Tag: mlb

Utah HC Concludes Inaugural Season Home Schedule With 4-3 Shootout Loss To Nashville

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Utah Hockey Fans show their appreciation on the final home game of the 2024-25 first season for the franchise as they played the Nashville Predators (Utah Hockey Club X photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Dylan Guenther scored the new franchise’s first and final home goals this season, but Utah falls to the Nashville Predators 4-3 in a shootout.

The Minnesota Wild ended Utah Hockey Club’s Wild Card pursuit on Wednesday night when they defeated the San Jose Sharks in Minneapolis. On Thursday, Utah HC returned to the Delta Center ice following their franchise record 7-1 thrashing of the Seattle Kraken two nights earlier to wrap up their 2024-2025 inaugural season home schedule against the Nashville Predators. It was exactly one year ago that Phoenix Coyotes players were informed that they were moving to Utah.

The first period turned into a battle of defenses as Nashville netminder Juuse Saros turned away 11 Utah shots while Karel Vejmelka, making his 22nd consecutive start in goal, turned away all five shots from the Predators.

Utah forward Nick Bjugstad kicked off the scoring at 4:49 of the second period with a steep angle snap shot which found the hole between the left shoulder of Saros and the upper corner of the net for his seventh goal of the season, assisted by Alexander Kerfoot.

At 13:54, Jack McBain hit the center of the crossbar with a shot which rebounded to Josh Doan in front of the net who wristed it past Saros for his sixth goal of the season to make it 2-0 Utah. With 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the frame, Logan Cooley was whistled for tripping against Zachary L’Heureux. On the power play, Nashville defenseman Nick Blankenburg cut Utah’s lead in half with his 4th goal of the season, assisted by Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan O’Reilly.

The Predators began the third period on the power play again thanks to a Sean Durzi hooking penalty committed against Filip Forsberg with less than a second remaining in the previous period. At 1:19, Forsberg cashed in the man-advantage with his 31st goal of the season, assisted by Brady Skjei and Steven Stamkos, tying the score at 2-2. Two minutes later the Delta Center crowd was stunned as Ryan O’Reilly gave Nashville their first lead of the night with his 19th goal, assisted by Michael Bunting. That lead would last less than three minutes as Dylan Guenther knocked a rebound on a shot from Logan Cooley into a wide open net for his 27th of the season with the additional assist to captain Clayton Keller. The two goaltenders locked things down for the rest of regulation and the overtime period.

The final home game of the inaugural season would go all the way to a shootout. Juuse Saros was perfect in shutting down Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, and Dylan Guenther. Karel Vejmelka was able to stop Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos, but surrendered the final shot to Filip Forsberg on a backhand to give Nashville the shootout win. Utah went 3-1-1 in their final homestand, finishing the regular season with a 18-15-8 home record. Guenther ended up recording the franchise’s first goal on opening night against the Chicago Blackhawks, and scored the team’s final home goal of the season on Thursday night, which also happened to be the sniper’s 22nd birthday.

At the conclusion of the game, all of the Utah players came out on the ice to acknowledge fans, and a number of awards were presented. Barrett Hayton received the “All-In” award which was voted by the fans. Alexander Kerfoot received the “Community Obsessed” award for his involvement in the community. The “Three Stars” award was given to Dylan Guenther for having been selected as one of the Three Stars 16 times this season, including nine First Star recognitions. Captain Clayton Keller received the “Leading Scorer” award, having scored 27 goals and 58 assists for 85 total points in 78 games. Finally, the “Team MVP” was awarded to netminder Karel Vejmelka, whose 22 consecutive starts is the most in the NHL since Darcy Kuemper of the Arizona Coyotes started 22 six years ago. He has gone 12-6-4 during the streak. Team owner Ryan Smith thanked the fans for their support throughout the year, and told everyone that this was just the beginning.

