Is it August yet? San Jose State and others gather for Bay Area Football Media Day

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Photo credit: Ana Kieu, Sports Radio Service

By: Ana Kieu

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — College football is just around the corner, and we’re less than five weeks away from the San Jose State Spartans’ season opener versus UC Davis on August 30. But, like you should already know, San Jose State isn’t the only Bay Area college football team, as the Stanford Cardinal and Cal Golden Bears sort of dominate on the other side of the Bay. Also, the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders are the main attractions, as they’re NFL teams that may be dawdling right now, but they’re chock-full of history. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at all the football teams the Bay has to offer–whether they’re good, bad or just okay.

California Golden Bears
Last season, the Golden Bears, who compete in the Pac-12 Conference, were led by first-year head coach Justin Wilcox and played their home games at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif. The Bears finished the 2017 campaign with a 5-7 record (2-7 Pac-12), which wasn’t that bad; but there could always be room for improvement.

Oakland Raiders
The Raiders recently confirmed that they’ll relocate to Las Vegas in the near future, and the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. will just be the home of one team, the Oakland A’s. Anyways, the Raiders’ fan base is very loyal, and I’m pretty sure their fans will travel to Vegas when they can. The Raiders, however, finished the 2017 campaign 6-10 and missed the playoffs, so it’s time for the team to click-clack boom, diversify their rushing attack and improve their defense under the guidance of returning head coach Jon Gruden, who previously coached the team from 1998-2001.

San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have a lot to prove, and this year should be a difficult test for general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was arguably the biggest hero towards the end of the 2017 campaign as he helped the 49ers win five games for a 6-10 record. After that, Garoppolo signed a 5-year, $137.5 million contract extension, which made him the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time. Now, the 49ers have to stay healthy and amp up their offense.

San Jose State Spartans
Oh, where should I start when it comes to the San Jose Spartans? I know, I’m an alumna who was fortunate to cover my alma mater, but there’s a laundry list of items for this team to work on. The youth movement under first-year head coach Brent Brennan was certainly a positive, but the Spartans finished the 2017 campaign with a 2-11 record (1-7 MW) and need to rebuild its secondary, then find ways to stay consistent.

Stanford Cardinal
The Cardinal–coached by head coach David Shaw–is yet another team in the Pac-12 Conference and they play their home games at Stanford Stadium. The Cardinal finished the 2017 campaign with a 9-5 record (7-2 Pac-12). The Cardinal is a pretty good team, but in college football, the offseason antics appear to be almost endless.

Notes
Washington Redskins long snapper and Cal alum Nick Sundberg turned 29 on July 29.

San Jose State has 66 freshmen and sophomore on its roster. With 14 remaining starters and 40 overall letter winners, San Jose State was selected by a media poll to finish 6th in the MW’s West Division. In addition, webflyer.com confirmed that San Jose State will have less than 7,000 air miles of travel for its 5 road games with air travel and a 300-mile round trip to Fresno, Calif. this coming season.

Stanford center Jesse Burkett was named as the Cardinal’s National Scholar-Athlete nominee. Also, Stanford star Bryce Love was named to Walter Camp Football’s Player of Year preseason watch list. Love is a human biology major and an aspiring pediatrician.

Let’s Get Out Of Here: A’s swept in Denver, lose series finale 3-2

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By Morris Phillips

Turn the page and move on. What else could the A’s do after the clunker of a series in Denver that saw them get swept and only score four runs in three games?

“Now we have a chance to go back home and gain some ground again,” said manager Bob Melvin. “We’re looking at an extended stay at home, we’ve been on the road quite a bit and now it’s time for us to play really well at home. We do that, then we forget about this series.”

The A’s came to Denver red hot, having won 27 of 34, off a four-game sweep of Texas in which they scored 41 runs. But from the initial pitches thrown Friday night by Colorado’s Kyle Freeland, the A’s got a persistent tutorial from the National League’s hottest team and their emerging, starting rotation.

