San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner works against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
By Ana Kieu
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants lost 7-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals in the series finale at AT&T Park on Sunday afternoon.
Madison Bumgarner made his 14th start of the season after being scratched from his start on Thursday with flu-like symptoms.
The Giants broke through in the bottom of the third inning. Buster Posey hit a line-drive single to Joe Panik, who scored a run to give his team a 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals hit back-to-back home runs to take their first lead of the game in the top of the fourth inning. Paul DeJong tied the ballgame 1-1 with a home run on a fly ball for his 21st of the season. Jose Martinez then smacked a home run on a fly ball to left center that gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead.
Bumgarner hit a solo home run for his third of the season, tying the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Cardinals poured in the runs in the sixth inning. Harrison Bader hit his second career home run and the Cardinals’ third of the game to put his team ahead 3-2. Martinez followed with an RBI double to make it a 4-2 game. Yadier Molina added another RBI double to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 5-2.
Bader expanded the Cardinals’ lead to 6-2 with a ground ball single that scored Alex Mejia in the top of the seventh inning. Shortly after, Bader scored on a ground rule double by Martinez to enlarge the Cardinals’ lead to 7-2.
Tim Federowicz hit his first home run as a Giant in the bottom of the eighth inning. As a result, San Francisco cut the Cardinals’ lead to 7-3.
The Giants lost to the Cardinals 7-3 in the series finale at home.
“I contribute a little bit more,” Giants center fielder Gorkys Hernandez said. “You have to finish hard. You have to prepare for next season.”
“This year is really tough,” Hernandez added. “Everyone wants to go to the playoffs.”
Notes The Giants recalled infielder Orlando Calixte and outfielder Mac Williamson from triple-A Sacramento. San Francisco now has 31 active pitchers on their roster (16 pitchers, three catchers, six infielders and six outfielders).
Giants outfielder Austin Slater went 1-for-3 in his second rehab appearance with triple-A Sacramento last night, playing seven innings in left field. Slater has missed the last 50 games with a right groin strain.
Giants left handed pitcher Josh Osich turns 29 years old today.
Today’s attendance is 39,724.
Up Next
The Giants head to Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies for a three-game series that starts this Monday at 1:10 p.m. MST on NSBA, ATRM.
Alabama’s Najee Harris (22) in action during the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game, featuring the Alabama Crimson Tide and the FSU Seminoles, played at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Cecil Copeland/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)
On the NCAA Football Podcast with Daniel:
No. 1 Alabama knocks off No. 3 Florida State
Stanford 62-7 over Rice in Australia
Paycheck games, like the one San Jose State played on Saturday
Daniel Dullum is filling in for Michelle Richardson for the NCAA Football Podcast
Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander, right, laughs while talking to Jose Altuve during the second inning of the second game of a baseball doubleheader against the New York Mets, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
On the MLB Podcast with Daniel:
1 Astros glad to be back in Houston
2 Justin Verlander makes his Astros debut on Tuesday after trade from Detroit
3 D-Backs, Indians on hot streaks; Twins in thick of AL Wild Card
4 Tigers’ Victor Martinez will undergo heart surgery
San Francisco Giants’ Nick Hundley, right, celebrates after hitting a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals to win the baseball game in the tenth inning on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
By Morris Phillips
SAN FRANCISCO–Nick Hundley has been one of the biggest bright spots for a bad Giants baseball team in 2017, a point that got hammered home on Saturday.
The journeyman catcher started behind the plate, moving Buster Posey to first base, and with the game tied in the tenth, Hundley provided the game-winning home run off reliever Ryan Sheriff.
“To play a team like the Cardinals, who are still fighting for the playoff race and to come out and get a win, it’s really important,” Hundley said. “It’s important for us, and it’s important for the league. The rest of the league deserves our best shot, too.”
The Cardinals fell seven games behind the Cubs in the NL Central with the loss, the meandering Giants simply ended a tough. ,,stretch of 10 losses in 13 ga558mes with the win, a stretch that again had folks talking about the club becoming only the second Giants team to lose 100 games (1985, 102 losses).
Starters Jeff Samardzija and Lance Lynn were the stars of the first nine innings with the Shark allowing two hits, one run in seven innings, and Lynn allowing one hit in eight innings. With the hot weather conducive to power hitting, the two starters had to be on their game to get things done. They were.
“When you have horses going like that, runs are hard to come by,” Hundley said.
A couple of singles and a wild pitch allowed the Cardinals to push across a run in the fourth. That stood as the difference in the game until Posey’s RBI single in the ninth. What drama remained, was conducted in a succinct, decisive 10th inning.
First, Dexter Fowler tripled off Sam Dyson to open the inning, the second straight day Fowler had soured Dyson’s appearance. On Friday night, Fowler’s big hit opened the floodgates. This time, Dyson responded to the challenge, escaping without allowing a run.
