Tag: Arizona Diamondbacks

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: 2018 MLB Predictions on West and East

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By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

2017 was a great season for Major League Baseball, culminating with the Houston Astros defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers and winning their first-ever World Series.

After another great season in 2017, José Altuve will hang around for at least another seven years with the champs signing a brand-new $163.5 million contract on this month of March.

Many other exciting things happened in the 2017 season like the Minnesota Twins, who finished in last place in 2016, reaching the playoffs. The Cleveland Indians set a new American League record with 22 victories in a row. Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols reached the magical 600 home run mark. Pujols ranks #7 with 614 on the home run list and he is just 32 hits short of 3,000. Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltré reached 3,000 hits. The Los Angeles Dodgers won their fifth consecutive division title.

However, it wasn’t very good overall for our two local Bay Area teams, the Athletics and Giants, as both finished in last place. This was the first time they both finished as cellar-dwellers the same year. In 1995, they both ended up at the bottom with identical records of 67-77, but that season was shortened by a labor dispute.

So this is how I see this 2018 season that is just around the corner…

American League West
1. Houston Astros
2. Los Angeles Angels
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Texas Rangers
5. Oakland Athletics

The World Champion Astros are an easy pick to win this division again as they got even stronger after acquiring Gerrit Cole along with Justin Verlander.

The Angels picked up young Japanese prospect, Shohei Ohtani, considered by many as “The Babe Ruth of Japan.” Ohtani is a right-handed pitcher who hits left-handed with power. Angels also addressed their infield needs as they acquired Ian Kinsler who will play second base and Zack Cozart (shortstop). who will play at third for Mike Scioscia’s ball club. Scioscia will be on his 19th season as manager, at the start of this 2018 season, currently the longest consecutive tenure for a manager. The Angels watched the playoffs pass by them for the third consecutive season after finishing five games behind the Twins in the American League Wild Card race in 2017. They haven’t won a postseason game since 2009, even with the incomparable New Jersey native Mike Trout on their roster for the past six seasons. Trout is arguably the best player in the game. Because of an injury to his left thumb, Trout played in 114 games, hit .306, hit 33 home runs and drove in 72 runs.

For the Halos, their lone playoff appearance with Trout came in 2014, when they were swept by the Royals in the American League Division Series. Trout remains signed through 2020, but the Angels’ window to capitalize on the 26-year-old superstar in his prime is shrinking.

I had the pleasure of covering Trout for the past seven seasons in Anaheim since his rookie year. In my opinion, he is not only the best player in the game, but he is a great man who is talented, dedicated and always joyful to take the field. He is the whole package.

The biggest question mark for the Angels will be: Can their pitchers stay healthy?

They still have a young and talented rotation with Richards, Othani, Shoemaker, Heaney, Skaggs and Ramirez. They could go to a six-man rotation sometimes during the season, like when they have long stretches of consecutive days, without any days off. It will be fascinating to see how the young Ohtani will do and how would he be used.

I believe the Angels are a serious Wild Card contender. The Angel Stadium in Anaheim will be rocking this year, not only because they have Trout, but Pujols will begin the 2018 season with 614 home runs with the titles of only active player with over 600 and #7 on the top 10 all-time home run list. The Dominican is only 32 hits shy from 3,000.

Not to mention they were the team to sign Japanese super prospect, pitcher and hitter, Shohei Ohtani. The Angels will debut the third-largest electronic message board in baseball in Anaheim. All of this could make their owner, Arte Moreno, very happy this year, but most of all, contingent play all the way until October.

The Mariners are basically the same team as last season. 2017 was a disappointment. It looks like the great Felix “The King” Hernandez is not the same dominant pitcher. Also, most of their starting rotation has been hurt. They are still a great offensive team with Segura, Canó, Cruz, Seager and company, provides enough runs for them to stay in games, but just like the Angels, their pitching is suspect. Ichiro is returning to Seattle (his first team in 2001) on a one- year contract because the M’s said that he is going to play. Ichiro reportedly said he wants to play until he is 50. He is 44 to start the season.

The Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics have not been picked to win this division, but both teams have lots of talent. In this case, the A’s have a lot of younger talent compared to the Rangers. For Texas, Adrian Beltré, who reached the 3,000 hit mark last season, and a sure pick for Cooperstown, is on his last contractual year. Elvis Andrus, Joey Gallo and Rougned Odor provide solid leadership and offense. The starting rotation has four lefty starters: Cole Hamels, Martín Pérez, Mike Minor and Matt Moore. Their bullpen needs a boost. Bartolo Colón signed a minor league deal with the team, but we all know no team would sign Colón to play in the minor leagues. Well, at least not with his control.

