Tag: Minnesota Twins

Oakland A’s preview: A’s host Twins open up second half of season at Coliseum Friday night

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Oakland A’s starter Paul Blackburn pitches against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York on Tue Jun 27, 2023. Blackburn is slated to start against the Minnesota Twins on Fri Jun 14, 2023 at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News file photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s begin the second half of the 2023 season by hosting the Minnesota Twins for three games starting Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s find themselves with the worst record in all of baseball. They have won 25 games and lost 67.

The team could break the 1962 New York Mets’ record of 120 losses in a season. The A’s have the lowest team batting average in all of baseball. They are 30th in runs scores, 28th in on-base percentage, 30th in slugging, 30th in runs batted in, 30th in hits, and 30th in OPS.

The pitching staff has the highest ERA (6.04) in baseball. The WHIP (walks, hits divided by innings pitched) is 1.56, 30th in baseball. The A’s have committed 92 errors, the most in baseball. They are 28th in fielding. A’s manager Mark Kotsay sends his players out every night, and the players do their best, but the A’s may have to bring up players from the minor leagues and see if they can help the team improve.

Oakland will start a ten-game homestand against the Minnesota Twins Friday night. The Boston Red Sox will follow for three games, and the Houston Astros will play four to conclude the homestand.

The Twins, currently in second place in the AL Central Divison, are 45-46 and 1/2 game behind the Cleveland Guardians. Twins ‘manager Rocco Baldelli will send Kenta Maeda (2-5, 5.18 ERA) to the hill Friday night. The A’s will counter with Paul Blackburn (1-1. 4.86. The Twins’ Pablo Lopez will pitch on Saturday, and Joe Ryan will go on Sunday. The A’s have yet to announce their starters for those two games.

The key players for the Twins are shortstop Carlos Correa, third baseman Donovan Solano, Left Felder Joey Gallo, right fielder Max Kepler, and DH Byron Buxton. Unfortunately for the Twins, Correa, Gallo, Kepler, and Buxton are not having a great season.

After failing to get a long-term contract, Correa, with the Twins, is hitting .225 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs. Gallo is hitting a meager .186. Gallo has blasted 15 dingers and knocked in 28. Kepler is at 2.07 and has 12 home runs and 30 RBIs. Buxton’s average is .208. He is hitting .208 with 15 big flies and 34 RBIs.

Other players to watch are:

  • First baseman Alex Kiriloff.
  • Catcher Christian Vasquez.
  • Second baseman Edouard Julien.
  • Kyle Farmer.

Closer Jhoan Duran has 12 saves so far this year. Griffin Jax is the setup guy. Other relievers include Jovani Moran, Jorge Lopez, Emilio Pagan, Cole Sands, Jordan, Balazovic, and Oliver Ortega. 

The A’s are rested and hope to take two out three from The Twins. The A’s then face the Red Sox for three. Last week the Red Sox swept the A’s at Fenway Park. The Astros have owned the A’s for the last several years. The A’s will have their hands full trying to get wins over the Astros.

The A’s would love to play spoilers and upset the apple carts of the three teams coming to the Coliseum. The A’s have a team full of hungry players that would love to show everyone they can be Major League players. It will be interesting to see if the A’s can get their act together and make strides in becoming a better team.

MLB All-Star Game: National League wins 3-2 for first time in 11 years

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Photo credit: @MLB

By: Mary Anne

The wait was finally over as the 2023 MLB All-Star Game was underway at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday.
The National League defeated the American League 3-2 for the first time since 2012. Elías Díaz delivered the game-winning home run in the eighth inning. Díaz earned the All-Star Game MVP.

The NL’s starting lineup featured Ronald Acuña Jr., Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Nolan Arenado, Luis Arráez, Sean Murphy, Corbin Carroll, and Orlando Arcia.

The AL’s starting lineup featured Marcus Semien, Shohei Ohtani, Randy Arozarena, Corey Seager, Yandy Díaz, Adolis García, Austin Hays, Josh Jung, and Jonah Heim.

After a scoreless first inning, Yandy Díaz hit a solo home run to give the AL a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

J.D. Martinez helped the NL tie the game 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning. Martinez scored on a Luis Arráez RBI single.

