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Rangers beat A’s 6-3 to earn a split of four-game series

Published on April 5, 2018April 5, 2018 by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s finished the four-game series with the Texas Rangers on a sour note Thursday afternoon as they were defeated by the Rangers 6-3 at the O.co Coliseum.

Daniel Mengden started for Oakland, and he went 5 1/3 innings. He had a rough second inning when the Rangers put together four hits to score four runs. He committed a throwing error and almost had to leave the game when he was hit on his leg. He pitched well after the second inning, but the damage was done.

Rangers’ starter, lefty Martin Perez, was making his first start of the year and he picked up the win. Perez went 5 2/3 innings. He was touched for 10 hits, but the A’s could only score three times. They had their chances, but could not capitalize.

Things went south for Daniel Mengden in the top of the second inning. The Rangers’ third baseman Adrian Beltre led off the inning with a double to left. Nomar Mazara singled to put men on at first and third with no out. Second baseman Rougned Odor lined a single off Mengden’s ankle to drive in Beltre. Mengden dropped to the ground in pain. A’s manager Bob Melvin, and the trainer ran out to see the extent of the injury. Fortunately, Mengden was able to continue pitching. On the next play, Ryan Rua hit a slow roller past the mound. Mengden fielded it, but his throw to first went down the right-field line. Mazara and Odor scored, and Rua landed on third. Drew Robinson followed with a single. The Rangers scored four times and lead 4-0.

The A’s got two back in the bottom of the third. Shortstop Marcus Semien got the rally going with a single. Chad Pinder singled to put men on at first and second with no out. Jed Lowrie, hitting from the right side, doubled to drive in Semien with the A’s first run. Pinder stopped at third. Pinder scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of DH Khris Davis. The A’s trail 4-2 after three innings of play.

The A’s added a run in the bottom of the seventh. Matt Chapman and Stephen Piscotty singled to put men on at first and third with one out. Matt Joyce, pinch-hitting for Jake Smolinski, drove in Chapman with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 4-3.

The Rangers increased the lead to three in the top of the ninth when they scored twice with two men out. Juan Centeno singled, and that was followed by a home run to right-field by Shin-Soo-Choo that iced the win for Texas as the A’s failed to score in the bottom of the ninth. Texas wins 6-3.

Game Notes and Stats: A’s starter Daniel Mengden had a rough second inning when he was touched for four hits and four runs, three of which were earned. Mengden settled down and retired 11 in a row after the second-inning meltdown, but the damage was done. The A’s bullpen held the Rangers scoreless until Choo’s homer in the ninth. Mengden’s record drops to 0-2 and Texas starter Martin Perez recorded his first win of the year.

Jed Lowrie paced the A’s with three hits and an RBI. Matt Chapman had two singles to continue his hot start for Oakland. Stephen Piscotty also had two hits.

Rangers’ third baseman Adrian Beltre doubled in the second inning for his 3,054th hit in his illustrious career. Beltre passed Rod Carew for 25th all-time in hits and is now has the most hits of any Latin-born player in Major League history. He is a lock to make it to Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Both teams are now 3-5 for 2018.

Up Next: The A’s go on the road for a four-game series with the Los Angeles Angels, two games with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and finish the road trip with three in Seattle against the Mariners before returning home to host the Chicago White Sox on April 16th.

Sports Headlines with Tony Renteria: The late Tyler Hilinski’s brother, Ryan, to play at South Carolina; Giants come back to rattle M’s 10-1; A’s attendance can only improve in time

Published on April 5, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @ryan_hilinski

On the Sports Headlines podcast with Tony:

#1 Tyler Hilinski, the late Washington State quarterback who committed suicide last season in his dorm, has a brother named Ryan, who just committed to play at South Carolina’s football program. Knowing about Tyler’s suicide, should brother Ryan be concerned about CTE issues when playing at South Carolina?

#2 The San Francisco Giants, who lost 6-4 to the Seattle Mariners on opening day on Tuesday, and who were also expected to have pitching issues, showed up the next day Wednesday and got both hitting and pitching to take the second game of the two-game series from Seattle with a 10-1 win. The Giants got quality pitching from pitcher Johnny Cueto and lots of hitting in the laugher.

#3 The Oakland A’s, who drew only 7,000 on Monday night and then on 9,000 on Tuesday, night never have seen low attendance numbers like this in years. The numbers will improve as the week goes on, but Mondays and Tuesdays at the Coliseum will be brutal for the A’s on nights that fans tend to stay away from.

