San Francisco takes flight on Detroit and gets the Win, 5-2 on Giant’s celebration of Top Gun Night

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San Francisco Giants Rafael Devers (#16) and Jung Hoo Lee (#51) celebrating after Rafael Devers got himself his 24th home run of the season, giving the Giants the lead over the Detroit Tigers in an MLB game on Friday, August 7th, 2026, at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo credit to Jay Choi, SF Bay News Lab)

By Michael Villanueva

SAN FRANCISCO – This Friday night’s game was the start of the San Francisco Giants’ season-long nine-game homestand. The Giants (49-67) will host the Detroit Tigers (56-60) for the next three games, with the home team, the Giants, taking the first one Friday night, 5-2. The winning and starting pitcher of this ballgame was San Francisco Giants RHP Adrian Houser. This is Houser’s third win of the season, and he got his 43rd career win as a pitcher.

The losing pitcher for this game was Detroit Tigers RHP Keider Montero. Montero, coming into the game, was 8-6 and had an ERA of 3.17. This game was his 19th start in his 25th game of the season. This is also his fourth straight start after five consecutive relief outings.

The Giants returned home after a rough road trip in which San Francisco went (2-5), going (1-3) at San Diego and then (1-2) at Texas. These losses have now brought San Francisco to a season-low 19 games under .500 for the first time since 2017, ending 34 games under .500. Going into the game, the Giants were on a two-game losing streak. So the team was ready to come home and take advantage of their long homestand.

Detroit came into this game having great success on their road trip. The Tigers have won five of their six games in their West Coast trip. They stopped in three cities along the West Coast: Sacramento, Seattle, and now San Francisco. They went (3-0) in Sacramento, sweeping the Athletics, and then went (2-1) in Seattle. Detroit has outscored their opponents by 42 runs (53-11) in these first six games.

Tigers leadoff hitter Kevin McGonigle started the game off for Detroit with a single on a fly ball to right outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. Then the next batter, Gleyber Torres, also got himself a single on a sharp line drive back to right fielder Lee. Setting up McGonigle at third, so all Detroit needed was a hit, and that’s what they got. Tigers’ Dillon Dingler grounded into a force out, third baseman Christian Koss to second baseman Osleivis Basabe. Bringing in Kevin McGonigle to score early for the Tigers, 1-0.

Eventually, Giants pitcher JT Brubaker would end the top of the first with his first strikeout of the night. So with the Giants already down one run, they were trying to get their bats swinging and give their fans something to cheer for. So, Giants Rafael Devers’ first at-bat delivered with a home run to center field (401 feet). His homer would bring two runs, giving the Giants their first lead of the night, 2-1. His homer was his 24th of the season.

Just pitching one inning, with two hits, one run, and one strikeout. The Giants pull JT Brubaker, shortening his first start of the season. San Francisco brings in RHP Adrian Houser to replace him. However, Detroit still gets their bats swinging on him as well. The Tigers, in the top of the second, would be able to get another run on the Giants, tying the game, 2-2.

At the bottom of the second inning, with the Giants having two outs but bases loaded. Giants Jung Hoo Lee understood the assignment for them. Lee would get himself a single to center field, bringing in two runs for San Francisco. His two-run single would give the Giants the lead, 4-2. His hit would ignite and get the fans on their feet just after. The San Francisco Giants had a quick moment to honor and celebrate longtime Giants broadcaster Mike Brokow on his retirement.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Giants were seeing all the right pitches to their batting. Giants Willy Adames would add on and get his 19th home run of the season to left field, pushing San Francisco’s lead to 5-2. After that, the Giants defense stepped up and held off the Tigers. Detroit scored 76 runs in their last eight games, starting back on July 28th. So with the Tigers just being held to two runs, it makes the Giants defense stand out and shows some light into the season’s lows.

Heading into the top of the ninth inning, the Giants were holding the lead at 5-2. With San Francisco needing three more outs to call the game, they sent out RHP Dylan Smith. Smith is 0-4 and is still looking for his first win, and got his most recent loss on Tuesday. So with him determined to get his win and with help from the Giants’ defense. San Francisco holds off Detroit and took game one tonight. Smith would receive his first career save in this ballgame, and the Giants would get their 49th win of the season.

