Tag: Drew Smyly

MLB podcast with Charlie O: Was Scherzer suspension too excessive?; Mad Bum out at Arizona but LA might be interested; plus more

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New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer pleads his case that has clean hands in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wed Apr 19, 2023, but umpires ruled he had a sticky substance on his hands after he was ordered to wash his hands and was suspended for ten days by MLB (AP News photo)

On the MLB podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie O, Last Wednesday at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, New York Mets Max Scherzer said that he was supervised by an MLB official when he was ordered to wash his hands during his last start to remove what the umpiring crew termed as “sticky substance” apparently that didn’t work he was tossed from the game and hit with a ten day suspension in your view Charlie O was this a justified ejection and suspension?

#2 Scherzer sat on the MLB Players Association representatives during the last contract negotiations and he’s been active with the players union is it a conspiracy to say that their might be some retribution from baseball for his union activity?

#3 The Arizona Diamondbacks released pitcher Madison Bumgarner on Friday. Bumgarner had been struggling going 0-3 ERA 10.26. The Dodgers might be interested in his services. The Diamondbacks are on the hook for $34 million remaining on his five year contract. There is this and next season remaining on the deal.

#4 Can you believe how the Chicago Cubs Drew Smyly’s no hit perfect game ended when Smyly went to field a grounder in between home and the mound hit by the Los Angeles Dodgers David Peralta Cubs catcher Yan Gomes flipped over Smyly’s back. Smyly lost his balance and ended up on the ground holding the ball but it was too late as Peralta was on base and the perfect game was no more.

#5 Can’t leave out the toughest story of the week the announcement of Oakland A’s team president David Kaval announcing the moving of the team to Las Vegas. Kaval announcing on Wednesday night the A’s have a binding agreement at the old Wild Wild West location at Tropicana and I 15 to build a new A’s park. First Charlie how heartbreaking is this for Oakland and the Bay Area?

Charlie O does the MLB podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants acclimate quickly as Oracle Park visitors, whip the Mariners, 9-3

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants’ offense this season has shown less pop when they’re the visitors than it has when they play at Oracle Park.

Following that equation, Wednesday’s return to McCovey Cove was just what the Giants needed to get things rolling–on the road.

With the Mariners the designated home team for the game originally scheduled for Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, but moved due to poor air quality enveloping the Northwest, the Giants didn’t assume a secondary role as the visiting team. Batting first in each inning, the Giants immediately made themselves at home by blasting to an 8-0 lead midway through the fourth inning, then cruising to a 9-3 win.

Give the Giants the win, and bonus points for improvisation, according to manager Gabe Kapler.

“We knew there would be situations we haven’t had to deal with in Major League seasons past,” Kapler said. “We have to be good within the construct of whatever the season hands us.”

“It’s definitely a lot easier to deal with this stuff when you’re at your own place,” Brandon Belt said. “It’s definitely a lot more comfortable here for us. We get to go to our own house or whatever it may be. We get to use our own facilities when we come to the ballpark. I think that definitely plays a role.”

The first 31 games of this unusual season went off as planned. Since then, the Giants have experienced it all: social activism, virus outbreaks–and false positive tests–and now poor air quality due to the plethora of wildfires. And the adjustments weren’t initial successes: the Giants were listless in dropping hastily-scheduled doubleheaders to the Dodgers and Padres. But this time, they were ready, and their home park helped in that regard.

Belt, Evan Longoria and Brandon Crawford each homered in the win, and Crawford added two doubles to his big night, part of the team’s 15-hit parade, seven of those for extra bases. Seattle starter Ljay Newsome was hit hard, allowing eight hits and eight runs– five of which were earned.

Giants’ starter Drew Smyly recorded the first 11 outs–eight via strikeout–in an abbreviated appearance, his first start since landing on the injured list August 1 with a sprained finger. The short outing opened the door for Trevor Cahill, who picked up the win by pitching two innings in relief.

Smyly and six Giants relievers piled up 17 strikeouts, a real measure of the misery suffered by the Mariners, who needed a win to boost their postseason aspirations. Instead the Giants got that win, along with a Rockies loss (to the A’s, 3-1) to get them back to .500 with 12 games remaining.

The Giants returned home having played just three of six scheduled games, losing all three. The silver lining is all three cancelled games are late additions to the Oracle Park schedule, and part of the finishing kick that has the Giants in the Bay Area for the last 13 games of the regular season.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Yaz goes 4-5 with two doubles; Bum gets win in narrow 7-6 final; plus more

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner pitches to the San Diego Padres in the first innings in Petco Park on Sunday

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 You just never know whose going to contribute to the San Francisco Giants winning causes Mike Yastrzemski went 4-5 with two singles and two doubles in the Giants 7-6 win.

#2 Morris talks about the rookie Yastrzemski whose having a great year for San Francisco .275, 33 runs, 31 RBIs, 9 home runs.

#3 Giants starter Madison Bumgarner had everything working for him except for giving up a three run home run in the bottom of the third inning to Hunter Renfroe that put the San Diego Padres on top 4-2.

