MLB Podcast The Show with Matt Harrington: Crawford’s errant throw hits CSN reporter; Pujols ties Sosa for most homers by foreign born player

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Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols, left, high-fives teammate Ben Revere after batting him in on a home run in the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore, Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

On the MLB The Show Podcast with Matt:

1 The San Francisco Giants Brandon Crawford on Friday during batting practice was taking ground balls at the second base position when he threw a ball that sailed over the first baseman’s head and took a bounce near the Philadelphia Phillie dugout where CSN Philadelphia reporter Jim Salisbury was standing the ball took a bounce and hit poor Salisbury in the private parts. Salisbury recovered later to work the game. Feeling bad about it Crawford sent a basket of fruit and an apology to Salisbury for the miscue.

2 In another act of similar pain Boston Red Sox fan Jordan Laeandre was being honored for being a survivor of cancer he was honored ten years earlier by the Red Sox. Leandre threw out the first ball this past week before the game at Fenway Park but his toss missed the receiver’s glove near home plate and hit the camera man in the groin. The cameraman turned out to be okay later but a painful experience.

3 The LA Angels Albert Pujols tied the MLB all time home run record that was set by former Cub Sammy Sosa at 609 for the most home runs by a foreign born player on Friday night

4 Boston Red Sox owner John Henry rightfully decided enough was enough after watching what happened in Charlottesville last weekend this past week that the dedication of naming the street right outside of Fenway Park Tom Yawkey Way since 1976 had to be renamed. Amongst some of the reasons for the renaming Yawkey kept blacks off the team after integration in 1947 for over a decade when he finally relented in 1959 allowing Pumpsie Green to be the first African American player to join the Sox. Henry is taking down the Yawkey Way signs and replacing them most likely with a Children’s cancer society fund organization name that former Red Sox Ted Williams contributed to. Boston saw thousands of protestors turn out to counter protest racist groups Saturday. With that protest planned this past week led into Henry’s decision to remove the Yawkey name.

Matt Harrington does the MLB The Show podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Categories MLB

That’s Amaury News and Commentary Where are the Athletics in the Latino players market?

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  AP File photo: Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Paul Blackburn, right, gets a hug from Franklin Barreto in the dugout after Blackburn was pulled from a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning, Thursday, July 6, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–Matt Chapman, Matt Olsen, Ryon Healy, Chad Pinder, Jaycob Brugman, Sean Manaea, Bruce Maxwell and others are young exciting players that the Athletics have today. But where are the young Latino players? Many wonder how come we do not see young Hispanic players, and yes, I do not want to forget Franklin Barreto, he is 21 years old and playing in the minors. He could be brought in the September call-ups, Barreto is a terrific young talent as well as pitcher Frankie Montas, like Barreto was with the A’s early in the season.To be fair, the team that plays across the bay neither is rich in Latino talent these days. Well, okay, they brought Pablo Sandoval back, who said “I left my heart in San Francisco”, but he forgot to say the most important and true; that he left his happy and healthy bank account in Boston. The Athletics will finish last again in their division, look at the team in first place with the best record in the American League, the Houston Astros have build a team that is loaded with great Latino players, Altuve, Correa, Gurriel, VGonzalez. The Astros have been successful in their Latin American scouting.

But the Athletics history with Latino players is there. Today between 30 to 35% of all players in the majors are Latino. When the Oakland Athletics had their dynasty in the 1970’s, winning the 1972, 1973 and 1974 World Series, the percentage was not that high, yet guys like Dagoberto Blanco(Campy) Campaneris, Matty Alou, Jesus Alou, Angel Mangual, Diego Segui,Manny Trillo, Vid Davalillo, Gonzalo Marquez and even the great superstar Reginaldo Martinez Jackson, aka Reggie Jackson, of Puerto Rican heritage was wearing the green and gold and hitting home runs all over the place. In the most recent winning era of the 1980’s, Jose Canseco was MVP in 1988, and other guys in those winning teams, like Stan Javier, Luis Polonia, Orlando Mercado, Felix Jose. In 2002 Miguel Tejada, one of Oakland best shortstops was the Most Valuable Player in the American League. I knew and talked to many of these guys and they contributed greatly to the Oakland Athletics success and why they won four World Series at Oakland.

