Bouanga’s hat trick powers LAFC past Earthquakes 4-2 in front of record crowd at Levi’s Stadium

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San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Beau Leroux plays the ball away from LAFC midfielder Mathieu Choiniere during LAFC’s 4-2 win at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday SEP 13, 2025. (John Todd, Getty Images)

by Marko Ukalovic

SANTA CLARA, Calif, — The invasion of Heung Min Son made its way to the Bay Area in front of a record crowd of 50,978 at the home of the San Francisco 49ers.

The former Tottenham Spurs captain and Korean national was all the buzz before the match but it was his teammate Denis Bouanga that stole his thunder recording a hat trick in LAFC’s 4-2 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening at Levi’s Stadium.

San Jose has lost three out of their last four matches and occupies the 9th and final wild card spot in the Western Conference. LAFC has earned points in four out of its five past matches.

Turnovers told the story for San Jose as LAFC took advantage of the Quakes lack of sharpness to start the match.

LAFC (12-7-8-44 points) began the fireworks in the first minute of the match. A bad turnover by San Jose led to Marco Delgado finding Artem Smolyakov along the left wing. Smolyakov crossed the ball over to Son who easily tapped the ball into an empty net for his second goal in an LAFC kit.

Denis Bouanga scored the first of his two goals in the ninth minute. Bouanga stripped the ball off of Daniel Munie along the sideline at midfield. Bouanga raced down the pitch before depositing the ball off of Quakes goalkeeper Daniel for his 16th goal of the season.

Three minutes later Bouanga had the brace when he broke away from the Quakes defense onside when Sergei Palencia sent a long ball down the right wing. Bouanga dribbled in all alone before chipping the ball over Daniel into the far corner of the net for his 17th goal of the season.

“I have to accept the responsibility that we have two of our better players in [Chicho] Arango and [Cristian] Espinoza turning the ball over right in the opening minute of the game that helped create their goal. We have to be better to start a game. They’re veteran players and they have to be a little bit sharper. You got to give the opponent credit, to turn that into a goal. But poor playing on our part and having a team step on the field and play the way we did in the open minutes of the games, it’s on me. I’m quite surprised at the way we stepped on the field in the opening minutes of the game,” Quakes head coach Bruce Arena said.

San Jose (9-13-8-35 points) finally stopped the bleeding in the 18th minute when they got on the scoreboard. Chicho Arango threaded the needle with a pass between two LAFC defenders into the middle of the box. Preston Judd raced in and fired a shot past LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for his seventh goal of the season.

LAFC put the game away in the 87th minute when Bouanga finished off his hat trick. Palencia came in from the right wing after taking a long ball from midfield. Palencia got Daniel to come out before sending the ball over to Bouanga who tapped in his team leading 18th goal of the season into an empty net. Bouanga finished with four points as he was involved in all four of his team’s goal.

“We haven’t played a back four for a long time, but we had a whole week to work on it. I think we felt pretty good, and we wanted to isolate Rodrigues, because he played really well against [Denis] Bouanga the first time when we went away against LAFC. The way they shaped up was a little different, and he didn’t receive the ball too much in the touchline. They were running behind a lot. I think we were a little naïve in the way we approached that and didn’t really change,” Earthquakes midfielder Ian Harkes said.

The Earthquakes cut the lead in half the 90th minute when Benji Kikanovic crossed the ball into the middle of the box. Josef Martinez’s bicycle kick attempt missed the ball and hit off the knees of Palencia into the back of the net for an own goal. However, it was too little, too late for San Jose as they were dominated their SoCal rival from start to finish.

Lloris, who made three spectacular saves in the second half, earned his 12th win of the season. Daniel made two saves on six shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 10 corner kicks. LAFC had two.

The previous record for a home Earthquakes game was 50,850 at 2019 California Classico at Stanford Stadium.

The Quakes are now 7-12-1 against LAFC in MLS regular season play with a 6-3-0 record at home.

Judd’s 18th-minute goal was his 11th of his career.

Arango’s 18th-minute assist was his seventh of the season in MLS play and 28th of his career. He increased his tally to five goal contributions (2g/3a) in just four meetings with LAFC.

The Quakes snapped a six-game unbeaten streak in all competitions at Levi’s® Stadium tonight (4-0-2).

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home to host St. Louis City at 7:30pm at PayPal Park.

