Panik returns, Stratton dominates in Giants’ 4-0 shutout of Phillies

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — After striking out 55 times when they were swept against the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Francisco struck out eight times in the opener.

Chris Stratton pitched six innings, allowing just four hits, walking just one and striking out seven, as the Giants defeated the Phillies 4-0 before a crowd of 38,119 at AT&T Park.

This is the fourth consecutive win for Stratton, who improves to 7-3 and it was the longest that game Stratton went since going 6.2 innings in a game where he did not fare in the decision against the Washington Nationals on April 23rd at AT&T Park, a game that the Giants would win by the final score of 4-2.

Joe Panik made his return to the team from the disabled list a memorable one, as he walked twice and singled twice and ended the night going 2-for-3. Panik also scored the Giants first run of the game, and drove in a run with a single in the bottom of the second inning that scored Mac Williamson.

This was the first time that Panik reached base four times in the same game since he got four hits against the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 27, 2017.

The win by the Giants stopped a six-game losing streak, including the four-game sweep at Citizens Bank Park last month. This was the Giants’ eighth win over the Phillies at AT&T Park since 2015, their second-best record against any National League team. With the win, the Giants moved within three games of the Colorado Rockies in the NL West after the Rockies lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field and the Giants and Dodgers are tied for third place in the NL West.

Brandon Belt was forced to leave the game after his only at-bat in the first inning, where he struck out and was in the hospital, where he was being evaluated for appendicitis.

Nick Pivetta, who struck out seven Giants in his last start did not fare as well this time, as he went four innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walking three and striking out three.

Evan Longoria got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the first inning when he singled to score Panik, who led off the inning by being walked against Pivetta.

Panik drove in the Giants second run of the game in the second inning, as he singled in Williamson, who led off the inning with a walk.

That would be the score, when Gorkys Hernandez continued his hot streak, as he singled to left field to score Brandon Crawford, who led off the inning with a double.

On the evening, Crawford went 2-for-4, as he came off of a month, where he hit .412 (42-for-102) with nine doubles, four home runs and 21 runs batted in.

The Giants scored their fourth and final run of the evening in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Andrew McCutchen tripled to lead off the inning and then scored on a wild pitch by Hector Neris with Pablo Sandoval at the plate.

In his only inning of work, Neris gave up a run on three hits, struck out three and threw three wild pitches.

Neris joined Frank Hermann as the only Phillies pitchers to have thrown three wild pitches in one inning or less. Hermann did it on August 21, 2016 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park.

Dylan Cozens made his major-league debut for the Phillies, and singled in his first at-bat against Stratton in the top of the third inning.

The Phillies got a late rally going in the top of the ninth inning off of Hunter Strickland, as Scott Kingery narrowly beat out a throw by Panik at first base for an infield hit and then Odubel Herrera lashed a double down the right field line that sent Kingery to third base. Strickland then regrouped to strikeout Carlos Santana, then Maikel Franco to groundout to Strickland, where he made a great play to Franco at first base and finally got out of the jam, when Nick Williams flew out to Hernandez for the final out.

Overall, the Giants bullpen pitched the final three innings, and the trio of Tony Watson, Sam Dyson and Strickland gave up two hits, did not walk a batter and struck out six.

In his first season with the Giants, Watson likes pitching at AT&T Park, as he has yet to allow an earned run at home this season and is the only reliever to pitch more than 12 innings at home without allowing an earned run this season.

NOTES: Andrew Suarez will take the mound on Saturday night, as the Giants look for their third consecutive win, while the Phillies will send Vince Velasquez to the mound.

There were a multitude of roster moves made by the Giants, as Tyler Beede was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento following Wednesday’s game against the Rockies.

Kelby Tomlinson was optioned to Single-A San Jose.

Mark Melancon was activated from the 60-day disabled list, and Jose Valdez was reinstated from the 10-day disabled list and was then Designated for Assignment.

Dereck Rodriguez will start on Sunday in place of Jeff Samardzija. This will be the first major league start for Rodriguez, who made his major-league debut on Tuesday against the Rockies at Coors Field.