The AL regained their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Salvador Pérez singled for a 2-1 lead. Pérez now has three All-Star Game hits — the second-most by a Kansas City Royals player.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a game-tying home run, and the NL tied the game 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning. However, Gurriel Jr.’s home run was overturned and called foul. The score remained 2-1 AL.

Elías Díaz hit a two-run shot to give the NL a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning. Díaz’s two-run home run sealed the NL’s win over the AL.

Notes
Zach Gallen struck out Shohei Ohtani for his first All-Star Game shutout.

Up Next
The second half of the 2023 MLB season will start on Friday, July 14.

The San Francisco Giants will visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game series at PNC Park, while the Oakland Athletics will welcome the Minnesota Twins for a three-game series at Oakland Coliseum. The Giants’ series opener will start at 4:05 pm Pacific, while the A’s series opener will start at 6:40 pm Pacific.

A’s swept by Red Sox; Oakland loses 4-3 Sunday in Boston

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Mary Anne

The Oakland Athletics concluded their series against the Boston Red Sox with a series finale on Sunday. The A’s looked to avoid a sweep against the Red Sox but dropped a close game 4-3 at Fenway Park. Oakland (25-67) lost four games in a row, while Boston (48-43) won its fifth straight game.

The A’s starting lineup featured Tony Kemp, Ryan Noda, Seth Brown, Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday, Cody Thomas, Manny Piña, Jace Peterson, Tyler Wade, and JP Sears. Sears pitched five innings and gave up one hit, one run, three walks, and four strikeouts before leaving the mound.

The A’s got on the scoreboard first, thanks to a wild pitch by Tayler Scott off a throwing error by Jorge Alfaro. Noda scored for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The Red Sox tied the ballgame in the bottom of the first inning. Adam Duvall was out on a sacrifice fly to Cody Thomas. Rob Refsnyder scored to make it a 1-1 tie with two outs.

The A’s took their first lead of the game in the top of the second inning. Noda walked, and Jace Peterson scored for a 2-1 lead. Wade went to third base, while Kemp went to second base.

The A’s extended their lead in the top of the fifth inning. Rooker homered on a fly ball to left field for a 3-1 lead.

The Red Sox got even in the bottom of the sixth inning. Duvall homered on a fly ball to left center field to make it a one-run game. Christian Arroyo doubled on a sharp line drive to Cody Thomas. Masataka Yoshida scored to tie the game 3-3.

The Red Sox took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Masataka Yoshida homered on a fly ball to left field for a 4-3 lead.

Notes
A’s prospect catcher Tyler Sodestrom singled up the middle in the bottom of the second inning of the 2023 All-Stars Futures Game at T-Mobile Park on Saturday.

Up Next
The A’s will return home to host the Minnesota Twins on Friday, July 14, at 6:40 pm Pacific. Starters for Friday for Minnesota at Oakland to be announced.

Oakland A’s day off report: Medina gets the call to open series in Cleveland on Tuesday; Ruiz leads off and has MLB stolen base lead

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Oakland A’s Esteury Ruiz slides home safely after scoring on a Ramon Laureano single against the Seattle Mariners Tue May 23, 2023 in first inning action at T Mobile Field in Seattle (AP file photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s finished an up-and-down week, ending the seven-game homestand with two wins and five losses. The A’s had won seven games in a row before they lost two to the Tampa Bay Rays and three to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The A’s seven-game win streak saw them win two against the Pittsburgh Pirates and a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates and Brewers are in a dogfight for first place in the NL Central. The A’s won the first two games of the four-game set with the Rays.

It was no easy task as the Rays own the best record in baseball. The team had almost 28,000 people in the seats on Tuesday, June 13th. Organizers of a reverse boycott hoped to show A’s owner John Fisher and baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred the fans would support the team in Oakland.

Fisher, as usual, said nothing. Manfred dismissed the effort as meaningless as he said their effort was no better than the average attendance at a game in Major League baseball. Manford also said the city of Oakland needed to do more.