It is more than Latino players for the Athletics these days. One thing is to discover a player, then develop that player and then when he becomes a star he goes Adios. The longevity of A’s player in Oakland is not very long,Yoenis Cespedes was here 2 seasons and a couple of months, Josh Donaldson was here 4 years, then he became the MVP in another country. One of the last players to have played here for a long period of time, catcher Steven Vogt was here for five years! Five years is a long stay for a player with the Athletics. When the A’s open their new baseball park, some of these young players I have mentioned here could be part of the A’s, and let’s hope so, because after all you can built the best baseball facility in the world, but the park cannot pitch,hit or field. A nice and new park is great, but the greatest Aphrodisiac for a fan is Winning. The A’s drew 2 million when they had The Bash Brothers in the 1980’s. Two million then, was a big deal, specially here in the Bay Area.

Lazaro Armenteros “Lazarito” from Cuba is 17 years old. The A’s signed him. He is a super talented outfielder whom showed some of his talents this Spring Training in the Cactus League. He could be “the guy”when the A’s inaugurate their new ballpark a few years from now. Lazarito played in Cuba because he loved the game, now he has to adjust to the rigid and discipline required for a young player to make it all the way to the top. The best case is another super talented Cuban exile to the major leagues. Dodger right fielder Yasiel Puig. First time I spoke with Puig, It was at Dodgers Stadium during the Freeway Series against the Angels. He was a rookie, and was the sensation of baseball. Yet, a couple of years later he had problems adjusting to many things,(American culture one of them)and was sent down to the minors. Since his return he has been a solid player, hitting eight in the lineup in the best team in the game with over 20 home-runs, and is playing like the Yasiel Puig of his first days in the majors.

Hopefully the Athletics will also have some Latino superstars in the future. But what do I know, I am just and old Cuban that has been watching baseball since I was a little boy and my father took me to the old Cuban Professional Winter League, which by the way was loaded with not only great Cuban players like Orestes(Minnie)Minoso, but also with lots of American-born players, one of my favorites was Brooks Robinson whom I saw play with the Elefantes del Cienfuegos(Cienfuegos Elephants). During the years I found out that in the 40’s,50’s and 60’s American major league baseball players went to Cuba for many reasons, the most important is that there was no Major League Players Union, and they had to supplement their salaries in the off-season and Cuba at that time paid the best among all Latinamerican baseball countries.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez was inducted into the Cuban Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame (BARHOF) in 2010. Amaury is the play by play talent for the Oakland Athletics Spanish Radio and the play by play talent for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Fox Sports West-Los Angeles.

 

Astros Keuchel Runs A’s Into The Ground, Stros Win 3-1

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Houston Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel (60) pitches in the top of the seventh inning against Oakland Athletics. Houston Astros host the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park on Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, in Houston. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle )

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Sean Manaea improved drastically on the worst star of his Oakland A’s career, bouncing back from a one out showing his last time out to last six innings against the AL’s best team, the Houston Astros. Despite going 6, Manaea (8-8, 4.58 ERA) surrendered a pair of homers to wind up the hard-luck loser against Astros ace Dallas Keuchel 3-1.

Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve took the Throwin’ Samoan deep in the third inning, while former Athletic Josh Reddick plated a run in the sixth of the A’s starter. Keuchel (11-2, 2.58) didn’t allow a run over his seven innings of work, yielding just three hits with one walk. He was highly efficient, walking only one while striking out three. He produced 16 groundouts without allowing a single fly out.

The A’s finally found a run in the eighth after the Houston Cy Young candidate departed the game. Matt Joyce launched his 18th homer of the year off reliever Chris Devenski to break up the shutout. Ken Giles pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings, punching out three to pick up his 24th save.

The A’s send Ace-Incumbent Kendall Graveman to the mound Saturday to face the winless Collin McHugh. Jharel Cotton takes the mound Sunday against Brad Peacock.

