Tag: mlb

Giants Notes: Twists and Turns Keep on Coming

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By: Ana Kieu

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals by close scores of 4-2 and 4-3, in that order. However, San Francisco was unable to complete a three-game sweep over Washington at AT&T Park Wednesday afternoon as they fell behind early and never came close to their opponent.

April 25, 2018
Final: 15-2 Nationals
Attendance: 35,126
Time: 3 hours, 13 minutes

Here are some Giants news and notes:
– Giants manager Bruce Bochy tweeted just minutes after the Giants’ 4-3 win over the Nats Tuesday night. Bochy and his team are 1-0 when he’s on Twitter.
– The Giants congratulated the Golden State Warriors on eliminating the San Antonio Spurs to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. They also announced their Bay Area Unite night at AT&T Park during their home game versus the San Diego Padres on April 30 at 7:15 pm PT. You can purchase your tickets here: atmlb.com/2qYFhQA
– The Giants congratulated the nearby San Francisco Dons on their recent win.
– The Giants brought fans a double dose of No. 25 Wednesday by giving out a collectible figurine of father-son duo Barry and Bobby Bonds.
– Longtime Giants fan Marci Salvador turned 100 last week, but celebrated her birthday at AT&T Park Wednesday.
– Dylan, who’s dealing with pediatric cancer, got to meet some of his favorite Giants players on the field prior to Wednesday’s game. Sam Dyson let Dylan use his glove and played catch with the little boy.
– Mac Williamson was scratched Wednesday due to neck stiffness.
– Chris Stratton was placed on paternity leave.
– Roberto Gomez was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.
– Jeff Samardzija made his AT&T Park debut Wednesday.

Up Next: The Giants host the rival Dodgers this weekend. Game 1 is scheduled for Friday, April 27 at 7:15 pm PT on KNTV and SNLA. Games 2 and 3 are scheduled for Saturday, April 28 at 1:05 pm PT on KNTV and SNLA and NSBA and SNLA, respectively. Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday, April 29 at 2:05 pm PT on NSBA and SNLA.

Williamson and Belt each go deep in Giants’ 4-3 win over Nationals

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–It maybe early in the year, but the San Francisco Giants are beginning to show why they have three World Series in the past eight years.

Mac Williamson hit a towering home run to straightaway centerfield in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Giants made it three straight victories with a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals in front of a crowd of 37,147 at AT&T Park Tuesday night.

The Williamson home run measured at 423 feet went deep over the centerfield wall to give the Giants the second series win in a row.

There was a scary moment for Williamson in the top of the fifth inning, as he attempted to catch a Bryce Harper foul, Williamson went crashing into the padded wall near the bullpen area.

“Feeling fine, spiked my calf,” said Williamson.

Brandon Belt continued his hot hitting, as he extended his hitting streak to seven games, as he hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. It was the fifth home run for Belt in the last six games.

Joe Panik went three-for-four at the plate, as the Giants have won four out of their last five games.

Reyes Moronta pitched two innings, as he allowed just one hit and struck out two and won his first major league game.

“Reyes is doing a great job,” said Ty Blach.

Blach went five innings, allowing three runs on four hits, while walking two and striking out three, as he did not fare in the decision.

Blach was looking good until he got into trouble in the top of the fourth inning, as he walked Ryan Zimmerman, gave up a single to Moises Sierra and then Michael Taylor tied up the game with one swing of the bat. Taylor took a Blach pitch to the right-field arcade for a three-run home run that tied up the game.

It was a tough few days for Blach, as he suffered food poisoning in Anaheim, and was on IV yesterday, according to Bruce Bochy.

“Down eight or nine pounds,” said Blach.

Tanner Roark pitched six innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walked two, struck out four. Roark also threw two wild pitches, and gave up two home runs, as hid record fell to 1-2 on the season.

NOTES: Jeff Samardzija heads to the mound on Wednesday afternoon, as the Giants look for the sweep. The Nationals will send Max Scherzer to the hill, as they look to salvage the series finale.

In his last five starts against the Nationals, Samardzija is 0-5 with a 6.43 earned run average in 28 innings pitched.

On the other hand, in his last two starts versus the Giants, Scherzer has 21 strikeouts and just one walk.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Nationals conclude their three-game series Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 pm PT.

A’s win fourth in a row as they escape with a 3-2 victory over the Rangers

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

By Jerry Feitelberg

It was an old-fashioned pitching duel for the first five innings of the Tuesday night game between the Oakland A’s and the Texas Rangers. Andrew Triggs, who did not have a good outing last week against the White Sox last week, was on the top of his game as he and the Rangers’ Cole Hamels each shut down their opponents’ offense for the first five innings.

