Aces improve to 2-0 against Liberty with 88-78 win

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20180622 - A'ja Wilson 13

Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

There’s nothing better than coming home after playing five of the last six games on the road.

The Las Vegas Aces battled in a close game down to the end and pulled out an 88-78 win over the New York Liberty at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Friday night.

Las Vegas went on a 10-4 run with 2:31 remaining in regulation to secure the win.

“We won,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “But we didn’t play well.  We are getting better.  We would have lost this game six or seven games ago.”

“It’s always good to get a win at home,” said A’ja Wilson.  “It was tough.   There were times that we didn’t really come out with a lot of energy.”

Kayla McBride led the Aces with a season-high 27 points while Wilson scored 20 and pulled down 14 rebounds.

“I give Kayla McBride all the credit in the world for willing this victory for us,” said Laimbeer.  “She stood up and was the determining factor in this game.”

With the win, the Aces improved to 5-9 on the season.

“It’s definitely big for us,” said Wilson on the win. “Just the momentum going here at home will help us out.”

The Aces will next play three straight home games against three of the better teams in the WNBA: Minnesota, Dallas and Los Angeles.

“We have to continue to make a statement especially when we are at home,” said McBride. “We need to continue to have confidence and we are going to be really good.”

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (20) for the 14th straight game.
  • The Aces held the Liberty to 37.5% shooting from the field.
  • 5,478 Aces fans attended the game.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights’ backup goaltender Malcolm Subban was in attendance
  • Moriah Jefferson (knee) did not play due to injury.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 12 Nia Coffey
C – 19 JiSu Park
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Clayton Richard stifles Giants 6-2, Padres snap 5-game losing skid

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Chris Stratton tried to get the San Francisco Giants over the .500 mark on the season, but the San Diego Padres did not help out at all.

Cory Spangenberg scored the eventual game-winning run, when Nick Hundley attempted to throw out Freddy Galvis at second base, but the throw by Hundley went into centerfield and the Padres defeated the Giants 6-2 before a crowd of 40,546 at AT&T Park on Friday night.

The win by the Padres broke a five-game losing streak, their longest losing streak since September 24-29, 2017.

Hundley tried to stop the wild pitch thrown by Stratton, but it bounced and when Hundley picked it up, his throw was out of the reach of either Alen Hanson and Brandon Crawford that allowed Spangenberg to score easily from third base.

“Nick yanked the throw a little bit,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “From our angle (in the dugout) it is hard to tell.”

The key play in that inning was an amazing diving by Buster Posey, who dove to prevent the ball from going down the right field line on the ball hit by Spangenberg. Posey got up to throw to Stratton and first base umpire Pat Hoberg called the feet first sliding Spangenberg out at first, but Padres manager Andy Green challenged the call and after a 32-second review, the call was reversed.

“That was 100 percent on me,” said Stratton.

The Giants got off to a quick start against Padres starter Clayton Richard, as Gorkys Hernandez doubled off of Richard to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Posey then hit a long fly ball that sent Hernandez to third, and he then scored on a Richard wild pitch.

Manuel Margot tied up the game in the top of the second inning, as he doubled to score Spangenberg, who doubled to lead off the inning.

Richard retired 17 in a row before Hernandez doubled in the bottom of the sixth inning, but he was stranded at second, when Posey flew out to Wil Myers in left field.

The left-hander won for the seventh time this season, as he went six innings, allowing two runs on just three hits, walking no one and striking out three.

It was a tough loss for Stratton, who saw his record fall to 8-5 on the season, as he went six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, not walking a batter and striking out three.

This was the first time that Stratton allowed nine hits in a game since May 14th, when he did it against the Cincinnati Reds.

Pablo Sandoval got the Giants within a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he singled off of Craig Stammen to score Andrew McCutchen, who singled to lead off the inning against Richard. McCutchen then stole second, and scored on the Sandoval single, it was the sixth stolen base of the season for McCutchen.

Pinch hitter Joe Panik led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a sharp single, but Padres reliever Kirby Yates regrouped and retired Hernandez, Posey and McCutchen in succession to get out of the jam. Yates did have a hiccup with McCutchen at the plate, as he uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Panik to move up to second base; however, Yates got McCutchen to strikeout swinging to end the inning.

The Padres then broke the game wide-open in the top of the ninth inning, as they scored three runs off of Pierce Johnson and Will Smith. Johnson walked the first two batters before getting Matt Szczur out on a sacrifice bunt.