Moore looks sharp in win 10-2; Giants roll to two straight wins

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Moore throws against the Philadelphia Phillies during the eighth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Matt Moore is now looking like the pitcher that the San Francisco Giants acquired last season from the Tampa Bay Rays for Matt Duffy.

Moore went 7.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, while walking three and striking out four and the Giants made it two in a row with a 10-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies before a crowd of 39,487 at AT&T Park.

This was the second quality start in a row for Moore, as he went seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and struck out a season-high nine in Sunday’s 6-2 11-inning loss to the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Moore won for the first time at AT&T Park since May 13 against the Cincinnati Reds.

Both of the hits that Moore allowed were to Phillies catcher Jorge Alfaro, who got the Phillies first hit in the top of the second inning and then the second and final hit off of Moore in the top of the eighth.

The Giants offense got going in the first inning, as Denard Span led off the frame with a single, then Hunter Pence followed up with a double and then Jarrett Parker drove the two of them in with a double inside the left field line.

After a Buster Posey ground out that sent Parker to third base, Pablo Sandoval hit a single over the drawn in Phillies infield Parker scored easily from third base.

Pence hit his 11th home run of the season with two outs in the bottom of the second inning to lengthen the Giants lead.

Following a Sandoval walk in the bottom of the third inning, Brandon Crawford got in on the act, as he slammed a opposite field two-run home run.

When Posey doubled in the bottom of the fifth inning, it marked the 20th consecutive game that Posey got a hit against the Phillies, his longest streak against any team in his major-league career.

The Phillies finally got to Moore in the top of the eighth inning, as they scored both of their runs on the evening in the frame.

Freddy Galvis drove in both runs, as he hit a bloop single to left field that scored Alfaro and Pedro Florimon.

The Giants added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Carlos Moncrief hit into a Fielders’ Choice and on the play, Cesar Hernandez’s throw went to the backstop that allowed Sandoval and Crawford score.

Moncrief eventually scored on Span’s third hit of the game that gave the Giants their first double digit run-scoring game since they scored 11 against the Oakland A’s on August 3.

In all, Phillies starting pitcher Zach Efflin went five innings, allowed all six runs on seven hits, walked and struck out two. Efflin also gave up both home runs, as his record fell to 1-5 on the season.

With the victory, the Giants are now 16-18 since the All-Star break, after going 34-56 prior to the break.

This was the ninth win for the Giants in their last 10 last home games against the Phillies.

NOTES: Ty Blach looks to clinch the series on Saturday night, as he takes the mound for his 21st of the season. Jered Eickhoff will take the mound for the Phillies, as he looks for his fourth win of the season.

This will be the second start for Blach against the Phillies this season. In his previous start on June 2 at Citizens Bank Park, Blach threw a complete game 10-0 shutout, as he allowed seven hits, walked no one.

Eickhoff will be making his second start of the season against the Giants, as he faced the Giants on June 2 and the starting pitcher for the Giants was Blach. He last 2.2 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits, walking five and striking out two

San Francisco 49ers Podcast with Joe Lami: Shanahan to take a overall look at positions that need to be filled

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brian Hoyer (2) throws between center Daniel Kilgore (67) and offensive lineman Brandon Fusco (63) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, Aug. 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

On the 49ers podcast with Joe:

1 Joe takes a look at the quarterbacking for the 49ers, starter Brian Hoyer, backups Matt Blakely,CJ Breathard and Nick Mullens

2 At running back and full backs probable starters Carlos Hyde, Tim Hightower, Kyle Juszczyk, and Tyler McCloskey

3 Wide receivers Marquise Goodwin, Aaron Burbridge, Pierre Garcon, and Jeremy Kerley most likely targets for Hoyer

4 Joe talks about 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan he’s coaching his first home game as the 49ers head coach and his father former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan will be on hand to watch how Kyle does.