With pinch-runner Harrison Bader on third for the injured Fowler, Dyson induced a ground ball out from Yadier Molina. Then Stephen Piscotty also hit a grounder to third baseman Pablo Sandoval, and the Panda threw out the breaking Bader at the plate. Dyson then recorded the third out on Greg Garcia’s grounder that resulted in a fielder’s choice.
That set the table for Hundley’s heroics, the rare home run down the right field line into the arcade, launched by a right-handed hitter. Given the backup catcher’s popularity with his teammates, the ensuing celebration at home plate was especially spirited.
“He’s an amazing teammate, one of the best I’ve ever had,” Samardzija said of Hundley. “You’re not surprised because he’s always competing.”
California football went from great mystery to great debut in just over three hours.
Unexpected? By any measure.
From the financial issues surrounding the California athletic department to all the unknown among the team’s personnel and coaching staff, topped off by the East Coast opener timed to start for breakfast in Berkeley, the Bears put all the uncertainty to the side with their surprising performance, surging after halftime in a 35-30 win at North Carolina.
“There’s going to be so much off the tape that was far from perfect, it’s never going to be quite as good as you want it, but man it feels good in that locker room right now and I’m just really, really proud of our team, the players, our coaches, our university, our fans,” new Bears’ coach Justin Wilcox said. “It’s just a great moment.”
Ross Bowers led Cal offensively, throwing for 368 yards in his first collegiate start. Bowers also authored the game’s signature play, a screen pass off a scrambling escape that put the ball in Patrick Laird’s hands on a 54-yard pass and run that gave Cal the lead after they trailed for the majority of the firtst half.
Bowers threw a touchdown pass in each of the four quarters, along with to interceptions, the second of which set up the Tar Heels to regain a 24-21 lead, after a 73-yard return by Andre Smith, at the conclusion of the third quarter.
But Cal rebounded with two touchdowns in the fourth to take control, the second on a Vic Enwere run giving the Bears a 35-24 advantage with 1:56 remaining.
While Bowers was a consistent force throughout the four quarters, UNC quarterback Brandon Williams completed just 7 of 16 passes for 60 yards, then saw his afternoon shortened after throwing a second interception in the third quarter. Redshirt freshman Chazz Surratt played as well, and finished 18 of 28 for 161 yards. Both quarterbacks seemed constrained under the platooning dynamic, but may have been limited to a greater degree by UNC’s ineffective receivers who failed to create separation from Cal’s defensive backs.
Not only did Cal’s secondary hold up, its defense as a whole held up, maybe the afternoon’s biggest surprise given that the Cal defense allowed 40 points a game in 2016, and didn’t gain any significant, new personnel. The 30 points allowed, including a meaningless touchdown in the game’s final seconds, stood as the fewest points Cal had allowed in a road game since 2015.
The Oakland Athletics lost their fifth game in a row as they dropped a 7-6 decision to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night at Safeco Field. The A’s (58-77) have lost the first two games of the three game series in Seattle to the Mariners (68-68).
The game was tied 6-6 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. The A’s sent Blake Treinen to the hill to hold the game at 6-6 and to take it into extra innings. That plan did not work out as intended.
Jean Segura led off the ninth inning for the Mariners and reached base safely on a fielding error by Matt Olson. Former Athletic Yonder Alonso then singled to right field which allowed Segura to move to third base. The A’s then decided to intentionally walk Robinson Cano to load the bases with no outs.
The M’s Nelson Cruz went down on strikes and the A’s followed that with a defensive substitution moving Matt Joyce to left field and inserting Boog Powell into center field while having Khris Davis exit the game.
Kyle Seager then flied out to left field for the second out of the inning. That left everything up to the Mariners Mitch Haniger. With the count at 1-1 to Haniger, Treinen threw a wild pitch that allowed Segura to scamper home giving Seattle the walk-off win 7-6.
A’s manager Bob Melvin did not see the pitch as a wild pitch in a quote given to Reuters. “He (Treinen) gets himself a position to get out of it, we don’t handle the ball behind the plate and it costs us the game,” said Melvin.
Oakland blows a big lead
Matt Joyce hits his 21st home run of 2017*
The A’s let another solid lead be eroded on Saturday night. Oakland scored individual runs in the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. Seattle came back and scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 2-2.
In the top of the fourth inning, the Mariners made a pitching change. Seattle pulled their starter Yovani Gallardo and sent Casey Lawrence to the mound. The A’s capitalized on that change.
Matt Chapman led off the inning by grounding out to first. Bruce Maxwell then drew a walk. Marcus Semien then hit his 13th double of the season off Lawrence that moved Maxwell up to third base.
Matt Joyce came to bat with runners at second and third. He hit a three-run home run (21) off Lawrence to give the A’s a 5-2 lead.
