Tag: mlb

Pirates hit four home runs; spoil McCutchen’s homecoming with 11-2 rout

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

On a night where the Pittsburgh Pirates welcomed home of their favorite sons, they put an absolute bludgeoning on his new team.

Josh Bell, Starling Marte and Jose Osuna each launched two-run home runs, and Max Moroff hit a three-run home run, as the Pirates defeated the San Francisco Giants 11-2 at PNC Park that spoiled the homecoming of current Giants right fielder Andrew McCutchen, who was drafted with the 11thpick in the 2005 Amateur Draft by the Pirates.

While with the Pirates, McCutchen was a multi-time All Star and the 2013 MVP. McCutchen also helped lead the Pirates back to the postseason in 2014, where they faced the Giants in the National League Wild Card Game.

That 2014 appearance in the postseason was the Pirates first postseason appearance since 1992, when their leftfielder won his second NL MVP in three years; however, after that season, that leftfielder returned to his hometown of San Francisco. That leftfielder’s name is Barry Bonds.

McCutchen went 1-for-5 on the evening, and ended the sixth inning, as he threw Colin Moran out at the plate that brought cheers from the home fans.

Steven Brault improved to 3-1 on the season, as he picked the win in relief of Pirates starter Jameson Taillon, who was forced to leave the game after just three innings due to a laceration on his pitching hand.

Once again, the Giants starting pitcher was unable to make it out of the fifth inning for the fifth straight game.

Andrew Suarez went just four innings, as he gave up five runs and seven hits, as his record dropped to 1-2 on the season and the Giants have lost five in a row after sweeping the Atlanta Braves to open the road trip.

The Giants tied up the game in the top of the fourth inning, as Austin Jackson hit a two-run double off of Brault. Unfortunately, Suarez was unable to hold the lead and the Pirates took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth.

Once again, the Giants struggled in scoring position, as they went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Also, the Giants struck out 14 times, as they have struck out a whopping 69 times during their five-game slide thru the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

NOTES; Jeff Samardzija looks to put the end to the losing streak on Saturday night, as he takes the mound against the Chad Kuhl.

It is not good news for Mac Williamson, as he remains in the concussion protocol and it could be another week before he is cleared, this according to Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Williamson last played on April 24, when he crashed into the wall near the Giants bullpen at AT&T Park against the Washington Nationals.

Bochy also said that Hunter Pence’s sprained thumb was doing better, as he is on a rehab assignment with the Sacramento Rivercats.

UP NEXT: Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Saturday at 4:05 pm PT.

A’s Swing Away on Former Teammate Gray, Beat Yankees 10-5

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

In a night of reunions in the Big Apple, a quartet of Green and Gold homers proved the difference-maker in a 10-5 A’s win over the red-hot New York Yankees. Kendall Graveman returned to the A’s major league rotation after a demotion to Triple-A in late April, firing six innings while coughing up one earned run. Meanwhile, former A’s ace Sonny Gray made his first appearance against the A’s since being traded July 31st of last season for a trio prospects. Gray (2-3, 6.39 ERA) got tagged with the loss after giving up five runs over five innings while Graveman(1-5, 7.60) picked up his first win since September 22nd of last season.

Khris Davis tagged Gray for a solo shot, his 10th long ball of the season in the top of the second and Matt Chapman launched a two-run shot just two batters later for a 3-0 Oakland lead. Jed Lowrie singled in a run off Gray in the top of the third.

Graveman struggled mightily to open the season in his first six starts but looked more locked in Friday until he gave up a solo homerun to top Yankees prospect Gleyber Torres in the bottom of the third inning for a 4-1 A’s lead. Shortstop Marcus Semien added to the lead with a fielder’s choice RBI in the top of the fifth, which wound up being a pivotal run.

An inning later, Semien would open the inning by booting a ball to Miguel Andujar. Graveman rallied back, striking out Austin Romine and inducing a groundout from Torres that moved Andujar to second. Graveman then issued a free pass to Brett Gardner. Aaron Judge lifted the first pitch he saw from Graveman to right field for his 10th homer, cutting the A’s Edge to 5-4.

