Tag: Atlanta Braves

Finally a Pulse in Atlanta A’s break through for season’s first win 5-2 at Truist Park

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Sacramento A’s Denzel Clarke (1) rounds third base scoring a run in the top of the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tue Mar 31, 2026 (AP News photo)

Finally a Pulse in Atlanta A’s break through for season’s first win 5-2 at Truist Park

By Mauricio Segura

The Sacramento A’s finally gave their early season a heartbeat Tuesday night at Atlanta’s Truist Park. After opening the year with four straight losses and carrying the weight of a winless start into Atlanta, the green and gold answered with a crisp 5-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Unlike the previous four games, the A’s showed patience and timely hitting, steadier pitching, and just enough late-game authority to keep the door shut. It was not flawless baseball, they still collected strikeouts like a kid collects rookie cards, but this time the Athletics made their best swings count and backed them with clean defense when it mattered most.

Atlanta landed the first punch in the opening inning when Drake Baldwin drove a solo home run to center, giving the Braves a quick 1-0 lead and A’s fans an already familiar lump in their throats. For a team that had already been shut out the night before and had looked stuck in mud for much of the opening road trip, that could have been the start of another long evening. Instead, the Athletics pushed back in the second with their best inning of the young season.

Brent Rooker opened with a single, and although the Braves turned a double play behind José Suarez, the inning did not die there. Max Muncy worked a walk, moved to second on a balk, and scored when Andy Ibáñez lined a single to left.

That was the crack in the wall. Lawrence Butler and Denzel Clarke followed with walks, and then Jacob Wilson ripped a ground-rule double down the left-field line to bring home Ibáñez and Butler. Just like that, the Athletics had turned a one-run deficit into a 3-1 lead, and for the first time in several days, they looked like a club playing with desire.

Ibáñez was right in the middle of it all, and his night kept getting better. In the fourth inning, Muncy drilled a sharp double to left and came home when Ibáñez punched another single into left field. It was simple 101 baseball, but often times, that’s the type that wins most games. Ibáñez finished with two hits and two RBI, and both swings came at moments when the Athletics badly needed someone to settle the game down.

Then came Langeliers, who has been swinging like he showed up to March without ever putting his bat down all winter. After entering the night with three home runs in the season’s first four games, the Athletics catcher added another in the fifth, launching a solo shot to left that stretched the lead to 5-1. His home run gave the Athletics breathing room, and against a Braves happy bat lineup, that extra cushion mattered.

Aaron Civale, making his first start for the Athletics, deserved a large share of the credit. Aside from Baldwin’s first-inning homer, he kept Atlanta from stacking anything dangerous together for most of his five innings. He allowed four hits, walked one, struck out three, and gave up just two runs. The second Braves run came in the fifth after singles by Dominic Smith and Mauricio Dubón, a wild pitch, and Ronald Acuña Jr.’s sacrifice fly. Even then, Civale avoided the big inning and kept the game from tilting back toward Atlanta.

From there, the bullpen did the job. Hogan Harris worked around two walks in the sixth. Justin Sterner handled trouble in the seventh and struck out Acuña and Matt Olson in a tense stretch that felt bigger than the inning number suggested. Scott Barlow breezed through the eighth. Mark Leiter Jr. gave up a pair of singles in the ninth, which made things slightly more uncomfortable than the Athletics would have preferred, but he got Acuña to strike out and Baldwin to pop out, ending the game with the tying run nowhere close to the plate.

Despite the much needed win, the Athletics still struck out 11 times. Nick Kurtz fanned three times, Rooker struck out three times, and the lineup also hit into two double plays. There is still work to do, plain and simple. But Tuesday night was a reminder that a season does not ask for perfection, just persistence and grit that will hopefully carry on over.

The A’s take on Atlanta for Game 3 of the series Wednesday at 9:15am PDT. Starting pitcher for Sacramento RHP Luis Severino (0-0 ERA 3.60) for Atlanta LHP Chris Sale (1-0 ERA 0.00).

