ACC Weekly: Late Night Games, Emerging Skill Position Players, and Welcome Stanford, Cal and SMU

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By Morris Phillips

Stanford home games tend to be lightly attended, but blessed by a robust group of aging, but intensely proud fans who love watching football in a cool environment surrounded by a well-known, picturesque college campus.

That group has always been a smart group. The people who haven’t taken advantage of visiting this venue to see quality football are the ones missing out. So, with Stanford leading 14-7, and after TCU failed to convert a fourth down in Stanford territory, an alum stood proudly and announced, “There’s something different about this year’s team.”

A bold declaration, but not prudent and clearly premature as the home team fell 34-27, in their tenth, consecutive loss at Stanford Stadium, a streak that started on November 5, 2022.

Gotta love the enthusiasm, however. The new season is here, and I’m just as enthusiastic. Now, let’s see if my observations prove smart as well.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!” Need a jolt of adrenaline equal to Grade 5 hurricane? In Tallahassee, Florida, that undoubtedly leads you to Seminole Sports Radio and play-by-play announcer Jeff Culhane and color man William “Bar None” Floyd, the voices of Florida State football.

Floyd, the Super Bowl Champion fullback for the 49ers, and the 1993 FSU National Champion, is in his 15th season on-air. He connects by using the words “us” and “we” frequently during the broadcasts. Floyd is also a rapid-fire analyst who squeezes 100 yards of football into each of his 10-second observations.

Culhane is in his second year, and he beat out several talented broadcasters to overcome his humble background as the voice of North Dakota State for six seasons. A true wordsmith, Culhane can say, Uiagalelei twenty time real fast, Nole Nudge, and bring his voice to a crescendo when the play on the field intensifies.

For this rabid fan base, this pairing should be a fit, except neither man is Gene Deckerhoff, the legendary FSU radio voice who called 500 games beginning in 1979. In the South, change doesn’t digest well, and Floyd, who worked with Deckerhoff, receives harsh words from fans online, almost always without them saying what specifically they don’t like about the gridiron great.

Culhane has managed to get nearly universal approval, but he, too, has critics. What’s currently driving the dynamic, however, is the Seminoles depressing 0-2 start to the season, which doesn’t currently mesh with the pair’s unwavering enthusiasm to broadcast.

SMU’s QB TANDEM: In Dallas, the new, central hub for ACC sports, the Mustangs of SMU are off and polarizing by winning their August 4 opener over opener Nevada, experiencing a walkover against Houston Christian, then losing at home to BYU.

Concern starts with the quarterback tandem of Preston Stone and Kevin Jennings, neither of whom has established themselves after play in all three games. Stone is 25 of 43 passing in three games thus far, and he wasn’t the primary guy in Coach Rhett Lashlee’s game plan for BYU. Jennings was, but he was ineffective, completing 15 of 32 for 140 yards. Neither guy has beaten a formidable opponent, which is concerning with big games against TCU and Florida State looming.

What works, Lashlee said, is the chemistry of youthful quarterbacks’ coach D’Eriq King with Stone and Jennings. King keeps the pair informed from game to game, quarter to quarter, regarding their status, critical communication for two competitors trying to establish themselves at the top of the depth chart. Neither are established, but their camaraderie with each other is.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Countdown 19 days to A’s move out of Oakland; Lots of memories at the Coliseum

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Former Milwaukee Brewer Hank Aaron (left) and Amaury Pi Gonzalez (right) during a radio interview in 1975 at the Oakland Coliseum was definitely one of Amaury’s biggest highlights in working as a broadcaster over the decades with the Oakland A’s (photo courtesy of Topps Chewing Gum Company)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, 19 days from now is Thu Sep 26th which will be the very last home game for the A’s as an Oakland team. This particular homestand that were on really hit home with a lot of employees, front office people, the players and members of the media that this is it at the Oakland Coliseum.

#2 In the Seattle series the Mariners had a lot of connections with Oakland whether it’s you who worked on the Seattle Mariners Spanish TV network for a time or Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo who lived nearby the Oakland Coliseum and who came to the Coliseum as a fan before becoming a pro baseball player.

#3 The Mariners and Detroit Tigers series on this homestand represent the first of the last two homestands . These two teams alone when you look at their alumnus in past decades have a rich history. For the M’s Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, Lou Pinella and Ichiro Suzuki to name a few.

