Tag: mlb

Hoskins belts 3 run homer with 4 RBIs as Brewers beat A’s in a landslide 11-3

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Oakland A’s Lawrence Butler (4) grounds out to Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Aaron Civale in the top of the fourth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Aug 23, 2024 (AP News photo)

Milwaukee (74-54). 050 200 004. 11 14 1

Athletics (54-74). 100 200 000. 3 6 2

Time:2:51

Attendance: 14,031

Friday, August 23, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Just when you getting used to tight, low scoring games, JP Sears, 3-2, 1.57 in last four starts, took the mound for the departing Athletics, got blown out after lasting a mere 3-2/3 innings, in a lopsided 11-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in this Thursday night’s first game of a three game series between the NL Central leading Brew Crew and an Athletic team hanging by the skin of its teeth to fourth place in the AL West.

In that short stint, Sears threw 90 pitches, 56 of them considered strikes. gave up seven runs, five of them earned, on nine hits, one of them a three run four bagger by Rhys Hoskins that put the visitors ahead 3-1 in the top of the second.

That one run on the A’s side of the ledger had come on Lawrence Butler’s leadoff homer in the first, a 401 foot blast to center, his 14th round tripper and 42nd RBI of the year. The. A’s managed to score only two more runs.

They came in the bottom of the fourth, matching the two tallies Milwaukee had put up in the top of the frame. The Athletics’ offensive swan song came on back to back singles by Sean Langeliers and Seth Brown, walks to Zack Gelof, and a ground out by Butler.

He and Brown got the RBIs. Sears took the loss, which left his season’s record at 10-9, 4.35). The A’s sent two more hurlers to the mound. Ross Stripling staunched the flow of Brewers crossing the plate, holding the 16 batters he faced to two hits and another pair of free passes while striking out four in his 5-1/3 innings on the mound.

This was his second relief appearance of the year, and it gave him a total of six innings in that role this year, in which he has allowed but one opponent to score. You couldn’t really say that Dany Jiménez relieved Stripling, but he did follow him to face the visitors in the top of the ninth. His 32 pitch effort allowed four more of Milwaukee’s maulers to cross the plate.

It wasn’t as if the Brewers’ starter, Aaron Civale, outpitched Sears. The 29 year old righty who makes his home in Boston last only a third of an inning longer than Sears. 20 A’s hitter for four runs, three earned, on four hits, including Butler’s wasted home run.

Four Athletics reached on walks, against three who struck out. Civale threw 82 pitches; 50 went into the book as strikes. In spite of his escape with a no decision, Chivale’s earned run average rose to 4.84. That figure incorporated his 5.07 ERA earlier in the season with Tampa Bay.

Back to back homers by Rhys Hoskins, who had been suffering through an 0-21 draught before Friday night and Joey Ortiz sparked the Brewers’ five run second inning that basically put the game on ice.

Bryan Hudson (6-1, 1.87) got the win for the Brewers with two perfect innings. Joel Payamps, Trevor Megill, and Joe Ross shut out the A’s in an inning apiece, with Ross allowing the only baserunner, Seth Brown, who singled to right center to lead off the ninth.

Saturday, Joe Boyle (3-5, 6.21), who was hot in his last outing, will try to cool down the beer meisters, who will send Colin Rea (11-4, 3.52) to the mound against them. First pitch 1:07pm PT at the Coliseum.

Giants blow 5-1 lead, as Mariners come back with four runs off Tyler Rogers in eighth and win 6-5 in 10

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San Francisco Giants Michael Conforto (right) claps after hitting two run home run Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh (left) wipes his eyes in the top of the fourth at T Mobile Park in Seattle on Fri Aug 23, 2024 (AP News photo)

Friday, Aug. 23, 2024

T-Mobile Park

Seattle, Washington

San Francisco Giants 5 (65-65)

Seattle Mariners 6 (65-64)

Win: Collin Snider (3-2)

Loss: Erik Miller (3-5)

Time: 3:05

Attendance: 38,762

By Stephen Ruderman

SEATTLE–The Giants had a 5-1 lead in the eighth inning, but Tyler Rogers gave up four runs in the bottom of the eighth, and the Mariners came back to win the series opener in Seattle 6-5 in what was no doubt the worst loss of the season for the Giants at T Mobile Field on Friday night.

The Giants were looking to bounce back after an embarrassing loss to the historically-bad Chicago White Sox on Wednesday at Oracle Park, in which the Southsiders scored four two-out runs in the top of the ninth inning. With 33 games remaining, the Giants came into Friday night four games back of the Braves for the third wild card spot in the National League.

The Giants came into Seattle as the Mariners were in the midst of chaos. The Mariners fired their manager, Scott Servais, on their off day Friday after they lost eight of their last nine games. Servais was notified of his dismissal by news alert while watching TV. Mariners Hitting Coach Jarret DeHart was also fired.

