Tag: Baseball

Pillar and Vogt come up huge in eighth to give Giants 10-5 win

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photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants’ Stephen Vogt, right, celebrates with Buster Posey (28) after hitting a three-run home run off Oakland Athletics’ Ryan Buchter during the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Kevin Pillar was a new addition to the San Francisco Giants earlier this season, and time and time, he comes with the biggest hit of the game.

Well, Pillar did it again, as he lashed a two-run double down the right field line in the top of the eighth inning, helping the Giants to a 10-5 victory over the Oakland As before a crowd of 53,367 at the Coliseum.

Stephen Vogt returned to the Coliseum, and put the game out of reach, as he smashed a three-run home run over the out-of-town scoreboard in left field.

In all, in that eighth inning, the Giants scored eight runs, sent 11 batters to the plate off of five different As relievers.

This was the first time that the Giants scored eight runs or more in an inning came on August 28, 2016 against the Atlanta Braves at what was then called AT&T Park, and it was the first time since August 17 ,2012 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park that they did it on the road.

The win by the Giants, stopped their four-game losing streak and they are 4-4 on their current nine-game road trip that ends on Sunday afternoon.

With the loss, the As saw their modest three-game winning streak come to a crashing halt at the hands of their Bay Area rivals.

Things did not start out well, as Mark Canha led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run into the left field bleachers to give the As a 1-0 lead.

Matt Chapman gave the As a 2-0 cushion in the bottom of the third inning, as his double went off the left field wall to score Jurickson Profar, who walked to lead off the inning. Following the Profar walk, Phegley singled and Semien flew out for the first out of the inning, then Chapman put the As on top with the double.

Chris Bassitt pitched a great game, as he went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on scattering four hits, walking no one and striking out five.

His counterpart on the mound, Madison Bumgarner went five innings, allowing two runs, while giving up four hits, walking one and striking out five.

Both Bassitt and Bumgarner did not factor into the decision in the game.

Brandon Crawford got the Giants on the board in the top of the fifth, as his laser to left field cleared the wall for his 10th home run of the season.

Evan Longoria tied up the game in the game in the top of the sixth inning, as he singled to left field that scored Alex Dickerson from second base. Dickerson doubled to left field to setup the Longoria at-bat.

Overall, since June 30, Longoria is hitting .347 (34-for-98) with 21 runs scored, nine home runs and 27 runs batted in.

Longoria went 2-for-4 with a hit by pitch and a RBI on the night.

The game was not tied for long, as Marcus Semien singled to left field off of Jandel Gustave that gave the As 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Jurickson Profar doubled to lead off the inning against Gustave, then advanced an additional 90 feet when Josh Phegley dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt and then Semien came through his second hit of the night that gave the As the lead for the time being.

Profar doubled to lead off the inning against Gustave, then advanced an additional 90 feet when Josh Phegley dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt and then Semien came through his second hit of the night that gave the As the lead for good.

Matt Olson gave the As a two-run lead, as he smoked a single to right field that scored Semien with what looked like the decisive fourth run; however, that eight-run inning put an end to that.

Profar reached base again in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he walked with two outs and then Phegley doubled in Profar. Reyes Moronta came on to face Semien, but he was unable to get that final out and Semien walked; however, Moronta was able to get Chapman to pop up to Longoria to end the inning.

Shaun Anderson came into the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, and gave up a walk to Chad Pinder; however, he was able to Khris Davis to ground into a double play.

Despite the fact that it was a save situation, Will Smith came into the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was the first game pitched for Smith since August 16 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

NOTES: Pablo Sandoval was evaluated by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Wednesday, and he recommends that Sandoval UCL (Tommy John) reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. Sandoval will have the operation during the first week of September.

Anderson was reinstated from the 10-day injured list, as his rehab stint in Sacramento came to a close. To make room for Anderson on the roster, Andrew Suarez was optioned to Sacramento.