Things changed in the sixth. Hamels retired the first two hitters he faced. Mark Canha, who has played well since his recall from Nashville, hit a flyball to deep right field. Rangers’ right fielder, Nomar Mazara, appeared to have made the catch but his wrist hit the wall, and the ball dropped out of his glove, and the A’s had the lead 1-0. For Canha, it was his third big fly of the season. The Rangers tied the game in their half of the sixth. Delino DeShields reached safely when he laid down a rarely seen push bunt. The ball was placed between first baseman Matt Olson and Triggs. Olson fielded the bunt but no one covered first, and DeShields was safe. Triggs nailed Shin-Soo Choo with a pitch to put men on at first and second with no out. With Mazara at-bat, Triggs and A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy got mixed up on what pitch was coming, and the ball got past Lucroy to advance the runners. Lucroy was charged with a passed ball. Triggs walked Mazara to load the bases. Rangers’ veteran third baseman hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in DeShields with the tying run.

The A’s regained the lead in the top of the seventh. Lucroy doubled to start the inning but was thrown out at third. Marcus Semien followed with a double and that hit ended Hamels’ night. Matt Bush walked Matt Joyce who was pinch-hitting for Chad Pinder. The next hitter, Jed Lowrie doubled to drive in Semien with the A’s second run. With Khris Davis hitting, Rangers’ catcher Robinson Chirinos saw Joyce a little too far off third base and nailed him with a throw to Beltre for the second out of the frame. Davis then grounded out to end the threat.

The A’s scored another run in the eightth when Matt Olson doubled to drive in Matt Chapman from first base. The Rangers got a run back in the bottom of the eighth. Blake Treinen relieved Ryan Dull with one out. Rangers’ DH Shin-Soo Choo lined a shot of Treinen’s leg for a single. Treinen had to leave the game, and there was no word on the extent of the injury. Bob Melvin brought in Lou Trivino to pitch. Trivino struck out Mazara for the second out, but Adrian Beltre singled to deep right-center field to drive in Shoo. Beltre pulled up limping as he injured a hamstring and had to leave the game.

The A’s called on the veteran Santiago Casilla to close out the game. Casilla retired the side to preserve the win for Oakland. The A’s win 3-2.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the A’s improve to 13-11, and the Rangers fall to 8-17. Andrew Triggs improved to 2-0, and his ERA lowered to 4.70. Cole Hamels took the loss for Texas and is now 1-4 with an ERA of 4.41. Casilla picked his first save of the season.

Up Next: Game 3 of the three-game series will feature Kendall Graveman (0-4, 10.07 ERA) will be looking for his first win, and he will be opposed by the tall righty Doug Fister who will be making his first start since April 9th. Fister is 1-2 with an 3.59 ERA. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: Comparisons of Barry Bonds and Willie McCovey too early for Mac Williamson, but it’s fun

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @FareedNBCS

On the SF Giants podcast with Morris and Michael:

San Francisco Giant left fielder Mac Williamson has started his 2018 season in the show with a flourish. A right handed hitter mentioned with two left-handed hitters Willie McCovey–hence, the name Mac, and Barry Bonds for distance hitting. Williamson, who hits right-handed belted a two-run homer on Monday night against the Washington Nationals seven rows up the opposite way to right field in the 4-2 win to open the three-game series at AT&T Park.

Williamson belted a 464-foot home run to give fans a idea how far the blast was. This is an area that Bonds used to hit them and for that matter if McCovey was active and was able during his playing days he could do the same. Williamson hit Monday night was to the farthest part of the right field corner.

Michael Duca and Morris Phillips do the SF Giants podcasts Mondays and Fridays at http://www.sportsradoservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Baseball–Sabermetrics, Launch Angle and Statcast

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: sportsbookreview.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Sabermetrics: The first-hand analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity.

Launch Angle: When Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, everybody was talking about the “bat speed” in his swing. Adios to “bat speed!” Today, the “launch angle” has become an obsession with hitters. According to the experts–along with the ball speed–the launch angle is a primary component to determining the height and distance of a home run. It is said that every golfer should be fitted to achieve the optimal balance of launch angle and spin based on their club speed and ball speed. There is a reason when a team goes on a road trip, you will see dozens of suitcases and golf bags.

​Statcast: Major League Baseball’s Statcast is a high-speed, high-accuracy, automated tool that was developed to analyze player movements and athletic abilities. The Statcast was introduced to all 30 MLB stadiums in 2015. There is a leader-board for Statcast:  Giancarlo Stanton (117.9 mph), Mike Trout (116.9 mph) and so on. It shows how fast the ball leaves the bat after a home run.

