Tag: Miami Marlins

Marlins deal final blow to Giants’ playoff hopes and take series with wild 7-5 win

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Miami Marlins Nick Fortes (right) is congratulated by teammate Jonah Bride (41) after scoring from third base on a Jesus Sanchez sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Miami Marlins 7 (51-86)

San Francisco Giants 5 (68-70)

Win: Xzavion Curry (1-2)

Loss: Logan Webb (11-9)

Save: Calvin Faucher (6)

Time: 2:38

Attendance: 41,187

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants just lost two out of three at home to one of the worst teams in Baseball in the Miami Marlins, who fought through a wild game to win 7-5 in what very well may have been the final dagger in the Giants’ playoff hopes here in 2024 on Sunday.

The dim orange sun shined on this beautiful first day of September at Oracle Park to signify the beginning of the meteorological fall, as well as the final month of the baseball season. With the Giants six and a half games back of the Braves for the third wild card in the National League, this unfortunately signified the beginning of the end of the Giants’ season.

Sunday was also Pediatric Cancer Awareness Day at the ballpark, and kids fighting cancer got to take part in a pregame ceremony on the field. Just before the Giants took the field, Rhydian Daniels, who had been diagnosed with muscle cancer at the age of nine, got to ring the bell signifying that he beat cancer in front of this sold-out crowd.

After a rough 4-3 loss Saturday night, the Giants looked to take the series against the Marlins. The Giants once again turned to Logan Webb to be the stopper. Webb got off to a great start with a one, two, three inning in the top of the first.

The Giants would be up against the young Miami right-hander, Darren McCaughan. Mike Yastrzemski led off, and he took the second pitch of the inning from McCaughan and hit it out to the arcade in right field to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. For Yastrzemski, it was his 100th-career home run.

After Yastrzemski’s home run McCaughan was all over the place. Tyler Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch, but he was caught trying to steal second base. Matt Chapman was also hit with two outs, and he was crouching in pain, but he stayed in the game.

Webb threw another one, two, three inning in the top of the second, and Curt Casali became the third Giant hit in just the first two innings of this game with one out in the bottom of the second. There was understandable frustration from the Giants’ bench when Casali was hurt, but since it was not intentional and had to do with McCaughan’s lack of control, no warnings were issued.

Nick Fortes singled on a ground ball up the middle and into center field for the first hit and base-runner for the Marlins with two outs in the top of the third. Webb ultimately threw a scoreless inning, and the Giants had a rally going against McCaughan in the bottom of the third.

Fitzgerald hit a ground ball the other way into right field for a base-hit to lead off the bottom of the third. That brought up Michael Conforto, who grounded into a weird play. Not a double play, a weird play.

Conforto hit a chopper up the middle that was fielded by Marlins’ shortstop Otto Lopez, who hesitated and then stumbled to the bag at second. Fitzgerald was called safe by Second Base Umpire Jim Wolf, but the Marlins challenged the play.

The boys in New York found an angle that that could say for sure indicated that Otto beat Fitzgerald to the bag, and the call was overturned. Bob Melvin and the Giants’ dugout were not happy about the overturned call, and they let Third Base Umpire and Crew Chief Alan Porter know. Porter then warned them and returned to his position at third.

Not to worry though. Chapman lined a base-hit to left to put runners at first and second with one out. LaMonte Wade then beat out the back end of a potential double play, and the throw sailed past first, which allowed Fitzgerald to come in to score and make it 2-0.

Both pitchers threw one, two, three innings in the fourth, and Webb was on a roll. Webb had set down 11 of the first 12 men he faced today, and he appeared well on his way to another dominant outing.

However, everything changed for Webb and the Giants in the top of the fifth. Jeff Conine’s son Griffin led off the inning with an opposite-field base-hit to left. Lopez lined out to second for the first out, and Jose Devers, the younger cousin of Rafael Devers, grounded into a fielder’s choice.

David Hensley then singled the other way to put runners at first and second with two outs. Nick Fortes followed that up by lining a base-hit to left-center to knock in Devers and put the Marlins on the board. The ball was over run by left-fielder Michael Conforto, and the runners ended up at second and third.

That brought up Kyle Stowers, who hit a home run to the 415 out in right-center, and the Marlins suddenly took a 4-2 lead. Webb was dealing through four innings, but the Marlins scored four runs out of nowhere in the top of the fifth to make it a new ballgame.