With Rodriguez in the rotation, Ty Blach is being moved to the bullpen and will be the Giants long man.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Phillies will meet in Game 2 on Saturday night at 7:05 pm PST.

Montas’ Masterpiece: A’s Blowout Royals 16-0

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

By Matthew Harrington

In the one full season the Oakland A’s have had Frankie Montas on the roster after a 2016 trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had exclusively pitched from the bullpen. His days of relief look to be long over if his 2018 campaign is an indication of the type of player the A’s acquired after shipping Rich Hill and Josh Reddick to LA at the deadline.

Montas (2-0, 0.64 ERA) fired eight innings of shutout ball, picking up his second win in as many starts Friday night in Kansas City on a night when he didn’t have to be perfect. Overshadowing Montas’ seven-hit gem is the offensive outburst of 16 runs by the Green and Gold, good for an easy 16-0 win.

Matt Olson and Dustin Fowler each hit two home runs and plated nine RBIs. Stephen Piscotty knocked in two runs on a bases-loaded double and Khris Davis scored two on an RBI single. Chad Pinder and Jonathan Lucroy were the only A’s starters to not knock in a run, but Lucroy did go 3-for-5 on the night.

Olson took Royals starter Ian Kennedy (1-6, 6.08 ERA) deep twice, blasting homers 10 and 11 of the year off the struggling starter. In total, Kennedy went three innings, allowing eight earned runs. Most of the damage off Kennedy came in the third after the A’s entered the inning up 1-0 then knocked him around for seven in the frame.

Scott Barlow stopped the bleeding, allowing just one run in his three innings of work, but relievers Brian Flynn (four runs) and Jason Adam (three runs) coughed up the Royals second seven-run inning of the game in the top of the ninth.

Reliever Emilio Pagan came in for Montas in the bottom of the ninth, yielding a hit but pucnhing out two to close out the game and hand Montas the official win assumed likely six innings ago. For Montas, it’s a second-straight win in as many starts after returning to the club after a sprained UCL kept him out of play since spring training. His first start was an absolute game, going six innings against the Diamondbacks, allowing three hits and a lone earned run while punching out seven.

His stuff wasn’t as hard to hit today, K’ing only two Royals. But what he lacked in electric stuff, he made up for in efficency. He needed just 99 pitches, 67 for strikes, to get through eight innings. If not for the recent shoulder injury, its likely manager Bob Melvin would have thrown him out for the recent shoulder injury. Not bad for a guy the A’s were using solely in long relief last season. Out of the pen, Montas went 1-1 with a 7.03 ERA.

Trevor Cahill takes the mound Saturday for the A’s facing his former team. Cahill played for the Royals last season after coming over in a July trade. He’ll be opposed by another pitcher facing his former team, with Jason Hammel taking the bump for Kansas City. Hammel pitched for Oakland in 2014 after coming over in the July 4th trade that also netted the A’s Jeff Samardzija.

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Joe Lami: Caps’ Kuznetsov day-to-day after getting checked into boards in Game 2

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On the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Joe Lami:

The Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov is on a day-to-day basis nursing an injury that Caps head coach Barry Trotz wouldn’t say what it was. It was reported that Kuznetsov injured his left arm after being slammed into the boards by the Vegas Golden Knights’ Brayden McNabb.

Kuznetsov was in the Knights zone with the puck when McNabb hit him into the boards and fell and hold his left hand. After the Knights took a 6-4 two-goal win over the Caps in Game 2, the Capitals kicked into high gear in tying the series 1-1, taking the series back to Washington.

For both games, there’s little doubt that Vegas goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury has seen his share of shots and allowing four goals in Game 1 and allowing three goals in Game 2. Caps goaltender Braden Holtby was amazing in Game 2 with stretching the goalie stick to make a save on the Knights’ Alex Tuch’s shot.

Joe Lami is doing analysis on the NHL Stanley Cup Finals for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Phillies come in one of the toughest in the NL to face Giants at AT&T Park tonight

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On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 The Philadelphia Phillies are just one game back in the NL East. Atlanta holds the top spot as the Phillies are in third. The Giants in third in the NL West. How do you see this series, which starts tonight?

