Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s hope to turn the tables on Angels this Friday at the Big A

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Oakland A’s Luis Barrea makes the catch and the slide for an out on the Minnesota Twins Max Kelper at the Oakland Coliseum on Tue May 17, 2022. Barrea and the A’s battle the Los Angeles Angels Fri May 20, 2022 at the Big A in Anaheim for a three game series (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Oakland A’s who lost three out of four to the Los Angeles Angels the last time the two teams met last week. The A’s open a three series Friday at the Big A in Anaheim. During that last meeting Angels star Shohei Ohtani slugged two home runs.

#2 Things have changed in 2022. The A’s are in a rebuild mode. The A’s have revamped their lineup. Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Mark Canha, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Yusmeiro Petit, Starling Marte, Josh Harrison, and Yan Gomes are no longer with the club.

#3 The A’s team batting average is one point below the Mendoza line. The team payroll is about 48 Million dollars, the second-lowest in Major League Baseball.

#4 Shohei Ohtani won the MVP last year. Ohtani is a player that should be on every fan’s must-see list. Ohtani is hitting. 253 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs.

#5 For the opening game of the series the Angels will be sending starter Paul Blackburn to the hill (4-0, 1.67) and for the Angels Chase Silseth (1-0, 0.00) a 6:38 pm PDT first pitch.

Join Jeremiah Salmonson for the A’s podcasts each Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Aces Win Third Straight Beating Minnesota 93-87

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Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (22) shoots over Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles (34) at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas in WNBA action on Thu May 19, 2022 (AP News photo)

Aces Win Third Straight Beating Minnesota 93-87

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night the Las Vegas Aces (4-1) took on the Minnesota Lynx (1-4) at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The Aces have been playing some solid ball although on May first the Lynx edged Las Vegas 89-86 in a pre- season game.

The first quarter was a close one with the Aces on top by a single point 26-25. Las Vegas made a move in the second quarter winning it by the score of 28-18. The Aces led at the half 54-43.

The Lynx made it uncomfortable in the third coming to within seven points and by the end of the quarter the Lynx had pulled to within four points 70-66.

The entire starting roster for Las Vegas had double digits but the Lynx got some great work off their bench keeping them within striking distance of the Aces. Las Vegas had some work to do in the fourth quarter.

The Lynx were able to get within one point of the Aces in the final quarter. They remained neck in neck with Las Vegas through the first half of the fourth quarter. Minnesota fought hard but Las Vegas proved to be more than they could handle. The final was 93-87 in favor of the Aces in a very close game.

Aerial Power had the high score for the Lynx with 25 points giving Las Vegas all sorts of trouble. Minnesota came close in this game.

The strength of the Aces starting roster was the difference in the game. Jackie Young had the high score with 25 points. A’Ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray both had 17 points for Las Vegas.

Next up for the Aces will be the Phoenix Mercury Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 PT and will be televised on ABC.

Giants Good Again in 2022, Just Not In the Manner They Were Good in 2021

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by Morris Phillips

Expanded playoffs, universal designated hitters, shrinking batting averages and greater reliance on relief pitchers. Seemingly, all of baseball’s newest machinations favor the Giants and their preferred methods of competing.

Currently the Giants are bundled with three other NL clubs (Dodgers, Mets, Brewers) at the top of the standings in the first season in which six teams will qualify for postseason play in both leagues. No more roll of the dice in a Wild Card game means no one goes home after an initial, bad playoff game. When you’ve got a great shot to be in, it’s even better if you can’t all of a sudden be out.

Throughout baseball, batting averages are down, as is scoring. Trying to buck that trend are the Giants with their .248 team batting average, well above the .235 number that this season is considered average among the 30 teams. The Giants also are averaging 5.11 runs per game, which trails only the Dodgers. But those key metrics don’t mean that individual sluggers on the team haven’t had their struggles. Benefitting the Giants of course, is their philosophy to seek game-altering extra-base hits and homers at the expense of on-base percentage and playing the old-school, station-to-station game.

Given that, the Giants still draw their walks (ranking second with 144 free passes), utilize the sacrifice fly (they rank first with 20), and steal bases consistently, if not frequently with 21 steals and only six caught stealing situations. Those numbers weigh heavier given that the Giants aren’t a record-breaking, home run-hitting club this season with only 40 hit so far.

What they do is hit more than their opponent by a nice margin augmented by their league-low 26 home runs allowed. And when those home runs are hit, it’s usually in a close, low-scoring game. That combination, as it was in 2021, is a real weapon for the Giants: they win close games.