Oakland needed a program in place to build the stadium. Manfred is tone-deaf. Oakland had raised over 400 million dollars in grants for infrastructure needs. The City Council was two days away from a vote. The A’s ownership had turned the fans off by trading away their best players and leaving the fans with a team with the worst record in all of baseball.

Winning brings people into the seats. Then, to make matters worse, the Nevada legislature voted to approve $380 million to give to the A’s to help build a stadium in Las Vegas. The Nevada governor signed the bill.

The only hope the A’s fans have is that the owners of the other 29 teams will reject the move. Manfred has said baseball will waive the $300 million relocation fee. The owners share those fees. Many of them say they want Las Vegas to get an expansion team. The fees for an expansion team are around two billion. That’s a lot more money to share.

None of the drama on the relocation situation should affect what’s happening on the field. The A’s still have to go out and play the game. A’s manager Mark Kotsay has to be pleased with his team’s performance in the last 12 games.

They went 7-5. During the winning streak, the A’s starters and relievers pitched well. The A’s offense came to life, and the team showed improvement. They split four games with the Rays. They lost three games to the Phillies. Two of the losses were by one run. The Phillies are the hottest team in baseball. They have won fourteen of the last 16. The Phillies were in the World Series last year.

The A’s start a six-game road trip in Cleveland Tuesday night. The A’s will play three against the Guardians and then finish the road trip with three against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Guardians are in second place in the AL Central with a record of 33-38.

They are two and 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins. Manager Terry Francona is in his 11th year as the skipper of the Guardians.

The A’s will send Luis Medina (1-6, 7.55) to the hill Tuesday night. Cleveland will counter with Aaron Civale(2-2, 2.67). Righty Paul Blackburn (0-0, 3.49) goes for the A’s on Wednesday. The Guardians have not announced a starter. Lefty JP Sears(1-4, 4.24) will be on the mound on Thursday. Logan Allen (3-2, 3.95) goes for Cleveland.

The key players for the Guardians are first baseman Josh Naylor, third baseman Jose Ramirez, and outfielders Stephen Kwan and Will Brennan. Their catcher is Josh Naylor’s younger brother Bo Naylor. Closer Emmanuel Clase leads the Guardians bullpen. Clase is 1-4 but has recorded 20 saves this year.

Their setup guy is Trevor Stephan. The Guardians do not have a left-handed pitcher in the bullpen. The A’s will see relievers Sam Hentges, Enyel De Los Santos, Elijah Morgan, Nick Sandlin, Xzavion Curry, and two recently recalled from Triple-A, Daniel Norris and Tim Herrin. The A’s will not see the Guardians’ ace Shane Bieber in the series.

The A’s want to get some wins on this road trip. They will need better pitching and timely hitting. They know they can win on the road. They are looking for players such as Esteury Ruiz, Ryan Noda, Brent Rooker, Seth Brown, JJ Blesday, Ramon Laureano, Roberto Perez, and Shea Langeliers to get back on the hit parade. Blackburn has pitched well since coming off the IL.

Also of note A’s leadoff hitter Ruiz leads the majors in stolen bases with 36 for the season and could get some good coverage on the base paths that could help Oakland get a leg up for this upcoming road trip.

Medina has improved, and Kotsay wants him to give the A’s a quality start on Tuesday night. JP Sears, acquired in the trade that sent Frankie Montas to the New York Yankees, has to find a way to stop serving up gopher balls. Sears has allowed 17 dingers in his starts this year.

The A’s still are the worst team in baseball. Kotsay continues to have a positive outlook. He has seen some improvement in the last two weeks. The A’s would love nothing better than winning each series against the Guardians and The Blue Jays.

Giants use six pitchers to shut out Brewers 5-0

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San Francisco Giants’ Michael Conforto hits a single during the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Thu May 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

Giants use six pitchers to shut out Brewers 5-0

By Barbara Mason

After winning a series this week over the Minnesota Twins, the San Francisco Giants (25-25) traveled to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers (27-23). The Brewers are currently in first place in the NL Central. Wednesday the Giants took a beating at the hands of the Twins 7-1 after winning the first two games of the series.

