Tag: mlb

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Panda takes D-Backs deep in 10th inning for gamer 3-2

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On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval can do it all, play all positions on the diamond, including pitch, but on Sunday at Chase Field in Phoenix Sandoval was clutch and got a game-winning 10th inning homer for the Giants in their 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

#2  Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford contributed with a game saving defensive stop in the ninth inning. The D-Backs Adam Jones hit a ball to Crawford’s right who dove to stop and get up and fire the ball to first base to retire Jones and strand a runner at third.

#3 On Sandoval, he has had a great series against the D-Backs. He hit an eighth inning home run on Saturday to help the Giants in their 8-5 win. Sandoval hit one against the D-Backs pitcher Yoshihisa Hirano to left field for his 40th home run at Chase the most of any opposing hitter to visit that park.

#4 Giants reliever Will Smith is coming along. He picked up his 11th save in 11 outings certainly the go-to to close games for manager Bruce Bochy.

#5 Giants are back at Oracle Park on Monday night to face a very tough Atlanta Braves club. The Braves will start Mike Soroka (4-1, 0.98 ERA) the Giants will start Andrew Suarez (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

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

Panda’s 10th inning blast lifts Giants over D-Backs 3-2

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, May 19, 2019

PHOENIX — The Panda strikes again.

For the second time in two games, Pablo Sandoval came off the San Francisco bench and delivered a pinch-hit home run. His homer on Sunday came in the top of the 10th inning, giving the Giants a 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Sandoval, pinch-hitting for reliever Sam Dyson, drove a Yoshihisa Hirano fastball into the left field seats just above the 388-foot marker, breaking a 2-2 deadlock.

“You’ve got to be prepared, and be ready to hit in any situation,” Sandoval said. “Then, take advantage of the situation. (Hirano) was doing a good job with his sequence of pitches. He threw a fastball away, and I was thinking fastball.”

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said, “It’s amazing what he’s been doing, and with two strikes. It happened for him again!

“It’s incredible what Pablo’s done for us off the bench, and he sure delivered again in a big way.”

Will Smith came on with one out in the bottom of the 10th to record his 12th save, striking out Eduardo Escobar and David Peralta.

Before any of that could happen, the Diamondbacks had an opportunity to win the game in the ninth when Nick Ahmed led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second and moved to third when Blake Swihart was ruled out at first after a replay review of his grounder to short.

On Adam Jones’ sharp grounder just to the left of second base, shortstop Brandon Crawford’s throw to Brandon Belt just beat Jones at first, forcing extra innings.

“That was an unbelievable play,” Sandoval said. “If we don’t make that play, they win.”

The Giants took two out of the three weekend games at Chase Field, which had the roof open all three days.

San Francisco took a 2-0 lead in the third inning off Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ray. Joe Panik and Donovan Solano hit back-to-back singles, followed by a walk to Tyler Austin to load the bases. Evan Longoria drew an RBI walk and Kevin Pillar followed with an RBI groundout to first.

The Diamondbacks tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth. Peralta reached on an infield single, followed by a walk to Christian Walker. Nick Ahmed’s ground rule double down the right field line drove in Peralta.

A wild pitch during John Ryan Murphy’s at-bat allowed Walker to score and Ahmed to advance to third.

Drew Pomerantz started for San Francisco, going 4 2/3 innings, giving up both Arizona runs, striking out two and issuing five walks. Dyson (2-0) threw a scoreless ninth to get the win; the Giants bullpen held the D-Backs scoreless over the final 5 1/3 innings.

Hirano (1-2) was the sixth Diamondback pitcher in the game.

The Giants improved to 19-25 and return home to start a four-game series against Atlanta. Monday’s starter has yet to be announced, but San Francisco’s probables for the other three games are Shaun Anderson (0-0) on Tuesday, Jeff Samardzija (2-2) on Wednesday and Madison Bumgarner (3-4) on Thursday.

