San Francisco Giants preview: Giants hope to end losing skid against A’s

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San Francisco Giants Thairo Estrada is out flat on his back after being hit in the helmet by a Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Leiter fastball that got up and away on Sat Jul 30, 2022. Estrada is expected to be off the IL this Sun Aug 7, 2022 at the Oakland Coliseum against the Oakland A’s (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Friday, August 5, 2022

The San Francisco Giants are enjoying a rare Friday night off, returning to action Saturday with a two-game interleague series with Bay Area rivals the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum.

Earlier this season, the Giants could have looked at this series as an easy two wins, but that scenario has shifted. San Francisco is 3-7 in its last 10 games and 3-12 since the All-Star break – the worst such record in the majors.

While the Giants were swept in a four-game series with the National League-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, the A’s took two of three from the fading Los Angeles Angels.

Coming into the weekend series, the Giants are 51-55, 22 games behind the first-place Dodgers. Oakland is 41-66, fifth place in the American League West. The A’s are 6-4 in their last 10 games.

Probable starters for Saturday’s game are left-hander Carlos Rodon (9-6, 3.00) against Oakland’s Adam Oller (1-4, 7.68). Sunday’s probables are Logan Webb (9-5, 3.20) for San Francisco against the Athletics’ Cole Irvin (6-8, 3.04).

Off the field, catcher Joey Bart is dealing with groin tightness, but not expected to go on the injured list. Shortstop Brandon Crawford (left knee inflammation) and outfielder Joc Pederson (concussion) are expected to leave the IL on Saturday. Meanwhile, infielder Thairo Estrada (concussion) may return off the IL on Sunday, and the Giants determined that third baseman Evan Longoria (strained right hamstring) will not need a rehab assignment. Longoria is not expected back until possibly next week.

The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association announced Thursday that Wilmer Flores was selected as the Giants’ recipient of its Heart and Hustle Award. One player is selected for each team and the overall winner will be announced in November.

Gauff has a match to forget, Rogers powers her way to the semis, Badosa, Kudermetova also advance to the final four at MSVC

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American Shelby Rogers prepares to return service against Amanda Anisimova in her quarterfinals match at the San Jose State Tennis Center on Friday AUG 5, 2022. (MSVC)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Shelby Rogers has caught fire at the right time.

Rogers upended fellow American Amanda Anisimova in straight sets 6-4 6-4 in her quarterfinals match on Friday evening at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at the San Jose State Tennis Center.

Rogers stamped her passport to the semifinals with an impressive serve that carried her past Anisimova with five aces and an 88.9% first service points won.

“She (Anisimova) probably has one of the best returns in the world on tour. It’s definitely a lot of pressure on your serve to serve well, to have a high return percentage. I did a good job of mixing my spots tonight and spins and speeds and just not letting her get a rhythm,” Rogers said.

Second seed Paula Badosa was able to take down the tournament favorite Coco Gauff in straight sets 7-6 6-2 to advance to the final four.

Gauff was up 5-4 in the first set with serving for the set, but she wasn’t not able to close out the set against the Spainard who fought her way back to even the match at 5-5 before winning the tiebreaker.

“I feel like I should’ve shown my frustration more,” said Gauff. “You can’t block your feelings. Yes having the body language and all that is great, also I think letting out is even better. I think maybe there should have been a moment where I should have shouted something instead of just letting it build. I think I just should’ve let it out.”

Badosa took advantage of Gauff’s frustration in the second set as Gauff committed many unforced errors that was her downfall in the match. Badosa cruised the rest of the way to clinch her spot in the semifinals despite being cautious to not lose her focus.

“You can see when a player is struggling a little bit. In the second set I saw it. I tried to go there to her shot where she wasn’t comfortable and to stay calm. Sometimes you get a little bit nervous because you see the finish line is near. So, I tried to stay as calm as I could,” Badosa said.

Veronika Kudermetova was the first Russian to make the semifinals with her straight sets victory over number three seed Ons Jabeur 7-6 6-2.

Both players went back and forth in the first set that saw Kudermetova win the tiebreaker 7-5. The first set proved to be too much for Jabeur who ran out of gas in the second set. Kudermetova overpowered Jabeur with her serve as she finished the match with six aces and 30 winners.

Kudermetova, who is playing in her first Mubadala Classic, said she like that she was able to stick to her gameplan and not let Jabeur back in the match.

