 6-0. Now, it’s 10 games in a row for Konta, who led 6-1, 4-0 at one point.

“I think she played well in the second set,” said Williams. “And I think…I wasn’t sure, but after the first set, she got all in and she thought she was going to make it.”

When asked about the change of environment, Williams told reporters that she liked playing at Stanford, but added that it was nice to see the tournament grow at San Jose State. Additionally, Williams stated that she had to get used to the current serve clock and then mentioned that she has been getting to know San Jose since it’s sort of different compared to Los Angeles.

Ladies Doubles — Round One
RUS’ Anna Blinkova and RUS’ Natela Dzalamidze defeated ARG’s Maria Irigoyen and USA’s Desirae Krawczyk in a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

ESP’s Georgina Garcia Perez and AUS’ Priscilla Hon defeated UKR’s Kateryna Bondarenko and RUS’ Valeria Savinykh in a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

USA’s Sofia Kenin and BLR’s Aryna Sabalenka defeated PAR’s Veronica Cepede Royg and USA’s Irina Falconi in a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

Notes
USA’s CeCi Bellis isn’t playing at the Mubadala SVC, but she signed autographs for the fans at the AdvoCare Sports booth at 12:45 pm PDT Tuesday afternoon.

The Spartan Tennis Complex opened up 100 seats for the 7 pm PDT match Tuesday night between USA’s Serena Williams and UK’s Johanna Konta.

The dog of USA’s Ashley Kratzer hung out in the shade to cool down as he waited for his so-called mother to finish her practice.

American teenager Claire Liu went from defense to offense in a big way, as she won the point of the day at the Mubadala SVC.

Up Next
Second round for both ladies’ doubles and singles are scheduled for Wednesday from 11 am to 5 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm. All times Pacific.

Crawford delivers RBI single to lift Giants past Padres 3-2 in extras

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Photo credit: @markopalypse

By Jeremy Kahn

Brandon Crawford came up with the biggest hit of the game when the San Francisco Giants needed it the most in Tuesday’s game against the San Diego Padres.

Crawford hit a seeing eye single to right field in the top of the 10th inning, helping the Giants defeat the Padres 3-2 at Petco Park Tuesday.

Evan Longoria tripled to lead off the inning of losing pitcher Phil Maton, and then Longoria scored on Crawford’s thru the infield.

Tony Watson won for the fourth time this season, as he pitched a perfect ninth inning for the Giants, who have won three games in a row after dropping four in a row.

After striking out all five batters he faced on Monday night, Will Smith came on to pick up his sixth save of the season and the Giants swept the two-game series.

It is totally different story for the Padres, who are 2-9 since the All-Star break, having dropped 14 out of their last 16 games and went 5-20 in the month of July.

Dereck Rodriguez pitched fantastic, as he went seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking three and striking out a career-high seven. This was the second time in his 10 Major League starts that Rodriguez pitched seven innings.

Rodriguez gave up the only run that he would allow in the bottom of the first inning, as he gave up a single to Wil Myers and Eric Hosmer hit a RBI double to give the Padres an early 1-0 lead.

Monday Night’s hero Gorkys Hernandez tied up the game in the top of the fourth inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to score Austin Slater from third base.

Andrew McCutchen gave the Giants the lead in the top of the fifth inning, as he hit an opposite field home run off of Padres starter Clayton Richard.

The Giants loaded the bases in the top of the eighth inning, as Longoria led off the inning with a single, then Nick Hundley followed up with a single of his own and Slater walked to load the bases. Crawford struck out against rookie Robert Stock, who then got Panik to ground into the Fielders’ Choice and got out of the jam, as he got Hernandez to fly out to right field and the Giants came up empty.

Unfortunately, Reyes Moronta was not able to hold to the lead, as he allowed Manuel Margot reach on a Fielders’ Choice that allowed Jose Pirela score the tying run. Pirela walked against Moronta, as he came on to pinch-hit for Stock.

Richard was replaced by Jordan Lyles in the top of the sixth inning, as the usual starter went two innings and struck out two.

The left-handed starter went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walked three and struck out one.

NOTES: Panik came off the bench to pinch hit for Hunter Pence in the top of the eighth inning and grounded into a Fielders’ Choice.

UP NEXT: After a day-off on Wednesday, the Giants open a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field beginning on Thursday night at 6:40 pm PDT.

Giants’ Madison Bumgarner will take the start in the opener, while Zack Greinke will start for the Diamondbacks.

6-time LPGA winner Pat Hurst returns to alma mater as San Jose State’s assistant women’s golf coach

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Pat Hurst, a six-time winner on the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Tour and the only San Jose State alumna to win a NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship, returns to her alma mater as the women’s golf assistant coach. New San Jose State head coach Dana Dormann made the announcement Tuesday.