The San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers will come back Saturday for their second game out of three. The first pitch will be at 4:15 p.m. with the Giants sending out RHP Landen Roupp (7-10, 4.34 ERA). Detroit will send out and also will be making their season debut is RHP Jackson Jobe. The game will be broadcast on FOX.

San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez: Brubaker gets the call for SF Fri night against Detroit

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San Francisco starter JT Brubaker gets the call agianst the Detroit Tigers at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Aug 7, 2026 (Sports Illustrated file photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez:

#1 The Giants are returning to Oracle Park on Friday night after having a rugged road trip to San Diego and Texas dropping five of seven games going 1-3 in San Diego and 1-2 in Texas.

#2 The road trip dropped San Francisco 19 games below .500 their lowest for the 2026 season.

#3 The loss to the Rangers on Wednesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington dropped the Giants to 48-67 (.417) their lowest mark for the season and fifth worst winning percentage in MLB.

#4 Meanwhile the Giants have had a little better luck at Oracle Park winning 13 of their last 20 games and San Francisco has outscored opponents 96-69. The Giants have gone 13-7 at home since June 14th which is the sixth best home record in MLB during that time and is fourth best in the NL.

#5 For Friday night’s contest as the Giants return from the road trip for Detroit RHP Keider Montero (8-6 ERA 3.17) for San Francisco RHP JT Brubaker (0-0 ERA 3.17) first pitch 7:15pm PDT.

San Francisco Giants podcasts with Lincoln Juarez are heard Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast Len Shapiro: Pens commit to 8 yr $32 million deal for Ville Koivunen; What Blackhawks expect out of Bedard for 26-27 season; plus more news

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Pittsubugh Penguins forward Ville Koivunen signed an eight year $32 million contract extension with the Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins photo)

NHL podcast Len Shapiro:

#1 Why did the Pittsburgh Penguins commit to an eight-year, $32 million extension for Ville Koivunen, and why has the deal generated mixed reactions among fans and analysts?

#2 What are the biggest expectations for Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks heading into the 2026–27 NHL season, and how is the team’s young core expected to contribute?

#3 Which players were ranked among NHL Network’s top five wings entering the 2026–27 season, and what factors likely influenced their rankings?

#4 Who are the top five rookie fantasy hockey prospects for the 2026–27 season, and what makes them attractive picks for fantasy managers?

#5 Which offseason storylines—such as trade rumors, contract negotiations, or remaining free agents—are drawing the most attention as NHL training camps approach?

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants/49ers podcast Bruce Macgowan: Can Greg Papa sue KNBR for firing him while on medical leave?

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Ex-KNBR talk show host Greg Papa and San Francisco 49ers play by play voice was laid off by KNBR while on medical leave as announced Wed Aug 5, 2026 (San Francisco Chronicle file photo)

San Francisco Giants/49ers podcast Bruce Macgowan:

#1 Bruce, how hard is it to believe that KNBR radio the flagship station of the San Francisco 49ers has let go of talk show host and play by play voice of the 49ers Greg Papa go after he had been suffering through Leukemia and bone marrow transplant treatments?

#2 Papa broke in the Bay Area scene as the play by play voice of the Golden State Warriors around 1986-1995 and was considered the second best all time Warriors play by play announcer behind Bill King.

#3 Papa lost his Warriors play by play job to Bob Fitzgerald how did that happen and why would the Warriors let someone like Greg Papa go?

#4 Mike Krukow the San Francisco Giants color announcer announced that Sep 27th will be his last day as TV color analyst as part of the famous Kruk and Kuip broadcast duel. Kruk said it’ll be hard to walk away but due to health issues he had to make the hard choice.

#5 The Giants let go of a large contingent of players at the trade deadline Heliot Ramos, Luis Arraez, Caleb Kilan, Robbie Ray, Tyle Mahle, and Erik Miller were these trades made to get young propects and who amongst those players were mistakes made that the Giants shouldn’t have let go?

