Tag: mlb

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Panda keeps Dodgers off balance in relief for SF; Twins’ Buxton out; Bryant adds more padding to his helmet

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(Photo: Lance Iversen, USA TODAY Sports) San Francisco Giant Pablo Sandoval became the first position player since Greg Litton (1991) to come in and pitch last Saturday night at AT&T Park in the first game of a doubleheader

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Panda works an inning in relief for the Giants/Giants second baseman is on the 10 day DL and might need surgery for his thumb and is expected to be out ten days

2 Injury-prone Twins OF Byron Buxton on the shelf again; Cubs’ Kris Bryant adding more protection to his batting helmet

3 Diamondbacks beat Washington on bases-loaded walk

4 Yanks skipper Aaron Boone – in uniform – asked for his credentials by security in Anaheim

5 Reds’ Joey Votto has his own ideas about the MLB schedule

Daniel does the MLB The Show podcast each weekend at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Stratton shells, Sandoval pitches in Giants’ 15-6 loss to Dodgers in Game 1 of doubleheader

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–Everyone knew on both the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers that this was going to be a long day.

Chris Stratton lasted just 1.1 innings, allowing six runs on six hits, walking four and striking out three and the Dodgers took Game 1 of the doubleheader with a 15-6 victory over the Giants before a sellout crowd of 41,809 at AT&T Park.

The Dodgers got to Stratton for three runs in the first two innings, and he was replaced by Roberto Gomez after allowing a triple to Joc Pederson that made the score 6-2 Dodgers with one out in the inning.

Gomez went 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out two, before giving way to Derek Law, who pitched three innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and the Dodgers extended the lead to 12-2 at the end of the sixth inning.

Cory Gearrin pitched one-third of an inning, but the story of the day was the last pitcher that went to the mound for the Giants in the top of the ninth inning.

Pablo Sandoval, who started the game at third base for the Giants pitched the ninth inning and on 13 pitches, he got the Dodgers to ground out all three times. It was only in the game that the Dodgers were retired in order on the afternoon.

“Felt good, my first time being a pitcher,” said Sandoval.

Alec Hanson made his Giants debut, a memorable one, as he took a Pedro Baez offering and planted it on the arcade near the third archway in right-center field, a home run that measured at 405 feet.

“I was planning on going shopping with my wife this morning, but I got the call,” said Hanson.

Hanson was added to the roster this morning after the Giants were forced to place Joe Panik on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained left thumb.

The Panik move was not the only one by the Giants, as Mac Williamson was placed on the 7-day concussion disabled list, Stratton was reinstated from the Paternity List, Law was designated as the 26thman. Austin Slater, who was optioned after last night’s game was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.

To make room for Hanson on the 40-man roster, Mark Melancon was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

Giants’ 4-run seventh inning helps them down Dodgers 6-4

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–You never know what you are going to see in a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and this game was the epitome of that statement.

Pedro Baez committed a balk when he tripped on the mound that allowed Gorkys Hernandez to score from third base, as the Giants came back from a 4-2 deficit to defeat the Dodgers 6-4 in the opener of the four-game series before a sellout crowd of 41,936 at AT&T Park Friday night.

Hyun-Jin Ryu helped out his own cause, as he drove in two with a two-run double down the left field line.

Yasmani Grandal cut the Giants lead in half, as he doubled in Matt Kemp, who walked just prior to the Grandal double.

After a Cody Bellinger walk, Yaisel Puig tied up the game with a double down the left field line and it looked like Bellinger was going to score; however, a fan down the line touched the ball and Bellinger was forced to stay at third base.

Kyle Farmer then struck out for the first out of the inning, and then Ryu took a Holland pitch down the left field line to score both Bellinger and Puig.

Ryu went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, not walking a batter and struck out seven; however, he did not fare in the decision.

It was a different story for Holland, who was pulled after the Ryu double. Holland went 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits, walking four and striking out four. Like Ryu, he did not fare in the decision.

Things looked for the Giants after they took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, as Evan Longoria hit a long solo home run to straightaway centerfield and then three batters later, Brandon Crawford deposited a Ryu offering onto the arcade.

Brandon Belt extended his hitting streak up to nine games, as he legged out an infield single in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Belt went to second on a Tony Cingrani wild pitch, but was then thrown out at third base by Kike Hernandez, who threw to Kyle Farmer for the first out of the inning.

