Tag: Baseball

Carson Whisenhunt

Giants continue dominance against Rockies at Oracle Park, win 8-2

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Photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Carson Whisenhunt throws against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Vince Cestone

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants needed just one thing to get back on track after getting pummeled by the Toronto Blue Jays at home earlier this week–the Colorado Rockies.

Behind rookie Carson Whisenhunt, the Giants continued their home dominance on Thursday night against the Rockies, beating them 8-2 as 32,301 fans watched.

The Giants started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Casey Schmitt homered with 2 outs and nobody on base. The Giants had an early 1-0 lead and were off and running against Colorado.

But the Rockies would strike back in the fourth against Whisenhunt. After designated hitter Hunter Goodman led off with a single, first baseman TJ Rumfield then walked. The next batter Tyler Freeman grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, potentially ending the rally. But Will Castro had other plans as he hit a home run to left-center field to give the Rockies a 2-1 lead.

The Giants punched right back in the very next inning. After Willy Adames grounded out, Bryce Eldridge launched a home run into McCovey Cove to tie the game at 2. That’s the 109th Giants splash hit home run in Oracle Park’s nearly three-decade history.

San Francisco took the lead in the very next inning. Catcher Drew Cavanaugh led off the fifth inning with a long single to right off of the Willie Mays wall. Heliot Ramos then hit a dribbler to the third baseman for an infield hit. That set it up for Luis Arraez, who doubled in a run to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. The next batter Schmitt walked, allowing the next hitter Rafael Devers to smash an RBI single to increase the lead to 4-2. The lead could’ve grown even more, but the following hitter Eldridge lined out to the second baseman.

The Giants tacked on four more insurance runs in the eighth inning. The rally started with two outs when Arraez singled. The next batter Schmitt doubled Arraez to third. Then, Devers doubled to increase San Francisco’s lead to 6-2. Adames followed with a long home run, way up the right-field bleachers, to give the Giants an 8-2 lead. That would end up being the final score.

Whisenhunt looked sharp in his return to the Giants from Triple-A Sacramento. He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs. He did walk four, but he struck out four batters.

For the Rockies, starting pitcher Ryan Feltner didn’t fare as well. In 4 1/3 innings, he gave up four runs on six hits. He walked four batters and struck out three.

The Giants bullpen finished the game after Whisenhunt was taken out, throwing scoreless, two-hit ball the rest of the way. San Francisco is now 34-6 against the Rockies in their last 40 games at Oracle Park.

Up next, the Giants will play game 2 of the series against the Rockies at Oracle Park on Friday night. Robbie Ray (8-6, 3.45 ERA) will take on Tanner Gordon (0-2, 6.95) at 7:15 p.m. Ray figures to be traded before the Aug. 3 deadline, so this could be his last start at Oracle Park as a Giant.

Heliot Ramos

Roupp, Ramos shine as Giants rout Jays 10-1

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Photo: Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos celebrates in the dugout during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 6, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif. (Jay Choi/SF Bay News Lab)

By Vince Cestone

SAN FRANCISCO — After a disappointing 2-4 road trip through Arizona and Colorado, the San Francisco Giants got right back on track at home, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1 at Oracle Park on Monday night.

The Giants came into Monday night’s game 15 games below .500 at 37-52. They seem to be gravitating around that mark, never going below it, and the same thing rang true yet again.

The Giants started out fast right out of the gate. The first batter of the game, Heliot Ramos, hit a long triple to right-center field that turned into a little league home run. The throw from shortstop Andrew Gimenez on the relay sailed past the third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and into the dugout. Ramos was allowed to score, and the Giants had the early 1-0 lead.

The Giants tacked on another run in the fourth inning. After Rafael Devers walked to lead off the inning, Jung Hoo Lee then singled, with Devers taking third on the hit. Willy Adames then hit into a 6-4-3 double play, but Devers came in to score, giving San Francisco a 2-0 lead.

In the fifth inning, the Giants got creative in scoring their third run. After Victor Bericoto singled to lead off the inning, he advanced to second on an Eric Haase sacrifice bunt. Ramos then grounded out. But after Luis Arraez was intentionally walked, Arraez attempted to steal second base. At that moment, Bericoto dashed home and made it ahead of the throw as Arraez, who knew he was dead to rights stealing second, stopped midway between first and second in order to let Bericoto score–and he did. The Giants were ahead 3-0.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Jays scored their lone run on a long Okamoto home run. The score was then 3-1, but the Giants put the game away in the very next inning–with the help of the Jays’ defense.