Following an intentional walk to Myers, Eric Hosmer then singled in both Manuel Margot and Raffy Lopez. Jose Pirela then singled in Myers, but Pirela was caught in a rundown to end the inning.

This was the first loss for Stratton at AT&T Park since losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 15-6 on April 28th. In that game, Stratton went only 1.1 innings, allowing six runs on six hits, walking four and striking out three.

Brandon Crawford is hitless over his last 18 at bats, the third longest streak of his big-league career. The only streaks are longer are 21 at bats from June 26-July 3, 2013 and then a 20 at-bat hitless streak from April 9-15, 2015.

NOTES: Andrew Suarez looks to get the Giants back into the win column on Saturday afternoon, as he takes the mound against the Padres Jordan Lyles.

Jeff Samardzija, who is currently on the disabled list with right shoulder tightness went four innings, allowing two runs on four hits and seven strikeouts in his second rehab start for the Sacramento Rivercats. Samardzija last pitched for the Giants on May 29th, a span of 21 games.

In his last four relief appearances, Ty Blach has not allowed a run, a span of 9.2 innings.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Padres meet again on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

White Sox Win Game 2 of Doubleheader 6-4 over A’s, Snap Skid at 8

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Photo credit: @whitesox

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland A’s dropped Game 2 of a doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday night, falling to the White Sox 6-4. Pale Hose starter Lucas Giolito began the game strong, then managed to hold on long enough to end the White Sox losing streak at eight. Matt Olson knocked in two runs, going deep once for the Green and Gold.

A’s starter Chris Bassitt got staked to an early lead after Giolito ran into some control problems in the inning. With two outs, the White Sox hurler walked Matt Joyce and Khris Davis. Matt Olson knocked Joyce in with a single for the 1-0 lead before Mark Canha k’d to end the threat.Bled then moved to third on Tim Anderso’s double. They both scored on Omar Narvaez’s base-hit for a 2-1 White Sox edge. Charlie Tilson hit a two-out single to knock in Narvaez for a two-run lead.

Olson pulled the A’s within one in the top of the sixth, blasting his 16th long ball of the year off Giolito’s first pitch of the two-out at-bat. Bassitt couldn’t shut the White Sox down in the bottom of the frame though, exiting the game with runners on first and second with one out. Narvaez singled off reliever Danny Coulombe, but the runner couldn’t advance past third. The next batter, Adam Engel, would knock in both runs for a 5-2 White Sox lead, closing the book on Bassitt with five runs (four earned) over 5 1/3 innings.

The A’s would get two more runs off Giolito in the eighth after White Sox manager Rick Renteria stuck with his young hurler with electric stuff just an inning too long. Dustin Fowler and Marcus Semien singled to open the inning, chasing Giolito from the game with no outs in the inning and eight K’s. Stephen Piscotty walked to load the bases against Jace Fry. Chris Volstad came in to face Davis, who singled in two runners to greet the reliever.

The fourth pitcher of the inning, Xavier Cedeno, managed to coax three consecutive outs from the A’s. He got a line out to short Olson, a Canha punch out and a Chad Pinder forceout to strand the tying run with Davis at third.

Tim Anderson homered for Chicago in the bottom of the inning and Joakim Soria pitched a 1-2-3 9th for his 11th save, punching out two Athletics for the win.

Up Next: Oakland’s Daniel Mengden takes the mound Saturday afternoon from the Windy City in Game 3 of the series at 11:10 am PDT opposing Chicago’s Dylan Covey. Despite the White Sox’s poor record, Covey has been a bright spot, sporting a 2.90 ERA over seven starts.

Barreto Bashes 2 HRs, A’s Win Game 1 of Doubleheader 11-2 over White Sox

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

By Matthew Harrington

While the Oakland A’s surely miss third baseman Matt Chapman in the lineup, the emergence of Franklin Barreto in Game 1 of a Friday doubleheader has softened the blow. Barreto, playing second so Jed Lowrie can shift to third base in Chapman’s absence, collected a career-high six RBIs in the A’s 11-2 win over the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday night.

Barreto hit two homers, the second and third of his career, each with two men on base. Three other Athletics knocked in a run in the Game 1 rout. Starter Sean Manaea (7-6, 3.40 ERA)  fired seven innings for the win, giving up just one earned run while punching out seven. Pale Hose to hand the South Siders their eighth straight win. The A’s touched up White Sox starter James Shields for eight runs, but somehow avoiding seeing his ERA balloon up after all, but two were unearned.

