Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s can’t make up the deficit lose to Rangers 11-8 to snap three win streak

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Oakland A’s starter Paul Blackburn got lit up in the first and fifth innings against the Texas Rangers sits in the Oakland dugout at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Jul 24, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 The Texas Rangers made full use of their line up on Sunday scoring in large amounts three runs in the top of the first and then six in the top of the fifth inning for a 11-8 win over the Oakland Athletics.

#2 The Rangers got Jonah Heim hit for a double that scored Corey Seagar and Heim scored himself after Adolis Garcia parked a 418 foot blast for a two run homer making it 3-0 in the top of the first.

#3 Barbara in the top of the fifth the Rangers picked up all the insurance runs they needed six of them with a Seagar 407 foot blast, Kole Calhoun hit a two RBI single, Ezequiel Duran hit a single to right that scored Leody Taveras, and finally Josh Smith with a base hit scoring Calhoun for all the damage in the fifth.

#4 A’s pitcher Paul Blackburn suffered the curse of the All Star selection pitching 4.1 innings, surrendering ten hits, ten runs all earned, two walks, five strikeouts and 88 pitches.

#5 The A’s go back to the drawing board on Monday night at the Oakland Coliseum and try to get back in the win column against the Houston Astros starting pitchers for Oakland Adam Oller (0-3, 8.56) he’ll be matched up against the Astros Jake Ordorizzi (4-2, 3.56) first pitch at 6:40 pm PDT.

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

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants can’t stop Dodgers hitting in 7-4 loss; SF is swept in 4 in LA

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The Los Angeles Dodgers Gavin Lux slides in safely ahead of the throw as the San Francisco Giants catcher Joey Bart waits for the ball in the bottom of the third inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

On the Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson brother’s Trayce Thompson of the Los Angeles Dodgers (64-30) got two RBIs to help the Dodgers pass up the San Francisco Giants (48-47) in the seventh inning for a 7-3 win at Dodgers Stadium for a four game sweep.

#2 Trayce who hit a two RBI single that thrilled his brother Klay who was watching from the stands. It’s not everyday that Klay gets to have a thrill like that.

#3 Dodgers clean up hitter Jack Lamb contributed with a tie breaking RBI in the bottom of the third with a double to help the Dodgers win their 24th game out of their last 29.

#4 For Cobb he got tattooed for eight hits, four earned runs, two walks, and six strikeouts Cobb said “Probably as frustrating as it gets” with the loss the Giants are now just a game above .500.

#5 The Giants will try and get back in the win column as they face the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix. The Giants will start Jakob Junis (4-1, 3.06) and the Diamondbacks will start Tyler Gilbert (0-3, 5.34) a 6:40 pm PDT first pitch.

Marko Ukalovic is filling in for Morris Phillips who does the Giants podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Dodgers Sweep Giants In Four Game Series 7-4

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Los Angeles Dodgers Max Muncy swings for a bottom of the third inning double off San Francisco Giant pitcher Alex Cobb, the catcher is Joey Bart and plate umpire is Malachi Moore at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Sun Jul 24, 2022 (AP News photo)

Dodgers Sweep Giants In Four Game Series 7-4

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the San Francisco Giants (48-47) were trying to avoid a sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers (64-30) in game four of their series down at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers have dominated this series and lead San Francisco by 15.5 games in the NL West. Right now the Dodgers have a strangle hold on the NL West and show no signs of letting up any time soon.

The Giants had to contend with Clayton Kershaw who very nearly threw a perfect game against the Angels a little over a week ago. Alex Cobb was on the mound for the Giants. The Dodgers with a 7-4 victory took a four game series from San Francisco and have won six of their last nine head-to-head games this season.

Sunday game wrap: Mookie Betts got the game going for the Dodgers. He singled and scored off a Freddie Freeman single to take the early 1-0 lead. The Giants would load the bases in the second inning but come away empty.

The third inning was a good one for the Giants scoring a couple of runs and taking a 2-1 lead. Thairo Estrada singled and Darin Ruf and Yermin Mercedes both scored.

