Giants’ Wall of Fame to get three more members

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Even though this is just a four-game homestand for the San Francisco Giants, there is a special day for three former members of the Giants family on this homestand.

Former starting pitchers Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong and closer Brian Wilson will have their plaques unveiled on The Giants’ Wall of Fame on Saturday afternoon, prior to the Giants game versus the Milwaukee Brewers.

The trio will bring the number of former Giants on The Wall up to 52, and they are the largest group to be recognized since the inaugural class of 2008, when 43 of the 49 were recognized.

The Wall of Fame recognizes retired Giants players, who played for the organization for a minimum of at least nine seasons, or five seasons with at least All-Star selection as a Giants player since their move to California in 1958.

Here is a list of the players and managers on the Wall, and when they played and/or managed for the Giants.

2008:
Felipe Alou: 1958-1963; Manager: 2003-2006

Gary Lavelle: 1974-1984

Jim Barr: 1971-1978, 1982-1983

Johnnie LeMaster: 1975-1985

Willie Mays: 1951-1952, 1954-1972

Rod Beck: 1991-1997

Jeffrey Leonard: 1981-1988

Vida Blue: 1978-1981, 1985-1986

Kirt Manwaring: 1987-1996

Willie McCovey: 1959-1973, 1977-1980

Bobby Bolin: 1961-1969

Juan Marichal: 1960-1973

Jeff Brantley: 1988-1993

Jack Clark: 1975-1984

Mike McCormick: 1956-1962, 1967-1970

Bob Brenly: 1981-1988, 1989

John Burkett: 1987, 1990-1994

Stu Miller: 1957-1962

Bobby Bonds: 1968-1974

Orlando Cepeda: 1958-1966

Randy Moffitt: 1972-1981

Greg Minton: 1975-1987

Kevin Mitchell: 1987-1991

Will Clark: 1986-1993

Mike Krukow: 1983-1989

Jim Davenport: 1958-1970; Manager: 1985

John Montefusco: 1974-1980

Chili Davis: 1981-1987

Matt Williams: 1987-1996

Robb Nen: 1998-2002

Dick Dietz: 1966-1971

Gaylord Perry: 1962-1971

Darryl Evans: 1976-1983

Jim Ray Hart: 1963-1973

Rick Reuschel: 1987-1991

J.T. Snow: 1997-2005, 2008

Tito Fuentes: 1965-1974

Kirk Rueter: 1996-2005

Scott Garrelts: 1982-1991

Robby Thompson: 1986-1996

Tom Haller: 1961-1967

Chris Speier: 1971-1977, 1987-1989

Atlee Hammaker: 1982-1985, 1987-1990

2009:
Jeff Kent: 1997-2002

2010:
Rich Aurilia: 1995-2003, 2007-2009

Shawn Estes: 1995-2001

2011:
Marvin Benard: 1995-2003

Jason Schmidt: 2001-2006

2017:
Barry Bonds: 1993-2007

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s rolling with 26 wins out of their last 33 games; A’s take on Rangers in bid for sixth consecutive win

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

It’s time to come back to another comeback! The A’s have now won 26 of 33 games taking the first three games of the four-game series in Texas on comeback wins. Pitching hasn’t done it, but the A’s offense had to come back and get these wins, but eventually.

The A’s will need some help from their starting pitching to hold opponents early in the games. Closer Blake Treinen, who picked up his 26th save of the season on Wednesday night continues to shut the door. A’s designated hitter Khris Davis has gone deep six times since Sunday through Wednesday. No matter what you throw him, he can find it.

A’s play game four of this four-game series tonight in Arlington as they try to win their sixth straight game. It’s a classic match up–A’s Trevor Cahill (1-2) vs. Rangers starter Barolo Colon (5-8).

Jerry Feitelberg does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Carr looking to overcome last year’s injuries; Lynch expected to have big season; plus more

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On the Raiders podcast with Tony R:

Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is looking at improvements over last year and who got injured last season. Will Carr be under pressure to impress head coach Jon Gruden coming into this 2018 season? Carr is backed up EJ Manuel and Connor Cook. Tony takes a look at how much confidence does Gruden have in Manuel or Cook in case they’re called into duty if Carr is out?

Running back Marshawn Lynch didn’t hit 400 yards in either 2015 or 2017, but Gruden knows that Lynch has game and will utilize Lynch who will get more carries this season. At wide out, Amari Cooper, Jordy Nelson, Martauis Bryant, Ryan Switzer, and Seth Roberts are in the wide receiver core and we take a look at how Gruden sizes up his receivers.