#4 The Sacramento Kings season comes to an end next week. If there was one memorable moment this season, it was the two games where Kings fans couldn’t get in because of the Black Lives Matter protest. The Kings made it clear that they support the protest, but they need to conduct business and had barricades around the arena that allowed only ticketed fans into the Golden 1 Center.

#5 The Golden State Warriors are slowly coming out of their hibernation after having shelved their big four players, who are all of them except for Stephen Curry, should be ready their next game

Tony Renteria does the Sports Headlines podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants look the part, hitting four homers in rout of the Mariners

Published on April 4, 2018April 4, 2018 by moepeaLeave a comment

Photo credit:

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Like a latenight infomercial, the Giants looked like the newest tonic for a more youthful, vibrant lifestyle on Wednesday.

In a 10-1 rout of the Mariners, the Giants hit, pitched, and played defense like it was… well, like it was 2012.

Johnny Cueto was exceptional, going six innings to pick up the win. Cueto won 19 games for the 2012 Reds, his breakthrough campaign, and after two starts this season, he again looks capable, allowing just one run in 13 innings of work. Cueto slipped and tweaked his ankle in his final inning pitched on Wednesday, but afterwards declared himself healthy and humorous.

“I struck him out everytime,” Cueto answered when asked if teammate Pablo Sandoval once again looked like a nightmare of an opponent after launching a three-run, splash-hit home run off Felix Hernandez. The Panda may not have impressed Cueto, but he’s impressed thus far, adjusting to a role as a reserve, and looking svelte as well. His home run off King Felix was smoked, the highlight of the Giants’ five-run fifth, and the end of the evening for the Mariners’ ace.

“He called it. He said he was going to hit a homer today,” Andrew McCutchen said of Sandoval.

Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford also homered in the fifth, and both left the yard as authoritatively as did Sandoval. Of course, both Crawford and Belt first assumed starting roles in 2012, and with both coming off a subpar 2017, the two infielders need bounce back campaigns. Belt’s been the more impressive so far, hitting .353 after a 3 for 4 day.

Contrary to baseball’s ever-changing wisdom, the Giants brought back numerous pieces from last year’s 98-loss disaster, stubbornly maintaining that the group could rebound offensively. The opening weekend in Los Angeles wasn’t close, as the offense produced just two runs–only one earned–the worst opening to a season offensively by any club in 30 years.

But with 14 runs scored in a two-game split with the Mariners, the questions have subsided. And the work put in by the returners in the off-season has started to draw attention.

Sandoval is tremendous shape, following a fitness regimen that challenges him daily, the perfect counter to his reduced playing time. Gorkys Hernandez, who started in center field and homered in the third, is 10 pounds heavier after an off-season, weight lifting program. Belt has shortened his swing, emphasizing a more direct path to the baseball. Hunter Pence, who was scratched due to a hand injury, pinch hit in the eighth. Pence also has assumed a fitness, lifestyle program to keep himself healthier.

The Giants open a three-game set with the Dodgers on Friday night with Derek Holland facing Kenta Maeda in the opener.

A’s hammer Rangers 6-2 behind Sean Manaea’s dominant pitching

Published on April 4, 2018April 4, 2018 by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s sent out their big lefty Sean Manaea to face the Texas Rangers Wednesday night at the O.co Coliseum. Manaea pitched well in the A’s second game of the season, but took the loss. However, he was dominant against the Rangers. He mixed up his pitches, and he allowed the Rangers just three singles. The A’s gave Manaea some run support as they led 5-0 after four and he was on cruise control.

The A’s scored the first run of the night in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Matt Chapman singled. Fister struck out Chad Pinder for the second out, but he could not get by Bruce Maxwell. Maxwell lined a double into the gap in left centerfield to drive in Chapman with the A’s first run.

The A’s sent eight men to the plate in the bottom of the fourth. The A’s scored four runs on two hits, and only one of the runs was earned. The A’s loaded the bases with no out. Chapman singled, Pinder was hit by a pitch, and Bruce Maxwell walked. Boog Powell hit a grounder to the first baseman, Joey Gallo. Gallo’s throw home appeared to nail Chapman, but catcher Robinson Chirinos could not handle the throw and the run scored, and the bases were still loaded. Marcus Semien hit a drive to centerfield that was caught at the base of the wall. Pinder scored, and Maxwell and Powell tagged up and advanced to third and second. Fister struck out Matt Joyce for the second out, but Jed Lowrie ended Fister’s night when he singled to drive two more runs. The A’s lead 5-0 after four complete innings.