#4 Bumgarner pitched seven innings, four hits, striking out six and walking two batters.

#5 The Giants have the day off on Monday and open up a three game series on Tuesday in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank starting for the Giants Tyler Beede (4-5 ERA 4.85) for the Phillies Drew Smyly (1-5 7.69)

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

“Rally Killers” Lift A’s to 10-0 Rout of Tigers

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By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — A note inscribed next to the Oakland Athletics line-up card posted this afternoon stated “Home runs can be rally killers”. After a 10-0 routing of the Detroit Tigers the A’s may have reason to rethink that mantra.

“Homers can be rally killers,” said A’s catcher Derek Norris. “But when you’re hitting four or five of them a game they can probably make a different statement. That’s more for the solo home runs. Anytime you can scratch off two, three grand slam home runs, those are hardly rally killers. That’s how you bury a team.”

The A’s (31-20) did just that, outmuscling the visiting Tigers (28-19) in a Memorial Day matinee at the O.Co coliseum capped by Derek Norris’ first career grand slam. Five different Athletics homered, including four solo shots off Tigers starter Drew Smyly (2-3, 3.86 ERA) to snap a four-game losing skid. A’s starter Tommy Milone (3-3, 3.50) turned in a brilliant performance, going 6 2/3 innings without surrendering a run against a potent Tiger offense that tops the junior circuit with a .278 team batting average.

“Zero runs, that’s always a good day,” said Milone. “I’ve got to give it to my defense and obviously the offense. They backed me up today.”

Milone threw an economical 105 pitches, needing more than 20 pitches in an inning only once to retire the side, yielding a scant four hits to the visitors. The lefty collected six K’s, one shy of a season-high, while only issuing two walks. Andrew Romine and reigning AL MVP Miguel Cabrera represented the lone Tigers hitters to reach second base Monday afternoon, each doubling off Milone. The A’s starter now has three wins in four starts after dropping three-straight decisions over his first five appearances.

“I think he was just trying to do too much,” said battery mate Norris. “He was trying to create stuff that wasn’t there. Finally I said to just sit back and throw the baseball just like you know how. His focus has been higher, his determination has been higher. He’s been attacking hitters and not shying away from contact.”

Brandon Moss opened the long ball barrage, leading off the second inning with a deep blast to right center that Austin Jackson nearly scaled the wall to steal. Moss’ extra-base hit marks his 18th of the month, tying an A’s record with Jason Giambi (2001) for most in May. Two batters later, designated hitter Blanks took Smyly yard on a 2-1 offering to make it 2-0 Oakland.

“There are very few guys on this ball club that are trying to hit home runs,” said Norris. “You look at some of the guys like Moss and (Josh) Donaldson, they’ve literally shaped their swings to try to become fly ball hitters and have home run swings. It’s definitely an art that not everyone can grasp.”

For Blanks, it was the first home run hit as a member of the Athletics after coming over in a May 15th trade with the San Diego Padres. Blanks’ last Major League round-tripper came 49 games ago on June 16, 2013. He also spent some time in the minors with the Padres since then.

“It makes him feel like a part of the team that much quicker when you get into a game like that,” said manager Bob Melvin. “You’re scoring runs with homers. It really gets you feeling like ‘Hey, I’m a part of this team’.”

Josh Donaldson and Yoenis Cespedes added back-to-back solo blasts off Smyly in the bottom of the third for a 4-0 edge. The twin displays of power marked the second time this season consecutive batters have homered, with Cespedes and Moss achieving the feat May 9th. The A’s made it a six-pack in the fourth after Coco Crisp hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly and Josh Donaldson hit a run-scoring two-out single off Smyly. In total, the Tigers starter went five innings while allowing six runs, all earned, to accompany two walks and a trio of strikeouts.

Norris brought the scoring into double digits, launching his first career grand slam to deep center field off reliever Phil Coke in the Oakland half of the 8th. Blanks opened the inning by drawing a walk, moved to second when Craig Gentry was awarded first base on catcher’s interference. Crisp reached base on an error to load the bases for the Oakland backstop.

“I hit the ball hard a couple times earlier and came away with nothing,” said the A’s catcher after going 0-4 heading into his 8th inning at-bat. “I was just trying to get the RBI. I was trying to get something out over the plate. Fortunately it just came back over the middle and I put a good swing on it.”

Dan Otero and Sean Doolittle pitched 2 and 1/3 innings of perfect relief to finish off the drubbing of Detroit, the team that bounced Oakland from the playoffs in 2012 and 2013. The reeling Tigers now have lost seven of their last eight, but send 2013 Cy Young winner Max Scherzer to the mound to play stopper Tuesday night. The A’s will counter with ace Sonny Gray.

“Sonny’s always pumped,” said Norris when asked if there was any extra motivation for the young A’s starter facing a familiar playoff foe. “He’s 100 percent determined every fifth day. He’s on it, he’s focused. He’s ready.”