Gruden is hoping that Carr can get time to throw how much confidence does he have in his offensive line to get Carr time?

Tony Renteria takes an indepth look at Raiders football each week on the Oakland Raiders podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Khris Davis’ homers lead the A’s to another amazing comeback over the Rangers 6-5

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By Jerry Feitelberg.

As Yogi Berra once said:”it’s deja vu all over again.” The late A’s Hall of Fame broadcaster Bill King probably would have screamed “Holy Toledo” several times during Wednesday night’s game against the Texas Rangers. The A’s continued to electrify its fans and demoralize their opponents as they did it again. The A’s trailed 5-1 after six innings. They stunned the Rangers Tuesday night as they overcame an eight-run deficit. Could they do it again? The answer is yes they did. Designated hitter, Khris Davis was a one-man wrecking crew as he homered twice to drive in five runs to propel the A’s to their fifth straight win and their 26th win in the last 33 games played. The A’s remain 1 and 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. They are also closing in on the first place Houston Astros. The Astros lost to Colorado Wednesday night, and the A’s now trail them by 6 1/2 games.

The A’s scored a run in the first inning to take an early lead. Marcus Semien doubled to left to start the inning. First baseman Matt Olson also doubled to drive in Semien.

The Rangers tallied three in the bottom of the second. Edwin Jackson walked Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo to put two on and no out. Robinson Chirinos, who always seems to kill the A’s, hit a monster shot that went 429 feet over the center field wall. The Rangers added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Carlos Tocci singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Tocci advanced to third on a passed ball. Rougned Odor singled to drive in Tocci. Odor stole second and he scored on a single off the bat of future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre. The Rangers lead 5-1 after five complete.

The A’s failed to score in the sixth. Rangers’ manager Jeff Banister brought in former San Francisco Giant Corey Gearrin to pitch the seventh. A’s catcher Josh Phegley greeted him with a single. Gearrin retired Semien and Nick Martini. He walked Jed Lowrie to put men on at first and second with A’s DH Khris Davis coming to the plate. KD unloaded his 26th bomb of the season to deep center field. The ball traveled 426 feet, and the A’s now trail 5-4.

The A’s bullpen continued to pitch well. After Jackson’s demise, Petit, Hatcher, Buchter, and Trivino kept the Rangers scoreless as they gave up just one hit to the Rangers.

That set the stage for the fateful ninth inning. The Rangers brought in Jose LeClerc to close out the game. Keone Kela was not available as he threw 40 pitches Tuesday night. Here’s how the inning unfolded. With one out LeClerc walked Nick Martini. He then struck out Jed Lowrie for the second out. Dustin Fowler was sent in to run for Martini. LeClerc now had to face Khris Davis. LeClerc put Davis in a two-strike hole. However, as mentioned earlier, Davis loves to hit in Texas. His 27th home run of the year was an opposite-field shot that went 421 feet. There was no doubt about it when it left the bat, and the A’s were in front 6-5. Bob Melvin summoned his All-Star closer Blake Treinen from the bullpen. Treinen did not disappoint as he struck out the side to preserve the win for Oakland.

Game Notes- Edwin Jackson made his sixth start of the year, and it was not his best effort. Jackson went 4 and 1/3rd innings and allowed 7 hits and five runs. The A’s bullpen was magnificent as they held the Rangers scoreless and gave the A’s a chance to get back in the game. The winning pitcher was Lou Trivino who worked a scoreless eighth inning. His record is now 8-1. Treinen recorded his 26th save in 30 tries. The Rangers’ Martin Perez gave his team a quality start as he went six innings and gave up one run and seven hits. Jose LeClerc took the loss and is now 2-3 for the year.

Khris Davis has homered in his sixth consecutive game against the Rangers. He has 25 homers and 57 RBIs in 49 career games against the Rangers. In Texas, Davis has 15 home runs and 31 RBIs in 26 road games. Davis also has six home runs in his last four games. He is sizzling right now.

The A’s go for the sweep Thursday night at Globe Life Field. Trevor Cahill will pitch for Oakland, and he will be opposed by the ageless wonder Bartolo Colon who is 45-years old. Colon is tied with Dennis Martinez for most wins (245) by a native of Latin America. Game time will be at 7:05 pm.

Earthquakes fall to Sounders 1-0 as San Jose’s winless streak reaches 11

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By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Seattle Sounders (6-9-5) picked up an important three points to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, thanks to a birthday gift from one of their new forwards. Raul Riadiaz scored in his first MLS start to help the Sounders shutout the San Jose Earthquakes (2-12-6) 1-0 at Avaya Stadium on Wednesday night.