#4 The City of Oakland and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao were dead set on the rent price for the A’s if they were to finish their last three years 2025-27 at the Oakland Coliseum at $97 million the A’s offered to pay between $10-17 million for the interim agreement that both sides ended up walking away from. How much of a miss was this for the City and Mayor Thao?

#5 Amaury, you’ve worked here at the Coliseum since the mid 1970s you had a famous interview on the field in 1976 with former home run king the late Hank Aaron and you’ve worked with maybe 100s of different manager, players and members of the media over the decades here in this stadium what memory stands out for you the most?

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Can Cal handle a hot Auburn team this Saturday?

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California running back Jaydn Ott (1) runs for a touchdown against UC Davis during the first half an NCAA college football game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Cal Bears head coach Justin Wilcox had to be excited to get that first ACC and home opener for a win 31-13 against UC Davis at Cal Memorial last Saturday afternoon.

#2 It was Cal’s 12th straight win over UC Davis and they remain perfect against the Big Sky Conference.

#3 Morris, it was a slow and confusing start for Cal but they found their way. They did come away with a one point 14-13 lead over the Aggies after the first half.

#4 Coach Wilcox said that the first half it was a good effort but the Bears were not in any kind of rhythm as a team but said he was proud how Cal persevered in the second half scoring two touchdowns and shutting out the Aggies.

#5 Next up for Cal the Auburn Tigers. Auburn in their last game on Saturday crushed the Alabama A&M Bulldogs 73-3 there was no mercy rule that day. Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne had himself an afternoon going 13-21, 322 yards, and four touchdowns. Do you see the Golden Bears having their hands full this Saturday?

Join Morris for the Cal Bears podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Seth Brown hits second walk off RBI single on homestand; A’s edge Tigers in 13 innings 7-6 at Coliseum

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Oakland A’s Seth Brown shows his excitement after slugging a game winning RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning against the visiting Detroit Tigers at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Sep 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

Detroit (71-71). 000 010 100 121 0. 6. 12. 0

Athletics (62-80). 000 011 000 121 1. 7. 15. 0. (13 innings)

Time: 3:45

Attendance: 14,669

Friday, September 6, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–After losing two straight games to Seattle, the wandering minstrels previously known as the Oakland Athletics this Friday evening found themselves facing Tarik Stubal, the ace of the Detroit Tigers staff. With the 16-4, 2.51 Stubal on the mound, a Detroit win looked like a sure thing.

But the Tigers’ hopes tanked when the A’s nearly broke a scoreless tie in the fourth frame and came back to erase a 1-0 Detroit lead in the fifth. After that, the game was up for grabs. When it was over, the battle had lasted an incredible 13 innings and scoreboard showed a 7-6 win for the upstart A’s.

Mitch Spence, starting for the Athletics, didn’t bring Stubal’s eye popping numbers with him. The 26 year old rookie was 0-3, 4.60 over his previous half dozen starts, arriving at the crumbling Coliseum with a 7-9, 4..50 mark for the season.

Nonetheless, with a little help from a nifty diving backhanded grab and throw to first of Kerry Carpenter’s two out, two on shot to end the top of the third, Spence held the Tigers at bay for 4-1/3 innings before the visitors pushed their first run across the plate.

Meanwhile, Skubal was in control until The A’s almost broke through in their half of the fourth. They would have succeeded if some inept baserunning hadn’t thwarted them. Butler led off with his second infield single of the game, making him the only Athletic to have reached base safely until then.

Brent Rooker moved him up 90 feet with a single to right. After Shea Langeliers flew out to center, JJ Bleday hit what looked like an RBI single to right, but Butler, after crossing third, returned to the bag, forcing Rooker to retreat to second, only to find that Bleday was waiting there. Rooker was put out. You don’t give away chances like that to a pitcher like Stubal and get away with it. Nevin went down swinging, and the A’s remained scoreless.

Detroit seized its opportunity to go ahead in the next frame with Riley Greene driving in Parker Meadows, who had singled, with a safety of his own. That left runners on first and second with one down and signaled the end of Spence’s mound tenure.