The Giants bounced back in the bottom of the fifth. Yastrzemski walked to lead off the inning, and Fitzgerald singled him over to second. That brought out Marlins Manager Skip Schumaker, who pulled McCaughan for the left-hander, Kent Emmanuel.

Michael Conforto walked to load the bases, and Matt Chapman knocked Yastrzemski in with a fielder’s choice to make it 4-3. Melvin sent Mark Canha to pinch-hit for Wade, and the move paid off, as Canha singled the other way to right to knock in Fitzgerald and tie the game.

Schumaker then brought in Xzavion Curry to face Jerar Encarnacion. After a seven-pitch at-bat, Encarnacion knocked in Conforto with a sacrifice fly to left-center, and the Giants retook the lead.

It was quite a wild fifth inning. The game appeared to be a pitcher’s duel through four, but the Marlins scored four runs in the top of the fifth, and the Giants bounced back with three in the bottom of the fifth.

Webb was back out for the top of the sixth, and he was right back in trouble. Jesus Sanchez singled to right and stole second, and then Jonah Bride tied the game with a double to center. Conine singled Bride over to third, and Lopez got Bride in on a ground out to third.

The Marlins had the lead again, and this game suddenly turned from a pitcher’s duel into a wild seesaw game.

Webb was done after six innings. He gave up six runs and eight hits, and he struck out four.

Curry stayed out to throw a one, two, three shutdown inning in the bottom of the sixth for Miami, and the Marlins looked to add on against Camilo Doval in the top of the seventh. Fortes singled into the hole at short to lead off the inning, and Stowers walked. Derek Hill bunted the runners over to second and third, and Sanchez got Fortes home with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 7-5.

From there, the game sailed the rest of the way. The Giants would not get another base-runner the rest of the game. Mike Baumann, John McMillon and Calvin Faucher did the honors of setting down the Giants one, two, three in the seventh, eighth and ninth.

As for Giants’ pitchers, left-hander Erik Miller threw a scoreless top of the eighth, and Landen Roupp had a one, two, three top of the ninth.

Xzavion Curry got the win; Logan Webb took a really tough loss; and Calvin Faucher got the save, his sixth of the year.

The Giants fall to 68-70, and after a day off Monday, they will welcome the powerful Arizona Diamondbacks into Oracle Park for a three-game series starting Tuesday night.

The Giants remain six and a half games back of the Braves, who lost their game in Philadelphia in 11 innings, but make no mistake, the Giants will be playing the role of spoilers in their series against the Diamondbacks this week.

The pitching matchup is still to be determined. First pitch will be at 6:45 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

With today being Sept. 1, that also meant that rosters expanded from 26 to 28. Prior to the game, the Giants called up catcher Blake Sabol and right-handed pitcher Tristan Beck to fill the two extra spots on the roster.

The Giants drew a sold-out crowd of 41,187 at Oracle Park Sunday. It was the largest crowd for a Giants’ game at Oracle Park since 41,189 fans came to see Wilmer Flores walk off the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 4, 2022.

Major League Baseball News and Notes:

Darren Baker, the son of Dusty Baker who until today was most known for nearly getting trampled by David Bell before J.T. Snow saved him in Game 5, made his major league debut for the Washington Nationals today.

Baker was sent to pinch-hit with the Nationals trailing the Chicago Cubs 14-1 in the bottom of ninth inning at Nationals Park. Baker took the first big league pitch he saw from Cubs’ right-hander Ethan Roberts and grounded it over the mound and into center field for a base-hit.

Dusty, who had managed both the Cubs and Nationals, was on hand to see his son get his first big league hit.

Marlins swam comfortably in Bay waters, and/or Pacific Ocean, beat Giants 7-5 and series (2-1)on a beautiful day in the City by the Bay.

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Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez (center-left) and left fielder Kyle Stowers (center-right) jump for joy after taking two out of three from the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun Sep 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Miami Marlins (51-86) were the fish that got away in McCovey Cove, as they beat the San Francisco Giants (68-70) 7-5, and clinched the series, 2/3 on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the 415.

The Marlins had a pedestrian first inning, with a strikeout and two infield ground outas. The bottom of the frame was worse. Starting pitcher Darren McCaughan gave up a solo leadoff home run to right fielder and legacy player, Mike Yastrzemski, hit two batters before getting out of the inning.