With the latest loss, San Jose is now on a season-long 11-game winless streak (13 overall if you count the U.S. Open Cup loss against Portland and the Manchester United match), which includes three consecutive shutouts. Seattle is currently on a five-game unbeaten streak.

The Sounders received the lone and game-winning goal in the 62nd minute when off a turnover at midfield, Cristian Roldan center a pass over to Rual Ruidiaz, who turned 28-years-old today, who gathered the ball and fired a shot past Quakes goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell into the lower left corner of the goal for the first MLS career goal of the Peruvian striker.

The first half possession of the ball was merely even with Seattle holding a slight edge of  51%-48% over San Jose. Both teams had scoring chances, but could not find the back of the net in the first 45 minutes. San Jose fired off seven shots (with two on target) while Seattle had five shots (with one on target).

Guram Kashia, making his MLS debut with the Quakes, fired off a header from a Nick Lima centering pass that was stopped by Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the 16th minute. He also had another header attempt just sail over the cross-bar in the 70th minute.

“He hadn’t played for a couple of months actually,” said Quakes head coach Mikael Stahre regarding Kashia’s debut. “He gave quite a solid performance and was one of the best players on the Earthquakes this evening.”

Luis Felipe Fernandez, also making his MLS debut with the Quakes, was issued a yellow card from referee Kevin Stott 38th minute for a sliding tackle.

“I don’t understand why I got carded,” said Fernandez regarding the call. “We both slid for the ball, I got the yellow card and he didn’t.”

Best chance for the Quakes came in the 80th minute. Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski shot from the left corner of the goal six yards out that just sailed wide of the net after taking a nice pass from Quincy Amarikwa, who came in as a substitute in the 69th minute for Danny Hoesen.

“We have to be ruthless and lethal when we’re in that final third (of the pitch) and we’re nowhere near that,” said Wondolowski. “We have guys we let them turn in the midfield and run right through us. Poor turnovers, these mistakes are the difference (in the game).”

Stahre called it a slow game between both teams and believed it was more of a 0-0 game from his perspective.

“In general the game was with out energy, I think it was quite a slow game,” said Starhe. “Both teams possessed the ball in a good way but there was hardly any high pressing. There were very few good chances.”

GAME NOTES: Quakes defender Anibal Godoy was suspended for the match due to receiving his second yellow card last week against Montreal.

Will Bruin substituted for Ruidiaz in the 66th minute.  This was Ruidiaz’s second game back from playing on the Peruvian World Cup team. Not a bad gift to give oneself scoring a goal on his 28th birthday.

Wondolowski is currently the all-time leading scorer against Seattle with 11 goals.

San Jose is now 10-9-5 versus Seattle and 5-2-4 at home.

Attendance for the match was 16,478.

UP NEXT: The Quakes host Real Salt Lake on Saturday, July 28 at 7:30 pm PDT at Avaya Stadium.

Giants go down late in 3-2 loss to Mariners

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By Jeremy Harness

The night before, the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen showed its teeth in a huge win over the Seattle Mariners in Seattle, but it was the exact opposite Wednesday afternoon.

After they ties things up in the seventh inning with a dramatic rally, the Giants’ bullpen gave it right back to the Mariners in the eighth, and the Giants ended up with a two-game split after a 3-2 loss to the M’s inside Safeco Field.

Derek Holland pitched six innings and gave up only a pair of runs (one earned) on three hits and gave way to Ray Black, who pitched a perfect seventh inning. However, Tony Watson took over in the eighth and immediately fell into trouble.

The end result was an RBI single by Jean Segura, who brought in Guillermo Heredia to give Seattle a one-run lead. That took the wind out of the Giants’ sails, particularly after they scored two runs in their half of the seventh to erase an early two-run deficit.

In that inning, Brandon Crawford doubled in a run, and a resurgent Hunter Pence immediately followed that one up with a double of his own to bring Crawford in and tie the game.

For the Mariners, Mike Leake, who spent the 2015 season with the Giants, went 6.1 innings and gave up a pair of runs himself and only four hits, striking out two and not walking anyone. However, Seattle’s bullpen then took over for Leake and gave up only two hits the rest of the way.

The Giants will now head home for a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers, a series that starts Thursday night at 7:15 pm PDT. Giants’ Dereck Rodriguez will be taking the ball against the Brewers’ Wade Miley.

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Pretty much a Manchester United special edition today

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On the SJ Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. This Sunday’s friendly between the San Jose Earthquakes and Manchester United ended up in a scoreless draw. Give us a quick recap of the friendly.