Jonathan Lucroy picked up a sacrifice fly in the top of the second with the bases loaded, then Barreto stepped up to the plate with two runners in scoring position. After working a 2-2 count, Shields grooved a cutter over the heart of the plate that Barreto drove over the bullpen in left field for a 4-0 A’s lead.

Jed Lowrie singled home a run in the fifth, then the White Sox defense fell apart. Khris Davis singled home one run, then Leury Garcia’s gaffe fielding the ball allowed another run to score and Davis to scoot to second base. Matt Olson reached base on Yoan Moncada’s error that pushed Davis to third, then Davis sped home after Shields struck out Mark Canha but saw his pitch sail to the backstop allowing the inning to continue with the A’s up 8-0.

The White Sox scored in the bottom of the sixth off Manaea on an unusual twin killing. With runners at second and third, Jose Abreu came home on Kevan Smith’s bouncer to Lowrie. Matt Davidson decided to leave for third once the throw came to Olson at first, but Olson’s throw got him at third to end the inning with the A’s up 8-1.

Juan Minaya pitched a scoreless two innings in relief before Barreto could touch up Luis Avilan for another three-run bomb in the top of the eighth. This time, Barreto’s shot went well over the bullpen halfway up the bleachers in left field, giving Oakland an 11-1 lead.

Liam Hendriks pitched a perfect eighth, but Josh Lukas gave up an RBI double to Yolmer Sánchez in the ninth before wrapping up the win in Game 1 of the twin bill.

2018 NHL Draft: San Jose Sharks Version (Part 1)

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By: Ana Kieu

This Friday night marked the first day (and round) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

For the second time in franchise history, the Buffalo Sabres had the first overall pick in  the draft. As expected, the Sabres got the top prospect, Rasmus Dahlin, a Swedish defenseman who previously played for Frolunda HC in Gothenburg, Sweden. Dahlin is an exceptionally talented player who is often described as a smart, two-way defenseman that would be able to positively impact his team’s future.

And, of course, the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Detroit Red Wings all held many first round picks.

The first 31 players were selected in the first round, and the San Jose Sharks had the 21st overall pick. The Sharks selected Ryan Merkley, a Canadian defenseman who last played for the Guelph Storm of the OHL.

Merkley then spoke to the media members in attendance for this year’s draft.

Catch rounds two through seven on Saturday morning at 8:00 am PDT on NHL Network and Sportsnet.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Battle of Brandon Bats–Crawford and Belt hitting over .300 gives Giants’ offense a punch

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Photo credit: @GrantBrisbee

On the SF Giants podcast with Miguel:

The Giants’ first baseman Brandon Belt’s success of .304, 65 hits, 35 hits and 12 homers and Giants’ shortstop Brandon Crawford’s success of .310, 78 hits, 32 RBIs and eight home runs. Both are the main staples in the Giants’ lineup. Also, Giants’ outfielder Hunter Pence was noted as struggling as he had two RBIs last Wednesday against the Miami Marlins, but in hitting and defense, Pence has struggled. What has been his frustration?

Pitcher Madison Bumgarner improved his record to 1-2, tossing an eight inning, three-hit shutout and got bullpen help from Mark Melancon. Who closed the door on the Padres on Thursday night in the ninth inning?

Giants and Padres tonight from AT&T Park. The Giants will go with Chris Stratton 8-4. Michael goes over Stratton’s performance of late.

Michael Duca hosts the SF Giants podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MadBum, Giants shut down the Padres 3-0

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Photo credit: @sdutSanders

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – It appears that the dominant Madison Bumgarner has returned, and that the hand injury that wrecked the first half of his season is in the rearview mirror.

The big lefty got his first win of the year Thursday night, as he threw zeroes at the San Diego Padres for eight innings as the Giants ran away with a 3-0 win at AT&T Park. In the process, Bumgarner also broke out of a major drought against San Diego. Prior to Thursday night, he was 0-4 with a 4.73 ERA in his previous six starts against the Padres.

He surrendered only three hits to the Padres while throwing exactly 100 pitches and walked two and struck out eight. Thursday marked the first time a starting pitcher has gone at least eight innings this season.

