Tag: mlb

San Francisco Giants’ Wednesday game wrap: Iannetta’s HR sinks Giants 1-0

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

There were fireworks going off all around the country on the 4th of July, to celebrate this nation’s independence.

However, none of the fireworks came from the Giants’ bats, and they sure weren’t free Wednesday night, as Tyler Anderson stifled the Giants in a 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, completing a three-game sweep at the hands of their National League West rivals.

Anderson (6-3) went eight innings and surrendered only two hits while allowing only two walks against nine strikeouts.

Andrew Suarez (3-5) was not that bad, either. In fact, he surrendered five hits and struck out six batters while not walking anyone while going seven strong innings. It was his best outing of the season.

However, one mistake in the seventh inning proved to be his undoing. Chris Iannetta laid into a wayward pitch from Suarez and sent it over the left-field wall, hugging the foul pole in the process.

The umpiring crew reviewed the home run, but the visual evidence was too great, and the home run was upheld. The Giants could not recover from the blow and could not solve Anderson, and although they got a hot off him, could not break through against closer Wade Davis, who collected his 25th save of the year.

The Giants will not lick their wounds and come home to face the St. Louis Cardinals for a four-game series at AT&T Park.

A’s continue to roll as they down Padres 4-2 for 2-game sweep

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — The A’s continue to play great baseball as they prevailed over the San Diego Padres 4-2 on the Fourth of July, Both teams played well, but in the end, the A’s were just a wee bit better.

A’s starter Sean Manaea did not figure in the decision, but had another strong pitching performance. Manaea went seven innings and allowed two runs and four hits. The Padres’ starter Luis Perdomo also pitched well. His line was 5 2/3 innings of work and he, too, allowed two runs and four hits.

The A’s won the game in the bottom of the eighth when they, as they have done so many times this season, were able to score late in the game. The A’s won for the eighth time in the last nine game and have won 14 of the last 17 as they move to a season-high nine games above the .500 mark with a record of 48-39.

The Padres scored two in the top of the second inning. Manaea issued a free pass to Hunter Renfroe. Padres’ rookie third baseman Christian Villaneuva homered to left field to give the Padres an early 2-0 lead. The A’s plated one in their half of the inning. With one out, Luis Perdomo walked Matt Olson. Right fielder Stephen Piscotty lined a ball into the gap in left-center-field to drive in Olson.

The A’s tied the game in the third. Josh Phegley walked to get things going. Dustin Fowler singled to put men on at first and second with no out. Perdomo struck out Matt Joyce for the first out. Jed Lowrie walked to load the bases. A’s DH Khris Davis followed with a solid single to left field to drive in Phegley. Matt Olson hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

The A’s scored twice in the bottom of the eighth. Jed Lowrie received a walk that started the rally. Khris Davis doubled to left. Lowrie stopped at third. The Padres issued an intentional walk to Matt Olson to load the bases. Piscotty made the Padres pay as he hit his third double of the game to drive in Lowrie and Davis.

The Padres escaped further damage when they retired Olson at home on a force out, and Villaneuva turned a line shot off Marcus Semien’s bat into a 5-4 double play to end the inning. The A’s lead 4-2 heading into the top of the ninth. A’s closer Blake Treinen gave up a couple of hits but was able to escape without any damage and recorded his twenty-second save of the season.

Game Notes: Stephen Piscotty had three doubles in the game to tie and Oakland A’s single-game record. Treinen’s has converted each of his last 19 save opportunities dating back to May 4th. Lou Trivino was the winning pitcher, and his record is now 7-1. Jose Castillo absorbed the loss. The line score for the A’s was four runs, six hits, and no errors. The Padres’ line was two runs, seven hits, and no errors.

Khris Davis extended his hit streak to seven games, the second highest such streak of the season…is 10-for-27 (.370) during this span. • Matt Joyce snapped a five-game hitting streak. Mark Canha went hitless to end his career high 11 game hitting streak.