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has covered sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for various magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, The Golden Bay Times. 2026 marks his 15th season covering Athletics baseball.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Sacramento A’s game wrap: Cold Bats Continue To Haunt A’s in Atlanta; Braves Elder and relief corp blank A’s 4-0

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Atlanta Braves Mauricio Dubon cracks a two run single in the bottom of the first inning against the Sacramento A’s at Truist Park in Atlanta on Mon Mar 30, 2026 (AP News photo)

Cold Bats Continue To Haunt the A’s in Atlanta; Braves Elder and relief corp blank A’s 4-0

By Mauricio Segura

The Sacramento Athletics came into Atlanta searching for traction after suffering a season opening sweep in Toronto, but by the end of Monday night’s game, they were still stuck in neutral. A game that began with promise on paper, with Jacob Lopez bringing strong recent interleague numbers into his first career outing against the Braves, quickly turned into a 4-0 loss defined by one rough first inning, a handful of missed chances, and an Atlanta pitching staff that never really loosened its grip.

The green and gold put men on base, sprayed a few line drives around Truist Park, and even flashed some clean defensive work, but when the night demanded one big hit, none arrived. The Braves got theirs early, then calmly shut the door.

Atlanta wasted no time setting the tone. Ronald Acuna Jr. opened the bottom of the first with a walk, Drake Baldwin followed with a single, and after Ozzie Albies popped out, Matt Olson lined a double into left to drive in Acuna and move Baldwin to third.

Austin Riley was retired, which gave the Athletics a chance to escape with only minor damage, but Lopez could not quite find the last clean landing spot of the inning. Eli White worked a walk, Mauricio Dubon lined a single to right, and suddenly two more Braves runs were home. Just like that, the Athletics were in a 3-0 hole before their offense had even found a rhythm.

To Lopez’s credit, the first inning did not snowball into a total disaster. After that early storm, he settled in and kept the Braves from blowing the game open. Acuna singled and swiped a bag in the second, but Lopez worked around it. He got through the third without damage, then caught a break in the fourth after Acuna walked again and was picked off and erased trying for second on a sharp play involving Shea Langeliers and Jacob Wilson.

That moment felt like a possible hinge in the game. Wilson, who was celebrating his 24th birthday, helped create one of the A’s cleanest defensive sequences of the night, and for a brief stretch the Athletics looked like they might still punch back.

The problem was Bryce Elder was not in a charitable mood. The Athletics did put traffic on the bases against him, but they never found the follow-through. Carlos Cortes doubled in the third, only to be stranded. In the fourth, Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker hit back-to-back singles with one out, which gave the inning some real pulse, but Jacob Wilson flew out and Lawrence Butler, (playing in front of his home crowd for the first time in his Major League career) followed with another fly ball to center.

In the fifth, Cortes walked with two down, then Nick Kurtz struck out looking. By then, the pattern had become obvious. The Athletics were not lifeless, but they were incomplete. One batter reached, two reached, then nobody delivered the swing that could tilt the night. That fit an ugly early trend for a club that entered the game already buried under an embarrasing mountain of fifty total strikeouts through the opening series.

Elder finished six scoreless innings, and Atlanta’s bullpen handled the rest with very little drama. Aaron Bummer worked around Max Muncy’s seventh-inning double. Robert Suarez escaped an eighth-inning jam after Dubon’s error put Langeliers aboard and Soderstrom followed with a single, only for Rooker to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

In the ninth, Raisel Iglesias got a little help from the Braves defense when Jacob Wilson reached on another Dubon error, then Butler grounded into a replay-reviewed double play that snuffed out the last bit of daylight.

For the Athletics, the final line told a frustratingly familiar story. Seven hits, no runs, and too many innings that ended a little too quietly. There were moments to like: Lopez recovered well after the early punch, Wilson helped engineer a slick pickoff play on his birthday, and the bullpen mostly kept the game within reach until the eighth. But the offense never landed its counterpunch, and in a season-opening road swing already heavy with miles, the Braves made sure the Athletics kept carrying that weight a little longer.