#2 Giants starter Chris Stratton comes into the contest 6-3 ERA 4.97. Michael talks about Stratton facing the Giants’ lineup.

#3 The Phillies’ Aaron Nola came out throwing 90 MPH heat against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday in the Phillies’ 2-1 win. Nola struck out seven in seven innings. The Phillies have been getting some good pitching of late and Nola was a huge contributor.

#4 The Giants have recalled pitcher Tyler Beede from Triple A Sacramento. Beede joins the Giants with a 0-1 and a 8.22 ERA. Beede is taking pitcher Jeff Samardjiza’s spot on the roster.

#5 Michael talks about the big breakout month that Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford had in May.

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

 

 

Giants hope to erase memories of Phillies’ sweep

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The last time the Giants saw the Philadelphia Phillies, it got ugly very quickly and did not get much better for the rest of the series.

The end result was a three-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, and the Giants hope to make that a very distant memory this time around. They start a three-game series at AT&T Park Friday night.

The Giants (26-30) currently sit four games behind the first-place Colorado Rockies, with whom they won only one of a three-game series at Coors Field, in the National League West. Meanwhile, the 31-23 Phillies are in third place in the highly-competitive NL East, but they are only a game behind the front-running Atlanta Braves.

For the series opener, Chris Stratton (6-3, 4.07 ERA) will take the hill for the Giants opposite Phillies righty Nick Pivetta (4-3, 3.26 ERA). Pivetta was a hard-luck loser in his most previous decision, a 5-3 loss at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays, during which he went five innings and surrendered only two runs on four hits.

Stratton, meanwhile, has won each of his previous three outings, going five innings in each of them. In his last outing, a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs, Stratton gave up three runs on only four hits, walking three and striking out six but gave up a pair of home runs in the process.

On Saturday, Ty Blach (3-5, 4.96 ERA) will face Philadelphia righty Vince Velazquez (4-5, 4.08 ERA). For the Sunday finale, left-hander Andrew Suarez (1-4, 5.65 ERA) will face Phillies righty Jake Arrieta (5-2, 2.16 ERA), who came over from the Cubs and was the Phillies’ biggest free-agent acquisition.

Aces’ losing streak to 4 games after 101-74 loss to Storm

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Photo credit: Seattle Storm

By Shawn McCullough

The Seattle Storm hit a WNBA record 17 3-point shots to rout the Las Vegas Aces 101-74 at KeyArena in Seattle.

A’ja Wilson scored a team-high 21 points with 3 rebounds, while Tamera Young was the only other Aces player scoring in double digits with 11 points.

The Storm went 17 for 26 from 3 point range, breaking the former NBA record for 3 pointers in a game of 16 held by five other teams. The Aces finished the night 1 for 9 from three-point range.

The Aces have now given up 100 or more points in three games this season and in back to back games (both to the Storm).

With the loss, the Aces dropped to 0-4 on the season.

The Aces will next play the Washington Mystics tonight (Friday, June 1st) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.  The Mystics beat the Aces in Washington, 75-70, back on Tuesday, May 22nd.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Starters:
F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 12 Nia Coffey
C – 19 JiSu Park
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 15 Lindsay Allen

Cavs’ LeBron scores 51, but Warriors take Game 1 with 124-114 win

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Photo credit: @triplebszn

By: Ana Kieu

The rivalry continued as the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers met in the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year.

Dub Nation was excited to see their boys at Oracle Arena, and without a doubt, the players cleaned up nice before Game 1. Meanwhile, Wine and Gold Nation threw a watch party at the Quicken Loans Arena, courtesy of Budweiser.

Actress and San Jose, Calif., native Nayah Damasen, best known for her appearances on “Grey’s Anatomy” as Kimmie Park, sang the National Anthem. Damasen previously sung the anthem in the 2015 NBA Finals.

Steph Curry got the home crowd pumping with a 3-pointer to get the Warriors on the board. Curry later found Jordan Bell for the wide-open dunk.

Klay Thompson suffered what appeared to be a left lateral leg contusion, but he was re-taped and cleared to return to the game.

Both teams played their hearts out, but the Warriors trailed the Cavs 30-29 after the first quarter.