“He never stops trying to get better,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “It’s critical for your bullpen to have a guy or two who can get you deep into games. Those guys (in the bullpen) needed a break, especially the guys we’ve been using in the setup-closing role.” San Diego threatened to take the first lead, putting together a bit of a rally in the fifth inning, after Jose Pirela led off with a single and Manuel Margot followed that up with a double two at-bats later.

As Margot’s hit bounced off the right-field wall, Pirela got a little greedy, and the gamble did not pay off. Andrew McCutchen played the carom perfectly in right field and immediately hit his cut-off man, second baseman Joe Panik, as Pirela motored around third.

Panik then fired home, and catcher Buster Posey had plenty of time to tag out Pirela, who didn’t even bother to slide home. Bumgarner then retired the next batter, A.J Ellis, to kill the rally.

The Giants then led off their half of the inning with a single and a double to put runners in scoring position with nobody out. With one out, Bumgarner sent a fly ball deep enough into left field to allow Pablo Sandoval to tag up from third and give the Giants a 1-0 lead.

The Giants added another pair of runs in the eighth when Buster Posey singled in Alen Hanson, who led off the inning by legging out a triple. Four batters later, Posey motored home when Pirela could not haul in a soft fly ball by Sandoval in shallow right field, extending the Giants’ lead to three.

That lifted the pressure off the Giants, with the extra cushion allowing for the opportunity for Mark Melancon to pitch the ninth. The one-time closer has primarily worked the sixth and seventh innings this year while making his way back from a flexor strain in his right elbow, an injury that kept him out of the first 56 games.

Melancon hit a slight bump early on, allowing a single to Hunter Renfroe but retired the next three hitters in order to nail down his first save of the year.

“It’s good to get him out there and get him a save. I’m sure he felt good to be out there in a save situation, where he’s been so many times,” Bochy said. “We lost Hunter (Strickland), but to have three or four guys who are comfortable pitching the eighth and ninth innings is invaluable.”

Preview: A’s 4-game series against the White Sox

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Photo credit: chicagotribune.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The first game of the Oakland A’s four-game series with the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field was postponed due to a rainstorm in Chicago. The A’s will play a doubleheader on Friday.

The White Sox are experiencing a down year. Under second-year manager, Rick Renteria, they are in fourth-place in the AL Central division with a record of 24-49. The White Sox visited Oakland in April, and they did not fare well as the A’s swept the three-game series. Without a question, the White Sox are in rebuild mode and people are not familiar with many of their young players.

The pitching matchups for the series will feature the A’s Sean Manaea going against the White Sox veteran James Shields in the opener that starts at 1:10 pm PDT on Friday Afternoon. Manaea won his last start against the Angels, and his record is 6-6. Shields’ record is 2-8, but he has given the White Sox innings. Shields has worked at least six innings or more in his last 11 starts, and eight have been arguably quality starts. That means at least six innings of work and no more than three runs allowed.

Chris Bassitt will go for Oakland in the second game, and he will be opposed by Lucas Giolito (4-7, ERA 7.19). Dylan Covey starts for Chicago on Saturday, and the A’s have yet to announce their starter. Daniel Mengden will seek his seventh win of the year and Chicago will counter with lefty Carlos Rodon (0-2, ERA 4.41).

The White Sox offense is led by big Jose Abreu. Abreu is hitting. 281 and has 11 homers and 42 RBIs on his resume. Chicago’s DH is Matt Davidson. Davidson’s batting average is just .231, but he has power as evidenced by his 13 dingers and 32 ribbies. Tim Anderson will play shortstop and Yoan Moncada, obtained from Boston in the trade for Chris Sale, will be at second base. Yolmer Sanchez will also see time at second and may play third, too. The only veteran in the outfield is Avasail Garcia. Garcia has been on the DL for most of the season and has played sparingly. Daniel Palka has been the right fielder for most of the year. Nicky Delmonico is in left field, and Adam Engel, Leury Garcia, Charlie Tillson, and former Athletic Trayce Thompson all have been in center field.

Wellington Castillo has handled most of the catching chores for Chicago. He is backed up by Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith. The White Sox have three lefties in the bullpen. They are Luis Avilan, Xavier Cedeno, and Jace Fry. The righties out of the pen are Nate Jones (four saves), Juan Minaya, Bruce Rondon, Hector Santiago, and Joakim Soria (10 saves).