Both the Giants wore their players weekend jersey, as the Giants wore all black jerseys and the As wore all white jerseys and caps. Bassitt wore a black cap on the mound instead of the white caps like the rest of his teammates.

UP NEXT: Logan Webb makes his second career start on Sunday afternoon for the Giants, while veteran Brett Anderson will take the mound for the As.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants get swept by Cubs, head to Oakland for two-game weekend series

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 The Giants were swept in three games in Chicago two of them were loses by just one run. Do you view the Giants as a formidable opponent in their wild card chances seeing how they played against a competitive team like the Cubs? Dropping 14 of their last 17 games at Wrigley.

#2 Thursday’s game at Wrigley proved to be one for the books. Despite the loss, the Giants and Cubs played to a 1-0 final and former Cub starter Jeff Samardjiza went seven innings with two hits and one run.

#3 For Samardjiza, was this an advantage pitching in a park where he played part of career and that he was familiar with?

#4 The Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks got the call as the starter and didn’t disappoint going seven innings pitching a three hit shutout. He had good movement on his pitches on Thursday.

#5 The Giants have a rare Friday off before playing at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Going for the Giants, Madison Bumgarner (8-8, 3.72 ERA), and for the A’s, Chris Bassitt (9-5, 3.61 ERA).

Michael does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s go for it tonight as there’s a chance to sweep Yanks at Coliseum

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Photo credit: mercurynews.com

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 With the Oakland Raiders playing just one preseason game in the Oakland Coliseum surface, the outfield always gets scuffed up. How much of a role does that play in the A’s injuries?

#2 The A’s have three players that were out due to injuries that are back in the lineup: First baseman Matt Olson (hand), DH Khris Davis (oblique), right fielder Stephen Piscotty (knee), and center-fielder Ramon Laureano (shin). Laureano was not in the lineup on Wednesday night against the New York Yankees.

#3 The A’s starting pitcher from Wednesday night Mike Fiers has one of the best records in the American League and pitched against the Yankees. Tell us about how Fiers does it all season long.

#4 We’ve talked about Chad Pinder has just about done it all covering for open positions and has pulled it off. Talk about how valuable Pinder has been for Oakland.

#5 The starters for Thursday for the Yankees Masahiro Tanaka (9-6, 4.56 ERA) for the Oakland A’s Tanner Roark (7-8, 4.01 ERA) to conclude the series in Oakland.

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

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Major traffic worries clog Warriors’ new SF arena in Dogpatch neighborhood

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Photo credit: sfexaminer.com

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary:

#1 San Francisco Mayor London Breed said with a lot of events scheduled at Chase Center in San Francisco, how are people going to get in and out of Dog Patch especially with USCF Hospital next door on game nights at Golden State?

#2 The A’s almost had a shot at sweeping the Houston Astros in a four-game series taking three out of four. Every game is important now when the A’s face the Astros next series at Minute Maid Field in Houston.

#3 The A’s opened a three game series at the Coliseum on Tuesday against the New York Yankees all games at this stage of the season are huge with the A’s being 1.5 games back in the AL wild card.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Spanish play-by-play voice for the Oakland A’s on 1010 KIQI San Francisco, also is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Pinder is doing it all, relieving 4 players during their IL

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Photo credit: sports.yahoo.com

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Oakland A’s outfielder Chad Pinder is turning into a designated utility guy with the A’s injuries piling up and in the middle of the wild card chase.

#2 Injuries on the club include, first baseman Matt Olson (hand), DH Khris Davis (oblique), right fielder Stephen Piscotty (knee), and center-fielder Ramon Laureano (shin).

#3 Pinder has picked up the slack filling in for Olson, Davis, Piscotty and Laureano which speaks to his talents and ability. A’s manager Bob Melvin said that he very significant to the team.

#4 Taking a look at the A’s series with the New York Yankees that opens up on Tuesday night. The Yankees will start Domingo German (16-2, 3.96 ERA), and for the A’s, Homer Bailey (10-8, 5.22 ERA).