GIANT JOTTINGS: Sandoval’s pinch-homer was the third of his career. The first one came last season in Philadelphia. … The replay review time in the ninth inning of Blake Swihart’s ground out was 1:21. … D-Backs OF Wilmer Flores left the game with a right foot contusion. … Attendance was 24,061.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s getting great starting pitching and timely hitting during their 3-game win streak

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On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 Nothing cures the Oakland A’s like a road trip to Detroit. The A’s have won three of the four games after struggling to open the road trip in Seattle early in the week.

#2 The 4-1 win on Saturday over the Tigers marks their 15th consecutive win over Detroit.

#3 A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden got the win for Oakland, pitching seven innings, one earned run, three hits and five strikeouts, 95 pitches and 62 for strikes.

#4 A’s catcher Nick Hundley hit a two-run homer to help the cause. Hundley has been a plus behind the plate and with the bat

#5 To conclude Sunday’s contest in Detroit the A’s will start former Tiger Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.12 ERA) vs. Detroit’s Gregory Soto (0-2, 13.50 ERA).

Joey does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants use 11-hit attack to hold off Snakes

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, May 18, 2019

PHOENIX — In 24 hours, things changed for the better offensively for the San Francisco Giants.

On Friday, the Giants couldn’t get a key hit when needed. On Saturday, it was key hits to spare.

San Francisco’s 11-hit attack was backed a strong start from Madison Bumgarner, as the Giants defeated Arizona 8-5.

Seven different Giants drove in runs, led by Brandon Crawford with two. Steven Duggar, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria, Mac Williamson and Pablo Sandoval each knocked in a run.

“You could really see the difference tonight,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “The hitters were doing a nice job of getting on base. We had a lot of big hits, extra-base hits, and we did the little things well.”

Bumgarner (3-4) worked 61/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He struck out six and walked three.

“I thought he threw real good,” Bochy said. “His stuff was good. And with that lineup in this ballpark, a really nice job. And he had good command of his pitches all night.

Longoria’s two-out hit in the first inning drove in Joe Panik, who led off the game with an infield single. The Giants rallied for three runs in the third, with Duggar’s RBI triple, Posey’s run-scoring single and a sacrifice fly to center by Crawford the key blows giving San Francisco a 4-0 lead.

Eduardo Escobar’s 10th home run of the season into the left field seats put the Diamondbacks on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Arizona cut the Giants’ lead to 4-2 in the fifth when Adam Jones singled in Blake Swihart, who led off the inning with a walk.

San Francisco pushed two more runs across in the sixth on an RBI triple by Crawford, who scored two batters later on a single by Williamson.

The Diamondbacks chased Bumgarner in the bottom of the seventh after Nick Ahmed walked and scored from second on pinch-hitter John Ryan Murphy’s double down the left field line.

Adam Jones drove in Carson Kelly (who walked) with a ground out off San Francisco reliever Sam Dyson, pulling Arizona to within 6-4. But with two out in the San Francisco eighth, Sandoval — pinch-hitting for Dyson — hit a solo home run, giving the Giants a 7-4 lead.

“How about Pablo, huh?” Bochy said. “It’s nice to start him, and it’s nice to bring him off the bench to pinch-hit. He’s been the silver lining through our struggles.”

San Francisco extended its lead in the ninth to 8-4 when Brandon Belt’s seventh home run of the season reached the swimming pool in right-center.

Arizona closed its deficit to three when Carson Kelly hit a solo home run in the ninth, but closer Will Smith struck out Alex Avila, Adam Jones and Ketel Marte in what became a non-save situation.

In Sunday afternoon’s series finale, Robbie Ray (3-1, 3.14) starts for the Diamondbacks. San Francisco has yet to announce its starter.

GIANT JOTTINGS: Sandoval’s pinch home run in the eighth inning was the second of his career. The first came on May 8, 2018, at Philadelphia. … Gi Belt’s ninth-inning homer into the Chase Field swimming pool was the second overall of the season. Ex-Giant Hunter Pence hit one earlier this season for Texas. … D-Backs OF Adam Jones has hit safely in his last seven games. … Giants 2B Joe Panik has a streak of reaching base safely in 16 straight games, by hit or walk. … The attendance at Chase Field on Saturday was 25,014; Friday’s attendance was 26,806.