In the bottom of the sixth, Devers led off the inning with a walk. The next batter Lee grounded to the shifted third baseman Okamoto, but he missed the ball for his second error of the game, advancing Devers to third base. Adames then walked. After Bryce Eldridge struck out looking, Bericoto singled, bringing in two runs and giving the Giants a 5-1 lead. The next batter Haase popped out to the catcher. But with two outs and two on, Ramos hit a real home run just over the 24-foot wall in right field, giving the Giants an 8-1 lead.

Ramos wasn’t done. In the eighth inning, Ramos hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot that put the Giants up 10-1. That would end up being the final score.

On the pitching side, Giants starting pitcher Landon Roupp was superb. He threw eight innings of one-run ball, giving up just three hits and two walks. Roupp struck out five Jays. In relief, Spencer Bivens threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning, including two strikeouts.

For the Jays, it was a not-so-good homecoming for Kevin Gausman. In 5 1/3 innings, Gausman gave up seven runs on five hits. Four of those runs were earned. He walked five batters and struck out eight.

The Giants improve to 38-52, yet again avoiding slipping below 15 games under .500. The Blue Jays are now 42-49.

Up next, the Giants will try to clinch the series against the Jays on Tuesday night. Trevor McDonald (3-6, 4.42 ERA) will pitch for San Francisco. The Jays have not yet decided who will pitch for them.

Ryan Borucki

Giants bullpen blows another late-inning lead in 6-4 loss to the Phillies

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Photo: Giants relief pitcher Ryan Borucki exits the mound in the 7th inning after giving up two runs (Jay Choi/SF Bay News Lab)

By Vince Cestone

SAN FRANCISCO–For the second day in a row, the San Francisco Giants blew a late-inning lead as the Philadelphia Phillies rally from 4-0 down to win 6-4 at Oracle Park.

After starting pitcher Adrian Houser gave up back-to-back singles to start the seventh inning, Giants manager Tony Vitello brought in lefty Ryan Borucki to try and get through Phillies sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. That did not go well, as Schwarber walked and Harper hit the game-tying single. The next batter Alec Bohm hit a ground-ball single that gave the Phillies a 5-4 lead, one they would not give back. The Phillies tacked on another run later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Marsh.

Some may question Vitello’s decision to bring in Borucki in a leverage spot against two of the best hitters in the game. Borucki is a journeyman pitcher who had a 4.63 ERA in 35 innings with both the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. Fellow lefty Matt Gage, who has yet to give up an earned run this season, was not used in the high leverage spot and the Giants paid for it. Gage would go on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning, with the Giants down 6-4.

This latest bullpen blow up comes after Keaton Winn and Erik Miller gave up four runs combined in the eighth inning on Sunday against the New York Mets, giving the Mets a 5-2 come-from-behind victory. The Giants were up 2-1 at the start of the eighth inning on Sunday afternoon.

On Monday night, the Giants finally showed some offense in the third inning, where they scored three runs against Phillies starter Andrew Painter. Painter came into the year 1-0, with a 1.69 ERA. After Willy Adames starting the inning with a double, Luis Arraez followed with an RBI double of his own to give the Giants an early 1-0 lead. Giants third baseman Matt Chapman then tripled in another run. Two batters later, Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos singled in Chapman to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.

The Giants tacked on another run in the fourth inning on a Luis Arraez sacrifice fly. The Giants were up 4-0 and feeling good, but the Phillies got on the board in the fifth inning with two runs of their own. Two singles from the eighth and ninth spots in the batting order ended up scoring in that inning off of Houser.

The Giants did not score another run after the fourth inning. In fact, they only had 2 hits after the fourth inning–a single by Jung Hoo Lee in the eighth and a double by Adames in the ninth.

Houser ended up pitching well, better than his line score indicated. He ended up going six innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks. He struck out three batters.

The Giants are now 3-8 on the year, not the start that Vitello wanted to begin his Giants career. In 2000, the Giants did start the year 3-9 and ended up winning the National League West with 97 wins, but that team had Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent in the middle of their order and Felix Rodriguez and Robb Nen on the back end of the bullpen. The Giants will hope to turn things around quickly, or they can find themselves buried quite early in the season.

