Panthers lose in heartbreaking fashion against Wranglers 47-46

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Photo taken on 7/7/24 by Titus Wilkinson. Daquan Neal attempts pass.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- After clinching a playoff berth on June 29th when they beat the Vegas Night Hawks the Panthers looked to keep the good times rolling against the Northern Arizona Wranglers.

The first matchup of the season between these two teams went in favor of the Panthers as they squeaked out a 39-36 win over the Wranglers.

The Panthers got off to a quick start as less than a minute in Daquan Neal found Joshua Tomas for 28 yards to get them on the board.

Northern Arizona responded with a field goal on their next possession but once again Neal was able to find Tomas for another touchdown making it a 14-3 score. The touchdown was not an easy one as Neal made the pass while being hit but was still able to drop it right into Tomas’s hands.

Defensively the Panthers looked stout holding the Wranglers to four third downs in just the first half. The Wranglers were only able to convert on two out of those four third downs.

The domination only continued in the second as the Panthers scored on a fourth down conversion with Neal this time hitting JT Stokes with a dime.

Sputtering on offense the Wranglers once again had to settle for a field goal putting the score at 21-7.

Neal then completed his fourth touchdown pass of the first half to Pieer Williams continuing his dominant play.

Northern Arizona was finally able to get their first touchdown of the game as quarterback Joshua Jones rushed for a yard and fought his way across the goal line making it a 28-13 game. The Wranglers also successfully attempted a dropkick afterwards getting them the extra two points.

Right before the half was out the Panthers got a rushing touchdown of their own Shane Simpson charged his way into the end zone for five yards. The Panthers would miss the extra point afterwards keeping the score at 34-15 at the end of the first half.

The third quarter saw both offenses struggle as points wouldn’t be put up until the 5:12 mark when Neal completed his fifth touchdown pass of the game to Stokes.

The Wranglers then proceeded to respond with a touchdown of their own right before time expired as Jones completed a pass to Tosin Oyekanmi for 11 yards. Northern Arizona also convereted on the drop kick making it a 40-23 game.

With a 17 point lead heading into the fourth things seemed to be under control for the Panthers but that would change.

That feeling was only affirmed when Neal found Stokes again for 13 yards for another touchdown though they would miss the extra point.

After the touchdown things quickly began to fall apart.

It started with Jones completing a touchdown pass to Oyekanmi for 14 yards plus another convert on a dropkick which made the score 46-31.

The Wranglers then recovered the ball on an onside kick and after a lengthy drive were able to score as Jones rushed into the end zone for 6 yards.

With only 1:06 left the Wranglers would need another miracle and they got one as they again recovered an onside kick.

Now down to 57 seconds the time was not on Northern Arizona’s side but they marched down the field and scored as Jones found Gen Coleman II for the touchdown. After converting on the dropkick the score was now just a one point difference at 46-45.

Now with only one option the Wranglers had to attempt another drop kick though this one would be the length of the field. For Axel Perez that did not seem to matter as he drilled it through the uprights giving the Wranglers their first lead of the game with four seconds left on the clock.

The Panthers would attempt a lengthy field goal of their own late but failed to convert as they lost 47-46.

Neal finished the game going 13-18 with six touchdown passes, and a total of 171 yards thrown. Jones on the other hand went 28-52 with three touchdown passes, and a total of 290 yards thrown.

The loss today was only Bay Area’s third of the season and drops their record to 11-3. For the Wranglers the win brings them up 9-5 and keeps their playoffs hope alive.

The Panthers will look to rebound on Saturday in their final home game of the regular season against the Duke City Gladiators at 6:05 p.m.

Oakland A’s Lose 6-3 To The Baltimore Orioles To End Series; A’s Mason Miller selected for All Star Game

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Oakland A’s pitcher Mason Miller was selected as the lone representative for the A’s at the 2024 All Star Game in Arlington (Athletics Nation file photo)

Sunday, July 7th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

Oakland, CA – In the Oakland Coliseum, it’s the final game of this series between the Oakland A’s and the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles fell to the A’s, 19-8 in the second game of the series. Baltimore has won seven of their last 10 games after dropping their previous five, the team’s longest since May 13-18 2022 (6 games). On the other hand, the A’s have won four of the last five games, but are 8-18 (.308) over the last 26 games… are 17-40 (.298) dating back to May 5, which is the lowest winning percentage in the majors. 