In the bottom of the third, the Giants scored another run, on a throwing error by Otto Lopez. After three innings, Miami was down 2-0 and one hit to show for themselves. It wasn’t until the top of the fifth inning that the South Florida visitors showed life.

The Marlins used this inning to put up four runs and take the lead from the home team.. Catcher Nick Fortes hit an RBI single (David Hensley), putting them within one run, 2-1 SF. Later, their leadoff batter and left fielder Kyle Stowers, belted a 3-run dinger (Hensley & Fortes) to catapult them in front of San Francisco 4-2. However, they could not celebrate for very long, due to the Giants immediate response.

In the bottom of the fifth, the G-Men managed to get the bases loaded with no outs tallied. This scenario has played out before for SF, with nothing to show for it. This time was different, as Matt Chapman grounded out, but allowed Yastrzemski to score.

With a one run deficit, the Giants put in Mark Canha asa pinch hitter and defensive replacement for LaMonte Wade Jr. That chess move resulted in an RBI single, tying the game at four. Next DH Jerar Encarnacion hits a sacrifice fly to center field, plating Michael Conforto, simultaneously putting San Francisco back in the lead, 5-4..

After the eventful inning on both sides, the Giants were done scoring for the day. Miami scored again in the top of the sixth inning, when Jonah Bride’s RBI single scored Jesus Sanchez, to tie the contest again. Otto Lopez had a productive ground out, as Bride made it home to put Miami back in front. 6-5 after six complete innings.

In Biblical form, Jesus sacrificed himself for the betterment of others in the top of the seventh inning. Sanchez’ fly ball allowed the last run of the game (Stowers), and solidified the series win. The Giants were unable to respond the last three innings and the Florida Fish sealed the game, 7-5.

A bookend scenario for Yastrzemski, as he scored the first run of the game with a homer (100), but made the last out on the game with a strikeout.

Both teams are off Monday, but the Marlins will head back to South Beach and host the Washington National Tuesday, September 3 at 3:40 PM EST. LHP Patrick Corbin (4-12, 5.50) versus RHP Max Meyer (3-4, 5.44)

The Giants will also host (Arizona Diamondbacks) a team on Tuesday 9/3 at 6:45 PM PDT.. Pitchers for both teams are TBA.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Marlins and Giants conclude series today at Oracle Park

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Miami Marlins Griffin Conine (56) circles the bases after hitting after hitting his first big league home run in the top of the second inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun Sep 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Miami Marlins Griffin Conine hit his first Major League home run on Saturday night where all the runs were needed to edge out the San Francisco Giants 4-3 at Oracle Park. The sound off Conine’s bat on Saturday night you almost tell it was going to be a slash hit over the right field wall.

#2 Conine is the son of former Marlin Jeff Conine who the time passes since Jeff retired and Griffin getting his first home run at Oracle Park .

#3 Giants starter Mason Black gave up the Conine home run ball. Black took the loss going five innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs. Black raised his ERA to 7.45.

#4 Conine did get the ball back from the fan who fished it out of McCovey Cove and that fan received in exchange a bat, photo and another ball.

#5 Marlins and Giants conclude this three game series today at Oracle Park. Starting pitcher for the RHP Marlins Darren McCaughan (0-0, 8.62) and for the Giants RHP Logan Webb (11-8, 3.24).

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

Conine gets first big league jack for Fish in 4-3 win over Giants at Oracle

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The Florida Marlins Jonah Bride (41) congratulates Griffin Conine (56) after Conine hit his first MLB home run in the top of the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Aug 31, 2024 (AP News photo)

Miami (50-86) 020 001 100. 4. 7 2

San Francisco (68-69) 000 011 010. 3 7. 0

Time: 2:22

Attendance: 36,087

Saturday, August 31, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–On this cool Saturday evening, the Giants struggled for the second time in a row against the toothless Miami Marlins. This time there were no late inning heroics, and the home team went down, 4-3, falling once more below the .500 mark. That outside shot at a playoff berth is looking more and more unlikely.

Mason Black, Saturday night’s starting pitcher for the orange and gold was their third round choice in the 2021 draft. This year, he had divided his time between San Francisco, where he went 0-1, 8.79, and Sacramento, where his record was 5-6, 4.59 (2-1, 2.91 in August).