5 Also a look at what coach Shanahan will be looking for, what holes need to be filled, and how to jell the talent

Joe Lami does the San Francisco 49ers podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Oakland Raiders Podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders could finish 2019 in Vegas or San Antonio instead of Oakland while new stadium is being built

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reviewjournal.com photo: Oakland Raiders new stadium in Las Vegas 2020

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon:

1 The Las Vegas Stadium Authority is talking with the Oakland Raiders management on the conditions of keeping the team in Vegas for the next 30 years

2 The stadium authority wants to make sure that it gets it’s PSLs lined up and also they have discussed parking for the fans

3 On the agreement with UNLV front for the Raiders both sides have an agreement that UNLV football will play its games at the Raiders new stadium and share the stadium with the Raiders who are the main tenant

4 On for this Saturday night the Raiders host the LA Rams at the Oakland Coliseum for the second pre season game Joe takes a look at who the Raiders will be keying in on

5 Also Joe takes a look at the discussion regarding the Raiders playing their final year before the new stadium is ready either at a neutral site in Vegas, in San Antonio or at the Oakland Coliseum in 2019

Joe Hawkes Beamon podcasts Raiders football each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

NFL Podcast with London Marq: NFLPA Rep Smith says NFL likely to go on strike or lock out at the end of current contract

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USA Today photo: DeMaurice Smith NFLPA representative addressing the media regarding the possibility of a strike or lockout in 2021

On the NFL Podcast with London:

1 NFLPA representative DeMaurice Smith says the NFL most likely will go on strike or lock out in 2012 some four years from now. Smith says the issue of the salary cap is one of the big sticking points. In 2006 the owners in the uncapped year said they wanted to opt out in 2008. In 2011 the owners did a deal with opt outs Smith says the owners liked about the salary cap opt outs

2 The one hot topic is in 2010 in the final year of the last CBA it was an uncapped year but when Dallas and Washington went over the cap the two teams were punished even though it was understood that it was an uncapped year

3 The Oakland Raiders host the LA Rams this Saturday night at the Oakland Coliseum for game two of the pre season London goes over who he likes in this one

4 The San Francisco 49ers host the Denver Broncos this Saturday night at Levis Stadium London takes a look at some of the things the 49ers will be looking for in this game

London Marq does the NFL podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Categories NFL

Oakland Raiders host Los Angeles Rams at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Preseason Encounter

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Oakland Raiders quarterback EJ Manuel (3) during an NFL preseason football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND — The Raiders will play their first home game of the preseason schedule when they host the Los Angeles Rams Saturday night at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum.

Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. PT.

This will mark the first game between the Raiders and the Rams in the preseason since 2015 (an 18-3 home win for the Silver and Black). Oakland and Los Angeles last played in the regular season in 2014, when the Rams rolled over the Raiders 52-0 in St. Louis where the Rams called home from 1995-2015 after relocating from Los Angeles originally.

Oakland dropped their preseason opener 20-10 to the Arizona Cardinals last Saturday night in Glendale.

The Raiders held out most of their top players most notably quarterback Derek Carr, running back Marshawn Lynch, wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper, offensive lineman Gabe Jackson, Rodney Hudson, and Kelechi Osemele.

With left tackle Donald Penn still holding out due to a contract dispute, the Raiders were cautious about playing Carr in the preseason opener. Carr is the franchise signal-caller the organization rewarded with a five-year, $125 million extension following his second-straight 3,900-passing yards and 25 touchdown-passing season in the offseason.

But with the second preseason game on the horizon and the Raiders returning to their Alameda headquarters Thursday following their annual training camp in Napa for the remainder of the season, you’d expect Carr and the first-team offense to be on the field Saturday night for at least the first quarter in front of Raider Nation.

Training camp reps are great, but Carr and the first-team offense need to be on the same page and live-action in an NFL game (even if it’s preseason), is the only way teams get better especially a team that have been picked by most Las Vegas odds-makers as the AFC’s representative in Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis on Feb. 4, 2018.

Once Carr gets his work in for the evening, the battle for Carr’s backup will continue between five-year veteran quarterback EJ Manuel and second-year signal-caller Connor Cook.

Manuel got the starting nod against Arizona and played admirable in the first half, completing 10-of-12 passes for 107 yards and a quarterback rating of 103.8. The former Buffalo starter was signed in the offseason to be Carr’s backup, but Cook was drafted in the fourth round by the Raiders in 2016 and the organization believes he could be just as good as Carr someday.

