San Jose State grad Sybille Gauvain loses in Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic singles

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Recent San Jose State graduate Sybille Gauvain became one of the first four players to compete on the new Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic women’s tennis tournament stadium court.

Gauvain faced Anna Blinkova of Russia, who ranked #101 in the world, and led 3-2 in the second set before losing 6-0, 6-3, in a tournament singles qualifying round match at the San Jose State Tennis Complex.

“When I started, I was a little bit nervous. I was trying to put the ball in the court. The first set, I think I fought a lot. She (Blinkova) was playing pretty fast and returning (shots) very good. My serve was not that bad and my shots were fine,” said Gauvain, who was a four-time All-Mountain West singles player during the 2015 to 2018 seasons.

“I tried to step it up more in the second set and it worked. When I was up in the second set, I should have focused more on my games. She’s a very good player and it was a good experience.”

Gauvain believed she rallied well with Blinkova throughout the 56-minute match. By the way, the slight breeze was not a factor for either player.

“At 0-2, I won the first game, I needed to win one game to be a little more into the match. At 2-1, I was feeling better about my serve and that’s how I was able to win three games in a row.”

With Gauvain leading 3-2 in the second set and ahead, 30-0, in the sixth game, the match turned when the Spartan returned a shot wide. Blinkova won the next four points to even the set at 3-3 and closed out the match.

“I had a very nice crowd behind me. There were a lot of people cheering for me today. It was pretty nice. I wish I could have done better. I tried to do my best,” said Gauvain, who now has three professional tournaments on her resume since her graduation. She plans to continue sharpening her game in preparation for upcoming tournaments this summer.

The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic continues through Sunday, August 5. Morning and evening matches begin on Monday, July 30.

MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington: Would Giants really deal Bumgarner?; Will A’s start to cool off after loss in Colorado?; plus more news

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On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

#1 The San Francisco Giants have dropped three straight games. There’s been talk about dealing their ace pitcher Madison Bumgarne. Would any kind of move of Bumgarner be surprising?

#2 It was going to happen sooner or later. The Oakland A’s, who had won 27 out 34 games prior to Friday night, snapped their six-game winning streak. Could they start to cool off?

#3 The Los Angeles Dodgers continued to roll on Friday. Starter Clayton Kershaw allowed one run and struckout eight in seven-plus innings, Kershaw also helped his own cause with a single and an RBI.

#4 The St. Louis Cardinals handed the Chicago Cubs a 5-2 loss at Busch Memorial Stadium on Friday. The Cards’ Paul DeJong had three hits and three RBIs.

#5 The Cleveland Indians continues to roll with a 8-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor hit two home runs out of the four homers Cleveland would get on Friday night.

Matt does the MLB The Show podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose State football announces three kickoff times for 2018 season

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — At last, the kickoff times for the 2018 San Jose State football season opener and two Mountain West road games have now been determined.

The Spartans the season hosting the UC Davis Aggies in a non-conference game at CEFCU Stadium on Thursday, August 30, with a 7:00 pm PDT kickoff.

When San Jose State travels to Laramie, Wyo., for a November 3, conference contest at Wyoming, the game time will be 12:00 pm MDT or 11:00 am PDT. After that, San Jose State visit Utah State on November 10, at 2:00 pm MDT or 1:00 pm PDT. The television broadcast partner for these games will be announced later on.

Tickets for all San Jose State home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets or by calling (408) 924-SJTX.

Notes: 2018 San Jose State football schedule

Up Next: San Jose State begins its preseason football practice schedule on Wednesday, August 1, 9:30 am PDT, on its practice field, which is north of CEFCU Stadium. Weekend scrimmages are scheduled for August 11 at 5:00 pm PDT and August 18 at 4:30 pm PDT. These practices are open to the public.

A’s Strand 13 Runners, Win Streak Over at 6 with 3-1 loss to Rox

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By Matthew Harrington

There was a traffic jam on the basepaths versus the Colorado Rockies in Denver Friday night and the Oakland Athletics are still trying to get home.