But, mirabile dictu, the Athletics knotted the score in the fifth. Zack Gelof smacked a one out double to left, and, with two down, rookie Jacob Wison drove him home with a triple to right. Then Butler, the man who had two infield hits in two at bats, nearly knocked the leather off the ball only to have Parker Meadows haul it down on the warning track in left center to end the inning.

Even more surprising was the bottom of the sixth, when the A’s drove Skubal from the box and took the lead on singles by Rooker, Langeliers, and Tyler Nevin.

The green and gold literally threw away that advantage in the top of the seventh. Hogan Harris, who replaced Spence in the sixth, allowed a two out double to Greene. Michel Otáñez came on to get the final out. Except he threw three wild pitches that allowed Detroit to tie the score before he got that out.

The bottom of that frame, featured some more of the twists and turns that by now had become commonplace. With Butler and Jacob Wilson on base, Jason Foley, now pitching for Detroit, Rooker was awarded first base after having been hit by a pitch.

Rooker took the base but then had to return to the plate when the Gabe Morales’ call was overturned on review. Rooker then grounded into a force out at second, and Langliers lined out to center.

The score remained tied after nine innings, and so we went into the extras. Mason Miller had struck out the three Tigers he faced in the top of the ninth, but Colt Keith touched him for a two out single that plated the zombie runner, Greene, to put Detroit up by one.

Nick Allen was inserted as a pinch zombie runner and tied the score on Rooker’s double to left. But the Athletics’ DH made the elementary mistake of trying to run on a ball hit in front of him and was tagged out on Langeliers’ grounder to short. Bleday then grounded out to third, and we went into the 11th frame.

The teams scored two runs apiece in the 11th and one apiece in the 12th. Grant Holman managed to shut the Tigers out in the top of the 13th, setting the stage for the A’s shocking victory. With Beau Brieske on the hill for Detroit and Bleday placed at second, Tristan Gray went down swinging. But Seth Brown came up swinging and smacked Brieske’s first offering, a 94mph four seamer into right field for the game winning double.

In all, each team used eight pitchers.

For the A’s, Spence went 4-1/3 innings and allowed a run, earned, on eight hits. He didn’t issue any walks and struck out half a dozen of the 21 batters he faced. 22 of his 70 deliveries were balls. TJ McFarand retired the two batters he faced in the fifth. Hogan Harris allowed a hit and a run, earned, in his 1-2/3.

Otáñez got a blown save charged to him for his horrendous third of an inning. Miller went two frames and allowed a hit. The run he allowed was unearned, which is the case whenever the ghost runner scores.

He walked one and struck out four of the seven Tigers he faced. Scott Alexander hurled a one hit, two run, one earned, innings, and Holman, who got the win and now is 1-1,4.00, went two frames and allowed a hit and an unearned run.

Skubal was lifted after 5-2/3 frames. He faced 24 batters and gave up nine hits. He struck out seven but didn’t issue a walk. His ERA rose to 2.53. Following him were Will Vest and Jason Foley (2/3 of an inning each), Sean Guenther (an inning), Tyler Holton (1-1/3 innings), Brennan Hannifee and Shelby Miller, each of whom was charged with a blow save), and the losing pitcher, Brieske.

Butler extended his hitting streak to 16 games. He went three for five.Brown, who has been on fire since his return from Las Vegas also had a multi-hit game, going two for two with a home run. His game winning single was his second walk off hit of the week.

This game was a tough act to follow, but Saturday afternoon at 1:07pm PT, the Tigers’ will start LHP Brant Hurter (3-1, 3.25) for the A’s LHP Brady Basso (0-0, 5.40).

Mason Black has up-and-down outing as Giants drop series opener to Padres in San Diego 5-1

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San Francisco Giants starter Mason Black delivers against the San Diego Padres in the bottom of the first inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Fri Sep 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

Friday, Sept. 6, 2024

Petco Park

San Diego, California

San Francisco Giants 1 (69-73)

San Diego Padres 5 (81-62)

Win: Michael King (12-8)

Loss: Mason Black (0-3)

Time: 2:33

Attendance: 42,595

By Stephen Ruderman

The Padres scored three runs off Mason Black in the bottom of the first inning and beat the Giants 5-1 in the opener of this three-game series at Petco Park on Friday night.

The last time the Giants were in San Diego, they opened the season with a lot of excitement and high expectations. Now, they are in San Diego as they wrap up their third-straight mediocre season, and as the focus turns to next season.