TAGS: San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Madison Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt, Steven Duggar, Sports Radio Service

Diamondbacks blank Giants behind timely hitting

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Friday, May 17, 2019

PHOENIX — It was Game of Thrones Night Friday at Chase Field, pitting Team Giant vs. Team Diamondback.

Team Diamondback got timely hits when necessary, while Team Giant did not.

David Peralta’s fourth-inning home run, followed by two extended rallies, gave Arizona a 7-0 NL West win over visiting San Francisco.

The Giants stranded 10 baserunners.

“We just didn’t get that big hit when we had runners out there,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said of his team’s scoring chances in the second, third, sixth, seventh and eighth innings. “We tried to get things rolling and just didn’t get it tonight.”

With one out in the Arizona fourth inning, David Peralta broke up the scoreless deadlock with a home run to left-center, just left of the 413-foot marker. It was Peralta’s seventh homer of the season.

San Francisco loaded the bases with one out in the sixth on consecutive singles by Buster Posey and Brandon Belt and a walk to Pablo Sandoval, but Arizona reliever Yoshihisa Hirano replaced starter Merrill Kelly (4-4), struck out Brandon Crawford, and Kevin Pillar flied out to right.

The Diamondbacks added two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Jarrod Dyson walked and scored two batters later on Adam Jones’ double down the left-field line off San Francisco starter Jeff Samardzija.

“(Samardzija’s) been one of the top pitchers for a long time,” Jones, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI, said. “So, when you get an opportunity to score off of them, you have to. Same thing tomorrow night against (Madison) Bumgarner. They’re very stingy with runs.”

Ketel Marte then greeted Giants reliever Reyes Moronta with a broken-bat infield single, driving in David Peralta, who was intentionally walked prior to the double by Jones.

Samardzija (2-2) gave up three earned runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings, didn’t strike out anybody, and issued three walks.

“Shark threw well,” Bochy said. “He kept us in the game and gave us a chance. He had good command and was doing a nice job. He gave up that walk (to Dyson) right before the big hit by Jones and he’d like to have that one back.”

Arizona tacked on four more runs in the seventh off reliever Derek Holland after loading the bases. After Alex Avila walked, pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores singled and Dyson was hit by a pitch, Eduardo Escobar delivered a three-run triple. Peralta followed with an run batted in when he reached on an error by Belt at first.

In between the Dyson and Peralta at-bats, Bochy was ejected for the third time this season following an argument with home plate umpire Andy Fletcher.

“You can’t argue a check-swing,” Bochy explained about his 77th career ejection. “

Kelly struck out four and walked one while giving up six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

“I’ve been very impressed with him,” Jones said of Kelly, who pitched in the Korean League for four years before joining the D-Backs this season. “He knows how to use his defense, works fast and throws strikes.”

Joe Panik was 2-for-4 with two doubles for San Francisco. Posey and Belt each collected two hits.

Madison Bumgarner (2-4, 4.04 ERA) is on the hill for the Giants on Saturday, while the Diamondbacks have yet to announce their starters for either Saturday or Sunday.

GIANT JOTTINGS: Giants C Buster Posey was activated prior to the game from the concussion injured list. Posey had missed San Francisco’s last six games after taking a foul tip off his mask on May 5 in Cincinnati. … Fox Sports Arizona took a moment to wish a happy 71st birthday to former White Sox 1B Carlos May, the only MLB player in history to wear his birthday on the back of his jersey.

Montas’ Near Complete Game Still A Feat, A’s Continue Dominance Over Tigers 7-2

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

Frankie Montas came one out away from pitching his first career complete game, finishing the night with 10 strikes on four hits with two earned runs to give the Oakland A’s (21-25) its 14th consecutive win against the Detroit Tigers 7-2 at Comerica Park Friday. Mark Canha and Chad Pinder each hit two-run home runs and Khris Davis went 3-for-4 with an RBI single to hand the Motor City Kitties their fifth loss in as many games. Miguel Cabrera and Josh Harrison knocked in the runs for Detroit (18-25)

Montas and Tigers starter Daniel Norris were trading zeros through the first three innings, but a Matt Olson fielder’s choice with runners on first and third in the top of the fourth plated the A’s first run. Canha added two runs on his fifth homer of the year in the top of the fifth when Norris’ 1-0 fastball caught nothing but the heart of the plate and the head of Canha’s bat for a 3-0 lead.