The Giants lead was short-lived. The Dodgers Jake Lamb would score off a Gavin Lux single to tie up the game. Max Muncy doubled driving Lux in and a Trayce Thompson single drove in Muncy and the Dodgers had taken a 4-2 lead after three innings.

San Francisco would tie up the game 4-4 in the fifth inning. Darin Ruf hit a home run and Wilmer Flores scored. It was a brand new ball game.

The seventh inning was all Dodgers. They would take a 7-4 lead. Lamb doubled, Lux singled and Thompson doubled for that lead. Los Angeles would hang on, the final 7-4.

San Francisco had 7 hits in this game but could not overcome the Los Angeles offense. The Dodgers had 12 hits in this game.

Monday night the Giants will travel to Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks. They will try to get back on track after a disappointing series in Los Angeles. Jakob Junis will be on the mound for San Francisco. He has a 4-1 record with a 3.06 ERA. Arizona will send Tyler Gilbert with a 0-3 win loss record and ERA 5.34. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM PT.

Powerful A’s Rally Comes Up Short: Blackburn leaves Oakland in a hole they can’t climb out of in 11-8 loss

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–When you’re an All-Star, your manager might gift you with a longer leash.

That thinking, if employed, didn’t work Sunday for Mark Kotsay and Paul Blackburn.

Blackburn, fresh off being an All-Star and the invigorating experience he had during the days of the break, was roughed up at the Coliseum on Sunday in his first pitching appearance since. The right-hander allowed ten earned runs and departed in the fifth inning. That probably was a longer stint than Blackburn deserved.

“The first couple of innings I felt like I was just too quick and then I tried to slow down, and I felt like I was too slow,” Blackburn said. “I tried to find a happy medium to get in a rhythm out there, and it just didn’t happen.”

“I haven’t had a chance to talk with Paul, but what I saw was that he’s fighting himself with his mechanics,” Kotsay said.

The ten runs allowed ties the most generous pitching outing of the season in the majors. Had Kotsay come and removed Blackburn an inning earlier the A’s stirring comeback may have stood up. The A’s scored seven runs in the eighth and ninth innings, only to lose 11-8.

While Blackburn was quite hittable, Martin Perez was not, picking up his eighth consecutive win. Perez has now gone 17 consecutive starts this season without suffering a loss, establishing a new, Texas franchise record, surpassing the 16 Kyle Gibson put up in 2021.

“I’m just looking to feel comfortable every time when I go out there,” Perez said. “How I believe in myself now–I know who I am and what I can do on the mound–is great.”

Perez pitched seven innings, allowing four hits and a run while striking out six. When he departed, the Rangers led 11-1. Then things got interesting.

The A’s clearly in the midst of their best stretch of dismal season, winning nine of 16, made a move. Garrett Richards came on and gave up a two-run double to Chad Pinder. After Tony Kemp’s groundout, Richards got touched by Stephen Piscotty’s two-run shot.

In the ninth, Texas reliever Brett Martin allowed three A’s home runs in a span of eight pitches. The homers courtesy of Sean Murphy, Pinder and Kemp created excitement for those who remained in the Coliseum but that’s where it concluded. Martin recovered to strike out Piscotty and retire Dermis Garcia on a groundout to end it.

If this concludes the A’s best baseball of the season–and that’s not necessarily the case with the Astros in on Monday–it’s done two things. The strong play has given the A’s a path to avoiding 100 losses, and opened the door to them possibly catching the faltering Angels and not finishing last in the AL West. A 28-36 finish would allow the A’s to avoid 100 losses.

On Monday, the Astros/A’s opener features Adam Oller and Houston’s Jake Odorizzi at 6:40pm.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Hawkes: It’s pretty much official Lance to be starting quarterback; Teams balking on Garoppolo because of huge contract

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance drops back to pass during practice drills at the 49ers practice facility in Santa Clara on Wed Jun 1, 2022 (AP News file photo)

On the 49ers podcast with Joe Hawkes:

#1 Joe sources pretty much say that the 49ers starting quarterback will be Trey Lance it’s really been no secret and there has been no takers on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo so will that mean that Garoppolo can participate in practices with the team at some point?