Cook took over for Manuel and played the entire second half and was just 10-of-21 for 82 yards, but did lead the Raiders to their lone touchdown of the evening, a one-yard rushing score by second-year reserve running back John Crockett in the third quarter that finished off a five-play, 63-yard drive.

Remember, Cook did make NFL history last season becoming the first rookie quarterback to make his pro debut in a playoff game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, albeit after the Raiders lost Carr to a broken leg for the remainder of the season after an 12-3 start on Christmas Eve.

Losing Carr was the ultimate lump of coal in the stockings of Raider Nation.

Defensively, defensive end Khalil Mack and linebacker Bruce Irvin sat out Saturday’s contest in the desert. Both Mack and Irvin should see the field and get a chance to play with some of Silver and Black’s younger talent in second-year linebacker Cory James and rookie middle linebacker Marquel Lee.

James led all defensive players with seven tackles (seven solo) and looked more comfortable defending the run, while Lee finished with six tackles (five solo) and a fumble recovery in his first NFL preseason game.

Lee did struggle at times covering the running back out of the backfield and tight ends on option- and curl-routes, and needs to improve his coverage skills as the Raiders face dynamic tight ends almost on a weekly basis with Kansas City and San Diego coming to mind with elite guys named Travis Kelce and Antonio Gates, respectively.

Rookie defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes may have wrapped up a starting job, but fellow rookie defensive tackle Treyvon Hester racked up two of Oakland’s four sacks in Arizona with rookie linebacker LaTroy Lewis registering the other two sacks to go along with four tackles (four solo).

Add in holdovers Justin “Jelly” Ellis and defensive end Mario Edwards, Oakland’s defensive front could be intriguing to watch in 2017 after lacking any serious punch in 2016 with a league-low 25 sacks, 18 by the aforementioned Mack (team-leading 11.0 sacks) and Irvin (second with 7.0 sacks).

The Rams enter Oakland 1-0 in the preseason following a 13-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Los Angeles last Saturday.

Former California starting quarterback Jared Goff, the Rams No. 1 overall pick in 2016, started the game and finished 3-of-4 for 34 yards during his only drive. The Rams are entering the 2017 season hoping that they can rebound from a disastrous 4-12 season a year ago that resulted in a head coaching change, out goes longtime head coach Jeff Fisher and enters first-timer Sean McVay.

McVay spent the last seven seasons in Washington as an offensive assistant, but the last three as the offensive coordinator where he’s aided in the growth of Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins has posted back-to-back 4,000-yard passing seasons in the Nation’s Capital and is line for a major contract next offseason after making  nearly $44 million (fully guaranteed) on one-year franchise tenders the past two seasons (which includes this season at $23.9 million after walking away with $19.9 in 2016).

The Rams are banking on the 31-year-old McVay (the youngest head coach in NFL history) to develop Goff into a franchise quarterback. Goff started the team’s final seven games of the season last year and completed 112-of-205 passes for 1,089 yards and a  five-to-seven touchdown:interception ratio during that stretch.

Los Angeles did add weapons for Goff to help expedite the second-year pro by bringing in former Buffalo Bills wide receivers Robert Woods (signed by the organization to a five-year, $34 million ($15 million guaranteed) contract in free agency), a USC Trojan; and former top-pick Sammy Watkins in a blockbuster trade last Friday.

Watkins is also looking to have a bounce back season in 2017 that is reminiscent of his second year in 2015; where he exploded on to the NFL landscape with 60 catches for a career-high 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games after a down year in Buffalo in 2016; where he posted career-lows in catches (28), yards (430) and touchdowns (2) while dealing with a nagging foot injury that limited the former standout from Clemson to just eight games.

When healthy, Watkins can take the top off a defense as his career average of 16.1 yards per catch can attest, which should open things up for wide receiver Tavon Austin.

Austin, who is paid like the Rams’ No. 1 wide receiver at $42 million ($28.5 million guaranteed), doesn’t play like a No. 1. With the additions of the Woods and Watkins on the outside, the 5-foot-9, 174-pound Austin can now flourish in the slot and be utilized in the similar fashion that the 5-foot-10, 178-pound DeSean Jackson (now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) was utilized by McVay in Washington.