They were also in San Diego as Southern California got clobbered with a heatwave. Thankfully, San Diego is close to the ocean, and this was a night game, so the temperature was a mostly-cool 79 degrees at game time.

As the Giants look toward the future, they turned to Mason Black to make his fifth start of the season. Black was called back up last Saturday and made a solid start against the Marlins, as he gave up two runs over five innings against the Marlins.

Black would face a test against a powerful San Diego Padres’ offense. The Padres came into Friday night’s game in possession of the first wild card spot in the National League, and barring an historic collapse, they are destined for their third trip to the playoffs over the last five years.

The Padres would strike against Black in the bottom of the first inning. Luis Arraez and Fernando Tatis Jr. singled to start the inning, and the Padres had runners at first and second with nobody out.

Jurickson Profar flew out to right-center field for the first out. Arraez, who was at second, tagged and went to third, and when right-fielder Mike Yastrzemski threw to third, Tatis took off for second. Shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald cut off the throw, but when he tried to nap Tatis at second, his throw sailed into right field, and both runners scored to give the Padres a 2-0 lead.

It was a rough start for Black, but then he had to face the always-dangerous Manny Machado. Machado would only add insult to injury, and hit a home run to left-center to make it 3-0. Things appeared to be getting even worse for Black after he walked Jake Cronenworth, but he got the next two guys he faced to fly out.

On the offensive side, the Giants were unable to do much against Padres’ starter Michael King, who retired the first eight men he faced Friday night. The Giants had the bases loaded with two outs against King in the top of the fourth, but they were unable to come through.

Meanwhile, Black settled down to retire nine-straight after walking Cronenworth. Black pitched around a one-out double by Xander Bogaerts in the bottom of the fourth, and he retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of the fifth. He ended up retiring 13 out of 14 after the walk to Cronenworth.

However, the Padres made some two-out noise to end Black’s night. Tatis and Profar singled to put runners at the corners, and Bob Melvin brought in Sean Hjelle. Machado then singled the other way to right to knock in Machado, and it was now 4-0 San Diego.

Black gave up four runs and six hits. He also walked just one and struck out six. It obviously wasn’t the greatest outing, but he did impress with his stretch in which he retired 13 out of 14 Padres’ hitters.

Michael Conforto finally got the Giants on the board when he led off the top of the sixth with a home run to right-center. Matt Chapman singled the other way to right, but King then retired the side in order. That would do it for King, who gave up just one run; walked just one; and struck out eight over six innings.

Hjelle came back out to pitch a scoreless bottom of the sixth, and Bryan Hoeing threw a one, two, three top of the seventh for San Diego. Austin Warren, who the Giants called back up prior the game, was brought in for the bottom of the seventh, and he threw a one, two, three inning. Hoeing and Adrian Morejon then combined to throw a one, two, three inning in the top of the eighth.

When Warren came back out for the bottom of the eighth, Machado led off the inning with his second home run of the night, an absolute bomb to the second deck in left to make it 5-1. Warren retired the side and retired five of the six men he faced Friday night. Jeremiah Estrada was then brought in for the top of the ninth, and he threw a one, two, three inning to end it.

Michael King got the win, and Mason Black took the loss. The Giants fall to 69-73.

Logan Webb (11-9. 3.43 ERA) for San Francisco will once again have to be the stopper, as he will make the start in the second game of this series Saturday evening. Right-hander Dylan Cease (12-10, 3.62 ERA) will take the ball for San Diego. First pitch will be at 5:40 p.m PT.

Giants News and Notes:

Kyle Harrison was placed on the 15-Day Injured List due to left shoulder inflammation. While there is no timetable for his return, it does appear that Harrison is done for the year.

Harrison, who had gone 7-7 with a 4.56 ERA in a rocky first full season in the big leagues, had been dealing with the shoulder for a while and pitching through it. However, with the Giants now out of contention, they appear content with most likely shutting him down for the season.

