Tag: mlb

Padres Lugo was dealing and Soto was swinging; Giants shutout 4-0 at Oracle

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Diego Padres pitcher Seth Lugo pitches the top of the first against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Sep 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

San Diego (78-80). 101 000 200. – 4. 7. 1

San Francisco (78-80). 000 000 000. – 0. 3. 1

Time: 2:19

Attendance: 28,183

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Giants were outplayed from beginning to end in Tuesday night’s 4-0 loss to the San Diego Padres.

San Francisco fans thought they would be given another chance to see the highly touted rookie Kyle Harrison acclimate himself to the rigors of major league baseball. The 22 year old righty from San José had been on the line up card that Gabe Kapler originally submitted and was featured prominently on the tenth page game Information notes that the Giants distributed to the press as well as in the pregame public address announcements.

Unfortunately, an illness, the nature of which was not disclosed, caused him to miss his start. It’s not known, or at least hasn’t been announced, if he’ll pitch again this season The lineup card that Sean Manaea delivered to home plate umpire Tripp Gibson listed opener John Brebbia as San Francisco’s starting pitcher.

The unforesen change did not work to the Giants’ benefit. Juan Soto smacked his 34th home run of the year, a two out solo shot to center that travelled 396 feet into the plaza area that divides the two halves of the bleachers.

Brebbia fanned Fernando Tatís, Jr. to retire the side and retired Garrett Cooper, the first batter he faced in the second, before giving way to Alex Wood, who stayed in the game and threw 82 pitches over 4-2/3 innings and allowed only one run, which was unearned, on four hits and three walks.

San Francisco almost got back the run that Brebbia had allowed when, in the bottom of the first, JD Davis lined a double off the brick wall in right field, where Tatís let it get away from him. Davis beat shortstop Xander Bogoaerts’ relay to third but overslid the bag and was tagged out to end the inning.

Poor defence cost San Francisco another run in the third. After Brettt Sullivan’s clean one out single to left, Bogaerts got a checked swing infield hit to second. Tairo Estrada’s throw not only failed to nab Sullivan, but it sailed past Wade and enabled Sullivan to move onto third. He scored on Ha-Seong Kim’s 6-3 ground out, short to first when Marco Luciano had a play in front of him at second, although it’s not clear that the Giants could have pulled off a double play.

Ryan Walker replaced Wood for the visitors’ seventh, and Soto did what he’d done to Brebbia, smack a four bagger. This one came with two outs and a runner on first. The 398 foot shot to left center came off a 95mph slider and left Soto’s bat at 108.4 mph. It brought his home run total to 35 and his RBI to 108.

Sean Hjelle, who has struggled mightily this year, hurled two scoreless innings to keep the Giants behind by only a 4-0 margin when they took their last licks. He even managed to be the sole Giant pitcher to retire Soto. managed to get through a scoreless top of the eighth.

The Padres got an outstanding performance from their starting pitcher, Seth Lugo. The right hander shut the orange and black out for 8-2/3 innings, limiting them to three hits and three walks. He threw 123 pitches 80 for strikes and struck out seven Giants. He was the winning pitcher, which improved his record to 8-7, 3.57. Josh Harder, who struck out a pinch hitting Wilmer Flores, earned his 32nd save.

Brebbia was charged with the loss. His balance sheet now reads, 3-3, 3.65.

Contrary to what I reported last night, the Padres have not yet been eliminated from the wild card race. Both the Giants and the Pads have a tragic number of one, and San Diego has a insurmountable advantage in the tie-breaking run differential figures.

The two rivals will play the rubber game match of this series, Wednesday, at 6:45pm PT. Matt Waldron (1-3,4.58) is scheduled to start for San Diego. Sean Manaea (7-6, 4.51) will return to his role as starter.

He was a Giant? Ken Reitz -3B – 1976 – #14 by Tony the Tiger Hayes feature article

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Ken Reitz as a San Francisco Giant in 1975 (photo from Steiner Sports)

He Was a Giant?

Ken Reitz

By Tony the Tiger Hayes

Apparently San Francisco native Ken Reitz was on the Giants “Most Wanted” list after all.

And not for the reasons he may have envisioned.