#2 The Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, and Cleveland Browns but for different reasons any deal fell through.

#3 Head coach Kyle Shanahan was certain that the 49ers will find a trade partner for Garoppolo the hard part of that offering is the remaining year on his contract is $25 million and no team wants to get saddled with that unless the interested team wants to retain some of that contract.

#4 One of the other reasons the Niners want to move Garoppolo is because of Nick Bosa’s contract calls for $33 million and with a guaranteed price of $17 million and they want some cap room.

#5 Joe, the latest on the Deebo Samuel contract talks nothing imminent the 49ers want to get a deal and have Samuel before their first exhibition game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sat Aug 20th.

Join Joe for the 49ers podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Timbers upend Earthquakes 2-1 with second half comeback

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Portland Timbers’ Dairon Asprilla (#27) celebrates his game winning goal with a somersault during a match against the San Jose Earthquakes in Providence Park on Saturday JUL 23, 2022. (Portland Timbers)

by Marko Ukalovic

PORTLAND, Ore. —The Portland Timbers scored two goals in the second half to overcome a one-goal halftime deficit to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 on Saturday evening at Providence Park.

San Jose has lost two in a row and sit in 13th place in the Western Conference with just 22 points. Portland moved up to seventh place with the three points and are unbeaten in their last seven matches.

Portland (7-6-9-30 points) scored the game winning goal in the 71st minute when Santiago Moreno sent a cross inside the box to an unmarked Dairon Asprilla who headed the ball past the outreach of ‘Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski for his fifth goal of the season.

San Jose (5-9-7-22 points) drew first blood just before halftime. In the 42nd minute, off of a free kick, Cristian Espinoza received a pass inside the box from Jackson Yueill. Espinoza’s shot was initially saved by Timber’s goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic. However, Larrys Mabiala clearing attempt went over to Benji Kikanović who tapped home the ball into an empty net for his third goal of the season.

Kikanović has scored or assisted in four of the team’s five matches thus far during the month of July.

“We can score but sometimes defensively I don’t know if we don’t concentrate enough, I couldn’t tell you what it is but it’s on every single one of us. We need to tighten up everywhere really, not just the back. It sucks for JT [Marcinkowski] because he’s making saves doing what he can, we’re all trying to do what we can, but we’re giving up goals. We just need to come together and figure it out,” Kikanovic said.

The Timbers took control of the second half not long after it began, controlling the tempo of play.

Portland scored the equalizer in the 53rd minute. Diego Chara connected on a nice give and go with Eryk Willamson. Chara’s shot from just outside the box deflected off of Jaroslaw Niezgoda and into the back of the net for the Polish striker’s team leading eighth goal of the season.

“We had a very good first half,” said ‘Quakes interim head coach Alex Covelo. “We had our chances to score here which is not easy. At halftime we were talking about that point, a critical point where the opponent is trying to push and pass that moment, and we needed to be ready to hold that part and control the game. They were going to press more and find more balls in behind. When we were going through that moment, they scored off a rebound and then we started to suffer a little bit.”

San Jose came within inches of scoring their own equalizer in the 89th minute. Paul Marie set up Espinoza on the right side just outside the box. Espinoza’s shot bounced off the left post after Ivacic got a piece of the shot as he extended his hand out spoiling the Earthquakes chance.

Ivacic finished the match stopping six of the seven shots on target to earn the victory. Marcinkowski made three saves on five shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with nine corner kicks. Portland had three.

San Jose is now 9-17-4 all-time vs. the Portland Timbers, including a 0-12-4 record on the road.

The Earthquakes are now 5-5-4 in MLS play under interim head coach Alex Covelo.

The Quakes led at halftime of a road match against the Timbers for just the third time in 16 visits to Portland.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts Real Salt Lake on Saturday 7/30 at 7:00pm at Pay Pal Park.