Hurst, a San Leandro, Calif. native, is entering college coaching for the first time and can rely on her past experiences as an assistant captain of the 2015 and 2017 United States-winning Solheim Cup teams.

“I am very pleased Pat Hurst is coming back to San Jose State as the assistant coach to the women’s golf team. Her success at every level of competition from junior, to SJSU, and to the LPGA Tour is unmatched in college coaching,” said Dormann, who’s a San Jose State alumna and a two-time LPGA Tour winner herself.

“Her work as the Solheim Cup assistant captain to fellow Spartan alumna Juli Inkster has given Pat knowledge of team building, course strategy and an understanding of the game that will be very valuable to our team. I look forward to working with my fellow Spartan as San Jose State Women’s golf builds our ‘Culture of Champions’ for life.”

Before enrolling at San Jose State, Hurst was the 1986 USGA Girls Junior champion. As a sophomore, Hurst was the 1989 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf medalist and led the Spartans to their second of three national team championships at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.

The two-time first-team All-American would capture the 1990 U.S. Women’s Amateur — Hurst’s second USGA championship in four years. Hurst earned her LPGA Tour Card in 1994 and was named the Tour’s “Rookie of the Year” in 1995. Hurst’s first LPGA Tour win was the 1997 Oldsmobile Classic in East Lansing, Mich.

Hurst has one major championship win to her credit–the 1998 Nabisco Dinah Shore Invitational–and 10 other top-10 finishes at LPGA Major Championship Tour events. She played on eight USA teams in international competition–four of them Solheim Cup winners. Hurst has a 10-7-3 Solheim Cup individual win-loss record.

“I am so excited to be joining the San Jose State University women’s golf team as the assistant coach. I look forward to using my knowledge and experiences to help the team and making an impact on their lives,” said Hurst, who was an inductee into multiple Halls of Fame, including the San Jose State Sports’ Hall of Fame.

Though Hurst has cut back on the number of tournaments she plays in recent years, her $7 million in career earnings still ranks her 33rd all-time among LPGA players.

“Congratulations to Pat Hurst on being named assistant coach for the San Jose State University women’s golf team. She has been my right hand person for the last two Solheim Cups (United States vs. Europe). She is organized, passionate and fun,” said Juli Inkster, a LPGA Hall of Fame golfer who served as the captain of the triumphant 2015 and 2017 U.S. teams after becoming an San Jose State alumna.

“Dana Dormann and Pat will make a amazing team. Their golf knowledge and loyalty to SJSU will be a home run. I wish I had some eligibility left.”

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Giants to sell 125 lithos of Dwight Clark and Willie Mays holding their famous catch photos

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Photo credit: 49ers.com

On the SF 49ers podcast with David:

The San Francisco Giants have announced that they will sell a limited amount of autographed lithographs of the late 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark and former San Francisco Giant legend Willie Mays, who is holding up his photo of making his catch in the 1954 World Series. The lithos are $487 each and there are only 125 available.

The 49ers have three tight ends in camp: George Kittle, Garrett Celek, and Cole Hikutuni. With a limited amount of tight ends in camp, can the 49ers open the season with only three tight ends?

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

Monday was a day to remember for Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic fans

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Photo credit: @MubadalaSVC

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — There was plenty of good things in the San Jose area when the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic kicked off at the San Jose State University Tennis Complex Monday morning. First off, Mubadala SVC was delighted to present alongside their partners at Soft Bank at a Fast Company exclusive forum called Game On: Winning In Sports, Technology & Business. Second, San Jose State athletics director Marie Tuite–one of only a handful of female FBS athletics directors in the country–performed the ceremonial first serve Monday.

Results for Ladies’ Singles — Round One
In the first-ever main draw match at Stadium Court, GRE’s Maria Sakkari cruised past USA’s Christina McHale in a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

USA’s Sofia Kenin had no trouble getting past PAR’s Veronica Cepede Royg in a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

AUS’s Ajla Tomljanovic moved on to round two with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over ESP’s Georgina Garcia Perez.

USA’s Danielle Collins defeated USA’s Danielle Lao in a 7-6, 6-3 victory.

To top it all off, BLR’s Victoria Azarenka toughed it out through three sets to beat UKR’s Kateryna Bondarenko in a 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 victory.

Results for Ladies’ Doubles — Round One
GBR’s Johanna Konta and CHN’s Shuai Zhang defeated USA’s Jacqueline Cako and GER’s Nicola Geuer in a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

ROU’s Mihaela Buzarnescu and GBR’s Heather Watson defeated USA’s Tamara Culibrk and FRA’s Sybille Gauvain in a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Notes
The well-known Williams sisters were practicing on nearby courts Monday. Serena is scheduled to play Tuesday night, while Venus is set to play Thursday night.