On the mound for both teams, Mitch Spence (5-4, 4.15) for the A’s and Grayson Rodriguez (10-3, 3.45) for the Orioles. 

Sunday the MLB will announce the rest of the American League and National League All-Star teams at 5:30pm EST. The A’s have announced that pitcher Mason Miller will be their representative at the All Star Game in Arlington. Miller has had an amazing season saving games the leading rookie with 14. Miller also has 66 strikeouts in 37.2 innings.

Two Orioles are already named starters, Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson. First time the O’s have multiple starters in the Midsummer Classic since Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz in 2014. The A’s couldn’t get some of those 19 runs they scored on Saturday and lost by three runs to the Orioles at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday 6-3. Losing two out of three in the series.

Game started with an immediate bomb being dropped on the A’s. With two outs Anthony Santander hit a solo home run off Spence, 1-0 Baltimore. Right after two straight singles, Heston Kjerstad hits a three run homer and the Orioles take 4-0 lead in the first inning. 

In the third inning, an inning where Santander got on base after Brett Harris lost the ball in the sun, Kjerstad got his second hit and brought Santander home with an RBI triple, because both JJ Bleday and Lawrence Butler lost the ball in the sun, 5-0 Orioles. 

A’s show signs of life in the sixth inning with 2 big runs. Tyler Soderstrom hits a double that scored Bleday to make it 5-1, but Shea Langeliers follows up Soderstrom with a sac fly to left that scored Brent Rooker, 5-2 Orioles as we headed into the seventh inning. 

In the seventh, Oakland kept fighting for their life as Bleday hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Butler, 5-3 Orioles still up, but the A’s showed they’re not out. 

The gap being closed to a 2 run game showed life for Oakland, but at the top of the ninth Gunnar Henderson hit a single that scored Jorge Mateo, who pinch ran for Ryan Mountcastle, 6-3 Orioles.

The A’s came into the bottom of the ninth down three runs and one final chance to get the W. Despite one single, the Orioles shut down the A’s and won the game 6-3. 

Grayson Rdriguez gets the win, Mitch Spence gets the loss, and Craig Kimbrel gets the save. 

Both teams have a day off on Monday, but the A’s next series will be Tuesday, July 9th in Boston against the Red Sox with Joey Estes (3-3, 4.39) and Bryan Bello (8-5, 5.19) on the mound for the first game.

Giants Drop Series to Cleveland in a 5-4 loss; Naylor nails 3 run homer to pace Cleveland in win

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Cleveland Guardians Bo Naylor watches the flight of his three run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning as San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey looks on at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Sun Jul 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco Giants were looking for a series win as they took on the Cleveland Guardians (56-32) Sunday afternoon but had to settle for a 5-4 loss only winning game two in the series. The Giants have dropped to 44-47, three games below five hundred. San Francisco rallied in the ninth inning pulling to within one run but fell short in this game.

Game recap: The Giants got a great start in the game taking a 2-0 lead in the second inning. It was a quick strike, a Michael Conforto home run, with Patrick Bailey aboard taking the 2-0 lead into the third inning. San Francisco scored another run in the third inning extending their lead. Heliot Ramos singled and Nick Ahmed scored from third after leading off the inning with a double for a Giants 3-0 lead.

The Guardians began to make some noise scoring 2 runs in the fourth inning. Cleveland pulled to within one run with a couple of Guardian hits that brought two runners home. Bo Naylor hit a single that drove Angel Martinez home for their first run of the game. Daniel Schneeman came to the plate and doubled allowing another Cleveland runner Jose Ramirez to score ending the inning with the Giants still leading 3-2.

It was a quiet fifth inning for both teams. In the sixth inning Cleveland took their first lead of the game scoring three runs. Bo Naylor had his second hit of the game, a home run, driving in two runners, Andres Gimenez who was on second and Tyler Freeman on third for a 5-3 Cleveland lead.

This game went into the ninth inning with the Guardians hanging onto the 5-3 lead. San Francisco had one inning left to try and turn this game around. Patrick Bailey flied out but Matt Chapman doubled to keep this game alive for the Giants. Michael Conforto grounded out bringing Chapman home and San Francisco had pulled too within one run with two outs on the board. Luis Matos who hit for Slater and was called safe on a Cleveland throwing error and the Giants were still alive. It all came to an end when Brett Wisely grounded out and the Guardians had won the game 5-4 as well as the series.