Boasting one of the most potent offenses in baseball, one would expect the A’s tol feast in the Mile High City, but the Green and Gold stranded 13 runners to fall to the Rockies 3-1. The A’s remain a game back of the Mariners for the second Wild Card spot.

A’s ace Sean Manaea gave up three runs, including a solo homer to potential NL MVP Nolan Arenado and Rockies ace Kyle Freeland pitched six shutout innings to snap the A’s win streak at six games. Adam Ottavino picked up his fourth save to end the run of dramatic finishes the A’s found themselves on.

The Rockies first run came on a bit of small ball after rookie Garrett Hampson squared up for a bunt with a runner on third in the bottom of the second. The sure-handed Matt Chapman couldn’t come up with the ball cleanly, but it was eventually ruled a hit and not an error.

The Rox tacked two more in the fifth after Ian Desmond singled in a run and Arenado mashed his league-leading 26th homer. It was the Gold Glover’s 100th career Coors Field blast. Manaea would finish the inning, but exited the game after five innings.

After Freeland exited the game the A’s thought they had an opportunity. Jed Lowrie would double a run in in the top of the seventh, but otherwise no damage was done, despite four hits off the Rockies’ pen in three innings. Oakland would end the night 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Up Next: The A’s will look to start a new streak in Denver Saturday, sending former Rockies pitcher Brett Anderson to the hill. He’ll face Antonio Senzatela.

The A’s and Rockies will face off Saturday at 5:10 pm PDT.

Brewers hand Giants third straight loss in 3-1 road win

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — It was a pitchers’ duel between Chase Anderson and Madison Bumgarner in the second game of the four-game series between the San Francisco Giants and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Orlando Arcia broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh inning, when he grounded out to Evan Longoria that enabled Hernan Perez to score from third base and the Brewers would go on to defeat the Giants 3-1 before a crowd of 40,414 at AT&T Park on Friday night.

Perez led off the inning with a walk-off of Madison Bumgarner, was then sacrificed to second by Manny Pina, then with Arcia at the plate, Perez stole third, and then scored on the Arcia groundball.

Since returning from the All-Star Break, the Giants have lost five of their first seven games, while the Brewers have won five out of their first eight games out of the gate after the All-Star Break.

With the loss, the Giants are under. 500 for the first time since June 22, when they lost to the San Diego Padres 6-2 and were 38-39.

This was the seventh loss in the last eight losses for the Giants, where they have been leading or tied at the end of the sixth inning or later.

“Gotta find a way to win a ballgame,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “Still believe we are going to get this thing going.”

Brandon Crawford got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the second inning, as he doubled off the right field wall to score Buster Posey, who doubled to lead off the inning against Anderson.

That would be the score all the way to the top of the sixth inning, when Bumgarner allowed an infield single to Keon Broxton, then Christian Yelich walked and then both advanced an additional 90 feet on a groundout by Jesus Aguilar. Broxton scored the tying run when Ryan Braun hit a ground ball to Alen Hanson at second base, Bumgarner was able to get out of the jam without any more damage, when he got Tyler Saladino to fly out to Gorkys Hernandez to end the inning.

The Brewers extended their lead up to 3-1 in the top of the eighth inning, as Yelich doubled with one out, then two batters, Ryan Braun drove in Yelich with a single.

“Just trying to keep runs off the board,” said Bumgarner.

Yelich extended his hitting streak up to 11 games, and now has a hit in 16 of his last 17 games.

Anderson ended up going six innings, allowing just one run, while scattering four hits, walking no one and striking out three.

Despite being on the losing end of things, Bumgarner pitched a great game, as he went eight innings, allowing three runs, allowing seven hits, while walking just one and striking out five.

“Felt good, command was good,” said Bumgarner.

Bumgarner saw his four-game winning streak against the Brewers come to an end, as he is now 7-3 all-time versus them.