Question: Who will play the longest, Colón or Ichiro? My bet is on Colon since the Dominican Republic native will be looking to win at least six more games so he could pass Nicaraguan Dennis “El Presidente”Martinez as the Latin pitcher with most wins in history (245). Dennis Martinez won two more games than Juan Marichal, who ended his Hall of Fame career with 243 wins. But even with Colon, a very-respectable number five pitcher on any rotation, the Rangers are likely going to be the underdogs this season. My guess, if Colón wins those six games, he will consider retirement.

The Oakland Athletics finished last for the third consecutive season in 2017 with a 75-87 record, but manager Bob Melvin was always an optimist with an abundance of hope.  One of the best home run hitting teams in baseball that plays in one of most difficult home run parks, Khris Davis returns for at least another year, as he signed for 2018, for $10.5 million. Davis hit 43 home runs and drove in 110 runs last season and is the highest paid player in the roster. Davis became the fifth A’s player to hit 40 home runs in a season, alongside Reginaldo Martinez “Reggie” Jackson, José Canseco, Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi.

Strong in the infield with a young, talented Matt Chapman at third and Matt Olson at first, at the corners–“The Matt Boys” supply lots of power. Marcus Semien will enter his sixth major league season and third with the A’s at shortstop. Veteran Jed Lowrie, who gives them an all-around performance at second base.

The A’s picked up Stephen Piscotty of the Cardinals to play in the outfield. He returns to the Bay Area after spending three years in St. Louis. He attended Stanford University.

The A’s also addressed their catching situation shortly after they signed veteran Jonathan Lucroy.

The A’s bullpen improved as they acquired left-handed pitcher Ryan Buchter, signed Yusmeiro Petit as a free agent and acquired right-handed pitcher and young hardthrower Emilio Pagán early after his season ended from Seattle on the trade that sent the talented Ryon Healy to the M’s.

Melvin will have a young pitching staff. The A’s are starting off as pitching challenged. Jharel Cotton will be out for the entire season with Tommy John surgery, To replace Cotton, they signed Trevor Cahill for this season. Yes, the same Cahill who began his career with the A’s in 2009 and was an 2010 All-Star in Arizona.

Another familiar face in Oakland is returning, lefty Brett Anderson  who pitched with the A’s from 2009 to 2013. Kendall Graveman will be their Opening Day starter for the second year in a row also against the Angels, followed by Sean Manaea, and then guys like Daniel Mengden, Andrew Triggs, Paul Blackburn will all be in the mix.

This year, it could be a challenge for Bob Melvin as well as pitching coach Scott Emerson when it comes to pitching and looking for the winning combination.

The A’s are a glorious franchise that dates to 1901 as a charter member of the American League as the Philadelphia Athletics. They have won nine World Championships, the third-most of all current MLB teams. Only Yankees and Cardinals have won more World Series than the A’s. The A’s have a young and powerful offense, they were the fourth team with most home runs last year, with 234. When a team can hit for power, like the young A’s, they are always entertaining.

Sure, the A’s could surprise us. After all, it is baseball, and there are always surprises each season. Some say, “What excitement these young guys will bring!” and that could be true as the sky is the limit especially for guys like Davis,Chapman,Olson. But at the end of the day, it will probably be another tough season for the Green and Gold.

Note: There’s a new attraction at the Coliseum called “The Treehouse,” which is a new destination area above the left field bleachers in the Oakland Coliseum that is set to debut during the 2018 season. The Treehouse will be open to all fans and will feature two full-service bars, standing-room and lounge seating, numerous televisions and pre and post game entertainment. In good conscience, I had to pick the A’s to finish last again, but I would love it if they were to prove me wrong.

Significant A’s note: Celebrating their 50th Anniversary in Oakland. On April 17, the A’s game vs. Chicago White Sox will provide free admission for everybody. During every Wednesday home game in the regular season, fans can pick the price they pay for their tickets. In addition, there will be more Fireworks at the Coliseum this season.

National League West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers

2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. Colorado Rockies
4. San Francisco Giants

5. San Diego Padres

I do not see anybody better here than the Dodgers. Although, they will begin their season without their top clutch hitter and third baseman, Justin Turner, who was hit by a pitch in Spring Training on his left wrist, causing a fracture, but no surgery was necessary. He will begin 2018 on the DL.

I think the Dodgers will shoot for a sixth consecutive division title this year. 2018 is the last year on the contract for the best pitcher in the game Clayton Kershaw. With a solid offense, good defense, great bullpen, they should be able win the west.

Arizona is a serious candidate for a wild card as well as Colorado. Arizona signed Japanese right-handed reliever Yoshihisa Hirano as well as veteran catcher Alex Avila. This season, they should take advantage of a window of opportunity since outfielder A.J Pollock, and left-handed pitcher, Patrick Corbin, are eligible for free agency after the season. Their superstar first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt, is just two years away from the same situation.