After the beat-down in game three of the series in Minnesota, the Giants came right back and used pitcher Scott Alexander as an opener in the first of six pitchers to shutout the Brewers on Thursday night 5-0 to get back on track in Milwaukee.

Thursday night game recap: This game was scoreless through the first four innings. In the fifth inning the Giants got up on the board 1-0 when LaMonte Wade Jr. singled Casey Schmitt home from second base. This game had turned into a pitchers duel with only the one run on the board going into the eighth inning.

San Francisco turned this game around in their favor in the eighth inning. Michael Conforto got the inning going with a solo homer to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. Schmitt doubled in the inning and drove runners Blake Sabol and Mike Yastrzemski home and the Giants had a 4-0 lead going.

They would score one more time in the inning. Patrick Bailey doubled with Schmitt on base scoring his second run of the game. The Giants had a solid 5-0 lead going into the ninth inning. Unlike yesterday’s game, San Francisco was leaving few runners stranded in this one. They had 11 hits through nine innings to the Brewers four.

San Francisco closer John Brebbia took this game home for the Giants. The final was 5-0 in the shut out, their fourth of the season. The Giants sent six pitchers in this game with great success. Another key in this win was scoring latě in the game. San Francisco totally dominated Milwaukee in this first game of the four game series.

This was a solid win for San Francisco with great pitching, great offense and defense. Conforto was 4 for 4 in the game and was a huge part of this win. His game has continued to improve with each game after struggling to start the season.

Over the last ten games the San Francisco bullpen has continued to get better and better with each game. The team can now lean on these pitchers with a lot of confidence.

The Giants will take the field Friday in game two of this series with first pitch at 5:10 PM. Alex Wood (0-0 ERA 4.00) will take the mount for the Giants. Freddy Peralta (5-3 ERA 4.15) will be on the hill for the Brewers.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants can’t get the sweep in Minnesota; Open up 4 game series in Milwaukee tonight

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Scott Alexander seen dealing will start tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Park in Milwaukee tonight Thu May 25, 2023 (file photo McCovey Chronicles)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca;

#1 Edouard Julien was the leadoff hitter for the Minnesota Twins hit a home run, two RBIs, and scored twice helped the Twins in their six run win 7-1 over the San Francisco Giants.

#2 The Twins ended their three game losing streak and starter Joe Ryan giving up six hits and striking out four hitters, allowed one run in six innings. Talk about how Ryan had the Giants off balance and his control was on.

#3 Ryan also is doing well in the decisions department the win was his seventh win in eight games. Ryan had the help from four relief pitchers.

#4 The Giants also left 15 runners on the bases and just couldn’t move the runners over going two for 16 with runners in scoring position.

#5 The Giants will get after it again as they face the Milwaukee Brewers at America Family Field. The Giants will send left hander Scott Alexander (4-0 ERA 4.42) to start the Brewers have not announced a starter for Thursday night as of yet.

#5 Buster Posey is being inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame tonight and no doubt he’ll be on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot as well. Three time World Series Champion catcher with a lifetime .302 average.

Join Michael for the Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San FranciscoTorched by Twins 7-1

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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani (26) throws during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis on Wed May 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Torched by Twins 7-1

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday afternoon, the San Francisco Giants (24-25) were looking to sweep the division leading Minnesota Twins (26-24). As this game went on it became very clear that the Twins had a far different mindset and prevented themselves from getting swept coming up with a six run 7-1 win at Target Field in Minneapolis.

San Francisco had to come from behind Tuesday to take game two winning it 4-3. Anthony Desclafani took the mound for the Giants in Wednesday’s game. DeScalfani took the loss dropping his record to a 3-4 and raised his ERA to 3.43. San Francisco wanted to continue building on the three game winning streak they but the Twins were taking their hacks on DeScalfani and the Giants. Joe Ryan who was on the hill for the Twins improved his record to 7-1 W-L and lowered his ERA to 2.21.

Wednesday game recap: The Twins got on top of the Giants from the first inning and they did not take their foot off the pedal for the rest of the game.

Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Edouard Julien hit a home run. San Francisco was able to tie up the game 1-1 when Casey Schmitt singled Mike Yastrzemski home in the second inning but that was all that the Giants could muster through the rest of the game.