Aces come up big in fourth quarter, beat Sparks, 84-66

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Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) battles Sparks center Liz Cambage (1) in the first quarter of a WNBA game at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, July 23, 2022. (Photo credit: Shawn McCullough/Sports Radio Service)

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces outscored Los Angeles 27-13 in the fourth quarter to beat the Sparks 84-66 at Michelob Ultra Arena.

Las Vegas led 57-53 at the end of the third quarter, but started to get shots to fall in the fourth quarter.

“Solid defensively, it wasn’t easy offensively,” said head coach Becky Hammon. “It wasn’t until that fourth quarter until we could break it open a little bit.”

“We were smarter defensively in the second half,” said guard Chelsea Gray. “In the second half, we stayed in front of people and didn’t let them get second chance points.”

The Aces were led by guard Kelsey Plum, who scored 29 points and went 4 for 8 from three-point range.

“She [Plum] is a key piece to our offense,” said A’ja Wilson. “She is reading the defense, getting to the basket and hitting threes.”

Wilson has now scored 20 points or more in seven straight games.  She scored 24 points and pulled down six rebounds.

“My teammates are setting me up,” said Wilson.

With the win, the Aces improved to 20-8 on the season and pulled to within one game of the WNBA leading Chicago Sky.

The Aces will next travel to Chicago on Tuesday to play the Sky for the Commissioners Cup.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot just 41.4% from the field and went 10 for 27 from three-point range.
Las Vegas out-rebounded the Sparks, 38-32.
The Aces improved to 5-1 after the All-Star Break.

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

A’s win third game in a row beat Rangers 3-1

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Oakland A’s closer Zack Jackson shuts the door on the Texas Rangers and gets congratulated by A’s catcher Sean Murphy at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Jul 23, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The A’s won their third game in a row as both teams failed to produce any offense. Texas committed three errors as they handed the game to the Green and Gold on a silver platter. The A’s prevailed 3-1.

The A’s righty James Kaprielian continued to pitch well. Kaprielian did not get a decision, but he pitched well. His line was five innings of work and allowed two hits and no runs. Kap walked two and struck out four.

He threw 90 pitches in his five innings of work. The Rangers had a bullpen game. Matt Bush pitched the first inning for Texas. Taylor Hearn gave Texas three and 1/3rd innings. He kept the A’s off the board.

The A’s, who have lost two or three games giving teams runs without any hits, became the recipients of a Texas reliever not being able to find the strike zone. The Rangers had Dennis Santana on the hill to start the bottom of the sixth.

Santana walked Vimael Machin, Ramon Laureano, and Sean Murphy on 16 pitches to load the bases with no outs. Matt Moore replaced Santana on the mound. A’s first baseman, Seth Brown, hit a grounder to Rangers’ first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. Lowe’s error allowed Machin to score the A’s first run. Chad Pinder drove in Laureano with a sacrifice fly. The A’s led 2-0 after six.

Domingo Acevedo retired the first Texas hitter to start the seventh. Exequiel Duran doubled to get a runner in scoring position. Acevedo retired Meibrys Viloria for the second out.

Former A’s standout Marcus Semien doubled to drive in Duran with the Rangers’ first run. Lefty Sam Moll was summoned from the bullpen to pitch to left-handed hitter Corey Seager. Moll won the battle.

The A’s got another gift run in their half of the seventh. With one out, Nick Allen singled. Allen went to second on a wild pitch. He then advanced to third on Viloria’s throwing error. Machin drove in Allen with a sacrifice fly. The A’s led 3-1.

There was no more scoring in the game. A’s reliever Zach Jackson set the Rangers down 1-2-3 to earn his second career save. The A’s win 3-1.

Game Notes: The A’s have won three straight games for the second time this season. The A’s have won five of their last seven and are now 35-62. The Rangers have lost 14 of their last 20 games and have fallen to 42-51.

The line score for Oakland was three runs, six hits, and one error. Texas’ line was one run, seven hits, and three errors. When teams make three errors in a game, they usually lose. The Rangers learned that lesson on Saturday.