The Rockies have a good young rotation, but lack a #1 pitcher, a stopper to halt losing streaks. Well-balanced, all-around players like Nolan Arenado–an MVP contender every year–are hard to come by. He finished 2017 with a .309 average, 37 home runs and 130 RBI. He became the first and only third baseman in history to win five Gold Gloves in his first five years in the majors.

Charlie Blackmon is arguably one of the best players in the game. The center fielder enjoyed a tremendous 2017 where he hit .331 with 37 homers and 104 batted in.

Ian Desmond and Carlos González were held back due to injuries, but are two solid players that could easily bounce back. The Rockies appear to hope to improve on the wild card finish they had last season. This Rockies team can hit anyplace, not only in Coors Field.

In 2017, the San Francisco Giants finished 64-98. This offseason, the Giants acquired veterans Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen to play in the outfield, while trying to complete revamping their outfield by picking up veteran Austin Jackson.

Madison Bumgarner was struck in his pitching hand by a line drive hit by Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield in the third inning of a game on March 23 and was diagnosed with a left hand fracture, so he will begin 2018 on the DL. Also, Jeff Samardzija will begin this season on the DL with strained pectoral muscles. That being said, the Giants need a healthy closer in Mark Melancon, who was on the DL three times in 2017.

Brandon Crawford and Brandon Bell, also known as “The Brandon Boys,” will need better years offensively. Longoria and McCutchen provide much-needed power to a team that finished last in both leagues last season with a puny 128 home runs and last in runs batted in with 612.

Although Buster Posey hit a solid .320, he only hit 12 home runs and drove in 67 runs. During his nine-year career with the Giants, only once has Posey drove in over 100 runs in 2012. Despite all that, Posey remains the face of this franchise.

Pablo Sandoval is looking for some at-bats to regain the magic he had during the Giants’ three World Championships. Every projected starting position player with the Giants, with the exception of second baseman Joe Panik, is in his 30’s.

At the beginning of Spring Training, the Giants signed left-handed reliever Tony Watson for two years, with a third year option. He is 32, so he fits right in with the Giants over 30 crowd.

It’s hard to believe that AT&T, once SBC and PAC Bell Park is 18 years old! I remember calling their first game there. The San Diego Padres, who finished in the cellar in 2016, passed them last year. The Friars’ big deal this offseason was signing free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer to a sweet eight-year, $144 million contract.

I would place the Giants on top of the Padres this season because they seem to have a deeper club, and they shall start the season with a healthy Madison Bumgarner, unlike 2017. The Padres deserve a lot of respect, they are an overall young club that’s continuing to improve.

The Giants will have to win 17 more games this year to reach the .500 mark with 81 wins. It will not be easy. But if they do, a wild card for Bruce Bochy’s Giants could be in sight.

In today’s game, it doesn’t matter if you win 100 games during the regular season as many teams have won just over 80 games and won the World Series.

Case and point: Last World Series they won in 2014, they ended season with 88-74.

Significant Giants note: On August 11, Barry Bonds’ #25 will be retired at AT&T Park, in a series against his first team, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Rest

American League
East: The Boston Red Sox have to win this division, just because they have more pitching than the Yankees plus they also improved their offense signing free agent J.D. Martinez. The Yankees have a serious and perhaps the best bullpen in the world. However, the Red Sox’s starting rotation is much more superior, so I see the Yanks good for a Wild Card berth.

Central: I think the Cleveland Indians to win the division, and should be easy for the Tribe.

The Twins did great last year. This offseason, they signed underrated starter Lance Lynn, and they be back as a wild card. Look for their young-powerful third baseman Miguel Sanó to have a monster year. Also, Paul Molitor is an excellent skipper.

West: Houston Astros are going to win the division again. Angels, Yankees, Twins and Toronto will be among wild card contenders.

Duo to watch? Yankees’ Judge and Stanton. Together, they both could produce over 100 home runs.

National League
East: Washington Nationals on a class of their own, should win by 10 games, they won it by 20 last year. There is nobody close to them.

Mets would need two more Céspedes in their lineup, but their pitching should be good.

Central: The Chicago Cubs can win it again with St Louis coming in a close second.West: The Los Angeles Dodgers can win the division again. Arizona, Colorado, Milwaukee and San Francisco will be fighting for those wild cards.

Atlanta and Philadelphia should be better, fighting for .500 record.

World Series: Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals.
A’s Opening Day on March 29 vs. Los Angeles Angels at 1:05 pm PST.
Giants Opening Day on March 29 at Los Angeles Dodgers at 4:08 pm PST.

Play Ball!