Crawford then walked, and then Hernandez got the Giants within one run, when he singled in Austin Jackson.

Tomlinson then took a Cingrani offering and doubled into left field to tie up the game, and then most bizarre play of the night took place, when Baez fell off the mound, for a balk to give the Giants the lead for good.

Joe Panik then extended the lead up to 6-4, as he hit a sacrifice fly to score Tomilnson from third base.

Former Dodgers reliever Tony Watson came on in the top of the eighth, and despite giving up two hits that put runners on first and second with one out, he was able to get out of the jam, when both Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes flew out to Hernandez for the last two outs of the inning.

NOTES: Chris Stratton will take the mound in the first game of a day-night doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, while the Dodgers have not decided on a starter.

Stratton became a father on Wednesday night at 11:53, as his wife Martha Kate gave birth to a daughter named Mary Bennett and she weighed in at eight pounds, four ounces and 20 inches long.

Johnny Cueto will take the mound in the second game, as he looks to improve to 3-0 on the season, while Alex Wood will go for the Dodgers, as he still looks for his first win of the season.

This is the first doubleheader between the Giants and Dodgers since September 27, 2003, where the Giants and Dodgers split the twin bill at AT&T Park.

Mac Williamson, who crashed into the wall near the Giants bullpen in the game on Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals was placed in the concussion protocol.

The Giants improved to 10-3 on the season, when they score first.

UP NEXT: The Giants play a doubleheader Saturday with Game 2 at 1:05 pm PT and Game 3 at 7:05 pm PT.

The Season of Sean Manaea Continues; A’s Handcuff Astros in 8-1 Win

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

Sean Manaea is a Cy Young front-runner. Oakland A’s fans are happy to hear those words uttered, not from overly optimistic fanboys but uttered from the mouths of the nation’s finest sports writers. Six starts into the 2018 season, the Throwin’ Samoan has given the A’s something they didn’t expect when mapping out the 2018 season: a bonafide ace.

Manaea (4-2, 1.03 ERA) held the Houston Astros (17-10) reigning World Champions and one of the hottest teams on the planet, to just one run at home Friday night, with the A’s (14-12) throttling Houston 8-1. Manaea followed up his masterpiece no-hitter over Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox Saturday by emphatically outdueling another team’s ace, Dallas Keuchel, Friday. Manaea fired seven innings, allowing four hits while striking out seven. He now leads the American League with four wins, holds the AL’s lowest ERA at 1.03 and leads the Majors with a 0.62 WHIP. To put it simply, he’s the best.

The only run Manaea gave up Friday the Astros had to scrap for. George Springer reached base in the bottom of the fourth after Marcus Semien’s throwing error, moved to second base on a sacrifice fly then came home on Carlos Correa’s RBI single. When all was said and done, Manaea’s line would read one run, unearned. He also allowed just the one walk, throwing 65 of 95 pitches for strikes.

The A’s spotted Manaea a run in the top of the fifth to tie the game on Matt Chapman’s sixth homer of the season, then Pinder tagged Keuchel (1-4, 4.00) with a two-run shot for a 3-1 lead in the top of the 6th. Matt Olson would single home a run in the seventh, but Mark Canha’s fourth homer in the inning off Keuchel would be the backbreaker and a 6-1 lead.

For how well Manaea was pitching,  a 6-1 lead felt like a 500-run lead, not a five-run lead. The A’s made the mountain all the more insurmountable when Jed Lowrie tripled home two runs for an 8-1 lead. Ryan Dull and Santiago Casilla pitched scoreless innings to give Oakland the win.

Manaea’s performance moves Oakland just 2.5 games back of the lead in the AL West leaders Los Angeles & Houston. If Manaea continues to pitch up to the potential that made him the centerpiece of the Ben Zobrist trade in 2015, they could make some noise in division. They’ll look to continue their quest for legitimacy Saturday when Daniel Mengden opposes the Astros’ Lance McCullers in Game 2 of the series.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Williamson day to day; Samardzija work in progress; Moronta Express

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SFGAuthentics photo: Mac Williamson who hit a tape measure shot last Monday against the Washington Nationals and another homer the next night pictures his bats he used in spring training in March

On the Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Mac Williamson the Giants outfielder is listed as day to day with a stiff neck caused by crashing into the AT&T Park padding while chasing down a fly. Williamson missed Wednesday’s game and is anxious to get back into the line up

#2 Williamson has impressed manager Bruce Bochy not only for his hustle but those tape measure home runs during the Washington series and his bat speed making solid contact

#3 In his second start on Wednesday pitcher Jeff Samardzija was rocked and early over four innings of work, eight hits, six runs, and we asked Michael is Samardzija really ready after his rehab

#4 Giants pitcher Reyes Moronta has been the talk for his first win on Tuesday night he was able to retire Washington hitters either from the left or right side of the plate. In Moronta’s debut he pitched for a 0.64 ERA.