The Rangers scored their first run of the game in the top of the fifth. Manaea gave up a single to Nomar Mazara and followed that by walking Chirinos. Jurickson Profar hit a long fly to the rightfield corner. Chad Pinder made a wonderful running catch for the first out, but Mazara was able to tag up and advance to third base. Ryan Rua then hit into a fielder’s choice to drive in Mazara. The A’s added a run in the bottom of the seventh when they loaded the bases with no out. Matt Olson singled to knock in the run, and the bases were still loaded, but they could do no more. The A’s lead 6-1 after seven innings.

Bob Melvin pulled his starter Sean Manaea after he finished the eighth inning. Yusmeiro Petit started the ninth for Oakland, and it did not go well as the Rangers’ DH hit a home run on the second pitch he saw from Petit. Petit settled down and retired the next three hitters to secure the win for Oakland.

Game Notes and Stats: Sean Manaea won his first game of the year as he went eight innings and allowed just one run and three hits. He dazzled the Texas hitters and kept them off balance all night. Manaea pitched well his last time out but did not get any run support and lost to the LA Angels.

The A’s offense came to life Wednesday night. The A’s did not hit any home runs, but they got key hits when they needed them. The hitting stars for Oakland were Jed Lowrie and Matt Chapman. They each knocked in two runs to pace the A’s attack.

Manaea went eight innings and allowed just one and three hits. He threw 94 pitches. He probably wanted to finish the game, but A’s manager Bob Melvin saw things differently. Manaea is 1-1 and Texas starter, Doug Fister, lost his first of the year and is also 1-1.

It was another sparse crowd again. There were 7,908 fans in the seats on a fairly chilly night.

The good news was the time of the game. They played the game in two hours and 23 minutes and everyone gets to go home early.

Up Next: Game four of the four-game series will be Thursday afternoon at 12:30 pm. Daniel Mengden (0-1) will go for Oakland, and the Rangers will counter with lefty Martin Perez (0-0).

Cole Hamels leads Rangers to 4-1 win over A’s

Published on April 3, 2018April 3, 2018 by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Texas Rangers beat the A’s Tuesday night 4-1 behind the strong pitching by their ace, Cole Hamels. The veteran left recorded 11 strikeouts in five innings of work and held the A’s offense to just one run. The A’s starter Kendall Graveman ran into trouble in the second inning, and he struggled for the second game in a row. The Rangers scored two in the second, one in the third and one in the fourth to send the A’s down to defeat.

The Rangers got to Kendall Graveman in the second inning. He gave up 2 runs on four hits. Adrian Beltre started the rally with a sharp single to center field. For Beltre, it was the 3,053rd hit of his illustrious career. The hit tied him with Rod Carew for most hits by a Latin player, and he ranks 25th all-time in that department. The next hitter Nomar Mazara doubled to right-center. Beltre stopped at third. Robinson Chirinos grounded out to drive in Beltre with the Rangers’ first run. Second baseman Rougned Odor singled to drive in Mazara with the second run of the inning. A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy nailed Odor as he tried to steal second. Ryan Rua Singled and advanced to third when Graveman issued a walk to Drew Robinson. Rua attempted to steal third, but Lucroy gunned him down.

With one out in the top of the third, Rangers’ first baseman Joey Gallo took Graveman deep for his second dinger of the year and put the Rangers ahead 3-0. The A’s cut the deficit to two when Chad Pinder, playing in left, hit his first home run of the year. The A’s trail 3-1 after three complete.

Graveman could not shut down the Rangers in the top of the fourth. Nomar Mazara singled to start the frame. Graveman didn’t help his cause when he uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Mazara to advance into scoring position. Graveman got Robinson Chirinos to ground out, and Mazara was held at second. Rougned Odor then singled to drive in Mazara with the Rangers’ fourth run.

There was no more scoring the rest of the way. Both bullpens did their jobs after the starting pitchers exited the contest. The Rangers win 4-1 to even the series at one apiece.

Game Notes- Rangers starter Cole Hamels went five innings and allowed one run and just four hits while walking three and striking out eleven A’s hitters. Hamels threw 94 pitches in his five innings of work, and his record stands at 1-1. The A’s starter Kendall Graveman did not pitch well for the second game in a row, Graveman’s also went five innings, but he gave up four runs and 8 hits. He issued one free pass and struck out just one hitter. He gave up a home run to Joey Gallo in the third inning. Graveman’s record is now 0-1.