On June 18, the Mariners were 13 games over .500 at 44-31, and they led the American League by ten games over the Houston Astros. They have since gone 20-33 to be knocked all the way back down to .500, and they have lost their AL West lead and are five games back of the Astros.

Servais had managed the Mariners since 2016, and he had accumulated five winning seasons in his eight full years in Seattle. He also got the Mariners to the Playoffs in 2022, their first postseason appearance since their historic 116-win season of 2001.

Former Mariners’ catcher Dan Wilson will take the reins for Seattle the rest of this season. Hall-of-Famer Edgar Martinez will take over as interim hitting coach.

What also made it interesting that the Mariners fired their manager with the Giants in town was the fact that Bob Melvin returned to where his managerial career started. Melvin took the Mariners to a 93-69 record in his rookie managerial season of 2003, but they fell to 63-99 the following year in 2004, and Melvin was shown the door.

It was a cold and rainy day here in Seattle, as a rare summertime low-pressure system came down from the Gulf of Alaska. It was equivalent to a winter’s day in the Bay Area with rain and a high in the low 60s. Usually when there’s rain, there’s a threat to the game, but thanks to the roof over T-Mobile Park, there was never a question about it.

This would be a matchup between two teams that are so similar in many ways. They both have offenses that can’t come through with runners in scoring position, and they both rely on their starting pitching to get them through games.

Despite the fact that the roof was closed and that the cold air was seeping in through the sides, the ball was carrying tonight. That would prove to be a factor almost immediately.

Mariners’ starter and former Giants’ farmhand Luis Castillo struck out Tyler Fitzergald to begin the game. LaMonte Wade then stepped up and seemed to get underneath one into straight-away center field, but it kept carrying, and it sailed over the glove of the leaping Julio Rodriguez and over the wall for a home run.

Hayden Birdsong made the start for the Giants. Birdsong had a solid outing on Sunday in Oakland following a pair of rough starts. As Birdsong looked to build on his last start, he would be throwing to a new catcher in Andrew Knapp, who the Giants signed to a major league deal Friday. Birdsong issued a one-out walk in a scoreless bottom of the first inning.

Both pitchers threw one, two, three innings in the second, and Castillo threw a one, two, three top of the third. Birdsong would then give the Mariners a rally for free in the bottom of the third.

Birdsong walked Leo Rivas with one out, and he followed that by hitting Luke Raley. The always-dangerous Julio Rodriguez came up, and he flew out, which moved Rivas to third, and then Cal Raleigh walked to load the bases for Randy Arozarena.

Arozarena hit a pop-up to the left side of the infield on the infield grass. Third-baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald came together and nearly collided. Fitzgerald made the catch, and Chapman nearly knocked it out of his glove. It was a crazier play than it needed to be, but Birdsong was able to get out of the inning without any damage.

Heliot Ramos singled to center with one out in the top of the fourth, and that brought up the Seattle native, Michael Conforto. In his return to his hometown, Conforto hit a two-run home run to center to make it 3-0.

Birdsong walked Jorge Polanco to start the bottom of the fourth. Birdsong had yet to give up a hit in this one, but he had already walked four guys now. Former Giant Mitch Haniger then got the first hit of the night for the Mariners with a base-hit to left.

The Mariners wasted an opportunity in the bottom of the third, and now they had runners at first and second and the tying run up with nobody out in the top of the fourth. Giants’ fans always ask the question of “how will they waste this one?” Well, Mariners’ fans ask that same question.

Dominic Canzone and Josh Rojas both flew out to left. Leo Rivas came up and worked the count full. Birdsong then threw a fastball right at the top of the zone that Home Plate Umpire Laz Diaz liked and rang Rivas up on to end the inning.

That would also end the night for Birdsong, who threw 80 pitches. Birdsong gave up just one hit and struck out five over four shutout innings, but his four walks upped his pitch count. What really got him was the fact that of his 80 pitches, 41 of them were balls, and 39 were strikes. He just didn’t have his control.

The Giants wasted a one-out double by Grant McCray in the top of the fifth, and Sean Hjelle was brought in for the bottom of the fifth. The Mariners got on the board when Luke Raley hit a home run to left-center to leadoff the inning. Hjelle walked Julio Rodriguez, but then retired the side in order, though two of the outs were to the warning track.

Wade doubled to lead off the top of the sixth, and that brought up Heliot Ramos. Ramos took a slider at the knees from Castillo and gulfed it into the second deck out in left to make it a 5-1 game. For Ramos, it was his 19th home run of the season. The Giants were once again relying exclusively on home runs, and every run in this game had scored on a home run at this point.

Luis Castillo went six innings; didn’t walk a guy; and struck out nine. That is usually the stuff of great outings, but the three Giants’ home runs were the real story for Castillo Friday night.

Left-hander Taylor Rogers pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth. Landen Roupp, who was pitching for the first time in nine days, pitched through a rally to get out of the bottom of the seventh unscathed.