2. After the friendly, Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski and Manchester United star Juan Mata Garcia swapped jerseys in one of the most epic postgame jersey swaps ever.

3. Quakes COO Jared Shawlee asked a question on the Quakes’ Twitter to see what bonus games the fans wanted to see next.

4. TeamSnap is offering Quakes fans a chance to have a Quakes player at their upcoming practice. What’s this all about?

5. For those of you who like to eat at Erik’s Deli Cafe, you don’t want to miss out on their current sweepstakes, where you can enter to win a chance to sit in on a Quakes practice with your soccer team and enjoy a catered meal on their behalf.

Ana does the SJ Earthquakes podcast each week for sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: After dropping two series to Oakland, Giants looking to take two from M’s

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On the SF Giants podcast with Marko:

The San Francisco Giants got a big break in the ninth inning on a Pablo Sandoval infield hit that Seattle Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon couldn’t handle the ball and threw it away past first baseman Ryon Healy to allow the Giants Steven Duggar to score from second base.

Sandoval came in as a pinch hitter for Chase d’Arnaud in the third inning earlier in the game and got an infield single that allowed Kelby Tomlinson to score. The Giants Hunter Pence hit his first home run of 2018 a 445 foot blast in thel leftfield upper deck.

The loss for the Mariners decreases the lead they had on the Oakland A’s down to just 1.1/2 games in the AL West and for a wild card spot. Giants pitcher Andrew Suarez pitched 5.2 innings, 3 runs, 8 hits, walked two batters and struck out one.

Marko does the Giants podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Food for thought: What can the A’s offer other teams in a trade?

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By: Ana Kieu

The Oakland A’s are the hottest team in baseball right now.

The A’s recently made a trade with the Mets for closer Jeurys Familia, who’s a Dominican native, but let’s shift our attention to the A’s farm system and what prospects they might potentially have that other teams could want. After all, the A’s are in buy mode as the trade deadline approaches, as they sit in third place in the AL West with a 59-43 record.

In the past, when the A’s have been in a position to be a contender, Billy Beane and company have been very aggressive in making the necessary additions to ensure that the A’s make the playoffs and to give the A’s the best chance at playing as deep into October as possible. Just a few years ago, Billy Beane made deals involving Yoenis Cespedes and Jon Lester, Josh Donaldson and Brett Lawrie, and Jeff Samardzija and with Addison Russell. All of those deals were completed in 2014 and were meant to give the A’s a good shot at being a true contender in the AL West.

The same can be said for this year’s A’s roster, in terms of how aggressive they will likely be, and Beane himself has already come out publicly on record and mentioned how he expects the A’s to be buyers. Now, will the A’s buy to the point where they mortgage the future to address current needs? Probably not because their core is finally starting to show off in Oakland and their farm system is starting to look better, but that also gives the A’s some valuable trade chips to potentially include in deals. What are some of those chips? Let’s take a look.

First things first, the two untouchables for the A’s will likely be their top two prospects in left-handed pitchers, Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk. Luzardo currently pitches down in Double-A and is expected to arrive in the MLB come 2020. So far this season, Luzardo has a 2.16 ERA over 83.1 innings of work and many scouts have projected him to be at least a No. 3 starter, if he is capable of staying healthy. In terms of the entire league, Luzardo is currently the 20th best prospect in all of baseball. Moreover, A.J. Puk, who was the A’s No. 1 draft pick during the 2016 Amateur Draft, figures to be a big part of the A’s future as many project him to be a No. 2 starter, and maybe even an ace down the road. Unfortunately, Puk has missed this season so far and will stay sidelined recovering from Tommy John Surgery, but that doesn’t mean that the A’s are going to give up on him–given that he is only 23 years old and is currently the 26th best prospect in baseball.

Now that the untouchables are out of the way, Sean Murphy is a prospect to watch as the deadline approaches, as he’s the A’s third best catcher.  Murphy was selected by the A’s during the third round of the 2016 Amateur Draft and is sort of blocked by both Josh Phegley and Bruce Maxwell at the MLB level. Anyways, what makes Murphy attractive is his ability to hit for power–especially from the right side of the plate–along with his defensive skills, which some scouts believe are tremendous.

Another name to keep an eye on is the A’s fourth best prospect and the 71st best prospect in all of baseball, Jorge Mateo. Mateo has the ability to play both shortstop and outfield and is highly-touted by scouts who absolutely love his raw skills at the shortstop position. But, of course, some scouts are skeptical as to whether or not that will end up being his full-time position down the road. Some ultimately believe that Mateo will eventually play either second base or center-field. Depending on the direction the A’s go, this could determine if Mateo will be used as trade bait or not. The A’s have Marcus Semien locked down through 2021 and Franklin Barreto under control through at least 2023.