Athletics in Spanish – Oakland A’S Baseball on KIQI 1010AM and KATD 990AM Spanish Language Radio, covering the Bay Area, Oakland,San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Stockton. Broadcast of 74 live A’s homes games.including three on the road from San Francisco. SAP in Spanish on TV.

Athletics in English – NBC Sports California/MLB Net/FOX Sports 1. Radio: 95.7 FM The Game, the flagship station for the Athletics Radio Network.

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News, and Commentary: Texans and Dolphins won’t kick out players who didn’t stand for anthem; D-Backs bring back the golf cart; A’s Maxwell–How will he cope?

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That’s Amaury’s Podcast (where you get all the latest):

1 Houston Texans had said according to the players agents that players who refused to stand for the anthem last season will not be signed for this season, the Texans later said the agents got it all wrong and that what they said was “false and without merit.” The Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross won’t make players stand for the anthem. Ross had said during a Jackie Robinson event honoring the former Brooklyn Dodger that the players have to stand for the anthem this season as he told the NY Daily News. Ross later said he never told the NY Daily News that the players had to stand for the anthem.

2 The Arizona Diamondbacks are bringing back the golf cart. Do you believe bringing pitchers in from the bullpen by cart will really speed up the game and make that much up in time?

3 Thing aren’t going well for Oakland Athletics’ catcher Bruce Maxwell during February 23’s Cactus League opener. He took a back swing by the Angels’ Jerry Marte after less than a week he got back into the lineup.

4 A’s need to stay healthy. How key will it be for the A’s to come into spring had some injuries with Matt Chapman, Jorge Mateo, Grant Holmes, Rento Nunez, and Sean Manea, who were day-to-day at some point this spring?

5 The A’s released 34-year-old Brandon Moss, who said he would consider retiring if a big league club wouldn’t sign him.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio talent for the Oakland A’s and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Diamondbacks walk off Wednesday’s win over Giants 4-3; Cain calls it a career

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Arizona Diamondbacks’ John Ryan Murphy, right, celebrates with teammates, including Jeremy Hazelbaker (41) and Kris Negron (45) as David Peralta, middle, is doused with a liquid after his bases loaded walk scored the winning run against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks defeated the Giants 4-3. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Arizona added to the San Francisco Giants season-long misery Wednesday afternoon at Chase Field, when David Peralta drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth, giving the NL playoff-bound Diamondbacks a 4-3 victory.

J.D. Martinez kick-started the D-Backs rally by leading off the home ninth with a solo home run, his 49th of the season and 29th as a Diamondback since he was acquired from Detroit on July 18.

Martinez also tied MLB’s September home run record with 16, tying the mark Ralph Kiner set with Pittsburgh in 1949. He also picked up run batted in No. 36 for the month, breaking the D-Backs’ previous mark of 35 set by Luis Gonzalez in June 2001.

In the bottom of the ninth, Martinez’s home run was followed by singles by Jake Lamb and A.J. Pollock. Kristopher Negron, pinch-running for Lamb, was thrown out by Joe Panik when Daniel Descalso reached on a fielder’s choice.

After an intentional walk, Pollock scored when John Ryan Murphy also reached on a fielder’s choice. With the bases still loaded, Giants closer Sam Dyson (3-3) walked Peralta, who got the rare RBI walk to drive in Descalso.

Diamondbacks reliever J.J. Hoover (3-1) got the win.

Earlier, Denard Span tripled, doubled and scored twice for San Francisco. Jeff Samadzija had a strong start, with four strikeouts and a walk while allowing one run.

Pablo Sandoval’s first-inning double drove in Span – who led the game off with a triple – with the game’s first run. Panik scored on a Brandon Crawford groundout to give the Giants a 2-0 lead off D-Backs starter Braden Shipley, who lasted 3 1/3 innings.

CAIN HANGS ‘EM UP
Giants veteran right-hander Matt Cain announced that his Saturday start at AT&T Park will be the last of his 13-year career – all with San Francisco.

Cain, 3-11 this season, informed his teammates of his decision in a closed meeting before Wednesday’s game. He debuted with the Giants in 2005, pitched in two of the team’s three winning World Series appearances, and has a career mark of 104-118 with a 3.69 ERA.

The Giants announced they will honor Cain at Sunday’s regular season finale against San Diego on what is also the right-hander’s 33rd birthday. Cain, a three-time All-Star who threw the Giants’ first perfect game ever in 2012, is completing his contract, which had a team option for one more season.

Diamondbacks continue momentum, top Giants 2-0

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Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda waves to fans prior to the San Francisco Giants’ baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By: Ana Kieu

SAN FRANCISCO — Despite it being Orlando Cepeda bobblehead night, the San Francisco Giants were unable to get a win, falling 2-0 to the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park Saturday night.

The Diamondbacks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when Paul Goldschmidt hit his 35th home run of the season in the top of the first inning.