From that first inning–which ended with Matt Chapman lining out with the bases loaded–to the finish of German Marquez’ outing in the eighth inning on Sunday, the A’s were shutdown by Rockies’ starters Freeland, Antonio Senzatela and Marquez like no other starting trio had stymied them all year.

But all that pitching wasn’t a fluke, the Rockies are clearly building something. With Marquez picking up the win Sunday, the Rockies’ starters finished 8-0 with a 1.71 ERA at Coors Field in July, the best month in franchise history for their starting staff, and in terms of ERA, a full run lower than the previous record of 2.80.

Did the Rockies move back the fences, benefit from especially heavy Rocky Mountain air, or destroy the humidifiers? None of the above, it was the quality of Colorado’s pitches, and the A’s found out first hand.

For A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy, the team’s offensive struggles with the Rockies’ staff were no surprise. Lucroy was a trade deadline acquisition for the Rockies in 2017, and had first hand knowledge of the pitching talent the team was developing.

“I knew coming into here that this was going to be a tough series. I played here for a couple of months and I knew that these guys were going to bring it, they come after it everyday. They play well at home. We kept them close defensively–on the mound–but we just couldn’t score runs offensively. Their guys threw pretty well.”

“Everything was going our way in Texas and in this series guys were lining out,” Stephen Piscotty said.

On Friday and Saturday, the A’s managed to create some scoring opportunities, but couldn’t cash in any of those situations. The A’s went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position on Friday, then 1 for 9 on Saturday. But their struggles with Marquez on Sunday were far more intense.

In seven plus innings of work, Marquez allowed solo shots to Chapman and Khris Davis, leading off the fourth and seventh innings respectively. That accounted for all of Oakland’s run scoring. The other three singles and a walk allowed by Marquez led nowhere, creating the oddity of the A’s never having a baserunner at second or third base during the entire game.

A’s hitting with runners in scoring position on Sunday? 0 for 0.

GAME NOTES: A’s starter Frankie Montas was lifted Sunday after allowing eight hits, including backup catcher Tom Murphy’s two-run homer that gave the Rockies’ early lead. Montas wasn’t all bad: he struck out six, walked two, and threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 23 batters he faced.

Speculation continues to surface regarding Brett Anderson being lifted from the A’s starting rotation. Anderson, in his second tour of duty with the club, is 2-3 with a 5.55 ERA and he was the losing pitcher on Saturday, allowing eight hits and four runs. Daniel Mengden, who was the A’s best starter in May, has made several starts for Triple-A Nashville and could be promoted as he’s recovered from earlier issues he had with a sprained foot, which landed him on the disabled list in June.

The A’s have hit 98 home runs in 59 road contests after Davis and Chapman connected on Sunday. The A’s have won 35 road contests, the second best total in MLB (Boston, 37).

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: Giants get by Brewers Sunday, but team injuries plague club

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photo from mercurynews.com: Johnny Cueto #47 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers in the top of the first inning at AT&T Park on July 28, 2018 in San Francisco, California.

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael and Morris:

San Francisco Giants pitcher Ty Blach got brought up then he was sent down, Giants first baseman Brandon Belt got hurt with bruised knee, Evan Longoria came back to play at third base, pitcher Johnny Cueto came back, but says everytime he throws he’s in a lot of pain and yet it’s still kind of business as usual hovering around .500 relentless mediocrity.

Any good baseball team needs to have someone to have a career year–somebody whose at the forefront of what’s making that baseball team win. For a stretch here, we thought that Belt was that guy, maybe Brandon Crawford was that guy. We haven’t seen any consistency in either one of their seasons to carry it.

You’re trying to establish a credible playoff contending baseball team and you don’t have that one guy whose driving that one thing and that’s the whole disjointed nature of the Giants in 2018. A guy gets hot and now he’s on the DL. A player can do something like a concussion and we haven’t seen outfielder Mac Williamson in since.

