Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: M’s hot August nights do in A’s in Seattle; A’s host Ohtani and Halos Friday at Coliseum

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Oakland Athletics’ Lawrence Butler hits a two-run home run against the Seattle Mariners to score Jordan Diaz during the second inning at T Mobile Field in Seattle on Wed Aug 30, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Sometimes there’s no stopping the Seattle Mariners and August 2023 just so happened to be the M’s hottest August they’ve had in their franchise history ending with a series 5-4 win at T Mobile Field on Wednesday afternoon.

#2 The Mariners have been going so well they ended up 21-6 and the A’s were fortunate to even win the second game from the M’s on Tuesday night 3-1.

#3 The A’s didn’t have a bad road trip going 3-4 taking two out four games against the Chicago White Sox and winning one game from the M’s. The A’s are competitive but they did run into a hot Mariners team.

#4 The Mariners starter Bryce Miller went six inning against the A’s giving up seven hits and three earned runs. The M’s used three relievers behind Miller for the one run win.

#5 A’s open up a three game homestand against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum starting pitcher for the Angels Patrick Sandoval (7-10) and for the Oakland A’s JP Sears (2-11 ERA 4.80) first pitch 6:40pm PT

Join Jerry Feitelberg for the A’s podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Reds Encarnacion-Strand Bay Area native does a homecoming on Giants with the bat

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Cincinnati Reds’ Christian Encarnacion-Strand Bay Area native from Pleasant Hill, right, hits a two-run home run is congratulated by Elly De La Cruz (44) in the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Aug 30, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 You can’t keep a good man down the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park coming off that one hitter loss thrown by San Francisco Giants starter Alex Cobb on Tuesday the Reds came back on Wednesday and were not relenting in game three of the series as Christian Encarnacion-Strand belted a home run and got three RBIs as the Reds defeated the Giants 4-1.

#2 Encarnacion-Strand who comes from Pleasant Hill CA was pleased to see so many of his friends, family, neighbors, and fans to support him on his visit to San Francisco.

#3 Giants pitcher Logan Webb had a struggle against Cincinnati Reds hitters, Elly De La Cruz and Luke Maile had two hits, and Hunter Greene out pitched Webb.

#4 Greene had a great outing for the Reds going 5.1 innings and striking out six batters. It was his third win and first win since June 17th to defeat the Giants. Greene gave up three hits and had help from his bullpen as the Reds used five pitchers.

#5 Giants open a four game series in San Diego against the Padres at Petco Park on Thursday night starter for the Giants has not been announced and for the Padres Pedro Avila (0-1 ERA 2.63) first pitch 6:40pm PT.

Stephen Ruderman was filling in for Michael Duca who does the Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

John Brebbia escapes trouble in first rehab outing & other minor league notes, as River Cats top Isotopes 6-2

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Sacramento Rivercats were swinging for extra runs and catcher Joey Bart played a big part in the win over the visiting Albuquerque Isotopes at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento on Wed Aug 30, 2023 (@RiverCats photo)

Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023

Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento, California

Albuquerque Isotopes 2 (29-24 2nd Half), (56-72 Season)

Sacramento River Cats 6 (22-31 2nd Half), (56-71 Season)

Win: John Brebbia (1-0)

Loss: Justin Bruihl (5-3)

Time: 2:44

Attendance: 3,533

By Stephen Ruderman

SACRAMENTO–John Brebbria, Heliot Ramos and Joey Bart all played a part, as the Sacramento River Cats snapped their three-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento.

Kai-Wei Teng made the start for Sacramento; and despite giving up a run in both the first and second innings, he settled down nicely, and set down 13 of the final 15 men he faced. In total, Teng walked one, and struck out seven over six innings of work.

The play of the night came with one out in the top of the sixth inning, when Isotopes’ shortstop Coco Montes hit a deep fly ball to left-center field that Trenton Brooks and Tyler Fitzgerald converged on, but neither were able to catch. Fitzgerald crashed into the wall, and Brooks threw to the shortstop, Johan Camargo—who accepted an assignment in Sacramento after being designated for assignment by the Giants on Aug. 23—and Camargo fired a strike to the plate to nail Montes.

Heliot Ramos, who was once again sent down to Sacramento on Tuesday, continued to stay hot in Triple-A, as he hit a leadoff home run to right-center field in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the River Cats on the board for not just the game, but for the series. Joey Bart then singled with one out to knock Isotopes’ starter, Tanner Gordon, out of the game. Camargo singled off the left-hander, Justin Bruihl with two outs, but Armando Alvarez flew out to right to end the inning.

