NBA Finals podcast with Dave Zizmor: How nervous should Mavericks be?; Celtics making easy work of Dallas

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The Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (left) takes a shot against the Dallas Mavericks forward PJ Washington (25) in game 2 of the NBA Finals at Boston Garden on Sun Jun 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NBA Playoff podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 How nervous should the Dallas Mavericks be they are down 0-2 dropping the first two games of these NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics with both games just played in Boston?

#2 For the Mavericks defense it’s been very difficult to contain the Celtics Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Derrick White?

#3 Game 3 of the NBA Finals heads to Dallas on Wed Jun 12 with a 5:30pm PT tip off at American Airlines Arena. How leverage will having home court work for the Mavericks advantage?

David Zizmor is an NBA analyst at http://www.sportradioiservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s players with the most Value for Trade Deadline

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Oakland A’s Brent Rooker seen here slugging a three run homer against the Miami Marlins pitcher in the bottom of the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat May 4, 2024. Rooker could be a hot prospect before the trade deadline if the A’s are shopping for more minor league players (AP News photo)

A’s players with the most Value for Trade Deadline

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

We have passed one-third of the season as the A’s have used 47 different players, that is the most of any team to date. This is the quintessential organization in transition. Transition of cities, transition of stadiums and transition of players.

The trade deadline is July 30, and the A’s (if they chose to get involved) with definitely be sellers. Three of the A’s most valuable players in a busy trade market, could be: catcher Shea Langeliers, Designated Hitter Slugger Brent Rooker and closer extraordinaire Mason Miller.

They probably have the most value in the trade market at this time. Langeliers is a solid #1 defensive catcher who provides power in the lineup, currently hitting just .196 but with 12 home runs and 30 runs-batted-in.

He is on a pace to have an even better season than 2023 when he ended with a .205 average, 22 home runs and 63 RBI. There is always a need for a good catcher. Just ask the Chicago Cubs, who might not catch up Milwaukee but are a serious wild card contender.

Note: Hitting around .200 is not shameful anymore. Meanwhile in Atlanta, a team that have been involved with the A’s recently in big trades; (Matt Olson, Sean Murphy) and who acquired Shea Langeliers from the Braves back in March of 2022 is very possible.

The Braves need somebody with power to replace “some of the power” absent after the Braves lost the last National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. who went down with his second ACL tear in three years and will not play anymore this season.

Acuña is one of those truly irreplaceable players but a true slugger like Brent Rooker can maybe “heal” the power vacuum left by the Dominican superstar. The Braves well know that Rooker is on his way to another 30 home run season and maybe another All Star Game for the A’s.

He is on the list of the Braves who are buyers come July. The most coveted A’s player, that could be traded (many say will be traded) is young Mason Miller. Most contending teams dream of having the flamethrower closing games in the Postseason.

He might be the hardest to give away for the A’s, but it is one guy that could bring you a big haul of promising players and maybe even one or two productive everyday players. Miller is under control by the A’s for a few more years.

Mason Miller is making the league minimum salary of $740,000, but I am sure the A’s will move Miller if the price is right and it will be huge. This would be the most difficult trade for the A’s this season. But, who knows, maybe not. Also time will definitely tell. Nobody should be surprised if other A’s players also are traded before the July 30 deadline.

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

A’s Drop First Game of Padre Series 6-1

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Oakland A’s starter Joey Estes delivers against the San Diego Padres line up in the bottom of the first inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Mon Jun 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (26-42) scored the first run of this game to take an early 1-0 lead. This is when the San Diego Padres (35-35) took over the game. They scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings for a 3-1 lead. San Diego had a productive seventh inning scoring three runs.

Michael Otanez made his major league debut in the seventh facing a difficult situation (the bases were loaded) and it was welcome to the MLB for Otanez. He did allow one hit in the 6-1 loss.

Game recap: The A’s got on the scoreboard first in the second inning when Tyler Soderstrom hit a solo home run for the early 1-0 lead. Oakland threatened to extend their lead. Both Shea Langeliers and Max Schuemann singled and with runners on second and third the A’s had a great opportunity to get some insurance runs.