A major piece of that formula is the team’s bullpen which is currently loaded with standouts from closer Camilo Doval with seven saves to Taylor Rogers, John Brebbia and Jarlin Garcia as the key, setup options. With so many returners from last season in the team’s bullpen, comparisons are easy. And so far, this year’s group’s been that much better than last’s.

The Giants have won 8 of 11 leading into Friday night’s meeting with the Padres. In the coming weeks the Giants will see the Padres, Mets and the Dodgers, teams they need to measure themselves against in preparation for a possible, postseason appearance.

On Friday, Jakob Junis gets the starting nod in a matchup with San Diego’s Sean Manaea.

Preview of A’s series with Los Angeles Angels starts Friday night at the Big A

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Every time the Los Angeles Angels win a game the halo shines on the Big A scoreboard in Anaheim. The visiting Oakland A’s will try and prevent that from happening on Fri May 20, 2022 as the A’s and Angels open a three game series. (file photo from Wikipedia)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (16-24) are going to the Big A in Anaheim to face the Los Angeles Angels (24-16) for three games this weekend. The A’s and Angels have been opponents since 1961 when the Angels entered the American League as an expansion team.

The A’s were in Kansas City at that time, but since 1968, they have become intrastate rivals. There is a natural rivalry between the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles area. The two areas compete for economic as well as political power.

The sports teams also reflect the rivalry. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants have been in California since both teams moved to California in 1958. The Dodger-Giant rivalry has been in existence since their days in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Since 1968, not including this year, the A’s and Angels have played 832 games.

The A’s own the advantage 450-382, a winning percentage of .541. The A’s have made the playoffs six times since 2012. The Angels’ only appearance in the same period was in 2014. They lost in the AL Divisional round.

Things have changed in 2022. The A’s are in a rebuild mode. The A’s have revamped their lineup. Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Mark Canha, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Yusmeiro Petit, Starling Marte, Josh Harrison, and Yan Gomes are no longer with the club.

The A’s team batting average is one point below the Mendoza line. The team payroll is about 48 Million dollars, the second-lowest in Major League Baseball.

The A’s are 16-24 for the season. They are 6-14 at home and 10-10 on the road. The A’s are in fifth place in the AL West and trail the first-place Houston Astros by nine games.

The Angels are 24-16 and are just one game behind the Astros in the AL West. They are 12-7 at home and 12-9 on the road. The Angels have two MVPs on their roster. Their star centerfielder Mike Trout has won three MVPs so far in his career.

Shohei Ohtani won the MVP last year. Ohtani is a player that should be on every fan’s must-see list. Ohtani is hitting. 253 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs. He leads the team in that category. As a starting pitcher, Ohtani is 2-3 with an ERA of 2.81. Trout is hitting .320 with 11 dingers and 23 RBIs.

The Angels have other stellar performers in their lineup. Rightfielder Tayor Ward has been a surprise this season. Ward is hitting .375 with nine big flies and 23 knocked in. Third Baseman, Anthony Rendon, has hit five balls out of the park and has 21 ribbies.

Other key performers are first baseman Jared Walsh and left-fielder Brandon Marsh. Walsh is hitting .248, with eight home runs and 26 RBIs. Marsh has an average of .282 with four homers and 22 RBIs. If they hope to get into the win column this weekend, the A’s pitchers will have to be at the top of their game.

The A’s Seth Brown leads Oakland with 18 RBIs. The A’s feature young players like Cristian Pache, Kevin Smith, and Sean Murphy in their lineup. Their veterans include journeymen like Chad Pinder, Tony Kemp, Stephen Piscotty, Christian Bethancourt, and Seth Brown.

The A’s bullpen has been remade. There are lots of new names out there. Pitchers like Justin Grimm, Kirby Snead, Sam Moll, and Domingo Acevedo. Last year’s closer, Lou Trivino, has been replaced by Dany Jimenez. Trivino has to regain his confidence if he hopes to get back as the closer.

The A’s will not be facing Ohtani or Noah Syndergaard this weekend. The Angels will use Chase Silseth on Friday, Michael Lorenzen on Saturday, and Patrick Sandoval on Sunday. The A’s pitchers will be Paul Blackburn on Friday and Frankie Montas on Saturday. The A’s have not announced a starter for Sunday’s game.