A’s third baseman Matt Chapman made the defensive play of the day in the sixth inning. He stabbed a Hunter Renfroe smash that looked like it was heading into the left-field corner. He dived for the ball and snared and in one motion righted himself to start a 5-4-3 double play.

Time of game was a crisp two hours and 33 minutes and 14,408 people watched as the A’s won again.

Up Next: The A’s are off on Thursday as they travel to Cleveland to face the Indians at Progressive Field starting Friday night. Paul Blackburn (2-2, ERA 6.46) will pitch for Oakland, and Cleveland will counter with righty Carlos Carrasco (8-5, ERA 4.24). The game will start at 4:10 pm PDT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants face tough pitching; Rockies could put it to bed for a sweep

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

On the SF Giants podcast with Marko:

The Giants dropped their second game to the Colorado Rockies in the series 8-1 on Tuesday night. The Giants were dominated by Rockies pitcher Antonio Senzatela, who went seven innings, no runs, three hits, no walks and four strikeouts. The Rockies’ Charles Blackmon had three hits and a triple, Trevor Story hit a triple, Nolan Arenado hit his 22nd home run and the Rockies have won five of their last six games.

Giants pitcher Chris Stratton was rocked for eight runs, 11 hits, in 5.2 innings of work. Game three is tonight at Coors Field as the Giants try to avoid the sweep in Colorado.

Marko Ukalovic does the Giants podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s lineup delivers punch to help them get wins in crucial times

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:

Rally caps paid off at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday night as the Oakland A’s got five runs in the sixth inning to beat the San Diego Padres 6-2 to start this brief two-game series. A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt didn’t pitch quite as well as he did on the last road trip (he threw a shutout), but two runs, seven hits, two runs, six hits in 4.2 innings was not a bad outing.

Jed Lowrie hit a bases loaded three-run double and picked up his 25th double of the season with 59 RBIs. Mark Canha has proven to be a tough out he’s on an 11-game hit streak and has reached base in 12 straight games.

The A’s will start pitcher Sean Manaea (8-6). The Padres have announced they’ll start Luis Perdomo (1-2).

Charlie O podcasts A’s baseball each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s erupt for five runs in the sixth to beat the Padres 6-2

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland A’s, perhaps energized by a large and boisterous home crowd, scored five runs in the fifth and one in the seventh to notch their 13th win in their last 16 games by a score of 6-2.

A’s starter Chris Bassitt was not as sharp as he was last week when he received credit for his first win of the year. The Padres had a great opportunity in the third inning as they had the bases loaded with no outs, but failed to score. The A’s made two terrific plays on defense to snuff out runs and keep the game scoreless. The Padres’ veteran starter, Clayton Richard, mesmerized the A’s for the first five innings before this team, so confident that they can overcome any deficit, erupted for five runs and pinned the loss on Richard.

In the third inning, Bassitt walked leadoff hitter Freddy Galvis. Austin Hedges and Travis Jankowski followed with singles to load the bases with no out. Manuel Margot hit a slow roller back to Bassitt. Bassitt made a terrific play as he fell to his knees and was able to throw home to nail Galvis for the first out, The throw from Jonathan Lucroy was not in time to nail Margot to complete the double play. The bases remained loaded. Eric Hosmer then hit a ground ball that was fielded by first baseman Matt Olson, who threw a strike to Lucroy at home for the second out. Bassitt struck out Wil Myers to end the inning.

The Padres, after threatening to score in the first and third innings, plated two runs in the top of the fifth. With one out, right fielder Travis Jankowski singled. Padres’ center fielder Manuel Margot followed with a single to send Jankowski to third. The next hitter, Eric Hosmer, hit a dribbler ball that A’s first baseman Matt Olson fielded. Olson’s throw to Bassitt was dropped, and Jankowski scored on the play.

A’s manager Bob Melvin challenged the call saying that Hosmer interfered with Bassitt’s ability to catch and hold onto the ball. The call was overturned, and Hosmer was called out. Margot went to second and scored on a double off the bat of Will Myers. Richard retired the A’s in order in the bottom of the fifth. The Padres led 2-0 after five innings.