The A’s will meet up again with the Braves tomorrow for Game 2 at 4:15pm PDT

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has covered sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for various magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, The Golden Bay Times. 2026 marks his 15th season covering Athletics baseball.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Kings Bested By Yet Another Playoff Bound Team – Losing to Hawks 123-113

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Atlanta Hawks Guard Nickeil Alexander Walker drives against the Sacramento Kings guard Killian Hayes in the first half at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Sat Mar 28, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (19-56) had a great shot in their contest with the Atlanta Hawks (42-33) tying up the game in the fourth quarter after trailing for much of the game. The Kings just could not sustain the effort falling to the Hawks 123-113; DeMar DeRozan had the team high with 22 points and Maxime Raynaud had a double double, 18 points and 10 rebounds. Precious Achiuwa finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds.

Game recap: After the first 12 minutes of play the Kings led in this game 30-27. The Hawks turned the game around in the second quarter outscoring Sacramento 39-24 totally dominating the quarter taking a 66-54 lead at the half.

Sacramento would have a lot of work to do in the second half of this game. The largest lead of the game for the Hawks was 16 points but as the third quarter came to an end, Sacramento was only trailing by six points 88-82. The Kings Killian Hayes made some noise in the final two minutes of the quarter hitting a two-point jump shot followed by a 39-ft three pointer to close out the third.

After getting bounced around pretty badly for much of the game the Kings had put themselves in a great spot going into the fourth quarter only trailing by six points. Sacramento would need more from their starters. So far in this game the Kings were perfect from the line and had matched the Hawks from the field.

Four minutes into the final quarter the Kings had tied up this game at 97 mounting an impressive rally. The Hawks answered and within a couple minutes had pushed their lead back out to 105-97.

Atlanta had scored quickly and did not let-up for the remainder of the game. After having tied up the game the Kings found themselves trailing 111-99. With under five minutes left in the game, Sacramento was running out of time. The Hawks took back complete control and with 2 1/2 minutes left on the clock they had a 117-109 lead. For the remainder of the game Atlanta was locked in finishing off the Kings 123-113.

Three of the Hawks starters had scored 20+points in this game. Neikeil Alexander-Walker had the game high finishing with 27 points. Jalen Johnson had 26 points and CJ McCollum with 22 points. Every Atlanta starter had double figure in the game.

DeMar DeRozan had the team high for the Kings finishing with 22 points and 4 rebounds. Sacramento had three bench players in double digits. Daquan Jeffries had 15 points, Daeqwon Plowden 14 points and Killian Hayes 10 points. Plowden continues to really contribute off the bench.

Game notes: After losing a close game to the Orlando Magic Thursday night the Kings traveled to Atlanta for a matchup with yet another team in playoff position the Hawks. The Kings had Nique Clifford back on the court but Russell Westbrook was out with a toe injury with a possible return date of April 1st.

Keegan Murray has a projected return date of April 1st as well after a prolonged absence due to an ankle injury. Malik Monk started in place of Westbrook. The Hawks are missing some key players as well. Jonathan Kuminga is out with a knee injury, Onyeka Okongwu has a finger injury and Dyson Daniels also out with a toe injury. All three are projected to return March 30 for their matchup with the Celtics.

Sunday the Kings will take on the Brooklyn Nets looking for a win after beating the Nets last Sunday in a close one 126-122. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 3:00 PM.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

San Francisco Giants podcast Morris Phillips: SF’s Verlander relieved to get first win; Giants meet the Mets on Friday

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San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers (16) rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run in the top of the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Field in Cobb County on Wed Jul 23, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Morris Phillips:

#1 San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Justin Verlander got nervous after it started raining Wednesday at Truist Park in Atlanta. The game was in fifth inning and Verlander wanted to get this one in as an official and was short three out to make that that happen for his first win of the season.

#2 The Giants had a 3-0 when the rains came and was afraid that once again his efforts to pick up his first win would be squandered away. Verlander holds the Giants record for the longest winless streak for a pitcher in Giants history. Verlander has gone winless in his first 16 starts.

#3 “I didn’t know. I figured something like that would happen,” Verlander said. “This would be the game that gets rained out or we have a two-hour delay and they don’t let me go back out.”

#4 Verlander threw five shutout innings, allowed a hit, and walked five Atlanta hitters and got some run support to boot.