Respond to Mubadala SVC’s tweet for a chance to win two tickets.

Up Next
Order of play for Tuesday, July 30.

A’s get back on track with 10-1 rout of Blue Jays

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Oakland A’s snapped a three-game losing streak Monday night at the Oakland Coliseum as they blasted the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1.

The A’s, returning home after getting swept by the Colorado Rockies in Denver, beat the Blue Jays for the fifth consecutive time this year. The Blue Jays were hoping to be contenders this season. Injuries to key players such as Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, and Kevin Pillar have contributed to their demise.

Toronto manager John Gibbons still had to put a team on the field. He sent Marco Estrada to the hill Monday night. The A’s tagged him for one in the second, one in the third, and two in the fourth. Mark Canha smoked his 14th home run of the year in the second to give the A’s a 1-0 lead. In the third, Nick Martini singled. Matt Chapman walk. Jed Lowrie flew out, and Martini tagged and went to third. Martini scored on Khris Davis’ sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. The A’s plated two more in the bottom of the fourth Singles by Stephen Piscotty and Marcus Semien put men on at first and third. Jonathan Lucroy hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Piscotty. Nick Martini followed with a double to drive in Semien all the way from first The A’s lead 4-0.

There was no more scoring until the bottom of the eighth. The A’s, who lead the majors with runs scored in the eighth inning, worked their magic once more as they scored six times to break the game wide open. Stephen Piscotty led off with his 15th big fly of 2018. Lefty reliever Jaime Garcia gave up a single to Mark Canha. Semien reached on left Fielder Teoscar Hernandez committed an error. Both players scored on Lucroy’s double to increase the lead to 7-0.  Garcia walked Matt Chapman, and he was then rocked for a double by Jed Lowrie to make it 9-0. Khris Davis singled to drive in Lowrie with the sixth run of the inning.

Toronto’s shortstop Adelmys Diaz led off the top of the ninth off A’s reliever Ryan Buchter. Buchter then retired the next three hitters to close out the win. The A’s win 10-1.

Game Notes- A’s starter Edwin Jackson was the winning pitcher, and he evened his record at 2-2. His line was 5 2/3rds innings of work. He allowed no runs and just three hits. He walked three and struck out five. A’s manager Bob Melvin removed him from the game with two outs in the sixth as he had exceeded his pitch count limit. Ryan Dull finished the sixth, Lou Trivino worked the seventh, and Familia pitched the eighth. Lefty Ryan Buchter pitched the ninth.

The A’s gained a game on the Houston Astros Monday night. The Astros, in a bit of turmoil as they were swept by the Texas Rangers this weekend, lost Monday night again to the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are now two back of the Astros. Houston made a blockbuster trade Monday as they sent closer Ken Giles to Toronto for Roberto Osuna. Giles did not do the job for Houston. Osuna is serving a 75-game suspension and is due to be available on August 4th. The A’s are now just five games behind the Astros and remain two back of the Mariners.

The A’s will send Trevor Cahill to pitch Tuesday night. Cahill is 2-2 with an ERA of 3.43. He will be opposed by righty Sam Gaviglio who is 2-3 with an ERA of 4.65. Game time will be at 7:05pm at the Oakland Coliseum.

The A’s also announced a major restructuring of how they will be selling tickets next year. Enclosed is the press release from the A’s.

Oakland A’s Cancel 2019 Season Ticket Program

Team introduces A’s Access; New approach to membership

 

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland A’s will no longer offer season tickets in the traditional format and will introduce A’s Access, a new membership program for the 2019 season, the club announced today. A’s Access provides all members general admission access to every 2019 regular season home game, a reserved seat plan, and significant benefits that are exclusive to members. Access memberships will go on sale this Friday, Aug. 3.

“To better meet the evolving needs of our fans, we are changing our approach to membership. This flexible model is designed to serve both fans who want a more traditional reserved seat plan and those who desire a more flexible and social experience,” said A’s COO Chris Giles.

 

Access Members will receive 50 percent off concessions, 25 percent off merchandise, and parking benefits, as well as an allotment of seat upgrade credits for games not included in their reserved ticket plan. A’s Access will also include a flexible new payment plan, a 12-month option that auto-renews each year. Fans who purchase 2019 A’s Access this season will have the first opportunity to purchase 2018 postseason tickets, including a “Pay As We Play” option.