Sacramento A’s Relocation Daniel Dullum podcast: One downtown location A’s missed 12th and Broadway in What could have been

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AI generated photo of A’s ballpark at 12th Street and Broadway in downtown Oakland a simulated dream of what could have been (AI generated photo)

Sacramento A’s Relocation Daniel Dullum podcast:

#1 Daniel, One other location the A’s would’ve could’ve should’ve had considered was 12th and Broadway in downtown Oakland across the street from the Broadway Street Marriott Hotel what a dream location it would have been the BART subway underneath Broadway and there is very little doubt that a park in that location would have drawn sell outs every night and owner John Fisher wouldn’t have to worry about any ballpark village that park location alone would have been a cash cow.

#2 It’s always about the location and if Howard Terminal didn’t work for the City of Oakland and MLB at the time 12th Street would have been a hub and baseball’s teams should consider locations like this with lots of potential.

#3  Friday Sep 6th a State of Nevada District Judge ruled that an attempt to stop some of the $380 million coming from the Nevada State Legislature will be allowed to be allocated. The Nevada State Education Association and Schools over Stadiums union pointed out that the bill violated the state constitution.

#4 After Friday’s ruling the A’s are rolling ahead with the construction of the park and are working on pouring cement that’s going vertical.

#5 None of the $380 million has not been spent yet and approvals to spend the money have not been met. The State of Nevada is waiting for A’s owner John Fisher to come up with his share of the construction cost. The reason why Schools over Stadiums constitution challenge was not consider was because the public money will not be made available until the A’s pay their share of the construction cost.

Join Daniel Dullum for the Sacramento A’s relocation podcasts each weekend at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Patrick Bailey’s grand slam beats LA 5-1; Giants are half a game out of the playoffs

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San Francisco Giants’ Patrick Bailey, right, hits a game-winning grand slam during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez)

By Lincoln Juarez

SAN FRANCISCO – Patrick Bailey’s walk-off grand slam electrified the Oracle Park crowd Friday night as the Giants topped the Dodgers in 10 innings, 5-1 behind Justin Verlander’s masterful seven inning performance. 

Just prior to the start of game one between the Dodgers and Giants, the New York Mets lost their seventh game in a row, putting the Giants just a single game out of the final National League Wild Card spot and adding to the intensity inside Oracle Park Friday night. 

40,509 packed the ballpark on 3rd and King to witness the first great pitchers-duel of the weekend between RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8, 2.72) and RHP Justin Verlander (3–10, 4.09). 

Verlander, who reached 20 years of Major League service time Friday night, shut the Dodger offense down, surrendering only one run on four hits while striking out four. The lone run came on a Michael Conforto home run in the seventh inning that tied the game at one. A 92mph fastball left middle-middle was the only mistake Verlander made all night. 

The Giants scored early, as they’ve done in this winning stretch, getting to Yamamoto in the first. Rafael Devers walked with one out and eventually scored from first base on a ball hit to the left-center field gap by Willy Adames. Center fielder Andy Pages had trouble fielding the ball allowing Devers to score and put the Giants in the lead 1-0. That was the only hit Yamamoto allowed in his seven strong. He held the Giants to a hit and a run while striking out 10. 

The pitching got some help keeping the score tight throughout the game. In the top of the fourth inning, with the Dodgers trailing by a run and two runners in scoring position, Matt Chapman dove right into the 5-6 hole to keep a groundball from getting to the outfield, returned to his feet and fired a lazor to first base. While stretching for the ball in order to get the inning-ending out, 1B Dom Smith strained his hamstring and was removed from the game. 

“We’ll see how he is tomorrow. He’s gonna get some imaging tomorrow” is what Bob Melvin said about Dom Smith’s high hamstring strain which shouldn’t be as bad as it sounds. 

With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth and one out, the Giants finally had a great opportunity to score with pinch-runner Grant McCray tagging up from third base on a very shallow fly ball hit by Wilmer Flores. Dodger center fielder Andy Pages threw a perfect strike to home plate to catch McCray and end the inning on the double play. 

In the top of the 10th, McCray was ready for his revenge and got an opportunity on a short pop-up off the bat of Mookie Betts. McCray caught it and threw a 101.7mph seed to catch the ghost-runner in the 10th inning and just like that the Giants had every ounce of the momentum gained. McCray’s throw was the hardest thrown outfield assist by a Giant in the statcast era. While praising McCray for coming off the bench and being ready to make a play as he did, Bob Melvin said, “There’s plenty of things you could say about the plays of the game, I don’t know that there was a bigger play in the game than that.”