He was recalled to the parent club for tonight’s occasion. His performance wasn’t particularly impressive, but he still shows signs of promise. He was the losing pitcher, having allowed two runs, both earned, on four hits, one of them a homer.

That left him with no wins and two losses. But he didn’t walk anyone and struck out half a dozen opposing batters and managed to lower his ERA to 7.45. He threw 74 pitches to 18 batters. His five inning appearance was the longest of his so far short major league career.

Taylor Rogers, who replaced Black at the beginning of the visitors’ sixth, was ineffective in his 500th big league appearance, surrendering a leadoff homer to Connor Norby and leaving runners at the corners with one out when Spencer Bivens came on in relief and shut down the Miami rally by getting Jonah Bride to ground into a U6-3 double play.

Bevin stuck around to pitch another frame. The Marlins got a run off him, but they got some help from some unexpected sources. Otto López led off with a walk and tried to steal second. He was called safe, and the Giants tried to appeal the decision. Home plate umpire and crew chief Alan Porter disallowed the appeal, presumably because it hadn’t been requested within the required time limit.

López went on to score on ground outs by Griffin Conine and David Hensley. Erik Miller and Camilo Doval each pitched a hitless and scoreless inning..

Black’s opposite number, Edward Cabrera, brought an unimpressive 2-6, 5.60 record with him. His only previous appearance against the Giants came last year, when he was credited with the win in a game in which he held them to two runs, both earned, on six hits and two walks while garnering eight strikeouts. He lasted 5-1/3 innings tonight, permitting two runs, one earned, on six hits and a pair of walks. He threw 98 pitches, 61 for strikes. His record now stands at 3-6, 5.33.

Cabrera was followed by John McMillon (a perfect inning) and Jesús Tinoco, who surrendered a solo homer to Michael Conforto (his 15th), a 418 foot blast to right center in the eighth that travelled at 111.8 MPH and brought the Giants into a run of tying the contest. Calvin Fauche earned his fifth save with a perfect ninth that ended with strikeouts of Jerar Encarnación and a pinch hitting LaMonte Wade, Jr.

The rubber game of this three game set will take place Sunday, at 1:05 in the afternoon. Logan Webb (11-8, 3.24) will toe the rubber for the Giants. The Marlins haven’t announced who they’ll send to the mound

San Francisco Giants podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Giants rally in 8th to beat Marlins; Snell just needs some run support

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San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell pitched seven innings allowing four hits and one run against the Miami Marlins on Fri Aug 30, 2024 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 San Francisco Giants were getting shutout by the Miami Marlins through seven innings until Matt Chapman came to the plate and with one swing of the bat hit a three run RBI double as the Giants took a 3-1 lead and eventually won by that score.

#2 The ball that Chapman hit was a slider on a two strike count. Chapman has been key all season long not only with his glove but also with the bat and Friday night was no different when he went yard in a the eighth inning Friday.

#3 Giants manager Bob Melvin was relieved on Friday night after Chapman’s big hit. The Giants had been struggling in particular the Giants had split a four game series with the Milwaukee Brewers but it was that fourth game loss 6-0 last Thursday which had Melvin worried.

#4 With the win on Friday the Giants are back at the .500 at 68-68 and are 6.5 games back for the last Wild Card sport. September will be a critical month for the Giants in order to try and catch up for a shot at the post season.

#5 It’s a Saturday night 6:07pm PT first pitch the Marlins will start Edward Cabrera (2-6, 5.60) and for the Giants RHP Mason Black (0-1, 8.79) at Oracle Park.

Jeremiah Salmonson is a Oakland A’s podcaster on Friday’s at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Chapman’s three run double is a gamer as Giants rally in 8th to defeat Marlins 3-1

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San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman slugs a three run double to clear the bases in the bottom of the eighth against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park on Fri Aug 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

Miami (49-86) 000 000 100.  1. 4. 0

San Francisco (68-68) 000 000 03x.  3. 6. 1

Time: 2:21

Attendance: 33,606

Friday, August 30, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–In an unexpected pregame move, the  Giants outrighted valued veteran Thairo Estrada to Sacramento and recalled Brett Wisely to the big league club.  The outcome of the game was not unexpected, but the steps that led to it certainly were.

The floundering Marlins, 49-85 at game time, and  relying on the right arm of an undistinguished wannabe for six excellent innings, led the Giants, 1-0 after 7-1/2 frames before falling to their hosts, 3-1.