Cleveland had 10 hits in this game and San Francisco finished with 7 hits. Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong went 4.2 innings allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks with 5 strikeouts. The Guardians starter Carlos Cerrasco threw for 5 innings with 6 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. It all came down to the Bo Naylor 3-run home run in the sixth inning to push Cleveland over the top.

Game notes: Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, the San Francisco Giants (44-47) played the Guardians (56-32) in the rubber match of their three-game series. Cleveland evened up the series in Saturday’s game with a 5-4 win keeping them atop the American League Central. Sunday the Giants sent Hayden Birdsong to the mound. Birdsong pitched for 4.2 innings, allowed five hits and two earned runs.

Carlos Carrasco started for the Guardians went five innings, six hits and three earned runs with four strikeouts. San Francisco wrapped up the series with a win on Friday night but losing two out of three to the Guardians. The Giants are heading home to San Francisco for a series with the Blue Jays which will get underway Tuesday night at 6:45pm PT.

Blake Snell (0-3, ERA 9.51) will take the mound for the Giants in this game returning from IL. This will be his first start since June and his second IL this season. It was not be an easy return for the pitcher in his first return from IL but he was solid on Wednesday in Sacramento looking sharp with five no-hit , shutout innings striking out nine batters. The Blue Jays will start Yusei Kikuchi who come in with a 4-8 win/loss record and a 4.12 ERA.

Aces top Wings, 104-85

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The Aces logo during pre-game of a WNBA basketball game on Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Sports Radio Service/Shawn McCullough)

By Shawn McCullough

LAS VEGAS–The Aces bounced back from a tough loss in Los Angeles on Friday with a 104-85 win over the Dallas Wings at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“That’s [Dallas] a good offensive team,” said head coach Becky Hammon. “It was just about taking care of us.  We are just trying to win basketball games.”

The Aces were led by A’ja Wilson with a double-double, scoring 28 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

“Coming off that loss in L.A., it hurt,” said Wilson. “To bounce back and to have games like this, you need that ‘pick me up’.”

Wilson became the leader in most points in franchise history, surpassing Sophia Young-Malcolm at 4,300 points.

“It means a lot and it’s very special,” said Wilson. “To get it at home is truly special.”

“It’s a pleasure to be around her,” said Hammon of Wilson. “She is the best basketball player in the world along with being the best person in the world.”

Kelsey Plum dropped 23 points, going three for nine from three-point range, while Jackie Young added 18.

With the win, Las Vegas improved to 13-7 on the season.

The Aces will head out on a three-game road trip starting in Seattle on Wednesday against the Storm.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot 45.7% from the field.
Las Vegas went 14 for 36 from three-point range.
The Aces outrebounded the Wings, 40-37.

Game Starters:

C – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 7 Alysha Clark
F – 12 Chelsea Gray
G – 10 Kelsey Plum
G – 0 Jackie Young

Aces Injury Report:

None

Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O: Yankees struggling with MLB worst slump; Judge on pace hit 60 HRs; plus more news

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New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, June 22, 2024, in New York. Judge who has 32 home runs is on a pace to hit 50 this season. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Headline Sports podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, who would expect the New York Yankees who had a season best 49-21 through June 12 now at a MLB worst at 6-15. The Yankees blew a three lead when the Boston Red Sox Masataka Yoshida hit a two run homer and Ceddanne Rafaela homered in the 10th inning to give the Sox a 5-3 win on Friday night.

#2 Charlie, you might recall when former Negro Leagues star Buck O’Neil said there were three times he heard that certain thwack off the bat and you knew from that sound that hitter was something special. The list Babe Ruth, Josh Gibson, and Bo Jackson. He might have added the Yankees Aaron Judge to list if he was here today.

#3 The New York Mets activated closer Edwin Diaz. Diaz was suspended after serving a ten day suspension for foreign substance abuse on his hands. Diaz at the time said it was sweat and rosin the umpires ruled it was a foreign substance and he thrown out of the game and later suspended.

#4 The Pittsburgh Pirates tied a franchise record hitting seven home runs defeating the New York Mets 14-2 on Friday night. The Pirates Bryan Reynolds and Rowdy Tellez became the first teammates to hit multiple home runs including a grand slam,. All of the Bucs runs came from the home run.

#5 Last week Nevada District Court Judge Kristin Luis ruled that the Oakland A’s are a private business and cannot get involved any lawsuit to stop Schools over Stadiums from their petition drive to stop Nevada State public money to pay for the Tropicana Park on the Las Vegas Strip. This would give Schools over Stadiums the green light to pursue getting the needed signatures from four districts in Nevada including Las Vegas for a ballot initiative to stop the use of public funds for the ballpark.