The A’s offense–held in check for five innings by Richard–woke up and scored five runs on four hits. Chad Pinder walked to start the rally. Marcus Semien followed with a single. Richard walked Stephen Piscotty to load the bases with no out, and Richard now had to face the A’s best hitter Jed Lowrie. Lowrie sent the crowd into a frenzy when he doubled to left field to clear the bases. For Lowrie, it was his 25th double of the year and increased his RBI total to 59. Khris Davis singled to drive in Lowrie with the fourth run of the frame. Matt Olson hit into a double play, but the A’s were not finished scoring. Mark Canha extended his 10-game hitting streak to 11 when he blasted his 11th home run of the year into the bleacher seats in left field. Everyone in the park knew the ball was going out of the park as soon as it left the bat. The A’s led 5-0 after six innings.

The A’s tacked on a run in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Chad Pinder blasted the first pitch he saw from reliever Adam Cimber into the seats about 15 rows back of the “Rooted in Oakland” sign in left field. The Padres trailed the A’s 6-2 at the end of seven.

The A’s bullpen did the job again as the Padres were held scoreless the rest of the way. A’s manager Bob Melvin used Emilio Pagan, Ryan Buchter, Lou Trivino, and Blake Treinen to finish the game. Bassitt did not receive credit for the win as he went just 4 2/3 innings. He allowed seven hits and two runs. Emilio Pagan was the winning pitcher.

Game Notes: Chris Bassitt tied a season-high with six strikeouts. Mark Canha hit safely in his career-high 11th straight game. Emilio Pagan has not allowed a run in 16 of his 17 appearances since being recalled from Triple-A on May 18th.

The A’s are 33-0 when leading after seven innings. They are the only team in the MLB to do so. The A’s grounded into five double plays Tuesday night. The last time they did that and won was on June 2, 1973, in Boston.

The A’s are now 47-39 and are eight games over the .500 mark. The Padres dropped to 37-50. Richard’s record is now 7-8 for the year, and Pagan is 2-0.

Sean Manaea (8-6) will hurl for the A’s on Wednesday. The Padres have not announced their starter.

Time of game was two hours and 39 minutes and 29,975 fans enjoyed the Green and Gold win.

Up Next: The A’s and Padres will conclude their series on a Fourth of July Wednesday at 1:05 pm PDT.

Senzatela, Rockies rocks Giants 8-1

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

It seems that the San Francisco Giants have found a new House of Horror, and it is Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies.

Antonio Senzatela, who was recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Albuquerque to replace the struggling Jon Gray, went seven innings, allowing no runs on just three hits, not walking a batter and striking out four and the Rockies defeated the Giants 8-1 at Coors Field.

Going back to September 7, 2016, the Rockies are now 14-2 versus the Giants at Coors Field, a winning percentage of .875.

Charlie Blackmon was the hitting star of the night for the Rockies, as he picked up three hits and his first home run since June 20.

Trevor Story drove in a run with a triple, while Nolan Arenado hit his National League-leading 22nd home run, as the Rockies have won five out of their last six games.

It was not a good night for Chris Stratton, as the right-hander went just 5.2 innings, allowing eight runs on 11 hits.

Alen Hanson drove in the lone Giants run, as he singled in the top of the eighth inning off of Mike Dunn that scored Austin Jackson, who singled with one out in the inning.

Blackmon got the Rockies going in the bottom of the first inning, as hit a 416-foot home run with one out in the frame.

Following the Blackmon home run, Arenado singled and then after a lineout by Carlos Gonzalez for the second out of the inning, Story singled and then Gerardo Parra singled in Arenado with the Rockies second run of the inning.

It looked like Stratton was going to settle down, as he retired the next six batters in a row, but then Gonzalez singled and then Story tripled to right field.

Arenado broke the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he hit a smashed a three-run home run to centerfield to give the Rockies a 6-0 lead.

NOTES: Andrew Suarez looks to end the road trip on a high note, as he takes the mound on Wednesday afternoon, while the Rockies will send Tyler Anderson to the mound, as they look for the sweep.

Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija will rejoin the starting rotation for the Giants this weekend, as the Giants open a 10-game home stand against the St. Louis Cardinals beginning on Thursday night. Cueto is currently on the 60-day disabled list, retroactive to April 29 with a sprained right elbow, will start on Thursday. Samardzija will start on Saturday after he was forced to a game against the Rockies with tightness in his right shoulder on May 30 after just one inning.

Derek Holland was the odd man out of the starting rotation, as he will be sent to the bullpen.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Rockies conclude their series on Wednesday at 5:10 pm PDT.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: How DeMarcus fits in at Golden State; Lowrie will represent A’s at All Star game

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bleacherreport.com file photo: Former New Orleans Pelicans DeMarcus Cousins is signed up for one season with Golden State

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

The Golden State Warriors knew they couldn’t leave DeMarcus Cousins out all on his lonesome so Cousins made it easy for Golden State and came to them and they both came to a shocking agreement to a $5.3 million for a season. The Warriors made a move after LeBron James made signed with the Lakers over the weekend.

Kevin Durant, who has two years left on his deal with Golden State and the second year being an option year, could leave the Warriors and such a departure would be a huge impact.

Oakland A’s Baseball Company: The A’s open a two-game homestand tonight against the San Diego Padres after coming off a 15-3 loss to Cleveland Sunday after ending a six game win streak. During the streak A’s reliever Blake Treinen who has 21 saves so far this season.

It’ll be the Padres Clayton Richard 7-7 ERA 4.29 and for the A’s starter Chris Bassitt gets the call 1-3 ERA 2.82 for tonight at the Coliseum.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Hall of Fame Museum vice president, the A’s Spanish play by play radio talent, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Rockie Reception: Coors Field, Colorado get the best of the Giants again in 5-2 win

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By Morris Phillips

Only four hits after the first pitch of the ballgame? Not enough.

A critical, throwing error allowing the go-ahead run to score? One too many.

And Mad Bum extending his scoreless inning streak to 22 innings? Needed to be 23.

Once again, the Giants found Coors Field to be a demanding place, and the Rockies a confounding opponent in their series opening, 5-2 loss in Denver. Madison Bumgarner pitched six, scoreless innings only to run into trouble in the seventh. When the first three batters in the inning singled to load the bases, Bum was gone. The Giants 2-0 lead would be the next thing to disappear on a night when the game time temperature topped 90 degrees.

Rookie reliever Reyes Moronta walked the first batter he faced–slugger Nolan Arenado–trimming the Giants lead to 2-1. A run-scoring, double play ball came next, then Brandon Crawford’s throwing error on a routine grounder to short gave Colorado the lead.

Crawford fielded a ground ball off the bat of Ian Desmond, but threw too casually and errantly to Brandon Belt at first.

“I gave it about an 80-percent throw,” said Crawford. “One-hopper, I had time.”

“It’s about winning games while we’re out there,” Bumgarner said. “That was a tough loss. Everything was going our way early on and didn’t go our way late.”

The Giants three-game win streak was snapped with the loss, and their tenuous grip on second place in the NL West was lost as the Dodgers moved ahead the Giants by beating the Pirates, 17-1. More telling was the Giants blowing an another opportunity to win with Bumgarner starting.  They fell to 2-4 in their ace’s six starts this season, hardly the mid-season boost they were looking for.

Prior to the seventh inning, Bumgarner hadn’t allowed a run since June 16 at Los Angeles.

Gorkys Hernandez homered on the game’s first pitch off Kyle Freeland, but the Rockies and Freeland grew stinger as the game progressed. Buster Posey delivered an RBI double in the third, and that was it. With Freeland and two relievers dealing, the Giants were limited to a pair of hits the rest of the way.

The Rockies added on in the eighth as Ty Blach allowed two runs on three hits without recording an out.

The Giants swept Arizona over the weekend to get as close to the division leaders as they’ve been in months. But the Rockies envisioned themselves in the equation as well, but they slumped in June, and not played as well at home as they have on the road.