John Brebbia, who had last appeared in a game for the Giants on June 16 at Dodger Stadium, was brought in for the top of the seventh inning in his first rehab outing. Brebbia surrendered a leadoff single to Aaron Schunk, and walked Jonathan Morales to get into early trouble.

Brebbia then got Isotopes’ catcher, Willie MacIver, to hit a chopper back to the mound; Brebbia threw to third to get the lead runner, Schunk, but third-baseman, David Villar, threw the ball away trying to turn the 1-5-3 double play. That put runners on the corners with one out, but it was no trouble for Brebbia, who struck out the next two men he faced.

Bruihl came back out for the bottom of the seventh with Albuquerque up 2-1. Donovan Walton hit a soft line drive to the shortstop, Montes, to start the inning. Tyler Fitzgerald reached on an infield single, and then Bruihl walked Brooks and Ramos to load the bases, which spelled the end of the night for Bruihl.

The Isotopes then brought in the right-hander, Chance Adams, who walked David Villar, and that tied the game. That brought up Joey Bart, who last played in a major league game on May 17, and who has struggled in Sacramento. Bart then hit a towering grand slam to the back of the clubhouses beyond the left field fence to give the River Cats their first lead of the night, and cap off a five-run bottom of the seventh for Sacramento.

Erik Miller came in, and he pitched a quick and quiet top of the ninth to close it out.

Keaton Winn, who is 0-6 on the season, will make the start in game 3 of the series tomorrow night.

Controversial penalty gives Galaxy 3-2 comeback win over Earthquakes in Classico

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San Jose Earthquakes forward Cristian Espinoza dribbles past Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Diego Fagundez at Pay Pal Park on Wednesday AUG 30, 2023. (Nico Burgueno-El Show International)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — A controversial penalty call spoiled an exciting game.

The Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on two second half goals, including the penalty kick, in the 98th installment of the California Classico on Wednesday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose have lost two matches in a row since coming out of the League’s Cup match. Los Angeles are unbeaten in its past seven matches.

Los Angeles (7-10-7-28 points) drew first blood in the 16th minute. Raheem Edwards sent a long ball down the right wing where Tyler Boyd won the race to the ball. Boyd made a move around Jonathan Mensah before firing a shot from just inside the box past ‘Quakes goalkeeper Daniel for his team leading sixth goal of the season.

The Galaxy controlled the pace of play for the first 28 minutes of the match with an 80-20% advantage of possession as the Earthquakes played back on their heels. San Jose’s first shot attempt didn’t happen till the 28th minute.

The momentum of the match turned quickly just a minute later in San Jose’s favor. Off a corner kick Christian Espinoza had a give and go with Jamiro Monterio. Espinoza’s shot attempt deflected off of the head of Lucas Calegari and past Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond for an own goal.

San Jose (9-9-8-32 points) gained its first lead of the match two minutes later in the 31st minute. Monteiro got low inside the box before centering a feed into the middle where Jeremy Ebobisse chipped the ball high into the net from point-blank range for his eighth goal of the season.

It didn’t take long for Los Angeles to score the equalizer out of halftime. Riqui Puig made San Jose pay for falling asleep in its defensive zone. After receiving the ball from Edwin Cerillo, the Galaxy captain dribbled down the middle of the pitch unmarked before burying a right footed shot from just beyond the box past Daniel for his fifth goal of the season in the 50th minute.

San Jose conceded a penalty in the 58th minute when Edwards drew a penalty inside the box when he was knocked down by Miguel Trauco.

Dejan Joveljic converted the penalty in the 61st minute with a high shot into the middle of the net for his third goal of the season to give Los Angeles its second lead of the match.

The match was not one to write home about for referee Lukasz Szpala and his crew as there were numerous one-sided calls by Szpala that went against San Jose, especially in the second half.

San Jose thought they had tied the game in the 90th minute but the play was ruled offsides by the assistant official.

The Earthquakes had two back-to-back scoring chances in the first minute of stoppage time to score the equalizer, but Espinoza’s shot attempt from long range along the right corner hit off the crossbar and the subsequent rebound went just wide to the left side.

Bond made four saves on five shots on goal in earning the win. Daniel made two saves on four shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 11 corner kicks. Los Angeles had seven.

The attendance for tonight’s match was 16,224.

The Galaxy lead the all-time series 43-33-18.

