Pence wins it in the ninth Giants edge Rockies to open two game set 4-3

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San Francisco Giants’ Hunter Pence, right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a sacrifice fly to score Orlando Calixte for the winning run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in San Francisco, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. The Giants won 4-3. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO- Hunter Pence gave the San Francisco Giants the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, but it was his sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning that was even bigger.

Pence hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning that was caught by Carlos Gonzalez, to score Orlando Calixte from third and the Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-3 before a crowd of 40,686 at AT&T Park.

Calixte was running for Pablo Sandoval, who led off the inning with a single off of Chris Rusin, then Ryder Jones singled and then pinch-hitter Kelby Tomlinson beat out a dribbler that loaded the bases for Pence, who hit a sacrifice fly that Gonzalez made a diving catch on; however, Calixte easily scored from third base with the winning run.

Pence’s home run gave the Giants a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he hit his 12th home run of the season that was measured at 441 feet over the center field wall, Johnny Cueto helped out his own cause, as he hit a single off of German Marquez.

In the early going, it looked like Cueto would be on a short leash, as his pitch count kept increasing; however, the right-hander ended up going 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking four and striking out six; however, he did not fare in the decision.

The Rockies took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning, as Charlie Blackmon hit a two-run double off of Cueto. It was the 200th hit of the season for Blackmon, the first 200 hit season of his five-year career.

Pablo Sandoval got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he drove in Buster Posey, who singled to lead off the inning, then beat the throw from Nolan Arenado at second base and then scored on the Sandoval single.

It was a nice night at the plate for Sandoval, as he went 3-for-4 on the evening for his second three hit game of the season and his first since rejoining the Giants.

Following Sandoval’s third hit of the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, Sandoval was replaced by Calixte, who scored the eventual game-winning run for the Giants

Marquez went six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, walking just one and striking out eight and like Cueto, he did not fare in the decision.

The Rockies tied up the game in the top of the eighth inning, as Gerardo Parra hit a double just inside the first base line that scored Gonzalez, who doubled with one out in the inning.

Nolan Arenado nearly gave the Rockies a 4-3 lead, as he hit a Hunter Strickland curveball that was caught Jarrett Parker on the warning track, as Arenado went 0-for-4 on the evening against Giants pitching.

Arenado went 0-for-3 against Cueto, and is now 5-for-32 (.156) in his big-league career.

The Rockies lead for the second wild card dropped to just one game over the surging Milwaukee Brewers, who defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 at PNC Park.

NOTES: Matt Moore looks for his sixth win of the season, as he takes the mound on Wednesday afternoon, while the Rockies will send eight-game winner Tyler Chatwood to the hill, as the Rockies look for the spilt in this brief two-game series.

This was just the sixth win by the Giants in their last 16 home games, and it was their first back-to-back victories since winning four in a row from August 8-18.

Sharks dominate Ducks in their pre-season debut 5-0

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nhl.com photo: San Jose Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell who stopped 24 shots against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks at SAP Center in San Jose good enough for a shutout in pre season game number one Tuesday night

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE–Summer is over and with fall right around the corner, the San Jose Sharks were back out on the ice at SAP Center in their first pre-season game of the 2017-18 campaign as they skated circles around the Anaheim Ducks for a 5-0 victory.

Pre-season games are a chance for the younger prospects to try to make a name for themselves enough to earn a coveted spot on the 23 man roster. For veterans like captain Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton, they usually get the night off. Forwards Logan Couture and Mikkel Boedker and defensemen Marc Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun were the only veteran Sharks in head coach Peter DeBoer’s lineup in front of an announced crowd of 15,032.

The majority of the lineup consisted of players who played on the Sharks’ minor league team, the San Jose Barracuda including forwards Danny O’Regan, Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Carpenter. Back up goalie Aaron Dell started in goal for the Sharks as he looked to fine tune his game for the upcoming season. Dell played a solid game as he stopped all 24 shots he faced to preserve the shutout, including a point blank shot by Anaheim’s Antoine Morand with 12 minutes left to go in the third period.

Sharks forward Filip Sandberg drew first blood on a breakaway goal with ten seconds left in the first period thanks to a heads up play by defenseman Tim Heed. Sandberg, who signed with the Sharks back in May after playing last year in the Swedish Hockey League, showed off his speed after receiving a nifty pass from Heed that sprung him down the middle skating past two Duck defenders before beating Ducks goalie Reto Berra to the lower right corner of the goal. “He’s a hard working kid”, head coach Peter DeBoer said of Sandberg. “He helps along the boards, he has some speed. We’re trying to infuse some speed in our lineup.” O’Regan scored the Sharks second goal of the game less than two minutes into the second period.

