That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s could be playing in San Francisco after 2024

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NBC Bay Area TV’s Raj Mathai (left) and Oakland A’s owner John Fisher (right) do an exclusive interview in Fisher’s home on Wed Aug 23, 2023 (NBC Bay Area photo)

A’s could be playing in San Francisco after 2024

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval, who was in Oakland recently prior to a game for the A’s team photo, narrowed the Oakland A’s temporary home (while they build in Las Vegas) to three sites, including Oracle Park in San Francisco.

This was reported by the Independent of Las Vegas, The A’s could make an early leap to Las Vegas in 2025, right after 2024 which is already set for the A’s to be played at Oakland, However, if the A’s and Giants come to an agreement, the A’s could be playing 30 to 40 “home” games at Oracle Park in 2025.

The Oakland A’s have submitted their application for relocation to Major League Baseball, owner John Fisher told ESPN, putting the team one step closer to becoming the Las Vegas A’s. Now it is all up to the MLB owners to approve.

A’s owner John Fisher answering to the cry of A’s fans to “sell the team”says: “I have not considered selling the team” and added “I’ve now owned the team with my partner Lew Wolff, it’s shocking really how the time time flies, but since 2005”.

Meanwhile the group “Schools not Stadiums” from Las Vegas still lobbying for the city of Las Vegas not to build a parks for the Oakland Athletics.

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

It was bombs away as A’s homer five times to beat White Sox 8-5

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Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. robs Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker of a home run during the fourth inning  at Guarantee Rate Field in Chicago on Thu Aug 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s won a slugfest Thursday night as they downed the Chicago White Sox 8-5 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. The A’s won for the third time in their last four games. The A’s hope the turmoil in Chicago will help them get a couple of wins in the Windy City this weekend.

The White Sox, expected to win the AL Central crown, have been floundering this season. The Sox fired team president Ken Williams and General Manager Rick Hahn. Skipper Pedro Grifol may be the next to be fired. 

The A’s sent lefty Ken Waldichuk to the hill to face the Sox. Waldichuk did well for the first four innings. His only mistake in those innings was serving up a gopher ball to the second batter he faced, Andrew Benintendi. It was Benintendi’s fourth dinger of the year. The rest of the game summary follows below.

The A’s put three on the board in the top of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. With one out, Seth Brown singled to get the rally started. Luis Robert snagged Brent Rooker’s drive to centerfield as the ball was headed over the wall.

Rooker had flown out to deep left field in his first at-bat. Left fielder Tony Kemp doubles to send Brown to third. A’s catcher Shea Langeliers continued his hot homer streak by blasting a line drive over the fence in left field. 

The White Sox scored four times in the bottom of the fifth. Former Oakland A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus led off the frame with his fifth bomb of the year. Waldichuk retired Trayce Thompson for the first out. On the next play, Waldichuk threw the ball past first base.

The batter, Sox catcher Korey Lee, motored to the second base. Waldichuk struck out Tim Anderson for the second out. Andrew Benintendi singled to drive in his second run of the game.

Waldichuk now had to deal with the Sox’s best hitter, Luis Robert. Robert led the Sox with 33 homers. He now has 34. Robert’s home run gave the Sox a 5-3 lead after five innings.

The A’s homered twice in the sixth inning to send White Sox starter Jesse Scholtens to the showers. With one out, Brent Rooker, denied in his first two at-bats, homered for the 22nd time this year. Schotens retired Tony Kemp for the second out. The next hitter, Shea Langeliers, homered for the second time to tie the game 5-5. 

The A’s added two runs in the top of the seventh. With two out, Ryan Noda singled and then stole second. The A’s sensational rookie second baseman, Zack Gelof, homered for the tenth time this season. The A’s led 7-5

It was now up to the A’s bullpen to preserve the win. Before we get to what the bullpen did, the A’s added another run in the top of the eight. Tony Kemp hit a solo homer to give the A’s a three-run cushion midway through the eighth,

The A’s bullpen allowed the White Sox four hits and kept them scoreless in the last four innings of the game. Lucas Erceg, Danny Jimenez, Spencer Patton, Kirby Snead, and Trevor May came through for the A’s. Oakland won the first game of the four-game series 8-5.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 37-91. The White Sox dropped to 50-78. 

The line score for Oakland was eight runs, nine hits, and one error. Ken Waldichuk worked five innings and allowed eight hits and five runs. The White Sox hit three home runs off of Waldichuk’s offerings. Lucas Erceg was the winning pitcher.