Charlie O does Headline Spots podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Titus Wilkinson: All Runs scored by A’s were at the assist of home runs Saturday

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Oakland A’s Brent Rooker (center) is congratulated by teammates Miguel Andujar (22) and Daz Cameron (right) in the top of the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Jul 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Titus:

#1 Titus, Saturday the Oakland A’s got a lot of runs particularly in the second inning when they scored seven runs against one of the best teams in the Majors the Baltimore Orioles.

#2 All 19 of the A’s runs were scored by the home run which when you think of it was an tremendous effort by the long ball.

#3 Brent Rooker and Max Schuemann both hit three run homers, the A’s had five home runs total in the 19-8 landslide. The A’s had been struggling for some run production in previous games and this might be a start of their ability to get around the ball.

#4 The A’s previous to this series with the Orioles shut out the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday and Thursday by identical scores 5-0. Do you believe that this was some carry over from that series to this series against the Orioles a close 3-2 loss on Friday to the 19-8 laugher on Saturday?

#5 The A’s give it a go and try and win game three of the series at the Coliseum against the Orioles. The Orioles after that loss Saturday might be out for revenge after getting beat in that landslide.

Titus Wilkinson is podcast contributor at http://www.sporrtsradioservice.com

First overall pick Macklin Celebrini officially signs with San Jose Sharks

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Sharks made some big news today by announcing that they have officially signed first overall pick Macklin Celebrini to an entry-level contract.

With the signing the Sharks have made the decision for Celebrini to join the Sharks right away rather than having him spend another year playing at Boston University.

Before the signing there was some thought that he may return to college but after impressing Mike Grier and others he has decided to go pro.

“Macklin is not only a special player on the ice, but he is a poised, confident and intelligent young man off it,” said Grier (From San Jose Sharks).

Celebrini’s season at Boston University before he was drafted was extremely impressive as he put up 64 points in 38 games played. For his impressive play he was awarded the Hobey Baker Trophy as the best NCAA men’s hockey player.

The day before the Sharks officially announced Celebrini signing his ELC the Sharks held their annual prospect scrimmage. The event was held at Tech CU Arena and was the first time Sharks fans had the opportunity in person to watch Celebrini in action.

Not only is Celebrini making his debut next season, but so is Will Smith who went fourth overall in last year’s draft.

This offseason has certainly brought plenty of hope back to San Jose who now arguably has one of the best prospect pools in the NHL.

Sharks fans will have to wait till October 10th to see Celebrini play regular season hockey when the Sharks open their season against the St. Louis Blues.

That’s the Spirit Bay FC shutout by Washington 3-0 at Pay Pal Park

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As hard as they tried Bay FC couldn’t get on the scoreboard and were shutout by the visiting Washington Spirit at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sat Jul 6, 2023 (photo by Bay FC)

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–Bay FC hosted the Washington Spirit in their final game before the Olympic break. Bay was looking to extend their winning streak to three games, while the Spirit looked to pull closer to the Orlando Pride and Kansas City Current in the standings.

Bay has a couple of ties with the Spirit, as head coach Albertin Montoya was previously their interim coach, while midfielder Dorian Bailey previously played for them. After winning two games in a row and winning three of their last five games Bay FC were shutout at Pay Pal Park 3-0 by the Spirit in Saturday night’s match.

Bay FC Starting XI: Rowland, King, Menges, Sharples, Malonson, Castellanos, Pickett, Bailey, Kundananji, Oshoala, Hill

Spirit Starting XI: Kingsbury, Krueger, Butel, McKeown, Carle, Hershfelt, Sullivan, Rodman, Bethune, Morris, Sarr

In the third minute, Katelyn Rowland got very lucky to only get a yellow card when she came out to play the ball and took out the attacker’s legs. It could’ve easily been more than that, which would’ve certainly put Bay FC in a difficult spot very early on.

They weren’t overly lucky though, as just moments later Washington would make it 1-0 off of a shot from Makenna Morris. Before the match even started, it was clear that Bay would be fighting an uphill battle as they looked to knock off the third-placed team in the NWSL but now it was going to be even more difficult.

Morris was tripped inside the box by Alyssa Malonson in the 17th minute and was awarded a penalty. Upon review, it appeared that Morris tripped over her own leg, but the penalty stood Trinity Rodman stepped up to take it and scored, making it 2-0 for Washington just 20 minutes into the match.