The Rams also added skill players via the NFL draft, utilizing three of their first four picks on tight end Gerald Everett, and wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds that will give Goff or third-year backup quarterback Sean Mannion (18-for-25 for 144 yards against Dallas) more options to look to in the passing game.

Kupp had fumble recovery on the Rams’ first drive of the game for a touchdown and could be a fixture in the Rams’ offense by Week 5 as coaches have salivated over his route-running ability. The former wide receiver from Eastern Washington is arguably the greatest weapon in Football Championship Subdivision history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, setting all-time records in total receptions (428), receiving yards (6,464), and receiving touchdowns (73).

Kupp finished his senior season as the best wide receiver in FCS in 2016, hauling in a conference-leading 117 receptions, for 1,700 yards receiving and 17 receiving touchdowns.

Third-year running back Todd Gurley is still the bell-cow for the Rams.

As a rookie in 2015, Gurley carried the ball 229 times for career-highs in rushing yards (1,106) and rushing touchdowns (10) in 13 games, but dipped a bit in his second year out of Georgia. Although Gurley played all 16 games in 2016 and finished with a career-high 278 carries, Gurley had only 885 yards rushing and six touchdowns to go along with a career-high 327 receiving yards.

Defensively for Los Angeles, veteran defensive coordinator Wade Phillips brings 39 years of coaching experience to Southern California and help McVay’s transition as a first-time head coach almost seamless. Phillips was the defensive coordinator from 2015-16 where he help guide Denver to their third Super Bowl championship in franchise history in 2015.

In 2016, Phillips’ defensive unit finished tops in the league in pass defense and yards per play.

Fourth-year defensive tackle Aaron Donald highlights the Rams’ defense. Donald was selected to his third-consecutive Pro Bowl in 2016 after recording eight sacks and 62 tackles while playing in all 16 games.

The glue to the Rams’ defense, Donald is currently holding out for a new contract that will make him one of the highest-paid defensive tackles in football. Recent reports have Donald threatening to extend his holdout into the season, which would cripple the Rams.

After Saturday’s game, the Raiders will travel to Dallas for their third preseason game against the Cowboys; and the Rams will return home to take on the Chargers in the “Battle of Los Angeles” or what my mentor likes to call the game, the “Carson Chargers” vs the “Inglewood Rams” at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Both games will be on Saturday Aug. 26th at 7:00 p.m. PT.

 

 

 

Bullpen slams door on Phils 5-4; Dyson closes in ninth with a strikeout and tenth save

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San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, left, celebrates with Sam Dyson after a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in San Francisco, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. The Giants won 5-4. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – After yet another tough stretch, the Giants were sure glad to see the Philadelphia Phillies in their home ballpark.

For that matter, so was Jeff Samardzija. After a miserable start to his 2017 campaign, Samardzija has now won four of his last five decisions dating back to July 26, thanks to a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, the only other team in the National League with a worse record than the Giants this year, at AT&T Park Thursday night.

What makes this especially sweet for the tall righty is the fact that he did not have a very history against this ballclub. Entering Thursday, Samardzija had not seen the Phillies in three years and was 1-4 with an 8.67 ERA in his career against them.

He did get quite a bit of help, however. The one-time Notre Dame wide receiver was given a four-run lead but leaked some serious oil down the stretch before his bullpen came in and slammed the door on the Phillies and preserved the win for him.

For his part, Samardzija (8-12) went six innings and surrendered four runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out six in getting the win.

His pitching counterpart, Aaron Nola (9-8), came into Thursday on a nice roll, surrendering only six runs over his last five starts.

The Giants were able to get going against Nola by using their legs. Kelby Tomlinson led off the third inning by stretching a bloop single into a double. Three batters later, Hunter Pence flared a single into left-center to bring Tomlinson around. After Jarrett Parker drew a walk, Pence came around when Buster Posey scooted one past second to give the Giants a 2-0 advantage.