Jed Lowrie was the next hitter and he drew a walk. After a visit to the mound by the pitching coach, Khris Davis stepped into the batter’s box and hit a double (24) to left field and moved Lowrie up to third base. That would be the end of the game for Lawrence as he was removed and replaced by reliever Ryan Garton.
Ryon Healy was the first Athletic to face Garton. He hit a fly ball to center field that would be caught by Jarrod Dyson but Lowrie was able to tag up and score the A’s sixth run of the game. Davis was able to advance to third base on Healy’s sacrifice fly.
Matt Olson flied out to left fielder Ben Gamel in foul ground to end the inning.
That would be the end of the scoring for the Athletics in the game. Seattle would add two runs in the fifth inning, one in the sixth, one in the eighth and then the final winning one in the bottom of the ninth.
It is tough to win when you allow your opponent to score five unanswered runs and take away your four-run lead.
On the mound
Oakland
Jharel Cotton started the game for the A’s and lasted four innings. It was the long-ball that did him in on Saturday night. Cotton gave up three home runs in his four innings of work which resulted in four Seattle runs (all earned). He gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out one.
The Athletics used six relievers to finish the final five innings. Combined they gave up three runs (one earned) off three hits while walking two and striking out five. They also gave up one home run. It was not a picture perfect “Goose Egg” night by any means.
Treinen was charged with loss and his record fell to 1-4 for the season.
Seattle
Yovani Gallardo did not have a quality start for the Mariners. He lasted just three innings on Saturday night giving up two runs (all earned) off five hits. Gallardo walked two, struck out two and gave up two home runs.
The Mariners relief corps had an odd night. Lawrence lasted just 0.1-inning while giving up four earned runs of three hits. After he left the game, the Seattle bullpen settled down and did its job.
The Mariners final three relievers did their job almost to perfection. They posted the coveted “Goose Eggs”. They gave up 0-runs. Over those final 5.2-innings, the three Seattle relievers allowed just three Athletics to reach base.
In the batter’s box
Athletics
The A’s hit three home runs in the game. Bruce Maxwell (3) and Khris Davis (37) each hit solo shots. Matt Joyce (21) hit a three-run blast in the fourth inning.
Two A’s went 2-for-5 in the game — Marcus Semien and Khris Davis. They both scored a run and Davis had an Rbi.
Matt Joyce went 1-for-3 in the game with two walks, a run scored and three Rbi. His one hit was a home run.
The glaring stats of the night for Athletics offense has to be that they were just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and that they left nine men on base in the game.
Mariners
Mariners catcher Mike Zunino hits a home run*
Shortstop Jean Segura led the way for Seattle against the A’s on Saturday night. He went 3-for-5 in the game with two Rbi and two runs scored.
Former Athletic Yonder Alonso had a nice against his old mates as he went 2-for-4. He scored two runs, had two hits and had one Rbi in the game.
The M’s catcher Mike Zunino also had a good night with the bat. Zunino went 2-for-3 scoring two runs and adding one Rbi.
Robinson Cano went 2-for-4 at the plate posting two Rbi and scoring one run.
Up next
The Athletics and Mariners will close out this three-game series on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. PDT.
The A’s will send rookie RHP Daniel Gossett (3-7, 5.21) to the hill. Gossett took the loss last Monday night in Anaheim against the Angels.
The Mariners will counter with LHP Andrew Albers (2-1, 4.20). Albers came to Seattle from the Braves in a trade last month.
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto reacts after recording the last out of the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
By Matt Harrington
SAN FRANCISCO– The San Francisco Giants used nine different pitchers on Friday night against the St Louis Cardinals, the Giants came out with a three run burst in the bottom of the second and added two more in the bottom of the third and had a 5-2 lead at AT&T Park. Giants starter Johnny (Baseball) Cueto was sailing along until the top of the sixth when he was lifted for Steven Okert. Cueto left the ball game going five plus innings, four runs, two earned runs and a strike out.
The Giants had used including Cueto a total of nine pitchers and seemed like an inflated number as much so as the all time temperature high of 106 degrees in San Francisco history. The Giants also are faced with reliever Mark Melancon having surgery after the season. This was a known fact after Melancon’s last start and Melancon who pitched in Friday night’s game will have surgery regarding his pronator strain but should be ready next spring.
Oakland A’s notes: The A’s continue getting tortured they have now lost every game on this current road trip with two more games left. Friday’s loss wasn’t comforting at all losing to the Seattle Mariners 3-2 behind the effective pitching of Mike Leake who comes over to Seattle from St Louis. Leake held Oakland scoreless over six innings after giving up two runs to start the game.