In the 24th minute, Deyna Castellanos appeared to take an elbow to the head after a battle with Hal Hershfelt in midfield. Due to the nature of the impact, she had to get taken a look at by the medical staff but she remained in the game.

Not only did Castellanos remain in the game, but she got Bay FC’s best opportunity of the night so far in the 29th minute. Bailey had a long shot that nearly found the back of the net in the 32nd minute but went wide. Malonson was playing a very physical game, and although the penalty was a low point for her, she was doing very well winning battles and regaining possession for Bay.

Unfortunately, most people will forget her solid play and focus on the mistake. Once the 45 minutes elapsed, the officials added ten minutes of stoppage time leaving plenty of opportunities for Bay to score a goal and get back in the game, or for the Spirit to essentially put the game out of reach early on. Late in stoppage time, Rodman slipped with the ball and continued on but had a significant limp.

Rachael Kundananji nearly got Bay on the board just after the start of the second half, but her shot sailed wide. Malonson picked up an apparent ankle injury in the 51st minute and Caprice Dydasco was ready to enter the match if necessary but remained on the bench for the time being.

Washington extended their lead in the 57th minute in the midst of a counter attack when Ouleymata Sarr got past Kayla Sharples and gave Rowland no chance to make the save. The crucial third goal of the match went to the Spirit, and with a half hour remaining the game seemed out of reach for Bay.

After adding to their lead, Washington made some adjustments taking off Sarr, Sullivan and Morris for Hatch, Metayer, and Brown. In the 66th, Bay made some changes of their own with Malonson coming out for Dydasco and Tess Boade coming in for Castellanos.

In the 72nd, they made another change taking off Asisat Oshoala for Princess. Five minutes later, Washington took off Bethune for Stainbrook. Bay continued playing aggressively though, and Sharples picked up a yellow card in the 81st minute before getting a scoring chance just a few minutes later.

Once again, ten minutes of stoppage time were awarded at the end of the half. Once all was said and done, Bay FC would walk away with their second defeat of the season against the Spirit, this time with a final score of 3-0. It certainly wasn’t how Montoya wanted his squad to head into the break, but they’ll have plenty of time to prepare for their road trip in the second half of August.

A’s rack up ten runs in first two innings blowing out the Orioles 19-8

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Photo courtesy of Oakland Athletics.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

OAKLAND- After dropping the first game the A’s looked to rebound against a tough Orioles team Saturday evening.

On the mound for the Orioles was lefty Cade Povich who was sporting a 1-2 record with a 4.05 era. For Oakland it was right-hander Luis Medina starting with a 1-3 record and 4.80 era.

The A’s offense heading into this game had been sputtering with a .182 batting average over their last six games and had a rough outing yesterday against these same Orioles.

Today ended up being quite the different story as Oakland offensively had one of its best games all season.

It all started with a three-run blast from Brent Rooker who launched one 414 feet getting his 18th hr of the season.

After a quiet second from the Orioles the A’s had one of their best offensive innings of the season.

Once again the offense was started with a three-run blast but this time it came off the bat of Max Schuemann who got his fifth of the campaign.

Povich gave up another two hits after that forcing Orioles manager to have to go to his bullpen as he brought in right-hander Dillon Tate.

Tate wouldn’t fair much better as the A’s proceeded to load the bases followed up by a single from Shea Langeliers making it 7-0.

Zack Gelof then doubled making it officially a laugher with the score now 9-0. Brett Harris singled as well before the inning was out tacking on another run just for the little extra cherry on top.

The following inning Baltimore looked like they might try to make things interesting as they got the bases loaded with nobody out. However Medina was able to pull through getting the next three batters out in quick succession.

With Tate still on the mound the punishment continued as Langeliers launched an absolute nuke to left field. The two-run homer was Langeliers 17th of the season making it a 12-0 ball game.

The Orioles managed to sneak in a run in the fourth as Austin Hays got Jordan Westburg home on a sacrifice fly.

Baltimore made another pitching change in the fourth as left-hander Cole Irvin came into replace Tate.

Once again the A’s ate up another Orioles pitcher as Tyler Nevin popped one over the left center field wall getting his sixth homer of the season on a solo shot. Andujar then made it 14-1 on a single to left field.

Medina would be replaced in the sixth by left-hander Jack O’Loughlin who has only pitched seven innings so far this season but has yet to give up a run. Luis finished the game pitching five innings giving up six hits and only one earned run with three K’s.