The come from behind triumph brought the home team back to its almost impenetrable glass ceiling of .500 at 68-68 and gave some hope that the orange and back might just sneak into the playoffs.

The Giants did not throw an undistinguished wannabe at the Marlins. They put Blake Snell on the mound to start the game. In spite of the defending Cy Young winner’s command problems in his last start, problems that him to leave that game after three innings, he had come out of the late-signing, injury induced first half ineffectiveness to earn a  2-0, 1.72 record in August when he threw his first pitch at 7:16 this pleasant Friday evening.

When he was through, Snell had thrown 96 pitches, 69 of which qualified as strikes, over seven innings, allowing only a single tally, on four hits and a walk. The only extra base hit off him was a first inning double to Jake Burger. Although the lefty had to settle for a no decision that kept his won-lost record  at 2-3, he reduced his ERA to 3.56.

Tyler Rogers relieved Snell to face the fish in the top of the eighth. He retired them in order, earning his third win against four losses and bringing his ERA down to 3.06. Ryan Walker earned his fifth safe by also setting the Marlins down one, two, three in the ninth.

The Marlins’ starter, Adam Oller, didn’t come to work with as impressive a resumé as Snell.He was 2-8, 6.30 in 2022 and 1-1, 10.07 for the departing Athletics last year. The Mariners claimed him on waivers in July and sent him to Tacoma,where he finished that season.

This year, he went to spring training as a non-roster invitee of the Cleveland Guardians. The Marlins signed him as a minor league free agent in July and sent him to their AAA farm team in Jacksonville before calling him up on the 18th of this month.

He pitched 10-1/3 in two starts since then and showed up at Third and King with a 1-1, 5.23 record. His work tonight was every bit as good as Snell’s. The rookie held the Giants to two hits and an equal number of walks over six frames.

One of those hits was an infield single by Mike Yastrzemski. The other was LaMonte Wade, Jr’s double in the third. He struck out eight of the 21 Giants he faced and, like Snell, chalked up a no decision. His ERA now is 3.31.

Mike Baumann, who followed Oller, was tagged with the loss and now stands at 3-1, 5.40. George Soriano, who allowed the three runners who were on base when he relieved Bauman in the eighth  to score, was charged with a blown save.

By the top of the seventh what had been a scoreless tie had evolved into a tense pitchers’ duel. The tension rose with Derek Hill’s leadoff single to right.

With Otto López at the plate, Hill stole his sixth base of the season, but he stayed when López flew out to Grant McCray deep into the right center field warning track. McCray made a good throw to third, which vindicated third base coach Griffin Benedict’s caution, especially after David Hensley smacked a line drive single to right to bring Hill home with the game’s first and Miami’s only run.

The Giants turned the game around in the home eighth.  Jerar Encarnación pinch hit for Casey Schmidt hit a lead off single to right center, McCray fanned, but Yaz drew a walk, sending Encarnación to second, where the newly returned Wisely pinch ran for him. Bauman fanned Michael Conforto for the second out.

It was at this point that Soriano replaced Baumann. He tagged Soriano’s sixth offering, an 85mph slider for a double to left center that cleared the bases and put the Giants ahead, 3-1

Mason Black (0-1, 8.79) will be recalled  from Sacramento to start Saturday, Saturday’s, game scheduled to begin at 6:05.  Edward Cabrera (2-6, 5.60) will be his opposite number for the Fish.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Marlins-Giants open series Friday night at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants starter Hayden Birdsong pitches to the Milwaukee Brewers line up at American Family Ballpark in Milwaukee on Thu Aug 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

On San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael the lost two out of three to the Milwaukee Brewers with the three game series ending on Thursday afternoon at American Family Park. The Giants ran into pitching problems in the second, third and fourth innings giving up six runs which stood up for the Brewers win 6-0.

#2 Giants pitcher Hayden Birdsong got the call and got shelled going 3.2 innings allowing four hits and five earned runs. Birdsong when he first joined the Giants had a couple good starts but it seems like teams are doing some serious study on his pitch location.

#3 Birdsong did have six strikeouts but just couldn’t settle down and struggled through his first three plus innings. Did it appeared that he was just taken out of his game mentally once the Brewers started getting around on his pitches?

#4 On the offensive side of things the Giants couldn’t get any offense going, the Giants got only two hits from Tyler Fitzgerald and Michael Conforto got a hit each but the line up just struggled against Brewers starter Aaron Civale.