The A’s come into the series with a four-game winning streak and are looking to improve their season record. The A’s offense loves to go on the road as they have hit almost twice as many homers on the road and about half as many at home. Many people believe the cold night air and the marine layer that invaded the Coliseum keeps the ball in the park.

The A’s will be without the services of third baseman Matt Chapman, who was hit on his thumb by a pitch. A’s manager Bob Melvin has moved Jed Lowrie over to third base and played Franklin Barreto at second. Barreto rewarded the team with a three-run blast in Wednesday’s game in San Diego. Super-sub Chad Pinder has been stationed in left field as well as third base, shortstop, and second base. Outfielder Matt Joyce, who hits from the left side, may be activated for the weekend series in Chicago. His presence in the lineup gives Melvin the ability to have another left-handed bat in the game against a right pitcher.

The A’s are currently two games over the .500 mark. The pitching rotation has been riddled with injury, but Melvin has been able to juggle his starters and pitchers have been recalled from Nashville to help out. Manaea and Mengden lead the staff win six wins each. However, they are going to need help from Paul Blackburn, Chris Bassitt, and others if they want to improve. Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Daniel Gossett, and Andrew Triggs are all on the DL. All four have started. Cahill and Triggs were effective but have not stayed off the DL. The same goes for Anderson and Gossett.

Hopefully, the A’s will take three out of four from Chicago before moving on the Detroit for four more games. After Detroit, the A’s return home to play three with Cleveland and two with San Diego before going on the road again for another 10-game trip.

Kings go big, taking Marvin Bagley III with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft

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BagleyAngry
Intense Marvin Bagley III on the court at Duke Photo: @sacramentokings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings did not go off script on Thursday in the 2018 NBA Draft. When it was time for them to make the number two overall selection in the draft, the Kings wasted no time taking power forward Marvin Bagley III, a freshman from Duke. At 6-foot-11 and 234 pounds, Bagley is the prototype of the new big man in the NBA.

Bagley was a 2017-18 consensus First Team All-American. He was named NABC National Freshman of the Year and NABC Pete Newell Big Man of the Year. Bagley was named to the All-ACC Academic Team.

“I’m just too excited right now,” Bagley said after being selected by the Kings. “I can’t even describe the feeling I’m feeling right now. A lot of emotions running through me, seeing my family out there, happy for me, and friends that came. This has been great.”

“I’m super excited to get started with this franchise and keep it going and keep building,” said the newest member of the Sacramento Kings.

Vlade Divac on his new player

Bagley by the numbers in 2017-18

  • Played 33 games
  • Averaged 33.9 minutes per game
  • Averaged 21.0 points per game
  • 61.4 field goal shooting percentage (hitting 270-of-440 attempts)
  • 39.7 percent 3-point shooter (23-for-58)
  • 62.7 free throw shooting percentage (131-of-209)
  • 11.1 rebounds per game
  • 1.5 assists per game, 0.8 steals per game, 0.9 blocks per game

More on Bagley III

Bagley
Playing with intensity Photo: @DukeMBB
  • Bagley is one of three players in ACC history to lead the league in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. The other two players were Clemson’s Horace Grant and Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan (that’s not bad company).
  • Second player in ACC history to be named both ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
  • Set the Duke record for points, scoring average, rebounds, rebounding average, double-doubles, 30-point games and 20/10 games.

Strengths and Weaknesses

  • Strengths
    • Runs the floor well, which leads to easy baskets
    • Good finisher in a crowd and can elevate for lobs (that should make D’Aaron Fox happy)
    • Finishes strong around the basket and possesses a soft touch
    • Can play facing the basket and has a nice shooting range
  • Weaknesses
    • He is not a great defender — has a tendency to be a “ball watcher”
    • Bagley is lefthand dominate and almost always finishes on his left. That will have to change at the next level.
    • He has a flat jumper and hits only 39.7-percent from 3-point range.
    • Bagley is just a 62.7-percent free throw shooter (a potential “hack-a-player” candidate)

Who does Bagley compare to?

The experts say Bagley III is very comparable to Amar’e Stoudemire. He can run the floor, do damage at the basket and struggles on defense.

Stoudemire in Israel
Stoudemire is still playing in Israel Photo: @Amareisrael

Kings Second-Round Pick: So long!

The Kings drafted Duke guard Gary Trent Jr. with the number 37 overall pick in the draft and within five minutes traded him to Portland for two future second-round draft selections.