The sixth inning saw more domination from the A’s as Andujar doubled brining home two runs making it 16-1. Rooker then almost homered but his hit was caught by the left fielder but the hit was deep enough to get another run home.

Baltimore would gets it’s first long ball of the game off the bat of Adley Rutschman as the all-star got his 16th homer of the season making the score 17-4.

In the eighth the Orioles managed to tack on a few more runs making it 17-6 but the A’s followed it up with a homer from Kyle McCann making it 19-6.

The last run of the game came off the bat of Ryan Mountcastle who homered making it 19-8 but the rally ended there.

Medina secured the win in today’s game while Povich took the loss.

While everyone had a great game for the A’s Brent Rooker not surprisingly was the standout as he had three hits in four at bats with four RBI’s.

The last time the A’s put up double digits against a team this season was on June 1st when they beat the Braves 11-9.

The A’s will look to have another dominant performance when they close out the series against the Orioles tomorrow at 1:07 p.m. The announced starters for tomorrow’s game are Mitch Spence for the A’s and Grayson Rodriguez for the Orioles.

Giants Lose Game Two In Cleveland Guardian Series 5-4

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Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor (left) can’t get the the throw as the San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman (right) slides safely at home in the bottom of the fifth inning at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Sat Jul 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After winning game one in this series 4-2, San Francisco was looking for a second win in their series with the Cleveland Guardians but had to settle for a 5-4 loss to even up this series. Each team came away with six hits in the game.

San Francisco did not score until the fifth inning which got them right back in the game after trailing 4-0. The Giants scored three runs in the fifth inning. Cleveland got an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth and that was it for the Giants who did score one more run in the seventh inning but it was too little too late. San Francisco will be looking to win the rubber match to finish off this series Sunday.

Game recap: It was not the start that the Giants had hoped for; it was a very rough first inning for the team. Bo Naylor grounded out to third allowing Steven Kwan to score for the early 1-0 lead. Cleveland went on to score two more runs in the same inning. Angel Martinez scored when Jhonkensy Noel sacrificed and Jose Ramirez scored off a Tyler Freeman single for a great Cleveland start leading 3-0.

The Guardians took up where they left off in the second inning extending their lead. Steven Kwan had his second hit of the game, a home run to center for a 4-0 Cleveland lead. San Francisco needed to get some offense going. Through two innings, the Giants only had a couple of hits. Jorge Soler doubled in the first inning and Austin Slater had a hit in the second.

The Giants had a couple of runners on base in the third inning and they would go on to load the bases in the top of the fifth inning and with Tyler Fitzgerald at the plate San Francisco had a great opportunity get on the scoreboard.

Fitzgerald singled to center and Heliot Ramos and Jorge Soler both scored and the Cleveland lead had been cut in half. San Francisco scored again in the fifth in thanks to a couple of steals and a Guardian throwing error from second baseman Jose Martinez. Matt Chapman stole home and the Giants trailed by a single run 4-3 and were right back in the game.

The Guardians would hit an insurance run in the sixth inning, a home run off the bat of Jhonkensy Noel, Cleveland’s second long ball of the game taking a 5-3 lead. San Francisco would answer in the seventh inning when Matt Chapman scored off a Michael Conforto double continuing to trail by a run 5-4.

San Francisco went into top of the ninth inning with one last chance to either tie or take the lead in this game. With two gone, Matt Chapman came to the plate, San Francisco’s final chance for a comeback. Chapman walked and Michael Conforto came to the plate and hit a slow roller for the final out and game two went to the Guardians 5-4 to even the series. Each team had six hits in this game.

Game notes: Saturday afternoon the Giants continued their series at Progressive Field with the Guardians after winning game one of the series Friday night 4-2. The Giants Michael Conforto hit a two run double in the first inning of game one getting the Giants on the board early.

San Francisco was looking for another win in game two to get back to the .500 mark. Kyle Harrison took the mound for the Giants and dropped his record to 4-4 and raised his ERA to 4.24. The Guardians starter Logan Allen went 4.1 innings, gave up three hits and two earned runs and is 0-1, ERA 5.46.

The rubber match of this series will be played at 10:40 AM PT Sunday with San Francisco looking to walk away with the series. Starters for the Giants Hayden Birdsong (1-0, 4.66) and for the Guardians Carlos Carrasco (3-6, 5.21) at Progressive Field.