Reitz – who grew up near the Cow Palace – had a love of sports and rooting for the Giants as a kid. Unfortunately, like most of the others kids in hard scrabble neighborhood on the Daly City border, Reitz also grew up with an

evergreen hole in the pockets of his blue jeans.

So when he wasn’t playing local organized sports, to feed his Giants appetite Reitz was honing his skills as one most prolific ticket taker evaders in the history of Candlestick Park.

While other kids in the neighborhood preferred the old bum’s rush approach to sneaking into Candlestick, the scrappy Kenny was better at scaling the exterior cyclone fences that surrounded the old concrete bowl.

So when Reitz received a call from the Giants in December of 1975, you couldn’t really blame him if he thought the financially struggling club was calling to collect on those unpaid tickets.

Thankfully, they were not. But the real reason the club’s director of scouting Jerry Donovon was calling was only slightly less troubling.

The Giants, who had long struggled at the box office, were on the brink of bankruptcy, and frantically looking for someone to purchase the club.

Meanwhile, the slick fielding Reitz had established himself as one of the most reliable third basemen in the the National League in his three season’s as the Redbirds main man at the Hot Corner (1973-75).

When the call came from the Giants, Reitz had just been awarded the league’s Gold Glove Award for third baseman.

Further more he had just bought a home in St. Louis and was looking to settle down the “Gateway to the West” city.

“First, I was shocked by the trade,” Reitz admitted. “ I thought there was one chance in a hundred that I’d be going so soon. And if I was going, I was wishing it would be to the Pirates. I’d been hearing that they were willing to give up Al Oliver or Richie Zisk for a third baseman.”

But once reality set in, Reitz grew to appreciate the deal to the Giants, or so he let on.

He’d be working out of the same clubhouse as his childhood hero’s.

“Now that I’ve thought about it I’m kinda glad to be a Giant. Id like to help turn the franchise

around. It was such a great one when was a kid, with Mays, MeCovey. Marichal and those wonderful players. Its been painful to see the franchise go down hill.”

The club was hesitant to deal Falcone – coming off a fantastic rookie season, but the hole was glaring at the hot corner.

The Giants had never really filled the position after the venerable Jimmy Davenport retired in mid-1970.

“I enjoyed watching Davenport. He was so steady. The team had superstar but Jimmy made so many contributions and was so consistent that you had to leave the ballpark as an admirer,” Reitz said.

Reitz attended his first Giants game in 1959, back at Seals Stadium, the club’s first San Francisco home after decamping New York.

“I was about six years old, I can’t remember who the Giants were playing but Willie McCovey hit two home runs.”

When Reitz reported to spring training in 1976 he was uniquely greeted by Bill Rigney, manager of the Giants in the first game Reitz attended. The elderly Rigney was rehired to manage the club in 1976 by new team owner Bob Lurie.

“He’s a professional player,” Rigney said of Reitz. “There isn’t anything he can’t do.”

Reitz would have a decent season in 1976 for the Giants, his only as a Giant. In 155 games, second most on the club, Kenny batted .267 with 5 home runs and 66 RBI for a fourth place Giants club that suffered from inner dissension and poor attendance at freezing Candlestick.

Nearly one year to that day that he was traded to his hometown team the Giants traded Reitz back to the Cardinals for right-handed pitcher Lynn McGlothen.

Reitz wasn’t shy about his joy returning to the mid-west.

“I’m real happy and saying that might be mild. There are many negative things out in San Francisco,” he said. “The writers are always on your back and the fans are rough on you too. I’m so happy, I can’t stand it.”

Twins send A’s down to their 109th loss in 2023; Minnesota puts a Twin killing on Oakland 11-3

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Minnesota Twins’ Matt Wallner runs the bases after hitting a grand slam against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tue Sep 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s lost again for the 109th time in 2023. The Minnesota Twins, third in the American League with 223 home runs, used the long ball to beat the A’s 11-3.

Oakland’s pitchers helped the Twins by issuing three walks in the first, and all three scored on Matt Wallner’s grand slam. Again, in the seventh. A’s pitchers Francisco Perez and Zach Neal walked three Twins hitters. One walked forced in a run, and Twins’ catcher Christian Vazquez’s double to right-centerfield cleared the bases.

The Twins scored two in the fifth. Former San Francisco Giants’s Donovan Solano started the rally by getting a walk. Twins’ first baseman blasted an opposite-field home run to put the Twins ahead 7-0.