Thairo Estrada led off the top of the seventh with a double off Troy Taylor, and the Giants loaded the bases, but with how home run happy they are, they were of course unable to come through. Gabe Speier then struck out two in a one, two, three top of the eighth.

Melvin interestingly brought in Tyler Rogers in a 5-1 game for the bottom of the eighth. You usually don’t see the eighth-inning guy come in for a four-run game, but Rogers was not surprised that he was brought into the game.

The first batter Rogers faced was Jorge Polanco. Polanco hit one into the hole on the left side of the infield. Chapman slid to his left from third to get it, but his throw was too high and pulled LaMonte Wade off the bag at first.

Haniger singled the other way to right to move Polanco over to third, and Justin Turner singled to left to score Polanco and make it 5-2. Josh Rojas lined a base-hit to right, which scored Haniger to make it 4-3. Leo Rivas also lined a base-hit to right to knock in Turner, and suddenly, it was 5-4.

Rogers was just trying to get an out at this point. Leadoff man Luke Raley came up, and he blooped a single to left, which scored Rojas to tie it. The Mariners had come all the way back with four runs, and there were still nobody out. At that point, all Melvin could do was pull Rogers for Ryan Walker.

“I figured Tyler [was] going to at least an out,” Melvin said after the game.

Walker, who has taken over as the interim closer with Camilo Doval down in Triple-A, really put out the fire. The Mariners had scored four runs to tie it, and they had runners at first and second with still nobody out. Walker retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts to send this game to the ninth tied at 5-5.

Andres Munoz struck out the side—all swinging—in the top of the ninth, and Walker did the exact same—all swinging as well—in the bottom of the ninth. Walker, who was born and grew up in nearby Arlington, Washington, really gave the Giants what they needed by eating up two innings; retiring all six men he faced; and striking out five.

The game went into extras, as Collin Snider came in for Seattle in the 10th, and Knapp was the runner at second for the Giants. Tyler Fitzgerald led off the inning with a line drive to center, but Julio Rodriguez made a slick diving catch to rob Fitzgerald of a base-hit. It was a catch that proved to demoralize the Giants.

Dan Wilson opted to have Wade walked intentionally to face Ramos, which seemed like a bit of a gamble. However, it paid off, as Snider struck Ramos and Conforto both out swinging.

Erik Miller was brought in for the Giants in the bottom of the tenth with Turner being the runner at second. Miller struck Josh Rojas out swinging, but pinch-runner Dylan Moore stole third, which seemed to catch the Giants off guard. Leo Rivas was the hitter, and he flipped a base-hit to center to win it.

Collin Snider got the win, and Erik Miller took the loss. This was the worst loss of the season for the Giants, who fall back to .500 at 65-65, as well as five back of the Braves for the third wild card with 32 games to go. There is no other way to say it.

However, it was a desperately needed win for the Mariners. Firing a manager during a slump while you’re still on the outskirts of contention is always a gamble. A struggling Mariners’ offense coming back from down four runs late to win could be just the kind of win they need to turn it around.

The Giants will look to bounce back tomorrow with Blake Snell (2-3, 3.67 ERA) on the bump, and hope that he can continue his historic stretch. George Kirby (9-9, 3.40 ERA) will go to Seattle.

The rain is expected to persist into the morning and possibly early afternoon Saturday, but it should taper off as the day goes on. Don’t be surprised if the roof is closed again Saturday. First pitch will be at 1:10 p.m.

National League Wild Card Standings:

  1. Diamondbacks 73-56 +3.5
  2. Padres 73-57 +3.0
  3. Braves 69-59 —

Mets 67-62 2.5

GIANTS 65-65 5.0

Cardinals 64-64 5.0

Cubs 64-65 5.5

Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: Nevada looking to spend more public money on Warner Bros Studios instead of public Schools; Like A’s ballpark a new tax will be created for studios

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Alexander Marks from Schools over Stadiums (above photo) and Chris Daly, political director of the Nevada State Education Association, attended the brief stadium board meeting to argue that the hiring of the LVCVA by the stadium board was a clear conflict that has been par for the course in a government process that saw the A’s receive the government money in lightning speed. Photo credit: Hugh Byrne/LVSportsBiz.com

On the Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 According to Republican Governor Joe Lambardo saying Democrats” have been lying to Nevada families in need about free school meals for weeks.” Lombardo said that parents should see his open letter about free school meals. Lombardo is trying to show that the state is doing something with public money to help schools at the same time using public money for the A’s ballpark.

#2 On Tuesday Schools over Stadiums representative Alexander Marks said that while Lombardo claims he’s transparent then why does he refuse speak to the press about the free school meals budget when they’ve asked for public comment proves the point that the State of Nevada and the Lombardo are not being transparent.

#3 Also on Tuesday it was announced that a Nevada judge will rule if it’s legal to earmark $380 million in public funds to help fund the Las Vegas A’s ballpark on Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana.