Abraham Toro came to the plate with two outs but he was unable to bring runners home.

San Diego erased the Oakland lead scoring runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Cronenwoth homered in the third inning. Ha-Seong Kim singled Jackson Merrill home for their second run in the fourth inning. The Padres had their third run in the fifth inning, a homer off the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr. leading 3-1.

Through seven innings both teams had eight hits apiece. The A’s were hitting Monday night but missing some key opportunities. The Padres Dylan Cease went six innings allowing eight hits, one earned run and eight strikeouts. The A’s Joey Estes threw for five innings also allowing eight hits, three runs. two walks with three strikeouts. Sean Newcomb relieved Estes in the sixth inning.

The Padres loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out threatening to extend their lead. Michael Otanez made his major league debut relieving Newcomb. It was then that the lights went out completely in right field and this was not at all what Otanez envisioned his MLB debut to look like.

It looked like the stadium was getting ready for a concert as Otanez paced the mound. It was not long before the lights came back on in Petco Park and play commenced. He walked the Padres fourth run of the evening home for a 4-1 score.

Otanez had come in facing a really tough situation looking for his first out. Merrill singled Cronenworth home and the Padres had gone ahead 5-1 with the bases still loaded. Another run came in for San Diego when Kim sacrificed Tyler Wade home and it was a 6-1 ball game. It had been a most productive seventh inning for the Padres.

The Padres Robert Suarez closed out this game for the 6-1 San Diego win. He clocked three strikeouts to finish off Oakland.

Game notes: Monday evening the A’s were in San Diego and opened a three game series with the Padres only to lose in a five run contest. The A’s just completed a disappointing series with the Blue Jays losing the third game of the series in extra innings on Sunday afternoon 6-4.

A’s starter Joey Estes took the mound for Oakland and gave up eight hits on three earned runs including a home run by the Padres Fernando Tatis who extended his hit streak to 16 games.. Manny Machado was back in the line up at designated hitter for the Padres Monday night and is healthy again. It was a terrific Monday night crowd with 38,000 plus coming out for the NorCal vs SoCal matchup.

Game two of this three game series will start Tuesday night with first pitch at 6:40 PM. JP Sears will take the mound for Oakland with a 4-5 win/loss record and a 3.93 ERA. Randy Vasquez will start for the Padres with 1-3 win/loss record and a 5.40 ERA.

Giants just get by Astros in extras 3-2 in series opener; SF scores 3 runs in 10th for walk off win

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San Francisco Giants Jorge Soler (2) is congratulated by Thairo Estrada (right) on scoring on a triple hit by Mike Yastrzemski in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Houston Astros on Mon Jun 10, 2024 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

Houston (30-37). 000 000 100 2. 3 9. 1

San Francisco (33-34) 000 001 000 3. 4. 9 1. 10 (10 innings)

Time: 2:46

Attendance: 32,820

Monday, June 10, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–The orange and black returned to Oracle Park Monday evening after completing a week long trip in which they split six games, leaving them at 32-34, still stuck two games under .500. Monday night’s exciting come from behind win brought them a giant step closer in their quest for a winning season, which, as things stand now, could qualify them for the playoffs.

Southpaw Kyle Harrison, a member of what currently is the Giants’ three man rotation, started Monday night after having lost his last two starts and saddled with a record of 4-3, 4.18. Although highly promising, the sophomore southpaw is no Spahn or Sain, and the weather service doesn’t predict three days of rain.

Nevertheless, Harrison was excellent in his 6-1/3 inning tenure on the mound. He allowed one run, earned, on four hits, half of which came in the seventh frame. He struck out three ‘stros and didn’t walk any. He had to settle for a no decision that shank his ERA to 3.96.

The Astros’ media guide, published during spring training, started off its thumbnail biography of right hander Spencer Arrighetti by calling him the team’s “top pitching prospect.” This evening they called on him to start against the Giants. He was Houston’s sixth round draft choice in the 2021 draft and rose quickly through their farm system from the rookie level Florida Complex League that summer to the AAA Sugarland Space Cowboys last year.

