Tag: Cincinnati Reds

That’s Amaury News and Commentary–A’s Nick Kurtz Rookie of the Year

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Sacramento A’s slugger Nick Kurtz is congratulated in the A’s dugout after hitting a two run home run against the Cincinnati Reds at Sutter Health Park in Cincinnati on Sun Sep 14, 2025 (AP News photo)

A’s Nick Kurtz Rookie of the Year

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

On November 18 at 6 PM ET, the BBWAA will announce its Rookie of the Year Award. In the American League, there is only one player who deserves such an accolade: Nick Kurtz.

Kurtz became a name in baseball this year. Kurtz of the Sacramento Athletics is the first and only rookie in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a single game, a feat he accomplished on July 25, 2025, against the Houston Astros. His six-hit, four-homer performance also tied the MLB record for total bases in a game, set by Shawn Green in 2002.

The Athletics were the first team to have three consecutive players winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award. OF José Canseco in 1986,1B Mark McGwire in 1987, and shortstop Walt Weiss in 1988. For us who covered/broadcast that great era of A’s baseball, those three were key players in the championship seasons under the Walter Haas ownership.

Wednesday, with approximately ten games left in the regular season for most teams, the A’s have two top candidates for the 2025 Rookie of the Year Award. 22-year-old first baseman Kurtz and 23-year-old shortstop Jacob Wilson, who was also the starting shortstop for the American League in this season’s All-Star Game. Other American League rookies that are notable, but will not win the Rookie of the Year, are Boston outfielder Roman Anthony and Houston outfielder Cam Smith.

The A’s (now playing in Sacramento temporarily) are entering the last part of the season with the possibility of ending in fourth place again, like last season. The difference is that this 2025 season, the A’s have new blood, including very young and talented players, among them the two rookies like Kurtz and Wilson, who have propelled the team to a better record than the 69-93 Oakland A’s of 2024.

History: Jackie Robinson won the first official Rookie of the Year award in 1947. The award was given to only one player for both leagues in 1947 and 1948, but has been given to one player in each league since 1949. The award was later named the Jackie Robinson Award. 

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

While in the Bay Area, great food and great prices. 998cuba.com

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. 

Giants Come Out Flat But Redeem Themselves in 11th Inning Beating Arizona 5-1

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San Francisco Giants starter Justin Verlander walks from the bullpen to the dugout after taking warmups before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on Wed Sep 17, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

This game was a real sleeper until the 11th inning. After ten silent innings between the San Francisco Giants (76-76) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (77-76) in game three of their series, the Giants bats went crazy with four hits in the 11th inning scoring five runs and winning this game 5-1.

Up to that point they only had one hit through ten innings. It was an amazing win for the Giants winning a game that was so desperately needed. They got the job done in this one. Giant pitcher Justin Verlander was outstanding going seven innings.

Game recap: As this game got underway and the innings came and went, this game became a good old-fashioned pitchers duel. There was no score going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Neither team was hitting. Through nine innings, San Francisco had managed only one hit and Arizona had three.

Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaatt was having a solid game pitching through nine innings allowing only the one hit, giving up a walk with seven strikeouts. Justin Verlander went seven innings allowing 3 hits no runs, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts.

This game was headed into extra innings. The one thing that San Francisco did not want to see was another Arizona walk-off. It was up to Giant’s pitcher Ryan Walker to get out of the ninth inning giving the Giants a chance in the tenth.

With one out Walker allowed a Corbin Carroll triple and the Diamondbacks were looking for their second walk-off of the series. Gabriel Moreno was intentionally walked and then it all went downhill when Walker hit Blaze Alexander and the Diamondbacks had the bases loaded.

Ryan Walker got out of this huge mess and the Diamondbacks had squandered a monster opportunity. With renewed life, San Francisco would lean on Rafael Devers to get the inning going after going hitless in three at bats.

He had a productive out moving speedster Grant McCray from second to third base. Willy Adames struck out for the second out and Matt Chapman came to the plate; the Giants last hope in the inning. The Giants wasted a great opportunity when Chapman struck out giving Arizona another crack at sweeping the series.