The Giants continued to trail the Diamondbacks 2-0 as a 1-2-3 ended the fifth inning.

Madison Bumgarner (3-9) ended his night on the mound after going seven innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He also tallied one walk and six strikeouts.

Batting ninth, Cory Gearrin replaced Bumgarner to start the eighth inning. Gearrin was then replaced by Nick Hundley in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Batting ninth, Sam Dyson replaced Gearrin to start the ninth inning.

Not only were the Giants’ pitching substitutions time consuming, they also didn’t help at all. The Diamondbacks shutout the Giants 2-0 in the middle game of the series. Zach Greinke (17-6) picked up the win.

Notes
Giants Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda celebrated his 80th birthday. Moreover, the club shared a large birthday cake in the press room in honor of the special celebration.

Giants signaled their intention to exercise Matt Moore’s $9 million option for 2018. The team has a $10 million option for 2019.

Up Next
The Giants conclude the three-game series with a rubber match Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. PST on ESPN, NSBA and FSAZ.

 

Selig farewell tour: MLB Commissioner can’t remember last time a domestic case took place

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by Jeremy Harness and Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig can’t remember the last time a domestic violence issue ever happened with anyone involved in baseball. Selig is making his rounds throughout the Major League parks in his farewell tour and with the huge media coverage regarding domestic violence in pro football Selig was asked about it happening in baseball.

“We have’nt had any cases for a long, long time. I can’t remember when the last time was. I’m grateful for that. But we deal with situations as they occur. The only thing I want to say and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we are a social institution and I’m proud of our record in dealing with a Myriad of subjects, and we deal with them, I think quite effectively.” said Selig before Thursday’s Arizona-San Francisco match at AT&T Park.

The Commissioner said he had no comment regarding the NFL’s case regarding the Baltimore Raven’s Ray Rice and if there should be a partial investigation. Selig who leaves office on January 25th and will be succeeded by Rob Manfred. Selig said he never had to deal with sonething like this in baseball and couldn’t image how he would have to handle a situation like this likewise but said that baseball does handle all issues “yes it has been discussed, because we’re sensative to all issues. But I’m not going to sit here and guess.Fortunately we don’t have that issue in front of us. But we deal with all issues.” said Selig

Selig whose second in command Manfred won last month’s election for baseball commissioner was slightly worried although he won’t admit it now, that he would not win the election particularily with the issue of Biogenesis CEO Tony Bosch being arrested for illegal substance distribution. Biogenesis is accused of distributing illegal substances to former and current Major League players which include the Mets Bartolo Colon, the Blue Jays Milky Cabrera, and the Yankees Alex Rodriguez whose currently suspended for the rest of this season.

The issue of Biogenesis never played a part in the election as Manfred won rather quite handedly, although it’s the one issue that baseball wish would go away. Bosch was in Federal Court last month and agreed to testify in his role of distribution to Rodriguez in exchange for financing his court defense against prosecution from federal authorities.

Jeremy Harness and Morris Phillips cover the San Francisco Giants for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Another day, another A – former Oakland Athletic Brandon McCarthy spoils Matt Cain’s return with a 2-1 Diamondbacks victory

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By Emily Zahner and Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO,CA–The San Francisco Giants (63-79) could not solve the puzzle that was Arizona Diamondbacks’ (72-69) starter Brandon McCarthy, as they fell 2-1 to the visiting D-backs. The former Oakland Athletic improved to 4-9 on the season with the win tonight from eight strong innings. In a thrilling pitchers battle, Matt Cain also threw a great game, only giving up two runs on eight hits. Unfortunately for the Giants, McCarthy was just a little bit better. With the loss tonight, the Giants are now one loss away from elimination from the post season. The Diamondbacks sit 11 games back from the continually impressive LA Dodgers.

The silver lining Giants fans can grasp from from this loss and maybe for the remainder of the season is that after missing 14 games on the DL, Matt Cain (8-9) came back and appeared to have no trouble or pain. He went six and a third, gave up two runs on eight hits and struck out three. Cain even took a hard grounder to his right calf from Arizona’s power hitter Paul Goldschmidt. “Matt did a nice job since coming off the DL. It’s been a while since he’s been out there. Pitching and defense did a great job tonight keeping that game close but we couldn’t help with the offense” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Offensively for the Giants, Hunter Pence continued his hot streak. His two singles tonight pushed him to his 49th multihit game of the year, good enough to tie him for third in the National League. Angel Pagan continued his amazing return to the line up when he dazzled the fans with what could be called the play of the night. After a deep double by Gerardo Parra, Pagan took the ball on the bounce and shot a dart to shortstop Brandon Crawford who relayed it to catcher Hector Sanchez, who tagged out Wil Nieves, who was trying to score from first. Bochy echoed Pagans accolades, “He’s worked hard to get to this point. He looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. It’s really amazing considering the surgery he had. This is big for him as we wind down the season, he goes into next season knowing he’s healthy and 100%.”