The Twins scored a couple more runs in the second inning to lead 3-1. Minnesota added two more runs in the third inning and the Twins were on a roll leading 5-1. Scoring another run in the fourth inning and the sixth as well gave the Twins a 7-1 lead.

The Giants had an awful game with some ugly errors. Brandon Crawford had a fielding error in the third inning which advanced the runner. In the same inning Brett Wisely missed a line drive that flew between his legs and this game had an ominous tone from the start.

The Giants had a real opportunity in the sixth inning loading the bases with no outs. They could have at the very least cut the deficit by a few runs but came up completely empty. This was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. San Francisco had three innings to get something going in this game and it just didn’t happen. It was all Twins in this one even though the Giants had more hits than Minnesota 10-7. The Twins took the Giants by six runs.

The Giants scored on a single in the second inning but it was no match to the two homers, the double, a sacrifice, and a couple of steals from the Twins. Those awful errors were the icing on the cake although the Twins had a few errors of their own; it just didn’t hurt them to the extent that it did San Francisco.

Thursday the Giants will travel to Milwaukee for a four game series against a very good Brewers team (27-22). The Brewers are first in the NL Central division and so this will challenge the Giants who will be looking to get back on track in this series. Left hand starter Scott Alexander (4-0 ERA 4.42) will take the mound for San Francisco Thursday. Right now assignment on the hill for the Brewers is undecided. First pitch is scheduled for 4:40 PM.

San Francisco Comes From Behind To Beat Twins 4-3

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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb winds up to deliver during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tue May 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After beating the Minnesota Twins (25-24) 4-1 in game one of their series on Monday night, the San Francisco Giants (24-24) picked up their second win Tuesday defeating the Twins 4-3 to reach the five hundred mark on their 2023 season.

San Francisco came from behind to beat the Twins. The Giants faced Twins pitcher Sonny Gray who had been throwing lights out, having the best ERA in the league. Gray pitched five innings, giving up six hits and two runs. The Giants had a good one on the mound as well in Alex Cobb who went seven innings, six hits and three runs.

Much as the Giants opened Tuesday’s game in the first inning; the Twins got an early lead to start the game. Byron Buxton hit a home run with Donovan Solano on base taking a 2-0 lead.

The Giants will have their work cut out for them. Gray has numerous options and what is even more concerning is that he had command of all of them. He has not allowed a home run so far this year.

For the second inning in a row, the Giants had two runners on base with two outs. Much as it played out in the third inning, the Giants left two runners stranded in the fourth inning. They had two golden opportunities in both innings but came up empty.

In the fifth inning, Cobb would get burned for a second time with a pitch similar to the one that hurt him in the first inning. He threw a splitter that sailed out of the park off the bat of Michael Taylor. The solo shot gave the Twins a 3-0 lead going into the sixth inning.

In the sixth inning the Giants loaded the bases and knocked Gray out of the game, Jovani Moran would relieve Gray followed by another relief pitcher Brock Stewart and the Twins were in all kinds of trouble. They walked two runners home before the inning was over the Giants had cut into their lead 3-2.

Michael Conforto would break the game wide open with a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Thairo Estrada scored from second base and the Giants now held a 4-3 lead.

Scott Alexander would relieve Cobb in the eighth inning. Cobb had a terrific game going seven innings finishing with eight strikeouts. San Francisco had climbed back to the five hundred mark for the season.

Wednesday’s game three will feature an early first pitch at 10:10 AM. The Giants will send Anthony Desclafani to the mound while the Twins will assign Joe Ryan. Ryan has a 6-1 W-L record and a 2.25 ERA. Desclafani has some good stats as well with a 3-3 W-L record and a 3.09 ERA.

Giants Start Minnesota Series with 4-1 win

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San Francisco Giants’ LaMonte Wade Jr. rounds third base and scores against the Minnesota Twins on a J.D. Davis double in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Mon May 22, 2023 (AP News photo)

Giants Start Minnesota Series With a Win 4-1

By Barbara Mason

After falling beneath the five hundred mark in early May, the San Francisco Giants (23-24) have been turning things around lately. While they struggled against Arizona losing three of four games they did go on to sweep the Phillies. They most recently won a series against the Marlins and Monday they traveled to Minnesota (25-23) to open a three game series against the Twins at Target Field and came away with a three run 4-1 win.