#5 The Giants open a four game series tonight at AT&T Park against the Los Angeles Dodgers which includes a double dip on Saturday to make up for a rain out earlier this month. Michael goes into the length of time that the players, coaches, managers (from both teams) and stadium employees put into working both ends of a day night doubleheader. The first game starts at 1:00PM and the second game starts at 7:00PM on Saturday night.

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

 

Preview: Weekend series in Houston between A’s and Astros

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Photo credit: @OddsShark

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, following the blueprint developed by the Houston Astros, will meet the Astros for the first time this season for three games starting Friday night. The Astros, who were terrible and lost over 100 games for three straight years, are now the defending World Champion Astros who are at top of the baseball world. The Astros did not get to the top by signing expensive free agents. They did a fantastic job of scouting young players and mixing in a few veterans in order to become successful.

The Astros built the club around Jose Altuve. Altuve is 5-foot-6 and plays as if he was 6-foot-6. Altuve is a terrific hitter, and he became the American League’s Most Valuable Player last season. The Astros signed shortstop Carlo Correa, a Puerto Rico native, and he was Rookie of the Year in his first season. Other standouts on the Astros roster are center fielder George Springer, who played baseball at the University of Connecticut, second-year third baseman Alex Bregman, and Cuban refugee Yulieski Gurriel. Marwyn Gonzalez is a super-sub as he can play in the infield as well as the outfield. Derek Fisher plays in left field and former Athletic, Josh Reddick, plays in right. The catching chores are handled by Brian McCann. Evan Gattis, who can also catch, is the designated hitter.

The Astros bolstered their starting rotation when they acquired Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers last season. Verlander was instrumental in Houston win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. Over the winter the Astros made another move as they made a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the services of right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole. The rest of the rotation includes former Cy Young award winner Lance McCullers Jr., and the veteran hurler Charlie Morton.  Their long reliever is the former starter, Collin McHugh. Joe Smith, Will Harris, and Brad Peacock are the setup guys, and the Astros will use Ken Giles and Chris Devenski as their closers.

The A’s come into the series having won eight of the last 10 games played. They swept the White Sox and took two out three from the Red Sox and Texas Rangers. The A’s lineup can be and is formidable. They have guys with a lot of pop in their bats up and down the lineup. Marcus Semien, Chad Pinder, Mark Canha, Matt Chapman, and Khris Davis are all threats to hit the ball out of the park at any time during the game. Jonathan Lucroy and Stephen Piscotty are also making contributions to the A’s offense. Matt Olson and Matt Joyce are the A’s power hitters from the left side of the plate. The hottest hitter of all the A’s players is the switch-hitter Jed Lowrie. Lowrie is hitting about .360 and has six homers and 24 RBIs. He has been very consistent and has come through with several clutch hits.

Sean Manaea is the ace of the A’s staff. He has gone over seven innings in all five of his starts, and he pitched a no-hitter last Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox. Manaea has been very consistent and is now brimming with confidence. He will have his work cut out for him as he faces the very formidable Houston Astro lineup. He will be opposed by Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel is 1-3 with an ERA of 3.10. He won his first game of the season last week defeating the Chicago White Sox.

On Saturday, Daniel Mengden (2-2, 3.86 ERA) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Lance McCullers Jr. Mengden beat the Red Sox last Sunday and gave up just one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. McCullers is 3-1 with an ERA of 4.67. McCullers won his last two starts against Seattle and Chicago.

Sunday’s game will feature Trevor Cahill (1-0, 2.25 ERA) going against Gerrit Cole (2-1, 1.29 ERA). Cahill will be making his third start of the season. In his last start against Texas, Cahill went five innings and allowed three runs and four hits including a home run. Cole is the second pitcher in Astro history to throw at least seven innings while allowing two runs or less in his first five starts of the season.