Fourth Quarter Surge Pushes Aces Past Connecticut 72-67

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Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) takes a finger roll lay up shot against the Connecticut Suns guard Tyasha Harris (52) and center Brianna Jones (42) at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre CT on Fri Sep 6, 2024 (Las Vegas Aces photo)

By Barbara Mason

When all seemed lost, the Las Vegas Aces (22-12) lit up in the second half and capped it off in the fourth quarter beating the Connecticut Sun (24-10) 72-67. Trailing for most of the game, Las Vegas struggled through the first half of play. A’Ja Wilson finished the game with 20 points but only four rebounds. Kelsey Plum had the team high with 27 points and five rebounds. They did not take the lead until the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Game recap: The first quarter was a back forth game with both teams trading the lead. Plum got a great start in her first game back scoring 12 points. In the final minutes of the opening quarter the Sun started to create a bit of distance leading 22-17 after the first ten minutes of play.

Connecticut was on fire offensively only missing four shots and shooting around 73% from the field. The only negative for the Sun were the six turnovers they committed. Aces Head Coach Becky Hammon was looking for a better offensive effort in the second quarter. Las Vegas was only shooting around 40% from the floor and needed a whole lot more.

As the second quarter got underway, the Sun continued to extend their lead on top of Las Vegas 25-17 7:50 into the second quarter. The Aces were missing far too many shots and were looking for more consistency.

The Sun had begun to miss shots with their proficiency dropping from 73% to 57%. They had opened the door for the Aces but Las Vegas needed to start making shots and they just were not coming.

So far in this game, the Aces did not look very hungry at all. The only Ace on the floor that was having any success was Plum with 12 points four minutes into the quarter as the Sun continued to hit shots leading 29-20 at 6:25.

At the half the Sun had taken a significant lead 38-26. It was a rough first half for the Aces getting outplayed from the field, from downtown with too many fouls and nine turnovers. Young came up empty in the first half, Chelsea Gray had only two points and Wilson had been contained only scoring five points.

Las Vegas had to turn this game around and that is exactly what they did in the early going of the third quarter erasing the Sun’s lead from 38-26 to five points 40-35. Known for being a second half team Wilson got going and Plum continued hitting shots.

If Young got her game on task, she very well could be the deciding factor in this game. As the third quarter began to wind down the Aces trailed by a single point 45-44 which prompted a Connecticut time-out.

After the break the Sun pushed their lead back out to 50-44 and it was Las Vegas that called a time out looking to put a stop to the Connecticut surge. The Sun would take a 52-49 lead into the fourth quarter. Las Vegas had won the third quarter 23-14 in a real turnaround.

Connecticut established a 56-49 lead in the opening minutes of the fourth. The Aces had to pull out all the stops if they were to win their fourth game in a row. Every time the Aces made a move, the Sun countered.

Las Vegas was finally able to take the lead with 58 ticks left on the clock. Gray hit a 25-foot three point jumper and the Aces had a 71-67 lead with 5.4 seconds left in the game. The Las Vegas Aces had turned this game around chipping away at the Sun’s lead until they broke through for the 72-67 win, their fourth win in a row.

When all looked lost, the Las Vegas found their way and their will to win. Wilson finished with 20 points and Plum had the team high with 27 points. Gray had 13 points.

Game notes: The Aces have won four straight games after their victory over the Sun Friday night 72-67. Tuesday night they handed the Chicago Sky their seventh straight loss in a row 90-71. Friday night they took on some real muscle in the Sun handing the Sun their 11th loss of the season.

Plum was back on the starting roster after dealing with a sore ankle. You would have never know Plum had suffered an ankle injury as she got airborne with some of jump shots and leading the Aces in scoring with 27. The Sun right now are in second place in the WNBA and the Aces fought hard for this game. Las Vegas picks up another road win at Mohegan Sun Arena at Wilkes-Barre Township.

This Sunday afternoon, the Aces will meet the New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn with tipoff scheduled for 1:00PM. The Liberty are the number one team in the WNBA but the Aces will be riding high after beating the Sun and will be up for the challenge.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s host Detroit Tigers series for last time at Oakland tonight

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Oakland A’s Brent Rooker (25) slugs a ninth inning two run homer as the Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh looks on at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Sep 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

On Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Oakland A’s (61-80) lost game four in their series with the Seattle Mariners (71-70) 6-4 on Thursday but they did split the series winning two walk offs in games one and two. 

#2 Brent Rooker had a couple of home runs giving him a 35 home run season so far and he is sure to add to that total before it is all said and done. 