The Galaxy is unbeaten in its last four road matches versus San Jose, its longest unbeaten run in Classico.

Los Angeles is 5-1-4 in its last 10 matches.

Espinoza has scored eight of his 12 goals at home. Only LAFC’s Denis Bouanga has scored more goals (9) at home.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts Minnesota United on Saturday 9/2 at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Pac 12 podcast with Michael Roberson: Shooting on UNC campus delays Cal-Stanford vote into the ACC

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Law enforcement and first responders gather on South Street near the Bell Tower on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus in Chapel Hill, N.C., Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, after a report of an “armed and dangerous person” on campus. (AP News photo)

On Pac 12 the podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 Michael, Cal, Stanford and SMU were close to getting that invite to the ACC but the vote was postponed last Monday due to a shooting on the UNC campus?

#2 There have been ACC teams that have complained about their TV deal which runs through the 2036 season ACC school is out $30 million less per year then the SEC and Big Ten.

#3 Do you see Cal and Stanford going into the ACC as a boost to the ACC’s TV package? Nothing like adding the fifth largest TV market to your repertoire?

#4 The Bears and the Cardinal are want the same revenue share, Stanford has a strong financial backing and Cal doesn’t have the same financial backing like a Stanford taking that in consideration would the ACC still add Cal to the conference?

#5 What about the non revenue sports do you see them being included in the ACC with football and basketball?

Join Michael Roberson for the Pac 12 podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Mariners’ two-run rally in seventh sends A’s down to another loss 4-3 at T Mobile

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Oakland Athletics’ Lawrence Butler rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run to score Jordan Diaz against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning at T Mobile Center in Seattle on Wed Aug 30, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s hoped to stop the powerful Seattle Mariner offense Wednesday afternoon. The A’s beat the M’s Tuesday night. The A’s pitchers held the Mariners to four hits. Could the A’s do it again? The Mariners did not have Julio Rodriguez in the lineup on Wednesday. The 22-year-old superstar was out with discomfort in his left foot.

The answer to the above question was no, and the A’s could not beat the M’s for a second straight game. Oakland tried hard as they went ahead 4-3 when they scored a run in the top of the seventh. Unfortunately for Oakland, the Mariners scored twice in their half of the seventh to go ahead 5-4. The Mariners bullpen held the A’s scoreless in the last two innings of the game to win 5-4.

The A’s plated three runs in the top of the second inning. A’s third baseman, Jordan Diaz, singled to get the rally going. Mariners’ starter, Bryce Miller, struck out catcher Carlos Perez for the first out. Miller was now pitching to centerfielder Lawrence Butler. Butler hit his second career home run.

There was no doubt about the ball going out of the park. The ball left the bat at 109 miles per hour and landed 431 feet away in the right-centerfield seats. The ninth hitter in the lineup, Esteury Ruiz singled. Ruiz stole his 52nd base of the season and went to third on M’s catcher Cal Raleigh’s throwing error. Ryan Noda doubled to drive in Ruiz with the A’s third run. Oakland leads 3-0 midway through the second inning.

The Mariners tied the game in the bottom of the third. A’s starter Zach Neal retired the first two hitters. Neal walked Eugenio Suarez. Cal Raleigh doubled to put men on at second and third. To get out of the jam, Neal would have to retire Teoscar Hernandez for the third out. That did not happen. With one swing of Hernandez’s bat, the game was tied. For Hernandez, it was his 23rd bomb of the season.

The A’s broke the tie in the top of the seventh. Justin Topa was now pitching for Seattle. With one out, back-to-back doubles by Aledmys Diaz and Esteury Ruiz produced Oakland’s fourth run. Ruiz stole third. Teoscar Hernandez caught Ryan Noda’s fly ball to shallow right field.

Ruiz tagged, and the play at home was close. The home plate umpire called Ruiz safe. The Mariners asked for a review, and the call was overturned. The A’s led 4-3 midway through the seventh.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay summoned lefty Kirby Snead to pitch the seventh. The first two Mariner hitters were left-handed hitters. The strategy failed. Dominic Canzone led off the inning with a double. M’s DH Mike Ford singled, sending Canzone to third.

Snead walked Dylan Moore to load the bases with no out. Snead struck out Josh Rojas for the first out. M’s shortstop J.P. Crawford singled to drive in Canzone and pinch-runner Jose Caballero to put Seattle ahead 5-4. Kotsay brought in Dany Jimenez to end the M’s rally. Seattle leads 5-4 after seven.