The line score for Chicago was five runs, 12 hits, and one error. 

The A’s hit five home runs in the game. Tony Kemp had a double and a home run. Shea Langeliers had two dingers and four RBIs. Brent Rooker hit his 22nd of the year. He was robbed by Luis Robert earlier in the game. Two other drives were very long outs. He seems to be back in the groove. 

Game two of the series will be played Friday night. The A’s starter will be Zach Neal (0-0 ERA 8.25). Neal probably will be an opener. The White Sox will counter with Dylan Cease (5-6 ERA 4.50). The game will start at 5:10 p.m.

There was a sparse crowd 13,247 at the park on Chicago’s southside. Reports surfaced that the White Sox are not happy with their park. Reports say the team is looking at relocating to Nashville. The White Sox, for years, have been the second banana in the Windy City. The fans love the Cubs, who went 108 years before winning a World Series Championship. The Cubs can do no wrong. It would be sad for the White Sox fans to lose their team.

Aces Survive Scare Against Sky 94-87; 30 wins by Aces most in a season in WNBA history

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The Las Vegas Aces set a WNBA record for the most wins in a season with their win over the Chicago Sky on Thu Aug 24, 2023 in Chicago (@LVAces image)

By Barbara Mason

Thursday evening the Las Vegas Aces (30-4) traveled to Chicago taking on the Sky (13-21) and hung onto for a seven point win over Chicago 94-87. As this game got underway, the first half turned out to be more of a nightmare for the Aces.

The Sky had a great game plan holding Las Vegas to 37.8% from the field while the Sky were shooting a little over 54%. Chicago was aggressive coming away with 20 rebounds to the Aces 14. The Sky won the first quarter 24-17 as well as the second 26-20.

At the half, the Sky had a 50-37 lead. We have seen the Aces overcome deficits all season but the first half saw Las Vegas missing far too many shots. They definitely had a lackluster first half. Kelsey Plum had only made a number of free throws but nothing from the field.

A’Ja Wilson had 12 points at the half with both Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young with eight points. If Las Vegas was going to win this matchup, they had to pick up their offense. The Aces have shown over and over that they are a second half team and they need to pull out all the stops in this contest. The first half was all Chicago.

The Sky did not slow down one bit in the third quarter. Las Vegas had cut the Chicago lead to single digits in the early minutes but the Sky came roaring back to take a 56-42 lead. They were relentless. Las Vegas began to turn up their physicality once again cutting the Dream lead to single digits.

Kelsey Plum turned up the heat hitting 16 points with just under five minutes left in the quarter with the Aces eyeing the lead trailing 60-57. With 2:45 left in the quarter it was a tie game 62-62. The Aces rallied in this game to take the lead 67-65 after having trailed by 16 points.

Kelsey Plum had struggled in the first half but completely turned it around in the second half finishing with 18 points as the third quarter came to an end. The Aces had a slim lead going into the fourth quarter 70-68. They had won the third quarter 33-18.

With less than six minutes left in the game, the Aces had a 81-78 lead and it became evident that this game was going down to the wire. The Aces got a slight advantage in the fourth quarter taking a 86-80 lead with under four minutes left in the game.

With all the marbles on the table this was anybody’s game. The Aces played a brilliant final minute extending their lead 90-84 with 43 ticks on the clock. They had won 30 season games which was a WNBA record.

The Aces fought hard in the second half. They had no choice in the matter; the Dream came in with incredible energy and a great plan that had the Aces stymied in the first half. Jackie Young had the team high with 24 points with Kelsey Plum right behind her with 24. Both A’Ja Wilson and Jackie Young had 10 rebounds apiece. It was an amazing comeback.

Saturday evening Las Vegas will take on the Washington Mystics. The Aces have a huge bullseye on their backs. With so many teams vying for a spot in the playoffs they have all lifted their level of play to new heights. The Mystics will be no different. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

San Francisco Giants preview: Giants gear up for another series with Braves

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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb throws in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park on Sun Jul 9, 2023. Webb starts Fri Aug 25, 2023 against the Atlanta Braves in San Francisco (AP file)

Giants Gear Up For Another Tough Series With Braves

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday the San Francisco Giants (66-61) held off the Philadelphia Phillies in a marathon ten inning slug fest. The Giants had lost the first two games of the series and very nearly opened the door for a Philly sweep.

Leading 5-2 going into the ninth inning, Philadelphia tied up the game when Bryce Harper does what he does best: knocks a three run home run and it was all even. San Francisco held on for a great tenth inning scoring three runs and capped off this win, a critical one with huge wild card implications.