The A’s will be going for a sweep on Sunday. Their ace, Paul Blackburn, will go for Oakland. Blackburn is 6-5 with an ERA of 3.62. Getting the sweep will not be easy as Texas will have lefty Martin Perez, on the hill. Perez has beaten the A’s earlier in the year and is 7-2 with an ERA of 2.68.

The game will start at 1:07 pm.

Dodgers Dominate In Series – Winning Third Game In a Row Over Giants 4-2; LA’s Betts connects for 200th career homer

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Los Angeles Dodgers Mookie Betts shares his excitement after belting a solo home run his 200th career round tripper in the bottom of the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

Dodgers Dominate In Series – Winning Third Game In a Row Over Giants 4-2

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco Giants (48-46) have endured a disappointing series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers (63-30) dropping their third game of the four game set on Saturday 4-2 at Dodgers Stadium. Thursday night the Dodgers prevailed 9-6 followed by a 5-1 win Friday night. Saturday afternoon the Giants were looking to turn things around in game three of their four game series.

It sure did not go as planned for San Francisco. The Dodgers were first up on the scoreboard with back to back solo homers from Mookie Betts and Trea Turner for a 2-0 lead in the third inning. In the sixth inning Gavin Lux tripled driving in Cody Bellinger giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

Julio Urias got through six innings allowing five hits with five strikeouts. He was relieved by Caleb Ferguson. The Giants Alex Wood went four innings with six strikeouts but it was the two homers in the third inning that really hurt San Francisco.

The Dodgers kept their foot on the pedal and in the seventh inning extended their lead 4-0 when Freddie Freeman hit a solo home run. So far it was total domination by the Dodgers. The Giants just could not handle the Los Angeles bullpen.

In the ninth inning the Giants came to life with their first run of the game. Thairo Estrada scored off a Luis Gonzalez single. San Francisco was not finished. A Joey Bart single drove Yermin Mercedes home and with Gonzalez and Bart on base the Giants had the go ahead run at the plate. Closer David Price took care of Austin Slater who struck out looking and that was the ball game.

Notes: In a court filing against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer who was accused of beating and sexually abusing a San Diego woman. Bauer has denied the allegations saying they are, “false, fabricated, or bogus.”

Bauer has also denied the charges and is suing the woman for defamation saying she lied regarding their sexual relationship with the intent of ruining his baseball career. After Bauer filed the defamation suit in April Major League Baseball suspended Bauer for two years. Photos of the woman shows her with two black eyes and a bruised face. Bauer said that the tryst was consensual the woman’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said “absolutely no one can consent to this logically or legally.”

The woman responded to Bauer’s claims that she lied saying that she did not make a “false, misleading or defamatory police report” the response was made through the US District Court of Santa Ana. Bauer said that she altered or filtered photos of a restraining order request in June 2021 which the woman denies doing.

Tomorrow the Giants will finish this series hoping for at least one win in this four game series. Los Angeles will be gunning for a sweep. Alex Cobb will take the mound for the Giants with a 3-4 record and an ERA of 4.09. The Dodgers will send veteran Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 2.13) to close out this series. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks to name Quinn as head coach in Tuesday press conference

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David Quinn who will be named as head coach in a Tue Jul 26, 2022 press conference is pictured here when he was head coach of the New York Rangers in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Mar 21, 2021 (AP News file photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The San Jose Sharks have all but announced that they’ll be hiring David Quinn as their new head coach as sources say Quinn has already signed with the Sharks and a press conference for his introduction is expected on Tuesday.

#2 The deal is expected to be a three year contract and Quinn is expected to play a big role in the development of new players, free agents, and draft picks.

#3 This will be the first time that Quinn will be head coach since the 2021 season when he was behind the bench for the New York Rangers where he went 96-87-25.

#4 When Sharks former head coach Todd McClellan was let go by the Sharks Quinn was reportedly deep into the interview process for the Sharks head coaching job but the Sharks settled on Peter DeBoer. Second times the charm for Quinn.

#5 Quinn’s background also includes being a head coach at the University of Boston and had success there before heading onto the NHL.

Len Shapiro is an NHL analyst for http://www.sportsradioservice.com