#3 The M’s Cal Raleigh hit a two home run which contributed to the split in first inning. Raleigh also hit a fifth inning sacrifice fly in the final visit for the Mariners to Oakland.

#4 Not to mention a number of people during this past homestand became emotional as the A’s will be packing up after the next homestand when they prepare to leave for Sacramento. No exception was Seattle starting pitcher Bryan Woo who was raised near the Oakland Coliseum and grew up watching A’s baseball and started the very last Mariners game in Oakland.

#5 The Detroit Tigers are in Oakland for their last Oakland appearance leaving lots of memories of some great Detroit Tigers from years past such as, Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich, Norm Cash, Al Kaline, Willie Horton, who could forget Mark the Bird Fydrich and of course former Oakland Athletic now Tigers manager AJ Hinch to name a few?

Jeremiah Salmonson does the Oakland A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson: Stanford hosts Cal Poly Saturday; Expect Taylor to use multiple QBs again

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Stanford Cardinal despite leading in the first half couldn’t hang on to finish off the TCU Horned Frogs in the second half losing the opener on Sat Aug 31, 2024 (Stanford Cardinal X photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 Michael, the Stanford Cardinal couldn’t protect the lead in the second half of last Friday’s game at Stanford. The Cardinal had a first half lead but it slipped away in the second half.

#2 The Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor started Ashton Daniels who opened up with a first quarter three yard pass to wide receiver Jackson Harris to put the Cardinal on the scoreboard.

#3 In the second quarter coach Taylor switched quarterback and inserted Justin Lamson who tossed a two yard pass to Ismael Cisse at 9:19. The Cardinal held a 17-10 first half lead on a very good football team but it would short lived.

#4 TCU would score on a quarterback Josh Hoover keeper for two yards in the third quarter at 2:22. The Horned Frogs scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter that pretty put it away and Stanford who hasn’t won a home opener since Sat Sep 3 2022 against against Colgate 41-10.

#5 The Cardinal are hoping second times the charm. They take on the Cal Poly Mustangs who lost their first game by a touchdown to the San Diego Toreros 27-21 last Saturday in San Diego. It’s home game for the Cardinal on Saturday with a 4:00pm PT kick off. Do you see this being a close one?

Join Michael Roberson for the Stanford Cardinal podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Split Series With Seattle – Losing Game Four 6-4

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Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh (right) connects for a two run homer in front of Oakland A’s catcher Kyle McCann (left) at the Oakland Coliseum on Thu Sep 5, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (61-80) lost game four in their series with the Seattle Mariners (71-70) 6-4 but they did split the series winning two walk offs in games one and two. Seattle took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the third before Oakland got on the board.

Seattle did just enough to stay a few runs ahead of the A’s and finished with the win. Brent Rooker had a couple of home runs giving him a 35 home run season so far and he is sure to add to that total before it is all said and done. He continues to push that total every time he steps up to the plate.

Game recap: After Wednesday night’s 16-3 beat down, the A’s couldn’t stop Seattle’s early offensive scoring in Thursday’s game. The game plan did not go as planned when the Mariners got on top from the get go.

The M’s scored in the first and third innings taking a 3-0 lead. Cal Raleigh got the party started in the first inning with a two run home run giving Seattle the early 2-0 lead. (He would go on to add a sacrifice in the fifth inning) In the third inning the Mariners Julio Rodriguez had the teams second home run of the game, a solo shot giving Seattle the 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, the A’s got up on the board when Seth Brown sacrificed driving Jacob Wilson across home plate. Oakland was on the board but had some work to do trailing 3-1.

Oakland pitcher Joey Estes went four innings in the game. He has been struggling losing three of his last four outings. He allowed four runs on six hits over the four innings. At this point manager Mark Kotsay turned to his bullpen and Estes was relieved by T.J. McFarland who closed out the fifth inning allowing only only one hit and no runs.

In the fifth inning, the Mariners would add to their score when Cal Raleigh hit a sacrifice driving Victor Robles home now leading 4-1. Oakland would also score a run in the fifth inning off a 385 feet home run from Brent Rooker. With this shot Rooker upped his season total to 34 home runs. The way this guy operates; he would be looking for more as this game went into the latter innings.