It does not get any easier for the Giants this weekend. They are home Thursday with a well-deserved day off but Friday night they take on the Atlanta Braves in a three game series. The Braves are red-hot right now with a 82-44 record and they will present yet another major challenge for San Francisco.

Logan Webb will take the mound for the Giants. He is 9-9 in the win/loss column and in the last seven days has a 6.00 ERA. The Giants will face a solid pitcher in Atlanta’s Spencer Strider with a 3.57 ERA and a 14-4 win/loss record.

He will greatly challenge the San Francisco offense. The Braves to watch out for will be Matt Olson who has 43 home runs to his credit this season but also 108 RBIs. Ronald Acuna Jr. is also a good one with a .335 batting average.

The Giants began to flex their offensive muscle in the third game of their last series with 14 hits and Wilmer Flores continues to come up big at the plate. San Francisco will have to bring more of that in this upcoming series with so much at stake. The first appearance of Paul DeJong with the Giants was a dandy and the team will need more from him.

First pitch against the Braves Friday night is scheduled for 7:15 PM at Oracle Park.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: DeJong is plugged in on first day on the job with Giants

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San Francisco Giants Paul DeJong slugs a two run home run in the top of the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Wed Aug 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael talk about the San Francisco Giants Paul DeJong’s first day on the job with the Giants hitting a two run fourth inning home run and a two run single in the tenth inning to help lift SF to a 8-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

#2 DeJong said it was hard to put it into words that he was happy to be out there and that he was happy that the opportunity worked out for him. Michael talk about his excitement about getting a chance to perform.

#3 What is happening to Giants reliever Camilo Doval, he gave up a three run home run to the Phillies Bryce Harper that clanged off the right field foul pole this was before the Giants had a chance to comeback for the win. Is Doval losing confidence or teams are studying him well.

#4 DeJong is seven year veteran formerly with the St Louis Cardinals who joined Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline then was released by the Jays last Monday. He joined the Giants Tuesday and had his banner day Wednesday at the plate.

#5 The Giants host the Atlanta Braves who gave the Giants fits in Atlanta last weekend. Spencer Strider will start for the Braves on Friday. Giants manager Gabe Kapler has not announced a starter as of yet.

Join Michael Duca for the Giants podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The San Francisco Giants are more Sizzle than Steak

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San Francisco Giants Wilmer Flores (left) celebrates with Austin Slater (right) after hitting a home run that scored Bryce Johnson in the bottom of the ninth inning Sun Sep 4, 2022. Flores is underrated with the Giants last season say author Amaury Pi Gonzalez (AP News file)

The San Francisco Giants are more Sizzle than Steak

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Last off-season, the SF Giants announced to the world (with great bravado) that they were going heavy after Aaron Judge. I mentioned on the radio and wrote then that Judge would rather stay with the Yankees because that is “the legacy team” in baseball. Notwithstanding the terrible season, they are having this 2023.

But for me, one of the most important players and way underrated with the Giants last season and again this season is Wilmer Flores. In the Bay Area, the Giants are the #1 baseball team; they get more coverage than the Athletics, even when the A’s were winning the World Series.I have been a Bay Area resident since 1969 and I can attest to that.

The Giants “propaganda” after they won three World Series in six years, recruited a lot of fans, had a great run, and they did get lucky; none of those three clubs that won the World Series will ever be considered “great” teams, like for example the Oakland A’s from 1988-89-90.

They only won one World Series against the 1989 Giants, but they had great players. Giants do not have that. After that run of three World Series titles for the Giants, I was asked to attend a “career day” at an East Bay public school.

The teacher was surprised when I told her that the Giants have won three World Series in San Francisco, but the A’s have won four in Oakland. I always enjoy talking to young kids at schools as they get interested in what I have done covering sports.

This teacher was young probably not a real baseball fan; she “bought” all the propaganda from the Giants just because they had won three in six years, and some even started predicting, “We are going to win a World Series every other year. Remember that?

A good friend is putting money on the Giants signing Shohei Ohtani this winter, as he will likely become a Free Agent. I bet $50 with my friend, who would be nameless here. I bet that the Dodgers would get Ohtani and not the Giants.