The Diamondbacks were able to move a runner, Alek Thomas, to third base but they also came up empty unable to bring Thomas home and this game went into the eleventh inning.

The Giants really got something going in the 11th. Matt Chapman advanced from second to third on a passed ball by Gabriel Moreno. Bryce Eldridge walked and San Francisco had two runners on base with no outs.

Jerar Encarnacion singled Chapman home and the Giants had taken the lead 1-0 with no outs. Patrick Bailey singled loading the bases for San Francisco. The Giants broke this game wide open when Christian Koss doubled driving Jung Hoo Lee (he ran for Eldridge) and Encarnacion home taking a 3-0 lead still with no outs.

There would be a pitching change for the Diamondbacks. Grant McCray sacrificed and Patrick Bailey scored extending their lead to 4-0. After such a slow start San Francisco was coming on like gangbusters. They would add another run with two outs when Rafael Devers singled Christian Koss home and this game went into the bottom of the 11th inning with the Giants leading 5-0.

The Diamondbacks were able to score a single run in the bottom of the 11th inning but it was too little too late. Corbin Carroll sacrificed Geraldo Perdomo home from third base but that would be it for Arizona. The final was 5-1 in favor of San Francisco.

Game notes: Wednesday afternoon the Giants beat the Diamondbacks in game three of their series. The Giants are .500 yet again this season. After a nice turnaround in past weeks their offense has really struggled. The Giants Wild Card chances improved Wednesday after the Mets lost to the Padres and the Giants moved from four games out now to two games back for the last Wild Card spot.

They were crushed in game one of this series losing 8-1 followed by a disappointing loss in game two. After taking a 4-0 lead early in that game, they allowed Arizona to come back and finish the game off with a walk-off winning 6-5.

Wednesday the Giants avoided the series sweep. With both the Mets and Reds losing the Giants once again are looking at a shot to get back into third place in the NL Wild Card race. Giants starter Justin Verlander had himself an outing going seven innings, allowing three hits, two walks, and three strikeouts for the win.

After breaking their four-game losing streak Wednesday, the Giants face a tough four-game series that gets underway Thursday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 PM. They will take on the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

Logan Webb will get the call with a 14-10 win/loss record and a 3.34 ERA. The Dodgers plan on starting Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He has a 11-8 win/loss record with a 2.66 ERA.

There is sure to be a lot of fireworks between these age-old rivals. San Francisco needs to have a great series. They are two games back behind the Mets and are tied with Cincinnati Reds and and half game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants now need to concentrate on the game in front of them and nothing else.

Sacramento A’s podcast Barbara Mason: A’s take momentum from sweep to Boston Tuesday

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The Cincinnati Reds Gavin Lux (2) is thrown out sliding into home plate in the fourth inning by Sacramento A’s catcher Willie MacIver (left) at Sutter Health Park on Sun Sep 14, 2025 (Dennis Lee-Imagn Images photo)

Sacramento A’s podcast Barbara Mason:

#1  Sacramento A’s rookie Nick Kurtz hit one of four of the Athletics home runs that put Sacramento ahead in the bottom of the fifth 7-4 over the visiting Cincinnati Reds 7-4 on Sunday afternoon.

#2 The A’s wound up sweeping the Reds and the loss pushes the Reds 2.5 back in the NL Wild Card as the A’s played spoiler.

#3 The A’s Jacob Wilson, Colby Thomas, and Brent Rooker hit home runs as the A’s came back from being down 3-0. The win also passes their 2024 win total with 12 regular season games remaining.

#4 Wilson and Thomas hit home runs in the bottom of the fourth. Nick Kurtz hit a home run with two out in the fifth inning for his 32nd of the season.

#5 Sacramento heads to Boston to open up a three game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Starting pitcher for the A’s LHP Jefferey Springs (10-11 ERA 4.28) the Sox have not announced a starter for Tuesday night’s game first pitch 3:45pm PT.