The series should be a good one as the Astros want to show the A’s that they are the top dogs and the A’s want to show the Astros that they are on the way up and can not be taken lightly any longer.

Giants and Dodgers will meet once again

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Photo credit: @Laurel_Inn_SF

By Jeremy Kahn

Coming off of back-to-back series wins for the first two times this season, the San Francisco Giants return to play in the National League West and an old rival comes to town.

The reigning National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers make their second of three trips to the Bay Area this season for a four-game series at AT&T Park.

This will be the last time that the Dodgers come to AT&T Park until the last weekend of the season, as they will face the Giants from September 28-30.

Derek Holland will take the AT&T Park mound, as the left-hander looks for his first win as a member of the Giants, while the Dodgers will send Hyun-Jin Ryu, who looks to improve to 4-0 on the season.

The Giants are coming off a 15-2 loss to the Washington Nationals, as Jeff Samardzija made his second start of the season, but he did get out of the fourth inning.

Samardzija went 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on eight runs, walking three and striking out three in his first AT&T Park start of the season.

Ryu is coming off a seven inning performance against the Nationals on Saturday night, as he went seven innings, allowing no runs on just two hits, walking three and striking out eight.

This is the third consecutive start that Ryu won, as he did not fare in his first start of the season, as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Dodgers 8-7 at Chase Field.

Brandon Belt continues to hit the ball well, as he went 2-for-4 in Wednesday’s loss to the Nationals and is now batting .304 on the season.

Mac Williamson was a late scratch to Wednesday’s game, as he suffered a neck strain from the attempt at a foul ball in Tuesday night victory over the Nationals, where he hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s winning ways get them just three games out of first place

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Photo credit: @BleacherReport

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The Oakland A’s, who swept the Chicago White Sox, took two of three from the Red Sox and won the first two games in Arlington from the Texas Rangers. They’re now only just three games out of first place.

#2 The A’s are getting the hitting now from Marcus Semien .269, Chad Pinder .281, Jed Lowrie .363, and Khris Davis .258.

#3 They just got by the Rangers on Tuesday night with a one-run 3-2 win and it took some good pitching this time to win that one from Andrew Triggs (2-0), going six innings, four hits, and one run.

#4 Looking ahead after this series, the A’s head to Minute Maid Field and face the Houston Astros, who are in first place in the AL West–ahead of the Los Angeles Angels.

#5 The A’s send out starter Sean Manaea (3-2) he’ll face the Astros Dallas Keuchel (1-3) on Friday night. With the A’s going strong right now, how do you see them matching up with Houston and after Manaea’s last start throwing a no-hitter last Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox?

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

 

Rangers snap A’s four-game win streak with 4-2 victory

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

There was good news and bad news in the loss the A’s suffered Wednesday night at the hands of the Texas Rangers.

The good news was that A’s starter Kendall Graveman went six innings, threw 112 pitches, struck out seven and allowed just three earned runs on six hits. The bad news was that it wasn’t good enough to get his first win of the year. Graveman took the loss and is now 0-5, but his ERA improved to 8.89.

Doug Fister made his first start since April 9 and didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. The A’s had chances to score early in the game but couldn’t get a needed hit to put runs on the board. Fister threw 105 pitches in 4 2/3 inning of work and left the game trailing 2-1.

The A’s put two runs on the board in the top of the third. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien singled with one out. Fister retired the hot-hitting Jed Lowrie, but could not get by A’s DH Khris Davis. Khrush sent a Fister pitch over the fence in right center field to give the A’s the lead. Texas scored a run in the bottom of the fourth. Joey Gallo started the rally with a single to right. Ranger first baseman Ronald Guzman singled to send Gallo to third. Catcher Juan Centeno hit a ground ball to Jed Lowrie, who got the force out at second, but Centeno beat the relay to first. The A’s challenged the call, but the call was upheld and the run was scored. The A’s lead 2-1 after four.

In the bottom of the fifth, Graveman retired the first two hitters he faced. Jurickson Profar doubled and scored on a single by Nomar Mazara, who went to second on the throw home. Graveman walked Joey Gallo to put men on at first and second. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, playing third base in place of the injured Andre Beltre, singled to drive in Mazara to put the Rangers ahead 3-2.

The Rangers added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. The big hit was a triple by Guzman to drive in the Rangers’ fourth run.