“It had gave me lot of confidence in the second set. I tried to believe more in my plan, I tired to be more aggressive, and it worked out well for me,” said Kudermotova.

Jabeur, who had a big Tunisian fan base cheering her during the tournament, said she appreciated her time during her week in San Jose.

“Overall, I am pretty happy with this experience. Honestly, not waiting for the result to show right now but in the future I will look back and say this tournament helped me a lot,” said Jabeur.

Daria Kasatkina advanced to her second consecutive Mubadala semifinal when she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in three-sets 4-6 7-5 6-0.

Sabalenka started the match strong winning the first set and looked to be firing on all cylinders. The turning point in the match was in the second set with Kasatkina breaking serve to even the match at 5-5. The 25-yeard old Russian player went on to win the next two games sending the match to a decisive third set.

Down 3-0 in the third, Sabalenka needed a medical time out as she was dealing with a lower body injury. She toughed it out the final three games but it was obviously she was not able to play her game and Kasatkina rolled her way to the semis.

“It was a roller coaster of a match,” Kasatkina said after the match. “We went back and forth throughout the match. I really pushed through at the end of the second set.”

In doubles action, Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos defeated the American duo of Ashlyn Krueger and Elizabeth Mandlik in three sets 2-6 6-1 10-5 to reach the semifinals. The Chinese duo of Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang automatically advanced to the semifinals when the team of Latisha Chan and Beatriz Haddad Maia had to retire from the match due to injury.

UP NEXT: The semifinals matchup on Saturday 8/6 at the San Jose State Tennis Complex.

3:00pm Shelby Rogers vs Veronika Kudermetova

6:00pm Daria Kasatkina vs Paula Badosa

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Frustration building up SF has lost 11 of last 14

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon makes the start on Sat Aug 6, 2022 at the Oakland Coliseum against the Oakland A’s to open a two game series (NBC Bay Area photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Michael just how badly is the wild card slipping away from this team?

#2 If you had to point to any two things that have gone wrong in these last 11 out 14 games what would it be?’

#3 Is Gabe Kapler’s managing in question or part of the problem that the Giants are having?

#4 What do you make of the trading of gestures between Giants pitcher Jarin Garcia and Los Angeles Dodgers Mookie Betts causing Betts and James Outman to jaw at Garcia?

#5 Taking a look at the starting pitchers for this Saturday’s contest Carlos Rodon (9-6, 3.00) he’ll be opposed by A’s starter Adam Oller (1-4, 7.68) a 4:07 pm PDT first pitch at the Oakland Coliseum how do you see this series for the Giants?

Join Michael for the Giants Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez: Jacobs runs for 30 yards on five carries against Jacksonville

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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham (3) tries to evade Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Jay Tufele (97) in a keeper that Stidham would score for a touchdown on Thu Aug 4, 2022 at the Hall of Fame Game in Canton Ohio (AP News photo)

On the Raiders podcast with Rich:

#1 Rich, for Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels this was like a homecoming returning back to Canton Ohio to play the Hall of Fame game.

#2 Josh Jacobs, rookie Zamir White and Austin Walter stayed on top the running game for the Raiders.

# 3 In their win over the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-11 Josh Jacobs ran for 30 yards on five carries and Zamir White ran carried 11 times to get 52 yards.

#4 Quarterback Derek Carr and Davante Adams wide receiver sat out for Thursday’s game McDaniels not taking any chances.

#5 Sun Aug 14 the Raiders will host the Minnesota Vikings at Allegiant Field in Las Vegas this will be the second of four pre season games.

Join Rich Perez for all Raiders podcasts heard right here on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s preview: A’s host Giants for brief two game series at Coliseum beginning Saturday night

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Oakland A’s slugger Ramon Laureano get congratulated upon returning to the Oakland dugout after hitting a two run home run against the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim on Thu Aug 4, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The annual Bay Bridge series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants resume this Saturday in Oakland. The team split the two-game series played at Oracle Park in late April.

Both Bay Area teams are not having a good season. The A’s are in a rebuild mode as they traded away three of the best pitchers. They sent Matt Olson to Atlanta and Matt Chapman to the Toronto Blue Jays. The team has the worst record in the American League.

The A’s, however, have played better since the All-Star break. Oakland won their last two games and are 6-4 in the last ten. The Giants, winners of 107 games last year, entered the season with high hopes.