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

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 Bats Blast Reds 7-4 in Series Closer

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Sacramento A’s reliever Michael Kelly (49) shuts the door on the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Sun Sep 14, 2025 (Athletics X photo)

Sacramento Bats Blast Reds in Series Closer

By Mauricio Segura

WEST SACRAMENTO–For three innings on Sunday afternoon, it looked like the Sacramento Athletics were about to limp into another quiet loss. The Cincinnati Reds came out swinging, tagging rookie starter Luis Morales for an early barrage and silencing the home crowd with a pair of long balls.

But if the 2025 Athletics have proven anything, it’s that they can take a punch, reset, and then slug their way right back into a fight. By the time the dust settled, the Green and Gold had out-homered Cincinnati, flexed the depth of their power, and stormed to a 7-4 win that completed a series sweep and gave fans another taste of why this late-season stretch has been worth watching.

Cincinnati wasted no time getting on the board. Noelvi Marte ripped a solo homer in the first, his 13th of the season, and two innings later, Will Benson’s two-run shot off Morales had the Reds sitting pretty with a 3-0 lead. Morales, making just his seventh career start, looked rattled early. His command wavered, and although he settled down to induce some ground ball outs, the Reds appeared in control, capitalizing on every mistake he left over the plate.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jacob Wilson, who continues to flirt with a batting title in his rookie campaign, stepped up and launched a solo homer into the left-field seats, sparking life in the dugout. Moments later, Colby Thomas followed suit with his sixth homer, this one a laser to left-center that brought Sacramento within a run. Suddenly, Lodolo’s early strut turned into a careful grind.

The fifth inning delivered the decisive moment. After Wilson was hit by a pitch, Nick Kurtz stepped in, and as he’s done so many times this year, turned the game on its head with one violent swing. His two-run shot, a towering drive to left, gave Sacramento its first lead of the day at 4-3. For Kurtz, it was his 32nd of the season, putting him further ahead of the rookie leaderboard and reaffirming what scouts have been saying since spring: this is a cornerstone bat in the making.

With momentum firmly in their favor, the A’s added insurance in the sixth when Thomas singled and Brett Harris laced a double down the line to make it 5-3. Brent Rooker then joined the power parade in the seventh, belting his 29th of the year to dead center. By then, Cincinnati’s bullpen looked shell-shocked, and Sacramento’s confidence was on full display. Thomas capped his afternoon with another hit in the seventh, part of a three-hit day that showcased his knack for producing in the middle of rallies.

The Reds tried to claw back in the eighth, with Sal Stewart cutting the deficit to 7-4 on a solo homer, but the A’s bullpen had enough answers. Brady Basso, Tyler Ferguson, Sean Newcomb, and Justin Sterner combined to bridge the gap before Michael Kelly closed things out in the ninth.

Morales, despite his shaky start, was backed up perfectly by a relief corps that has quietly transformed itself since the All-Star break. Once one of the shakiest units in baseball, Sacramento’s bullpen has carried a 3.01 ERA since late June, among the best in the majors.

The win carried significance beyond the box score. By sweeping Cincinnati, the Athletics improved to 69-80 on the season, officially eliminating them from AL West contention but keeping a flicker of Wild Card math alive, at least for another day.

More importantly, the team continued to prove it can hang with opponents by out-homering them, a formula that has worked like clockwork. Sacramento is now 44-9 when it clears the fences more often than its opponent, a staggering .830 winning percentage that underscores just how central power has become to its identity.

That reliance on the long ball might not always be sustainable, but this September surge is giving fans glimpses of the future. Kurtz, Wilson, and Thomas are all rookies. Together, they combined for four hits, three runs, and three home runs in Sunday’s victory.

It’s the kind of production that hints at a foundation being built, not just a streak of hot bats. Wilson, hitting .318, continues to press Aaron Judge for the AL batting crown, something an Athletic hasn’t won since Ferris Fain in 1952. Kurtz, meanwhile, already has more home runs than any A’s rookie since Yoenis Céspedes, and Thomas is quickly proving he can be more than just a depth piece.

Rooker, the veteran presence among the mashers, keeps doing his part too. His seventh-inning homer not only gave Sacramento breathing room, it also put him among the league leaders in doubles and extra-base hits. If the rookies are the promise of tomorrow, Rooker is the reminder that established power can still set the tone today.