The A’s would love to spoil the Angels’ weekend. They will have to grind out the wins if they can. It won’t be easy, but as they say in baseball, you never know what will happen.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants open three game series against Manaea and Padres Friday night at Oracle

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Colorado Rockies rookie catcher Brian Serven flies out in the bottom of the fifth inning at Coors Field against San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb on Wed May 18, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Michael, talk about how disappointed San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb had to be retiring 16 straight Colorado Rockie batters after giving up two runs in the first inning in seven plus innings of work in a 5-3 final. Reliever Jose Alvarez allowed two runs in relief for the loss.

#2 The Rockies CJ Cron broke the 3-3 deadlock with a two run homer it was a monster shot 454 feet in the eighth inning and helped hand the Rockies their first win after losing 12 straight games to the Giants. What are some of the successes the Giants have over the Rockies and how big a role did the Cron home run have in changing the direction of the game.

#3 Michael what was the pitch that Alvarez to Cron for the home run and did it seem like Alvarez struggled or did the Rockies just see some good pitches to hit off him.

#4 Rockies rookie catcher Brian Serven on his first big league pitch fouled the ball behind home plate where his family was sitting. The ball was picked up by a fan and the Rockies communications department traded the ball for a signed Brendan Rogers signed ball and Serven’s parents Jim and Laura received the foul ball. For Serven that had to be a special at bat to foul one off and his parents get the ball back.

#5 The Giants have Thursday off and will host the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park on Friday night at 7:15pm PDT. The Padres will start LHP Sean Manaea (2-3 ERA 3.77) and he’ll be opposed by Giants RHP Jakob Junis (1-1 ERA 1.74). How do you see this match up Friday night?

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

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s have now lost 11 of last 13 games; Lack of hitting hurting run production

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The Oakland A’s hitter Kevin Smith (1) puts his all into this broken bat swing for a base hit against the visiting Minnesota Twins on getaway day at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed May 18, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The Oakland A’s (16-24) lost by a landslide to the visiting Minnesota Twins (22-16) on Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum 14-4 and the Twins Carlos Correa was seeing the ball well with two hits upon his return from the injured list from a bruised finger.

#2 Correa missed a large amount of games 11 in all while swinging the bat he was hit in the hand by a pitch.

#3 The A’s who have lost 11 of their last 13 games got RBI singles from Seth Brown and Christian Bethancourt. The A’s for the most part suffering in the run production department and have lost a number of those game because of a lack of hitting.

#4 A’s starter Daulton Jefferies went under an MRI after suffering bicep tightness. Jefferies pitched four innings and gave up six earned runs.

#5 The A’s open a three game series against the Los Angeles Angels at the Big A in Anaheim on Friday night. The A’s will start right hander Paul Blackburn (4-0 ERA 1.67) the Angels will start right hander Chase Silseth (1-0 ERA 0.00) first pitch 6:38 pm PDT

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

Giants, Webb run out of steam and blow their lead in a 5-3 loss to the Rockies

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By Morris Phillips

As often happens, the decision to lift an effective, but laboring starting pitcher can be agonizing.

The decision to remove Logan Webb in the eighth inning on Wednesday was a no-win for the Giants and manager Gabe Kapler. Literally.

Trailing 3-2 to the Giants, and facing the likelihood of a record, 13th consecutive loss to their division rivals, the host Rockies rallied with three runs to gain a critical 5-3 win.

Connor Joe drew a leadoff walk against Webb, ending his streak of 16 consecutive, retired hitters, and that opened the door for Colorado. With Webb at 100 pitches, Kapler decided to remove his starter for reliever Jose Alvarez.

“After the second, which I thought was the more challenging inning, (Webb) was as good as we saw last year,” Kapler said. “This is a very, very challenging place to pitch into the eighth inning. I thought it was one of the better performances in recent memory for Logan.”

It also wasn’t the spot to lean heavily on his ace, thought Kapler. This early in the season, and with an effective bullpen cast ready to go. A two-run lead also provided Alvarez, who hadn’t given up a home run in more than 56 innings of work, a nice cushion.

But Charlie Blackmon sacrificed Joe to second, Yonathan Daza followed with an RBI single and C.J. Cron gave the Rockies a two-run lead with his long home run off Alvarez.

“We’d done a nice job up until that point with Cron,” Kapler said. “He hasn’t taken his best swings against us, which I think is a positive for our pitching staff. It’s really tough to fall behind him. He then is able to sit on a pitch like he did right there, and look, he’s one of the better right-handed hitters in baseball.”