But do not be surprised if the Giants and their supporters begin right after the season talking about “getting” Ohtani’ because the Giants think they are the Yankees of the West Coast, but they are not; the Dodgers are the Yankees of the West!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Roots Score A Brace Against New Mexico United 2-1 To Regain The Third Place Spot

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Lots of congratulations to go around as the Oakland Roots defeated the New Mexico United at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque NM on Wed Aug 23, 2023 (@oaklandrootssc photo)

Wednesday. August 23rd, 2023

By Troy Ewers

In Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, NM, it’s a weekday edition of the USL Championship and the Oakland Roots faced New Mexico United. Oakland entered this game fourth place in the West and hoped to control their destiny to make a run in the playoffs. Last time these two battled it out was April 1st and Roots leading scorer Johnny Rodriguez won Oakland the game, 1-0.

Defense was the name of the game in the first half and Oakland fought even a sliver of a chance during the half. One of Oakland’s biggest chances came from Neveal Hackshaw with a header that almost passed the New Mexico goalkeeper who was on the ground, but still gotta hand on the ball for the save.

The Oakland Roots silenced the crowd with their pacing throughout the first half, only time they made any noise was when they booed the ref for awarding a yellow card New Mexico which set up an Oakland set piece that Oakalnd couldn’t capitalize on.

The Roots would finally take advantage of the momentum they had built up all half as Anuar Palaez would score in the 42nd minute, after receiving a pass from Daniel Barbir and hitting a roller shot past the goalkeeper to take the lead, 1-0 Roots.

Before the halftime whistle blew, New Mexico witnessed why Paul Blanchette was the League leader in saves as Moreno attempted to even up the score with what looked like a clear goal, but Blanchette made the save and Oakland was able to clear it to end the half and the Roots maintained their goal lead.

The second half, Oakland had one goal, hold the lead, so they can take back third place in the West and in the beginning of the half the Roots used their slow pace strategy to generate offense and in the 51st minute, Trayvon Reid scored a goal from that style of offense and even though there was an appeal from New Mexico over a hand ball, but there was a no call from the ref and the score was upheld, 2-0 Oakland. This was the second assist from Barbir as he is used as the conductor of this offense this game.

The rest of the second half was Oakland keeping New Mexico at arm’s reach and not with many real scoring chances. With five minutes of stoppage time, New Mexico showed that they weren’t giving up even with the rain starting to pour.

A corner set piece for New Mexico was scored on when Sergio Rivas found the ball amongst the madness and shot it past Blanchette to make the score 2-1. New Mexico was quick to try to get the equalizer, but when Hackshaw was fouled the time was ticking down as he stayed on the ground with an injury, which led to the final whistle to blow and the game ended with Noah Delgado’s Oakland Roots securing the three points with a victory against New Mexico United and momentum towards this last stretch of the season.

Oakland’s next game will be in three days on Saturday, August 26th in Louisville, Kentucky against Louisville City FC.

Giants Battle Their Way To Win In Ten Innings Over Phillies 8-6

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San Francisco Giants Paul Delong strokes a two run home run off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Michael Lorenzen in the top of the fourth inning at Citizen’s Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Wed Aug 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

Giants Battle Their Way To Win In Ten Innings Over Phillies 8-6

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco Giants (65-61) took on the Philadelphia Phillies (69-57) in game three on Wednesday in a 8-6 ten inning win at Citizens Bank Ball Park in Philadelphia. This after losing the first two games of the series.

Wednesday game wrap: The Giants got this game going early with a run in the first inning, Wilmer Flores hit a home run to left center for the early one run lead 1-0. They got a second run in the third, another hit from Flores, a single. Wade Meckler scored on that Flores single.

In the fourth inning, another San Francisco home run off the bat off Paul DeJong; a two- run homer extending their lead to 4-0. Everything was going well for the Giants when the Phillies came around. They had back to back home runs, both of them solo shots. Kyle Schwarber hit the first followed by Trea Turner. The Phillies had crept back into this game but still trailing 4-2.

The Giants added another run in the 7th inning to lead 5-2. Austin Slater doubled Thairo Estrada home. It all came down to the ninth inning. The Giants appeared to be in good shape on the verge of the win.

The Philadelphia Phillies are never out of the game as we have seen this season. Bryce Harper came to the plate, always a threat, and tied up the game with a 3-run home run. This was a brand new ball game all tied up 5-5.

Undeterred, the Giants put three runs up on the board in the tenth inning. DeJong singled bringing Patrick Bailey and Casey Schmitt home. Meckler scored the third run and the Giants had taken back the lead 8-5. Once again the Giants were three outs away from the win.

Edmundo Sosa doubled Realmuto home and the score was now 8-6 with one out. Taylor Rogers got the second out and the Giants were one out away from the win. Ryan Walker took the mound looking for that final out. Walker got the job done, got the final out and San Francisco had fought through this one.