Newly acquired Joakim Soria replaced Anderson in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the former Chicago White Sox reliever got Crawford to ground out to lead off the inning. However, Longoria walked with one out. Soria was then able to get Pablo Sandoval to ground into an inning-ending double play to end the mini threat.

Jeremy Jeffress struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth inning, but then Jeffress gave up back-to-back singles to Steven Duggar and Hanson, before walking Andrew McCutchen on four consecutive to load the bases for Posey. Jeffress was able to get out of the jam, as he got Posey to ground out Saladino at third base to end the inning.

NOTES: Prior to the game, Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong and Brian Wilson will be inducted into the Giants’ Wall of Fame on 2nd St. The ceremonies will begin at 2:00 p.m. and conclude at approximately 2:45 p.m.

Joe Panik continues his rehab assignment with the Sacramento Rivercats, as he went 1-for-3 and played seven innings.

Mike Moustakas was acquired by the Brewers from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfield prospect Brett Phillips and reliever Jorge Perez.

The Royals were rained out against the New York Yankees on Friday night, and Moustakas should arrive prior to the start of the game.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Brewers will meet again for game three of the series Saturday night at 6:05 pm PDT.

Johnny Cueto looks to get the Giants back into the winning column on Saturday night, as he takes the mound against Jhoulys Chacin for the Brewers.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary Cooperstown Class of 2018: Vladimir Guerrero Was One of a Kind

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By: Amaury Pi-González

Vladimir Guerrero is in New York for his official induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown this Sunday, July 29, together with Jim Thome, Trevor Hoffman, Larry “Chipper” Jones, Jack Morris, and Allan Trammel.

Guerrero said in Spanish, “Me siento feliz y mi gente me hace sentir feliz, dijo el jueves en la Galería de Placa tras una visita relámpago a la meca del béisbol.” “Soy el primero de mi pueblo, que es obvio, pero también soy el primer bateador Dominicano en el Salón de la Fama”

Translation: “I am happy and my people makes me feel happy, he said this past Thursday at his Plaque on the Gallery at the Hall of Fame, after a quick visit to the baseball mecca.”

“I am the first from my town, that is obvious, but also I am the first hitter from the Dominican in the Hall of Fame.”

Guerrero, a great outfielder, was born in the town of Don Gregorio, Dominican Republic. Guerrero, who is one of the most electrifying and unconventional hitters of his generation, will now be a member of one of the most exclusive clubs, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

On his second consecutive year on the ballot, Guerrero was elected with 92.9 percent of the vote, higher than his two countrymen Juan Marichal and Pedro Martínez. Guerrero picked the Angels over the Expos as his uniform in perpetuity at Cooperstown.

Guerrero said in Spanish, “Desde que vi a Vladimir en Nizao sentí que era especial.”

Translation: “When I first saw Vladimir in Nizao, I felt something special.” said Arturo DeFreites, the chief of Scouts for the Montreal Expos who originally signed the outfielder for $2,000 in 1993.

His acceptance speech with be in Spanish and he will have an interpreter.  So many players have nicknames and most are forgettable but there is only one “Vladdy” and that is this right-fielder, the incomparable Vladimir Alvino Guerrero.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s head to pitcher’s park Coors Field with six-game win streak; Can Rockies cool down the red-hot A’s?

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Joey:

The Oakland A’s are rip roaring with 27 wins out of their last 34, a four-game sweep, four triples in a four-game series with the Rangers. The A’s led the way with the four triples and the A’s outfielder Steven Piscotty said there’s a new hero everyday in this ball club.

The A’s leadoff hitter Nick Martini in two at bats on Thursday connected for two hits and scored two runs himself while picking up an RBI. All the runs counted in this one as the A’s got by the Rangers by a run, 7-6.

The A’s open a three-game series in Denver starting tonight at Coors Field. It’s not a hitter’s park. The Rockies have a shot at being that one club that could cool down the red-hot A’s. They’re at home at Coors. They’re third in the NL West, just two games out of first behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers and they have the talent to make a run at the postseason. Come to think of it, so do the A’s.