#4 Marks writes on X Tuesday that if the State of Nevada were to a write movie about having a fully funded school system with 20 students per class it would be a like a rated F movie that requires billionaires to build their own studios without public money after news broke that Warner Bros wants to build studios in Vegas if the Nevada State Legislature approves a film tax for the studios. More public money being used for studios and stadiums instead of public schools.

#5 Marks also mentioned Las Vegas Stadium Authority CEO Steven Hill in last week’s meeting regarding the financial progress of the A’s paying for their share of the ballpark that “We’re rounding third and headed for home. There are not many open issues left.” Marks countered by writing on Schools over Stadiums X page, “Except for financing, final renderings, actual stadium location, the constitutional lawsuit, the 2026 referendum…yup very few open issues left”

Join Daniel Dullum for the Oakland A’s Relocation podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s in fourth can they catch Rangers for third? Series with Brewers opens tonight at Coliseum

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Oakland A’s starter Osvaldo Bido was dealing pitching into the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Oakland Coliseum on Thu Aug 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 The A’s who battled with the visiting Tampa Bay Rays avoided losing the series coming away with a 2-2 split at the Oakland Coliseum with a two run 3-1 win on Thursday afternoon.

#2 A’s starter Osvaldo Bido threw five solid innings striking out six hitters and picked up his third straight win.

#3 Lawrence Butler, Miguel Andujar, and Darell Hernaiz each had two hits a piece to help contribute to the cause. The A’s with some key hits helped get this win over a very competitive Rays team.

#4 A’s manager Mark Kotsay said about Bido’s pitching performance, “I tip my cap to Bido for making those adjustments and being able to repeat them. I think that’s why we’re seeing the success we are.”

#5 The A’s are now in fourth place in the AL West just four game behind the Rangers for third place are they good and competitive enough the way you see it to move into third place?

#6 The A’s will open a three game series against the Milwaukee Brewers starting tonight at the Coliseum. Starting pitcher for the Brewers RHP Aaron Civale (4-8, ERA 4.78) going for the A’s LHP JP Sears (10-8, ERA 4.15) first pitch at 6:40pm PT.

Jeremiah Salmonson is an Oakland A’s analyst at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Tie Up Four Game Series With Tampa Bay Winning 3-1

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Tampa Bay Rays Jose Caballero (7) slides ahead of the tag by the Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof (right) after hitting a RBI double in the top of the fourth at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s went onto win a two run game over the Rays on Thu Aug 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After losing the last two games, the Oakland A’s (55-73) wanted to finish their four game series against the Tampa Bay Rays (64-63) with a tie. They did just that winning the game 3-1 with Mason Miller closing out the game on Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum.

The A’s had nine hits in the game with Miguel Andujar, Lawrence Butler and Darell Hernaiz turning in two hits apiece. Besides Mason Miller shutting the door on the Rays every one of the relief pitchers were outstanding as was .the five innings pitched by Osvaldo Bido winning his third game in a row.

Game recap: Oakland got a terrific start scoring in the second and third innings taking a 3-0 lead. There had been no home runs so far in the game but there were some nice base hits for the A’s. Zach Gelof sacrifice flied in the second inning driving Lawrence Butler home for the early 1-0 lead.

This was Gelof’s 40th RBI of the year. The A’s extended their lead to 2-0 in the same inning when Oakland’s Darell Hernaiz doubled Tyler Nevin home. The A’s added a third run in the third inning when Lawrence Butler singled and Daz Cameron scored for a 3-0 lead.

The Rays got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning scoring a single run. Jose Caballero doubled Christopher Morel home and Oakland held onto the 3-1 lead. The A’s continued to lead 3-1 lead going into the top of the ninth inning. Oakland was three outs away from tying up the fourth game series.

The Rays had run into some trouble in the bottom of the eighth inning with back to back walks. but the A’s were unable to score and this game went into the top of the ninth inning. Oakland’s Mason Miller took the mound looking to finish off Tampa Bay.

It was “Miller Time”. Much to his chagrin, Tampa Bay’s Taylor Walls was called out and next at bat Kameron Misner had his first big league career hit, a single. Junior Caminero struck out swinging for the second out and it was up to Yandy Diaz who grounded into a fielder’s choice for the third out. Oakland tied up the series with the 3-1 win.

Oakland finished this game with some great hitting and some especially outstanding pitching from Osvaldo Bido, in fact, the A’s pitching was great the entire game. Bido went 5 innings. allowingtwo hits and a single earned run striking out six.

It would have been great to see Bido go further in this game but at this time of year, you don’t want to overwork these young pitchers. Otanez, Holman, McFarland, and Ferguson turned in some great relief pitching closing this game out with super closer Mason Miller. Oakland had beat a solid Tampa Bay Rays team and had tied up this series. Since the all-star game, this team has continued to play some great baseball and have won some amazing games.

Game notes: The A’s got a great start in their series with the Rays in game one winning a shutout 3-0. Oakland lost game two 1-0 in a close one and went on to lose game three 4-2 on Wednesday night. Thursday they finished off this series winning game four to force a 2-2 tie in the series.