They lost Buster Posey to retirement, and Kevin Gausman signed a free-agent deal with Toronto. The Giants had most of the players back for the 2022 season. In his third year at the helm, Giants’ manager Gabe Kapler has not seen his team play as well as they did last year.

The Giants are 51-55 and are in third place in the National League West Division. They currently trail the Philadelphia Phillies by six and 1/2 games in the race for the third Wild Card slot. The Giants have lost four in a row to the hated Dodgers and are 3-7 in their last ten games.

The Giants are hoping to get back on track this weekend in Oakland. They will send their best two pitchers to face the A’s. Lefty Carlos Rodon (9-6, 3.00 ERA) will pitch on Saturday. Righty Logan Webb (9-5, 3.20 ERA) will be on the mound on Sunday.

The A’s will counter with Adam Oller (1-4, 7.68 ERA). The A’s have not announced their starter for Sunday. There is speculation that the A’s will use one of the pitchers acquired in the trade that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the New York Yankees. The platers are Ken Waldichuk and J.P.Sears. Both are currently with the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.

The Giants have a lot of familiar names on their roster. They won’t see Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, Thairo Estrada, or Joc Pedersen. All those players are on the IL. However, Brandon Belt will be at first base, as usual.

Belt has missed a lot of playing time this season to injury. Tommy La Stella or the versatile Wilmer Flores will play second. Dixon Machado will be the shortstop. J.D Davis, acquired from the New York Mets for Darrin Ruf, or rookie David Villar will be at third.

Luis Gonzalez will patrol left field for the Giants. Mike Yazstremski or Austin Slater will be in center. LaMonte Wade, Jr will play in right. Yaz or Slater can also play there if needed. The Giants have four players that can be the DH. La Stella, Flores, Davis, And Yermin Merceded will be inserted as the DH when needed.

The A’s big three power guys right now are Ramon Laureano, Sean Murphy, and Seth Brown. Brown and Murphy had two RBIs in the wild win over the Angels on Thursday. Laureano had four RBIs in the game.

The A’s are using Nick Allen, Jonah Bride, and Vimael Machin in three different infield spots as needed. Tony Kemp has played second base and left field for Oakland. Chad Pinder, Skye Bolt, and Stephen Piscotty have played in different outfield positions.

The outcome of the games will depend on the bullpens. Right now, the A’s pen has pitched well. The Giants are using Camilo Doval as the closer.

The A’s Zach Jackson earned a save Wednesday night against the A’s. He may not remain in that role as Dany Jimenez is off the IL. Jimenez pitched the eighth inning against the Angels Thursday. He struck out the side.

The A’s are expecting large crowds for the series. The teams love to beat each other and win bragging rights. It should be a fun weekend.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Daniel Dullum: Giants Kapler gets boot after sticking up for pitcher Garcia in four game sweep

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San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler argued with umpire Phil Cuzzi regarding pitcher Jarlin Garcia getting ejected during Thu Aug 4, 2022 game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park in San Francisco (photo from Fox Sports)

On the Giants podcast with Daniel Dullum:

#1 Daniel, Clayton Kershaw left Thursday’s game after suffering back pain pitched four innings, gave up three hits, one earned run, and pitched well enough to win if he had the opportunity.

#2 The 5-3 win gives the Dodgers another four game sweep over the Giants for the second time in the last month.

#3 Giants manager Gabe Kapler got ejected after Giants pitcher Jarlin Garcia got ejected for making gestures at the Dodgers Mookie Betts.

#4 Betts and Trea Turner both hit home runs to help the Dodgers get their first four game sweep of the Giants in San Francisco since 1977.

#5 The Giants open a three game series in Oakland on Saturday night. Giants starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (9-6, 3.00) and for the A’s Adam Oller (1-4, 7.68) a 7:07 pm PDT first pitch.

Join Daniel for the Giants podcasts each Thursday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Nuts grab three run win over Ports in Class A California ball

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Thursday, August 4, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

Modesto Nuts (51-48). 10. 8. 2

Stockton Ports (33-66). 7. 11. 3

STOCKTON–Watching a ball game in the San Joaquin Valley is different from doing it on the shores of San Francisco Bay. For one, the temperature at game time was 93 degrees.

Here, in the low class A California League, Grantland Rice’s oft quoted lines “For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name,/He writes – not that you won or lost – / But how you played the game,” takes on new meaning.