Morris and Michael get more into the latest discussion on the Giants listen for more at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants avoid Brewers’ sweep with 8-5 victory

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Photo credit: @zesty_mlb

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — With a chance to complete their first ever four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, things were looking bright for the Milwaukee Brewers, that is until the bottom of the third inning.

After taking a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Brewers starter Junior Guerra simply fell apart in the bottom of the third inning, as he gave up four runs in the frame that included a bases clearing double off the bat of Buster Posey and the Giants salvaged the finale of the four-game series with an 8-5 victory over the Brewers before a sellout crowd of 41,312 at AT&T Park Sunday afternoon.

 

The double by Posey was the first of four hits on the afternoon for Posey, and it was the first four-hit game for Posey since September 15, 2016 versus the St. Louis Cardinals. Posey also ended the game with three runs batted in, his first since September 29, 2017 versus the San Diego Padres.

The comeback victory for the Giants made a winner out of Andrew Suarez, who went six strong innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, walking just one and striking out four.

Ryan Braun gave the Brewers a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as he took a Suarez offering to the opposite field for his 11th home run of the season.

Christian Yelich extended his hitting streak up to 13 games, as he singled just two batters prior to the Braun home run.

Following Posey’s bases clearing double that gave the Giants the lead in the bottom of the third inning, Evan Longoria hit a sacrifice fly that scored Posey.

Guerra got the third inning started by getting Alen Hanson to ground out, but Guerra walked the next three batters, including Suarez to load the bases for Posey, who smoked a double to left-center field. Crawford then singled to send Posey to third, and then Longoria hit a sacrifice fly to give the Giants their fourth run of the inning.

Gorkys Hernandez got in on the act in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he took a Guerra pitch and planted it over the center field fence for his 12th home run of the season.

That fourth inning would be it for Guerra, as he allowed five runs on five hits, walking three and striking out and his record on the season fell to 6-7.

Lorenzo Cain got the Brewers within two runs in the top of the fifth inning, as grounded out to second base to score Orlando Arcia, who walked to lead off the inning, but then the Giants would break the game open in the bottom of the fifth.

Posey and Longoria each walked against Matt Albers, and then Pablo Sandoval tripled down the right field line and that was the end of the line for Albers. Dan Jennings came on and Steven Duggar greeted him by lofting a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Sandoval from third base.

Hernan Perez cut the lead in half in the top of the sixth inning, as he hit eighth home run of the season off of Suarez.

The Brewers kept grinding, as Travis Shaw hit a pinch-hit home run to lead off the top of the seventh inning off of Sam Dyson. Shaw was the first batter that Dyson, and it was the 20th home run of the season for Shaw and his first career pinch-hit home run for Shaw.

The defensive play of the game came in the inning, when Austin Slater, who came on to replace Sandoval leaned into the Brewers dugout to snare a foul ball, then threw to first to Dyson. Originally, first base umpire D.J. Reyburn called Yelich safe; however, after a 1:35 review, the call was reversed and Yelich was called out to end the threat and the inning.

“First, I thought it was in the stands, I knew it was going to be bang-bang, surprised he was over there, dragged the foot and made the play,” said Slater.

Sandoval was forced to leave the game with a strained right hamstring, and will have it looked at by the doctors. Andrew McCutchen was also forced to leave the game with a left foot contusion.

With a chance to get even more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Giants loaded the bases against Brewers reliever Taylor Williams, as Longoria and Slater each singled and Duggar walked to load the bases with nobody out; however, Williams was able to regroup to get Hanson to strikeout, then Hernandez grounded into a force out and then pinch hitter Chase d’Arnaud grounded out to end the inning.

NOTES: Despite the fact that bench coach Hensley Meulens was managing today, the win will add to Bruce Bochy’s grand total and it was win number 1,906 and Bochy passed Hall of Famer Casey Stengel for sole possession of 11th place on the all-time wins’ list.