Over his three year minor league apprenticeship he went 19-15, 4. 44 with an opponents’ batting average of .229. About two thirds of his appearances were as a starter. In the bigs, he was 3-5, 5.79 when he came to work Monday evening.

That’s a small sample, and not an impressive one. It might have been better if he hadn’t been forced to leave his last start after three innings when a line drive bruised his left calf. That was on June 4, so the injury wasn’t serious enough to make him miss a start.

Monday evening, he pitched up to his hype, not down to his record. The youngster went 5-2/3 frames and, like Harrison, allowed but one run, also earned, and four hits. He walked three and struck out a half a dozen of his opponents. 61 of his 99 offerings went in the strike column, and he lowered his earned run average to a still elevated 5.33.

Harrison started out strong. Only nine Astros came to bat in the first three innings. The only one who reached base was the pesky José Altuve, who did so by leading off with a grounder to third that Casey Schmitt, subbing for the ailing Matt Chapman, couldn’t handle. Schmitt was charged with an error, and Altuve was erased when Alex Bergman bounced into an around the horn double play two pitches later. Schmitt looked good on that and subsequent plays.

Arrighetti held the Giants at bay until the sixth, yielding only three hits and an equal number of walks until Mike Yastrzemsky drove Jorge Soler, who had walked, blasted a triple off the 415 foot marker in right center field to break up what had been a scoreless tie. That was the end of the line for Arrighetti. Seth Martínez replaced him on the mound and got the third out, a grounder to third by Thairo Estrada.

Houston retied the score in a similar fashion in their next turn at bat. Their triple to right was a leadoff blow by Yordán Alvarez, who scored when the next batter, Jeremy Peña, lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center field. Jake Meyers smacked a double down the left field line that sent Harrison to the showers. Sean Hjelle replaced him and got consecutive ground outs to short to limit the damage.

Tayler Scott set San Francisco down in order in the home seventh and allowed just a walk in the eighth.

Ryan Walker took over for Hjelle in the top of the eighth. Pinch hitter Jon Singleton greeted him with a hard hoit sinking liner to right, where Yastrzemki made a spectacular somersaulting catch to rob Singleton of extra bases. Walker allowed a single to Victor Caratrini, but back to back ground outs to third by Altuve and Bregman ended the threat.

The top of the ninth brought out the light and sound show of a Camilo Doval performance. Thanks to a walk to Peña and an infield single by Mauricio Dubón, followed by a two out wild pitch, Doval almost threw the game away. But he got his third strikeout of the frame, fanning Abreu and taking us into the bottom of the ninth with the score still knotted at one all.

Now it was up to Josh Hader to keep Houston’s hopes alive. He did, allowing only a two out pinch hit single to Wilmer Flores.

The tenth frame began with Erik Miller on the mound for the Giants and Joey Loperfido, running for Abreu, placed on second for the Astros. Cabbage laid down a bunt, Miller fielded it and threw to Flores at first.Umpire John Libka called him out.

Houston challenged the call. New York overturned it, giving the ‘stros runners on the corners with none down. Caratini hit a sacrifice fly that brought in Loperfido with the leading run. Cabbage stole second and went to third on Altuve’s bunt single. Bregman’s single to center made it 3-1 when Cabbage crossed the plate. Randy Rodríguez took over for Miller and got the final out, a grounder to third.

But the Giants weren’t dead yet. Rafael Montero came in to pitch for Houston. Schmitt was placed on second. He scored on Brett Wisely’s single to right center.Héliot Ramos drove a hard shot towards short that Peña let get by him for an error that scored Wisely and drew the Giants to within a run of tying things up.

Patrick Bailey shot a single to center, putting Ramos on second representing the potential winning run. Montero’s failure to handle Conforto’s comebacker loaded the bases, bringing up Soler. He hit a fly to deep left that would have been an extra base hit if Bailey’s crossing the plate with the winning run didn’t end the game, which made Soler’s RBI shot a count as a single.