It wasn’t a perfect afternoon. Morales lasted just 4.2 innings and was tagged for three early runs, raising questions about how many more innings his arm can handle this year. But even that storyline had a silver lining. Morales is just weeks removed from pitching in Double-A, and for all the lumps he’s taken, the A’s are 4-2 in his starts. That kind of trial by fire is how young rotations are forged.

By the time Kelly induced TJ Friedl’s final out in the ninth, the 8,778 fans in attendance were on their feet, savoring a series sweep that carried the weight of both momentum and meaning. It’s been a long, uneven season for Sacramento, one defined by brutal losing streaks and flashes of promise. Sunday’s win leaned hard into the latter, a young team showing fight, flashing power, and sending a message that the future might not be as far away as it sometimes feels.

As the A’s now pack their bags for Boston, they do so with a swagger that only comes from beating a team at its own game. Cincinnati brought the early thunder, but Sacramento answered with a storm of its own. And if this weekend was any indication, the Athletics’ blueprint is clear: keep swinging, keep slugging, and let the long ball carry them wherever it can.

Sacramento heads to Boston to open up a three game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Starting pitcher for the A’s LHP Jefferey Springs (10-11 ERA 4.28) the Sox have not announced a starter for Tuesday night’s game first pitch 3:45pm PT.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

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. 

Kurtz’s 493-Foot Grand Slam Powers A’s Past Reds 11-5 on Hall of Fame Night

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Nick Kurtz #16 of the Athletics hits a grand slam during the bottom of the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Sutter Health Park on September 13, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Scott Marshall/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento A’s and some of the Cincinnati Reds celebrated a special day at Sutter Health Park on Saturday night as the A’s inducted their Athletics Hall of Fame 2025 Class. The players inducted were Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson, alongside longtime broadcaster Monte Moore.

It was a special group honored during the sunset hour in West Sacramento, albeit after a 10-minute delay caused by fireworks tripping the stadium’s fire alarm systems. The stadium and all PA capabilities were temporarily disabled, presumably a protocol set up by the fire systems. However, once the teams took the field, it was business as usual as the A’s defeated the Reds 11-5.

Luis Severino didn’t pitch well in his Sutter Health Park return since coming back from injury and making two starts on the road. Severino went five innings for the A’s, giving up five runs on six hits while walking two Reds hitters. As has been the case much of the 2025 season, he was hit around at Sutter Health Park and has only been able to earn six wins so far this season with the Athletics.

Mark Kotsay spoke about the start after the game.

“…The attack into the zone is what we’re looking for and obviously the result wasn’t great, but he gave us five innings and kept us in the game.”

The bullpen

The bullpen, which has turned into a strength for Kotsay and his staff this season, came in and pitched lights out once again. Michael Kelly relieved Severino and tossed a scoreless sixth inning, giving up just a hit and a walk while striking out one.

Brady Basso pitched the seventh for the A’s and tossed a perfect frame, retiring the three hitters he faced without incident. Following Basso, Kotsay gave the ball to Elvis Alvarado to pitch the eighth inning. Alvarado pitched well in a scoreless inning, allowing just one hit.

The ninth inning belonged to Hogan Harris, who pitched a clean frame with the exception of a walk he stranded on the bases.

“I love talking about the success of the bullpen right now,” Kotsay said after the game. “It’s funny, Rollie Fingers was standing next to me before the ceremony started and he said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a story for you. I went into the clubhouse today and was kind of asking around, “Who’s the closer?” And they all went, “We all are!”’ That was great. That’s the mindset down there. There’s a group of guys down there that are thriving on their opportunity, prepared for it, and when they get the ball, they’re going in and having success.”

The bats

The A’s bats chased the Reds starter early after putting up five runs on four hits against flamethrower Hunter Greene.

The A’s got on the board with a Brent Rooker solo homer to left-center in the second inning, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Only three batters later, Friday night’s hero Carlos Cortes stepped up and homered of his own. On the 12th pitch of the at-bat, Cortes sent a ball 398 feet to right field to give the A’s a 3-2 lead.