Bochy was in Cooperstown, N.Y., to show support for Trevor Hoffman, who Bochy managed for 12 years while with the Padres. Another member of the Class of 2018 and Bochy are linked, as former Detroit Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell was on Bochy’s staff in San Diego from 2000-2002.

UP NEXT: Derek Holland will start the road trip on Monday night, as the Giants head out on the road for a two-city, six-game road trip that begins in San Diego against the Padres, who will send Eric Lauer to the mound against the Giants on Monday night at 7:10 pm PDT.

Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic: Muguruza to play Wednesday night, Keys Thursday afternoon

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Photo credit: justrichest.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic announced today that two‐time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza will play Wednesday, August 1 at 7 pm, and defending champion Madison Keys  will begin her title defense during the day session on Thursday, August 2.

Tickets for the 2018 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, July 30 to August 5 at San José State University are on‐sale now at www.MubadalaSVC.com.

Muguruza will play the winner of Monday’s 7 p.m. match between Victoria Azarenka and Kateryna Bondarenko. Keys will face either Ajla Tomljanovic or a qualifier. Other matches already announced include Serena Williams versus Johanna Konta on Tuesday, July 31 at 7 pm, and Venus Williams versus either Heather Watson or Claire Liu on Thursday, August 2 at 7 pm.

Formerly known as the Bank of the West Classic in Palo Alto, the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic is a week long WTA Premier event bringing the worlds of tennis and technology together in a festival of sports and entertainment. The new venue at San José State will provide a high‐end, family friendly atmosphere and will put fans close to the action as they watch their favorite stars compete.

Highlighting the best the region has to offer, the tournament will showcase a complete entertainment experience including locally sourced cuisine, fine wine and cheese selections, interactive fan exhibitions, premier hospitality options, daily autograph signings, and of course, incredible tennis action.

Featuring a 28‐player singles draw as well as a 16‐team doubles draw the tournament will bring the best female tennis players in the world to the Bay Area and serves as the opening women’s event of the US Open Series.

With several different ticket options available, the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic has something for everyone. To purchase tickets go to www.MubadalaSVC.com or call 1 (866) 982‐8497.

Feature match schedule
Monday, July 30 at 7 pm – Victoria Azarenka vs. Kateryna Bondarenko
Tuesday, July 31 at 7 pm – Serena Williams vs. Johanna Konta
Wednesday, August 1 at 7 pm – No. 1 seed Garbine Muguruza vs. Azarenka or Bondarenko
Thursday, August 2 day session – No. 2 seed Madison Keys vs. Tomljanovic or Qualifier
Thursday, August 2 at 7 pm – No. 3 seed Venus Williams vs. Watson or Liu

MLB The Show with Daniel Dullum: Trade deadline is here, they’ll be some surprises; A’s still hottest team in MLB, despite losing series in Colorado; plus more

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@Jed_Lowrie photo: Oakland A’s infielder Jed Lowrie takes a leap while playing the hot corner would be a valuable asset to any Major League club for his ability to play many positions on the infield diamond so much so that many clubs have inquired about Lowrie. Will the A’s deal him or hold onto him and contend? Only team vice president Billy Beane and manager Bob Melvin knows.

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Wheeling and dealing as non-waiver trade deadline approaches on Tuesday.

2 A’s still baseball’s hottest team, hanging tough in AL Wild Card race. They lost outfielder Chad Pinder on the 10-day DL when he got stitches in his arm after getting into a car accident in downtown Denver on Saturday before the game with the Rockies.

3 Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong, and Brian Wilson newest additions to Giants’ Wall of Fame.