Jed Lowrie hit the A’s third homer of the game  off reliever David Hale, putting Oakland up 6-4. Ryan Dull entered the game in the seventh for the Yankees, giving up back-to-back singles to Andujar and Romine before Torres moved both runners over on a sacrifice bunt. Dull got the hook for Lou Trivino who issued four straight balls to Gardner to load the bases. He’d issue a full-count walk to plate a run, but got Didi Gregorious to fly out too shallow to score Romine from third and finished off the inning with an infield fly from the dangerous Giancarlo Stanton.

Matt Joyce took Hale deep for the final A’s homer in the top of the eighth inning for his third jack of the season. Oakland added three runs in the top of the ninth on a bases-loaded double by Semien off David Robertson. Blake Treinen worked around a one-out Gardner single, getting Judge to bounce into a double play to end the game for his sixth save of the year.

Saturday’s game in the Bronx will feature Andrew Triggs scaring off against the Yankees Domingo German. Triggs is coming off his best performance of the year, pitching seven innings against the Baltimore Orioles May 6th, giving up just the one run on a Pedro Alvarez dinger in a 2-1 A’s win. German, likewise is coming off a breakthrough performance after punching out nine Indians in a 7-4 Yankees win.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Glad to get out of Philly, Giants try to turn things around in Pittsburgh

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Photo credit: @mega_webnetwork

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael:

The San Francisco Giants who are on a four-game losing streak after dropping four straight to the Philadelphia Phillies after sweeping the Atlanta Braves in three games in Atlanta. What is wrong with the Giants? They’re thus far 3-4 on this road trip with three more games to go as they open tonight in Pittsburgh and they’re a .500 ball club.

Four loses on the road is not outside of what you would expect if they had gone 2-1 or 1-3, you might feel a little bit better about that, you might think the Giants flip flopped after winning a sweep then getting swept in four.

What is a surprise in this series in Philadelphia, the Giants, who were hitting well at home and who had been tearing it up in Atlanta, got into one of the top offensive ball parks in the National League, Philadelphia, and they didn’t hit. They didn’t hit at all. They got a couple home runs on Thursday. They jumped off to a 3-0 lead, but the Phillies’ pitching bore down and the Giants couldn’t add any more runs and the Phillies came back and won the game.

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

Phillies complete sweep of Giants with 6-3 win

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

For the Giants, it’s on to the next one.

They could not possibly get out of Philadelphia fast enough to satisfy them, especially after a 6-3 loss at Citizens Bank Park that completed a four-game sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies.

In case you were wondering, the game was not aired on local television. In fact, the game was broadcast on Facebook Live. This certainly did not help the Giants.

They, however, got off to a promising start to Thursday’s game, as Gregor Blanco hit a solo home run to lead off the game off Phillies starter Vince Velazquez. In the next inning, Alen Hansen hot a two-run shot off Velazquez to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.

However, all that momentum went right out the window in the fourth inning, when Carlos Santana launched a three-run homer off lefty starter Ty Blach to give Philadelphia a one-run lead.

Odubel Herrera gave the Phillies a pair of insurance runs in the fifth and seventh innings with run-scoring singles. Herrera went 3-for-4 on Thursday and boosted his average to .353.

Meanwhile, Velazquez helped his own cause at the plate, as he went 2-for-2 and got his batting average up to .462, while Cesar Hernandez also had a pair of hits for the Phillies.

The Giants will now head to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates for a three-game series that starts Friday night at PNC Park. Like the Phillies, the Pirates have a winning record, so the Giants will have their work cut out for them.

Sportstalk remote podcast from Hana Zen Japanese Cuisine at Pier 39 in San Francisco on Thursday, May 10, 2018

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yelp.com photo: Hana Zen at Pier 39 San Francisco by night fall and home of some of San Francisco’s best Japanese Cuisine

Cast: Michael Duca (host), Morris Phillips, Amaury Pi Gonzalez, Jeremy Kahn, and Lee Leonard (producer). Our thanks to Alvin and Angie Louie, the owners of Hana Zen Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar on Pier 39 at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, for hosting Sportstalk Radio. Tonight, we were treated to Hana Zen’s famous California Sushi Rolls, Ahi Tuna, Chicken Teriyaki, Calamari, and their wonderful miso soup.