John Brebbia took the mound for San Francisco and Bailey Ober was on the hill for Minnesota.

San Francisco jumped all over the Twins in the first inning. J.D. Davis got the inning going with a double and Lamonte Wade Jr. scored for the early 1-0 lead. Michael Conforto finished off the inning in Giants style hitting a home run driving in Mike Yastrzemski and J.D. Davis giving San Francisco a 4-0 lead.

Sean Manaea took over on the mound in the second inning. Manaea did allow a couple of walks and a couple of singles but generally kept it quiet for Minnesota as the Giants continued to hang onto the 4-0 lead going into the fifth inning. Going into the bottom of the fifth inning Manaea was already working on 73 pitches.

He had struck out eight through four innings. The Twins made some noise in the 5th inning with runners on second and third with two outs. Tristan Beck came in to relieve Manaea and get the Giants out of the inning unscathed. Beck did get the dangerous Byron Buxton out and it was on to the sixth inning.

The Twins would walk the first two at bats in the sixth. Emilio Pagan relieved Bailey Ober who went five innings. Minnesota followed those two walks with two strikeouts and a fly out to keep the Giants from advancing the score which still remained at 4-0.

The Twins would finally get up on the scoreboard in the eighth inning. Kyle Garlick hit a solo home run to left center and the score was 4-1.

The Giants left a runner stranded on second in the top of the ninth inning and San Francisco was three outs away from their first win of this series.

This was a well-pitched ball game for both teams. Sean Manaea had his best outing yet this season. The Giants got on the board early and were able to hold on for the win. San Francisco is now within one game of .500.

The Giants Alex Cobb will take the mound tomorrow in game two. Cobb has a 3-1 W-L record and a 1.94 ERA. For the Twins, a familiar name Sonny Gray who is having a nice season so far with a 4-0 W-L record and a 1.64 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 4:40 PM.

Giants get key hit from JD Davis to overcome Marlins 7-5 at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants’ Ryan Walker (74) throws against the Miami Marlins in sixth inning action. Walker pitched an inning of relief faced six hitters and gave up no runs on three hits at Oracle Park in San Francisco for his first Major League win on Sun May 21, 2023 (Bay Area News Group photo)

Miami (24-23). 101 110 001. – 5. 13. 0

San Francisco (22-24). 013 002 01x. – 7. 9. 1

Time: 2:24

Attendance: 28,936

Sunday, May 21, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Ever since Major League Baseball, after destroying Curt Flood’s career, read the writing on the wall and acceded to Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale’s hold out demands in 1966 by accepting a byzantine version of free agency, “well travelled” has become a frequent adjective for any player with more than five years’ experience. (Of course, in the old days, players moved around a lot, only they had no control over where and when they’d be moved).

Miami’s starter for today, Jesús Luzardo, deserves that peripatetic epithet. Born in Peru, raised in Venezuela and south Florida, signed by the Washington Nationals, traded to the Athletics, and then dealt to Miami, the 25 year southpaw seems to be justifying the excitement he aroused when he first came to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2019.

His game time marks of 3-2, 3.16 are good, if not outstanding, but there is a detail of his recent outings for the gang from the Miami Bay Area. In four of his nine previous starts he had held his opponents to one run or less. His April 17 start against the Giants in Miami was one of the five in which he didn’t fare that well. He gave up three runs on five hits in 4-1/3 innings.

Like Luzardo, Alex Wood, the Giants’ starting pitcher, is left handed and has experience a few injuries along the way. Indeed, he was on the IL from April 19th to May 4th. He had gone 0-0, 476 since his return and was 0-0, 2.87 when he took the mound at 1:06 on a warm, sunny Bay to Breakers Sunday at Oracle Park.

It didn’t take long for the Marlins to jump ahead of the Giants in a game they eventually won, 7-5. Jorge Soler, the second man up for the Fish, drove a solo home run 436 feet, deep into the left field bleachers to get Miami off on the right fin in the first inning.