4 Andre Ethier retires; Matt Holliday returns to Rox with minor league deal.

5 RIP Tony Cloninger – good hitting pitcher for Braves, Reds, and Cardinals.

Daniel does the MLB The Show podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

No “Rocky Mountain High” for Oakland: Rockies beat A’s 4-1 Saturday night

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Rockies CarGo KOA
“CarGo” hit one of his three doubles of the game Photo @KOANewsRadio

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The 2018 Oakland Athletics at Coors Field in Denver was supposed to a “power hitting show” that would send their fans into ecstasy as the seven-game road trip to Texas and Colorado came to an end. After the four-game sweep in Texas, could a seven-game sweep be a possibility? No, it is not a possibility. Now the question is — can the A’s avoid being swept by the Rockies?

The Rockies beat the A’s 4-1 on Saturday night to hand Oakland their second consecutive loss. The loss also means the A’s will lose their first series since back in June. The magic of “the comeback kids” has temporarily disappeared, but that doesn’t mean A’s fans should be calling their doctors for antidepressants. The A’s are just experiencing the “yin and yang” of a very long 162-game season.

Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela looked like he would have a very short night when he needed 32 pitches to get out of the top of the first inning. He gave up a run to the A’s on two hits, a sac fly, and a base-on-balls. The A’s held a 1-0 lead before the Rockies ever picked up a bat.

The A’s run did not come without controversy. Khris Davis hit a fly ball to right field that Carlos Gonzalez caught and then made an on-target throw to his catcher Tom Murphy. Murphy used his left foot to block the plate as he put the tag on the sliding Nick Martini’s jersey. Martini was called out, but the A’s challenged the call. After a long review by replay center in New York, the call was overturned and Martini was called safe.

Senzatela settled down and did not allow the A’s to score again. He gave up one run (earned) on five hits. Senzatela struck out six and walked four in his 5.2 innings of work. He was credited with the win and upped his record to 4-3 on the season.

Brett Anderson made his eighth start of the season for the A’s and after the first inning looked like his was going to have a great night. The Rockies figured Anderson out and scored on him in the second, third, and fourth innings. Those four runs were enough for them to win the game.

Anderson (2-3) gave up four runs (all earned) on eight hits. He struck out one and walked one. Two of those eight hits were home runs. Three of the hits were doubles and one was a triple. It was the kind of start that will keep a pitcher from sleeping well for a few nights.

It was also a night of missed opportunities for the A’s. They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position while they left nine runners on base.

Rockies celebrate
Rockies celebrate win over A’s Photo @Rockies

Live by the late comeback — die by the lack of one
The A’s have been a very exciting team to watch because of their late-inning dramatic comeback victories. Seeing your team come back from a 10-5 deficit to eventually win the game 13-10 in 10 innings is as exciting as it gets for baseball fans. The problem is that the odds of being able to keep those late-inning miracles up over a long period of time are incredibly difficult and almost impossible to pull off.

That is not to say that those late-inning victory celebrations are over for the season, but is important for fans to remember that there will be momentary breaks in the action from time to time. Miracles do happen — just not every game.

Altuve headed to DL
No true baseball fan wishes for a player from an opposing team to sustain an injury that renders them unable to play. That being said, injuries are a part of a grueling 162-game season and teams must take advantage of situations when their opponents have players who have to go on to the disabled list.

Saturday night, the Houston Astros placed All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve on the 10-day disabled list – retroactive to July 26 – according to a tweet from Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Altuve has been dealing with right knee soreness for the past several days and has not played since Wednesday.

Houston is now without their feared double-played combo of Altuve and shortstop Carlos Correa. Correa has been on the DL for over a month due to back problems and is not expected to return until sometime in August.

This is a situation that the playoff-minded A’s must take advantage of if they are still planning on playing baseball in October.

More trades to come before Tuesday at 1:00 pm PDT?
A’s fans are curious about whether their favorite team is going to make another trade or two before the non-wavier trade deadline on Tuesday. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle told the A’s radio announcers – Vince Controneo and Roxy Bernstein – that the team is looking, but will not break the bank.

