Raiders win in classic opening day style on Monday Night Football 33-27 in OT

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Raiders win in classic opening day style 33-27 in OT

By Rich Perez

Sports Radio Service Raiders beat writer

LAS VEGAS-The Las Vegas Raiders (1-0) beat the Baltimore Ravens (0-1) 33-27 in a game at a sold out Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas Nevada where 61,756 fans attended on Monday Night Football’s prime time show.

The game marks the first win with fans in the arena and The Raiders put on a tremendous second half come back to beat the Ravens in overtime. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw 34 for 56 for 435 yards, two touchdowns and and an interception.

Carr threw a 31 yard pass to wide receiver Zay Jones for the game winning touchdown in overtime. The Raiders had to tie the game three times to keep up with the Ravens in the fourth quarter. Carr’s second touchdown pass was set up after Carl Nassib strip sacked Ravens quarterback Lemar Jackson at the 27.

The Raiders had got into trouble when Carr had thrown an interception at the one yard line on the first play on offense in overtime and also were called for delay of game just before they were supposed to kick a field goal. The Raiders with the offense back out on the field Carr under center threw the game winning touchdown pass to Jones for the game winning touchdown.

Carr had a great game he was steady and consistent, he had one interception that bounced off of Willie Snead’s hands to end the game or what would’ve ended the game, got deflected off a Ravens helmet and that was the pick at the goal line late in the game.

The defense held on against a quick Jackson and nullified his attempt at most runs. Max Crosby had a tremendous game and was all over Lamar Jackson all night. Jackson offensively threw 19-30 for 235 yards and one touchdown. The Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson tied the game with a 37 yard field goal with 37 second left in the ball game to keep the Raiders alive before the game winning touchdown pass to Jones.

It was Carr throwing to a clearly open wide receiver Jones who took it in giving the Raiders the win in a hard fought overtime game. “It was really special, I’m really happy that we got the win on the day that kind of made a little bit of history, which is like really nice to do.” said Nassib during the post game press conference.

*Next up a trip to Pittsburgh 10:00 AM PDT at Heinz Field on Sun Sep 19th.

Aces rally to beat Wings, 85-75

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By Shawn McCullough

Trailing by 12 at halftime, the Aces rallied in the second half to beat the Dallas Wings, 85-75, at ULTRA Arena.

Las Vegas took over in the third quarter, scoring 20 of the final 26 points in the quarter.

Kelsey Plum led the Aces with 30 points coming off the bench, going 5 for 7 from three-point range.

A’ja Wilson record a double-double, scoring 21 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, while Riquna Williams added 16.

With the win, the Aces improved to 22-8 on the season and sit two games behind the Connecticut Sun for first place.  Las Vegas is two games ahead of third place Minnesota with just two games remaining in the regular season.

The Aces will next play the Sky on Friday in Chicago.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • The Aces shot 47.7% from the field.
  • Las Vegas was outrebounded by Dallas, 40-33.
  • The Aces scored 49 points in the second half.


Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 3 Riquna Williams
C – 41 Kiah Stokes
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 12 Chelsea Gray

Aces Injury Report:

Angel McCoughtry—Out, right ACL
Liz Cambage – Out, health and safety protocol

No Time to Let Up: Giants open homestand with a 9-1 thrashing of the Padres

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The best record in San Francisco Giants history through 144 games. At least six runs scored in each of the last eight games, all wins. Four more homers on Monday night.

And one more: a playoff berth–considered highly unlikely when the season began–clinched earlier on the calendar than the club has done previously in franchise history.

The Giants are once-in-a-generationally hot, and they’re not showing any signs of letting up.

“We’re definitely happy that we’re going to the playoffs, there’s no doubt about that,” Brandon Belt said. “But we want to win the division. This is the first step, but we didn’t come here just to make it in.”

“You have quite a few World Series champions in that room and people who understand that this is one step in the direction that we want to go, but not the ultimate goal,” manager Gabe Kapler added.

An 9-1 thrashing of the helpless Padres on Monday happened so fast, the final five innings held no intrigue–and almost no additional scoring. The Giants put up five in the first, and three more in the fourth to lead 8-1.

And this was bullpen night, which is usually problematic given the Giants currently have two empty slots in their rotation, but on this occasion was supreme. Dominic Leone started (for the third time, the first was September 5) and he remained perfect. Leone threw a pair of scoreless innings, and has five scoreless in total in his three starts.