The only offense the A’s could mount came in the top of the seventh. Brent Rooker singled, and Seth Brown homered to make it 7-2. The Twins put four on the board in their half of the seventh to break the game wide open.

As mentioned above, it was the A’s 109th loss of the year. The A’s broke the record for futility set by the 1979 A’s team. Fortunately, there are only five games left to play this year.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s are 48-109, 61 games below 500. The Twins, who captured the Central Division crown yesterday, improved to 84-73. The Twins will be the third seed in the American League playoffs and have the home-field advantage in the Wild Card Round.

The hitting star for the Twins was Donovan Solano. Solano had three singles and a double and reached base five times. Matt Wallner and Alex Kiriloff homered for the Twins.

The only bright spot for Oakland was Seth Brown’s home run.

The line score for Oakland was two runs, eight hits, and no errors. Paul Blackburn was the losing pitcher. His line was three innings pitched, and he allowed five runs and four hits. Blackburn walked four, and three scored.

The Twins line was 11 runs, eight hits, and no errors. Bailey Ober was the winning pitcher.

The A’s play the Twins again Wednesday night. A’s rookie pitcher Joey Estes (0-1 ERA 9.64) will make his second Major League start. The Twins will counter with Pablo Lopez (11-8 ERA 3.61).

Over 22,000 fans sat through a rainy evening to watch the Twins pound the A’s

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Brooks Robinson, the Greatest Third baseman has passed away at 86

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Brooks Robinson the Baltimore Orioles third baseman snares a line drive hit by the Cincinnati Reds Johnny Bench in the top of the sixth inning on Oct 13, 1970 at Memorial Stadium during the World Series in Baltimore (AP file photo)

Brooks Robinson, the Greatest Third baseman

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

As a kid in Cuba when my father took me to the Cuban Professional Winter League in Havana, around the late 1950s I remember a skinny slick fielding third baseman that played for the Elefantes de Cienfuegos, (Cienfuegos Elephants), with the green and gray uniforms, his name was Brooks Robinson, they won the Cuban Winter League title in the 1959-60 season.

He was since that moment together with Cuban-born Orestes (Minnie) Miñoso my two favorite players. Miñoso played for the rivals Tigres de Marianao, Marianao Tigres and with the Chicago White Sox in the major leagues. I had the privilege of meeting Miñoso not in Cuba (although I saw him play in Cuba, like I just wrote) but here in the Major Leagues as a player and later as a Front Office employee of the Chicago White Sox, as I interviewed him in many occasions including in 2005 when he sat with me in Chicago during a game as I was broadcasting for the LA Angels Spanish radio, he did commentary for most of the game. Both Minnie and Brooks played at a very young age in that Cuban professional league. Both became established stars in the major leagues.

Today, September 26, 2023 the news broke. Brooks Robinson has died at the age of 86. There was no better defensive third baseman, He was selected to 18 All Star Games and won a total of 16 Gold Gloves, the most of any position player, only one player won more Gold Gloves in history, pitcher Greg Maddux,18.

In 1983 third baseman Brooks Robinson was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. His nickname “The Vacuum cleaner” was given to him by Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson after his legendary performance for the Orioles in the 1970 World Series. “I’ve never seen anything like what he did to us in that series, He killed us”. In 1970 Brooks won the MVP in the World Series.

He played his entire 23 year career with the Baltimore Orioles. Hit for an average of .267, 2,896 games, 2,848 hits, 1,357 runs batted in, 1964 American League MVP, 1970 World Series MVP and 2-time World Series Champion.

The Human Vacuum Cleaner” or “Mr. Hoover” because of his defensive prowess. But mostly known as “Mr. Oriole.”

Why do they call third base “the hot corner”? Because right handed hitters pull balls down the third base line with with lots of heat.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Vice President of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants Conforto takes advantage of faltering Padres for 2-1 win

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants hitter Michael Conforto gets a two RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the lead on the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon Sep 25, 2023 (@SFGiants photo)

San Diego (77-80). 100 000 000. – 1. 9. 0

San Francisco (78-79). 000 000 02x – 2. 7. 0

Time: 2:23

Attendance: 28,557

Monday, September 25, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO—While no one was looking, the fast fading San Francisco Giants found themselves tied in the National League playoff standings with the until recently tail dragging San Diego Padres. That would have been exciting news a week ago when no team had a chance to catch the Dodgers for the division championship but the final playoff berth was up for grabs, but at game time this warm and somewhat humid Monday evening, both the friars and the hometown Giants had an tragic number of only two with six games to go. Not that it matters much, but the Padres enjoyed a tie breaking run differential of 91 to -16.