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: D-Backs Chase Bumgarner out of park, score 3 in the 1st

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photo sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019, in Phoenix.

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris, the way you saw it at Chase Field on Sunday, Giants starter Madison Bumgarner had the kind of outing you don’t see him have too often — getting shelled for six hits and four runs in six innings of work.

#2 You don’t see Bumgarner have too many nights like that, but on Sunday, the Arizona Diamondbacks got to him early scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning.

#3 The Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski, who hit three home runs on Saturday, hit a triple on Sunday. He’s been a hitting machine during the Diamondbacks series.

#4 Zack Greinke, the Diamondbacks pitcher, was supposed to start, but Merrill Kelly (9-12) got the call for Arizona pitching 5.2 innings, six hits, one run earned, two walks, five strikeouts and didn’t allow a home run.

#5 The San Francisco Giants’ Tyler Beede (3-7, 3.77 ERA) will open up the first game in Chicago Tuesday night. The Cubs will start Cole Hammels (6-4, 3.69 ERA).

Morris Phillips does the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s have a shot at sweeping Astros in 4 games today

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sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics’ Matt Olson swings for an RBI-single off Houston Astros’ Rogelio Armenteros in the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 The A’s could very well sweep the Houston Astros on Sunday that’s not a three game sweep, but it would be a four-game sweep.

#2 The Astros have been the A’s toughest customer all season defeating the A’s in all the series they’ve met. The A’s have to get the pitching as well as good hitting to win those games.

#3 On Friday night, there were 10 home runs hit by contrast on Saturday afternoon. The A’s didn’t get a home run and the Astros got only one, but the A’s got the win on Saturday.

#4 The A’s got a important rally going in the bottom of the third inning with five runs scored the A’s starting pitcher Chris Bassitt pitched for six inning giving up eight hits and giving up three earned runs.

#5 On Sunday, the Houston Astros will start Zack Greinke (12-4, 2.91 ERA) vs. the A’s starter Brett Anderson (10-8, 3.95 ERA).

Joey Friedman does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s closing in on Astros in 4-game series; Giants still in the hunt for a wild card spot; plus more

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photo from chron.com: Oakland Athletics’ Robbie Grossman watches his RBI single against the Houston Astros during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel:

1 Swingin’ A’s take first three games out of four with Houston, ½ game out of second in the AL Wild Card

2 Giants feasting on D-Backs’ pitching, still in NL Wild Card hunt

3 Christian Yelich, Aristides Aquino continue slugging ways

4 Yankees skipper makes case for mercy rule in MLB

5 Bill Walton calls White Sox-Angels game

Daniel Dullum does the MLB podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Pillar goes 5-for-5, Belt gets grand slam in Giants’ 5-run win, 11-6

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Belt hits a grand slam against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning during a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, in Phoenix.

By Jeremy Kahn

In what is the San Francisco Giants’ last trip to Chase Field this season, the team is on fire through the first three games of the series.

Kevin Pillar went 5-for-5, Brandon Belt hit a grand slam and drove in six runs and the Giants defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-6 at Chase Field.

With the victory, the Giants clinched the four-game series with one game remaining on Sunday afternoon and Madison Bumgarner on the mound.

Rookie Logan Webb, who grew up in Rocklin made his major-league debut went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned), giving up five hits, walking one and striking out seven, as he picked up the win in his debut.

Webb, who just returned from an 80-game suspension in July for testing positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs.

The right-hander made three starts at Double-A Richmond and then one at Triple-A Sacramento this past Monday.

Things did not start out well for Webb, as he allowed two runs in the bottom of the first inning, as Jarrod Dyson singled to lead off the inning, and then scored on a Wilmer Flores double. After Webb got Eduardo Escobar and David Peralta, Flores scored on a throwing error on a ball hit by Adam Jones.