Jose Alvarez followed, allowing the Padres’ only run on Fernando Tatis’ RBI double, and the relievers rolled out from there. Six in all saw action with rookie Kervin Castro pitching the eighth and ninth. The Giants are expected to again turn to their relievers on Wednesday as Johnny Cueto and Alex Wood remain on the shelf.

Tommy La Stella opened the scoring with a 414-foot shot to straight away center field. Evan Longoria capped the five-run frame with three-run shot. Those home runs sandwiched Lamonte Wade Jr.’s triple that scored Darin Ruf.

Yu Darvish took the loss, allowing all four home runs, which included bombs by Belt and Mike Yastrzemski, both of which traveled further than La Stella’s in the first. Darvish–at least in Giants’ broadcaster Dave Fleming’s opinion–maybe the poster child for the hastily-adopted rules aimed at eliminating pitchers using sticky substances to grip the baseball, and maximize the ball’s rotation. Darvish has won just twice since the new rules took effect, he was 6-1 in prior to that.

The Giants were in their fine-tuned, power swinging mode with just eight hits to score nine runs. Six of the eight went for extra bases, all previously mentioned with the exception of Brandon Crawford’s double that contributed to the team’s eighth inning rally that capped their scoring.

The Giants won’t see much change in the NL West standings–the Dodgers were winning 4-1 in the seventh at the time this article published–but the pressure is on the defending champions, as their equally hot play hasn’t earned them in any traction in the race for the division title. Only 18 games remain, and the Giants have the friendlier schedule with 12 remaining home games.

One last reminder of how hot the Giants are: if they capture 14 of their last 18 games, that would give them 108 wins on the season. While that would require an insanely torrid pace, one the team can’t be doggedly pursuing with the playoff preparation their biggest priority, it would mean incredible history. Only the 1975 Reds and 1986 Mets have won that many games in the divisional era which dates back to 1969.

On Tuesday, the Giants battle the Padres again with Anthony DeSclafani and Jake Arrieta the listed starters for the 6:45pm start.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Matt Olson is the Oakland A’s 2021 MVP

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Matt Olson who won the 2021 A’s MVP Award hitting .276 Olson thus far this season has been the key to the A’s line up this season. (file photo from NBC Sports)

Matt Olson is the Oakland Athletics 2021 MVP

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

With the A’s still in the race for a postseason berth (more likely as one of the two wild card teams) their first baseman Matt Olson has been their most consistent player right out of Spring Training in Mesa, Arizona, earning his way to his first All Star Game selection in Denver, Colorado. Olson has shown more discipline at the plate and continues his stellar work with the glove at first base.

The two-time Gold Glove winner (2018-19) is on his sixth year with the A’s. 2019 was Olson’s best season at the plate, he hit for .267 with 36 home-runs and 91 runs batted in and struck out 138 times. During the Covid abbreviated 2020 season played in a team high 60 games that were scheduled, batted .195 with14 home runs and 42 RBI, also tops in the team.

During this 2021 season he enjoyed his best Spring Training and had a mission to be more selective at the plate. Olson has done that and then some. A’s are in Kansas City for a three-game series against the Royals and then to Anaheim for three more against the Angels and a return to Oakland this September 20th for their last home stand. During the current season, Olson had significantly reduced his strikeouts, logically resulting in more contact, including a career high 32 doubles.

With 19 games left this season for the Athletics, Matt Olson has an excellent opportunity to end with his best overall numbers. He is just two home runs away from reaching his top of 36 in 2019 as well as two-RBIs shy of 100 for the first time in his career. And yes, Olson could win his third Gold Glove.

Matt Olson is humble, very quiet and unassuming player. During the pre-covid time when the media was allowed to go inside the dressing room prior to the game, you would not even noticed he was there. But once the game begins, he is the most consistent Oakland Athletics player on the field and their 2021 Most Valuable Player. There is no doubt about it.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish lead play by play announcer on flagship station 1010 KIQI Le Grande San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Down To The Wire In Their Next Series

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Oakland A’s pitcher Frankie Montas will start against the Kansas City Royals Tue Sep 14, 2021 at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City for game 1 of the three game series. (file photo San Francisco Chronicle)

A’s Down To The Wire In Their Next series

By Barbara Mason

It’s been a long baseball season but it has seemed especially long for the Oakland A’s. They have had more ups and downs than a boardwalk roller coaster. If it’s not the starting pitchers, it’s the at bats or some crazy defensive play and for awhile now it has been the bullpen with a capital B.