#5 The return to Oracle Park on Friday to face the New York Mets. Starting pitcher for the Mets RHP Clay Holmes (8-5 ERA 3.48) for the Giants RHP Logan Webb (9-7 ERA 3.08) first pitch 7:15pm PT.

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

7-23-2025 Giants @ Braves Insomniac Lunatic Fringe Postgame

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San Francisco Giant Dominic Smith (7) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring on Luis Matos RBI in the top of the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves on Wed Jul 23, 2025 (AP News photo)

What a difference the last 48 hours have made for the San Francisco Giants. The beat writers were talking with third baseman Matt Chapman apparently the words team meeting. Apparently after Monday’s loss the Giants went out and did everything right on Tuesday night.

Those things situational hitting, power, good defense you name it on route to a 9-0 win on Tuesday. There is word there was talks amongst the players after the game Monday because the Giants have looked like completely different team over the last 48 hours.

Stephen Ruderman is a San Francisco Giants beat writer and does the Giants podcasts after every Giants game at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Insomniac Lunatic Fringe Postgame 7-22-2025 Giants @ Braves

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San Francisco Giants Wilmer Flores rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Field in Cumberland, Cobb County GA on Tue Jul 22, 2025 (AP News photo)

Tuesday night the Giants came in three games over .500 and it’s the first time that the Giants have the smallest gap over .500 since April 1st. Willie Adames said after Monday night’s game, “I feel like in the first half we were grinders. It feel like lately the energy is not there. That’s not our identity, it feels like we’ve fallen off the bus.”

Adames continued saying, “It’s not us we have to figure a way out of it as soon as possible. I was saying after Monday night’s loss they need to get hot and they need to get hot fast. At first I thought it was a meltdown in the clubhouse but 95.7 The Game’s Sam Lubman said it was Adames way of calling out the team.

Stephen Ruderman is a San Francisco Giants beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

What A Difference A Day Makes – Giants Square Series Beating Atlanta In Shutout 9-0, end six game skid

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Relief in sight as the San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman (26) is congratulated by first baseman Rafael Devers (right) after beating the Atlanta Braves and snapping their six game losing streak at Truist Field in Cumberland Cobb County GA on Tue Jul 22, 2025 (AP news photo)

By Barbara Mason

After losing to the Atlanta Braves day, the San Francisco Giants (53-49 ) tied up the series beating Atlanta (44-56) in a shut-out 9-0. After playing what was probably their worst showing this season the Giants turned it all around.

Gone was the brain fog in the outfield, gone were the errors and the effort on the mound was stellar. San Francisco starter Landen Roupp went five innings allowing four hits, no runs, one walk and six strikeouts getting this shut-out well underway.

San Francisco broke this game wide open in the second inning taking a 4-0 lead and never looked back. Matt Chapman tripled driving Willy Adames home for the early 1-0 lead. They went on to score three more runs in the inning.

Wilmer Flores sacrificed Chapman home followed by a Casey Schmitt solo home run. The Giants scored one more run in the inning when Heliot Ramos sacrificed Patrick Bailey home and San Francisco had jumped to a 4-0 lead.

The Giants held the 4-0 lead going into the fifth inning when they scored another run. Heliot Adames singled Rafael Devers home taking a 5-0 lead. Mid-way through the game San Francisco had taken total command and in fact looked unbeatable.

Hanging onto the 5-0 lead going into the seventh inning they tacked four more runs on leaving the Braves in the dust. Devers singled Ramos home. Flores had another hit, a three run home run with Devers and Adames on base extending their lead to 9-0.

The Giants totally dominated from the start of the game to the finish. Outfield play was spotless. Work on the mound was lights out and the Giants had ten hits in this game. Ten hits with nine runs scored; San Francisco had pulled out all the stops and after losing six games in a row the streak was broken.

Devers had an outstanding game going error free in his first career start at first base and offensively he was pretty darn good with two hits and two runs. Chapman and Patrick Bailey each had two hits, Chapman with one RBI and Bailey with two.

Starting pitcher Roupp was hot throwing the shut-out. San Francisco has now won five of his last six outings. His ERA has now improved to 3.11.