The offense added on in the third inning when Jacob Wilson hit a two-RBI ground-rule double off the leg of Greene, putting the A’s up 5-2.

The bats weren’t done, continuing to pile on against the Reds bullpen. In the seventh, Wilson hit his second RBI double of the game, scoring Shea Langeliers. One inning later, Lawrence Butler drove in Darell Hernaiz with an RBI single.

Nick Kurtz capped the scoring with a booming eighth-inning grand slam that traveled an eye-popping 493 feet to dead center. Kurtz cleared the batter’s eye with his mammoth shot, sending Sacramento into a frenzy.

“I really can’t speak any more about Nick. I don’t know if there’s words that can describe that at-bat… he continues to just impress,” Kotsay said. “The impact on that baseball was one, like I’ve seen with a couple guys that showed up today and were part of that Hall of Fame ceremony, and I think you guys know who I’m talking about. Canseco and McGwire used to hit walls like that—in a different era. Nick’s not in that era.”

Severino and many of the Athletics joked about the state of their vehicles following the power display from Kurtz.

“Hopefully my car is alright. I mean, my car was parked right behind that, but hopefully it’s good,” Severino said. “It’s unbelievable. I can’t imagine anybody else going deep center field 500 feet. That’s crazy.”

“I think we’re going to have to make up a new word for what he did to that ball,” Lawrence Butler said. “That was insane. He’s done insane stuff all year. I don’t know what else he has to do to top everything he’s done this year. I mean, this is one of the greatest rookie years I’ve ever seen.”

Overall, the A’s offense put up 11 runs on 12 hits while walking seven times against the Reds pitching staff.

Fact of the Game

Lawrence Butler became the first Athletics player to have a 20-homer/20-stolen base season since fellow No. 4, Coco Crisp, did it in 2013.

Theo Derosa asked Butler after the game how it feels to be the first player since Crisp to achieve the milestone. 

“Yeah, that feels really good. That’s amazing. He wore number four. I wear number four too, so that’s pretty cool to hear that.”

Up next

The A’s will take on the Reds in the series finale Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park. Luis Morales (3-1, 2.73 ERA) is slated to start for the A’s against Nick Lodolo (8-7, 3.10 ERA) for the Reds.

⚡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 podcast Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s host Reds for Three Starting Friday night at Sutter Health Park

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Sacramento A’s Lawrence Butler (4) and teammates jump for joy after Butler’s game winning RBI in the bottom of the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento to beat the Boston Red Sox on Wed Sep 10, 2025 (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 Nick Kurtz is one of three A’s now to have hit 30 home runs joining former A’s Bash Brothers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Quite an accomplishment for someone who just joined the A’s two months after the season had started.

#2 The A’s were coming off two tough loses against the Boston Red Sox losing by shutout scores of 7-0 and 6-0 Monday and Tuesday back with a 5-4 win on Wednesday.

#3 Jeremiah talk about Lawrence Butler and his walk off home run that won it for the A’s and ended Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman’s seven week hitless streak?

#4 Kurtz is on a roll he now becomes the 32nd rookie to hit 30 home runs as a rookie. Canseco did it in 1986 with 33 home runs and McGwire did it with 49 in 1987.

#5 Lets see if that win can inspire the A’s as they open a series against the Cincinnati Reds at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento Friday night. Starting pitcher for the Reds RHP Brady Singer (13-9 ERA 3.98) starting pitcher for the A’s has not been announced yet by manager Mark Kotsay.

Join Jeremiah Salmonson for the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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. 

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: De La Cruz pays tribute to late sister after home run; Suspect in Astros McCullers threats apologizes; plus more news

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Cincinnati Reds hitter Elly De La Cruz slugs a sixth inning home run at Wrigley Field on Sun Jun 1, 2025 and later dedicates it to his late sister Genelis who passed away in the Dominican Republic. (AP News photo)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Cincinnati Reds star Elly De la Cruz didn’t need to play on Sunday and no one would have blamed him if he didn’t. Cruz’s older sister Genelis De La Cruz Sanchez passed away in the Dominican Republic after suffering a number of health issues. Cruz hitting against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field tag a deep drive to left field and rounded the bases pointing heavenward and giving the heart sign. Elly could also be a candidate for the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Hall of Fame if he continues to play at the level he has that’s in the future.