After a clean face off win in the neutral zone, defenseman Nick Desimone set up O’Regan in the slot and he planted the shot top shelf past Berra. Defenseman Jacob Middleton also was credited with an assist on the goal. The Sharks cashed in on the power play as Boedker made the Ducks pay after Anaheim’s John Manson went into the sin bin for slashing with his power play goal seven minutes left in the second period for a 3-0 lead. Heed received his second assist of the game.

Kevin Lebanc cleaned up a rebound for the Sharks fourth goal of the game after a mad scramble in front of the net after a Goodrow shot was initially saved by Berra. The goal came just as the penalty of Anaheim’s Kevin Roy for interference (he received 20 seconds after Boedker’s goal) had just expired.

The Sharks kept pouring it on as fourth liner Brandon Bollig crashed the net and tipped home a rebound off a Rudolf Balcers shot to round out the scoring for the Sharks. Bollig and Ducks forward Jared Boll exchanged some fisticuffs midway through the third period after Bollig took exception to Boll’s hit along the boards on Sharks forward Sasha Chmelevski. Bollig received an extra minor for roughing.

NEXT UP: The Sharks take on the NHL’s newest member, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday at SAP Center at 7:30pm.

NOTES: The Sharks went 1-4 on the power play while the Ducks were 0-4.

 

A’s Jed Lowrie’s Grand Slam tames Tigers 9-8

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Detroit- The Oakland A’s outlasted the Detroit Tigers Thursday night in a game that was fifteen minutes late starting due to a rainstorm. The rain did not dampen the A’s bats as they came back from a four-run deficit and beat the Tigers behind a grand slam by Jed Lowrie in the eighth to win the contest by a score of 9-8.

The starting pitchers for both teams did not fare well. The Tigers’ lefty Chad Bell exited the game in the fourth inning. Bell was looking for his first win of the year, and that did not happen. He didn’t lose either. Bell’s line was 3 & 1/3rd innings pitched, and he allowed five hits and three runs. The A’s starter, Daniel Gossett, did not go five innings again. Gossett usually pitches well in the first two innings but loses it in the third, fourth, or fifth inning. That was his modus operandi on Tuesday evening. The A’s staked him to a 3-1 lead after three innings. The Tigers scored one in the third to make it 3-2 and then plated four more in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-3 lead and send Gossett to the showers.

The A’s scored one in the top of the sixth to trail 6-4, but the Tigers came back in the bottom of the inning with two more runs to take a commanding 8-4 lead. The A’s got one back in the seventh and were trailing by three until the fateful eighth inning.

With the Tigers’ Alex Wilson pitching, the A’s loaded the bases with no out as Joey Wendle, Franklin Barreto, and Chad Pinder all singled. The next batter, the A’s double machine Jed Lowrie, made his way to the plate. Lowrie, hitting left-handed, hit his third-career grand slam to propel the A’s into the lead 9-8. Bob Melvin called on Chris Hatcher to pitch. Melvin was hoping that HAtcher could keep the Tigers off the board. Hatcher did his job, but the team and all the A’s fans either listening to the radio, watching on television or in the stands in Detroit were squirming. Miguel Cabrera singled to start the rally. He went to third on Nick Castellanos’ double. Hatcher retired Candelario for the first out. Melvin ordered the next hitter to be walked intentionally to load the bases and set up a possible double play. Hatcher struck out James McCann for the second out and also struck out Mikie Mahtook for the third out as the Tigers could not capitalize on a bases-loaded no out situation.

Blake Treinen pitched the ninth for Oakland and was able to close out the game and secure the win for the A’s.

Game Notes- The Tigers used seven pitchers and the A’s used six. Santiago Casilla, who pitched the seventh, was the winning pitcher and Alex Wilson absorbed the loss. The A’s won their fifth game of the nine-game road trip and will close out the trip on Wednesday afternoon in Detroit.

Jed Lowrie was the hitting star for Oakland. Jed hit his 47th double of the season to tie the team record held by Jason Giambi in 2001. Lowrie hit his third grand slam of his career and drove in five runs. Matt Olson hit his 23rd of the year. He tied an Oakland rookie record by hitting homers in five consecutive games, and it was his twelfth in his last sixteen contests.The A’s have now hit 221 homers this season.