Webb got out of the jam, as he got Jake Lamb to ground out to first base to end the inning.

That lead for the Diamondbacks would not last long, as Alex Dickerson led off the second inning with a walk, then Flores committed a throwing error, as he tried to flip the ball to Nick Ahmed at second base.

Pillar then came up with his first hit of the game that loaded the bases, and then Belt hit a grand slam that gave the Giants the lead for good.

It was the second career grand slam for Belt, who last hit one off of Luis Perdomo of the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on April 7, 2017.

Brandon Crawford got into the act following the Belt home run, as he singled; however, Webb popped out on a sacrifice attempt for the first out of the inning.

Mike Yastrzemski, who hit three home runs on Friday night then singled to right field and then Stephen Vogt loaded the bases with a base hit of his own.

Evan Longoria drove in the fifth run of the inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Crawford from third base and sent Yastrzemski to third base.

Diamondbacks pitcher Taylor Clarke did not get out of the second inning, as he went 1.2 innings, allowing five runs (three earned), walking one and striking out one.

Belt drove in his fifth run of the game in the top of the third inning, as he hit an opposite field single to left field that scored Pillar.

The Giants scored another run in the top of the sixth inning, as Longoria grounded into a double play that scored Austin Slater.

Crawford drove in his first run of the game, as he grounded out to Flores that allowed Scooter Gennett from third base.

Slater, who went 2-for-3 on the game after coming into the game on a double switch that saw Yastrzemski move to left field for Dickerson and Slater went into right field, singled to left field to score Pillar to give the Giants what looked like a commanding seven run lead.

The Diamondbacks, who scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday night to tie up the game began the comeback, as Christian Walker hit a solo home run and then Escobar hit a sacrifice fly that scored Dyson in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Pillar drove in a run with his fifth hit of the game that scored Longoria, who singled to lead off the inning.

Belt then drove in his sixth run of the game, as he grounded out to Flores that scored Gennett from third base.

The final two runs of the game came when Ahmed hit a two-run home run off the foul pole in the bottom of the eighth inning.

With the score 11-6 in the top of the ninth inning, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo sent his catcher Alex Avila to the mound and he pitched a perfect ninth inning that included striking out Yastrzemski for the second out of the inning.

Jandel Gustave came on to close it out for the Giants in a non-save situation, and the game ended on a great play from Slater to Gennett to Longoria, as Escobar tried to stretch a double into a triple; however, Slater made a perfect throw to Gennett, who threw to Longoria to end the game.

NOTES: With the addition of Webb to the roster, Joey Rickard was optioned to Sacramento to make room for Webb.

The Giants went 7-for-16 with Runners In Scoring Position.

UP NEXT: Bumgarner will take the mound on Sunday for the Giants, while the Diamondbacks, who will try to avoid the sweep will send Merrill Kelly to the hill.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Jerry Feitelberg for Michael Duca: Pillar’s bat helps Giants in month of August; Dickerson back in the lineup; plus more

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Photo credit: jweekly.com

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Jerry for Michael:

#1 Kevin Pillar has had a good month of August for the Giants, hitting .255, 115 hits, 15 homers and 63 RBIs. He has been clutch. How impressed is Jerry about Pillar?

#2 How important is it to have Alex Dickerson back in the lineup? He suffered an oblique strain and is doing a reduced workout now.

#3 How impactful is it that Pablo Sandoval being out of the line up with the inflamed right elbow and how much will they miss Pablo being around as he will be out at least 10 days on the injured list? Sandoval was hitting .269, 14 home runs and 41 RBIs before the injury.

#4 Manager Bruce Bochy said he wasn’t sure how long Sandoval will be out, but the team will have to see how Sandoval responds to treatment.

#5 The Giants are in Arizona for a four-game series with the Diamondbacks. It’s an important series just being 4.5 out of first place for the NL wild card.

Jerry is filling in for Michael Duca catch Michael who does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com