Monday night’s terrific, hard fought, come from behind 2-1 Giants win eliminated San Diego from. the wild card race, although it also reduced San Francisco’s elimination number to one with five games remaining to be played.

The Giants, 2-8 in their last ten encounters, sent their tough luck ace, Logan Webb (10-15, 3.35 for the first 156 games of the season; 1-2, 2.36 in September). He turned in a tremendous performance tonight, throwing a 110 pitch complete game victory, in which he gave up nine hits, two of them in a stressful ninth inning, and no walks. The one run scored against him was earned and came in the first frame. The win improved his record to 11-13, 3.25.

The Pads went with Blake Snell, 14-9, 2.33 for the heretofore underperforming San Diegans and leading the majors in ERA, opponents’ batting average, opponents’ slugging average, and hits allowed per nine innings. He threw six shutout frames, stymying the Giants, who left seven runners on base under his watch. Three of them, one in each of the first three frames, were in scoring position.

The Cy Young candidate faced 25 batters, threw them 100 pitches, of which only 35 were balls, and allowed them four hits and chalked up seven strikeouts while two walks. His no decision left him at 14-9 but reduced his already low ERA to 2.25.

Tom Cosgrove relieved him in the bottom of the seventh and, after getting two outs and suffering an infield single from Slater, turned the ball over to Robert Suárez, San Diego’s first right hander of the game, who retired the side on a hard bounder to Ji-man Choi at first.

In spite of that clutch out, the Giants’ eighth inning surge made Suárez the losing pitcher, with a record of 4-3, 4.21.

The visitors struck first with a game opening infield single by Xander Bogaerts, a line double to left by Fernando Tatís, Jr., and Manny Machado’s Texas League single to left. Webb escaped further damage when Luis Matos caught Ha-Seong Kim’s line drive to left and doubled up Tatís, trying to get back to second.

The Friars maintained that one run lead until the bottom of the eighth. With Suárez on the mound, a succession of left handed pinch hitters, with one right handed starter thrown into the mix, putSan Francisco ahead, 2-1.

LaMonte Wade, Jr., batting for JD Davis, walked. The starter, Marco Luciano, doubled to right, sending Wade to third. Joc Pedeson, batting for Mitch Haniger, received an intentional walk to load the bases.

Switch hitter Patrick Bailey’s grounder to first forced Wade out at the plate. And then Michael Conforto, pinch hitting for Héliot Ramos, whacked an opposite field single to left that brought in Luciano and Pederson with the tying and winning runs.

But that didn’t end the drama. Webb didn’t just breeze through the top of the ninth. Juan Soto greeted him with a leadoff single. The Manny you love to hate sent him to second with another safety to center. Both runners moved up 90 feet on Ha-Seongs’s ground out to third.

Wade, now playing first, fielded Ji-Man Choi’s hard shot and threw Soto out at home for the second out. And then Matt Baten grounded out to second.

The three game series will continue tomorrow, Tuesday, evening at 6:45. Bob Melvin’s crew will send Seth Lugo (7-7, 3.79) against the orange and black, who’ll entrust their fate to rookie Kyle Harrison (1-1, 4.85)

Oakland A’s preview: A’s open up three game series against Twins Tuesday night

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland Athletics’ Ryan Noda reacts after striking out against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon Sep 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are off on Monday. On a sour note, they finished the final home game of the season at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday. The A’s lost to the Tigers 4-1, which was the 108th of the year. The 108 losses tied the A’s 1979 team, which also lost 108 games.

The A’s start the final six-game road trip of the year starting on Tuesday with three games against the Minnesota Twins. Neither team has anything to achieve. The Twins are the champions of the Central Division and will be the number three seed in the American League playoffs.

The A’s will finish the season with the worst record in baseball. They will likely only win some of the six games on the trip and will set a new A’s team record for most losses in a season.