For Arizona, Brandon McCarthy (4-9) went eight strong innings, surrendered six hits and only one run. Paul Goldschmidt and Gerardo Parra provided the offense for the Diamondbacks as they went 5 for 8 with three singles, a double and a triple and driving in both Arizona runs. McCarthy was replaced in the ninth by another former Athletics, Brad Ziegler, who threw an easy 1-2-3 inning for his ninth save of the year. With his win tonight, McCarthy was questioned as to how he was able to come into AT&T and pitch as well as he did, “It’s just trying to execute as many pitches as I can. Focus on what I can control.” Bochy also had high praises for the Arizona starter, saying “We couldn’t figure out McCarthy. His pitches moved a lot and we didn’t hit any balls hard tonight.”

The scoring started in the bottom of the third when Brandon Crawford scored after Marco Scutaro hit his 110th single of the year to center field to give the Giant’s a 1-0 lead. Crawford had led off the inning with a single of his own and was scooted over to third by a sac bunt from Matt Cain and a grounder to first by Angel Pagan. The Diamondbacks got on the board then next inning when Gerardo Parra hit a line drive to Hunter Pence in right field and scored Paul Goldschmidt to tie the score at one apiece. Goldschmidt gave Arizona the lead for good when in the fourth when he hit shot to the deepest part of the AT&T park that scored Adam Eaton from first to seal the victory with a final score of 2-1.

The Giants will try to stave off elimination tomorrow as they take on Arizona’s Wade Miley (9-10, 3.78) and put Madison Bumgarner (11-9, 2.91) on the mound. Game time 1:05pm PST.

Petit is nearly perfect

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By Jeremy Kahn

PhotoSAN FRANCISCO-Yusmeiro Petit came within just one strike of baseball immortality against his former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The right-hander, who is making his third start in the last two weeks, came within one strike of becoming the 24th pitcher to throw a perfect game, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Diamondbacks 3-0 before a sellout crowd of 41,180 at AT&T Park.

Petit retired the first 26 batters he faced, but former Oakland A’s third baseman Eric Chavez broke up the perfecto with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, as his single was out of the reach of a diving Hunter Pence in right field.

In all, Petit threw a complete game one-hit shutout, the first of his career, as he struck out seven, just five days after striking out a career-high 10 in the Giants 8-2 victory over these same Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Petit was only the second Giants pitcher this season to throw a complete game, joining Tim Lincecum, who threw a no-hitter on July 13 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

The eight and two-thirds of no-hit ball pitched by Petit was the longest in his career, breaking his previous long of seven innings, while pitching for the Diamondbacks at PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 4, 2009.

Petit is the 12th pitcher in major league history to lose a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning, and the second this season, as Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers lost a perfect game in his first start of the season against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on April 2, 2013.

In that game, Ronny Cedeno broke up Petit’s no-hit bid with no outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Diamondbacks defeated the Pirates 6-0.

Pence scored the first run of the game for the Giants in the bottom of the second inning, as Petit’s battery mate Hector Sanchez drove him in with a single.

It was also Pence who scored the Giants second run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he scored on the second Sanchez single of the night.

On the night, Pence went 3-for-3 with three runs, a single, a double and a home run.

Over his last 15 games, Pence is hitting .392, going 20-for-51 with nine RBIs, and 13 runs scored.

This was also the 48th multi-hit game of the season for Pence, tied for the third-most in the National League.

Following the Pence double, Pablo Sandoval nearly reached for the second consecutive at-bat; however Adam Eaton made a terrific catch in left field.

Joaquin Arias was then retired following the Sandoval fly out, as Paul Goldschmidt made a great play at first base.

Petit’s opponent on the mound, Patrick Corbin nearly picked up the first Diamondbacks hit in the top of the sixth inning, but Juan Perez made a tremendous diving catch to preserve the game for Petit.

Corbin went eight innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, walking just one and striking out five, but lost for the second time in the last five days to the Giants.

Sandoval extended his hitting streak to eight-straight games, as he singled off of Corbin in the bottom of the second inning.

During the streak, Sandoval is hitting .406 (13-for-32) with eight RBIs, also over his last 23 games, the 2012 World Series MVP is hitting .386 (33-for-86) with 20 RBIs.

Pence made it 3-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he took a Corbin pitch and supplanted it into the left field bleachers for his 19th home run of the season.

It was the 19th home run of the season for Pence, as he is just one home run shy of becoming the first Giants player to go 20-20 since Barry Bonds turned the trick in 1998.