Slusser said the team may look for another reliever if they cannot find a No. 3 or 4 starter available at a reasonable price.

Those thoughts are backed up by reports from MLB Trade Rumors that stated A’s scouts were seen in Miami looking at RHP Dan Straily who was an Athletic for three seasons. Those same scouts may also have been looking at 38-year old reliever Brad Ziegler. Yes, that Brad Ziegler who was an Oakland Athletic for four years.

Up next
The final game of the three-game series between the A’s and Rockies will be played on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 12:10 pm PDT. Oakland will send RHP Frankie Montas (5-2, 3.54) to the hill to start the game. Montas was recalled from Triple-A Nashville last Tuesday and made the start versus the Rangers in Texas. Montas pitched 5.0 innings giving up four runs (three earned) off five hits. He struck out three batters and walked two. Montas had a no-decision in the game which the A’s eventually won 13-10 in 10 innings.

Colorado will counter with RHP German Marquez (8-8, 5.00). Marquez will be making his 21st start of the season and his first since coming off the paternity list last Friday. He last pitched on July 20 versus the D-Backs back had a no-decision in the Rockies’ 11-10 win. Marquez gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits. He struck out six and walked three in his 5.0 innings on the mound.

Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake battle to scoreless draw

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

By: London Donson

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It was a gorgeous evening in San Jose, California as the ever-reeling Earthquakes hosted the Real Salt Lake at Avaya Stadium Saturday night. With exactly three months until the Quakes’ final regular season match, San Jose is trying to salvage a season that is long lost to them at this point. With only two wins, they are the bottom feeders with 12 points, the least in all of Major League Soccer. Real Salt Lake sits at sixth in the Western Conference and looking to improve on their postseason position.

The beginning of the game was punctuated by injury as several fouls early contributed to stoppage time. In the seventh minute, Real Salt Lake’s Albert Rusnak was the game’s first substitution. Aggressive, chippy play would prove to be the story of the night. 34 fouls were committed, 16 by the Quakes, and 18 by Real Salt Lake with five yellow cards between both clubs. Both teams we consistently off balance and chances were squandered all match.

Credit should be given to the Quakes goalie Tarbell, who had a number of quality saves to keep the score at nil-nil. If he can continue to gain clean sheets with his level of play, the rest of the club will be able to figure it out offensively. The Quakes’ offense never gained any steam. No matter how many chances they had deep in the scoring third they failed to connect on key passes, were often out of position, and lacked synchronicity. Given their lack of offensive execution, they did a good job grinding out a draw against a team in Real Salt Lake, who is having a far better season.

Final: Quakes vs. Real Salt Lake match ends in scoreless draw.

Up Next: The Quakes will continue to look for answers on August 4 when they go on the road to face the No. 1 seed in the West–FC Dallas. Match time is set for 5:00 pm PDT.

Chacin dominates Giants in Brewers’ 7-1 win

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Johnny Cueto does not look right on the mound, and his latest outing proved that theory.

Cueto lasted just four innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, not walking a batter or striking out a batter and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the San Francisco Giants 7-1 before a crowd of 40,735 at AT&T Park Saturday night.

“It is hard to get to get loose,” said Cueto. “I am going to meet with the doctors tomorrow,” Cueto added.

On the night, Cueto threw 61 pitches, his fewest in a game since June 28, 2013, while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds against the Texas Rangers at The Ballpark in Arlington.

It was just the fourth time in Cueto’s career that he failed to strikeout a batter, the last time was on July 4, 2011 for the Reds against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

This was the fourth straight loss for the Giants, who have also lost eight out of their last 10 and are 2-6 since the All-Star Break.

Jhoulys Chacin was absolutely fantastic for the Brewers, as he went seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits, walking one and striking out six on his way to improving his record up to 10-3 on the season.

After allowing a single to Lorenzo Cain in the top of the first inning, Cueto was able to get of the jam, but the second inning was a totally different story.