Today, we have self-driving cars today that can drive and park by themselves. We do not have to visit the bank and see the face of a bank teller. We go to a machine punch a number and we get money. In China, the Shanghai branch of the China Construction Bank (CCB) opened a branch run entirely by robots, first person-less bank branch where humanoids manage everything. Texting has replaced writing, as kids barely can write anymore. If you lose your cellphone, you probably will feel lost, depressed and abandoned, and may require therapy. People are working with their laptops at Starbucks while the local libraries are empty and continue to close.

Many fans at a baseball game are taking pictures, filming the action or just capturing themselves. At the ballpark or anywhere else, you can track a ballgame, pitch-by-pitch and you will know if it is a slider, curve, split or 96 mph fastball. More people are getting hurt by foul balls. You need more than two eyes to look at  your smartphone screen and at the game on the field at the same time. And only God knows where we will be in the next few years. Back in 1989, actor Michael J. Fox in the movie “Back To The Future II” had a line that read “the Cubs win the World Series!” and they did just that.

We have come a long way since the days when the US Army timed the fastest pitch ever thrown by a pitcher in 1958. Bob Feller at 98 miles per hour was recorded on the old US Army Chronograph. That was a big deal and it was even shown at your local movie theater before the main feature that was narrated by the legendary Lowell Thomas of Movietone Newsreel fame on the glorious Black and White.

Today, Elon Musk wants to go to the Moon and Richard Branson wants to colonize Mars

¿Qué hay de nuevo? Translation:  What else is new?

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: A’s continue roll; go 7 out of 8 to start road trip

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @lonestarball

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

#1 The A’s have got red-hot, winning seven of their last eight games with a win to start the nine-game road trip over the Texas Rangers on Monday night 9-4 in Arlington last night.

#2 The A’s, if they aren’t getting great pitching, they’re getting great hitting and last night they got contributions from Marcus Semien, two runs and two hits, Stephen Piscotty scored a run, Jed Lowrie two hits a run scored, Khris Davis, two RBIs and a run scored.

#3 MLB records: MLB baseball had a record 32,884 strikeouts in 2008. In 2018, baseball will surpass that record on a pace of 43,163 if the swinging for the fence hitters keep this up.

#4 The LA Angels’ Shohei Ohtani pitched two innings against the Boston Red Sox on Monday night, but had to leave due to a blister on his throwing hand.

#5 The Pittsburgh Pirates are off to their best start since 1992. Third place in the central only a game and a half out of first just behind St. Louis and Milwaukee.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio talent, is the vice president of the MLB Hispanic Heritage Museum, and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Giants have that youthful glow as Stratton, Williamson lead them past the Nationals

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

 

608717607776

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Will this be the 14th consecutive season without a 30-home run hitter for the Giants?

It’s been awhile, but for the first time in awhile, the Giants at least have some candidates, most prominently Brandon Belt, who has never hit more than 18 homers in his seven season career.  He’s hit five thus far, and looks healthy, since health has been the biggest reason he didn’t achieve the feat previously.

Evan Longoria has hit 30 home runs in a season four times, all for Tampa Bay, most recently in 2016 when he hit a career-best 36. Andrew McCutchen hit 31 in 2012 for the Pirates. Hunter Pence hit 27 in 2013, Buster Posey hit 24 in 2012. None of that quartet seems likely for a breakout, at least not one that would take them past 30.

So how about Mac Williamson? Now that’s an interesting possibility.

In Monday’s homecoming, 4-2 win over the Nationals, Williamson’s sixth inning home run increased the Giants’ one-run lead to three. Not only hit at a pivotal juncture, it was smoked, leaving the park at 112 mph and traveling 465 feet, over and past Triples Alley. After the game, it was all anyone wanted to discuss.

“I just haven’t seen many balls hit there, even in BP, and with the wind blowing,” manager Bruce Bochy said.  “That’s impressive. It shows you how strong this guy is. Big home run too, big moment there. It’s an area where few guys can hit a ball.  And I think all his teammates were pretty impressed too.”

“I hit it well. But you never know here at AT&T,” said Williamson.

Talk about pronouncing yourself ready to take on a definitive role at the major league level, here’s Williamson’s path. First promoted in 2015, Williamson and Jarrett Parker both get opportunities given their power game and capable defense to assume roles in San Francisco. But over the last three seasons, neither emerged with injuries derailing both. Parker’s no longer in the San Francisco organization, but Williamson is, after regaining his health and refining his swing in the anonymity of minor league ball.