The Tigers after a pair of doubles from Miguel Cabrera and Josh Harrison manufactured a run in the bottom of the fifth. Montas hit Dewal Lugo with a pitch to put runners on second and first with one out, but consecutive groundouts bailed Montas out of a jam in his best start of the year.

Olson hit a single that, combined with a fielding error by center fielder JaCoby Jones, brought in a run in the top of the sixth. Pinder would knock losing pitcher Norris (2-2, 4.50 ERA) out of the game a batter later, taking him deep on a full-count offering for a 6-1 lead. Davis would single in a run against Sandy Baez in the top of the eighth for the A’s seventh run.

Montas (5-2, 2.67 ERA) came out to start the ninth, the first time he’d done so in his career, but be greeted by a single from Gordon Beckham. He would strikeout Christin Stewart and coax a groundout from Nick Castellanos, but future Hall of Famer Cabrera would not be the last victim of Montas. He doubled off Montas’ 109th pitch of the night, plating Beckham for a 7-2 A’s lead. Lou Trivino would coax a Ronny Rodriguez punchout to end the game.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Belt, Posey expected back in the lineup tonight in Arizona

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On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he kept first baseman Brandon Belt out of the lineup due to his inflamed knee Bochy says Belt is listed as day-to-day.

#2 Belt has had two knee surgeries. He went 0-3 with a walk on Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays. Did his 0-for-3 have something to do with his knee being inflamed?

#3 The bobblehead for Pablo Sandoval reads “Let Pablo pitch” but someday the bobblehead for Giants pitcher Shaun Anderson will read “Let Shaun hit” because two hits in his first MLB game and some solid hitting would make only teammate Madison Bumgarner proud.

#4 Buster Posey is expected to be in the lineup on Friday night to open up the series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was out with a concussion for seven days. How cautious will the Giants and Posey be about his return?

#5 Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto is doing a 40-pitch bullpen session as he catches up with the team in Arizona. Bochy said he’s not sure if Cueto will be back this season after having Tommy John surgery, but he wants to see how and where Cueto is at in these bullpen sessions.

Join Miguel for the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants head down to the desert to take on the D-backs

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

For what it’s worth, the Giants have won two of their last three games, and they will take that bit of momentum with them as they head to Arizona.

There they will play a three-game weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, which starts Friday night at Chase Field.

While the Diamondbacks are in the middle of the pack, the Giants now sit in the National League West cellar, two games behind the four-place Colorado Rockies, as well as 9 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the division’s top spot.

The Giants will attempt to make up some ground in the division starting Friday night, as another guy trying to get things back on track, Jeff Samardzija (2-1, 3.51 ERA), takes the hill against Arizona righty Merrill Kelly (3-4, 4.70 ERA).

Samardzija appeared to be on the right path after shutting out the Dodgers over five solid innings while giving up only a pair of hits on Apr. 29. However, since then, he has had a pair of subpar outings – both against the Cincinnati Reds – giving up four runs and three runs over five and four innings, respectively.

Meanwhile, he gave up a season-high three home runs in a no-decision effort at Cincinnati on May 5.

Kelly has lost his last two outings, but his most recent defeat was more of a hard-luck one than anything else. He went seven strong and gave up three runs in a 6-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves last Saturday. It was major bounce-back from his previous start, during which he was bombed by the Tampa Bay Rays, giving up seven runs and going only four runs.

Madison Bumgarner (2-4, 4.04 ERA) is another looking to get some kind of consistency, and he will go on Saturday opposite Diamondbacks righty Zack Godley (1-3, 7.65 ERA).