Oakland started Osvaldo Bido who pitched five innings, allowed just two hits and one run. Bido has won his last two outings the most recent a 2-0 win over the San Francisco Giants. The Rays Jeffrey Springs started and went 3.1 innings allowed seven hits and three earned runs.

Friday night the Oakland A’s will welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to the Coliseum for a three game series. JP Sears is the probable pitcher to start this game for Oakland. He has been pitching some great games with a 10-8 win/loss record and a 4.16 ERA.

The Brewers will send Aaron Civale to the mound. He comes in with a 4-8 win/loss record and a 4.78 ERA. He has won his last two outings . Sears lost his last outing against the Giants but won three in a row prior to that game. First pitch for Friday’s game is scheduled for 6:40 PM.

Rays outduel A’s 4-2; Both managers Cash and Kotsay get tossed by ump

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Oakland A’s manager Mark Kotsay expresses his displeasure in front of second base umpire Laz Diaz in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Oakland Coliseum Wed Aug 21, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tampa Bay (64-62) 000 020 200 4 7 1

Athletics (54-73) 100 001 000 2 5 0

Time:2:32

Attendance: 10,339

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Oakland, CA

By Lewis Rubman

Serial A’s killer José Siri, right handed pitcher Ryan Pepiot, and minor league call up umpire Brock Ballou combined to give the team from the western end of the Tamiami Trail a 4-2 triumph over the Erewhon A’s in this Wednesday night’s third game of their four game series.

A night earlier, the Athletics had battled the Rays to a scoreless tie until there were two out in the top of the eighth before succumbing 1-0. Wednesday night, JJ Bleday’s first inning home run, a 373 foot dinger to right, his 17th round trip shot of the year, was too late and, as it turned out, too little to overcome the dashing and resourceful Floridians, who lead the majors in steals since the All-Star break.

Bleday also figured in the Rays’ tying the score in the top of the fifth. He made a diving attempt to catch Siri’s dying quail in center field only to have the ball bounce off the heel of his upturned glove, allowing José Caballero to race to third and then score on Jonny DeLuca’s grounder that forced Siri out at second. Yandy Díaz then drove DeLuca home with the go ahead tally.

In the bottom of the sixth, Lawrence Butler raised the utopian hope that the Athletics might somehow pull off a win, doubling to left and scoring the tying run on Brent Rooker’s single to center. I call the hope utopian because utopia is Latin for nowhere, hence my reference to the Erewhon A’s in the first paragraph. In 1872, the British writer Samuel Butler wrote a once well known novel he called Erewhon. Pedantry and word play can take the sting out of the double loss of a tight game and a tightwad team owner.

Mitch Spence didn’t quite perform up to the standards of Joe Boyle on Monday or Joey Estes on Tuesday, but, even though he made a few mistakes (and what pitcher doesn’t?), he had little to be ashamed of. He struck out ten Rays in seven innings on the mound, allowing four runs on seven hits, one of them a serious four bagger from Tampa Bays’ interstate dwelling center fielder, who, even after three straight scorching games, still is looking up at the Mendoza line.

Nonetheless, the one time Yankee farm hand threw only 30 balls out of 105 total pitches, only to be charged with his ninth loss against seven wins and see his ERA creep up to 4.67. JT Ginn, promoted from the AAA Las Vegas Aviators on Tuesday, made an impressive big league debut, giving up one walk and striking out three opposing batters while shutting out the Rays in the two final frames.

Tampa Bay’s Ryan Pepiot celebrated his 27th birthday by earning a win that improved his record to 7-5, 3.65. His performance was a notch above Spence’s. The Athletics got to him for two runs, both earned, on five hits, one of them Bleday’s homer in the first.

He gave up one walk and hit one batter while striking out five of the 23 he faced. Half of his 105 offerings were balls. Drew Rassmussen, Garrett Clevinger, and Manuel Rodríguez held the A’s scoreless in the one inning that each of them spent on the bump. Rodríguez earned the save, his first.

Wednesday night’s game had the distinction of featuring the ejection of both teams’ managers. In the seventh, the Rays’ Kevin Cash was tossed by plate umpire Brock Ballou, whose atrocious work behind the plate was non-partisan, and A’s skipper Mark Kotsay got the heave-ho from first base arbiter Erich Bacchus in the eighth.

The A’s will try to even the series Thursday, at 12:37 in the afternoon. The Athletics will send righty Osvaldo Bido (4-3, 3.40), who gave up two walks and an infield single in his last start, beating the Giants on August 17th. The Rays will counter with southpaw Jeffrey Springs (1-1,3.86).