In the locker room Vejmelka talked about what winning MVP means to him. “It’s a great feeling, especially (the) first year. But I would say it’s a team trophy and a team award. I couldn’t get a trophy without the guys, without (my) teammates. They’re a big part of it and I really appreciate it.” Utah’s fans have serenaded Vejmelka with chants of VEG-GIE and recently began throwing broccoli onto the ice to acknowledge his play. When asked about it, Vejmelka responded, “Yeah, it’s getting crazy. I like to see that, and I can’t wait to see that again next season. It’s a really cool feeling, especially on the ice, and I really feel that support. So like I said, I really appreciate it.” With regard to his mental and physical preparation during his streak, he added, “It’s about consistency and just playing the right way. I don’t want to really complicate things, I just want to play simple, and just enjoy the game as well. It’s a big part of it, and it’s still the game. It was a really great feeling to be (on the) hunt and play for something, (and not) just play the last couple of games for nothing. It’s a good feeling for next season, and hopefully we’re going to be even better.”

Utah captain Clayton Keller talked about the fan reaction to the award ceremony. “It was awesome. It’s been a whirlwind since the end of last season, from top to bottom. Ryan and Ashley (Smith), Chris Armstrong, all the sacrifices that they made to make this transition easy, (and) giving us every source. The fans as well; since day one, you could tell the excitement. We’re super hungry for next year, and this is just the beginning. There’s lots to look forward to.” What was it like playing in front of the home crowd for the last time this season? “Just a special moment. First season here in NHL history. Sometimes it’s crazy to think about that, how quickly it happened and how great of a move it’s been. So just super thankful. So many people gave us a great position to be successful and I couldn’t be more excited for next year.” With regard to Vejmelka’s MVP, Keller added, “Well deserved. He’s been unbelievable. I don’t know how many starts in a row that is, but he’s been unbelievable all year long, making saves when we needed it, giving us lots of confidence. Great teammate, great guy. Signed a nice deal and you couldn’t ask for a better guy and goalie as well. Super excited to have him locked up for a long time and like I said, well deserved.”

Head coach André Tourigny began his media session talking about the final home game in Utah’s inaugural season. “It was special for us. It was the team’s first year and there were a lot of emotions. There were a lot of connections with the crowd and the way they supported us, we wanted to play for them and play in front of them. It’s just tough right now to comprehend that there’s no more this year. We’re addicted now. We’re looking forward to the next one, but we’ll have to wait a little bit.” When asked how players around the league might perceive Utah as a desirable destination for free agents, Bear responded, “You do things right or everybody will know. Here, we do things right and the players are happy. The way the people of Utah, not just our fans, have been with our players off the ice and on the ice and the pour of love and all, everything’s been so positive. I think that word will go around and go into the NHL player community, and that will help our recruiting. No doubt about it.” When asked about the player awards, Tourigny said, “A coach is like a father and you want everybody to be recognized. Those five players have been recognized and they all deserve it, no doubt about it. But there’s a lot of guys, unsung heroes, on our team that I would have loved to see them be rewarded as well. I understand we need to have limits, but I think there are a lot of guys who put their heart into the job this year, and they helped us make this year a special year.”

Utah now hits the road for the final three games of the season against Dallas, Nashville, and St. Louis. The next time fans pour into Delta Center for hockey, their team will have a new identity, whether Mammoth, Outlaws, or a surprise announcement. Stay tuned.

San Francisco Giants podcast Morris Phillips: It’s off to the Big Apple as SF opens 3 game set with Yankees

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Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees will host the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium in New York on Fri Arp 11, 2025 to open a three game series (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast Morris Phillips:

#1 San Francisco Giant Mike Yastrzemski’s two run home run in the bottom of the tenth inning got the Giants a 8-6 win over the visiting Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park on Wednesday afternoon.

#2 The Giants Jung Hoo Lee got three hits which included a triple and a double. Lee’s hitting also help pace the Giants down from five runs to comeback for the win.

#3 The Giants Wilmer Flores jumped into the act as well with three hits and a home run. Flores has been clutch so far in this early part of the season.

#4 Morris, big win for San Francisco as they avoided getting swept in the series.

#5 The Giants open a three game series at Yankee Stadium in New York on Friday night. Look out for those scary torpedo bats. San Francisco will be starting Robbie Ray (2-0, ERA 3.18) for the New York Yankees Davis Martin (0-1 ERA 5.73) for a 4:05pm PDT first pitch. Giants and Yankees Morris will be it one of those classic match ups.