The Mariners’ Matt Brash held the A’s scoreless in the eighth, and closer Anders Munoz set the A’s down to secure the win for Seattle.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 39-95. The Mariners improved to 76-57. The Mariners record for August is 21-6. It is the first time in M’s franchise history that the team has won 21 games in a month. The Mariners needed the win as the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. The teams are in a virtual tie for first place in the AL West. The Texas Rangers lost to the New York Mets to fall one game behind the leaders.

 292,47 fans were in the park to watch the game. The attendance for the three-game series was over 110,000. When teams win, people will show up. Put a good product on the field, and the fans will come.

The A’s are off on Thursday. Oakland will host the Los Angeles Angels for three games starting Friday night. Friday’s starting pitchers for the Angels Patrick Sandoval (7-4 ERA 3.95), starting for the A’s JP Sears (2-11 ERA 4.80) a 6:40pm PT first pitch at the Coliseum.

San Francisco Giants Lose 4-1 To Cincinnati Reds Wrap Up Six Game Homestand At Oracle

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Cincinnati Reds’ Christian Encarnacion-Strand, right, hits a two-run home run in front of San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey during the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Aug 30, 2023 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, August 30th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – In a day game coming off of Alex Cobb’s almost no-hitter, the San Francisco Giants faced the Cincinnati Reds to complete their series and the Giants are wrapping up their six game homestand. Logan Webb takes the mound for San Francisco and Hunter Greene for the Reds. This game for the Giants was to hold a spot for the NL wild card, especially after the D-Backs loss the night before. 

 A pitcher’s duel between Webb and Greene for five innings as we saw a scoreless game with seven hits total, but in the top of the sixth, the drought ended as Spencer Steer and Eddy De La Cruz got on base from singles.

Smart baserunning play got the first run as De La Cruz attempted to steal second and Patrick Bailey tried to throw him out, but was unsuccessful and as the ball left Bailey’s hand, Steer was successfully home, 1-0 Reds.

The very next run came from an RBI single by Christian Encarnacion-Strand which scored De La Cruz, 2-0 Reds with one out. Webb escaped the inning with a beautiful double play where he stopped the ball on a dime, threw to second, and then a play at first, but the damage was done and in the bottom of the sixth for the first time in this game, the Giants played from behind.

They started this at bat with Casey Schmitt hitting a lead-off double and carried on with a Thairo Estrada single. This rally caused Cincinnati to make a pitching change and bring in Ian Gibaut, but the rally continued as a wild pitch, moved the lead-off Schmitt who was on third score at home and Estrada to second, 2-1 Reds. Gibaut was able to get out the inning, but the energy in the park was still high as we entered the seventh. 

The Giants decided to sit Webb down after six innings, seven hits, six strikeouts, and two runs, so they brought Ryan Walker in the seventh and he got back to back strikeouts, but after a single they switched him with Taylor Rogers to provide relief.

After the seventh inning stretch, the Reds brought in Fernando Cruz and he didn’t crack under the pressure, upholding that lead for Cincinnati. The eighth came and the Giants swapped one Rogers brother in for another as Tyler Rogers took the hill.

It looked Tyler Rogers was holding his own, but Encarnacion-Strand got his second RBI of the game with a two run shot to center field that scored De La Cruz making this game 4-1 Reds. 

The ninth inning started off with Luke Jackson shutting down the Reds to hopefully spark some type of comeback for San Francisco. Patrick Bailey was the leadoff guy and was walked, so the hopes for a comeback rally began to fill Oracle Park.

Yastrzemski popped out for the first out, but the energy was still hovering around the park. J.D. Davis grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out and that’s when fans began to try to beat the traffic. Wade Meckler being the last hope to keep this comeback alive and on a full count he was struck out and that’s the ball game, 4-1 Cincinnati. 

Even though the Giants didn’t sweep the series, they walked away with a series win and their homestand ended here. San Francisco has no time to think about this loss, because they find themselves headed to San Diego the very next day to face the Padres.

The Giants haven’t announced who will start in this four game series at Petco Park in San Diego, but they know they will face Pedro Avila (0-1, 2.63) of the San Diego Padres and hopefully the Giants can go in to the month of September with momentum to secure their spot in the playoffs.

Troy Ewers is a beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Purdy and 49ers prepared for Steelers Sunday

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy runs into the end zone against the Los Angeles Chargers in pre season play at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara on Sat Aug 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SF 49ers podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 David, the 49ers are going with three quarterback with Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold, and Brandon Allen what makes this an improvement over having former 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance who both are no longer with the team.