A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy had an outstanding evening on defense. Lucroy threw out three men attempting to steal and tagged a runner out at home after he tried to score from first on a double to left. The A’s offense could not get anything going. They scored just one run, and they did not have an inning in which they had more than one hit. They had eight hits in the game, one in each inning except the sixth. Chad Pinder was the only A’s player that did anything against Hamels as he had a double and a home run.

The Rangers and A’s have an identical won-loss record as they both are now 2-4 for 2018. The Series is tied at one apiece. Game three Wednesday night will feature left Sean Manaea going for Oakland, and the veteran righty Doug Fister will hurl for Texas. Game time will be at 7:05 pm.

Time of game was two hours and fifty minutes. There were 9,157 fans at the ballpark Tuesday night. It was the second-lowest attendance since May 3rd, 2010. The lowest since that time was last night.

Panik and Longoria go deep in Giants’ 6-4 loss to Mariners

Published on April 3, 2018April 3, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — After looking fantastic against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the season opener, Ty Blach returned to earth in the San Francisco Giants’ home opener.

Blach lasted 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on 10 hits, while walking two and striking out two, as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Giants 6-4 before a sellout crowd of 40,901 at AT&T Park.

“He made some good pitches,” said Bruce Bochy.

Due to the Opening Day Pomp and Circumstance, the 1:35 scheduled first pitch actually was 11 minutes later at 1:46.

Within minutes of the first pitch thrown by Blach, the Mariners scored four runs on five hits in the first half inning and never looked back.

“Get out there and compete,” said Blach.

The first six batters to face Blach reached base, as Dee Gordon, Jean Segura, Robinson Cano, and Mike Haniger each scored off of Blach.

It could have been much worse, but Andrew McCutchen was able to catch Kyle Seager leaning off of second base and Brandon Crawford tagged him out for the first out of the afternoon.

That first inning began a huge day for Segura, who picked up hits in his first three at-bats. Following hits in his first at-bats of the game, Segura walked against Pierce Johnson in the top of the sixth inning.

Like in Los Angeles, where he hit two home runs in the Giants first two games of the season, Joe Panik continued his assault on a baseball.

Panik gave the Giants their first run since the ninth inning on Friday night, a span of 21 scoreless innings, as he hit his third home run of the season, when he led off the bottom of the fourth inning for the Giants.

“Obviously you want to come away with the win,” said Panik.

Reyes Moronta pitched 0.2 innings, walking two and striking out two, before giving way to Johnson in the top of the sixth inning.

Austin Jackson picked up his first hit in his new home in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he narrowly beat out a Seager throw. Jackson was originally called out; however, after a 69-second review, Jackson was indeed deemed safe by home plate Ted Barrett.

After the Jackson base hit, the Giants reverted back to their futility of the 2017 season, as Panik hit a ground ball to Cano, who threw to Ryon Healy at first base for the second out and then Healy, threw to Segura, who tagged out Jackson for the final out of the inning.

Evan Longoria picked a great time to get his first hit as a member of the Giants, as he hit a two-run home run of Mariners starter Marco Gonzales in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“Couple of things have not gone our way,” said Longoria.

Gonzales ended up going 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking no one and striking out two on his way to his first win of the young season.

Gregor Blanco got the Giants rally started in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he doubled down the left field line. Kelby Tomlinson then singled Blanco to third base, and then Jackson drove in his first run as a member of the Giants, when he hit a sacrifice fly to Gordon in centerfield to score Blanco without a throw.

Panik then picked up his second hit of the game, as he legged out an infield hit that sent Tomlinson to second base, as he was running on the pitch.

After a McCutchen fly out to right field that advanced Tomilnson an additional 90 feet, Buster Posey grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.

NOTES: Prior to the game, the Giants paid their respects to the late San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee, who passed away from a heart attack in December. Former San Francisco Mayors Art Agnos, Frank Jordan, Willie Brown, current State Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, London Breed and Mark Farrell were in attendance. The wife of the late George Moscone, was also in attendance. Anita Lee, the wife of 37 years to Mayor Lee was honored by Giants President and CEO Larry Baer and Giants Manager Bruce Bochy.

In honor of the Giants 60th anniversary of moving to San Francisco, the Giants honored players and managers going back to when they played at Seals Stadium, Candlestick Park and AT&T Park.