The Giants took their energy to the bottom of the tenth where the bases got loaded with two walks and the already-existing runner on base to start, setting the table for Patrick Bailey, who had already provided fans a walk-off moment for the ages on his walk-off inside-the-park home run against the Phillies on July 8. Bailey sat on a high fastball in a 1-0 count and barrelled it to left field. The roar of the crowd was immediate because everyone knew Patrick Bailey had just walked off the Dodgers in grand fashion. Grant McCray, still juiced up from the throw he made in the top half of the inning, joined who else but Drew Gilbert as two of the first to storm the field toward home plate. The electrified fans cheered Bailey all the way around the bases until he officially scored, putting an end to the game and putting the Giants a half game back of the Mets for the last NL Wild Card spot. 

A game for the ages was just the start of an incredible weekend of baseball on the shores of McCovey Cove. Another great pitching matchup takes place Saturday night with LHP Clayton Kershaw (10-2, 3.27) vs. RHP Logan Webb (14-9, 3.12). 

First pitch 6:05pm at Oracle Park. 

Cortes Homers Twice as A’s Shut Out Reds 3-0

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Carlos Cortes #26 of the Athletics is congratulated by third base coach Eric Martins #3 after he hit his second solo home run of the game against the Cincinnati Reds in the bottom of the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park on September 12, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO — Fresh off an off day on Thursday, the Athletics welcomed the Cincinnati Reds to Sacramento on Friday night. The A’s controlled the game from the start and took game one of the three-game series 3-0.

J.T. Ginn, who has had a very up-and-down season recently for the A’s, was playing with his food all night in Sacramento. However, Ginn managed to escape without allowing any damage and tossed four and a third innings before being removed with an injury. The word from the A’s clubhouse was Ginn left with a “right calf cramp.” Ginn, who walked four and didn’t appear to have his best command, only surrendered two hits in his scoreless outing.

Kotsay was impressed with Ginn’s ability to work out of trouble, but eight three-ball counts and four walks remain an issue for him.

“I think there’s still a lot of room for growth for J.T.,” Kotsay said postgame. “We talk about it a lot, getting ’em out there, getting these starts to get more experience on what it takes.”

Ginn spoke after the game about how he thought he was pitching before the injury and shared a similar assessment to Kotsay’s.

“I thought I could’ve done better filling up the zone early, but I think I pitched out of some big situations and made pitches when I had to, so I thought it was good.”

Ginn continued on the severity of the injury that caused him to leave the game and whether he felt it would be an issue moving forward.

“The first pitch of that last at-bat there I felt it and it kind of just stuck around… I think it was just a cramp, so I think I’ll be ready to go.”

The A’s bullpen did what it has been doing for much of the last month. The bullpen came in and slammed the door on the Reds.

Tyler Ferguson relieved J.T. Ginn after the injury and recorded the last two outs of the fifth inning without incident. Ferguson then went on to toss a scoreless sixth inning for the A’s, allowing one hit and one walk across his inning and a third of relief.

Hogan Harris came on to pitch the seventh inning and allowed no runs and only one hit.

Justin Sterner wasn’t as sharp as he might normally be as he gave up two hits to the Reds but ultimately escaped unscathed in a scoreless eighth inning.

Finally, Mark Kotsay went to Sean Newcomb in the ninth inning. Newcomb, who has become accustomed to high-leverage roles after having success this season with the A’s, struck out the side in a scoreless top of the ninth inning.

On the offensive side of the ball, the A’s kept steady pressure on the Reds all night thanks to a trio of long balls.

Lawrence Butler led off the game with a laser solo shot to center field to immediately get the A’s on the board. It was Butler’s fourth leadoff homer this season and the seventh of his career.

However, the real hero of the night was Carlos Cortes. Cortes, who has had a spot-start and inconsistent role so far this year for the A’s, came up big with two solo home runs. The first came in the third inning when he launched a ball 408 feet into the Sacramento night. His second was an equally majestic 413-foot shot that put the A’s up 3-0 and sealed the victory.

Mark Kotsay spoke highly of Cortes and the preparation he brings no matter the situation.

“Yeah, great night for Carlos,” Kotsay said after the game. “It’s one of those times where it seems like baseball always rewards a guy that gets into the lineup late, and tonight was that night for Carlos with some great at-bats. He comes prepared every day. He doesn’t get a ton of opportunities. You give him some pinch-hit at-bats, he’s had a few starts, but his at-bats have always been consistent with them being good professional ab’s.”