Ian Kinsler, Alex Presley, and Nick Castellanos each hit a solo home run for Detroit.

Game three of the three-game set will be played Wednesday in Detroit. Game time will be at 10:10 am. Anibal Sanchez will pitch for the Tigers, and Daniel Mengden will go for the A’s. Mengden pitched a two-hit complete game against the Phillies last week.

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News, & Commentary: Phillies Galvis gives all the credit to “Friends” for learning English, Astros get first division title since 2005, Boyd loses heartbreak no hit bid

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Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis (13) hits an RBI single in the fifth inning during an MLB game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals on September 7, 2017, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

On the MLB Podcast with Amaury’s Podcast:

1 Latino players gave credit to the TV sitcom “Friends” for learning English according to Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis. Galvis said that a number of players followed the Spanish captions on the NBC sitcom and listened to the English portion. For example when they said “Happy” on the show Galvis knew they were saying “Feliz” it all worked out for him and a great number of Spanish speaking players.

2 For the first time since 2001 the Houston Astros have clinched a division title. In 2001 the Astros were a National League team. When they won the National League pennant in 2005 they won by the Wild Card. The Astros are tearing up the American League this season and are favored by this reporter to win the AL Pennant this season

3 Tough going for the Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Matt Boyd who lost his no hit bid. As the Chicago White Sox Tim Anderson belted a clean double in the ninth inning and there went the no hit bid on Sunday. The Tigers held on for the shutout and win.

4 The SF Giants Pablo Sandoval had a break out game on Sunday with a home run and three RBIs. Sandoval had been in a drought but got the pitch he was waiting on and went yard against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final game of that three game series over the weekend.

5 After getting a dose of the Giants during the series at AT&T Park last week the Los Angeles Dodgers who won four straight after losing 11 straight. The Dodgers after winning those four straight have found their way back in the loss column and have lost two straight.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Angels Spanish TV talent, the A’s Spanish radio talent, and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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2018 Giants must figure out how to gain ground in the competitive NL West

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Arizona Diamondbacks’ J.D. Martinez (28) is greeted at the plate by Daniel Descalso, left and Paul Goldschmidt after hitting a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants are rumored to want to bring back a majority of their 25-man roster, a retooling project as opposed to a rebuilding effort to shape their 2018 squad.

Add a power source, the thinking goes, someone like Giancarlo Stanton, if not Stanton himself, and that big bat in the middle of the order takes the pressure off Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey and others, giving the Giants a competent offense, one at least slightly better than the three-runs-or-less trainwreck of 2017.

But the Giants don’t just need to get better, they need to gain traction within the NL West, a division that’s gone to the Dodgers for a record fifth year in a row, and has two other 2017 postseason qualifiers with staying power in the Rockies and Diamondbacks.

So to recap, the team with the worst record in baseball this season, and the last half of the previous season, is supposed to catch its rivals by tweaking it’s roster.

How’s that supposed to work?

Start with pitching, and that’s where the Dodgers and Diamondbacks have set themselves apart, with both staffs ranked among the top three in baseball. The Dodgers and D’Backs have done it in the manner the Giants intended: with pitching that provides two or more dominant starts every time through the five-man rotation, and a bullpen that protects all leads.

The Giants will need to shave a run off their slightly-below MLB average team ERA (4.59) and come up with two more strikeouts every nine innings to get to where Los Angeles and Arizona are. They may attempt to do that with a bullpen and a starting staff that could return intact, that after the team announced Matt Moore’s option will be picked up despite his 14 losses, and ghastly performances versus NL West competition (1-7, Moore’s only win within the division came on April 10).

“I’ve really enjoyed the city and staff we work with every day, the ballpark and the division,” Moore said when asked if he was excited for the opportunity to return.

The Giants’ aim for 2017 was (prior to the 93 losses and counting) to win low scoring games with pitching and defense. Neither aspects were anywhere close to where they needed to be this season, resulting in the team’s proverbial margin for error being too slim.

Once again, how will that work? Don’t be surprised if the Giants answer by saying a healthy Will Smith, Mark Melancon, Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner minus the dirt bike will suffice.

Offensively, the Giants run counterintuitively to the vast majority of clubs in terms of offensive philosophy with their retention of clutch hitters who don’t necessarily hit the ball out of the park. Thus, the ESPN article a month ago suggesting the club rid itself of nearly its entire everyday lineup in search of hitters with a home run profile.