Cueto allowed a one-out double to Eric Thames, and then he scored with the next batter, as Eric Kratz singled for what would be the only run that the Brewers would need on the evening.

Christian Yelich drove in two runs on a single that scored Kratz and Orlando Arcia, who entered the game with a .193 average, but 2-for-2 in his two at-bats versus Cueto.

Arcia picked up his second hit of the night in the top of the fourth inning, as he drove in Thames, who singled with one out in the inning,

The Brewers broke the game wide open in the top of the fifth inning, as reliever Ty Blach gave up four straight hits, including a solo home run by Yelich, and then Jesus Aguilar got in on the act, as he drove in newly-acquired Mike Moustakas, who picked up the third of four hits in the inning.

In his Brewers debut, Moustakas went 1-for-5 with a single in the top of the fifth inning off of Blach.

Yelich extended his hitting streak up to 12 games, as he went 2-for-5 on the night, including his 15th home run of the season in the top of the fifth inning.

Nick Hundley broke up Chacin’s no-hit bid and shutout with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he hit his ninth home run of the season.

Ray Black replaced Blach with one out in the top of the eighth inning, after Blach allowed a base hit to Kratz that came after Thames reached on a fielding error by Pablo Sandoval at first base.

Black uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Thames to score from third base after he stole third base.

Not only was Chacin great on the mound, but Cain was fantastic at the plate, as he went 4-for-5 on the evening. This was the second four-hit game for Cain this week, as he also picked up four hits in a game on Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals and it is the 14th four-hit game of Cain’s career.

NOTES: The Brewers last swept the Giants from April 16-18, 2013 in a three-game series at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

This is the Brewers first series win against the Giants at AT&T Park since September 17-19, 2010, when they took out two out of three from the Giants.

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy will miss Sunday’s game, as he will be in Cooperstown, New York, as he shows support for his former closer with the San Diego Padres, Trevor Hoffman.

Bochy also is connected to another inductee, as former Detroit Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell coached on Bochy’s staff with the Padres from 2000-2002.

Bench Coach Hensley Meulens will manage the team in Bochy’s absence. Bochy is expected to rejoin the team when they begin their brief two-game series against the Padres on Monday night at Petco Park.

UP NEXT: The Giants hope to avoid a sweep by the Brewers Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

Andrew Suarez will take the mound in the series and homestand finale on Sunday, while the Brewers will send Junior Guerra to the hill, as they look for their first ever four-game series sweep over the Giants.

San Jose State’s Bryce Crawford named to Wuerffel Trophy watch list

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State senior Bryce Crawford not only gets his kicks in as the Spartans’ record-setting placekicker, he’s also a Dean’s Scholar student who contributes to the good of the local community.

Crawford, a Frisco, Texas native, is one of 106 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players named to the 2018 Wuerffel Trophy watch list, which was named after former University of Florida and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel. The award is presented annually to a football player that best exemplifies community service with athletics and academics.

The 6-foot-3 player has a wide range of community service activities in his three-plus years as a San Jose State student. He offers his time to youngsters through annual Easter egg hunts and after school reading programs, to senior citizens at local care facilities, to recording public service announcements, thanking U.S. service men and women on Veterans’ Day, and participating in the annual local Walk A Mile In Her Shoes initiative to raise awareness against domestic violence towards females.

Academically, Crawford is a three-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete and a two-time Academic All-Mountain West honoree to go along with his Dean’s Scholar status at San Jose State.

Crawford heads into the 2018 season on the Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicking Award watch list. He shared the national lead last year for kicking five field goals of 50 or more yards and was 14-of-17 overall as a field goal kicker. In three seasons, he’s 31-of-37 as a field goal kicker, which equals a 83.8% conversion rate.

Semifinalists will be announced on November 1. Finalists will be revealed on November 19. The winner will be named on December 4 at the National Football Foundation’s New York City news conference and honored at an awards banquet scheduled for February 15, 2019.