#2 A drunk intoxicated fan overseas sent threats to Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers and had also threatened his two kids the Houston Police announced on Monday. The suspect in the case has not been charged as of yet but police have indentified as overseas gambler who admitted that to police he gambled on an Astros game and lost and sent the threats to McCullers. The suspect says he apologized to McCullers and his family for making the threats. Charges for the threats are being considered.

#3 You covered them you knew them when you worked at the Seattle Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson who wore number 51 and Ichiro Suzuki who both wore number 51 will have their numbers retired by the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro wrote to the Big Unit if he could wear number 51 when he joined the Mariners and Johnson gave his permission. Talk about both players as you saw them when you covered the Mariners in your television days there.

#4 Amaury talk about the ejection of the Tampa Bay Rays Taylor Walls who tapped on his helmet after being called out on strikes on Sunday at Daikin Park in Houston by home plate umpire Nick Lentz after being ejected from the game Walls went ballistic and charged at Wentz several times only to be restrained by the coaches and a couple teammates before being led to the clubhouse.

#5 Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington said after designated hitter Mike Trout had returned from his knee injury and had successful days on Friday and Saturday at the plate but was benched Sunday as Wash called it for taking a break it was not a reflection on his left knee injury. Expect Trout to get a day off every other two days as the Angels approach his return cautiously.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

@Central Park Fremont – Fremont CA

http://goaquaadventure.com

San Francisco Giants podcast Morris Phillips: It’s off to the Big Apple as SF opens 3 game set with Yankees

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Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees will host the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium in New York on Fri Arp 11, 2025 to open a three game series (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast Morris Phillips:

#1 San Francisco Giant Mike Yastrzemski’s two run home run in the bottom of the tenth inning got the Giants a 8-6 win over the visiting Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park on Wednesday afternoon.

#2 The Giants Jung Hoo Lee got three hits which included a triple and a double. Lee’s hitting also help pace the Giants down from five runs to comeback for the win.

#3 The Giants Wilmer Flores jumped into the act as well with three hits and a home run. Flores has been clutch so far in this early part of the season.

#4 Morris, big win for San Francisco as they avoided getting swept in the series.

#5 The Giants open a three game series at Yankee Stadium in New York on Friday night. Look out for those scary torpedo bats. San Francisco will be starting Robbie Ray (2-0, ERA 3.18) for the New York Yankees Davis Martin (0-1 ERA 5.73) for a 4:05pm PDT first pitch. Giants and Yankees Morris will be it one of those classic match ups.

Join Morris Phillips for the San Francisco Giants podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Yaz walks it off, as Giants overcome their 2025 kryptonite with thrilling 8-6 comeback win over Reds

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San Francisco Giant Casey Schmitt (10) gives teammate Mike Yastrzemski (left) the Gatorade shower after Yastrzemski’s walk off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Apr 9, 2025 (San Francisco Giants X photo)

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Oracle Park

Cincinnati Reds 6 (5-8)

San Francisco Giants 8 (9-3)

Win: Erik Miller (1-0)

Loss: Emilio Pagan (0-1)

Time: 2:41

Attendance: 35,186

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants avoided the sweep with a thrilling come-from-behind win, as they came back from down 6-1 to beat the Reds 8-6 on a 10th-inning walk-off home run by Mike Yastrzemski

The Reds have seemed to be the Giants’ kryptonite early this season. They shut out the Giants in the first two games of this series, and they have been responsible for all three of the Giants’ losses so far this season.’

Wednesday, the Giants not only needed a win to avoid the sweep, but they needed a win to avoid having a three-game snide going into what is going to be a tough road trip through New York and Philadelphia.

Justin Verlander made his third start of the season, and he was hoping to fare better than he did in his last start in the home opener against the Mariners on Friday, in which he only lated two and a third innings.