Thompson hit a three to help the Warriors grab the lead. With that three, Thompson (293) passed Kobe Bryant (292) for sixth place on the NBA’s all-time postseason threes list.

The clock was winding down, but Curry made a 30-foot buzzer beater from downtown. The Warriors evened the score 56-56 to end the first half.

At the half, Curry led all scorers with 18 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Kevin Durant had 11 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Thompson had 8 points. Draymond Green had 5 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Bell had 4 points.

The Warriors opened the second half with a 10-3 run. JaVale McGee then made a 2-point field goal look easy and followed up with an incredible dunk.

Neither team played defense to the best of their respective abilities, but that was seemingly okay as both teams were tied 68-68 with about 5.5 minutes left on the clock.

The game remained fairly close as the Warriors led the Cavs 84-78 after three quarters.

The Cavs cut the deficit to just 1 with 8:52 left in regulation, thanks to Jeff Green and Kyle Korver. Cleveland was 12-17 from the line at that time.

Curry’s three put the Warriors up by six for a 100-94 lead with 4:37 left remaining. This astonishing moment came just minutes after LeBron James had his eighth 40-point game in the playoffs and third in his last five.

The Cavs had a chance to escape with a one-point win, but George Hill made just one of two free throws. The game went into overtime.

The Warriors went on a 7-0 run to start the extra period. Golden State took a 114-107 lead in less than two minutes.

The Warriors were up by 8 with 2.6 seconds left.

The Warriors took Game 1 with a 124-114 victory over the Cavs.

In the end, Curry led all scorers with 29 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. Durant had 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks. Thompson had 24 points and 3 rebounds. Green had 13 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Shaun Livingston had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Kevon Looney had 8 points and 4 rebounds. Bell had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. McGee scored 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 block.

Notes
Warriors’ starters: Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney and Steph Curry.

Cavs’ starters: George Hill, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.

Up Next 
The Warriors and Cavs meet again in Oakland Sunday at 6:00 pm PST on ABC.

A’s bats come alive to beat the Rays 7-3; Mengden wins sixth game of the year

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@Athletics photo: A’s starter Daniel Mengden, who pitched for eight innings gets the win on Thursday afternoon over the Tampa Bay Rays to avoid a sweep at the Oakland Coliseum

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- Tha A’s salvaged the finale of the four-game series as they hit three home runs to help Daniel Mengden win his sixth game of the year. Mengden was brilliant for eight innings as he allowed no runs and just three hits. He stumbled a bit in the ninth, but the A’s bullpen quelled the Rays rally to win 7-3. The Rays’ Ryne Stanek, who, usually pitches out of the bullpen, was selected to continue Kevin Cash’s program of using relievers to start.

The Rays were hoping to sweep the A’s as their pitching had held the A’s to just three runs in the last three games. The A’s hitters were scuffling, but today, they snapped out of the hitting funk. The A’s Khris Davis, who was on the 10-day DL, was cleared to play and he helped get the team going when he doubled in his first at-bat. The A’s also hit three home runs to aid Mengden’s cause. The A’s had hit just 19 at home so far this year as compared to 47 on the road. The changed the numbers when the three Matts, Olson, Chapman, and Joyce all homered.

In the bottom of the second, the A’s exploded to score three times.  The A’s had scored just three runs in the 4-game series with the Rays had to be ecstatic as the bats came alive. Khris Davis, in his first at-bat after being on the 10-day DL, doubled to right-centerfield. Chad Pinder walked to give the A’s runners at first and second with one out. Bruce Maxwell struck out for the second out. Stephen Piscotty, who has been scuffling, doubled to the left-field corner to drive in Davis and Pinder. Mark Canha followed with a single to give the A’s the lead 2-0 after two complete.

The A’s scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the seventh to take a 5-0 lead. With one out, Matt Olson hit a solo home run to right. Two batters later, Matt Chapman sent a Ryan Yarbrough pitch into outer space for his ninth of the season.

Matt Joyce joined the homer parade in the eighth. Stephen Piscotty walked to put a man on first with one out. The Rays recorded the second out of the inning when Mark Canha popped out to the Rays’ first baseman Brad Miller in foul territory. Joyce then blasted his seventh big fly to put the A’s in the driver’s seat 7-0.