He has gone seven innings twice – his season debut March 28 and then on Apr. 13 – but has not gone past six since, and he has yet to string together solid outings. Meanwhile, Godley has gone between starting and going to the bullpen, even picking up a save last Wednesday against Tampa Bay. In his previous outing on Tuesday, he went two innings and gave up three runs on three hits in a loss to Pittsburgh.

A’s trounce Tigers 17-3 to take first game of four-game series

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photo from expo.mlive.com: Oakland Athletics’ Marcus Semien scores from third on a wild pitch during the third inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Detroit.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, who are having a hard time winning games away from home this season, found their offensive magic as they pummeled the Detroit Tigers 17-3 at Comerica Park on Thursday.

The A’s improved their road record to 6-15 and their pitcher, Chris Bassitt, pitched one of the best games of his career. Bassitt went eight innings and allowed just four hits and no runs. He threw 108 pitches in picking up his second win of the year.

The A’s, as a team, hit five home runs on Thursday. They hit five Monday night in Seattle, but lost the game. The homers in Seattle were all solo blasts. Thursday’s show of power included a grand slam, a three-run blast, two two-run shots, and a solo home run.

The A’s scored all the runs they would need in the third inning when they put six on the board. Left-fielder Robbie Grossman started the festivities going with a lead-off triple. A’s catcher Josh Phegley, who had four hits and four RBIs in the game, singled to drive in Grossman with the A’s first run.

Marcus Semien reached on a fielder’s choice. Phegley was out at second. Matt Chapman walked, and first baseman Matt Olson reached on a fielders’ choice. Chapman went to second on Tigers’ first baseman Niko Goodrum’s throwing error.

Semien scored the second run on pitcher Spencer Turnbull’s wild pitch. Khris Davis struck out. Turnbull walked Stephen Piscotty to load the bases. Jurickson Profar deposited Turnbull’s ball into the right-field seats for his first career grand slam. The A’s lead 6-0. The A’s scored three in the sixth, four in the seventh, two in the eighth and two in the ninth.

Aaron Brooks pitched the ninth for Oakland, and he had a rough outing. Pitchers don’t have to be careful when leading by 17, but Brooks needed to show the A’s that he belongs on the club. He gave up three hits and three runs. The big blow was a blast off the bat of Dawel Lugo to drive in Nick Castellanos and Josh Harrison. Brooks stuck out Grayson Greiner for the final out.

Game Notes: The A’s won their ninth in a row at Comerica Park. Detroit has been outscored 41-9 while losing the first four games of a 10-game homestand.

Josh Phegley, Mark Canha, Marcus, Semien, and Matt Olson all homered for the A’s.

A’s manager Bob Melvin had high praise for the play of Josh Phegley: “If you are looking for All-Star catchers this year, I don’t know anyone more worthy than Josh. He’s hitting close to .300, and he’s giving us homers and RBI. You don’t see that from the nine spot very often.”

The A’s are 20-25 for the year. The Tigers drop to 18-24.

Up Next: Frankie Montas (4-2, 3.78 ERA) will pitch Friday night for Oakland. Montas has been the most consistent starter for Oakland this year. Lefty Daniel Norris will be on the hill for Detroit. He’s 2-1 and has a respectable 3.63 ERA. Game time will be at 4:10 pm.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: How much of a force are the Bucks?; Warriors look to take second game against Blazers; plus more

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On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony:

#1 The Milwaukee Bucks are truly a force to reckon with. The Bucks opened their series with the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night with a game one 108-100 victory in Milwaukee.

#2 The Bucks’ Brook Lopez led the Bucks in scoring with 29 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points. The Bucks have this great punch at the top of the offensive lineups.

#3 Kevin Durant not expected to be back for game two of Golden State’s playoff game against the Portland Trailblazers. We ask Tony if the Warriors will rest Durant for the rest of the series.

#4 Even with Durant out, the Warriors managed to get a 22-point win in game one. The Blazers are predicted to be overmatched in this series.

#5 The Oakland A’s went 1-8 on their last road trip, The A’s are on a nine-game trip this time and have already lost the first two games by just a run in each game. What’s lacking — hitting or pitching not closing the deal in the end of games?

Join Tony for Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com