There are six more series left in the season. Oakland will be facing the Kansas Royals, the Los Angeles Angels, the Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros. So let’s not get ahead of ourselves and take a look at what is next up for the A’s

Tuesday night they will be taking on the Kansas City Royals in a three game series. The Royals are not a factor in the playoff picture but would like nothing more than to play spoiler. That’s just what teams do when there is no post season in their future.

On Tuesday the A’s probable starting pitcher will be Frankie Montas who with an 3.57 ERA and has been very good on the mound. Montas has had some of his best stuff lately and has been impressive. If he can go deep and into the game, even as far as eight innings there will be less pressure on the bullpen.

It’s no secret that the Oakland bullpen has been less than stellar for while for now so taking pressure off them to perform is a good thing. It’s a shame that it has come down to this but its is what it is.

For the Kansas City Royals they will more than likely send Jackson Kowar to the mound with a 9.53 ERA. The A’s will need the bats to come alive early in the game coupled with their usual solid defensive play. They should have a lot of success in this series. The A’s will need some cooperation from the bullpen and that’s a given.

The bottom line is that this team has the tools to make a run this year. Tuesday night will hopefully begin the journey on that run.

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: Bullpen issues for A’s as relievers can’t shut the door late

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Oakland A’s reliever Sergio Romo got rocked on Sat Sep 11, 2021 by the Texas Rangers allowing four runs in the eighth inning in another A’s blown save at the Oakland Ring Central Coliseum (file photo mercurynews.com)

On the A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 Barbara you’ve seen a number of late inning melt downs from the Oakland A’s bullpen where the starters go deep but the relievers just can’t hold the lead.

#2 A’s pitcher Cole Irvin took the game on Saturday into the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers with 6-2 lead and had all his pitches working for him did he look good enough to complete the game although that wouldn’t happen today with the pitch count.

#3 Irvin has been supportive and relievers Andrew Chafin and Sergio Romo were touched up by the Rangers who scored five runs in the eighth inning. Irvin said that they put in a great effect but the Rangers just saw the ball well and hit them were they ain’t.

#4 Going into a home stretch of the season like this where every game counts as the A’s make their best bet bid for a wild card birth they’re really going to need to lean on their bullpen to make over the hump.

#5 Barbara, the A’s open a three game series in Kansas City Tuesday night the bullpen has blown eight saves in their last 19 games those eight games are critical if you look at how close the wild card race is.

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

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants nothing but success in Chicago; Host Padres Magic number is 1 can clinch tonight

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San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt sports a taped C for Captain on his jersey which he talked about on the NBC Bay Area post game show Sat Sep 11, 2021 at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs (photo from nbcsports.com)

On Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 For the Giants (93-50) Kris Bryant it was a memorable and emotional return to Chicago (65-79) for him seeing his old teammates, friends, and yes a few Wrigley Field neighbors as the Cubs ran a video tribute in his honor before the game last Friday.

#2 Brandon Belt has certainly earned the C on his Giants road jersey he’s led by example hitting the home run ball with much frequency and has 23 for the season so far hitting .258. He had black electrical tape to his jersey as a C he certainly has earned the honor.

#3 Wilmer Flores returned on Sunday to the Giants after suffering a left hamstring injury. Flores had been used as a pinch hitter and was in the line up against left handed pitching. Giants manager Gabe Kapler is looking forward to getting productive help from Flores.

#4 Giants pitcher Jay Jackson who pitched an opener for the Giants and got rocked in the first inning on Sep 4th for four runs and a hit against the Los Angeles Dodgers was sent down to the Giants triple A Sacramento. Jackson was 2-1 with an ERA of 4.34.

#5 Giants lead in the NL West by 2.5 games over the Dodgers and open a three game series at Oracle Park in San Francisco against the San Diego Padres (74-67) the Padres have been .500 ball while the Giants have won nine of their last 11 games. The Giants still have to be cautious playing a club like the Padres they’ve got some talent.