San Francisco relief pitching gave up no runs and collectively they struck out eight batters. Only two Atlanta at bats walked in the game. The Braves Matt Olson had three hits in the game and the Giants came away with eight hits but could not put together a single run in the contest.

Wednesday the two teams will meet in the rubber game with first pitch scheduled for 9:15 AM. San Francisco will start Justin Verlander who continues his search for his first season win. He is 0-8 and his ERA is 4.99.

The Braves plan on sending Spencer Strider to the mound with a 4-7 win/loss record and a 3.59 ERA. The Giants will be looking for a second win in a row, hopefully just the start of stringing multiple wins and working their way up in the standings.

Giants Lose Opener to the Braves 9-5 Via Ugly Defense and Pitching

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The Atlanta Braves Drake Baldwin (30) slugs a first inning two RBI single against the San Francisco Giants at Truist Field in Cumberland Cobb County GA on Mon Jul 21, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Horrible pitching from Hayden Birdsong lasting only one inning started the downward slide for the San Francisco Giants (52-48) losing to the Atlanta Braves (43-55) 9-5 in game one of their three game series.

Top it off with some very sloppy defense and the Giants outfield was awful. Willy Adames is in fifth place with the most errors in the majors and San Francisco has a lot to clean up going forward.

Mistakes from Jung Hoo Lee which we don’t expect to see was just another factor. Put it all together and you have a string of losses.

Game recap: The Giants had a productive start in the top of the first inning scoring a run taking an early 1-0 lead, Matt Chapman hit an infield single and Heliot Ramos was able to cross home plate.
The San Francisco lead was short-lived in the bottom of the first inning. The Braves scored five runs taking a 5-1 lead. A huge hit for Atlanta came off the bat of Drake Baldwin who doubled driving in three runners, Ronald Acuna Jr., Jurickson Profar, Matt Olsen and just like that the score was 3-0. The Braves would score two more runs off a Nick Allen single. Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin both scored on the Allen hit and Atlanta had a 5-1 lead after the opening inning.

It was a disastrous start for Birdsong in the first inning. He walked the first three at bats, gave up a double followed by another walk and then hit Sean Murphy. The Braves had scored three runs off one hit.

Birdsong was relieved by Matt Gage who struck out a couple of Braves but gave up the Nick Allen single for two more runs. This was not an outing that Birdsong will want to remember any time soon and this was not the way San Francisco wanted to start this game but it was still very early with a lot of ball still to be played.

The Giants got something cooking in the second and third innings but was only able to score in the second inning. Patrick Bailey sacrificed and Wilmer Flores scored. San Francisco trailed by three runs 5-2 but it was still manageable.

In the bottom of the fourth inning the Braves had another scoring frenzy taking an 8-2 lead. Drake Baldwin who was having a great game singled Matt Olsen and Ronald Ocuna Jr home. Another run would score off an Ozzie Albies single and the Braves were really humming.

The Giants would score one run in the top of the fifth inning but more than half-way through the game they would need more while putting the skids on the offensive effort from Atlanta which had been very productive.

Willy Adames doubled Rafael Devers home for the single run. The Giants Tristin Beck took over on the mound coming away with the Giants first three and out inning in the game.

The Braves scored again in the bottom of the sixth inning when both Ronald Acuna Jr and Drake Baldwin hit doubles. The Baldwin double drove in Acuna Jr. taking a 9-3 lead.

Willy Adames hit his 15th home run of the season in the seventh inning, a solo shot and the score was 9-4 in favor of Atlanta. San Francisco already had ten hits through seven innings but it was the first inning that put them behind the eight ball. The Giants had some work to do with two innings left in the game.

The score was 9-4 going into the ninth inning. San Francisco got a run in the ninth but it was too little too late. They have now lost six games in a row. They had 12 hits in the game but ugly defense and trouble on the mound was the deciding factor in the 9-5 loss. Mental errors cost San Francisco dearly.

Game notes: After losing a series to the red-hot Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend, the San Francisco Giants (52-48) dropped the first game of the three game series on Monday night in steamy Atlanta (43-55). At first pitch the temperature was an uncomfortable 86 degrees and dry but rain is called for Tuesday, in fact eight days of rain in a row. Hopefully they will be able to work in games two and three without delays.