Pence and Sandoval are not the only Giants swinging a hot bat, as Angel Pagan extended his hitting streak up to 11 games, as he singled in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Petit rattles former team in Giants win

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By Jeremy Kahn

PhotoPHOENIX-Yusmeiro Petit must have loved to hear from Bruce Bochy that he was going to pitch the finale of this three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Petit, who pitched for the Diamondbacks from 2007-2009 was absolutely fantastic, as he went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out a career-high 10 and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Diamondbacks 8-2 before 33,422 at Chase Field.

“Another great start for him, two tough ballparks in Colorado and here,” said Bruce Bochy.

Hunter Pence continued his hot hitting, as he went 3-for-4 on the afternoon, which included his 17th home run of the season, a two-run belt to the opposite field that scored Buster Posey, who went 3-for-5 on the afternoon.

Despite allowing a run on two hits in the bottom of the first inning, Petit struck out the side in the inning and struck out the side in the bottom of the second inning.

Martin Prado got the Diamondbacks on the board in the bottom of the first inning, as he doubled off of Petit to score Adam Eaton, who singled with one out.

Hector Sanchez got the Giants on the board in the top of the second inning, as he grounded out to shortstop to score Pence from third base, after Pence walked to leadoff the inning.

Sanchez continued to be a run producer in the top of the fourth inning, as he hit a two-run double that scored Posey and Pence, in what proved to be the game-winning runs.

Petit helped out his own cause in that frame, as he singled to the opposite field to score Sanchez with the third run of the inning.

“Put the ball in play,” said Petit, through interpreter Jose Alguacil.

Tony Abreu made his return to the team after missing the last 31 games with bursitis in his left knee, and made his presence in the field well known.

Abreu, starting in place of Marco Scutaro at second made a diving stab at a ball, got up threw to Joaquin Arias at second base who in turn threw to Posey to complete a dazzling double play.

Thirteen-game winner Patrick Corbin lasted only five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits, walking one and striking out six.

With the victory over the lefthander, the Giants won for just the third time in their 12 versus a left-handed pitcher.

In seven starts versus Corbin, this was just the second time that the Giants defeated the 13-game winner.

The Giants previously defeated Corbin on September 26, 2012 at AT&T Park, in what the second to last home game of what turned out to be a World Championship season.

The Diamondbacks attempted to make a game of it in the bottom of the seventh inning, as A.J. Pollock singled to leadoff the inning and then scored on an Adam Eaton singled with two outs to narrow the lead down to 5-2.

That brought the dangerous Paul Goldschmidt to the plate representing the tying run for the Diamondbacks.

Goldschmidt took a Jose Mijares offering to deep left-center field, but Gregor Blanco was able to track it down for the third out just in front of the warning track near the 413-foot mark.

The Giants added three more three in the top of the ninth, as Scutaro singled, then Arias singled, after a strikeout by Abreu, Posey came up with third hit of the afternoon and then Pence joined Posey in the three-hit club, as he singled.

“That is what you are hoping for from the heart of your lineup,” said Bochy.

All of the hits and runs came off of Heath Bell, who was shelled in 0.1 innings of work, as he allowed three runs on four hits and struck out one.

NOTES: Barry Zito will start for the Giants on Monday against the San Diego Padres from Petco Park, while the Padres will send former Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy in the series opener.

In 56 games versus the National League West this season, the Giants are now 32-24 (.571), the best of any team in the division.

This was the most runs scored by the Giants in a game since scoring 14 runs in a victory against the Miami Marlins on August 16 at Marlins Ballpark.

DOWN ON THE FARM: Four of the Giants six minor league affiliates will play in the postseason.

The San Jose Giants will make their California League record 10th consecutive playoff appearances.

Making the playoffs for the second time in the last seasons will be the Augusta GreenJackets of the Class-A South Atlantic League.

The Giants Short Season affiliate from the Northwest League, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2009 season.

Rookie level Arizona Giants also return to the postseason for the first time since the 2011 postseason.

Chavez bites Giants

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By Jeremy Kahn

PHOENIX-Eric Chavez played against the San Francisco Giants in the Bay Bridge Series for the Oakland A’s, but he is now playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks and he continues to be a pest for the Orange and Black.

Chavez hit a walk-off single off of Sandy Rosario in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Diamondbacks defeated the Giants 4-3 before a crowd of 36,091 at Chase Field.

“It was a fastball away. I’d never faced that guy before, so I didn’t know what he had. I was just looking for a strike,” said Chavez.

In his career versus the Giants, Chavez is now 43-for-174, a .247 clip over his 15-year career with the A’s, New York Yankees and now the Diamondbacks.

“This has kind of been the only time I haven’t swung the bat good the whole year, but I feel fine. I just haven’t been getting any hits. So that was a nice one to get,” said Chavez.