But the Giants may only tweak here, let’s for now say Stanton or Mike Moustakas (both having career years in home runs) and a plus defender in centerfield in, and Brandon Belt and a reserve outfielder out.

Is that enough bold change to make up the 23 home run gap between the Giants and 29th place Pittsburgh, or the 85 home run difference between the Giants and the Dodgers?

Probably not. For instance, Stanton is likely to finish second or third in the NL MVP race to Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt and/or Colorado’s Nolan Arenado despite hitting 55 home runs to date. Were Stanton to do something similar for the Giants in 2018, guess what? His contributions could still leave him behind Goldschmidt and Arenado. No slight to Stanton, that’s just reflective of how good the other two are, and how much promise they retain heading into next season.

Again, it’s hard to see how the Giants close the gap so dramatically in such a short period of time. But don’t be surprised if they try.

A’s offense continues to produce as they beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3

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Oakland Athletics players celebrate their 8-3 win against the Detroit Tigers after a baseball game in Detroit, Monday, Sept. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Detroit- The Oakland A’s, who have had massive problems winning on the road, beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 Monday night. The A’s offense continued to batter the opposition as the young guys with some help from the veterans Matt Joyce, and Jed Lowrie jumped out to an early lead, and the A’s bullpen did its job to defeat the Tigers. The Tigers are having a down year. Their pitching has been woeful, and they have traded away stalwarts J.D.Martinez, Justin Upton, and ace pitcher Justin Verlander. Victor Martinez is done for the year and superstar Miguel Cabrera is having an off-year due to injuries and getting older.

Jharel Cotton was supposed to start for Oakland on Monday. Cotton suffered a right groin strain warming up before the start of the game.  A’s manager Bob Melvin sent Raul Alcantara to the hill. The plan was to let him throw about 60 pitches and then use the bullpen. Alcantara did a great job as he went three and 2/3rds innings and allowed just two hits and no runs. Melvin used five pitchers the rest of the way.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Marcus Semien led off the game with a single.  With one out, Jed Lowrie doubled to left-center. Semien was running on the pitch and was able to score all the way from first base.

The A’s plated four runs in the top of the third. The Tigers’ starter, Buck Farmer, hit Semien with a pitch. Matt Joyce singled to put men on at first and third with no out. Jed Lowrie hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Semien. The big first baseman, Matt Olson, continued his hot hitting as he blasted his 22nd homer in just 54 games. Ryon Healy reached on an error, and he scored on a double off the bat of Chad Pinder. The A’s lead 5-0.

The A’s added two more runs in the fourth. The A’s loaded the bases with no out, Lowrie walked to force in a run. The other run scored when Khris Davis hit into a double play.

The Tigers tallied two in the bottom of the fifth and one in their half of the seventh to make it a 7-3 game. The A’s finished their scoring in the eighth when they scored their final run of the game. The A’s won by a score of 8-3.

Game Notes- Liam Hendriks, the A’s third pitcher of the night, received credit for the win. Buck Farmer took the loss for Detroit. Marcus Semien had two hits, Matt Joyce was 3-for-6, Matt Olson has now hit homers in his last four games in a row and in eleven of his last fifteen games. He has twenty-two for the season in just 54 games. Quite a performance for the young man. Chad Pinder had two hits and two RBIs.

Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at Comerica Park in Detroit. Game time is at 4:05pm. Daniel Gosset (4-9) will pitch for Oakland. Gossett will be making his sixteenth start for the A’s and has been pitching better lately. Chad Bell (0-3, 6.42 ERA) has not completed five innings in his three starts since moving from long relief into the rotation. In his last start, Bell gave up six runs and nine hits in just 3 1/3rd inning of work against the White Sox last Thursday.

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks players coming back from minor league system; What Toronto looks like with Marleau

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock, left, talks with forward Patrick Marleau, right, during NHL hockey training camp in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

1 The San Jose Sharks faced off with their first pre season game last Sunday with a huge 9-4 victory in Vancouver with lost of rookies and minor league players trying to break in. Lots of scrums and a hard effort by all trying to make the club. Len takes a look.

2 Former and current San Jose Baracuda AHL players Timo Meier, Ryan Carpenter, Dan O’Regan, and Troy Grosenick a look at their roles and most likely Meier, Carpenter, and O’Regan will be extra players on the roster.

3 The Toronto Maple Leafs Jerod Cowen was not too happy by the way he felt used by the Leafs to be placed on the injured reserve list to help loosen up cap room and then Cowen was later dealt to the Colorado Avalanche.