We got vintage Verlander over the first two innings, as he retired the first six men he faced, and struck out the side in the top of the second inning. He struck out four in total over the first two innings

However, in the top of the third, it was a different story. After getting Spencer Steer to pop out to second for the first out of the inning, things got rough for Verlander. It started with a walk to Jake Fraley, who was the first base-runner for either team. Former Giant Austin Wynn then singled to left field to put runners on first and second with one out for the top of the Reds’ lineup.

TJ Friedl came up and hit a double off the bricks in right, which knocked in Fraley for the first run of the game, and got Wynns over to third. Santiago Espinal reached on a swinging bunt to third, and that brought up the Reds’ exciting young phenom, Elly De La Cruz.

Of course De La Cruz had to do damage, as he hit a chopper over LaMonte Wade Jr. at first down the right field line for a two-bagger, and that scored a pair to make it 3-0. Former Dodger Gavin Lux then hit a ground ball off the glove of the diving second-baseman, Tyler Fitzgerald, who along with the rest of the infield was playing in, and another two runs scored to make it 5-0.

Reds’ starter Nick Martinez also set down the first six hitters he faced. The Giants finally got in the hit column with a two-out double by Fitzgerald in the bottom of the third, but Wade grounded out to first to end the inning.

The Giants finally got on the board for the first time in this series in the bottom of the fourth. Willy Adames drew a lead-off walk, and Jung Hoo Lee brought him in with a triple down the right field line to make it 5-1. The Giants had a golden opportunity to get right back into this game, but Lee was thrown out at the plate on a ground ball off the bat of Heliot Ramos, and they had to settle for just the run.

The good news was that there were still five innings of baseball left, and the Giants have had a propensity for coming back here in the early part of the season.

Meanwhile, Verlander settled back down and threw two more 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth. The Reds would get one more run off Verlander in the top of the sixth, though it came on a walk to Wynns issued by Lou Trivino, who had just come into the game for Verlander.

Despite giving up six runs over five and two thirds innings, Verlander was fairly strong. If you take out the ugly top of the third, he was frankly dominant. Nothing said that more than his nine strikeouts, and no one believed it more than his skipper, Bob Melvin.

“[Verlander was] incredibly unlucky,” said Melvin. “His stuff was good the whole game today. I don’t think there was one ball hit [other than] Frito’s ball. To be able to finish the inning was huge.”

It was only a matter of time before the Giants would stage a rally to get back into the game. Even when they were shut out in the first two games of this series, they never gave up and kept hitting the ball hard.

That rally would come in the bottom of the sixth. Lee singled to right to lead off the inning. Matt Chapman and Heliot Ramos both struck out, but Mike Yastrzemski lined a double to right to move Lee over to third. A wild pitch from Martinez made it 6-2, and then Wilmer Flores lined a base hit the other way to right to make it 6-3 and put the Giants right back in the game.

Left-hander Taylor Rogers was summoned by Reds Manager Terry Francona to try and put out the fire. Rogers was greeted by his former battery mate, Patrick Bailey, who lined a triple to right to make it 6-4. Tyler Fitzgerald then lined an opposite-field base-hit to right to make it 6-5.

Randy Rodriguez held down the fort with a scoreless top of the seventh, and then the Giants wasted a leadoff double by Lee in the bottom of the seventh. By the way, for those of you keeping track, that was the third leg of the cycle for Lee. The only leg missing was the home run.

The other Rogers twin, Tyler, struck out the side in a 1-2-3 top of the eighth for the Giants. The first man to strike out in the inning was Will Benson, who took home the golden sombrero with his fourth strikeout in his 2025 debut.

Wilmer Flores then stepped in against Tony Santillan to lead off the bottom of the eighth, and on the very first pitch, Flores tied the game with a home run down the left field line. It was Wilmer’s fifth home run of the year, and he now has more home runs just two weeks into this season than he had all of last season.

Melvin brought in his closer, Ryan Walker, who threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth. Ian Gibaut did the same for Cincinnati in the bottom of the ninth, and we were going to extras for some Manfred Ball.

Erik Miller survived the ghost runner in the top of the tenth, and the Giants looked to win the game against Emilio Pagan in the bottom of the tenth. Heliot Ramos moved Chapman, who was the Giants’ ghost runner to third, and that brought up Mike Yastrzemski.