Tyler Kinley retired the Giants in the eighth, and Daniel Bard recovered from a blown save on Monday to get the visitors out in the ninth, ending an agonizing slide for the Rockies, who were also trying to avoid a fourth straight loss overall.

The Giants concluded their road swing with a 3-3 record through Denver and St. Louis. They open a homestand on Friday night against the Padres.

Mike Yastrzemski had an RBI single on Wednesday and Austin Slater and Darin Ruf contributed run scoring, sacrifice flies. Ruf put the Giants in front in the fourth, and Webb cruised into the eighth. But it wasn’t enough to earn the Giants a sweep.

Sean Manaea gets the start for San Diego on Friday, and Jakob Junis goes for the Giants as they continue to utilize a bullpen strategy in the absence of injured starter Anthony DeSclafani.

Monteiro’s brace the difference in Earthquakes 3-2 win over Timbers

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San Jose Earthquakes captain Jackson Yueill celebrates his second goal of the season after beating Portland Timbers goalie Aljaz Ivacic with a header in the first half at Pay Pal Park on Wed May 18, 2022 (Tony Avelar, Oregon Live)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Jamiro Monteiro has been a shooting star in the South Bay.

The San Jose Earthquakes midfielder scored his first brace in helping his team defeat the Portland Timbers 3-2 on Wednesday evening at Pay Pal Park.

Monteiro’s second goal of the match proved to be the game winning goal in the 80th minute. A centering cross by Cristian Espinoza pinballed off Jeremy Ebobisse and a Timbers defender inside the box before finding a wide-open Monteiro whose sliding kick into an empty net that sent the Quakes faithful into a frenzy.

“From my first game, my first training, I was really connecting [with his teammates]. I was talking with the guys. But now I feel like it’s getting better and better. Today, I think we could have done more, we could have scored more goals. It didn’t happen but we have another game Sunday and I hope we do that on Sunday,” Monteiro said.

San Jose is unbeaten in its past three matches. Portland is 1-1-1 in its past three matches after coming off a dominant 7-2 win over Sporting Kansas City.

San Jose is now 5-1-1 in all competitions under interim head coach Alex Covelo, including a 3-1-1 record in MLS play.

Portland (3-5-6) drew first blood in the 18th minute off a set piece. Marvin Loría’s corner kick was finished off by an unmarked Christhian Paredes, who got past Paul Marie on the play, headed the ball top shelf over Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski for his second goal of the season.

San Jose (4-5-4) answered back in the 31st minute. Ebobisse possessed the ball outside the box along the left wing. Ebobisse did a pirouette before crossing the ball into the middle of the box where Jackson Yeuill sent a diving header past Timber’s goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic for his second goal of the season in the 31st minute.

The Earthquakes gained their first lead of the match just before halftime. Cade Cowell utilized his speed on a three-on-one counterattack. Cowell fed a pass over to the left to Jamiro Monteiro who beat Ivacic with a right footed shot the bottom right corner of the net for his first goal of the match in the 44th minute.

“Well, Jamiro (Monteiro) is a player with a lot of quality and that’s why we need him in those areas, to turn and try to combine and be dangerous. It’s fun to see him play. At the beginning of the game, he was a little bit defensive, and we were not able to find him in spaces that we wanted. But at the end of the first half and in the second half, he was amazing. That’s why he scored those goals,” Quakes interim head coach Alex Covelo said.

Portland responded back in the 56th minute on another set piece. Bill Tulioma was able to get inside position in the middle of box when he headed in Eryk Williamson’s corner kick for his team leading fourth goal of the season.

Marcinkowski finished the match with three saves on five shots on target to earn his fourth victory of the season. Ivacic had one save on four shots on target in the losing effort.

Shea Salinas made his season debut for San Jose as a substitution for Espinoza in the 88th minute.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with six corner kicks. Portland had four.

San Jose is now 6-15-9 all-time vs. Portland in MLS play, including a 6-4-5 record at home.

The Quakes have now scored 22 goals this season, fifth most in MLS, including at least three goals in three of their last five matches and five of their 12 regular season matches to date. San Jose is the only team in MLS with 3+ goals in five separate matches this season.

Nine of San Jose’s 13 points so far this season have come from matches in which they conceded the first goal (two wins, three draws).

San Jose has won three consecutive regular season home matches and four consecutive home matches in all competitions.

The Timbers had its seven straight unbeaten streak snapped against the Quakes (W5 D2) dating back to 2019. This ties the longest unbeaten run by either team against the other in MLS play with Portland also going unbeaten in the first seven meetings (W2 D5) from 2011 to April 2013.