The win went to Rodriguez, who threw three pitches. He’s now 2-1, 3.05. Montero was charged with his third blown save and his second loss against one win,

The three game series will resume Tuesday, evening at 6:45. Ronel Blanco (5-2, 2.78) will start for Houston, and Jordan Hicks (4-2, ERA 2.82) will be throwing for San Francisco, Monday night’s thrilling roller coaster ride will be a hard act to follow.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants return home to face Astros to start six game homestand tonight

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San Francisco Giants Brett Wisely gets the throw too late as the Texas Rangers Marcus Semien slides in safely in the bottom of the first inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Sun Jun 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 Marcus Semien who got hit in the helmet in his next at bat clobbered a three run home run as Semien’s home run helped the Rangers in an offensive win 7-2 over the Giants.

#2 Adolis Garcia later stole home plate and scored. The Rangers scored three in the first inning, two runs in the second, and another two runs in the fifth inning.

#3 The first pitch of the game knocked Semien’s helmet off his head,  “The first pitch, you don’t expect that, but luckily I’m OK.”

#4 The Giants Mike Yastrzemski who hit a home run Sunday to provide in one of two of the Giants runs. The Giants fell short in the five run loss.

#5 The Giants open a three game homestand starting Monday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Starting for the Houston Astros Spencer Arrighetti (3-5, ERA 5.79) and for the Giants Kyle Harrison (4-3, ERA 4.18) first pitch 6:45pm PT.

Join Marko for the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s try to rebound open road trip with Padres tonight

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The Toronto Blue Jays Daulton Varsho (25) slides in safely as Oakland A’s third baseman Abraham Toro (31) waits for the throw in the top of the eighth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Jun 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 Barbara, Sunday’s game at the Oakland Coliseum the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Oakland A’s 6-4 to take two out of three from the A’s another tough series for the A’s.

#2 The Blue Jays struck first in the top of the second inning when Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a base hit to center that scored two runs making it 2-0.

#3 In the sixth the A’s Brent Rooker hit his 13th home run of the season to get the A’s on the scoreboard. Abraham Toro’s two RBI base hit in the seventh made it a 3-2 A’s lead. The Jays would come back and tie the game 3-3 in the 8th forcing extra innings.

#4 Kiner-Falefa put the game out of reach with three run double as the Jays took a 6-3 lead in the top of the 10th and would hang on to win it 6-4.

#5 The A’s head to San Diego for a three game series against the Padres at Petco Park on Monday at 6:40pm PT. Starting pitcher for Oakland RHP Joey Estes (2-1, ERA 4.67) for San Diego RHP Dylan Cease (5-5, ERA 3.51).

Join Barbara Mason for the Oakland A’s podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Keaton Winn rocked for seven runs in return off IL as Giants unable to sweep Rangers; Texas salvages series with 7-2 win

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The Texas Rangers Adolis Garcia steals home on a slide ahead of the tag by San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey in the first inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Sun Jun 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, June 8, 2024

Globe Life Field

Arlington, Texas

San Francisco Giants 2 (32-34)

Texas Rangers 7 (31-34)

Win: Nathan Eovaldi (3-2)

Loss: Keaton Winn (3-7)

Time: 2:16

Attendance: 34,912

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants were unable to get the sweep, as Keaton Winn got rocked for seven runs in his return from the Injured List, and the Rangers beat the Giants in the finale of this three game series in Arlington, Texas 7-2.

The Giants’ fortunes have dramatically changed over the last few days. They salvaged a game in their series in Arizona on Wednesday to snap a six-game losing streak, and they started a three-game winning streak. Sunday, the Giants looked to sweep the Rangers and make it four in a row.

Sadly, many Giants fans would not be able to watch the game, because it was being exclusively broadcasted on Roku, which requires a subduction. Roku is one of a handful of subscription platforms that Major League Baseball and Commissioner Rob Manfred have made deals with over the last two and a half years to broadcast games. With many fans wisely not wanting to pay for a monthly subscription to watch one baseball game, they were out of luck.

Anyway, making the start Sunday for the Giants was Keaton Winn, who was coming off the 15-Day Injured List. Winn strained his right forearm in last start on May 14 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park.

Making the start for Texas was the longtime veteran right-hander, Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi was an instrumental part of the Boston Red Sox’ 108-win world championship season in 2018, as he was for the Rangers in their run to the title last season. He came into this game 2-2 over nine starts this season with a 2.70 ERA.