Neither team would score in the next three innings but in the ninth inning, Seattle hit pay dirt again with a two run home run from first baseman Luke Raley giving the Mariners a 6-2 lead. Oakland really had their work cut out for them in the bottom of the ninth.

With two outs and the game on the line, Brent Rooker hit his second home run of the game with Lawrence Butler on base after walking. JJ Bleday would strike out and that was the ball game 6-4.

The Athletics scored twp runs on the Rooker long ball but just came up short in a valiant effort. The Rooker home run was his 35th of the season.

Oakland had ten hits in this game with all but one player contributing at least a hit. Seattle’s Cal Raleigh was the culprit in this game with his homer and sacrifice pushing the Mariners onto the win splitting the series.

This game would be the Mariners final visit to the Oakland Coliseum. With this win the Mariners are 4 1/2 games behind the division leading Houston Astros.

While it was tough to end up with only a split in the series the way the A’s have been hitting the long ball all season they sure do have a lot to be proud of. They have crushed the ball out of the park 22 times in their last ten games and they have 181 home runs overall with more to come no doubt before this season comes to an end.

Game notes: Thursday afternoon, the A’s split in a series losing to the Mariners in game four of their series. The Mariners evened up this series with an Thursday afternoon win. The A’s starter Joey Estes pitched four innings, allowed six hits, four earned runs, and struck out three. The M’s Bryan Woo is no stranger to the Bay Area growing up in nearby Alameda. He pitched five innings, giving up eight hits, two earned runs, and struck out six.

The A’s will remain at home for their next series with the Detroit Tigers which begins Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM PT. Mitch Spence will take the mound for Oakland with a 7-9 win/loss record and a 4.50 ERA. The A’s offense will be facing a tough one in Tarik Skubal who comes in with a 16-4 win/loss record and a 2.51 ERA.

Snell lasts only one inning, but Patrick Bailey carries Giants to 3-2 win to snap four-game skid

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San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell leaves for the dugout after being removed in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu Sep 5, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Arizona Diamondbacks 2 (79-62)

San Francisco Giants 3 (69-72)

Win: Ryan Walker (9-3)

Loss: Kevin Ginkel (7-3)

Time: 2:35

Attendance: 27,871

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–Blake Snell only lasted one inning, but the Giants snapped their four-game skid with a 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks on a walk-off double by Patrick Bailey, who knocked in all three runs for the Giants Thursday.

The Diamondbacks beat the Giants again tonight, 6-4, to take the first two games of this series, as Hayden Birdsong had another outing cut short due to his command, and Zac Gallen threw six no-hit innings to hand the Giants their fourth-straight loss.

Prior to the game, the Giants announced the six-year extension of Matt Chapman through 2030. It is a $151-million deal, in which Chapman will make $25 million a year, as well as a $1-million signing bonus. Chapman sang the praises of the Giants’ organization and the City of San Francisco. He also said that players have called him expressing a desire to come to the Giants.

With Chapman’s extension official, the focus turned to the team on the field. The Giants came into Thursday losers of four-straight games after dropping the first two games of this series. Thursday, they looked to avoid the sweep, and they had the right man on the mound for it in Blake Snell.

However, Snell would have to labor through a long top of the first inning. Geraldo Perdomo lined a base-hit to left field to lead off the game, and Corbin Carroll walked to put runners at first and second with nobody out.

Josh Bell then hit a ground ball to Tyler Fitzgerald, who fielded it while going to his right. Fitzgerald’s momentum was taking him towards third base, where he had a sure out, but he instead threw against his momentum to second. The throw sailed past the second-baseman Brett Wisely, which allowed everyone to move up an extra base, and Perdomo scored.

Snell finally got the first two outs, though he got some help from the boys in the Replay Center in New York on the first one. However, he then walked Eugenio Suarez to load the bases for Jake McCarthy.

Snell fell behind McCarthy 3-0, and then Snell came back to make it 3-2. McCarthy swung and missed at the payoff pitch for strike three, a fastball just off the outside corner, but it was dropped by catcher Patrick Bailey. Bailey couldn’t throw it to first in time; everyone was safe; and the Diamondbacks now led it 2-0.

Merrill Kelly, who had missed four months due to a strained right shoulder, took the ball for Arizona, and he threw a scoreless inning in the bottom of the first.