San Jose has lost only one of its last six matches (W3 D2), including a 3-3 draw this past Saturday. It was the seventh time since the start of last season that the Earthquakes both scored and conceded at least three goals in the same match. No other MLS team has done so more than four times in that span.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts Sporting KC on Sunday 5/22 at 4:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Former Angel pitcher Harvey suspended for 60 days after admitting taking pills with Skaggs; Tiger and McIlroy regret Mickelson out for Championship; plus more

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Los Angeles Angels Matt Harvey shown pitching against the Houston Astros on Jul 18, 2019 at the Big A in Anaheim the same year he was to have taken oxycodone pills with the late Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs (AP file photo)

On Headline Sports with Jessica:

#1 Former New York Met and Los Angeles Angel and current Baltimore Oriole pitcher Matt Harvey has been suspended 60 days stemming from his taking oxycodone pills with former and late Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

#2 Skaggs died from  asphyxiating on his own vomit and had oxycodone and cocaine in his system. Eric Kay the Angels former Communications director was convicted for distributing the drugs as five former Angels players testified. Kay is looking at 20 years in jail.

#3 Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods said it was “unfortunate” and “sad” that Phil Mickelson is not attending the 2022 PGA Championship. Mickelson is taking some time away from golf. Mickelson said that he was going to join the Saudi Super Golf League and had said even with the knowledge that the Saudi King was alleged to have ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi Mickelson said he would still be interested in joining the Saudi Super League and got a lot of criticism for that decision and has been quite since.

#4 Jessica, the NBA is working with the WNBA on Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison. Griner had been imprisoned since February and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert are working side by side. Silver said that he’s been working with the White House, State Department, and hostage negotiators for Griner’s release. The Russian Government has offered to release Griner for the Merchant of Death Viktor Bout.

#5 Jessica, the Boston Celtics played last night against the Miami Heat in game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals in Miami. The Celtics were without Al Horford health and safety issues and Marcus Smart is out with a foot injury both are day to day and could return Thursday night.

Join Jessica for Headline Sports podcasts every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors take game one against Dallas 112-87; Curry scores 21 pts grabs 12 boards in game 1 victory

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Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, left, is defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (right) in first half action in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed May 18, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Take Game One Against Dallas 112-87

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday night the Golden State Warriors took on the Dallas Mavericks in Game One of the Western Conference Finals and came away with a 112-87 win to open the series at Chase Center in San Francisco.

After beating the Memphis Grizzlies in the semifinals there was concern with the play of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole in the last four games. While they have had their moments consistency has been missing. The Warriors Kevon Looney contended with Luca Doncic which was a very tough assignment.

Game 1 recap: The first quarter was close for a minutes but by the finish of the first 12 minutes the Warriors led 28-18. The Mavs did outscore Golden State in the second quarter by a single point 27-26. At the half the Warriors led 54-45 shooting at 56% to the Mavericks 32%.

There was better ball protection in the first half with six turnovers. The one glaring stat was the fact that Thompson was scoreless in the first two quarters and Curry was also struggling. Andrew Wiggins had an excellent first half keeping the team afloat.

The Warriors extended their lead after three quarters leading 90-69. “We are defending really well, as well as moving the ball,” said Warrior head coach Steve Kerr after the third quarter. It was quite a relief for Golden State to have Kerr back on the sidelines after a bout with Covid.

Jordan Poole, Curry and Thompson got going in the second half. In the early minutes of the fourth quarter the Warriors had a 98-69 lead prompting a Dallas timeout. When you can hold Luka Doncic to 20 points through three plus quarters you’ve really put the stops on the Mavericks.

With four minutes left in the game the Warriors led by 30 points 106-76. The Warriors bench would close out this game. Damian Lee, Nemanja Bjelica, Moses Moody, Juan Toscano – Anderson and Jonathan Kuminga brought this one home. The final was in favor of the Warriors in this first game of these Western Conference Finals.

The Mavericks had a tough start to the series. They were 11 of 48 from downtown and you could see frustration clearly etched on the face of Luka Doncic.

It was a great finish for Golden State. The entire starting roster shot in double digits. Curry had the high with 21 points closely followed by Andrew Wiggins and Poole who had 19 points apiece. Everything was working for the Warriors in the second half to secure the first win of this series. Golden State would need more of the same in Game Two.

The second game of this series at Chase will tipoff Friday at 6:00 PM.