Join Morris Phillips for the San Francisco Giants podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Padres Take Series from A’s in 2-1 Finale Win

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A’s take on the Padres on Wednesday afternoon in West Sacramento (Photo: Athletics on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO — Sutter Health Park in Sacramento hosted the rubber game between the A’s and the Padres on Wednesday afternoon. The Padres had taken the first game of the series on Monday, while the A’s responded with a 10-4 victory on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s matchup featured Osvaldo Bido on the mound for the A’s, facing Randy Vasquez for the Padres. Both pitchers delivered strong performances, but the A’s offense struggled significantly, managing only two hits and ultimately losing the series finale, 2-1.

The A’s got on the scoreboard first in the second inning when Luis Urias hit a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing home Shea Langeliers. Initially, Langeliers was ruled out at the plate, but after a quick review, the call was overturned, awarding the A’s the early 1-0 lead.

San Diego responded swiftly in the third inning, as Oscar Gonzales drove in Xander Bogaerts on a sacrifice fly, tying the game at 1-1. The Padres scored again in the fifth inning with another sac-fly, this time by Gavin Sheets, bringing in Bogaerts once more. That 2-1 lead would stand for the remainder of the game, as the Padres’ pitching silenced the A’s bats.

Despite the loss, Bido pitched reasonably well for Sacramento, throwing five innings and allowing two runs on nine hits while striking out five. Although the nine hits appear problematic, many resulted from soft contact that found gaps in the defense. On the Padres’ side, Randy Vasquez was effective over five innings, giving up just one run on a single hit with three walks and one strikeout.

Offensively, the A’s struggled throughout, producing just two hits and one run in the entire game. They’ll have a chance to regroup with an off day on Thursday before facing the New York Mets at Sutter Health Park on Friday night at 7:05 PM PST. Mets starting pitcher RHP Griffin Canning (0-1 ERA 2.79) for the A’s JP Sears 1-1 ERA 3.46.

With this loss, the A’s fell to 5-8 on the year, while the Padres improved their early-season record to 10-3.

Note: Jacob Wilson continued his impressive start to the 2025 season, recording another hit on Wednesday and extending his hitting streak to 13 games.

Yaz walks it off, as Giants overcome their 2025 kryptonite with thrilling 8-6 comeback win over Reds

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San Francisco Giant Casey Schmitt (10) gives teammate Mike Yastrzemski (left) the Gatorade shower after Yastrzemski’s walk off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Apr 9, 2025 (San Francisco Giants X photo)

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Oracle Park

Cincinnati Reds 6 (5-8)

San Francisco Giants 8 (9-3)

Win: Erik Miller (1-0)

Loss: Emilio Pagan (0-1)

Time: 2:41

Attendance: 35,186

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants avoided the sweep with a thrilling come-from-behind win, as they came back from down 6-1 to beat the Reds 8-6 on a 10th-inning walk-off home run by Mike Yastrzemski

The Reds have seemed to be the Giants’ kryptonite early this season. They shut out the Giants in the first two games of this series, and they have been responsible for all three of the Giants’ losses so far this season.’

Wednesday, the Giants not only needed a win to avoid the sweep, but they needed a win to avoid having a three-game snide going into what is going to be a tough road trip through New York and Philadelphia.

Justin Verlander made his third start of the season, and he was hoping to fare better than he did in his last start in the home opener against the Mariners on Friday, in which he only lated two and a third innings.

We got vintage Verlander over the first two innings, as he retired the first six men he faced, and struck out the side in the top of the second inning. He struck out four in total over the first two innings

However, in the top of the third, it was a different story. After getting Spencer Steer to pop out to second for the first out of the inning, things got rough for Verlander. It started with a walk to Jake Fraley, who was the first base-runner for either team. Former Giant Austin Wynn then singled to left field to put runners on first and second with one out for the top of the Reds’ lineup.

TJ Friedl came up and hit a double off the bricks in right, which knocked in Fraley for the first run of the game, and got Wynns over to third. Santiago Espinal reached on a swinging bunt to third, and that brought up the Reds’ exciting young phenom, Elly De La Cruz.