The Twins were fortunate to be in the Central Division. If they were in the AL West or Al East, the Twins would be in the race for the last Wild Card slot. The Twins are the only team in the Central Division with a winning record, 83-73.

That is the seventh-best record in the league. Toronto, Texas, Houston, and Seattle all have a better record. In the AL West, it will be a dogfight until the final day of the season. The Rangers play three against the Angels starting on Monday, then four against the Seattle Mariners starting on Thursday.

The Mariners trail the Rangers by three games, but Houston could sneak in as Division Champs if they can sweep the Rangers. Houston plays Seattle for three games, starting Tuesday, and finishes the season against the Arizona D-Backs. Seattle has seven games against the two teams ahead of them in the standings. Seattle still has a chance to make the playoffs.

If the playoffs were to start today, The Orioles and Rangers would have byes. The Twins would be playing the Astros, and the Tampa Bay Rays, with the second-best record in the AL, would face off against the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round. The Rays’ record is seven and 1/2 games better than the Twins, 95-62 compared to the Twins 83-73.

While the A’s don’t have anything to achieve, A’s skipper Mark Kotsay wants to have his team continue to give a total effort. Many of the young A’s players want to show they are in the team’s plans for 2024.

The bright spots for Oakland are players like second baseman Zack Gelof, right fielder Brent Rooker, outfielders Esteury Ruiz and Lawrence Butler. The A’s need to rebuild their starting rotation. The bullpen did okay. Trevor May had almost 30 saves.

The Twins may want to keep their starting position players on the field or let them rest before the playoffs. Many people feel the regulars should continue playing in order not to let rust set in. Other people contend that the regulars should rest to avoid getting injured.

In any case, the A’s have three games to play. The Twins have a solid solid starting rotation. The A’s will see Bailey Ober on Tuesday night, Pablo Lopez on Wednesday, and former A’s starter Sonny Gray on Thursday. The A’s Paul Blackburn will pitch on Tuesday against the Twins. The A’s have not announced their starter for the two other games.

The Twins have only two players with more than 20 home runs. Outfielder Michael Taylor has twenty, and Max Kepler has twenty-three. The Twins will feature Alex Kiriloff at first base, Jorge Polanco at second, Carlos Correa at short, and Kyle Farmer or Polanco at third base.

Royce Lewis is out until October 1st. Willi Castro, Michael Taylor, and Max Kepler will be the outfielders. Byron Buxton and Joey Gallo will be available on September 26th. Both players have spent time on the IL.

The Twins have a solid bullpen. The setup guy is Griffin Jax and the closer is Jhoan Duran. Duran has 27 saves and has blown five saves this year. Other relievers include Caleb Thielbar, Emilio Pagan, Dylan Floro, Chris Paddack, Kody Funderbunk, Dallas Keuchel, and Louie Varland.

The A’s will be playing for pride. The Twins want to win to show the league that they are worthy of being in the playoffs.

The game will start at 4:40 p.m.

Oakland A’s relocation special report podcast with Augie Musenburg: Baseball Commissioner Manfred says Oakland Mayor Thao was not truthful

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred addresses the media. Manfred said this week that Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is not being truthful regarding getting a new stadium deal done in Oakland (AP file photo)

On the Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Augie Musenburg:

#1 A San Francisco Chronicle column written by John Shea title Oakland vs. MLB as Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao exchange unpleasantries regarding who dropped the ball in trying to get a deal done in Oakland.

#2 You might recall that during the All Star game in Seattle Mayor Thao went to Seattle and presented Manfred with 30 copies of books for each team owner documenting how Oakland was close to a deal with the A’s before team president David Kaval had called and pulled out. Do you feel that this is the crux of why Manfred has some strong words about Thao after giving him the documentation and he felt she’s not telling the truth?

#3 Manfred said that Mayor Thao was good at pointing out how MLB got this wrong and the A’s got that wrong but questioned if Thao handled getting the A’s deal done in Oakland well Manfred said “Don’t think so.” It should be noted that Thao had been newly elected and had only been in office a few weeks when the A’s said they had a binding deal with Las Vegas while they were in the middle of negotiating with Oakland and backed out of the deal.