#5 The Giants head home to Oracle Park on Friday night. The Marlins will start RHP Adam Oller (1-1, ERA 5.23) for the Giants LHP Blake Snell (2-3, ERA 3.76) first pitch 7:15pm PT.

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

Giants Birdsong touched for five runs, Brewers Civale blanks SF’s dead offense over seven shutout innings, as Brewers take series with 6-0 win

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Milwaukee Brewers starter Aaron Civale was dealing against the San Francisco Giants throwing a combined two hit shutout at American Family Park in Milwaukee on Thu Aug 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024

American Family Field

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

San Francisco Giants 0 (67-68)

Milwaukee Brewers 6 (77-56)

Win: Aaron Civale (5-8)

Loss: Hayden Birdsong (3-4)

Time: 2:14

Attendance: 30,920

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants’ offense went dead Thursday, as Aaron Civale pitched a two-hitter over seven innings, and the Brewers got to Hyden Birdsong for five runs in a 5-0 win in the series finale in Milwaukee.

After a big 5-4 seesaw win for the Giants in the series opener on Tuesday, the Brewers exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning Wednesday night for a 5-3 win to even the series. The Giants were knocked back to .500 at 67-67, as well as a season-high six and a half games back of the third wild card in the National League.

Thursday, the Giants had a chance to win this series on the road against a powerful Brewers’ team. The Giants had an opportunity to get on the board early against Brewers’ starter Aaron Civale in the top of the first inning.

A one-out walk to Tyler Fitzgerald and a two-out base-hit by Michael Conforto put runners at the corners for Matt Chapman. Civale struck Chapman out swinging at a cutter on the outside corner, and the Giants had already wasted a golden opportunity right off the bat.

Hayden Birdsong took the ball for the Giants in the bottom of the first, as he was coming off a start in Seattle on Friday, in which his lack of control knocked him out after four innings. Birdsong threw 80 pitches, and 41 of them were balls. Brice Turang led off the inning with a base-hit to left field, but Birdsong retired the side in order while striking out a pair to end the inning.

Civale threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the second, and then Birdsong would run into trouble in the bottom of the second. First, Grant McCray, who has been impressing with his defense since being called up, robbed Wily Adames of a base-hit with a diving catch in shallow center to start the inning.

Unfortunately, Garrett Mitchell followed that up with a home run to right-center. Birdsong was not out of the woods yet. A walk to Gary Sanchez and a double by Joey Ortiz put runners at second and third with one out, and Blake Perkins knocked Sanchez in with a sacrifice fly to center.

The Giants were unable to do anything with a two-out base-hit by Fitzgerald in the top of the third, and Birdsong ran into more trouble in the bottom of the third. William Contreras drew a walk with one out, Adames singled him over to third two batters later.

Mitchell came up to the plate with runners at the corners and two outs. With a 1-2 count, Birdsong threw a fastball up and away for ball two, and Adames took off for second. The throw from catcher Patrick Bailey, who was activated off the Injured List today, went to shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald, and as Adames backed away and started retreating back towards first, Contreras took off for the plate. For whatever reason, Fitzgerald threw the ball to third, as Contreras scored to make it 3-0, and Adames retreated back to first.

Fitzgerald could have thrown home, but what he really should have done was start running towards Contreras to get him stuck in a rundown. Fitzgerald has been a great story for the Giants this season, but he made a mental mistake, something that has become far too common with analytics people running organizations and baseball people shoved out and unable to teach players basic fundamentals in their development.

Civale threw another one, two, three inning in the top of the fourth, and Birdsong just couldn’t stay out of trouble, as the Brewers rallied once again in the bottom of the fourth. Birdsong retired the first two men he faced, but walks to Perkins and Turang forced him out of the game.

Bob Melvin brought in Sean Hjelle, and he drew a rude welcome from Jackson Chourio, who lined a double off the end of the bat into the corner down the right field line to knock in a pair and make it 5-0. Contreras then singled on a ground ball that got through into left field, and Chourio scored to make it 6-0.

For Birdsong, his struggles with his control and just overall continued, as he gave up five runs and four hits over three and two thirds innings, while walking four and striking out six. He threw 92 pitches, and just 49 of them were strikes.