#2 David, the Pittsburgh Steelers who are hosting the 49ers this Sunday starting with quarterback Kenny Pickett. Pittsburgh had a good pre season and Pickett is said to be a clear leader. Pickett played in two drives in the three pre season games going 13-15 for 199 yards.

Join David Zizmor for the 49ers podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The A’s bullpen sparkles as the A’s beat the Mariners 3-1

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Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker hits a single against the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning at T Mobile Field in Seattle on Tue Aug 29, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s upset the Seattle Mariners apple cart Tuesday night in Seattle. The lowly A’s pitching staff held the hard-hitting Mariners’ lineup to just four hits, two of which came in the ninth inning with two out. A’s starter, Ken Waldichuk, pitched well for three innings.

Waldichuk held the M’s hitless in those innings. In the meantime, the A’s put three runs on the board after two innings of play. Seth Brown hit a solo homer in the first, and Shea Langeliers blasted a two-run job in the second. That was all the offense the A’s would need. 

Two things happened to help the A’s get the win. George Kirby was supposed to start for Seattle. Kirby was scratched due to not feeling well. M’s skipper, Scott Servais, inserted Luke Weaver into the starting role. Weaver made two mistakes.

One was the home to Brown, and the second was Langeliers’ big fly. The other thing was the absence of superstar centerfielder Julio Rodriguez. J-Rod, the hottest hitter in baseball, was sidelined with discomfort in his left foot. J-Rod had four hits in Monday’s win over the A’s.

As mentioned above, Waldichuk was good for three innings. Things did not go well for him in the fourth. Teoscar Hernandez singled, leading off the inning. It was the M’s first hit in the game. Waldichuk walked catcher Cal Raleigh to put two men on with no out.

Mike Ford, hitting for Ty France, flew out to right field. Waldichuk struck out Dominic Canzone for the second out. Dylan Moore walked to load the bases. Waldichuk’s wildness continued as he walked Cade Marlowe to force in a run. Jose Caballero pooped up to shortstop Nick Allen to end the inning. The A’s led 3-1 after four.

A’s manager, Mark Kotsay, sent Waldichuk to pitch the fifth. Kotsay had Waldichuk on a short leash. Waldichuk’s pitch count was high. Kotsay would remove him from the game if nothing was left in the tank. Waldichuk walked the leadoff hitter, J.P. Crawford.

Kotsay brought in Lucas Erceg to pitch. Erceg got the next three outs. The A’s Sean Newcomb, Dany Jimenez, and Kirby Snead kept the M’s off the board. The Mariners got their second hit of the night in the bottom of the eighth.

The stage was set for closer Trevor May. May had to face the bottom of the Mariners’ lineup to earn the save. May struck out the first two hitters. Pinch-hitting for Jose Caballero, Josh Rojas singled to keep the Mariners’ hopes alive. J.P. Crawford then doubled down the left-field line to send Rojas to third.

The two hits electrified the 44,280 fans in the park. All the Mariners needed was a single. The batter was the dangerous Eugenio Suarez. Suarez had doubled twice in Monday night’s game. The fans were on their feet. Could Trevor May rise to the occasion for Oakland? The Answer was yes. May struck out Suarez to end the game. The A’s win 3-1.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 39-94. The A’s need four more wins to avoid tying the 1962 New York Mets record of 120 losses. The Mariners record dropped to 75-57. The Mariners are in a dogfight with the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros for first place in the AL West Division. The Rangers and Astros won Tuesday night, and the three teams are in a virtual tie for the lead.

The line score for Oakland was three runs, nine hits, and one error. The winning pitcher was Lucas Erceg. The line for Seattle was one run, four hits, and no errors. The losing pitcher was Luke Weaver.

The A’s beat the Mariners for the first time this season. They are 1-8 and will finish the three-game series Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Field in Seattle.

Zach Neal (ERA 6.88) will pitch for Oakland, and Bryce Miller (8-4 ERA 3.90) will be Seattle’s starter choice. The game will start at 1:10 p.m.

Giants Cobb practically perfect; Reds Steer doubles to break up no-no in ninth lose to SF 6-1

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Alex Cobb threw no hit ball for 8.2 innings before surrendering a double to the Cincinnati Reds Spencer Steer at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Aug 29, 2023 (AP News photo)

Cincinnati (68-66). 000 000 001. – 1 1. 1

San Francisco (69-73). 023 000 01x. – 6 7 1

Time: 2:15

Attendance: 26,078

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–It was all about Alex Cobb tonight at Oracle Park on Tuesday night. He came within one out of pitching a no hitter, getting 26 outs before giving up his first safety while his teammates scored six runs in a resounding 6-1 triumph for the suddenly strong home team.