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

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants are concerned about team DL; Should Giants fans have booed Hader for racist tweets?

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On the SF Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

The San Francisco Giants will be glad when July is over. They dropped two series with the Oakland A’s, and to close out the month, they opened up a series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday–only to lose 7-5. With the loss to the Brewers, the Giants drop their season record to .500. The Giants’ starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (3-3) tonight at AT&T Park for game two of the series. The Brewers are having a very good season just 2 1/2 games back in the NL Central behind the first-place Chicago Cubs.

Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, who made racist, homophobic, and misogynistic tweets, received boos Thursday night when he was announced to the crowd. Was Hader’s treatment by the San Francisco crowd deserving or should the fans just move on? Michael talks about the Hader question on this segment.

It’s been a rough month for San Francisco now at .500 and the Giants are concerned for pitchers Johnny Cueto (3-1), who has thrown well, but is he fully healthy? Jeff Samardjiza is trying to get back–how far off is he? And Brandon Belt is expected to miss about a week with a bruised bone.

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

Giants’ bullpen gets pounded in 7-5 loss to Brewers

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By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants’ bullpen will want to get rid of the memories of the last two days as quickly as they can.

After coughing up Wednesday’s game in Seattle, the Giants’ relievers had an even rougher outing on Thursday, completely overshadowing Dereck Rodriguez’s solid outing in a 7-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at AT&T Park on Thursday night.

Rodriguez did his part, going six strong innings and giving up only a pair of runs and giving the Giants a solid chance to win. However, things imploded upon his exit.

The Brewers put together a one-out rally in the eighth against Mark Melancon, when Travis Shaw singled against the shift to put runners on the corners, which brought Ryan Braun off the bench to pinch hit. Braun responded with a single into left field to bring in Christian Yelich, who had led off the inning with a single of his own, to give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead.

Erik Kratz immediately followed that with a single up the middle to bring in another run and send a great deal of Giants fans to the exits.

However, the Giants fought back almost immediately after that. They put together a rally of their own in the bottom of the eighth, scoring a run before Brandon Crawford’s single down the right-field line put runners on the corners with two out.

However, Hunter Pence struck out to end the inning, with the Giants still down a run. Milwaukee then pushed the lead back up to two in the ninth when Jesus Aguilar’s single brought in Yelich, before Travis Shaw’s two-run homer gave the Brewers a 7-3 lead and gave even more fans a solid reason to beat traffic.

The Giants found themselves down early, but their bats sprung to life in the second. The Giants loaded the bases with nobody out, and after Pence’s double-play ball brought home the tying run, Steven Duggar lined one into center to give the Giants the lead.

After giving up the first-inning run, Rodriguez settled down very nicely and was moving right along until the very first pitch of the sixth inning, when Yelich ripped one just beyond the center-field wall – just over the 399-foot sign – to tie the game right back up at 2-2.

NOTES: As to be expected, there was more than a handful of boos waiting for reliever Josh Hader when he entered the game with two out in the sixth in a 2-2 tie.

He then got the third out and then pitched a scoreless seventh before giving way to Jeremy Jeffress. Hader ended up getting the win on Thursday, running his season record to 3-0.

Hader has been quite the lightning rod for controversy lately, as racist and homophobic tweets that he had made as a 17-year-old – seven years ago – surfaced during last Tuesday’s All-Star Game, a game that saw him give up a three-run, game-losing home run.

Following Tuesday’s game, the Giants optioned both left-hander Ty Blach and infielder Kelby Tomlinson to Triple-A Sacramento, upon the return of both Evan Longoria, who returned to the starting lineup Wednesday after completing a rehab assignment, and righty Chris Stratton, who was recalled from Triple-A.

However, Brandon Belt was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a hyperextended right knee, which prompted the team to recall Blach.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Brewers will face off again Friday night at 7:15 pm PDT.