The Giants’ offense, which has thrived off hitting seven home runs in their last three games, but which has still wasted many opportunities, would have a hard rule against Eovaldi Sunday. The white-hot Heliot Ramos struck out looking to begin the game, and Eovaldi proceeded to throw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first.

Before going on the IL, Winn was off to a bad start. He was 3-6 with a 6.17 ERA in nine games, and the Rangers were ready to tee off him Sunday. Marcus Semien was hit in the hand by Winn’s first pitch back to start the bottom of the first. The trainers tended to Semien, who remained in the game, and then pulled a Rickey Henderson by immediately stealing second base.

Josh Smith walked, and Adolis Garcia lined a base-hit to left to load the bases with nobody out. Winn was in deep trouble, but he struck Nathaniel Lowe and Ezequiel Duran both out swinging, and he now had a chance to get out of the inning without any damage.

However, Wyatt Langford singled on a ground ball up the middle and into left-center to knock in a pair and give the Rangers an early 2-0 lead. Bruce Bochy then put on a crafty double steal. Langford stole second, and when catcher Patrick Bailey made the throw to second, Garcia stole him. That capped off a really tough inning for the Giants, and the Rangers had a 3-0 lead.

Eovaldi threw another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, and the Rangers would be right back at it against Winn in the bottom of the second. Travis Jankowski lined a base-hit to lead off the inning and stole second. The Rangers had now already stolen four bases through the first inning-plus of this game. Leody Taveras struck out swinging, and then Semien hit a two-run home run to left to make it 5-0.

It was 5-0, but it was early. The Giants made a habit of coming back from big deficits during their last hot stretch two and a half weeks ago. However, the Giants were now home run happy, and if they wanted to come back Sunday, they would have to do what they did during their stretch two and a half weeks ago: string base-hits, keep the line moving and get the key hits with runners in scoring position.

The Giants actually did that in the top of the third. Casey Schmitt lined a base-hit to left with one out, and Trenton Brooks singled Schmitt over to second. Ramos flew out to center, and the Giants were preparing to waste another opportunity, but Bailey lined a base-hit the other way to left to score Schmitt and put the Giants on the board.

The Giants only got one run, but it was a start. Winn would now have to settle down on the mound, which he somewhat did when he escaped a two-out triple in the bottom of the third.

It was now 5-1 Texas going to the fourth. Michael Conforto and Thairo Estrada both grounded out for the first two outs in the top of the fourth, but Mike Yastrzemski then blasted his seventh home run of the season to right to make it 5-2.

The Giants were back in it, and Winn pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the day in the bottom of the fourth. Eovaldi countered that with a 1-2-3 top of the fifth, but the Rangers would be ready to pounce on Winn again in the bottom of the fifth.

Josh Smith drew a leadoff walk, and Garcia lined out to left. Lowe then doubled to left to put runners at second and third with one out, and that ended Winn’s day. Bob Melvin went to Randy Rodriguez, who has been quite reliable as of late, but Rodriguez was welcomed to the game with a base-hit by Tovar to right to score two and make it 7-2.

Rodriguez got out of the inning without any further damage, but enough damage was already done. Winn really did struggle in his return, as the Rangers torched him for seven runs in just four and a third innings.

After the Giants wasted an opportunity against Eovaldi in the top of the sixth, the rest of the game would prove to be quite uneventful.

Rodeiguez pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the Dutch, and Eovaldi pitched one last 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh to cap off another strong performance.

Left-hander Taylor Rogers got an appearance and pitched through a base-hit and a walk in the bottom of the seventh, and Luke Jackson threw a scoreless bottom of the eighth. For the Rangers, Jose Leclerc pitched a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, and Kirby Yates did the same in the top of the ninth to end the game. Rangers’ pitching ended up retiring 10-straight Giants to end it.

Nathan Eovaldi got the win, and Keaton Winn took the loss. The Giants were unable to back up to .500, as they fall back to 32-34.