Birdsong didn’t pitch long relieved without retiring one batter in the first inning allowing one hit and five earned runs and walking four. For the Braves starter Bryce Elder five innings pitched, eight hits, three earned runs, and one strike out.

Tuesday the Giants will try to break the six game losing streak and come away with a win. It can’t get much worse than what was seen Monday. Landen Roupp will take the mound for the Giants with a 6-6 win/loss record and a 3.27 ERA. The Braves plan on starting Davis Daniel (0-0 ERA 1.80). First pitch for this game is scheduled for 4:15 PM PT.

San Francisco Giants podcast Marko Ukalovic: Talking Giants Birdsong and the other Bird the Blue Jays

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Hayden Birdsong (60) pitches against the Kansas City Royals on Tue May 20, 2025 at Oracle Park in San Francisco and will start against the Atlanta Braves Mon Jul 21, 2025 at Truist Field in Cumberland Cobb County GA (AP file photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Marko Ukalovic:

#1 Addison Barger of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a two run homer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr and George Springer slugged home runs as the Jays beat the Giants in a two run decision 8-6 last Sunday.

#2 The Giants were swept in the three game set with the Jays and the sweep for the Jays matches a franchise record for their tenth straight home win.

#3 The Giants starter Robbie Ray struggled in this one allowing five hits, five earned runs, five walks and three strike outs in 4.1 innings of work.

#4 The Giants Justin Verlander didn’t last long on Friday night he got shelled by the Jays line up with nine hits and four earned runs in 2.2 innings of work. Verlander dropped his record to 0-8. Marko do you think Verlander should move to middle relief from the starting role?

#5 Staring pitchers for Monday’s game in Atlanta for the Giants RHP Hayden Birdsong (4-3, ERA 4.11) for the Braves RHP Bryce Elder (3-6, ERA 5.65) first pitch is 4:00pm PT at Truist Field in Cobb County.

#6 The White House said they want the Washington Football Team to immediately return the name to Redskins and their is talk that the Cleveland Indians name will be ordered to return. The Braves name has been offensive for some Native American tribes do you see the Redskins and Indians returning back to their old names by order of the White House which many find offensive?

Join Marko for the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s and Braves Battle in The Heat; Sac’s Soderstrom gets 11th inning walk off single to beat Atlanta 5-4

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Sacramento A’s Tyler Soderstrom circles the bases after belting a first inning three run home run off the Atlanta Braves at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Thu Jul 10, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tony Renteria

WEST SACRAMENTO- The Altanta Braves and the Sacramento Athletics who play at Sutter Health Park faced off in the rubber match of this three game series on Thursday night. The temperature at the 6:05 PM first pitch time was 99 degrees.

The Braves were coming off a huge win on Wednesday after a bitter loss to the A’s Tuesday night and came looking to to play some tough baseball and that is exactly what happened on this hot Thursday evening. An 11 inning battle that saw the A’s get a 5-4 victory.

The A’s Started strong in the first inning with a left field double by Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz followed with a walk, and then a towering three run blast to deep left by Tyler Soderstrom off a curve ball by starting pitcher Spencer Strider that 454 feet in deep right center.

In the top of the fourth Austin Riley lead off with a double, and Sean Murphy traded places with him with a double of his own in the left field pocket along the foul line. Then Jurickson Profar took a JP Sears fastball over the left center field fence to tie it up three to three.

In the top of the seventh the Braves Ozzie Albies hit a home run to to deep right center for a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the eighth the A’s Nick Kurtz matched that feet with a home run of his own but this time to deep left center.

The game headed to into extra innings, in the bottom on the 11th with Brent Rooker on second, Tyler Soderstrom the hero from the first inning came through again with a single to deep center that brought Rooker in for the winning run.

The Braves head to St. Louis and Busch Stadium to take on the third place St Louis Cardinals, while the A’s host the fist place Toronto Blue Jays who are leading the American League East. Starting pitcher for the Blue Jays RHP Max Scherzer (0-0 ERA 4.76) for the A’s RHP Luis Severino (2-10 ERA 5.30) first pitch at Sutter Health Park 7:05pm PT.