Nor did it take long for the Giants to catch up. Pat Bailey, in his fourth major league at bat, got his second hit and first homer and RBI with 423 no doubt about it blast over the left center field fence. It came off a 97.8mph four seamer.

It looked like we were playing two for the see saw. Wood got two quick outs in the third and then deflected a line drive off Jon Berti’s bat towards second, where it went for an infield single. Berti, to, went to second on a balk and scored when Soler lifted a double to the right field corner.

And in the bottom of the frame, Bryce Johnson defied The Curse of the Leadoff Double. His two bagger landed on the Konica Minolta sign on the base of left center field fence in front of the Giants’ bullpen. He went to third on Wilmer Flores’s productive ground out too. short and scored Estrada’s double down the left field line.

Davis trotted home on JD Davis’s eighth dinger of 2023, a 433 foot moon shot way over the top of the sign Johnson’s earlier hit had bounced against. The inning ended with the Giants holding a 4-2 lead that Nick Fortes narrowed to 4-3 with a two out four bagger to left in the top of the fourth. Yastrzemski’s beautiful diving catch of Garrett Hampson’s dying quail to right kept it there.

A one out single to right center by Edwards and an infield hjit by Bertio in the top of the fifth ended Wood’s working day. John Brebbia came on and gave up a single down the left field line to Soler that could have been a double but in any case drove in Edwards and moved Bert on to third.

Cooper popped up to third. Then Brebbia escaped from trouble with a doozy of a play. Soler tried to steal second, and Berti ran for home, resulting in this pickle: Bailey threw to Estrada, who threw back to Bailey, who threw to Schmitt, who threw to Brebbia, who threw to Crawford, who threw to Schmitt, who threw to Bailey, who tagged Berti out at third, 2-4–2-5-1-6-5-2. And so the top of the fifth ended with the score knotted at four. Ryan Walker relieved Brebbia to start the sixth.

Wood had lasted 4-1/3 innings and got a no decision. He allowed four runs, all earned but one posthumous, on six hits, two of them homers, and no walks. He struck out five and saw his ERA rose to 4.05. 50 of his 74 pitches were considered strikes.

You knew that tie couldn’t last. Davis led off the home sixth with a double to left, and Haniger drove him in with a tie breaking single to right that ended Luzardo’s mound tenure. Andrew Nardi relieved him.

He got Yastrzemski to foul out to third and then gave up a single to center to Schmitt that brought Haniger to the hot corner. Bailey dropped a sacrifice bunt that scored Haniger and moved Schmitt to second before Crawford drew a walk. Bryce Johnson’s nubber to the mound ended the episode with the Giants ahead, 6-4.

Luzardo gave up six runs, all earned and one posthumous, in five innings. He yielded six hits, two of the home runs and a walk, while striking out eight. He threw 92 pitches, 59 for strikes.

Matt Barnes got the Giants out 1-2-3 in the seventh and, after yielding a single to center to Haniger to open the eighth, gave way to Steven Okert. Haniger stole second, his first attempted steal of the year, on Okert and then scored a run charged to Barnes, when Schmitt singled to left. (He, too, stole second).

Ryan Walker pitched a scoreless sixth for San Francisco, and Jacob Junis repeated that feat in the seventh and set the Marlins down in order in the eighth.

Camilo Doval took the mound in the top of the ninth with a 7-4 lead and the bottom of the order coming to bat. Joey Wendle hit for Hampson and managed an infield single to short. Luis Affaez lined out to Estrada at second. Edwards took a called third strike.

Wendle, who had gone to second on defensive indifference, went to third on an swinging bunt single by Berti and scored on Bailey’s errant throw to first. Soler ended the game with a fly to right.

Duval got credit for the save, his 12th. Walker (1-0,0.00) was the winning pitcher, and Luzardo (3-3. 3.83) the loser.

The Giants now will fly to Minneapolis to take on the Twins tomorrow, Monday, evening there but 4:40 in the afternoon here. San Francisco hasn’t yet announced their starting pitcher, but the Twinkies will throw Bailey Ober (2-0, 1.78)