It’s of no great moment that the 33-66 Stockton Ports, on their way to the worst season in franchise history, dropped an 11 inning 10-7 decision to the 51-48 Modesto Nuts. What matters to the organizations to which the teams belong-the A’s and Mariners, respectively-is how well individual players performed. To the fans, it’s the pleasure of the players’ performances.

No one on the Ports’ roster figures in the list of Oakland’s top 50 prospects. Gone are the days when you could spend a balmy summer’s night watching the Matts, Chapman and Olson, strut their stuff on the banks of the delta.

The Nuts, on the other hand, boast of four top prospects. They are, in descending order Harry Ford, tonight’s DH, left fielder Gabriel González, and two. switch hitters, third baseman Milkar Pérez and center fielder Jonatán Clase.

Modesto’s starting lineup also included the delightfully named right fielder Walking Cabrera. The home plate umpire’s moniker also was a source of innocent merriment, Daniel Bytheway.

The top of the third was neither innocent nor merry. Modesto scored one run, no hits, one error, a passed ball, a balk, and two wild pitches. (The top of the second was pretty ugly, too, but you get the picture).

It wasn’t a well played game, but it was an exciting one. The victorious Nuts used four pitchers. They were, in order of appearance Jake Miednik, Chris Jefferson, José Geraldo, and the winner, Raúl Alcántara.

Clark Cota took the loss for the Ports, whose other hurlers were the starter, Yehizón Sánchez, followed by Luke Anderson, Hunter Brreault, Ed Baram, and Cota.

Gauff cruises past Osaka, Rogers upsets number one seed Sakkari and Sabalenka advances to quarterfinals on Day 4 at MSVC

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Coco Gauff celebrates her victory over Naomi Osaka in her round of 16 match at the San Jose State Tennis Center on Thursday AUG 4, 2022. (Ed Jay-Ultimate Sports Guide)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — This is Coco Gauff’s tournament to lose.

The 18-year-old sensation powered past four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets 6-4 6-4 in her round of 16 match that highlighted Day 4 action at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic on Wednesday evening at the San Jose State Tennis Center.

Gauff broke service once in the first and twice in the second set to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals on a night where a sold-out crowd of 2,250 witnessed the phenom in all her glory. Gauff will face second seeded Paula Badosa on Friday afternoon.

Osaka, down 1-5 in the second set, surged back into it winning the next three matches by fighting off match point seven times. In the end Gauff was too much to handle as she served to win the final game and the match that lasted just under 90 minutes.

“I think I have improved in all aspects (of my game),” said Gauff. “I think today showed it. I knew playing Naomi (Osaka) was going to be tough. I think she has one of the best baseline games in the game. I think today I really held my ground and was really a lot more of those rallies that she was and I think that shows how much I’ve been improving in the last few weeks.”

For Osaka, despite the outcome she was pleased to be back on the court playing again since last playing a tournament in May of this year.

“Dang I’m really sore!,” Osaka laughingly said when asked what her experience was like this week. “I totally forgot how that felt. It’s really good to get my foot in the door again. My friends, they cheered me up after the match. But honestly, I wasn’t that upset.

American Shelby Rogers continued her impressive run at Mubadala with her straight sets upset victory over number one seeded Maria Sakkari of Grece 6-1 6-3.

Rogers showcased her strong serve that had not only the number three player in the world flabbergasted but everyone in the crowd as well. She fired 10 aces during the match.

While Rogers looked confident and in control, Sakkari looked flat on the hard court and was not able to establish her game in the match that was completed in just 72 minutes.

“I think for me, this week I’m just stepping up to the line,” Rogers said. “First target that comes to my mind I’m going with it. I’m not second guessing myself. Just trusting it as much as I can. It’s a little bit of conviction and it’s been working.”

Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka won a tough three-set match against American Caroline Dolehide 5-7 6-1 7-5. Sabalenka started the match off slow but gained her form in the second set.

Dolehide didn’t go down quietly in the third set as she evened the set at 5-5. Sabalenka was able to break serve and win the final two games to advance to the Friday’s quarterfinals.

“It was a pretty crazy match,” said Sabalenka. “She (Dolehide) played really well. I didn’t play well in the first set, and I was struggling with my serve to be honest. In the second and third sets I was able to come back and fight through the up and downs during this match.”

In earlier action, Veronika Kudermetova defeated American Claire Liu in straight sets 6-2 7-5 to advance to her first Mubadala quarterfinals. She takes on number two seeded Ons Jabeur on Friday afternoon.