A’s starter Sean Manaea put in a great effort giving up three runs in the bottom of the third and that was all the M’s were going to get but the A’s bats couldn’t get any production going. For Manaea 6 2/3 innings, seven hits, three runs all earned, walked and struck out three. Manaea drops his record to 9-9. The A’s continue this current trip at Safeco Field Saturday night Jharel Cotton (7-10) gets the start for Oakland and the Mariners Yovani Gallardo (5-10) will start for Seattle a 6:10PM first pitch.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Mike Leake throws to the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 1, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
By Eric He
The Oakland A’s dropped their fourth straight game in a narrow 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. The A’s tried to shake M’s pitcher Mike Leake held to just two runs in what was considered a pitching duel on Friday night. Leake came into the ball game with a season ERA 7.32 over eight starts.
Leake had command after the A’s scored twice off him early in the game the A’s opened up the contest scoring two runs with singles by Marcus Semien and Matt Joyce on a double from Jed Lowrie. After the first inning offensive bid Leake was in control shutting out the A’s over the next six innings. The A’s slide with the bat continues scoring runs in just four times in 36 innings. “We score a couple and then in the third, we get first and second with nobody out and hit into a double play,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told AP News. “Then after that, (Leake) started finding the corner a little bit more than the middle of the plate. He has a lot of movement on all his pitches and we knew that going in. We made him throw the ball over the middle of the plate in the first three innings, and then he got better after that.”
With the win the M’s gained a game on the Minnesota Twins in the AL Wild Card race cutting the lead to just 3.5 games but the M’s need to continue their winning ways if they’re going to catch the Twins by over taking other teams in the race. Leake in Friday’s contest looked like a season veteran in control and the Mariners in the thick of the race will be depending on Leake with Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez and Jim Paxson out with injuries.
Leake said the A’s showed they were going to take care of business early and Leake had to find his control after struggling early and bared down, “They showed they were going to be pretty aggressive today,” Leake said. “So I had to make a pretty quick adjustment. I started locating my fastball. … One thing that’s been difficult for me is being able to put guys away. The fact I was able to do that tonight was nice.”
The A’s and M’s do battle in game two of this three game series at Safeco Field a 6:10PM first pitch Saturday night
San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Crawford, right, is met at home plate by teammates Buster Posey, center, and Hunter Pence (8) after Crawford’s two-run home run gainst the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 1, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
By Morris Phillips
SAN FRANCISCO–As witnessed by the 12 pitchers that threw pitches out of the bullpen on Friday, this was not the type of ballgame decided on first impressions.
Brandon Crawford struck early, Cardinals’ starter Jack Flaherty succumbed a little to the nerves associated with his first big-league appearance, but the Cardinals stayed the course, striking for late runs in their 11-6 win over the Giants.
“We get down, we get the wind kicked out of us a little bit and they fight,” Cardinals’ manager Mike Matheney said. “That’s a skill, to have that kind of tenacity, to have that belief in themselves and each other. It’s going to pay off.”
The Giants led 5-2 through six innings, but the Cardinals scored nine runs in the final three innings to storm back. Matheney said he had no idea the game was one of the hottest in the history of the ballpark, but did remember remarking on how the beautiful the backdrop was at first pitch. But in the end, Matheney marveled at the resilience of his ballclub, which didn’t lose focus when down three runs late.
“Great offense, getting back into it,” Matheney said.
In the ninth inning alone, the Cardinals hit for the cycle, scored six times, and put the Giants away with Sam Dyson and Albert Suarez faltering for the home team. Manager Bruce Bochy didn’t apologize for the six pitching changes that snatched the game of any rhythm, but acknowledged his club was outclassed.
“I think you look at extra–base hits–I think they had what six there in the last three innings. Our setup guys, the closer… you’re probably not going to win a ballgame like this.”
Johnny Cueto returned to the active roster and started for the first time since July 14 and his rust showed in the steady traffic on the basepaths in the early innings. But Cueto departed with a lead, allowing four hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Crawford supported Cueto with a two-run homer in the second, and a two-run double in the third. The home run came after MLB’s formal apology regarding Crawford’s apparent home run in Thursday’s game.
The Giants have dropped 10 of their last 13 ballgames, including the first two to St. Louis on this abbreviated four-game homestand.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard, right, runs for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron)
By Joe Lami
SANTA CLARA–San Francisco 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard has a future he ran a 62 yard keeper up the middle after the Seattle Seahawks defense started to put the pressure on Beathard and he had no where else to go so he kept it for the run and was impressive and ended up being starting quarterback Brian Hoyer’s backup.
Hoyer is an okay quarterback your not going to expect a lot he’s formable he’s your looking at a Alex Smith type and the 49ers do manage a team on time of possession. There is the potential of Beathard of being the starting quarterback. Something that is is very possible. Also third string quarterback Matt Barkely was released by the 49ers on Friday along with running back Tim Hightower and lineman Tim Barnes.