After Cameron Rupp’s solo shot in the top of the fifth, the Giants pushed the lead back up in the bottom half when Parker hit one into the gap in right-center and scored a pair of runs.

Denard Span had actually intended to tag up at second and got a late start toward the plate while Pence, who was at first, got a full head of steam and came up right behind Span as the two men headed toward third and ended up crossing the plate only a few feet apart.

The Gints could have done even more damage, however. Brandon Crawford singled into left-center to score Parker, but Buster Posey, who had walked during the previous at-bat, was thrown out at third, after he slid in safely but had his momentum carry him off the bag.

The Phillies did get to Samardzija in the top of the sixth, bringing two runs across before he got a single out. Samardzija would surrender another run to narrow the lead to a single run, but he was able to escape with the lead still intact.

The Giants bullpen took care of matters from there, as three relievers combined to give up only a walk and a single for the remaining three innings, with Sam Dyson assuming the closer’s role. One-time closer Mark Melancon, who returned from the disabled list last Saturday after missing 36 games with a right pronator strain, gave up the lone hit after Samardzija left the game.

San Francisco Giant feature of the week: Steve Carlton–Serving left-overs in Frisco

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getty image photo: Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Steve Carlton circa 1986

By Tony “The Tiger” Hayes

SAN FRANCISCO–He was a Giant?

As a Phillie, the ego-centric Carlton ranked as one of the all -time accomplished ace pitchers AND ace tools. The prickly pitcher piled up wins and Cy Young Awards with ease but hardly any friends.

But upon joining San Francisco in a surprise mid-1986 transaction, the taciturn Carlton flipped the script on that story.

At least temporarily .

Suddenly “Lefty” was downright chatty, he gave his first press conference in more than a decade, stating he would pitch to age 50 and that he looked forward to a bright future with the Giants. He even proclaimed he’d stick around NorCal after his pitching days with an eye towards operating a vineyard in Napa.

But on the mound Carlton – slowed by age and a balky shoulder – proved he had all but withered on the vine. He appeared in just six games before he was gone, the one high-light being career strikeout No. 4,000.

Why was he a Giant?

Surprise contenders in ’86, the Giants, while leery of Carlton’s difficult rep – they insisted he talk to the media before bringing him into their young, unjaded clubhouse – saw the obvious benefits of adding a HOF bound hurler after he and the Phillies decided to part ways.

Carlton joined an SF rotation that featured Mike Krukow, Mike LaCoss, Vida Blue and Scott Garrelts. In a half dozen starts, Carlton was 1-3, with a 5.10 ERA.

His first Giants shining moment actually came as a batter when he clubbed a three-run round-tripper off the Cardinals Greg Mathews in a 8-3 road loss (7/21/86). After being cuffed around in his first three starts, Carlton earned his only Giants victory at Pittsburgh, throwing seven shutout frames in a 9-0 victory (7/26/86).

Before & After

Before joining the Giants, Carlton, armed with the most devastating swing and miss slider in history, had amassed a staggering 309 MLB victories with the Cardinals and Phillies. Included in his bevy of accomplishments were four Cy Young Award seasons, six 20 campaigns, 55 shutouts and a pair of World Series titles.

After leaving the Giants, just five weeks after signing, he immediately hooked on with the White Sox and later pitched for the Twins, retiring in 1988. Carlton made the Hall of Fame in 1994.

He wasn’t Mike Krukow. But…

In his final game with the Giants on a foggy Tuesday night at Candlestick Park, Carlton became just the second big league pitcher to reach the 4,000 career strikeout mark, fanning the Reds Eric Davis at Candlestick Park (8/5/86) with a swing and miss fastball in the third inning with no outs and two runners on base. The celebration was short lived as Carlton not would last through the fourth inning, leaving after surrendering allowing seven runs on seven hits as Cincinnati romped to a 11-6 victory. He was released just two days later.

Giant Footprint

Carlton never made it to Napa. These days “Lefty” is a right-wing nut who literally resides in a concrete and earth encased bunker in Colorado. He occasionally surfaces to spout bizarre conspiracy theories about gamma rays, secret societies that run the world and hypnotized suicidal political hit men.