Such notables as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Barry Bonds, Vida Blue, Felipe Alou, Chris Speier, Joe Amalfitano, Dave Dravecky, Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, Jeffrey Leonard, Kevin Mitchell, Robby Thompson, Marvin Benard, Robb Nen, Travis Ishikawa, Brian Johnson, Cody Ross, Dusty Baker and special guest Brian Wilson, who in full uniform, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

From 1958 to the present, over 115 million people have come through the gates at Seals Stadium (1958-1959), Candlestick Park (1960-1999) and Pacific Bell, SBC and AT&T Park (2000-present).

During that time frame, from April 15, 1958 to today. Seals Stadium, in their two years saw 2,694,755, in 40 years at Candlestick Park, 54,134,580 people went through the turnstiles and at AT&T Park from 2000-present, 58,181,967 people have entered the ballpark. That is a total of 115,011,302 that have seen games in the City and County of San Francisco since 1958,

UP NEXT: The Giants and Mariners meet again Wednesday at 4:15 pm PT.

A’s come out on top with 3-1 win over Rangers in nail-biter

Published on April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s met the Texas Rangers for the first time this season Monday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Both teams entered the game with a record of 1-3. The A’s sent Andrew Triggs to the mound to handle the pitching chores. Triggs, now in his second year, pitched very well as he went five innings and allowed just one run and four hits. He did not get a decision, but the A’s rallied in the eighth to score two runs and win 3-1.

The Rangers sent Bartolo Colon out to pitch, and Colon also pitched extremely well. The 44-year-old master went six innings and was touched for just one run while giving up seven hits, He escaped jams in the fifth and sixth innings and he, too, did not get a decision.

The A’s started the scoring in the bottom of the third when third baseman Matt Chapman led off the inning with a home run over the right-center field wall. Bartolo Colon settled down and retired the next three hitters. The A’s lead 1-0 after three complete.

The Rangers threatened in the top of the fourth. With one out, Rangers’ catcher, Robinson Chirinos reached third when A’s right fielder Stephen Piscotty failed to catch the ball as he bounced off the wall. Triggs got Rougned Odor to pop out to Jed Lowrie for the second out. Ryan Rua, who had singled in the second inning, hit a line drive to center. A’s center fielder Boog Powell made a sensational diving catch to rob Rua of a hit and end the Ranger threat.

The Rangers tied the game in the top of the fifth. Triggs walked Drew Robinson to start the inning. Robinson stole second when Shin-Soo Chin struck out swinging. Rangers’ first baseman, Joey Gallo, followed with a single to drive in Robinson. The A’s, in their half of the fifth, had three solid singles but could not score. The key play in the inning came when A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy tried to score from second on a Marcus Semien single to center. The throw home was on the mark, and while there was a collision between Lucroy and Chirinos, Chirinos was able to hold onto the ball for the out.

The A’s broke through in the seventh to plate two runs and take a 3-1 lead. The A’s had chances in the fifth and sixth, but could not get the key hit they needed to get the go-ahead run. Their fortunes changed in the seventh. With one out, Lucroy doubled to left-center. The new Ranger pitcher, Kevin Jepsen, retired Boog Powell for the second out and Lucroy advanced to third on the play. The next hitter, Marcus Semien walked. Ranger manager Jeff Banister brought in lefty Jake Diekman to pitch to Jed Lowrie. Banister wanted Lowrie hitting from the right side, but the strategy did not work as Lowrie doubled to drive in both Lucroy and Semien.

The A’s bullpen did its job as Ryan Buchter, Chris Hatcher, and Blake Treinen gave up just two hits and no runs in four innings of work. The A’s win 3-1.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 2-3 while Texas falls to 1-4. The hitting stars for Oakland were Matt Chapman who hit his second homer of the season and Jed Lowrie who had a clutch two-out double in the eighth to drive in the winning runs.

The A’s meet the Rangers again Tuesday night for game two of the four-game series. Kendal Graveman will be on the hill for Oakland, and the Rangers’ will counter with the ace, lefty Cole Hamels.

Time of game was three hours and 10 minutes. A sparse crowd of 7,416 was on hand to watch the heroes win and were able to go home with smiles on their faces.

Up Next: The A’s and Rangers meet again Tuesday night at 7:05 pm PT.

Dodged a bullet?: Giants either crafty or overmatched in season-opening weekend

Published on April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 by moepeaLeave a comment

Photo credit: @TwitVI

By Morris Phillips

If the Giants’ bats come around, they’ll laugh heartily about it.