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Orioles Eflin out on 15 day IL shoulder injury; Braves Riley out with broken hand; plus more news

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Baltimore Orioles pitcher Zach Eflin is out with a shoulder injury and is one the 15 day IL as of Tue Aug 20, 2024 (AP News photo)

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong:

#1 Jessica, the Baltimore Orioles right hander Zach Eflin is out with a shoulder injury and was placed on the 15 day IL. Eflin was scheduled to pitch on Wednesday against the New York Mets to close out the series. Eflin felt shoulder soreness and had to sit that game out.

#2 After the Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley broke his hand and said “I hate that I’m going to be out, not be out there competing with the guys. I also understand it’s part of the game. Injuries happen.” The Braves signed Gio Urshela who was released by the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. Urshela was hitting .243 with five home runs.

#3 New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil left Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians in the fourth inning of a 9-5 loss. Gil has signaled for the trainer when he threw a change up to the Guardian Jose Ramirez and had to leave because of lower back tightness. Dr. David Trofa said that Gil would be reassessed again on Wednesday.

#4 Ten years ago former San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto helped the Giants win a World Series. Fast forward Cueto will get the call at age 38 years on Wednesday night for the Los Angeles Angels. Angels manager Ron Washington called up Cueto on Tuesday and said that he hopes Cueto will stick around and also influence the younger players.

#5 Tuesday the Chicago Cubs Cody Bellinger hit a two run double and Danby Swanson hit a home run to help the Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers 3-1. Bellinger was 2-4 and the Cubs got good pitching from Javier Assad 5.2 innings, allowing one run and six hits.

Jessica Kwong does Headline Sports podcasts every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Giants waste superb outing and fail to sweep White Sox, who score four in the ninth, 6-2 loss

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San Francisco Giants Mark Canha swings for a base hit in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Aug 21, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Chicago White Sox 6 (31-97)

San Francisco Giants 2 (65-64)

Win: Fraser Ellard (1-1)

Loss: Erik Miller (3-4)

Time: 2:10

Attendance: 28,375

By Stephen Ruderman

Not only did the Giants fail to complete the sweep of the historically-bad White Sox, but they wasted another great outing by Logan Webb and imploded in the top of the ninth inning, as the South Siders scored four runs en route to a 6-2 win on Wednesday afternoon.

The Giants have been able to take advantage of playing not just the worst team in Baseball, but an historically-bad Chicago White Sox’ team that could end up having the worst season in Baseball History.

The Giants have won three-straight, including the first two of this series. Today, Logan Webb was making what seems like a rare start after a Giants’ win, as they had a chance to sweep and get back to their season-high three games over .500.

However, Webb would immediately run into trouble right out of the gate. Nicky Lopez led off the game with a triple, and he scored two batters later on a base-hit by Andrew Benintendi.

Left-hander Garrett Crochet made the start for Chicago. Crochet started off his afternoon with a scoreless bottom of the first inning and a one, two, three bottom of the second. Webb settled down with a scoreless top of the second and a one, two, three top of the third.

Casey Schmitt led off the bottom of the third with a double for the Giants’ first hit of the game. However, this being the Giants, Crochet set down the next three in order to escape the inning unscathed.

The White Sox would make the Giants pay for their wasted opportunity. Luis Robert Jr., who you could say “robbed” Curt Casali of an RBI base-hit with a sliding catch that he really didn’t need to make in the bottom of the third, led off the top of the fourth with a double.

Benintendi flew out to right field to move Robert over to third base, and Andrew Vaughn got Robert in on a sacrifice fly to left to make it 2-0. Talk about manufacturing a run.

Gavin Sheets then singled to extend the inning. Now usually wouldn’t go on about an inning like this since the White Sox did not extend their lead, but Korey Lee hit a ground ball right to third that Matt Chapman ran to his right to field right on the line, and Chapman made a perfect jump throw to first to end the inning.

Matt Chapman has shined at the hot corner all season, and his defense and leadership have been a huge boost for this team. He may be getting up in age, but he has certainly earned an extension.

Chapman’s great play was a shot in the arm for the Giants in the bottom of the fourth. Mark Canha led off the inning with a ground-rule double, and Heliot Ramos also doubled, which moved Canha to third—I know, make that make sense.

Chapman, who now had the chance to get the big hit after his great play at third, struck out swinging. Jerar Encarnacion got Canha in on a ground out to second to put the Giants on the board.

Still, the Giants were lacking that big RBI hit. However, they would get it when Thairo Estrada stepped up and singled the other way to right to tie the game.

From there, Webb was in complete command. He threw four more scoreless innings and retired 12 of the final 13 men he faced to cap off another incredible outing.

Webb went eight innings, giving up just two runs and five hits. He did not walk anybody, and he struck out six. Unfortunately, it was still the same story for Webb on the offensive side, as the Giants’ offense was only able to provide him with two runs of support.

For the White Sox, Crochet was done after just four innings. Chad Kuhl pitched a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the fifth, and a scoreless bottom of the sixth. Justin Anderson and Fraser Ellard then pitched 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth.