“A’s Access is the first program of its kind. From access to every game to special member concessions pricing, we’re focused on maximizing the value proposition for members. We are inviting our fans to truly become members of the A’s,” said Giles.

Every A’s Access membership includes a reserved ticket plan and all seat plans held by current season ticket members are available for renewal within the Access program. A’s Access plans begin at $240. Member concession pricing includes $4 20-ounce domestic drafts, $3 hot dogs, and $2.50 16-ounce sodas.

A’s Access will go on sale on Friday, Aug. 3 at 9 a.m. For more information, visit athletics.com/2019.

– athletics.com –

 

Where from here?: Giants (54-54) win in extras at San Diego, achieve .500 record for the 19th time in 2018

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Photo courtesy of sbnation.com: San Francisco Giants Gorkys Hernandez admires his 12 inning home run that would be the game winner at Petco Park in San Diego on Monday night

By Morris Phillips

Needing somebody to do something–anything, for goodness sakes–the Giants had the call answered by Gorkys Hernandez on Monday night.

Hernandez’ majestic home run in the 12th inning off San Diego’s Matt Strahm broke a 3-3 tie and propelled the Giants to a 5-3 win over the Padres. The win brought the Giants’ record to 54-54, the 19th time they’ve stood exactly at .500 in 2018.

The Giants took the early lead on Monday with Chase d’Arnaud’s three-run homer off starter Eric Lauer in the second inning. On Twitter, Padres beat writer Dennis Lin astutely pointed out the irony of d’Arnaud’s third home run as a Giant, on the second pitch of his first at-bat against his former team, the Padres. That after D’Arnaud homered once in his 49 career at-bats as a Padre.

But as has happened so many times this season, the Giants’ offense took a siesta after d’Arnaud connected, and their early lead evaporated. While the Padres came up with the tying run off reliever Mark Melancon in the eighth, the Giants somehow survived innings six through 10 on one hit, Buster Posey’s infield single in the 10th.

With the game in extras, and the Giants’ offense possibly done for the evening, Hernandez stepped up and seized the game for the visitors, and in doing so seemingly bucked every negative trend the Giants have been forced to bear this season.

GAME NOTES: Johnny Cueto, who had complained recently of discomfort in his elbow, was placed on the 10-day disabled list. Cueto has been on the list twice previously this season, the first time in April, when the issue again was also his elbow. Both Kelby Tomlinson and Joe Panik were recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and were available on Monday. Pablo Sandoval landed on the disabled list, hobbled by a hamstring injury that ended his afternoon prematurely on Sunday against the Brewers.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Padres will close out their series Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Will Giants deal before deadline? McCutchen, Panik, or Bumgarner are names dropped

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mercurynews.com photo: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers in the top of the first inning at AT&T Park on July 27, 2018 in San Francisco, California

On Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Will the Giants make any deals? Names that have come up: Andrew McCutchen, Joe Panik and Madison Bumgarner. Will the Giants seek a deal to get some leverage in their chase for a shot at the postseason?

#2 Giants catcher Buster Posey says the Giants are a streaky team. Sometimes, they’ll win eight of 10 and then they’ll win seven of nine. They lost two out of three to the Brewers and they opened up a three-game series in San Diego Monday night.

#3 With a right hamstring injury, Giants pull third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who will be sitting out on the DL just as Evan Longoria comes back to assume his position at third.

#4 Chase d’Arnaud has taken over first base for San Francisco in place of injured Brandon Belt. This is Belt’s third time on the DL this season.

#5 Giants are looking to get some hitting in the San Diego series–something they lacked in the series in Colorado, where they got swept.

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

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Anti A’s ball park group trying to spread the news about traffic and congestion; flyers handed out in Oakland

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ktvu.com photo: Artist rendition of a Jack London Square Oakland A’s stadium at Howard Terminal

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

They’re known as Protect Oakland’s Shoreline Economy who put out a flyer explaining why the Oakland A’s shouldn’t build at Jack London Square that it would impact traffic conditions, that hundreds of millions of tax dollars would be blown on a project that could be used for infrastructure for other city projects.

So who was behind such a flyer? According to the San Francisco Chronicle, there is a company that does scrap recycling next door to the proposed site and they deny having anything to do about the flyer but it was reported that former Senator Don Perata who had been advising the scrap plant about the stadium build.

The language in the flyer looked a lot similar to a prepared report for the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority board of directors. Oakland A’s team president David Kaval said he didn’t know who wrote the flyer and never heard any complaints from the company or neighbors from Jack London Square. Kaval said that on the contrary the neighbors are in favor of the new park and see it as a economic improvement to the neighborhood.

Amaury has much more on this story and the latest on the A’s at http://www.sportsradioservice.com