Bob Melvin decided to lift Snell after just one inning, as the latter had thrown 42 pitches. Landen Roupp was brought in, and he threw a pair of one, two, three innings in the second and third, as well as a scoreless inning in the top of the fourth.

Kelly threw two scoreless innings in the second and third, and then the Giants would mount a rally against him in the bottom of the fourth.

Michael Conforto lined a base-hit to right to start the bottom of the fourth, and Chapman doubled to left to put runners at second at third with no one out. However, LaMonte Wade and Tyler Fitzgerald both struck out swinging, and it looked like the Giants were going to waste another golden opportunity.

Patrick Bailey then came up, and he floated a Texas Leaguer to shallow left to knock in a pair and tie the game.

Arizona then rallied against Roupp in the top of the fifth and put runners at second and third with one out, as they looked to get their lead back. Roupp retired the next two men he faced, and he got out of it without any damage.

Roupp saved the Giants’ bullpen just as Spencer Bivens did last night. Roupp gave up just one hit over four shutout innings. He walked two and struck out five.

Kelly threw a four-pitch one, two, three inning in the bottom of the fifth, and the Giants wasted a leadoff double from Conforto in the top of the sixth. Kelly then threw another one, two, three inning in the bottom of the seventh to cap off a strong start. He gave up six hits, but he didn’t walk anybody, and he struck out eight.

Erik Miller threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the sixth for the Giants, and Tyler Rogers followed that up with a scoreless top of the seventh. Camilo Doval then ran into eighth-inning trouble for the second day in a row.

Christian Walker doubled to right-center to start the inning, as center-fielder Grant McCray was unable to come up with a great catch. Jorge Barrosa bunted Walker over to third, and Doval fell behind Eugenio Suarez 3-1. Doval then came back to strike Suarez out looking, and then Melvin went to his closer, Ryan Walker, who struck out Jake McCarthy to end the inning.

The Giants put runners on first and second with one out against Joe Mantiply in the bottom of the eighth. Heliot Ramos doubled, and then he committed a base-running gaffe, which thanks to a bad throw by Mantiply on a comebacker to the mound, allowed Conforto to reach first. Torey Lovullo brought in Kevin Ginkel, and Ginkel got out of the inning without any damage.

The game was still tied 2-2 going to the ninth. Melvin sent Walker back out for the top of the ninth, and Luis Guillorme drew a leadoff walk, the worst possible thing that could happen for Walker and the Giants. However, Walker then retired the side in order to give the Giants a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.

Ginkel was back out for Arizona in the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Fizgerald led off the inning with a base-hit to center, and he stole second with Bailey at the plate.

Bailey, who knocked in the first two runs for the Giants with a Texas Leaguer in the bottom of the fourth, came through again, as he hit a ground-rule double to left-center to win it for the Giants. It was the Giants’ league-leading 11th walk-off win of the year.

Ryan Walker was rewarded with the win for his clutch late-inning performance. Kevin Ginkel took the loss for the Diamondbacks.

On Aug. 31, 2018, the Giants shut out the Mets 7-0 to improve to 68-68. The Giants then lost 11-straight games before finally winning their 69th game. It was the beginning of a brutal 5-21 finish to the 2018 Season for the Giants that cost then-General Manager Bobby Evans his job.

Fast forward six years later with Farhan Zaidi facing uncertainty over his future. The Giants beat the Miami Marlins 3-1 on Aug. 30 to improve to 68-68. The Giants then only lost four-straight to get that elusive 69th win.

During Matt Chapman’s press conference, Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi was asked about his future with the team. Zaidi declined to answer the question, and he deferred the topic of conversation back to that of Chapman’s extension.

Despite being signed to a contract extension through 2026, there has been speculation that Zaidi’s job could be in danger. Alex Pavlovic, the Giants Beat Writer for NBC Sports Bay Area, hinted on July 25 that people in the Giants’ front office needed them to make the playoffs this season.

With the fact that this season has not panned out like everyone had hoped, and that the Giants are wrapping up their third-straight season of mediocracy, Zaidi’s fate could come into the spotlight over the final three and a half weeks of the season.

The Giants improve to 69-72, and they will head down the coast to San Diego Friday for a three-game series against another powerful team in the Padres. The pitching matchup has yet to be decided. First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m PT.