Of course De La Cruz had to do damage, as he hit a chopper over LaMonte Wade Jr. at first down the right field line for a two-bagger, and that scored a pair to make it 3-0. Former Dodger Gavin Lux then hit a ground ball off the glove of the diving second-baseman, Tyler Fitzgerald, who along with the rest of the infield was playing in, and another two runs scored to make it 5-0.

Reds’ starter Nick Martinez also set down the first six hitters he faced. The Giants finally got in the hit column with a two-out double by Fitzgerald in the bottom of the third, but Wade grounded out to first to end the inning.

The Giants finally got on the board for the first time in this series in the bottom of the fourth. Willy Adames drew a lead-off walk, and Jung Hoo Lee brought him in with a triple down the right field line to make it 5-1. The Giants had a golden opportunity to get right back into this game, but Lee was thrown out at the plate on a ground ball off the bat of Heliot Ramos, and they had to settle for just the run.

The good news was that there were still five innings of baseball left, and the Giants have had a propensity for coming back here in the early part of the season.

Meanwhile, Verlander settled back down and threw two more 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth. The Reds would get one more run off Verlander in the top of the sixth, though it came on a walk to Wynns issued by Lou Trivino, who had just come into the game for Verlander.

Despite giving up six runs over five and two thirds innings, Verlander was fairly strong. If you take out the ugly top of the third, he was frankly dominant. Nothing said that more than his nine strikeouts, and no one believed it more than his skipper, Bob Melvin.

“[Verlander was] incredibly unlucky,” said Melvin. “His stuff was good the whole game today. I don’t think there was one ball hit [other than] Frito’s ball. To be able to finish the inning was huge.”

It was only a matter of time before the Giants would stage a rally to get back into the game. Even when they were shut out in the first two games of this series, they never gave up and kept hitting the ball hard.

That rally would come in the bottom of the sixth. Lee singled to right to lead off the inning. Matt Chapman and Heliot Ramos both struck out, but Mike Yastrzemski lined a double to right to move Lee over to third. A wild pitch from Martinez made it 6-2, and then Wilmer Flores lined a base hit the other way to right to make it 6-3 and put the Giants right back in the game.

Left-hander Taylor Rogers was summoned by Reds Manager Terry Francona to try and put out the fire. Rogers was greeted by his former battery mate, Patrick Bailey, who lined a triple to right to make it 6-4. Tyler Fitzgerald then lined an opposite-field base-hit to right to make it 6-5.

Randy Rodriguez held down the fort with a scoreless top of the seventh, and then the Giants wasted a leadoff double by Lee in the bottom of the seventh. By the way, for those of you keeping track, that was the third leg of the cycle for Lee. The only leg missing was the home run.

The other Rogers twin, Tyler, struck out the side in a 1-2-3 top of the eighth for the Giants. The first man to strike out in the inning was Will Benson, who took home the golden sombrero with his fourth strikeout in his 2025 debut.

Wilmer Flores then stepped in against Tony Santillan to lead off the bottom of the eighth, and on the very first pitch, Flores tied the game with a home run down the left field line. It was Wilmer’s fifth home run of the year, and he now has more home runs just two weeks into this season than he had all of last season.

Melvin brought in his closer, Ryan Walker, who threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth. Ian Gibaut did the same for Cincinnati in the bottom of the ninth, and we were going to extras for some Manfred Ball.

Erik Miller survived the ghost runner in the top of the tenth, and the Giants looked to win the game against Emilio Pagan in the bottom of the tenth. Heliot Ramos moved Chapman, who was the Giants’ ghost runner to third, and that brought up Mike Yastrzemski.

It turns out the Giants would not even need the ghost runner, as Yastrzemski launched the first pitch he saw into McCovey Cove to win it, and the Comeback Kids did it again. For Yastrzemski, it was his fifth-career walk-off home run, and his third into the water.

The Giants are now 9-3, and they got the massive win they needed going into what is going to be a tough three-city road trip through the Bronx, Philadelphia and Anaheim.