After a leadoff walk to Jerar Encarnacion to start the top of the fifth, Civale retired the side in order, and the Giants would not get another base-runner for the rest of the game.

Civale went seven shutout innings, as he gave up just two hits, walked two and struck out seven. Left-hander Aaron Ashby, the nephew of former right-handed starter Andy Ashby, then threw a pair of one, two, three innings in the eighth and ninth.

As for Giants’ pitchers today, Hjelle pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the fifth, and Landen Roupp pitched three shutout innings. The six and seventh were rocky for Roupp, as he got out of a pair of jams. However, he finished his day nicely with a one, two, three bottom of the eighth.

Aaron Civale got the win, and Hayden Birdsong took the loss.

The Giants have been knocked back under .500, as they fall to 67-68. The Giants are now seven games back of the Braves, who will begin a four-game series Thursday night in Philadelphia against the Phillies.

The Giants will now return home for a six-game homestand with three against the Miami Marlins, and three against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants will begin their series against the Marlins tomorrow.

Blake Snell (2-3, 3.76 ERA), who is coming off a rough start in Seattle on Saturday, will take the ball for the Giants, and he will be opposed by Adam Oller (1-1, 5.23 ERA) on Friday night at Oracle Park. First pitch will be at 7:15 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

Patrick Bailey went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his return from the IL.

To make room for Bailey on the 26-Man Roster, catcher Andrew Knapp was designated for assignment. Knapp had just been acquired last Friday, and he went 1-for-6 in three games for the Giants with a pait of strikeouts.

Matt Chapman played in his 1,000th-career game Thursday. However, it was nothing special, as like Bailey, Chapman went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

Marlin’s Gordon slugs homer and gets four hits in 12-3 laugher over A’s at Coliseum; Loss snaps Oakland’s six game win streak

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Miami Marlins Nick Gordon (1) slugs a single against the Oakland A’s in the top of the ninth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun May 5, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Miami (10-26). 410 003 004. 12 14. 2

Athletics (17-18). 002 000 010. 3. 5. 0

Time: 2:52

Attendance: 12,212

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–It had to happen some time. The Athletics’ six game winning streak came to an end this afternoon when the lowly Miami Marlins wiped them out 12-3 on five hits.

Joe Boyle, who. had held the Pirates to one run, earned, and one hit over five innings in his previous start, a 5-1 win in Pittsburgh on April 29, started for the A’s. The 24 year old righty got himself in trouble from the very beginning.

By the time he had thrown 14 pitches, he’d given up three walks and two stolen bases. By the time he reached 27, he’d also given up four runs because Nick Gordon had driven a 95 mph four seamer 408 deep, over the right center field fence for his fourth home run and 13th, 14th, and 15th RBI of the season. The Athletics were four runs down before they went to bat.

That was it for Boyle for the day. He left the game between innings with lower back pain. Mitch Spence was on the mound when the Marlins came up in the second. He lasted 4-2/3 innings and surrendered four runs, all earned but one posthumous, on six hits and a walk. He was charged with the loss and now has a record of 2-5, 7.16. He had come to work at 2-4, 6.08).

Sixto Sánchez made his third start of 2024 for the visitors. In his most recent appearance, he had as bad a first inning as Boyle had today. The 25 year old native of San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, gave up five runs on six hits to the Rockies.

But, unlike the Athletics’ starter, Sánchez remained in the game for another couple of innings and kept the Rox off the board, allowing only one more hit. He left after four innings this afternoon and allowed two runs, both earned, on three hits and an equal number of walks, striking out two. Sánchez didn’t last long enough to be involved in the decision but did bring his ERA down to 7.50.

For a while, Spence fared better than Boyle. He allowed only one run in the second, on a walk and two singles, one of which, Josh Bell’s, drove in Christian Bethancourt, who had hit the other safety. But a spectacular grab and dash of Jesús Sánchez’s bounder down the first base line by Trevor Nevin saved Spence’s bacon.

The A’ were down 5-0 before the green and gold got back in the game in their half of the fourth. Brent Rooker smacked a clean single to right center. After Seth Brown grounded out to first, Lawrence Butler drew a walk.

He moved up two bases when Darell Herraiz singled to left center putting runners on the corners. Then Kyle McCann sent a bouncing ball to Jonah Bride at first. Bride threw to second for what could have been the start of an inning ending double play, but he overthrew the bag, and, when the dust had cleared, Rooker and Butler had crossed the plate, and we had a 5-2 game on our hands. Burch Smith replaced Sánchez and retired the A’s in order in the fifth.