Bruce Macgowan is a Sports Talk analyst at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s hope to have better luck agianst Red Sox open series Friday at Fenway

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Aug 6, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Athletics’ pitcher Brady Basso throws against the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Aaron Doster

Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 The Cincinnati Reds swept the Sacramento A’s at Great American Ballpark in a three game series the A’s continue to sputter losing their ninth out of their last ten games.

#2 For the Reds Elly De La Cruz led off hitting his fourth career lead off home run. De La Cruz’s homer was one of four for the Reds in the 6-5 win Thursday.

#3 It’s a tale of two teams going in two different directions. The Red have gone 13-6 after All Star break. The A’s have now lost eight in a row and lost 12 series in a row and their season record is 45-70.

#4 A’s catcher Brian Serven has been on tear of late hitting a two run home run off Reds pitcher Brock Burke which pulled the A’s within a run. For Serven it was his second home run of the season.

#5 The A’s open a three game series starting Friday night in Boston against a Red Sox team that took three of four from the A’s last week in West Sacramento. For Friday Sacramento will start RHP Jack Perkins (2-7, 6.72 ERA) for Boston LHP Payton Tolle (6-6 ERA 3.30) first pitch at Fenway Park 4:10PM PDT.

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

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

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

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

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

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

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Sacramento A’s game wrap: Serven’s Ninth-Inning Shot Comes Up One Run Short; A’s get swept by Reds in 6-5 contest Thursday

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Sacramento A’s starter Mason Barnett pitches to the Cincinnati Reds in the bottom of the first inning at Great American Park in Cincinnati on Thu Aug 6, 2026 (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s game wrap:

By Mauicio Segura

Brian Serven gave the Athletics one final surge, but Cincinnati had already built just enough room to survive. After Lawrence Butler reached on an infield single and advanced on Elly De La Cruz’s throwing error, Serven sent a two-run homer to left-center, trimming a three-run deficit to one.

The rally ended there, however, as Alika Williams grounded out and Jonathan Ornelas struck out, sealing a 6-5 Reds victory and the Athletics’ eighth consecutive loss. The A’s were swept in the three-game series and dropped to 45-70.

Cincinnati wasted little time taking the lead. De La Cruz opened the bottom of the first with a home run to left-center, giving the Reds a 1-0 advantage before Mason Barnett had recorded an out. Barnett recovered well enough to avoid further damage, helped by one of the game’s strangest sequences.

Serven successfully challenged a call involving Tyler Stephenson, who was ruled out on strikes, while JJ Bleday was also caught stealing for an inning-ending double play.

The Athletics broke through in the fourth. Henry Bolte and Tommy White opened the inning with singles, and Jonah Heim drew a walk to load the bases. Tyler Soderstrom followed with a two-run single through the middle, scoring Bolte and White for a 2-1 advantage. Max Muncy added another single to reload the bases, and Butler’s ground-ball double play brought Heim home for a 3-1 lead.

That inning also showed the cost of giving away outs. Heim had already grounded into a double play in the first, and Butler’s fourth-inning twin killing limited what might have become a much larger rally. The A’s entered the game tied for second in the majors with 88 ground-ball double plays, and two more proved especially costly.

The Reds erased the lead almost immediately. Sal Stewart and Stephenson hit solo homers in the bottom of the fourth, tying the game at 3-3. Barnett returned for the fifth but hit Matt McLain, allowed a single to Stewart and issued a walk to Bleday, loading the bases with one out. Elvis Alvarado replaced him and struck out Stephenson, but consecutive bases-loaded walks to Eugenio Suárez and Dane Myers pushed Cincinnati ahead 5-3.

Barnett was charged with five runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out seven, but three of Cincinnati’s hits against him cleared the fence. Andrew Abbott, meanwhile, settled after the fourth and completed 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts. Bleday gave the Reds their final run in the seventh, driving a Seth Johnson pitch over the wall in right-center for a 6-3 lead.

The Green and Gold entered the game with a seven-game skid and only four victories in their previous 27 contests. The defeat made it eight straight and dropped them to 4-24 since July 3. Serven’s late homer at least offered another encouraging moment since his July 26 recall. His previous homer, hit July 28, had been his first in the majors since August 2022.