Up next, the Giants will try again on Tuesday to get right as they take on the Phillies again in Game 2 of the series. Robbie Ray (1-1, 3.38 ERA) will take the mound for the Giants against lefty Cristopher Sanchez (1-0, 0.79 ERA). Game time is at 6:45 p.m.

Oracle Park

SLIDESHOW: Food, mariachi, Chick-fil-A and more: What’s new at Oracle Park in 2026

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By Vince Cestone

Slideshow is at the bottom of the article (photos by the author Vince Cestone)

2026 isn’t just a new season on the field for the San Francisco Giants, but fans also get to try some new things at Oracle Park this season.

From Lucky Fries, to Chick-fil-A signage on the “fowl” poles, and to even an in-house mariachi band, the Oracle Park faithful have plenty of things to look forward to in 2026.

Among the highlights is an in-house mariachi band that will play at Oracle Park during all Saturday home games. The Giants will also wear a new Gigantes jersey on the field, which honors the Latino community, the team said. Local talent performing on these Saturday home games include Mariachi San Francisco, La Explosiva Sonora MX, and Comando Único. DJ collective Sazón Libre, who is based in the Mission District, will provide the music during the Fiesta Gigante Saturdays.

On the food side, the Giants are debuting Lucky Fries, a Birria Loaded Grilled Cheese sandwich, a new carvery, a dessert chimichanga, and two new hot dogs, among other items. Sports Radio Service’s Marko Ukalovic’s favorite was the Lucky Fries. Giants writer Vince Cestone agrees. In the slideshow below, you can see all the ingredients of each food item. The Giants even are debuting a new wine club.

Another noticeable change are both the left and right field “fowl” poles. Chick-fil-A has vertical signage in classic Chick-fil-A style on the two foul poles. Both foul poles read, “Chikin iz fare.”

The Giants will open the 2026 season on March 25 against the New York Yankees at Oracle Park.

Here’s a slide show of some of the new happenings at Oracle Park this season:

  • Giants in-house mariachi band
  • Giants in-house mariachi band
  • Giants in-house mariachi band
  • Birria loaded quesadilla
  • Birria loaded grilled cheese sandwich
  • Birria loaded grilled cheese sandwich
  • Beef Bulgogi
  • Beef Bulgogi
  • Beef Bulgogi
  • Beef Bulgogi
  • Giants wine club
  • Peruchín Sandwich
  • Peruchín Sandwich
  • Giants wine club
  • Lucky Fries
  • Lucky Fries
  • Lucky Fries
  • Assortment of Oracle Park desserts
  • Dessert chimichanga
  • Assortment of Giants desserts
  • Assortment of Giants desserts
  • Assortment of Giants desserts
  • Orange and Black Hot Dog
  • Char Siu Dog
  • Char Siu Dog
  • Char Siu Dog
  • 999 package
  • Giants 2026 souvenir cups
  • Assortment of Giants food items
  • Hello Kitty palm palm
  • New Chic-Fil-A signage on the left field foul pole.
  • New Chic-Fil-A signage on the right field foul pole.
  • New Chic-Fil-A signage on the right field foul pole.
  • Oracle Park
    Oracle Park on March 18, 2026
  • Oracle Park on March 18, 2026

Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee briefly detained at LA airport over missing travel documents

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By Vince Cestone

Jung Hoo Lee homers off Carlos Rondo/ AP file photo

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee was briefly detained at Los Angeles International Airport after he arrived from South Korea on Wednesday.

Lee didn’t have the correct documents to get through customs, officials said. He had forgotten the paperwork, according to KRON4.

Lee was arriving in the United States on Wednesday to prepare for Spring Training in Arizona, which starts in February.

The missing paperwork issue has been sorted out, and Lee was allowed to enter Los Angeles.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi helped to resolve the issue, according to Cleveland.com.

The Giants issued the following statement about the incident:

“Earlier today, Jung Hoo Lee experienced a brief travel issue at LAX due to a paperwork issue. The matter was quickly clarified with the appropriate authorities and he has since been cleared to continue his travel. We appreciate the professionalism of all parties involved.”