If they don’t, the entire club will be visibly upset for the next six months.

It’s that serious–and that inconsequential–the Giants scored just two runs in four games to start the season in Dodger Stadium. Ultimately, what matters is what’s yet to come. But if the offense tanks, we’ll all remember the Giants started a subpar season with the most inept opening weekend in terms of offense in the last 30 seasons…

Of any team since the 1988 Orioles lost 12-0 on Opening Day–and 12-1 four days later on the way to 107 defeats–and after the two major upgrades in Longoria and McCutchen, all the faith invested in the holdovers, and the similarity to the last two campaigns, a collapse would be a mouthful to swallow.

Of course, this is a sobering juxtaposition. Could the Giants provide more of the same for a third straight year?

With the increasing ominous signs, it bears watching.

If not, the Giants may have shown that given their tenacity and level of engagement, they may have what it takes to compete. After all, the Giants assumed the most arduous opening of any team in the National League–on the road, against the penant winners with four different start times–and scraped together two, memorable, hard fought wins.

Without a couple of major pieces, that’s an accomplishment. The precedent set by Joe Panik with his pair of solo shots says it best.

But if the Dodgers can claim the distinction of being the first team in baseball history to allow two or fewer runs in a season-opening four game series than that’s not good. Only one of the two runs were earned? That’s the Giants sending the competition off on their merry way brimming with confidence.

“They’ll get clicking,” Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy said. “It’s a matter of time. … They’re too good. We know that. Hopefully [during] this day off, they’ll get a chance to relax.”

Here’s a snapshot of the numbers from the weekend:

Evan Longoria started the National League portion of his career hitless. The former Tampa Bay Ray went 0 for 15, despite saying he saw some good pitches to hit.

Johnny Cueto was lights out on Friday night, allowing one hit over seven innings, no walks, with four strikeouts. So far no mention of reoccurring issues with blisters. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts astutely pointed that Cueto is especially tough with no baserunners pitching out of the stretch.

Joe Panik’s feat of solo homers in consecutive 1-0 wins is a once in the history of the sport achievement. Forget the distinction of Opening Day, no player has ever solo homered in consecutive games with that game result, period.

Opening the season with a pair of 1-0 wins? That’s been done before. 76 years ago by the Reds in wins over the Cardinals with a huge assist to Johnny VanderMeer. The Reds’ pitching staff one-upped the Giants by winning in extra innings both days, 21 innings total.

The Giants are hitting .192 as a team, ranking them 27th, just in case you mistakenly thought they generated a decent share of traffic on the basepaths, but couldn’t summon any big hits.

Dodgers get back-to-back shutouts with 9-0 win over Giants

Published on April 1, 2018April 1, 2018 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

After back-to-back shutouts to open the season, the San Francisco Giants were on the verge of receiving of back-to-back shutouts by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rich Hill pitched five strong innings, and reigning Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger broke out of a season-opening 0-for-11 slump to hit his first home run of the season and the Dodgers defeated the Giants 9-0 to salvage a split of their season-opening four-game series at Dodger Stadium Sunday night.

Following their first two wins of the season, the Giants failed to score over the final 18 innings of the series, while the Dodgers scored 14 runs in the last two games.

Chris Stratton gave up three runs in 5.1 innings, as the Giants became the first team since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles to score no more than two runs in the first four games of the season.

Stratton held the Dodgers hitless until the bottom of the fourth inning, as Corey Seager picked up his first hit of the season, and then Yaisel Puig followed suit with his first hit of the season.

The Giants defense got confused after Hunter Pence caught a fly ball hit by Bellinger for the second out of the inning, with Seager advancing to third base and Puig broke for second. Brandon Crawford then threw to Brandon Belt, and without a throw, Seager scored from third base to break the scoreless tie.

The Dodgers broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Chris Taylor got a hit and then Puig ended Stratton’s night with a double to score Taylor.

Josh Osich came on to replace Stratton, and Bellinger greeted him with an opposite field home run.

Kike Hernandez put the final touches on the evening as he hit a two-run double off of Roberto Gomez in the bottom of the eighth inning.

NOTES: After a day-off on Monday, the Giants open their 60th home season in San Francisco against the Seattle Mariners, as Ty Blach takes the mound against the Seattle Mariners.

Jeff Samardzija will throw bullpen sessions on both Tuesday and Friday, and then will begin a rehabilitation assignment.

There is no timetable for the return of closer Mark Melancon, who is out with an elbow injury.