The Giants will return home to San Francisco for an all-interleague six-game homestand against the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Angels. The Astros will come to Oracle Park for a three-game series Monday night. Kyle Harrison (4-3, ERA 4.18) will return to the rotation after his start was pushed back two days, and he will be opposed by Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (3-5, ERA 5.79). First pitch will be at 6:45 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

With Keaton Winn activated off the Injured List, utility man Tyler Fitzgerald was optioned back to Triple-A Sacramento.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: 2024The Final Season of the Oakland Coliseum (Part IV) -The 1987 All-Star Game

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Montreal Expos Tim Raines takes a lead on the Oakland A’s first baseman Mark McGwire at the July 14, 1987 MLB All Star at the Oakland Coliseum (photo from Athletics Nation)

2024: The Final Season of the Oakland Coliseum (Part IV) -The 1987 All-Star Game

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

When a city with a Major League team gets the privilege to host an All-Star Game, it is a big win for that city. It is a showcase to the rest of the country and, especially now that baseball is more international than ever, to the whole world.

The 58th All-Star Game at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum took place on July 14, 1987. The National League defeated the American League 2-1 in 13 innings in front of 49,671 fans. Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos won the MVP (The capacity of the Coliseum in 1987 was 50,000) A’s Franchise All-Star Games: The A’s franchise has hosted an All-Star Game in the three cities they have played since 1901.

In 1945 Philadelphia Shibe Park; in 1960, Kansas City Municipal Stadium and in 1987, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. All-Star Roster (familiar faces) The American League roster had such players as first baseman Mark McGwire of the Oakland A’s, who won the Rookie of the Year that season and by the All Star Game “Big Mac” had shocked everybody with 33 homers, in the first half, something that hadn’t been done in the major league since, another A’s by the name of Reginaldo Martínez Jackson (mostly known as Reggie Jackson) also Hall of Fame player Rickey Henderson, but with the New York Yankees uniform, relief pitcher Jay Howell of the Oakland A’s and infielder Kevin Seitzer representing Kansas City, who also played for the A’s.

(Off field happenings in Oakland) In 1987, the threat of a strike in Oakland was averted. 300 Oakland Coliseum food workers were settled on Saturday (just three days before the game on Tuesday the 14th). Oakland Mayor Lionel Wilson and county officials sat in on that Saturday’s talk with the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union, and they all agreed.

The 1987 MLB All-Star Game was the first and only All-Star Game hosted by Oakland during the 56 years of the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum. The 94th annual Midsummer Classic will be held July 16, 2024 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas,home of the World Champion Texas Rangers.

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

Aces Lose Back-To-Back Games Falling to Los Angeles 96-92

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The Los Angeles Sparks guard Lexie Brown (4) celebrates her three point shot in the first half against the Las Vegas Aces at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sun Jun 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Las Vegas Aces (5-4) lost their second game in a row for the first time this season to the Los Angeles Sparks (4-7) 96-92. A’Ja Wilson had another high-scoring game with 31 points and 8 rebounds. Kelsy Plum finished with 24 points. Off the bench, Tiffany Hayes had 17 points and 4 rebounds in the loss..

Game recap: Unlike their Friday night contest in Vegas, the Aces got a dynamite start scoring the first 14 points of the game. Leading 14-0 in the first quarter, they seemed to have it all going on but the Sparks fought back.

In the final four minutes of the quarter, Los Angeles went on a crazy run erasing the Aces lead only trailing 26-21 as the first 12 minutes of the quarter came to an end. Las Vegas was unable to protect their 14 point lead and let Los Angeles back into this game.

The second quarter was a see-saw game with both teams fighting for the lead. The Aces were clinging to the lead and at 6:27 this game was tied. Los Angeles took a two-point lead before the Aces tied it back up at 30.

Las Vegas took a two-point lead only to see the Spark tie it back up 32-32 at 3:42. At 2:21 the game was again tied in this wild game. Every time the Aces threatened to extend their lead, Los Angeles had the answer. Las Vegas was having a tough time with the feisty Sparks.

The Sparks won the second quarter 22-18 and at the half, the Aces were clinging to a 44-43 lead. The great start that Las Vegas had was a distant memory and this was a new game. The Aces would be challenged in the second half of play.