A’s mess with Texas again; sweep 4-game series with 7-6 win

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s won their sixth game in a row as they defeated the Texas Rangers 7-6 at Globe Life Park Thursday night. The A’s swept the four-game series for their 27th win in their last 34 games since June 16th. It was the A’s third four-game sweep this season, and it was the first time the A’s have accomplished such a feat since 1928.

The A’s Trevor Cahill earned the win to even his record at 2-2. He had not won a game since April 17th when he beat the Chicago White Sox. He snapped a nine-game winless streak. He struggled as he went five innings and allowed seven hits and five runs. The A’s offense helped him out as he left the game with the A’s leading 6-5.

The Rangers’ starter was Bartolo Colon. Colon took the loss. He went seven innings and gave up nine hits and six runs. His record dropped to 5-9. He has 243 career win, and it was his fourth attempt to break the record he holds with Dennis Martinez for most wins by a Latin American native.

The A’s took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Nick Martini reached when he was hit by a pitch. Colon retired Marcus Semien for the first out. Jed Lowrie hit a dribbler up the first base line that Colon could not field properly. He tried to get Lowrie at first, but his throw sent the ball past Rangers’ first baseman Ronald Guzman. Lowrie was credited with a hit and Colon an error on the throw as Martini advanced to third base. Khris Davis singled to right to drive in Martini. Shin-Soo Choo’s throw to third base in an attempt to nail Lowrie went into the dugout for the second error of the inning. Lowrie scored.

The Rangers came back in their half of the first to tie the game. Cahill walked the leadoff hitter (Choo). Cahill hit Rougned Odor with a pitch to put men on at first and second with no out. Elvis Andrus singled to load the bases. Adrian Beltre singled to drive in Choo. Cahill struck out Jurickson Profar for the first out. Joey Gall grounded out, and Odor scored on the play.

The A’s Matt Chapman lead off the second inning with a line drive that went over the fence in left field for his 12th home run of the year.

The Rangers tied the game again in the bottom of the inning. Ronald Guzman doubled. He went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored when Choo singled.

The A’s plated three runs in the top of the fourth. With one out Chapman walked. Dustin Fowler followed with a triple to drive in Chapman. Nick Martini followed with another triple to drive in Fowler. Semien singled to drive in Martini. The A’s lead 6-3.

The Rangers scored twice in the fifth to make it a 6-5 game. They put together a walk to Andrus and a single by Beltre. Profar followed with a triple to drive in both teammates.

The A’s added an insurance run in the eighth when Chapman tripled with one out. Jonathan Lucroy drove him in with a sacrifice fly.

A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Jeurys Familia to pitch. Ronaldo Guzman reached when Matt Olson misplayed his ground ball. Pinch-hitter Willie Calhoun singled to put men on at first and second with no out. Familia struck out Choo for the first out. Rougned Odor lined out to center-field and Guzman tagged up and made it safely to third base. Familia uncorked a wild pitch and Guzman scored on the play.

A’s closer Blake Treinen was brought in to pitch the ninth. Adrian Beltre greeted him with a single, but Treinen was unfazed. He struck out Profar for the first out. Joe Gallo flew out to left field, and Treinen got Robinson Chirinos to line out to Jed Lowrie. The A’s won 7-6.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s hitting star was Matt Chapman. Chapman hit a home run and had two triples. The A’s had four triples in the game. The last time they had three triples in a game was in April 2013.

Blake Treinen recorded his 27th save of the year.

The A’s improved to 61-43 and are 18 games over the .500 mark for the first time since September 9, 2014.

The A’s announced that they will honor Bill King on July 30th will a commercial-free radio broadcast to commemorate the first anniversary of Bill’s receiving the Ford C. Frick Award that put him in Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Up Next: The A’s travel to Denver for a three-game interleague series against the Colorado Rockies. The game will be played without the DH, so Khris Davis probably will be in left field.

Lefty Sean Manaea (9-6, 3.30 ERA) will pitch for Oakland.

Colorado will counter with another lefty, Kyle Freeland. Freeland is 8-6 and has a 3.28 ERA.