Fast forward to spring of 2018, and Williamson turns head in spring with some prodigious feats, but he’s still demoted to Sacramento prior to Opening Day.  Left fielder Hunter Pence starts slow, and then is injured, clearing a path for Williamson, who hits .487 with six home runs in just 11 games with the AAA River Cats.

Then on Friday night in Anaheim, in his season debut, Williamson homers off Angels’ reliever Andrew Heaney, an opposite field blast that travels 434 feet and at 114 mph is the hardest hit ball to date for the Giants.

Quite simply, it’s a story that says Williamson has arrived.

Chris Stratton has been with the Giants all season and pitched well in all but his first outing.  That string continued Monday as the 27-year old allowed just four hits, two runs, and bailed out the whole team in the sixth when two Giants’ errors could have been the precursor to the Nats getting back into the game. With runners on second and third, one out, Stratton struck out Matt Adams, and got Matt Wieters to fly out to end the inning.

In that stretch, Stratton relied heavily on his improved changeup, and didn’t get caught trying rush the ball to plate in a stressful situation. Last season, Stratton beat the Nats in D.C., striking out a career-best 10, and on Monday, he doubled down on that performance, beating the Nats this time with Bryce Harper in the lineup.

“Sometimes it’s his breaking ball, but he’s got confidence in that changeup,” Bochy said of Stratton’s repertoire. “And that’s a big pitch for him. And he used it instead of trying to power his way through them. That’s why he’s a starter, and that’s why he’s on this club.  He’s got four pitches with command.”

The Giants have won three of four, and improved to 10-12 on the season. That gauntlet of an opening stretch–the first 28 ballgames of the team’s season considered the most difficult of any major league club based on last year’s won-loss records–now appears surviveable with six games remaining, concluding this Sunday against the Dodgers.

On Tuesday, they face under-the-radar Giants’ killer, Tanner Roark, who has allowed just one earned run in his last three starts against San Francisco.  Ty Blach takes the ball for the Giants at 7:15pm.

A’s back over .500 after 9-4 rout of Rangers

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s defeated the Texas Rangers 9-4 to start the nine-game road trip on a high note. A’s pitcher Trevor Cahill made his second start of the year, going five innings and allowing seven hits and three runs. He was opposed by lefty Matt Moore, the former San Francisco Giant, in his first year as a Ranger. Moore also went five innings and allowed three runs.

The A’s put two runs on the board in the top of the third. Marcus Semien singled to start the inning. Moore walked Stephen Piscotty to put men on at first and second with no out. Moore retired Jed Lowrie for the first out. Designated hitter Khris Davis doubled down the left field line to drive in Semien and Piscotty with the first two runs of the night.

The Rangers cut the deficit to one in their half of the third. With men on at second and third, Cahill uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Isiah Kiner-Falefa to score. The A’s got the run back in the fourth. Mark Canha doubled and scored on Chad Pinder’s single to center. The lead didn’t last long as the Rangers tied the game when Cahill made a mistake to Rangers’ catcher Robinson Chirinos. Chirinos, hitting a buck 53, hung a curveball and with Jurickson Profar on base, tied the game.

There was no more scoring until the ninth inning.

Marcus Semien, on the first pitch from Kevin Jepsen, homered to give the A’s the lead 4-3. The A’s scored five more times to make it 9-3. A’s manager Bob Melvin let Ryan Buchter start the ninth. Buchter retired the first hitter and then was replaced by Chris Hatcher.

The Rangers were able to score a run, but Hatcher was able to retire Profar and Chirinos to end the game.

Game Notes: The A’s line score was nine runs on 14 hits and one error.

The Rangers line was four runs, seven hits and no errors.

Ryan Buchter received credit for the A’s win. Jepsen took the loss for the Rangers.

Semien, Canha, Davis, Matt Chapman, Jake Smolinski, and Jonathan Lucroy all drove in runs for Oakland. For Smolinski, it was his first RBI since late in the 2016 season. Jed Lowrie continued his hot hitting as he had two more hits.

The A’s have won seven of the last eight games played and are now 12-11 for the year. The Rangers drop to 8-16.

Sad News: The A’s announced that former owner Ken Hofmann passed away at age 95. Hofmann purchased the team along with Steve Schott, in late 1995 and sold the team in 2005. The A’s went to the playoffs three times during his tenure.

Up Next: Game two of the series will be played Tuesday night in Texas. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PT. Andrew Triggs will pitch for Oakland. The Rangers’ ace, Cole Hamels, will be on the hill for Texas.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Belting them out–Belt has a home run in four straight games going into Monday against Washington

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

On the SF Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 Giants first baseman Brandon Belt battled with Los Angeles Angels’ 21-year-old pitcher Jamie Barria for a 21 pitch at-bat the most pitches in an at-bat in MLB history.