Sunday’s resilient win over the hard hitting Atlanta Braves and last night’s victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds, especially the stellar performance by the heralded rookie hurler Kyle Harrison, certainly lifted the spirits around Third and King.

The pair of consecutive victories inched San Francisco a bit closer to Arizona, with only a half game separating the two teams in the race for the National League’s final wild card spot. No less important is that Monday’s defeat of Cincinnati dropped Cincy to a game and half behind San Francisco in the same ranking. Tuesday night’s events dropped the Reds another game behind the Giants.

Slugger Mitch Haniger was back in the Giants’ lineup after having missed 64 days thanks to a broken forearm he suffered in St Louis when hit by a pitch. He’d been batting .230 when he went out of action. He was the DH tonight, batting fourth and went 0-4 but scored a run.

Alex Cobb, an 11 year veteran whose game time record of 6-5, 3.74, while perhaps respectable, didn’t inspire much confidence in the context of his last 15 games, in which he went 3-4, 4.87, and his last seven, in which he posted a 0-3, 6.14 mark.

Tuesday night, he threw a complete game one hitter. The only Cincinnati batter to reach base safely in 8-2/3 innings was Nick Senzel, who got to first on a throwing error by third baseman Casey Schmitt in the third. Cobb struck out eight Reds on his way to his seventh win against five losses and reduced his ERA to 3.57. He threw 131 pitches, 83 for strikes, to 30 batters.

The Rhinelanders sent 25 year old left hander Brandon Williamson to the mound. His six pitch repertoire had earned him a record of 4-3, 4.18 so far in this, his rookie season. He was 3-2, 3.00 in his previous ten starts, indicating that he’s making good progress on the big league learning curve, he threw 105 pitches in six innings, during which he allowed five runs, three of which were earned.

He threw 105 pitches in six innings tonight, allowing five runs, three of which were earned, surrendering six hits, including a four bagger. He didn’t walk anyone but did throw a wild pitch and commit a balk. He took the loss and now is 4-4, 4.20. Ex Athletic Sam Moll relieved him and pitched a perfect bottom of the seventh, followed by Derek Law in the eighth.

San Francisco took an early lead. With one out in the second, Patrick Bailey and JD Davis hit back to back singles to right and right center, respectively, bringing up Paul DeJong. With the count 0-2 on the Giants’ shortstop, who had gotten a hit after his first game with the club, Williamson attempted to pick Davis off at first but in doing so committed a balk, bringing Bailey home and sending Davis to second. After DeJong struck out swinging, Luis Matos doubled into the right field corner, driving in Davis with the Giants’ second run.

Austin Slater’s third inning two bagger off the Uber Eats ad in right overcame The Curse of the Leadoff Double. Williamson retired Thairo Estrada and Wilmer Flores but unleashed a wild pitch to Haniger, which allowed Slater to charge home with San Francisco’s third tally.

It looked as though that would be all they’d get when Haniger grounded to third, but Nelvi Marte’s throw to first was wild, and Haniger reached base. That set the stage for Bailey to blast an 84.6 mph change of pace into the Cincinnati bullpen for his seventh home run of the season and a 5-0 lead for San Francisco.

The orange and back tacked on another run in the eighth. Law issued a leadoff walk to Slater, who scored on Estrada’s down the line double to left, giving the Giants an even half dozen.

Cobb received a nearly unanimous standing ovation when he came out to pitch the top of the ninth. He had thrown 113 pitches. Marte flew out to right on the 114th. Nick Senzel followed and drew the first base on balls Cobb had issued all night.

TJ Friedl flew out to deep right for the second out. Then, on Cobb’s 125th offering, Spencer Steer drove a double to deep right field for a double that ended Cobb’s bid for a no-hitter and a shutout, driving in Senzel, who had gone to second on defensive indifference. Cobb closed out his magnificent performance by striking out Elly De La Cruz looking at a 93.3mph sinker.

This three game series will conclude tomorrow, Wednesday Logan Webb (9-10, 3.51) scheduled to throw the Giants’ first pitch at 12:45. Fellow righty Hunter Greene (2-5, 5.06) will take the mound for Cincinnati.