The Giants signed Lee to a $113 million, six-year contract. He hit .266 with eight home runs and 55 RBIs, with 10 stolen bases over 150 games.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Posey Giants new President; Ex-catcher says changes on the way; Putila out as GM

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San Francisco Giants president Buster Posey (left) and Giants Chairman Greg Johnson (right) address the media at Posey introduction as new team president on Tue Oct 1, 2024 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

On the Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Giants catcher Buster Posey said at his press conference when he was introduced as the team’s new president replacing Farhan Zaidi, that ultimately the team needs to hit and pitch better and that the margins were so small between winning and losing when your talking about the best players in the world.

#2 Posey who caught for San Francisco in all three World Series Championships was the leader of the team during those years knowing that how well does that fit in as a team president knowing what to look for on the field.

#3 Posey said that the decision making will be coming from a new general manager as far as delegating some of the on field strategy and decision that goes on on day to day operations.

#4 Posey said he wanted to be as useful as he can to the all people that he’s working with. Posey also said he didn’t want to feel like he’s the kind of leader where he’s constantly looking over somebody’s shoulder all the time.

#5 Giants general manager Pete Putila is out as GM and Posey said Putila will take a different role with the club and that the search for a new GM will start immediately.

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Tigers get all the runs they need in 2nd inning in 3-1 win; Royals Witt with RBI helps defeat O’s 1-0 in game 1; plus more Wild Card news

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Detroit Tigers starter Tarik Skubal (29) is stoked after striking out Houston Astros Yanier Diaz in the bottom of the sixth inning at the AL Wild Card Game in Minute Maid Field at Houston on Tue Oct 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, just wanted to ask you about the four MLB Wild Card games being played today and see if you can share your thoughts about today’s results. We’ll start with the Detroit Tigers who played the Houston Astros today at Minute Maid Field in the AL Wild Card game. Framber Valdez started for the Astros and Tigers did all the damage against Valdez in the top of the second inning scoring three runs coming away with a 3-1 win in game 1.

#2 The Royals and Orioles battled for the second AL Wild Card game at Camden Yards. The Royals came away with a 1-0 shutout to defeat the Orioles at Camden Yards. The Royals Bobby Witt has been doing it all season Tuesday he drove in the winning run and Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragan pitched six innings of shutout ball to close down the Orioles in game 1.

#3 The New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers might be a tight match at American Family Park in Milwaukee.

#4 The Atlanta Braves will be starting SJ Smith-Shawyer (0-0, 0.00) and the San Diego Padres will be starting Michael King (13-9, 2.95) Shawyer will be pitching against one of baseball’s best teams the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Pete Rose podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: He was controversial, banned, all time hits leader, now belongs to the ages at 83

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Pete Rose in memorium 1941-2024 tribute dedication photo courtesy of the Cincinnati Reds

Pete Rose podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

Former Cincinnati Red Pete Rose a long time player and manager passed away on Monday at age 83. Rose had a fabulous career as a baseball player. Rose broke in in 1963 that’s 61 years ago. He holds the records for most hits ever.

He surpassed Ty Cobb for the most hits. He holds the record for a hitting streak at 44 games. He was know as Charlie Hustle. He’d give you 100%. He’s remembered for his collision with the late Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse during the 1970 All Star Game.

I covered the Oakland A’s for many years and got to see Fosse who was an A’s broadcaster and never asked him about the collision with Rose and when I did get to ask him about it he would just simply say “that’s baseball” and “I was there to block the plate he had every right to crash into me.”

TMZ recently asked when they caught him on the street and asked him who was the best player not in the Hall of Fame right now. Rose said, “Joe Jackson” who was part of nine players who were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. Although found not guilty of betting on the World Series by a jury MLB Commissioner at the time Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned Jackson and his teammates for life a ban that stands to this day. Rose is banned as well for life.

Jerry Feitelberg does baseball analysis at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants fire Zaidi replace him with Posey; Firing was a long anticipated event

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Buster Posey takes over as the San Francisco Giants new team president as on Mon Sep 30, 2024 replacing former Giants president Farhan Zaidi (photo from mlb.com)

By Lewis Rubman and Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–After six seasons the San Francisco Giants have moved on from team president Farhan Zaidi and have replaced him with former Giants catcher and part owner Buster Posey. Zaidi had one more year left on his guaranteed contract as the Giants missed going to the playoffs for the third straight year.