Up Next

The A’s will take on the Reds in game two of the three-game series on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park. Luis Severino (6-11, 4.67 ERA) is set to go for the A’s, while Hunter Greene (6-4, 2.59 ERA) will start for the Reds.

San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez: Giants now just 1.5 games back for last Wild Card spot; Chapman’s suspension reduced to a fine for brawl in Colorado Sep 2

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San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman’s one day suspension was reduced to a fine for shoving Colorado Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeman. Rafael Devers who stood at the plate and admired his home run incensed Freeman as he and Devers got into a jawing match as both benches emptied. Devers was fined as well. (AP photo from Sep 2, 2025)

San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez:

#1 The Giants are coming off a day off on Thursday and opens up a three game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park.

#2 The Giants have won eight of their last ten games and 13 of it’s last 17 games. The Giants did lose the last game of their series finale on Wednesday 5-3.

#3 The Giants are only 1.5 games back for the final Wild Card spot as the New York Mets lost to Philadelphia and are closing in on the Mets who have now lost six in a row after dominating the Wild Card race.

#4 The Giants have got success from Willy Adames and Rafael Devers who each have hit 12 home runs since August 1 and both are tied for sixth most in the MLB and both are third for the most home runs in the NL trailing the Mets Juan Soto (14) and the Phillies Kyle Schwarber (13).

#5 Taking a look at Friday’s starting pitchers for the Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8 ERA 2.72) RHP Justin Verlander (3-10 ERA 4.09) for a 7:15pm first pitch.

Giant notes: San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman who was in the middle of a on field scuffle with the Colorado Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeman and made contact with Freeman on Sep 2 at Coors Field after Freeman and Devers got into a jawing match over Devers’ admiring his home run that he hit off Freeman.

With the benches emptying Chapman reached out and made contact with Freeman who was issued a one day suspension by MLB which Chapman appealed and won. Chapman rather than serve the one day suspension will be fined for the incident along with Devers who also was fined.

Lincoln Juarez is a San Francisco Giants beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal podcast Michael Roberson: Stanford gearing up for home opener against Boston College

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Stanford Cardinal offensive linebacker Tre Williams (38) gives defensive lineman Clay Patterson (91) a lift in week two against the BYU Cougars in Provo UT on Sat Sep 6, 2025 (Stanford Cardinal photo)

Stanford Cardinal podcast Michael Roberson:

#1 BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier had himself an afternoon against the Stanford Cardinal last Saturday throwing for 175 yards and rushed for a touchdown as the Cougars crushed the Cardinal 27-3 in Provo.

#2 LJ Martin rushed for 110 yards averaging 6.1 yards per carry for BYU. For the second game in a row Martin had rushed for 100 yards and it was his fourth of his career. The Cardinal defense had a tough night trying to stop Martin.

#3 Stanford quarterback Ben Gulbranson threw for 142 yards and 161 total offensive. Gulbranson threw two interceptions and it just wasn’t enough to generate any kind of offensive threat against BYU.

#4 The Cardinal now 0-2 had only 12 first downs and only were two for 13 on third down. The Cardinal have a lot of work in front of them to get back on track.

#5 Next up for Stanford Cardinal the Boston College Eagles for the Cardinal home opener for 2025 after opening their first two games in Hawaii and BYU. The Eagles after crushing Fordham 66-0 in week 1 lost a close game to the Michigan State Spartans 42-40 in week 2. Michael what’s your take on Boston College and Stanford as they kick off this Saturday for the home opener.

Michael Roberson does the Stanford Cardinal podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s host Reds for Three Starting Friday night at Sutter Health Park

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Sacramento A’s Lawrence Butler (4) and teammates jump for joy after Butler’s game winning RBI in the bottom of the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento to beat the Boston Red Sox on Wed Sep 10, 2025 (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 Nick Kurtz is one of three A’s now to have hit 30 home runs joining former A’s Bash Brothers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Quite an accomplishment for someone who just joined the A’s two months after the season had started.

#2 The A’s were coming off two tough loses against the Boston Red Sox losing by shutout scores of 7-0 and 6-0 Monday and Tuesday back with a 5-4 win on Wednesday.

#3 Jeremiah talk about Lawrence Butler and his walk off home run that won it for the A’s and ended Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman’s seven week hitless streak?

#4 Kurtz is on a roll he now becomes the 32nd rookie to hit 30 home runs as a rookie. Canseco did it in 1986 with 33 home runs and McGwire did it with 49 in 1987.