After Monday’s win, the Rockies are just 16-22 at Coors Field, but they’ve won 12 of their last 14 against the Giants in Denver.

Chris Stratton gets the ball for the Giants looking for his ninth win on Tuesday in a matchup with Anthony Senzatela, the pitcher who replaced the struggling Jon Gray in the Colorado rotation.

A quick look at the upcoming A’s vs. Padres 2-game set in Oakland

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s will host the San Diego Padres for two games beginning Tuesday, July 3rd. The teams met in San Diego in mid-June, and the A’s won both games. They won the first game in dramatic fashion when with two out and two strikes, Stephen Piscotty homered to tie the game and then they won it on a Jed Lowrie blast.

The Padres are currently in last place in the NL West with a record of 37-49. The Padres are managed by Andy Green, and they have two former A’s stars on their coaching staff. The fans will welcome Mark McGwire and Matt Stairs back to the Coliseum. The Padres are in a rebuilding mode, and many of the players are not household names yet.

The Padres announced that lefty Clayton Richard will take the mound Tuesday night. Richard is 7-7 and has an ERA of 4.29. Richard has worked at least six innings in his last 10 outings. However, he lost his last start last week against the Texas Rangers. Chris Bassitt goes for Oakland. Bassitt is 1-3, and his ERA is 2.82. Bassitt beat the Detroit Tigers last Wednesday in Detroit. He went six innings and allowed no runs and just two hits. It was his best performance of the year. On Wednesday, Padres’ righty Eric Lauer will face off against the A’s ace Sean Manaea.

Padre players to keep an eye on will be first baseman Eric Hosmer, shortstop Freddy Galvis, infielders Cory Spangenberg and Christian Villaneuva. Villaneuva is hitting .294 and has 16 home runs and 39 RBIs to his credit. Outfielder Will Myers is off the DL, and the A’s pitchers will have to be careful not to make any mistakes while pitching to him. Other players to keep an eye on are Jose Pirela, Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot, and Travis Jankowski.

The A’s beat the Indians two out of three over the weekend and are 10-3 in the last 13 games. The A’s would like to sweep the Padres as they start a 10-game road trip in Cleveland on Friday. They play four in Houston and return to the Bay Area to finish the trip with three games with the San Francisco Giants.

The A’s are in third place in the AL West with a record of 46-39. The team has been playing well, and third baseman Matt Chapman is expected back Tuesday night from the 10-day DL. The A’s have shown that they can overcome deficits in the late innings of any game. They are playing with a lot of confidence. The A’s bullpen has been very good. They are the only team in baseball that has not lost after holding the lead after the seventh inning.

Tuesday’s game will start at 6 pm PDT. There will be a fireworks show after the game. There is nothing better than baseball, apple pie, fireworks, and the Fourth of July.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Giants getting plenty of key hits; Offense improves as SF gets six RBIs in Sunday’s finale

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sfexaminer.com file photo: San Francisco Giants lead off hitter Gorkys Hernandez had a great month of June and is in the running to make the All Star team. Hernandez who fouled a ball off his shin in Arizona will sit out tonight’s game in Colorado. The injury is day to day.

On the SF Giants podcast with Morris:

The Giants closing in on first place–now 2.5 games back after sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend. In Sunday’s game the Giants got six key RBIs to overcome the Diamondbacks in a 9-6 victory for the sweep. Their key hitting from Hunter Pence, Nick Hundley, Joe Panik, Bradon Crawford, Andrew McCutchen, and Gorkys Hernandez these are the players who piled it on in the series.

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner wants to hit each time he gets a chance to come to the plate. Bumgarner leads all active pitchers with the most home runs career with 17.  Mad Bum, who never said it, but wouldn’t mind if MLB never uses the universal designated hitter.

The Giants open up a three-game series in Colorado tonight. Bumgarner (1-2) will match up against the Rockies Freeman (7-6). Can the Giants have the same success at Coors Field like they had in Arizona?

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