Marko Ukalovic is filling for Morris Phillips for the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Flores returns in Giants win over Cubs 6-5

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The return of San Francisco Giant Wilmer Flores who made just one appearance against the Chicago Cubs in the three game series paid off as he rounds second after connecting for a two run fifth inning home run at Wrigley Field in Chicago (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

Wilmer Flores made his return to the San Francisco Giants lineup and he did not disappoint them at all.

Flores hit a home run and drove in three runs, helping the Giants to a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs to complete the three-game sweep of the Cubs and ended the road trip with a perfect 6-0 record. Prior to the sweeping the Cubs, the Giants opened the road trip by sweeping the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

With the victory, the Giants have now won a season-high games in a row, their longest winning streak since they won seven in a row in August of 2020.

Kris Bryant, who made his return to Wrigley Field for the first time as a visitor and scored two runs in the finale.

The Giants led 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Cubs scored two runs to get within one run and chased Giants starter Logan Webb. Tyler Rogers came on to replace, and got out of the jam, as he struck out Willson Contreras looking and then got Alfonso Rivas to end the inning.

Closer Jake McGee came on to close it out in the bottom of the ninth inning, but gave up a double to Patrick Wisdom, who eventually got to third base; however, McGee ended the game on back-to-back ground ball outs by Frank Schwindel and Ian Happ to Brandon Belt at first base to end the game and McGee picked up his 31st save of the season.

Flores picked a run batted in for the Giants in the top of the second inning and the Giants stretched the lead to 3-0 in the top of the third inning that scored Flores.

The Giants and Flores put two on the board in the top of the fifth inning, as he hit a two-run home run to stretch the lead up to 5-2 and it was the career-high 18th home run for Flores.

Webb went the first six innings plus, allowing five runs (four of them earned), six hits, walking two and striking out five and picked up his 10th win of the season.

Happ hit his 22nd home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning that cut the Giants lead down to 3-2.

Justin Steele pitched the first five innings for the Cubs, as he allowed five runs to the Giants on 11 hits, walking two and striking out four and saw his record fall to 4-4 on the season.

NOTES: Flores was activated from the injured list with a strained left hamstring and so was Austin Slater, who was out with a concussion. To make room for Flores and Slater, Caleb Baragar and John Brebbia were optioned to Sacramento.

This was the first time that the Giants swept a three-game series from the Cubs since September 8-10, 1995, when Sergio Valdez, Terry Mulholland and William VanLandingham were the winning pitchers in that three-game series.

Overall, this was the 11th sweep of the season for the Giants, as this was their sixth series sweep on the road and have five at Oracle Park.

UP NEXT: Dominic Leone will take the mound in the opener of the four-game series against the San Diego Padres on Monday night at Oracle Park. The Padres will send Yu Darvish to the mound, as he looks for his ninth win of the season.

Texas-Sized Problems: A’s bats go quiet at the wrong time in 4-3 loss to the Rangers

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–In a lot of ways, Sunday’s A’s game was lost on Saturday.

The agonizing 4-3 defeat to the Rangers at the Coliseum saw the A’s fall behind 4-0 through four innings, then rally to trail just 4-3 after six. But the final three innings were quiet ones; the A’s went hitless as they failed to even challenge Texas’ slim lead.

And if Sunday was bad, Saturday was worse, thus the conclusion that the struggling club lost whatever momentum it had in a brutal 8-6 loss in which the Rangers wiped out a four-run deficit in the final two frames as the bullpen again failed to hold a lead.

Instead of a potential five-game win streak to pull the A’s within a game of Boston for the second wild card spot, the A’s have lost 17 of 26 and can’t seem to get over the hump. Losing has a wearing effect, especially for a ballclub not blessed with a great deal of depth, and stuck in a rut with its pitching.

What’s clear is the A’s have been afforded opportunities, including this current stretch of nine games against three clubs with losing records. Along with that, the teams in front of them in the standings have flatlined with the Yankees winning just three of their last 10, and the Red Sox at .500 (5-5).

One issue is the Rangers, a team that stands 26 games below .500 after consecutive wins in Oakland, and has found a way–time and time again–to cool the A’s hitters. The season series between the A’s and Rangers concludes with the A’s holding a slim 10-9 advantage, and five of those nine Rangers’ wins have seen the A’s score three runs or less, including Sunday.