#5 Lets see if that win can inspire the A’s as they open a series against the Cincinnati Reds at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento Friday night. Starting pitcher for the Reds RHP Brady Singer (13-9 ERA 3.98) starting pitcher for the A’s has not been announced yet by manager Mark Kotsay.

Join Jeremiah Salmonson for the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Cal Bears podcast Morris Phillips: Cal gets ready for red hot Minnesota; Both teams are 2-0 going into week 3

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Sep 6, 2025; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears linebacker Cade Uluave (0) kneels on the field before the game against the Texas Southern Tigers at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cal Bears podcast Morris Phillips:

#1 Morris the contest against the Texas Southern Tigers wasn’t even a contest Cal Bears (2-0) quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was airing it out and the receivers and running backs just couldn’t be stopped by the Tigers defense.

#2 The scored three in the first quarter and eight in the second quarter in the second half the Bears ammoed up and scored 14 in the third quarter and ten in the fourth quarter can you talk about the differences in halves as far as the scoring is concerned.

#3 Sagapolutele threw 26-37 for 259 yards and one touchdown talk about the protection he got and he was able to rush a little himself.

#4 The Tigers quarterback KJ Cooper was running for his life all afternoon and had a line of 19-35, 137 yards, and one touchdown. The Cal defense kept it up on him all day long.

#5 The Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-0) are up next at Cal Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. The Gophers are coming off a 66-0 laugher against the Northwestern State Demons for their second straight win. Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey threw for 139 yards went 8-9 and scored a touchdown. Will the Gophers be a handful for the Bears this Sunday or will Cal be a handful for Minnesota?

Join Morris Phillips for the Cal Bears podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Seymour struggles early, and Giants fall short of sweep in 5-3 loss to Diamondbacks

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San Francisco Giants Willy Adames (middle left) is caught in a run down before being tagged out by the Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (14) in the bottom of the seventh inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Sep 10, 2025 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Arizona Diamondbacks 5 (73-74)

San Francisco Giants 3 (74-72)

Win: Eduardo Rodriguez (9-8)

Loss: Carson Seymour (1-3)

Time: 2:48

Attendance: 33,810

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–Carson Seymour didn’t make it out of the second inning, as the Diamondbacks tagged him for four runs, and though the Giants made a game of it late, Arizona held on for a 5-3 win to salvage a game in this series on Wednesday.

The Giants have won 13 of their last 16 games. After another big win Tuesday night, which put the Giants just two games back of the Mets for the third wild card in the National League, the Giants had a chance at a sweep of the Diamondbacks on a peaceful, mostly-cloudy afternoon under the monsoonal skies at Oracle Park.

Carson Seymour would be tasked with the start on Wednesday. Seymour was coming off his first major league win in St. Louis last Friday, in which he allowed just a run and two hits over five innings. Unfortunately, Seymour’s outing would be much different, and last nowhere near as long.

Geraldo Perdomo led off the game with a home run to right field to give the Diamondbacks an early 1-0 lead. While that would be the only run Arizona would get in the top of the first inning, things got rapidly worse for Seymour in the top of the second.

Blaze Alexander and Alek Thomas each got base-hits to start the inning. The Diamondbacks had runners at the corners with nobody out for Tim Tawa, who lined a base-hit to left to make it 2-0. Jake McCarthy sacrificed the runners over to second and third base, and after Perdomo knocked in a run with a base-hit to right, Seymour was done.

Spencer Bivens was brought in to steady the tide, just as he has many times this season. Katel Marte knocked in Tawa with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0, and walks to Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno loaded the bases. The Diamondbacks were about to make it a laugher early, Bivens got Adrian Del Castillo to ground out to second, and the score stayed 4-0.

The good news was that there was plenty of time for the Giants to come back, and they were down 3-0 in the second inning on Monday. However, the bad news was that Diamondbacks’ starter Eduardo Rodriguez was dealing.

Rodriguez took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Matt Chapman finally broke it up with a doink single to left with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but the Giants were unable to make anything of it.

Bivens got the Giants through the top of the fifth, but the Diamondbacks touched Keaton Winn for a run in the top of the sixth to make it 5-0.

The Giants finally got something going in the bottom of the seventh. Willy Adames walked to lead off the inning, and Matt Chapman singled him over to third. After Wilmer Flores popped out, Rodgriguez was lifted for Jake Woodford.