4 The Toronto media will be evaluating 38 year old Patrick Marleau who will be in his first year with the Leafs. Marleau is expected to actually lead the team in scoring and assists. He played up to the level for the Sharks last season but he’s in an entirely different environment this season.

5 Joe Thornton looks like he’s going to continue to grow his beard until the Sharks win their first cup it’s down to the Sharks emblem on his sweater Len talks about what impact Thornton expected out of him going into the season

Len Shapiro does the SJ Sharks podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears Podcast with Morris Phillips: As USC heads to Cal Bears getting ready to step up their play

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AP File Photo: Cal Bears Head coach Justin Wilcox during the NCAA Football game between Weber State Wildcats and the California Golden Bears 33-20 win at California Memorial Stadium. Thurman James / CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

1 Cal Head coach Justin Wilcox said it was a team effort for Cal to win last Saturday against Ole Miss

2 The Bears success has been on depending on each other to back each player up

3 Morris talks about the chemistry of the Bears and how they’ve been so cohesive through these first three games

4 Number four USC comes to Cal on Saturday at 12:30PM Morris tells us how much of a show down will this game be and could there be an upset?

Morris Phillips does the Cal Bears podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

San Francisco Giants Podcast with Morris Phillips: Giants looking to rebuild in off season; Countdown to a 100 loss season can the Giants do it they need seven to make it

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San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy (15) cracks a smile during batting practice prior to the regular season game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 13, 2017 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA (Photo by Samuel Stringer/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

1 Morris takes a look at what happens with the Giants and what improvements and steps the club takes to improve for the 2018 season

2  It’s countdown to a 100 loss season the Giants with 12 games left in the year need only seven more loses to tie the 1985 Giants for the most loses in one season at 100

3 The Giants open up a two game series with the Colorado Rockies beginning Tuesday night at Coors Field. The Rockies still playing for something while the Giants will play the role of spoiler.

There’s much more on the Giants podcast with Morris take a listen at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Mr. Intense: Vogelsong’s impact on the Giants bigger than his numbers

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong waves from the mound before the start of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, in San Francisco. Vogelsong took the mound and then retired as a San Francisco Giant. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Ryan Vogelsong was back. But his signature intensity was not.

The then 39-year old former Giants pitcher attempted to extend his big league career one more season by accepting a spring training invite from the Twins. But when it became apparent that he wouldn’t make the Opening Day roster, Vogelsong checked out, and all the passion and intensity that drove his unlikely career arc went away as well.

“I pretty much checked out mentally,” he said. “And I knew when I checked out mentally, it was time.”

After seven seasons with the Giants, and nine more in a whole bunch of other places, Vogelsong was done, bringing him to Sunday, when the Giants opted to honor the reliever turned starter for all his service. The club and the pitcher had different ideas on what should be included in the pre-game ceremony.

The Giants offered to sign Vogelsong and have him pitch in a Giants uniform one final time. But Vogelsong, now 40, passed, not wanting to disrupt the sanctity of the game.

So instead, Vogelsong threw out the first pitch, donning an entire uniform, and received a lengthy ovation from the AT&T Park crowd, including his gregarious wife, Nicole and son, Ryder. Emotional and heartfelt, the moment matched the intensity of the pitcher’s career.

Vogelsong was drafted by the Giants in 1998, and made his big league debut in 2001 as a reliever. Midway through the 2002 season, Vogelsong was part of the trade that brought Jason Schmidt to San Francisco in advance of the club’s World Series appearance that fall.

Injuries derailed Vogelsong in Pittsburgh with the Pirates, and his oddysey through Japan and the minor leagues commenced, taking him away from the major leagues for four seasons. In 2011, the pitcher resurfaced, earning a roster spot with the Giants, and going on to win 13 games as a starter. That season, Vogelsong also earned his one All-Star appearance as a more than capable fill-in for the injured Matt Cain.

In 2012, Vogelsong won 14 games, and made three postseason starts, as the Giants won all three on their way to a World Series crown.

Throughout the championship season, Vogelsong labored, pitching with traffic on the bases, refusing to give in, and more often than not finding an escape before trouble surfaced. The quintessential fifth starter, Vogey labored while his more talented rotation mates cruised. But the pitcher earned the respect of his teammates and coaches with his tenacity and willingness to contribute however manager Bruce Bochy saw fit.

“He was very popular in the clubhouse but you saw a different look when it was his day to pitch, and how he competed,” Bochy said.