One complaint I had over the first two games of this series was that even though the Giants won both games, they were much closer than they should have been against a team like the White Sox. Unfortunately, Wednesday was the same story, and the Giants would pay for it big time in the ninth.

Erik Miller came in, as the game was still tied 2-2 in the top of the ninth. Miller got off to a good start, as he got Nicky Lopez to fly out to begin the inning. However, Robert walked and stole second. Benintendi also walked, and then Vaughn reached on an infield hit to load the bases.

Miller had his back against the wall, as the White Sox had the bases loaded with one out. Miller bounced back to strike out Sheets, and then Bob Melvin went to Spencer Bivens.

Korey Lee came up to the plate for the White Sox. Bivens quickly got ahead in the count 0-2, and was a strike away from getting out of it and sending the game to the bottom of the ninth still tied.

However, Lee took a pair of balls—pun or no pun intended—to even the count. Then he lined a sinker up the middle for a base-hit that scored a pair to give the Pale Hose a 4-2 lead. Lee had advanced to second on an error by center-fielder Grant McCray, and Lenyn Sosa singled to left to knock in a pair and make it 6-2.

It was a disastrous and embarrassing inning for the Giants. To add insult to injury, White Sox Interim Manager Grady Sizemore summoned former Giant John Brebbia, who was also one of the biggest characters on the Giants the last three years, for the bottom of the ninth.

Ramos led off the bottom of the ninth with his second double of the game. The Giants were now in a great position to bounce back and…..who am I kidding, Brebbia set down the next three, and the White Sox won 6-2.

Fraser Ellard got the win, and Erik Miller took the loss.

The Giants won the first two games against this awful White Sox’ team, but they made them both too close for comfort. Then Wednesday, they couldn’t even complete the easiest sweep of the season, and they lost in such an embarrassing way.

The Giants fall to 65-64, and on top of losing to the White Sox, they now have to begin a stretch in which 27 of their next 30 games will be against teams over .500.

The Giants flew to Seattle Wednesday afternoon, as they will embark on a six-game, two-city road trip. They will get a day off Thursday in the beautiful city of Seattle, and then they will start a three-game series in Seattle Friday, which will run through Sunday. That will be followed up with three in Milwaukee against the Brewers next Monday through Wednesday.

The pitching matchup for Friday’s series opener at T-Mobile Park has still yet to be announced. The only thing for certain is that yours truly will be there, and with the fact that it will be cold and rainy like Northern California in the winter, that makes me very happy. Not to worry, they have a roof up there. Just give us one sunny day.

First pitch on Friday will be at 7:10 p.m.

National League Wild Card Standings:

*1. Diamondbacks 72-56 +4.0

*2. Padres 72-56 +4.0

  1. Braves 67-59 —

Mets 66-61 1.5

GIANTS 65-64 3.5

Cardinals 62-64 5.0

*Reds 62-65 5.5

*Cubs 62-65 5.5

*Tiebreakers taken into account.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Sox rally for 4 runs in ninth to defeat Giants 6-2

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Chicago White Sox Luis Robert Jr connects for a base hit in the top of the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Aug 21, 2024 (AP News photo)

On SF Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 The Chicago White Sox Korey Lee hit a two run RBI single that broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon that was part of a four run rally that helped defeat the San Francisco Giants 6-2. The win snaps the Sox four game losing streak.

#2 Giants reliever Erik Miller now 3-4 surrendered two walks to the Sox Luis Robert Jr and Andrew Benintendi with two out in the ninth inning with Lee at the plate he singled off Spencer Bivens to knock in the two runs. The Sox Lenyn Sosa hit a two run single for another two runs and the Sox came away with a four run win. How much trouble did you see Miller and Bivens having trying to work out of that jam?

#3 The Sox Robert and Gavin Sheets had two hits a piece and contributed in the game with two RBIs. As the White Sox who have lost won their third game in nine tries.

#4 Michael, how important is it that Chris Casalli is starting for the injured Patrick Bailey as catcher. Bailey is out on the 10 day IL with the oblique strain.

#5 The Giants open up a three game series with the Seattle Mariners starting Friday night a 7:10pm PT first pitch at T Mobile. Neither club has announced a starter as of Wednesday night.

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

Ray strikes out nine over six strong innings, Giants make it three-straight with 4-1 win over White Sox

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San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray struck out nine Chicago White Sox at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Aug 20, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Chicago White Sox 1 (30-97)

San Francisco Giants 4 (65-63)

Win: Robbie Ray (3-2)

Loss: Davis Martin (0-2)

Save: Ryan Walker (2)

Time: 2:20

Attendance: 28,766

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants have taken advantage of their easy schedule to get back on track, as Robbie Ray struck out nine over six strong innings, and the Giants beat the White Sox 4-1 to win their third-straight on Monday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

The Giants beat the White Sox 5-3 Tuesday night after the White Sox got the tying run to second base with two outs in the top of the ninth. It was a game that was much closer than it should have been against the historically-bad White Sox, but at least the Giants were able to get the win.