Last but not least, one other prospect to monitor leading up to the trade deadline and even this coming offseason is the A’s fifth best prospect, an outfielder named Austin Beck. Beck projects to be a center-fielder eventually because many scouts note that he has tremendous speed and the right level of athleticism to be successful at that position. However, some scouts are a bit concerned about some of the holes that Beck has in his swing, but believe those holes could improve over time. Currently, the A’s look to have Dustin Fowler out in center-field for the foreseeable future, as Fowler is under control through 2023, but that could always change, depending on which way the A’s go.

Ultimately, none of us truly know what Beane might have up his sleeve as potential ways to upgrade the current A’s roster, but what we do know is that we can expect the A’s to make the necessary upgrades, but these will likely be upgrades that won’t hinder the future outlook of the organization.

The A’s have experienced that in the past and it appears as if they have finally learned their lesson, especially after saying last season that they needed to commit to a core group of players at the MLB level, and that core is being led by the likes of Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Stephen Piscotty. So the last thing the A’s need to do is set themselves back and take a step backwards after all of the progress that the organization has made in the past few years.

Sandoval’s infield hit gets the job done in Giants’ 4-3 win over Mariners

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By Jeremy Kahn

After two tough losses to the Oakland A’s over the weekend, the San Francisco Giants wanted to get back in the win column in a hurry in their current series against the Seattle Mariners.

Pablo Sandoval hit an infield single in the top of the ninth inning that Dee Gordon was unable to handle, as his throw went away from Ryon Healy and the Giants defeated the Mariners 4-3 at Safeco Field Monday night.

Steven Duggar scored the winning run, as he was on second base after he advanced an additional 90 feet on a Alen Hanson groundout.

Sandoval was hitting for Chase d’Arnaud, who drove in the first Giants run of the evening in the top of the third inning, as he hit an infield single that scored Kelby Tomlinson, who tripled just prior to the d’Arnaud infield hit.

Guillermo Heredia tied up the game in the bottom of the third inning, as he took an Andrew Suarez offering over the center-field wall.

Tomlinson gave the Giants the lead once again in the top of the fourth inning, as he singled to score Brandon Crawford.

Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived, as former Giants centerfielder Denard Span hit a sacrifice fly to Nelson Cruz from third base.

The Giants took the lead for the third time on the night, as Hunter Pence hit his first home run of the season in the top of the sixth inning, a home run that was measured at 445 feet and went off of the facade of the upper deck in left field.

Suarez got into trouble in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Seager; however, Healy then grounded into a double play and it looked like Suarez might get out of the jam, but it was that man Span again. Span walked, and that was the end of the night for Suarez.

Reyes Moronta came into the game, and the usually solid Moronta then walked Mike Zunino and then pinch-hitter Ben Gamel singled off of Moronta to score Span with the tying run; therefore, within two batters, Suarez went from the win to not getting a decision.

Suarez went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out one on the night.

Despite the walk and the single allowed by Moronta, the bullpen was outstanding, as Moronta, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Will Smith combined for 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit, one walk and a strikeout.

Dyson struck out two in his only inning of work, before giving way to Watson and the left-hander, shut down the Mariners in order and then Smith struck out two of the three batters he faced to pick-up his fourth save of the season.

Austin Slater came up with the defensive play of the night, as he threw out Seager at the plate on a Zunino single in the bottom of the fourth inning.

James Paxton, who threw a no-hitter earlier in the season was supposed to start the series opener for the Mariners; however, his back flared up over the weekend and he was unable to go.

Roenis Elias got the start for the Mariners, and he went just 3.2 innings, allowing two runs and threw a season-high 75 pitches on the night.

NOTES: The game will be on Facebook only with Rich Waltz, former Giants pitcher Shawn Estes and Ryan Rowland-Smith on the call.

Evan Longoria’s rehab stint will continue with the Sacramento Rivercats for a few more days, as Longoria was hit by a pitch and suffered a triceps contusion on Sunday. Joe Panik will begin his rehab assignment on Thursday, as he recovers from a groin strain he suffered on July 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Mariners will conclude their series Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 pm PDT.

Derek Holland will start the finale for the Giants, as Jeff Samardzija is on the disabled list for the third time this season with a sore right shoulder.

Mariners manager Scott Servais will send former Giants pitcher Mike Leake to the hill, as he looks to improve to 9-6 on the season.