“It’s amazing, [and] about as much as I’ve ever had on the baseball field right now,” said Yastrzemski. “[It’s] an unbelievable group. Even when things got tough the last two days where we didn’t score any runs, we’re still here having fun. We’re smiling, we’re not letting [the losses] affect us, and I think that these are learning curves even for veteran guys. You see how hard it is to win a big league game, and we need to enjoy it every time we do.”

Erik Miller got the win, and Emilio Pagan took the loss.

The Giants have gotten off to this 9-3 start against three solid teams, and they will now be tested against two powerhouses in the Yankees and Phillies in their ballparks. This weekend will be a battle of old school baseball and new age analytics, as the Giants and their pitching staff will be up against Jazz Chisholm, Anthony Volpe, Giancarlo Stanton and the other Yankees using the abomination known as the torpedo bat.

The Giants will begin the road trip on Friday night at Yankee Stadium with left-hander Robby Ray (2-0, 3.18 ERA) on the mound. Opposing Ray for the Yankees will be Marcus Stroman (0-0, 7.27 ERA). First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. in the Bronx, and 4:05 p.m PDT in San Francisco.

Giants News and Notes:

Yastrzemski walk-off was the 106th splash hit in the history of Oracle Park, and the fifth walk-off splash hit.

Barry Bonds hit the first off of left-hander Ray King of the Braves at then-Pacific Bell Park on Aug. 19, 2003. Brandon Crawford did so against the Rockies on April 13, 2014, and Yastrzemski hit his other two, both against the Padres, on July 29, 2020 and June 19, 2023.

SF Giants game wrap: Lodolo and Reds shutout Giants for second night in row in 1-0 win

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Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Lodolo (40) delivers to the San Francisco Giants line up at Oracle Park on Tue Apr 8, 2025 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

By Lewis Rubman

Cincinnati (5-7). 001 000 000. 1. 8 1

San Francisco (8-3).000 000 000. 0 4 0

Time: 2:05

Attendance:30,261

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–For the second night in a row, the fans at Oracle Park were treated to a nail-biter of a pitchers’ duel. I was going to call it a classical one, but that would have required that both pitchers stay in the game for more than six innings. But you take what you get, and Tuesday night’s five moundsmen gave us plenty, a Cincy’s Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft, and Emilio Pagán combined to defeat San Francisco’s Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong, 1-0.

Lodolo, who earned his second win and one setback allowed three hits, a walk, and a balk over six frames, brought his ERA down to 0.96. He threw 87 pitches, 51 of which were balls, to the 23 batters he faced. Ashcraft took care of the Giants in the next two frames, surrendering a leadoff single to Sam Huff in the eighth before he was erased by Héliot Ramos hitting into a U4-3 double play. The Reds’ righty reliever then fanned Willly Adames. Pagán set Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, and Wilmer Flores down in order, to earn his second save of the season.

Roupp calls Logan Webb, the tough luck loser of Monday’s razor thin loss to the Rhinelanders, his best friend on the team. The rookie, who hails from Rocky Mount, NC, the home of Hall of Famer Buck Leonard, had nothing to be ashamed of in his performance, gave up the visitors’ only tally.

It came in the top of third on a lead off double by Spencer Steer, who advanced to third on Jake Fraley’s single to center, and scored on TJ Friedle’s ground out to third. The young hurler allowed seven safeties, chalked up four strike outs, and didn’t walk anyone, He left with a record of 0-1, 3.60. Birdsong threw three shutout innings, in which he walked one and struck out two. He has yet to give up an earned run this season.

The Giants will try to salvage one game of this series 12:45 tomorrow, Wednesday, afternoon. Nick Martínez (0-2,5.91) will go against fellow righty Justin Verlander (0-0,6.14).

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Ex-A’s pitcher Dotel dies from roof collapse; LA’s Ohtani on a roll falls a double short of cycle; plus more news

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Former St Louis Cardinal pitcher Octavio Dotel deals in the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers in game 5 of the 2011 World Series on Oct 24, 2011 at the Ballpark in Arlington. Dotel was killed when a roof collapsed on him at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic on Tue Apr 8, 2025 (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Octavio Dotel a former Oakland A’s pitcher and who pitched in the Major Leagues for 13 different team pitched for 15 years and had won a world championship for the St Louis Cardinals died today when a roof collapsed at a nightclub in Octavio’s native Dominican Republic. Dotel was attending a merengue concert. Dotel was 51. Dotel pitched for Oakland during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

#2 Nothing can wrong for the Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani, he’s on his way back to pitching again and his throwing sessions have looked good. His hitting hasn’t lost a step on Monday night he missed the cycle by needing just a double.