The A’s could do nothing in the ninth, and their four-game winning streak was over.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s record is now 13-12. The Rangers improve to 9-17

The line score for Oakland was two runs, four hits, and two errors. Texas improves to 9-17. Their line was four runs, eight hits, and one error.

Khris Davis’ home run was the seventh of the season and the 19th in 44 games against Texas.

Reliever Ryan Buchter left the game in the seventh inning after facing one hitter. Buchter complained about shoulder stiffness.

Up Next: The A’s are off Thursday, and they head to Houston to face the World Champion Houston Astros for a three-game series. Friday night’s game will be a battle of two excellent pitchers. The A’s Sean Manaea will be making his first start since he threw a no-hitter last Saturday night against Boston. Manaea is 3-2 and has an ERA of just 1.23. The A’s will face Houston’s Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel is a former Cy Young award winner and is 1-3 for the year, but he has a respectable ERA of 3.10. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PT.

Rude Guests: Nats rob Giants’ momentum with rout, then rush off to the airport

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hi-res-e33bbc643f885a8a0c785a69f48590e3_crop_north

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–From the Giants’ perspective, finally achieving a .500 record after an adversity-filled start to the season would have been a nice storyline.

But it didn’t happen, so maybe focusing on April 25–today’s date–and the still early stage of the long season will temper their momentary disappointments.

Either way, for the 25 guys trudging out the Giants’ clubhouse on Wednesday, perspective will be needed. 15-2 defeats aren’t easy to swallow.

The Nationals pounded out 18 hits, led 10-0 in the sixth, amply supporting starter Max Scherzer, who went six innings, and earned themselves a relaxed flight back to the Nation’s Capital.

“One of those games that started off rough and gradually got worse,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We gave up crooked numbers. That’s not going to work.”

The Giants still covet a 14-14 record after Sunday, their way of standing up to a brutal stretch to start the season that ends Sunday against the Dodgers. But after getting blown out they’ll have to regain their recent form immediately if they want to grab three of four from LA.

Concerning issues cropped up before the first pitch, and multipled in the game’s initial pitches. First, Buster Posey was given a day off to rest, then hard-swinging Mac Williamson was scratched due to a sore neck, a result of his sliding catch attempt on Tuesday that sent him tumbling into the low wall bordering the left field line bullpen. Giants starter Jeff Samardzija looked good in his season debut over the weekend at Anaheim, but lugged an 0-5 record against Washington in his last five starts to the mound Wednesday. That was essentially the opposite of Scherzer, who dominated the Giants in his last two appearances, striking out a combined 21 batters.

Then the game commenced, and the Nats took a quick 3-0 lead as Samardzija gave up three hits surrounding his wild pitch with Bryce Harper at bat.

The traffic on the basepaths never subsided after that. Samardzija escaped trouble in the second and third, then got torched in the fourth, allowing three more runs. Pierce Johnson gave up a pair of runs, then Josh Osich allowed four. Throughout, the last out of an inning became slippier than a piglet in soapy, bath water. In all, four relievers threw over 100 pitches, that after Samardzija threw 86 and couldn’t finish the fourth inning. Johnson allowed as many runs as he gave up in eight, previous outings.

“You’re looking for someone to put up a zero and we had a hard time doing that,” Bochy admitted.

And the AT&T Park crowd of 35,126 squirmed, then left, figuring they could realize greater entertainment value sitting in afternoon commute traffic. The game somehow ended after three hours, 13 minutes, partly attributable to Scherzer who struck out 10, and closed doors immediately after they opened.

“You just want to go out there and put up zeros to get the offense back in and have everybody run to the bat rack. That’s what makes it fun,” said Scherzer.

Andrew McCutchen (hitting .205), Brandon Crawford (.200) and Austin Jackson (.213) combined to strike out five times against the Nationals ace. Evan Longoria (.222) was spelled at third base by Pablo Sandoval. In a seventh inning, pinch-hitting role, Longoria faced reliever Trevor Gott and struck out swinging.

All four will likely be back in the starting lineup Friday to face Los Angeles’ Hyun-Jin Ryu. But Ryu’s undefeated with an ERA under two. The Giants won’t face Clayton Kershaw this weekend, and the Dodgers haven’t announced a starter for Saturday’s first game, but trouble could arise regardless for the Giants if the dead spots in their lineup don’t respond.

Derek Holland opposes Ryu. He’s yet to defeat the Dodgers, but with just two, previous starts, it’s a limited sample.