Tuesday night, the Giants looked to make it three-straight with Robbie Ray on the mound on this Tuesday night at Oracle Park. Ray started the night off with a one, two, three top of the first inning. White Sox’ starter Davis Martin also started his night with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the first.

Ray threw another one, two, three inning in the top of the second, and then the Giants got something going against Martin in the bottom of the second. Matt Chapman and Mike Yastrzemski singled to put runners at the corners with one out.

Monday night, the Giants finally got the timely RBI hits with runners in scoring position in a four-run bottom of the fifth. They weren’t able to do that in the bottom of the second Tuesday night, but Thaiuro Estrada was able to beat out the back end of a potential 5-4-3 double play, and Chapman scored to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.

The White Sox had Dominic Fletcher at first with two outs for Lenyn Sosa, who hit a double that bounced off the wall in left-center field. Fletcher was waived in, and he was initially called out at the plate. However, the White Sox challenged the call, which was overturned, and the game was tied.

The Giants loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the third for Heliot Ramos, who walked to put the Giants back ahead. They had the bases loaded with nobody out and a chance to extend their lead, but being the Giants, they were unable to add on.

Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the fourth, and Ray pitched another scoreless inning in the top of the fifth.

Curt Casali led off the bottom of the fifth with a base-hit, and after Tyler Fitzgerald struck out, Martin was done. White Sox Interim Manager Grady Sizemore brought in Fraser Ellard, who immediately walked LaMonte Wade.

That put runners at first and second with one out for Ramos. Ramos knocked in a run with a bases-loaded walk his last time up in the third. Here in the fifth, he lined a base-hit up the middle that scored Casali to make it 3-1. It was the first RBI hit with a runner in scoring position for the Giants Tuesday night.

The Giants were unable to further extend their lead in the bottom of the fifth, but Ray responded with a one, two, three shutdown inning in the top of the sixth. The Giants then wasted an opportunity against Touki Toussaint in the bottom of the sixth.

Ray gave up a one-out base-hit to Gavin Sheets with one out in the top of the seventh. Ray then struck out Korey Lee, but Bob Melvin pulled him for Sean Hjelle, who got Miguel Vargas to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

Ray was good Tuesday night, and much more consistent than Kyle Harrison was Monday night. Ray gave up just a run and three hits, while striking out nine over six and two thirds innings.

It seems like the Giants’ starters have been posting a lot of high strikeout totals in starts recently. That’s because they have, as the Giants are fifth in all of Baseball in strikeouts this season with 1,123.

Toussaint was back out for the South Siders in the bottom of the seventh. Ramos walked to start the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Mark Canha then walked, too, but Matt Chapman grounded into a double play.

The good news was that Ramos was still 90 feet away at third. Mike Yastrzemski got Ramos in with a ground-rule double that got stuck underneath the side wall down the right field line, and that made it 4-1.

Submariner Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless top of the eighth, which would have been a one, two, three inning had Dominic Fletcher not reached on catcher’s interference to start the inning. Gus Varland then threw a one, two, three bottom of the eighth for the White Sox.

Ryan Walker didn’t pitch two innings last night, and in fact, he didn’t pitch it all last night, which meant he was free to pitch tonight. Walker indeed came in for the top of the ninth, and he struck out the side in a one, two, three inning to close it out.

Robbie Ray got the win; Davis Martin got the loss; and Ryan Walker picked up his second save.

A win is a win, but it would have been nice had the Giants done better than going 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position tonight. I am going to keep harping on that, because the Giants getting their act together and getting consistent key RBI hits with runners in scoring position is the only way they will be able to make a run at the Playoffs in September.

The Giants improve to 65-63, but they remain three and a half games back of the Braves for the third wild card. The Braves beat the Phillies 3-1 in Atlanta.

Wednesday, the Giants can get the sweep; win their fourth-straight; and get back to their season-high three games over .500 on a Wednesday getaway game. Giants’ ace Logan Webb (11-8, 3.17 ERA) will make what seems to be a rare start after a win, and he will be opposed by left-hander Garrett Crochet (6-9, 3.61 ERA). First pitch will be at 12:45 p.m.

National League Wild Card Standings:

  1. Padres 72-55 +4.0
  2. Diamondbacks 71-56 +3.0
  3. Braves 67-58 —

Mets 65-61 2.5

GIANTS 65-63 3.5

Giants News and Notes:

Patrick Bailey was placed on the Injured List prior to Tuesday night’s game due to a right oblique strain. Catcher Jakson Reetz was called back up.

The St. Louis Cardinals released former Giant shortstop Brandon Crawford. Crawford, 37, was unable to get a major league deal from the Giants, but he got one from the Cardinals and signed during Spring Training. In just 28 games, Crawford hit .169, going 12-for-71 with one home run and just four RBIs.

With the Giants’ connection to their former players, especially those from the world championship teams of 2010, 2012 and 2014, you can’t help but wonder if a potential reunion could be in the works.