Kudermetova also has success in doubles action. Her and her partner Zhang Shuai defeated the team of Dolehide and Storm Sanders in a three-set match 6-2 5-7 10-8 to advance to the semifinals.

The final doubles match to conclude the evening itinerary had Shuko Aoyama and Hao Ching-Chan defeat the duo of Demi Schuurs and Desirae Krawcyzk 6-3 6-3 to advance to the semi-finals.

UP NEXT: It’s an all-American affair when Amanda Anisimova battles Rogers in the evening’s featured quarterfinal match on Friday at 7:00pm at the San Jose Tennis Center.

Aces rally late, fall short to Wings, 82-80

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces erased a 14-point deficit in the 4th quarter, but fell short to the Wings, 82-80, in Dallas.

“Hard fought game,” said head coach Becky Hammon. “I thought we were digging out of a hole most of the game, but we were there at the end.”

Down two points with 3.8 seconds left, guard Chelsea Gray inbounded the ball on a set play to spring center A’ja Wilson, but Wilson missed the layup to send the game to overtime.

“It happens,” said Gray. “It’s going to hurt, but we should have never been in that position in the first place.”

“A’ja was the first option, it was a catch and shoot play,” said Hammon.

Wings center Teaira McCowan led Dallas with 21 points and 16 rebounds.

“That’s a team [Dallas] that is playing for its playoff life and they are playing well right now,” said Hammon.

Gray led the Aces with 28 points, hitting five three-point shots, while forward Jackie Young added 19.

“My teammates were getting me the ball and I was just knocking them down,” said Gray.

With the loss, the Aces fell to 22-10 on the season.

The Aces will play the last game of a five-game road trip on Sunday against the Storm in Seattle.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot 44.9% from the field and hit 10 shots from three-point range.
Las Vegas was out-rebounded by the Wings, 37-32.
The Aces got just two points off the bench.

Game Starters:

C – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 5 Dearica Hamby
F – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum
G – 12 Chelsea Gray

Aces Injury Report:

None

“Who wouldn’t be frustrated? We’re all frustrated. We don’t want to play like this.”

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–A season after winning 107 regular season games, the Giants are stuck trying to win one. It’s been a process, and it’s still ongoing.

Losing eight straight to the Dodgers? Eleven straight to NL West opponents? Frustrating, even more so after Thursday afternoon’s 5-3 loss to the Dodgers that saw manager Gabe Kapler ejected along with reliever Jarlin Garcia.

“Obviously, I took exception to sort of being scolded in front of our dugout about how to approach and address our players,” Kapler said after the game.

The Giants struck early when newly-acquired J.D. Davis homered to put the Giants up 2-1. But in the top of the fourth, Mookie Betts’ three-run homer gave the Dodgers a lead that stung. Starter Jakob Junis walked number nine hitter James Outman, and Betts, the first batter faced by John Brebbia, struck with two runners aboard. Betts’ innocuous hand to side of the head gesture to his teammates caught the attention of Garcia, who wasn’t even in the game at that point.

When Garcia entered in the sixth, he was effective, preserving the two-run deficit with a pair of strikeouts. But when leaving the field Garcia mimicked Betts and followed with a few words for the slugger, who was in the on-deck circle. That drew the attention of first base umpire Phil Cuzzi, who followed Garcia and Kapler back to the Giants’ dugout. Cuzzi demanded that Kapler get his guy off the field, which he had, and that led to Kapler losing his cool with the umpire, and getting tossed.

“I had already gotten Jarlín off the field. Things were completely under control,” Kapler said. “I wasn’t happy with it and probably didn’t handle it perfectly.”

In the seventh, the Dodgers’ lead grew to 5-2 when Trae Turner homered off Yunior Marte. The Giants managed just five hits in the game, and did little to threaten after the Turner home run, falling four games below .500 for the first time this season.

Chris Martin picked up the win for the Dodgers, pitching a scoreless sixth inning. Starter Clayton Kershaw departed after four innings complaining of back discomfort. Kershaw threw 66 pitches, allowing the Davis home run, but the news of his discomfort was the only bad news for the visitors.

“Given it’s his back which has been problematic at times — we just won’t know more until we get some tests,” manager Dave Roberts said.

The Giants have Friday off before traveling to Oakland for two over the weekend with the A’s. Beware: the A’s also are playing well, and less likely to be trumped by the Giants, who are hopeful of Evan Longoria’s return and Brandon Crawford.