The A’s will try to stop the slide in Boston, where Sacramento’s Jack Perkins (2-7, 6.72 ERA, 89 strikeouts) is scheduled to face Boston left-hander Payton Tolle (6-6, 3.30 ERA, 110 strikeouts), with first pitch set for 4:10 p.m. Pacific.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

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

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

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

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

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

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Sacramento A’s podcast Bridget Mulcahy: A’s and Reds conclude 3 game series Thursday

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Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly Del La Cruz (left) gets the throw too late as the Sacramento A’s Henry Bolte (right) slides in safely into second base in the top of the seventh inning at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on Wed Aug 5, 2026 (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s podcast Bridget Mulcahy:

#1 Lawrence Butler is back in the lead off spot for the Sacramento A’s at the plate, and was able to provide the A’s with some offensive spark against the Reds with a RBI and a run scored?

#2 A’s starter Jacob Lopez kept the Cincinnati Reds to just two runs pitching five innings allowing four hits and a walk.

#3 The A’s Tyler Soderstrom continues to hit consistently with two at bats a run scored, one hits, two walks and he was able to successfully reach base twice.

#4 Catcher Jonah Heim called a good game for the A’s also had a hit and an RBI. and caught all four pitchers despite losing the game by a run.

#5 A’s and Reds conclude this three game series Thursday at Great American Park for a 9:40AM PDT first pitch. Starting pitchers for Sacramento RHP Mason Barnett (1-1 ERA 4.85) for Cincinnati LHP Andrew Abbott (5-7 ERA 3.91).

Join Bridget Mulcahy for the A’s podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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

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

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

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

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

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB–Why there will be a Lockout

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Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Bruce Meyer represents the players in the lock out dispute with Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and the 30 team owners (AP file photo)

MLB: Why there will be a lockout

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

There is no “potential” lockout; it is coming.

This December 1st is the day the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires. I do not believe there will be a new deal in place between labor (players) and management (owners) by then. This is big business, and each side is trying to figure out who has the most leverage. Each side is trying to get leverage on the other side. The main dish “Salary Cap”

In December, we should hear (like it happened in previous disputes) from both sides; they will put their plan forward and all that jazz. That is going to happen, because that is the way it has always happened, and the best thing we have during this work stoppage is the history between owners and players, and there is precedent; you do not need a law degree to understand this. There is no mystery here.

Let us dig a little deeper.  Q: Can the players strike during this 2026 Postseason?   A: No, baseball players cannot strike during the upcoming 2026 playoffs because their current CBA (see above) runs through December 1, 2026. Therefore, the 2026 postseason, including the World Series, will finish before the labor contract expires. The current agreement guarantees there will be labor Peace throuigh the Postseason/World Series.

If there is no movement by late February or early March of 2027, then we all should be concerned, because the season will be in jeopardy.

The winter months? As it usually happens, other sports leagues are already playing: NFL, NBA, NHL, and on February 14, 2027, the Super Bowl is scheduled to take place at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles (Inglewood), California. The Super Bowl is the biggest yearly sporting event in the United States, so baseball is already on vacation; to me, it is more a TV spectacle than just a game.

So what? It doesn’t matter which side we are favoring, owners or players, because in the end we, the fans and the media, are just spectators in the bullpen.

However, there is one thing both sides agree on: Major League Baseball (MLB) is a very lucrative multi-billion-dollar business. With media rights, ticket sales, and corporate partnerships, this league is one of the most economically powerful sports leagues in the world.

Finally.  How long will the lockout be?  Nobody really knows today, so get your PopCorn and hot butter ready, because these things have a life of their own. While the labor unions’ favorite word is “Solidarity”, owners might use “Unity”, same cat with a different collar.,

Want to bet?  Las Vegas oddsmakers are already taking bets on the possibility of winners and losers on this upcoming lockout.  Who knows? Maybe we should ask a team that is supposed to open play in Sin City in 2028, the ex-Philadelphia-Kansas City-Oakland-Sacramento Athletics.

Quote: Rob Manfred, Baseball Commissioner, explaining the 2021–22 lockout): “We hope that the lockout will jumpstart the negotiations and get us to an agreement that will allow the season to start on time. We cannot allow an expired agreement to again cause an in-season strike and a missed World Series.