A’s manager let Mengden start the ninth. Mengden gave up a single to C.J.Cron and Joey Wendle to put men on first and second with no out. Rays’ catcher Wilson Ramos doubled to drive in Cron and Wendle. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Josh Lucas to pitch. Mengden received a standing ovation from the 12, 070 fans in attendance. Lucas struck out Daniel Robertson for the first out. He then walked Brad Miller. Lucas struck out Rob Refsnyder for the second out. He needed one more out to get the save, but he couldn’t retire Christian Arroyo. Aroyo slammed a double into left field to drive in Ramos. Miller stopped at third base. Melvin brought in closer Blake Treinen to end the game. Rays’ right fielder Josh Field hit a blooper that looked as if it was going to fall in for a hit. Chad Pinder made a sensational over-the-shoulder catch to end the game. It was not easy as the ball bounced off Pinder’s glove, but he somehow was able to grab the ball with his bare hand as he fell to the ground.  The A’s win 7-3

Game Notes: Mengden had his scoreless streak end at a career-high 25 innings. It was the longest streak by an A’s pitcher since Sean Doolittle in 2014 (26.1) and the longest by an A’s starter since Corey Lidle in 2002 (32.0). Mengden also pitched 16 consecutive innings without issuing a walk. He has won four consecutive games for the first time in his career. Blake Treinen recorded his 13th save of the year, and it was his 10th save in May tying him with Dennis Eckersley for the most saves in May in Oakland history.

The A’s seven runs ended a 14-game consecutive streak of 4 runs or less. They finished the month with a record of 15-14 which was the first winning record in May since 2014.

The line score for Oakland was 7 runs, 7 hits, and no errors. The Rays’ line was 3 runs, 7 hits, and 2 errors. The A’s improve to 29-28 while the Rays fall to 28-27.

Up Next: The A’s start a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals Friday night in Kansas City. They are off on Monday before going to Texas for two more with the Rangers. Frankie Montas, who pitched well in his last start, will handle the pitching chores for the Green and Gold and the Royal will start the veteran righty, Ian Kennedy. Kennedy is 1-5 and has an ERA of 5.15. Game time is at 5:15 pm PST.

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: Will this be another series of LeBron versus four guys from the Warriors?

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Photo credit: @warriors

On Headline Sports with Tony Renteria:

The NBA Finals gets underway tonight at Oracle Arena in Oakland for Game 1 between Cleveland and Golden State. Same teams in the finals for the last four years. Will it be a series where LeBron has to depend on his teammates to get past the Warriors’ best of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson?

The Philadelphia 76ers team president Bryan Colangelo. who opened five Twitter accounts only to criticize his own players, was found out. The worst of it was when he disclosed an Jahlil Okafar injury that was supposed to be private, but was made public on twitter by Colangelo.

Turning to football: The Oakland Raiders’ practice on Tuesday was obviously missing some key players wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Seth Roberts, safety Reggie Nelson, and defensive end Khalil Mack all are in contract discussions. Preseason starts in August so the Raiders would like to get them in camp soon.

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria is podcasted each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State to Appear in Two Non-Conference Games on Pac-12 Network

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State now has game times and television assignments for its non-conference football games against Pac-12 Conference opponents Washington State and Oregon.

The September 8 game at Washington State will have an 8:00 p.m. PST start time. The Pac-12 Network will provide the telecast from Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

The following week, the Spartans’ September 15 non-conference contest at Oregon in Autzen Stadium will be another another Pac-12 Network telecast with a 2:00 p.m. PDT start time.

Previously, the Mountain West announced San Jose State’s games against Colorado State on October 6 and at San Diego State on October 20 would be televised by the CBS Sports Network and have a 7:30 p.m. PDT start time and the October 13 non-conference contest against Army West Point and a November 24 regular finale at Fresno State would be carried on the ESPN Network.

Game times and broadcast assignments for the remainder of the schedule will be announced in the coming months and no later than 12 days before a scheduled game.

Season tickets for San Jose State’s six home games are available by visiting www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets or by calling (408) 924-SJTX.