Not that the A’s didn’t do good things against the Rangers, most notably hit 34 homers in the 19 games between the clubs, just one home run off their franchise record for home runs against one club in one season. But often it was homer and little else. On Sunday, Yan Gomes homered in the fifth, and Matt Olson in the sixth, but the remainder of the Oakland output was three singles and a walk. A’s hitters in spots six through nine went hitless, drawing the only walk.

It didn’t help that Matt Chapman was unavailable after fouling a ball off his shin on Saturday, or that Mitch Moreland was in Alabama seeking a second opinion on his injured wrist that has sidelined him for two weeks.

James Kaprelian allowed all four Rangers’ runs, and fell to 7-5 on the season in the process. Kaprelian surrendered eight hits and a walk. He was lifted in the fourth by manager Bob Melvin, who probably couldn’t afford to be patient with the season on the line in these final 20 games.

Taylor Hearn went six innings for the Rangers, allowing the two home runs but little else. The reliever turned starter didn’t walk anybody, but gassed out after 80 pitches, a sign his transformation from reliever to starter isn’t yet complete.

The A’s hit the road for six ballgames starting Tuesday in Kansas City, then on to Anaheim for a weekend meeting with the Angels. Frankie Montas will be looking to pick up his 13th win of the season in the opener.

49ers dominate early, hold off Lions late with 41-33

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo throws against the Detroit Lions defense in the second half of action at Ford Field in Detroit during week 1 Sun Sep 12, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Joe Hawkes
Staff Writer

DETROIT, MI — The 49ers scored 17 unanswered points in two minutes in the second quarter, highlighted by a Dre Greenlaw interception return for a touchdown, but narrowly escaped with a 41-33 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

San Francisco (1-0) carried a 38-10 lead early in the fourth quarter and allowed the Lions to to score 23 straight points in a span of three minutes to pull within eight points. But with 12 seconds remaining in the game, the Lions turned the ball on downs at the San Francisco 24-yard line to thwart Detroit’s late rally.

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo shook off a fumble on the first snap of the game, finished the game 17 of 25 for 314 yards. Garoppolo hooked up with wide receiver Deebo Samuel on a 78-yard touchdown pass after second-year cornerback Jeff Okudah stumbled in coverage.

“We got into a pretty good groove and we were rolling pretty good, but you want to finish better than that,” Garoppolo said. “There was a relaxation on the sideline.

“At the end of the day, it’s a win and we’re happy with that.”

The scoring play gave the 49ers a 28-point lead midway through the third quarter, which they would need.

Samuel had nine catches for a career-high 189 yards, but had a key fumble late in the fourth quarter that gave the Lions hope with a little over a minute left.

Rookie running back Elijah Mitchell, who stepped in for the injured Raheem Mostert (knee), snapped a 7-7 tie with a 38-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter that put the 49ers up 14-7. Mitchell finished with 104 yards rushing.

Tight end George Kittle had four catches for 78 yards.

San Francisco took an early 7-0 lead after rookie quarterback Trey Lance connected with wide receiver Trent Sherfield on a 5-yard score following a play-action pass in the first quarter.

Defensively, San Francisco must tighten up their run defense. The Lions ran through multiple running lanes in the game and racked up a 116 yards on the ground. Defensive end Nick Bosa, who returned to action for the first time since tearing his ACL early last season, had four tackles and a drive-ending sack in the fourth quarter.

Middle linebacker Fred Warner led the team with 11 tackles (8 solo, 3 assisted). San Francisco forced three turnovers off the rebuilding Lions.

In his debut with his new team, quarterback Jared Goff finished 38 of 57 for 338 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Tight end T.J. Hockenson had a career-high eight catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.

It was third time straight time that Hockenson scored a touchdown in the season-opening game.

Detroit (0-1) recorded 430 yards in total offense, with the majority coming when the 49ers were up comfortably in the second half.

San Francisco held a 31-10 lead at halftime, their highest total after two quarters since 2008.

“We dug ourselves into a really big ditch early against a very good team,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said. “We were better in the second half, but that wasn’t good enough.”

On the injury front, the 49ers are holding their breath on the status of starting cornerback Jason Verrett who left the game late in the fourth quarter with a leg injury. According to head coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers believe that Verrett tore his ACL.

Next up for the 49ers: a trip to Philadelphia where they will take on the Eagles in Week 2. Second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts was 27 of 35 for 264 yards and three touchdowns for the Eagles in a 32-6 throttling of the Atlanta Falcons on the road.