The Giants who completed their regular season finished two games below .500 at 80-82 and were 453-417 during Zaidi’s six year tenure. Under Zaidi the Giants had one winning year. Zaidi had hired former Giants manager Gabe Kapler who was later fired after the 2023 season. It was under Kapler the Giants had that one winning season in 2021 when San Francisco won 107 games.

The firing on Monday marks the second big firing the Giants have made after Kapler now Zaidi being the second. Zaidi was mentioned by critics as someone the Giants should have let go with Kapler after the 2023 season. The Giants hiring of Bob Melvin for the 2024 season was a positive and gave Zaidi one last chance to steer the club to a winning season which it failed to do.

Beginning and during the 2024 season under Zaidi the Giants spent over$320 million on signing free agents Jung Hoo Lee, Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler, Jordan Hicks and Tom Murphy. The Giants also added Robbie Ray to their pitching core signing a player that wouldn’t be available until July for another $74 million. The Giants were hoping the moves would pay off as they also gave up two draft picks, it didn’t they ended up going over the luxury tax for the first time since 2017.

Posey was instrumental in getting Chapman signed on Sep 5th to a six year $151 million contract that will keep Chapman in San Francisco through 2030. After the Chapman signing some in the media said that Posey would be a good fit for team president to replace Zaidi. Posey was also instrumental in helping those World Series teams win during his time as catcher and he might be able to get the Giants to the post season under his presidency.

Giants general manager Peter Putila someone no one ever really mentions in the press about what his role was in the Zaidi firing as of now still remains team general manager.

Lewis Rubman and Stephen Ruderman are both Giants beat writers at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: End of an Era-I feel I was Evicted

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Oakland A’s Spanish radio announcers left to right Manolo Hernandez-Douen, Jose Orellana (engineer), and Amaury Pi Gonzalez at the last MLB game ever played at the Oakland Coliseum between the Oakland A’s and Texas Rangers on Thu Sep 26, 2024 (photo furnished by the author Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

End of an Era -I feel I was Evicted

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–It ended on a Sunday afternoon in Seattle, the Oakland A’s run since 1968. The Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland A’s (last time we can say Oakland A’s): Seattle 6, Oakland 4. It has been an emotional hangover for most of us who worked at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

I do feel like I have been “evicted” for no fault of my own, and I know many feel the same way. I have been there from the Charlie O Finley ownership[ days to Joh Fisher’s days}. I met Mr. Finley, but never A’s owner Mr. Fisher.

I started broadcasting Major League Baseball at old Box 19, a broadcast booth at the Oakland Coliseum, in 1978. It has been a long time since then. In 1978, the NY Yankees beat the LA Dodgers in the World Series, and Bucky Dent was the MVP.

The highest-paid player in 1978 was third baseman Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies, who earned $560,000.The US turned the Panamá Canal to Panamá. Louise Brown became the first human born from in vitro fertilization, and the average gas price in the United States was .70 cents per gallon.

But back to the Oakland Coliseum. A’s Manager Mark Kotsay and his players were a “class act” playing during a difficult season, not because they were trying not to finish last, they did not. They looked like a team that could be a .500 team starting next season, but because of all the circumstances with the team moving to Las Vegas, with an expected stop in Sacramento.

This time in history is not like it was back in 1978 when everybody got their news from three television Networks and a couple of local stations (no 500-plus cable channels like today). In the Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, Oakland Tribune, and San José Mercury News were mostly our daily sources of information. That was when people actually read whole newspaper articles, not just a big-fat headline on YouTube.

Today, everybody has a cell phone in their pockets (including the players), and rumors, fake news, and innuendo move faster than the wind at old Candlestick Park in San Francisco during batting practice around 5 PM. As I remember, this includes the games during the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989.

I do not have an exact count of the many days, afternoons, and nights that I spend at the Oakland Coliseum, but I have called it “my second home” since the 1970s in the business. I not only called games on the radio but also covered games. In the 1980s, I broadcast games for Telemundo CH 48 San José, which was first a tiny station but is now part of NBC Universal.

No matter how you analyze the Oakland Athletics story, it is sad, and I, for one, feel like I was evicted from the Coliseum.

Adiós al Coliseo y todas las memorias.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com