Los Angeles took a quick 50-46 lead in the third quarter and Las Vegas took an instant time out at 7:43. The Sparks had not only taken the lead but continued to extend their lead. At 5:37 in the third, Los Angeles had taken a 59-50 lead prompting another Ace time out. The defending champs were in trouble. At 3:05 another time out was taken by Las Vegas as they continued to trail 67-57.

With 6:32 left in the game, the Aces continued to trail, continued to struggle. At 5:25 Las Vegas had pulled to within one point 78-77. They had finally made a move in the second half. The Aces could not sustain the move they had made and the Spark took a 90-86 lead with 1:42 left in the game.

Las Vegas was in danger of losing their first back to back game of the season. The Aces would pull to within two points but fell short losing their second game in a row. The final score was 96-92 as Las Vegas is now searching for answers having lost their last two matchups.

Game notes: The Aces lost a tough game Friday night against the Seattle Storm 78-65 and were looking to turn things around on Sunday down in Los Angeles as they took on the Sparks. The Sparks won their last game against the Dallas Wings 81-72. To no avail the Aces couldn’t finish losing by four points to the Sparks.

Tuesday night the Aces will take on the Minnesota Lynx who are red-hot right now. Las Vegas will be playing at home and will be looking to right the ship. Every team in the league is gunning for them and some of them have had their way with Las Vegas. The Aces will be looking to put a stop to this as they take on Minnesota. With a 5-4 record right now, another loss will drop them to a five hundred mark.

2024 Sonoma Raceway: Larson makes late charge, wins Toyota/SaveMart 350

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Kyle Larson drinks wine in victory lane to celebrate winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 9. Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

By Tom Zulewski

SONOMA, Calif. – With a new track surface in full effect, the NASCAR Cup drivers had more than enough challenges on their plates as the Toyota/SaveMart 350 began at Sonoma Raceway. When winning time came, Kyle Larson found a way to get the job done and grab another road-course race win.

Driving his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, Larson took the lead with nine laps to go and cruised to the victory at Sonoma on June 9, his second in the last four seasons.

The win was made possible when crew chief Cliff Daniels got the creative wheels turning as the laps clicked down. “We were completely off-script with the way we called the race, but that was fun,” Daniels said.

After the waiver to remain eligible to compete for his second Cup championship was granted by NASCAR less than 24 hours earlier, Larson had a pun for the gathered media. “My focus didn’t waiver. I’m trying to win races now.”

Call it superstition, call it fate, call it karma, but Larson gave a small chunk of credit to the sponsor on the hood of his No. 5 Chevy. “Every time we have Valvoline on the car, I feel like we’re really fast,” said Larson, who led twice for 19 laps on the day and had to pass a hard-charging Martin Truex Jr., who was searching for a record-tying fifth win at Sonoma. “When we said we had to go race and pass these guys, I got a bit nervous. …

Thankfully, we had enough grip and that Martin never got clear to where I could get stuck in third, and that really saved the race.” Truex ended up running out of gas less than 500 feet from the finish line, but managed to crawl the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota across and finish 27th, the last car on the lead lap, as the crowd chanted “go, go, go!”

Through Stage 2, there were eight cautions, tied for second-most all time (2005, 2021), one short of the record of nine set in 1990. When the final stage of 55 laps was run caution-free, it set the stage in motion for the chaos of the finish.

Michael McDowell didn’t lead a lap on the day, but had a car good enough to comfortably finish second, 4.258 seconds behind Larson. “Our race came unraveled when we had the accident (at lap 41) and had to come Chris Buescher had the best shot to hold on and grab his first road-course win, but couldn’t hold off Larson, who had 13 more laps on fresher tires, allowing him to take the lead for good with nine laps to go.

“We weren’t too nervous about the fuel,” said Buescher, who finished third. “It was a great strategy (to take tires when we did), and there were a lot of positives that came from it. Just didn’t have enough left to fight for the win. Buescher led 32 laps, all coming within Stage 3.

Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain completed the top five in the running order. Larson reclaimed the points lead by 14 over Elliott, and Denny Hamlin – who finished in last place (38th) at Sonoma for the second year in a row – fell two spots to third.

Tom Zuelweski covers Sonoma Raceway annually for http://www.sportsradioservice.com