It turns out the Giants would not even need the ghost runner, as Yastrzemski launched the first pitch he saw into McCovey Cove to win it, and the Comeback Kids did it again. For Yastrzemski, it was his fifth-career walk-off home run, and his third into the water.

The Giants are now 9-3, and they got the massive win they needed going into what is going to be a tough three-city road trip through the Bronx, Philadelphia and Anaheim.

“It’s amazing, [and] about as much as I’ve ever had on the baseball field right now,” said Yastrzemski. “[It’s] an unbelievable group. Even when things got tough the last two days where we didn’t score any runs, we’re still here having fun. We’re smiling, we’re not letting [the losses] affect us, and I think that these are learning curves even for veteran guys. You see how hard it is to win a big league game, and we need to enjoy it every time we do.”

Erik Miller got the win, and Emilio Pagan took the loss.

The Giants have gotten off to this 9-3 start against three solid teams, and they will now be tested against two powerhouses in the Yankees and Phillies in their ballparks. This weekend will be a battle of old school baseball and new age analytics, as the Giants and their pitching staff will be up against Jazz Chisholm, Anthony Volpe, Giancarlo Stanton and the other Yankees using the abomination known as the torpedo bat.

The Giants will begin the road trip on Friday night at Yankee Stadium with left-hander Robby Ray (2-0, 3.18 ERA) on the mound. Opposing Ray for the Yankees will be Marcus Stroman (0-0, 7.27 ERA). First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. in the Bronx, and 4:05 p.m PDT in San Francisco.

Giants News and Notes:

Yastrzemski walk-off was the 106th splash hit in the history of Oracle Park, and the fifth walk-off splash hit.

Barry Bonds hit the first off of left-hander Ray King of the Braves at then-Pacific Bell Park on Aug. 19, 2003. Brandon Crawford did so against the Rockies on April 13, 2014, and Yastrzemski hit his other two, both against the Padres, on July 29, 2020 and June 19, 2023.

SF Giants game wrap: Lodolo and Reds shutout Giants for second night in row in 1-0 win

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Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Lodolo (40) delivers to the San Francisco Giants line up at Oracle Park on Tue Apr 8, 2025 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

By Lewis Rubman

Cincinnati (5-7). 001 000 000. 1. 8 1

San Francisco (8-3).000 000 000. 0 4 0

Time: 2:05

Attendance:30,261

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–For the second night in a row, the fans at Oracle Park were treated to a nail-biter of a pitchers’ duel. I was going to call it a classical one, but that would have required that both pitchers stay in the game for more than six innings. But you take what you get, and Tuesday night’s five moundsmen gave us plenty, a Cincy’s Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft, and Emilio Pagán combined to defeat San Francisco’s Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong, 1-0.

Lodolo, who earned his second win and one setback allowed three hits, a walk, and a balk over six frames, brought his ERA down to 0.96. He threw 87 pitches, 51 of which were balls, to the 23 batters he faced. Ashcraft took care of the Giants in the next two frames, surrendering a leadoff single to Sam Huff in the eighth before he was erased by Héliot Ramos hitting into a U4-3 double play. The Reds’ righty reliever then fanned Willly Adames. Pagán set Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, and Wilmer Flores down in order, to earn his second save of the season.

Roupp calls Logan Webb, the tough luck loser of Monday’s razor thin loss to the Rhinelanders, his best friend on the team. The rookie, who hails from Rocky Mount, NC, the home of Hall of Famer Buck Leonard, had nothing to be ashamed of in his performance, gave up the visitors’ only tally.

It came in the top of third on a lead off double by Spencer Steer, who advanced to third on Jake Fraley’s single to center, and scored on TJ Friedle’s ground out to third. The young hurler allowed seven safeties, chalked up four strike outs, and didn’t walk anyone, He left with a record of 0-1, 3.60. Birdsong threw three shutout innings, in which he walked one and struck out two. He has yet to give up an earned run this season.

The Giants will try to salvage one game of this series 12:45 tomorrow, Wednesday, afternoon. Nick Martínez (0-2,5.91) will go against fellow righty Justin Verlander (0-0,6.14).