#4 Manfred also said that Thao is about to lose her third team, making it sound that this happened under her watch and that she’s not telling the truth. Manfred also said he and Thao never talked about Oakland getting an expansion team and the city keeping the A’s name. Was Manfred upset about being presented the books and that he wants this deal in Vegas all along.

#5 Manfred also said that Thao didn’t reach out to him after winning election. Manfred said that Thao didn’t reach out after she won election and took that Manfred took that as a signal they weren’t negotiating about the A’s anymore.

Augie Mesenburg is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Judge questions Yankees direction “What are we doing?”; Padres Musgrove says not much has changed since last season

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge hits a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx on Fri Sep 22, 2023. Judge asked regarding the team’s direction “what are we doing” (AP News photo)

On MLB The Show podcast with Stephen:

#1 One of the things that New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge questioned on Monday was the direction of this year’s team fourth place 18 games out in the AL East and no chance at the post season with a week left in the campaign. Judge asks “What are we doing?”

#2 San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove said that not much has changed regarding last year’s Padres team that just missed the World Series and most likely will finish in third place in the NL West some 18 games out. It’s not quite the finish that Musgrove and the Padres expected.

#3 Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about his future with the team. Boone said that decision is out of his hands. Boone has a club option for 2025 after his contract runs out this season. Boone said his future with the Yankees was out of his control and hopes he could come back.

#4 The NL East first place Atlanta Braves reached their second straight 100 win season. The Braves reached 100-56 and are well ahead of second place Philadelphia Phillies by 13 games. The Braves are favored to be a World Series team.

#5 Bruce Bochy and the Texas Rangers continue to pour it on they’re coming off a three game sweep of the Seattle Mariners over the weekend and lead the AL West by 2.5 games. The Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners in Arlington in a one run win on Sunday 9-8. The Rangers opened a seven game road swing today and can finished as the second seed for the American League post season.

Stephen Ruderman is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants loss to Dodgers drops them 5 games back of Wild Card

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants’ LaMonte Wade Jr. celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Sun Sep 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast:

#1 Chris Taylor got a tenth inning single that scored the game winning run to help the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the San Francisco Giants 3-2 at Dodger Stadium.

#2 Things started out in the bottom of the second inning when the Dodgers scored two runs. James Outman hit a two run homer to center right field scoring JD Martinez for a 2-0 lead.

#3 The Giants LaMonte Wade Jr slugged a 408 foot home run to center scoring Tyler Fitzgerald ahead of him to tie the game up 2-2.

#4 The Dodgers who are already in the post season have won three out of the last four with the Giants. The Dodgers are one of the favored teams to have a shot at making the World Series but there is some tough competition which includes the mighty Atlanta Braves.

#5 The Giants return home to host the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park. The Padres will be starting Blake Snell (14-9 ERA 2.33) and for the Giants Logan Webb (10-13 ERA 3.35) with a first pitch at 6:40pm PT.

Join Marko for the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s lack hitting in 4-1 loss to Tigers; Open 3 game set in Minnesota Tuesday

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof couldn’t make the catch on the Detroit Tigers Andy Ibanez’ line drive in the top of the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Sep 24, 2023. This was the A’s final home game for 2023. (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 JP Sears, who had struggled through a 5-12, 4.52 season, also struggled again Sunday. He faced 23 batters over five innings, throwing them 97 pitches 58 of them strikes. 

#2 Opposing Sears in this battle of southpaws, was Eduardo Rodríguez, (11-9, 3.57 at game time), who did a fine job in his seven innings of work. He shut the Athletics out on five hits, four walks, and a wild pitch.

#3 Miguel Cabrera was in Detroit’s starting line up as the designated hitter. He closed out his Coliseum career by going 0 for 4 with a walk but drew loud applause after his last at bat, at which he struck out.

#4 Esteury Ruíz, leading off instead of batting in his recent number nine slot in order to improve his chances of breaking the record of stolen bases by an American League rookie (66) made two attempts in the bottom of the first. He was successful in pilfering second but was out by a mile when he tried to steal third.

#5 The A’s will travel on Minneapolis and Anaheim for the half a dozen games remaining in their schedule. Paul Blackman (4-6, 4,11) will face the Twins on Tuesday at 4:40 Pacific Time. The Twins will go against Kenta Maeda (6-7, 4.28).

Barbara Mason did the Oakland A’s podcasts Mondays during the 2023 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com