Willie Bloomquist led off the ninth inning with a single, and then after an Adam Eaton sacrifice bunt advanced Bloomquist to second base, Paul Goldschmidt was walked intentionally to bring Chavez to the plate and he took a Rosario offering to the opposite field to win the game.

It was the 12th walk-off win of the season for the Diamondbacks and the first walk-off for Chavez since June 4, 2007 against the Boston Red Sox, when he hit a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning off of Kyle Snyder and made a winner out of current Giants reliever Santiago Casilla (according to Retrosheet).

After being tamed by former Oakland A’s pitcher Trevor Cahill for six innings, the San Francisco Giants finally got to the right-hander in the top of the seventh inning.

Cahill pitched 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, while walking three and striking out three.

Gregor Blanco led off the top of the seventh inning with his second home run of the season to get the Giants their first run since Angel Pagan scored in the top of the first inning of Friday night’s 1-0 victory.

After a Roger Kieschnick strike out, Pagan singled and then scored the second run of the inning on a triple by Marco Scutaro.

Brandon Belt struck out for the second out of the inning, and then the Giants tied up the game on a single by Buster Posey off of Josh Collmenter.

Hunter Pence then singled for his third hit of the game that advanced Posey to third, but the two were stranded, as Pablo Sandoval grounded out to Collmenter to end the inning.

Pagan came up huge in the field in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he made a diving catch off a sinking liner off the bat of Montero.

“Did a great job again, he’s excited to be back,” said Bruce Bochy.

Miguel Montero got the Diamondbacks on the board after he singled to right field in the bottom of the fourth inning, to score Martin Prado, who doubled to leadoff the inning.

Following the Montero single, Gerardo Parra hit a sacrifice fly to Pence in right field that scored Aaron Hill, who singled following Prado.

After a sacrifice bunt by Cahill, that advanced Montero to second base, Willie Bloomquist drove in the third run of the frame to score Montero, but after attempting to stretch the single into a double, Bloomquist was tagged out by Brandon Belt after a great throw by Pagan in centerfield.

Ryan Vogelsong saw his scoreless inning end at 15, as he allowed those three runs to cross the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning.

In all, Vogelsong went six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, while walking two and striking out one.

This was the seventh consecutive start that Vogelsong held his opponent to three runs-or less.

“Felt pretty good, I was not as sharp as I was on Sunday,” said Vogelsong.

Vogelsong did pickup his second hit of the season in the top of the fifth inning with a single, but was stranded at third base.

Like in the fifth inning, when Vogelsong was stranded at third base, it happened again in the top of the sixth inning, as Hunter Pence was stranded just 90 feet away from home plate.

Pence advanced to second on a wild pitch after singling with one out, went to third on a Pablo Sandoval ground out to first base and then Brandon Crawford struck out swinging to end the inning.

Things could have gotten a lot worse for the Giants in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with one out.

Aaron Hill walked, then Montero singled and then Parra singled to load up the bases against Vogelsong.

Cahill hit a sharp hit ball to Crawford at shortstop, and he threw to plate, where Buster Posey just barely got to home plate ahead of the sliding Hill for the second out of the inning.

Bloomquist then grounded out to Vogelsong for the final out of the inning, and escape the jam.

There was a scary moment for Bochy in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Montero lost control of his bat and flew towards the Giants dugout.

“The net saved me,” said Bochy.

Not did it get a chuckle from the Giants dugout, but Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson was shown on the television getting a good laugh.

“My guys did too,” said Bochy.

NOTES: Yusmeiro Petit will take the ball in the series finale against his former team, while 13-game winner Patrick Corbin will head to the mound for the Diamondbacks.

With the loss, the Giants drop 2-3 on their three-city, 10-day road trip, thru Colorado, Arizona and San Diego.

The Giants are now 26-40 (.393) away from AT&T Park with 15 games remaining, the fifth-lowest winning percentage in the National League.

Tony Abreu will be activated back to the roster on Sunday, as major league teams can increase their rosters for the final month of the season.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau in Friday night’s 1-0 victory, this was the first time in 21 years that the Giants won a game where they scored their only run in the top of the first inning.

On their last two occasions, both wins came against the Atlanta Braves (August 7, 1991 and September 30, 1992).

DOWN ON THE FARM: Infielder Christian Arroyo, the first-round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, was named the Arizona Rookie League MVP.

In 45 games with the AZL Giants, Arroyo batted .326 going 60-184 at the plate with 25 extra base hits and 45 runs scored.

Arroyo was not the only player to be named to the AZL All-Star team, as Giants second round pick infielder Ryder Jones and left-handed pitcher Luis Ysla and AZL Giants manager Nestor Rojas was named Field Staff All-Star of the Year.