#2 Belt also supplied home run help in Sunday’s contest, which represented his fourth consecutive home run in four games, which is the longest home run streak in his career.

#3 Giant starter Johnny Cueto had a quality start, picking up his second win of the season now at 2-0. He threw for six innings, giving up two hits, no runs, no walks, and seven strikeouts.

#4 Steven Duggar is working his way out of triple A affiliate Sacramento, hitting .298 for the month. Manager Bruce Bochy says that Duggar could be ready at anytime to help out.

#5 With leftfielder Hunter Pence out of the lineup with a thumb injury. The Giants, who brought up Mac Williamson this week, are expecting Williamson to provide some offense. Williamson got a hit against the Angels on Sunday.

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

A’s double down, hold the Red Sox in check for a second, consecutive day, win 4-1

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

 

khris_davis

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Things don’t always work out for the Boston Red Sox when they come to the Oakland Coliseum.

The last 52 games in Oakland have resulted in 35 Red Sox’s defeats–in a period spanning more than a decade, and two of the three most recent Boston World Series titles (2004, 2007, 2013). That’s a tough run for a club with a loaded roster and a fanbase that routinely snaps up a bunch of tickets when their team descends in the East Bay.

During that same period the A’s have been up and more often down, but somehow successful at home against Red Sox nation. In Boston’s defense, they’ve been extremely tough on the A’s at Fenway Park during this same period, most recently taking two of three at Fenway in September 2017.

But this time, the A’s grew that roadblock placed in front of the Bosox to the dimensions of a Great Wall by shutting down the team with the hottest start to a season in the last 30 years on consecutive days. After Friday’s 7-3 win, the Red Sox were winners of nine straight, and 17-2 on the season. After Sunday’s 4-1 loss, the Red Sox had been no-hit, gone 18 innings without scoring a run, and lost two straight for the first time all season.

The 18 innings without scoring a run might be the biggest surprise, as Boston had scored 123 runs coming in, and hit five grand slams in a period of just 13 games, which concluded Friday night.

But everything changed when Sean Manaea no-hit the Sox on Saturday, and Daniel Mengden was nearly as stellar on Sunday in a 4-1 win.

“We’ve just got to ride the wave out as long as we can,” said Khris Davis, who hit a tie-breaking three-run homer in the eighth inning on Sunday. “The pitching has been fantastic. Anytime the pitching is on, we want to be putting up runs.”

After losing four of five, the A’s have won six of seven to even their record (11-11) for the first time since they were 1-1. The timing of their improved play couldn’t be any better with a big, three-city, AL West road trip starting Tuesday in Arlington, Texas. After playing a AL-high 14 home games, the improving A’s have to show they can get it done on the road too.

“5-1 is a nice homestand,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We didn’t have a great homestand to (open the season), and we’ve got a lot of road games.”

This early–with a roster this unproven–how you win is important. And the A’s have opened some eyes this week, starting with a rout of the White Sox on Tuesday in front of a full house, then gutting out a six-hour marathon Wednesday to sweep Chicago. The last two days, they’ve defeated perenial All-Star pitchers Chris Sale, and now David Price.

“It starts with us holding them down. If you look at their numbers, they’re basically first in the league in everything (offensively) so it’s holding them down and giving yourself a chance to score some runs because you know you’re not going to score too many off those two guys,” Melvin said.

After Sean Manaea stood up to Sale, who was hardly off his game, striking out 10, and walking one, on Saturday, starter Daniel Mengden outworked Price, who’s bounced back nicely from his disappointing 2017 season. Mengden pitched into the seventh, by either recording quick outs, or surviving at-bats that looked like mini-versions of Brandon Belt’s 21-pitch opus in Anaheim. To wit: Mengden started 15 of the 25 batters he faced with strikes, but expended 102 pitches to record 19 outs, despite the fact he didn’t walk anyone. A whopping 27 pitches–more than 25 percent of the total–were fouled off by the dialed in, discerning Sox, even with AL batting leader Mookie Betts getting a day off.

Despite all the rigmarole, Mengden put up zeros in the first six frames, and didn’t allow a run until the final pitch of his afternoon, an RBI double of Brock Holt’s bat in the seventh.

“What Sean did last night was remarkable. I tried to follow up as best I could,” said Mengden.

The A’s will have Trevor Cahill on the mound in Tuesday’s opener against the Rangers. Former Giant Matt Moore will start for Texas, looking to improve on his 1-3 record, and 5.59 ERA.