Unfortunately, Casey Schmitt struck out swinging. To make things worse, when Chapman took off for second on the pitch, Willy Adames was caught in a rundown between third and home plate, and was tagged out to end the inning. The Giants came up empty, and it seemed like it was not going to be their day.

However, the Giants still didn’t give up. JT Brubaker threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the eighth, and while Woodford retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of the eighth, the Giants had some two-out feistiness in them. Patrick Bailey and Heltiot Ramos each got base-hits, and Torey Lovullo brought in the left-hander, Andrew Saalfrank, to face Rafael Devers.

Devers drove one deep to right-center field that hit off the 24-foot-high brick wall above Triple’s Alley. In almost every other ballpark in baseball, it would have been a three-run home run, but here at Oracle Park, it would only be a two-run double. That would prove to be costly, as the score would remain 5-2 going to the ninth.

Jose Butto pitched through a jam for a scoreless top of the ninth, but the Giants still fought until the very end. Chapman walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and Schmitt doubled him to third with one out.

The tying run in Jung Hoo Lee now came to the plate, but he grounded out to second for the second out. While Chapman came in to score to make it 5-3, Luis Matos grounded out to short to end, and the Diamondbacks held on to win it.

Eduargo Rodriguez got the win, and Carson Seymour took the loss.

The Giants fall to 74-72, and now all eyes will turn to Philadelphia, where the Phillies take on the Mets for the third game of a four-game series. As of this very second, the Giants are two and a half games behind the Mets for the third wild card spot in the National League.

The Giants will have a day off Thursday, and then their hated rivals from down south, the Los Angeles Dodgers, will come in for a massive three-game series starting Friday night.

RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8 ERA 2.72) will start for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Justin Verlander (3-10, 4.10 ERA) will start the opener for the Giants Friday night.

First pitch will be at 7:15 p.m.

A’s Walk Off Red Sox 5-4 to Avoid Sweep

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Mason Barnett #63 of the Athletics pitches against the Boston Red Sox in the top of the first inning at Sutter Health Park on September 10, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO — The A’s avoided being swept at the hands of the Red Sox during a matinee affair on Wednesday, defeating the Red Sox 5-4 in walk-off fashion.

The A’s bats did just enough of everything during the getaway day game to emerge victorious.

Shea Langeliers, who had the day off behind the plate but was in the lineup as the DH, got the A’s going in the first inning with a solo home run to put the A’s up 1-0.

The Red Sox scored in the second inning, but the A’s answered right back thanks to a Nick Kurtz solo home run to left field to reclaim the lead 2-1.

The Red Sox came back with solo runs in both the third and fourth innings to take a 3-2 lead over the A’s.

In the fifth inning, the A’s were able to answer back once more and take the lead again from Boston. This time, it was Tyler Soderstrom who came through, driving an opposite-field two-RBI double to left field to give the A’s the 4-3 lead.

Mason Barnett, making his third major league start on Wednesday, labored but still managed to give the A’s three and two-thirds innings of three-run, seven-hit baseball. Barnett walked just one and struck out four but was hit around whenever he left pitches in the zone.

The A’s bullpen, which has been stellar as of late, continued to pitch well until late in the game when they finally surrendered the lead.

Sean Newcomb was the first arm out of the pen for the A’s as he got the last batter of the fourth inning and then pitched spotless fifth and sixth innings.

Justin Sterner followed and pitched two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth to keep the A’s in front.

After the game, manager Mark Kotsay spoke about the dominance of the bullpen in the second half.

“These two relievers you’re talking about, Newcomb and Sterner, in the second half have been a large portion of the success and rhythm that has taken place down in the bullpen.”

Trouble came in the ninth inning when Elvis Alvarado gave up a run on two hits, recording only one out. Hogan Harris, who had been warming in the bullpen all inning just in case, came in and recorded the final two outs of the ninth, giving up a walk but nothing else.

The A’s came into the bottom of the ninth tied 4-4, needing a run to win. The Red Sox brought in Aroldis Chapman, who hadn’t allowed a hit since July 23, to try to keep the game tied. Shea Langeliers led off the ninth with a double to snap that streak for Chapman and was then moved over to third by a Brent Rooker fly ball to right field.

That set the stage for Lawrence Butler, who stepped up and drove an RBI single the other way to give the A’s the dramatic 5-4 win in nine innings.

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The A’s will have an off day on Thursday in Sacramento prior to welcoming the Cincinnati Reds to town. Neither team has announced a starter for Friday’s game, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Sutter Health Park.