Also, you can enjoy their sushi rolls, sashimi, and other Japanese favorites. Hana Zen also offers filet mignon, New York steak, and try their famous Lava Rock cooking right at your own table. In addition, you can enjoy some green tea ice cream at the end of your meal.

On the podcast, Sportstalk covered the Golden State Warriors and their second round playoff opponent, the New Orleans Pelicans. The San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s both who lost in huge laughers on Monday night 11-0 for the Giants in Philadelphia and the A’s crushed in Oakland 16-1 by the World Champion Houston Astros. The cast explores what to expect from either team for May 2018.

 

A’s enter the lion’s den starting Friday for three games at Yankee Stadium

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photo by nydailynews.com: Former Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray will face his old teammates during the three game series between the A’s and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium starting Friday night

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s begin a 10-game road stand against the top three teams in the AL East. They meet the New York Yankees starting Friday night at Yankee Stadium. The A’s will be facing the hottest team in baseball at the moment. The Yankees have won 17 of the last 18 games and have moved into first place in the AL East. The Yankees On their last road trip, the Yankees swept all four games against the Houston Astros in Houston. The Astros are a very good, young team as well as defending World Championships and they were trampled by New York. The Astros, after two games with Arizona, came to Oakland and swept the A’s.

The A’s have record of 18-19 and are in fourth place in the AL West. The A’s have not announced who will start Friday night. A’s starter Trevor Cahill was placed on the 10-day DL with tightness in his arm. The A’s may recall Kendall Graveman or Chris Bassitt from Nashville to make a start. Andrew Triggs will pitch on Saturday, and Brett Anderson goes for Oakland on Sunday. Triggs has pitched reasonably well but has not faced a fearsome a lineup like the Yankees. Lefty Brett Anderson throws on Sunday, and the hopes are that he will have a better outing. The Astros blasted him in the game on Monday night that they won 16-2.

The Yankees pitching stacks up this way. Former A’s starter, Sonny Gray pitches Friday night. Gray is 2-2 and his an ERA of 6.00. Gray would like nothing better than to beat his old teammates. Rookie Domingo German (0-1, 2.21) goes on Saturday, and Luis Severino, who is rapidly becoming the ace of the Yankee staff, throws on Sunday. Severino is 5-1 with an ERA of 2.21.

The Yankees are living up to the nickname of being the Bronx Bombers. They have players up and down the lineup that can knock the ball out of the park. The A’s pitchers will have to deal with Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton. Didi Gregorius, Gary Sanchez, Neil Walker, Miguel Andujar, and Gleyber Torres. These guys are almost an entire All-Star team. If these guys continue to terrorize opponents’ pitching, A’s manager Bob Melvin butter have some Tylenol ready for his headache.

Even if the A’s can find a way to get the offense going and send the starters to the showers, the Yankee bullpen is loaded. Featured relievers are Chad Green, Chasen Shreve, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman, the closer.

The A’s took two out of three from Boston when they were the hottest team in baseball. It can be done. Hopefully, they will find a way to upset the Yankees’ apple cart.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: How much help will Harden get facing Warriors in round 3?; Can Giants win this series in Pittsburgh tonight?; plus more

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photo from express.co.uk: The Houston Rockets Chris Paul (3) and James Harden (13) confer on the floor during the playoffs as the Rockets prepare to meet Golden State for game one round 3 of the NBA Playoffs

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 James Harden of the Houston Rockets–Will he be like an Island facing the Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson? Will he have a supporting cast in this upcoming series starting on Monday?

#2 Last year’s playoffs, Harden went 2-11 in the loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Will he get some help from his teammates this time around?

#3 The Giants are going into Pittsburgh after getting swept in Philadelphia. After getting swept, the Giants certainly want to get a series win from the Bucs.

#4 On Tuesday night, the Seattle Mariners pitcher James Paxton threw a no-hitter in Toronto, marking the first time a Canadian born pitcher threw a no-hitter in his home and native land. It’s the second time a Canadian pitcher threw a no-hitter since 1946.