The fish padded their lead in their half of the sixth on doubles by Nick Gordon, Bride, and Bethancourt, the last of which drove Spence from the box. Michael Kelly relieved him and gave up a single to Jazz Chisholm, Jr., that brought Bethancourt home with the Marlins’ eighth run.

Andrew Nardi preserved their six run lead in the A’s half of the frame , followed by Anthony Bender, who pitched a scoreless seventh. Calvin Faucher hopped on Miami’s merry-go-round in the eighth and allowed their hosts to draw slightly closer on a Rooker double and a single to center by Max Schuemann, who had pinch hit for Seth Brown in the fifth.

TJ McFarland coughed up that run and three more in the Marlins’ last go round in ways too numerous to mention. When the inning mercefully ended, Miami led 12-3, and McFarland’s ERA had ballooned from 3.75 to 6.23.

Burch Smith was awarded the win on a scorer’s decision. He’s now (2-0, 3.12).

The A’s will take on Texas Monday, evening at 6:40 when they open a three day, four game series against the Rangers in a battle of left handers. Alex Wood (1-2, 6.32) will try to right the Athletics’ ship. Andrew Heaney (0-4, 5.10) will try to sink it

The Force of wind and rain doesn’t stop A’s who crush Marlins 20-4 on Stars Wars day at Coliseum; Win is Oakland’s sixth in a row

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Oakland A’s Brent Rooker (25) is greeted at the plate after hitting a two run home run in the bottom of the third by teammates Abraham Toro(31) and Tyler Nevin (26) against the visiting Miami Marlins at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat May 4, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Troy Ewers

Oakland A’s Brent Rooker slugged two home run in the third inning during a 10 run rout of the Miami Marlins for a 20-4 win at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday on Star Wars day. The game delayed three hours and 30 minutes by windy and rainy conditions. The game was supposed to have started at 1:07 but got underway at 4:30pm.

It didn’t matter much as the A’s were ready to swing the bats at the visiting Marlins expense. Rooker who hit the two home runs in the third inning became the first A’s player in 30 years to do it. Rooker took Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers deep with a two run home run and later in the inning Marlins pitcher Darren McCaughan coughed up a three run homer to Rooker.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay said that Rooker delivered last season that’s why he was the A’s team representative at the 2023 All Star game. Kotsay said that Rooker got hot and capitalized on mistakes and he wound up hitting a couple of them today.

The A’s reached a season high in runs with 20 and hits with 21. They simply just teed off on Marlins starter Rogers 2.1 innings, eight hits and three runs, then McCaughan 4.2 innings, nine hits and eight earned runs, and Emmanuel Rivera one inning pitched four runs and four hits.

Rooker was seeing the ball as big as maybe a softball added a base hit for good measure in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rooker became the 60th player in big league history to hit two home runs in the same inning. The last player to do it was the Philadelphia Phillies Trea Turner and the last A’s player to hit a pair in the same inning was former first baseman Mark McGwire when he did it against the Seattle Mariners on Sep 22, 1996.

“I grew up in Memphis a big (St. Louis) Cardinals fan so he was kind of one of the first players I remember watching during his time there,” Rooker said. “Being able to do anything the same as him is a huge accomplishment and something that’s really cool for me.” Rooker also wears McGwire’s old number 25.

Post game notes: The Marlins and A’s go at it again Sunday at 1:07pm PDT to conclude the three game series. The A’s are looking for their seventh straight win and second series sweep in a row. The Marlins who came to Oakland after sweeping the Colorado Rockies are looking to get back in the win column after dropping the first two games of the series. Starting pitcher for the Marlins on Sunday RHP Sixto Sanchez (0-1 ERA 8.36) and for the A’s RHP Joe Boyle (2-4 ERA 6.08).

Former Marlins lead off hitter Luis Arraez who was traded to the San Diego Padres on Friday night for three minor leaguers and one big league reliever got off to a quick start going 4-6 which included two runs and an RBI against the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim Stadium on Saturday. The Arraez trade must have had an impact on the Marlins he was traded just before Friday’s game as he was scheduled to lead off. The shock must have impacted the Marlins who lost 3-1 and then on Saturday night getting crushed 20-4.

Troy Ewers is a beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com