It wasn’t easy but San Francisco battled their way through this game. The Giants needed this win with huge wild card implications.

Giants post game notes: Philadelphia won handily in game one. Game two was a Philly walk off win 4-3. It was really disappointing series for the Giants especially in Tuesday’s game.

The Giants were leading 3-2 going into the ninth inning when the Phillies answered with two runs in the ninth. It was a crushing loss. Wednesday the Giants avoided the sweep with the win .

They will now head back home to Oracle Park and ready themselves for a three game series starting this Friday with the Atlanta Braves. Starting for the Braves Spencer Strider (14-4 ERA 3.57) the Giants have not determined a starter as of Wednesday night. First pitch 7:15pm.

Royals beat A’s 4-0 for two hitter avoid getting swept at Coliseum; KC uses four pitchers for shutout

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Oakland Athletics’ Lawrence Butler breaks his bat while grounding into a force out during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Aug 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Kansas City Royals shut down the A’s offense, as the guys from Kansas City shut out the A’s 4-0

The Royals starter Cole Ragans was the winning pitcher. Ragans allowed the A’s two singles in his six innings of work Wednesday afternoon. The A’s used an opener, Adrian Martinez, to start. Martinez went two and 1/3rd innings and allowed three hits and one run. It was not a bad performance, but the A’s offense went to sleep and could not put any runs on the board.

The Royals drew first blood in the top of the third. Royals’ Right-fielder hit his first Major League home run to give the Royals an early 1-0 advantage halfway through the inning. The A’s failed to score in their half of the inning.

The Royals put two more on the board in the fourth. A’s reliever Francisco Perez hit the Royals’ DH Matt Beaty. Perez struck out Royals’ catcher Freddy Fernin for the first out. Drew Waters tripled over Brent Rooker’s glove to drive in Beaty.

The Royals’ third baseman Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice fly plated Waters with the game’s third run for Kansas City. The A’s went down in order in their half of the fourth. Kansas City leads 3-0.

The Royals added a run in the fifth. The Royals’ best player, shortstop Bobby Witt, Jr., led off the inning with his 26th bomb of the year. Witt also had a single in the game. 

Kagans left the game after the sixth. Three Royals’ relievers did not allow a hit and kept the A’s scoreless. The A’s mounted a threat in the eighth when Royals’ reliever Jackson Kower walked three A’s hitters to lopas the bases.

The Royals brought in Carlos Hernandez to pitch. Hernandez retired pinch-hitter Seth Brown for the second out, and Zack Gelof grounded out to end the inning. The A’s failed to score in the ninth. The A’s lost 4-0.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 36-91. The Royals are 41-88.

The A’s used four pitchers: Adrian Martinez, Francisco Perez, Kyle Muller, and Sean Newcomb. Muller went four innings and allowed one run, Bobby Witt’s homer.

The A’s will be in Chicago on Thursday to start a four-game series against the White Sox. Lefty Ken Waldichul will go for Oakland. Chicago will counter with Jesse Scholtens. The game will start at 5:10 p.m.

MLB podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Chicago owner Reinsdorf fires VP and GM, might move team; 7 MLB teams to possibly relocate; plus more news

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On his last day as Chicago White Sox, vice president Ken Williams (pictured) along with general manager Rick Hahn were both fired after the game at Guarantee Rate Field in Chicago on Tue Aug 22, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the MLB with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Stephen talk about the housecleaning that’s been going on over at the Chicago White Sox as owner Jerry Reinsdorf has fired his top brass starting with longtime vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn. Reinsdorf said that this season has been disappointing and that was the one of the big reasons the for firing. Also infielder Tim Anderson says he want Tony LaRussa to return as manager.

#2 Relocation has been the newest thing in MLB first the Oakland A’s now the White Sox are considering relocation they have their eye on moving to Nashville but not so fast the Baltimore Orioles are considering Nashville as well.

#3 There are seven big league teams considering relocation do you think that’s why Commissioner Manfred is not charging a relocation to the A’s or are the exception?

#4 Stephen, talk about Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora going onto the field and telling Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander to hurry up and pitch in the second inning when Verlander’s pitchcom earpiece malfunctioned. Verlander was later swore at Cora for telling him to hurry up.

#5 A’s owner John Fisher said that the team is not for sale, Fisher in an interview today with the Las Vegsas Independent Journal said the A’s have lost significant amounts of money this season. Fisher added that his goal is to build and find a new home for the team.

Join Stephen Ruderman for the MLB podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com