Like they say in French – Faites vos jeux   – Place your bets.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

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

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

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

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

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

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Sacramento A’s game wrap: Butler’s Opening Shot Isn’t Enough; Reds edge out A’s 3-2

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Sacramento A’s Jacob Wilson and Lawrence Butler (4) celebrate Butler’s home run in the top of the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark on Wed Aug 5, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Mauricio Segura

Lawrence Butler opened the game with a home run to right-center, but the Sacramento Athletics could not build around it as the Cincinnati Reds earned a 3-2 victory. The loss stretched the A’s skid to seven games and guaranteed their 12th consecutive series defeat. Butler’s homer was his seventh of the season and his first away from home, adding another chapter to his unusual success against the Reds. He entered the game with six homers in only seven career meetings with Cincinnati.

Rhett Lowder recovered quickly after Butler’s swing. Tyler Soderstrom drew a one-out walk in the first, but Lowder struck out Jonah Heim and Jeff McNeil to end the inning. He then retired the Athletics in order in the second and third. Soderstrom drew another walk in the fourth, and Tommy White added a two-out single, but Donovan Walton grounded out to leave both runners aboard.

Jacob Lopez gave the A’s one of his strongest strikeout performances of the season. He struck out Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart and Dane Myers in order in the first, then recorded three more strikeouts in the second. Cincinnati still found a way to score. Noelvi Marte singled, stole second and scored when Jose Trevino sent a two-out grounder into left field.

Lopez kept the Reds from adding another run until the fifth. Matt McLain broke the tie with a solo home run to right-center, giving Cincinnati a 2-1 advantage. De La Cruz followed with a single, but Butler prevented further trouble by throwing him out at second base. Lopez finished with nine strikeouts over five innings, setting a new season high and finishing one short of his career best. He allowed two runs on four hits and one walk.

The Athletics answered in the sixth. Soderstrom singled to center and Heim drove a double into right, bringing Soderstrom home with the tying run. The hit was the 100th double of Heim’s career. Lowder prevented the inning from growing by retiring McNeil and White, completing six innings with two runs allowed on four hits, two walks and three strikeouts.

Cincinnati reclaimed the lead against Hayden Juenger in the bottom half. Stewart reached on a ground ball to the mound, Myers singled him to third and Marte lifted a sacrifice fly to right. Butler made the catch, but Stewart scored easily for a 3-2 Reds lead. José Suarez ended the inning without further damage, and Scott Blewett followed with two scoreless innings to keep the Athletics within one.

The A’s offense never produced another baserunner. Lowder retired the final two hitters he faced, and Cincinnati’s bullpen set down all nine batters after that. Brock Burke handled the seventh and began the eighth, Tejay Antone completed that inning, and Emilio Pagán finished the ninth for the save. In all, the final 11 Athletics hitters were retired.

McNeil’s pursuit of 1,000 career hits will continue after an 0-for-4 game left him at 999. The Athletics finished with four hits, and only Soderstrom reached base more than once. Butler supplied the first run, Heim supplied the second, and the rest of the lineup went 2-for-23.

The series finale Thursday will put Mason Barnett (1-1, 4.85 ERA, 29 strikeouts) opposite Hunter Greene (2-2, 6.83 ERA, 33 strikeouts), with the A’s trying to avoid a sweep when the first pitch is thrown at 9:40 a.m. Pacific.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

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

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

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

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

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

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Lack of Energy From Giants Offensively and Defensively Results in 6-0 Rangers Shutout; Rangers Bradford pitches 4.1 innings of shutout ball

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Texas Rangers starter Cody Bradford throws to the San Francisco Giants line up in the top sixth inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Wed Aug 4, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

In an early afternoon matchup, the San Francisco Giants (48-67) lost a tough one Wednesday to the Texas Rangers (57-58) in game three of their series in a shutout. Two lefties took the mound, the Giants Carson Whisenhunt and the Rangers Cody Bradford.