#5 The Manchester United are in San Jose for a match with the San Jose Earthquakes on July 22. Tony takes a look at how important it is for the MLS to have Manchester here to help promote the league.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: After getting swept by Astros, A’s go into lion’s den at Yankee Stadium Friday night

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The Oakland A’s got swept by the Houston Astros in Oakland Wednesday afternoon in a 4-1 loss to Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole.

#2 The Astros in their own right got some hitting production with runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

#3 The Astros got hitting production from Jose Altuve’ three hits and a run scored and the Astros catcher Max Stassi had two hits and a run scored.

#4 Cole had a quality start with six innings, four hits, one earned run and nine strikeouts.

#5 For the A’s, it’s onto New York for three games coming off this sweep. The A’s would like to get something going.

Jerry Feitelberg does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Phillies blast Giants 11-3; SF’s losing streak hits 3 games

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants have hit a serious skid, and things got bad in a hurry on Wednesday.

The Philadelphia Phillies jumped on the Giants early and never really let up, and by the time the game was over, starter Chris Stratton was battered and the bullpen did not fare much better in a 11-3 loss at Citizens Bank Park.

Stratton lasted only 4 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on five hits, including a solo homer to Maikel Franco in the fourth inning that gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead. He struck out seven innings but also walked four others.

Franco, meanwhile, had three hits for Philadelphia, as did first baseman Carlos Santana, who had an eye-popping five RBI on Wednesday.

Pierce Johnson was thrashed by the Phils upon taking over for Stratton, as he surrendered six runs on three hits and walking three while only recording two outs.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia starter Nick Pivetta cruised right along in the five innings he pitched on Wednesday. He gave up only four hits and did not surrender a single run, recording seven strikeouts and did not walk one batter.

The Giants didn’t score a run until the sixth inning, when Evan Longoria’s double brought in Brandon Belt. They would add a couple more runs in the ninth inning off the Phillies’ bullpen, but it was too little and much too late at that point.

Longoria and Brandon Crawford each had a pair of hits for the Giants, who will have one last chance to salvage at least one game on Thursday afternoon.

The series finale between these two teams is scheduled for 10:05 am PT.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: American League West–Everybody Is Playing for Second Place

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Photo credit: @astros

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

After the Houston Astros visited the Oakland A’s for the first time this season, I came to the early conclusion that everybody except for the Astros is playing for second place in AL West.

The world champion Houston Astros lineup leads with three of the very best players in the game. George Springer, the current World Series MVP, as well as José Altuve champion batted last year for the third time and perhaps the most talented of them all. shortstop Carlos Correa. The world champion Astros paid their first visit to the A’s in Oakland this week. The three-game series came right after the A’s dismantled the Orioles, sweeping them and collecting a total of 40 strikeouts against the wounded birds.

However, a significant change in play from the Orioles to the Astros might as well be like from Earth to the Moon. The reigning champion Astros is a better team compared to the 2017 club as they won the World Series in seven exciting games against the Dodgers. The Astros just swept the A’s in Oakland, outscoring the Green and Gold 24 runs to five runs. The A’s did not face Justin Verlander or Charlie Morton.

This season, the Astros have Gerrit Cole, the #1 pitcher of the Pirates until last year. They have had Justin Verlander from the very beginning, unlike last season when he joined the team at the end. But it is obvious that everybody here in the AL West is playing for second place because even the Angels’ highest aspiration would be to advance to the postseason as a Wild Card team. At this time, there is no better pitching rotation in baseball than the Astros with Cole, Verlander, Keuchel, Morton and McCullers along with a very efficient bullpen.

Teams that have set starting rotations are those that advance and go all the way and that was what the Astros have this season. For the Angels to take this division from the defending champions, they need much more pitching that they have shown so far. Mike Scioscia’s team is a better team that last year. They addressed their infield, acquired Zack Cozart and Ian Kinsler, and two-way Japanese rookie Shohei Ohtani.

Scioscia told me this when his Angels visited Oakland: “I really like my team this year.”

You might want to keep an eye on the Mariners as they seem to have some magic this year and could be a serious contender this summer. If the Angels cannot finish second, the Mariners are the most likely candidates for that position and a possible Wild Card team.

In other words: the race for second place here between Angels and Mariners could prove to be the most interesting. That could be the story this season.