Whisenhunt was looking for a quality start. Whisenhunt pitched 8.1 allowed five hits and four runs. Bradford 4.1 pitched 4.1 innings of shutout ball allowing five hits.

Through two innings the game remained scoreless. It all changed in the third inning when the Rangers were able to score three runs taking a 4-0 lead into the fourth inning.

San Francisco was again trailing early digging a pretty deep hole. The Rangers would add one more run, a solo home run off the bat of Brandon Nimmo for a 5-0 advantage. The hits just kept on coming for the Rangers scoring in the bottom of the eighth looking for a 6-0 shutout in the top of the ninth.

The final was indeed the shutout 6-0 and the series loss the Giants playing a real lackluster low energy game.

GAME RECAP

In the first inning both teams had a couple of runners on base but the game remained scoreless. San Francisco’s Eddys Leonard doubled in the second inning but was the only runner in the inning to get on base. Whisenhunt went three and out in a nice inning.

The third inning saw a breakthrough turnaround for the Rangers. The Giants went three and out in the inning but the Rangers turned on the heater in a huge bottom of the third. With two outs Texas went to work taking Whisenhunt apart.

The Rangers had four straight two out hits. After Wyatt Langford doubled, Brandon Nimmo singled followed by a Jake Burger single. The Nimmo single brought Langford home for a 1-0 lead. A Justin Foscue triple drove in Nimmo and Burger extending their lead to 3-0.

Texas would tack on one moe run to end the inning leading 4-0. The hits just kept on coming for Texas as Elias Diaz doubled Foscue home for the final run of the inning. The Giants were looking at a pretty significant deficit.

It was another frustrating at bat for the Giants in the fourth inning leaving two runners stranded. Whisenhunt remained in the game for the bottom of the fourth after the shaky third inning. He got the first at bat out but walked Evan Carter precipitating a change on the mound for San Francisco.

Seymour would relieve Whisenhunt after 4 1/3 innings. He has a 5-2 win/loss record and a 3.79 ERA. He got the Giants out of the inning when Ezequiel Duran hit into a double play.

San Francisco got something going in the top of the fifth innings hitting two singles, the first off the bat of Drew Cavanaugh and the second off Jung Hoo Lee. With two runners on base and only one out, there was a change on the mound for the Rangers.

Tyler Alexander would relieve Cody Bradford after a pretty decent outing for Bradford. Alexander would face Willy Adames striking him out for the second out. Rafael Devers grounded out and mid-way through the game San Francisco badly needed to get some runs up on the board.The Rangers created an even wide gap in the bottom of the fifth. Brandon Nimmo hit a solo home run giving Texas a 5-0 lead.

There was nothing going on for the Giants in the top of the sixth or seventh innings. They had two runners on base in the eighth but left them stranded. They had been able to keep the Rangers from doing any more damage but despite seven hits in the game San Francisco had been unable to score any runs. They were three outs away from losing the game and the series.

Drew Cavanaugh did double in the ninth inning but with two outs Texas relief pitcher Cole Winn closed out the game. San Francisco had won the first game of this series but ended up losing the series dropping games two and three.

GAME NOTES

San Francisco had seven hits in the game the Rangers with nine yet a lopsided 8-0 final score pointing to timely hits by Texas and there were also five walks in the game which did not help. The four run third inning was the culprit that turned this game in favor of the Rangers.

The San Francisco offense did have those seven hits but could not string hits together leaving runners stranded throughout the game. The Giants also had some errors that led to two unearned runs. This was just a difficult game for San Francisco getting outplayed in every phase of the ball game offensively and defensively.

It was a tough outing for Whisenhunt who pitched only 3 1/3 innings not able to go deep in the game. He allowed five hits, four earned runs, three walks with four strikeouts setting the stage for the Rangers shut-out.

The Rangers starter Cody Bradford pitched 4 1/3 innings allowing five hits, no runs, two walks with five strikeouts. The Texas bullpen finished off San Francisco pretty easily.

The Giants will now head home for a series with the Detroit Tigers over the weekend. Keider Montero will take the mound for the Tigers with a 8-6 win/loss record and a 3.17 ERA. Right now the Giants are undecided as to who will pitch Friday night. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 7:15 PM.