#3 The Toronto Blue Jays have to be relieved and thrilled to have signed Vladimir Guerrero Jr to a 14 year $500 million. So far Guerrero is hitting .279, has four RBIs and 12 hits. No doubt this is the signing that both the Jays and Vlad Jr had been waiting on.

#4 Albert Suarez the Baltimore Orioles reliever was moved to the 60 day IL due to a shoulder issue the Orioles announced on Monday. Suarez a right hander has pitched in only one game when he threw for 2 2/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 28th. O’s manager Brandon Hyde said Suarez could be out for months and that it’s unfortunate news.

#5  Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli got tossed for arguing a pitched that was called for a clock violation. Twins pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson was pitching against the Kansas City Royals when umpire Nic Lentz called the violation. There were two out in the sixth when Richardson stepped off the pitchers mound and was tapping his ear trying to indicate that he couldn’t hear his PitchCom. Lentz then ruled the pitch clock had run out and called a ball. Baldelli argued he wanted time out to have Richardson’s PitchCom earphone checked and Lentz was not having it and tossed Baldelli.

#6 Amaury, it was a pitchers duel between the Cincinnati Reds Hunter Greene and the San Francisco Giants Logan Webb. Greene was one out away in the last of the ninth from a complete game but none the less got the win and got a shutout against one of the most potent line ups in baseball defeat San Francisco 2-0. Greene had given up four hits.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

San Francisco Giants podcast Michael Duca: Reds Greene was just unhittable against Giants on Monday

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Cincinnati Reds starter Hunter Greene (right) leaves the mound after missing a complete game by one batter against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco. (AP News photo)

On SF Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene pitched himself a gem on Monday night at Oracle Park going 8.2 innings, four hits, no runs, seven strike outs and one walk.

#2 Greene came one out from completing the game and it was an classic National League pitching duel between Greene and San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb both All Stars.

#3 This Giants line up are one of the best offenses in MLB they came in winning eight of their last nine games and it seemed like no one was going to stop them. But Michael isn’t you who came up with the phrase good pitching beats good hitting everytime?

#4 The Giants had that good run with a seven game win streak and it had shades of a team put together from the days of those post season teams of 2010-2014 how do you compare them?

#5 Reds and Giants get after it again tonight here at Oracle Park. Starting pitcher for the Reds Nick Lodolo 1-1 ERA 1.42 he’ll match up against the Giants starter Landen Roupp 0-0 ERA 6.75 for a 6:45pm first pitch. Talk about how you see this match up and who do you like in this one?

Michael Duca is a MLB podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Good pitching by Reds Greene snaps SF’s 7 game win streak in 2-0 shutout

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Cincinnati Reds starter Hunter Greene threw a gem against the San Francisco Giants and was one out away from a complete game at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon Apr 7, 2025 (AP News photo)

Cincinnati (4-7)            000 000 020    2  5   0

San Francisco (8-2)     000 000 000    0  4   0

Time: 2:09             Attendance: 30,328

Monday, April 7, 2025

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Don’t look now, but your San Francisco Giants took the field this chilly Monday evening leading the National League western division. They’ve even been getting hits with runners in score position, if you’re willing to overlook that 11 inning marathon of frustration that was last Friday’s Alphonse and Gaston routine against the Mariners. 

But there weren’t all that many Giant baserunners to be stranded in Monday night’s 2-0 loss to  the Cincinnati Reds . The home team left a total of five on base for the game, three of them in the ninth, and the first of them got on with two outs. 

Logan Webb, Esef’s starting and winning pitcher in their Great American Ballpark season opener on March 27, shut out the Rhinelanders for seven innings by the shores of McCovey Cove, holding them to four hits without granting them a free pass but notching seven Ks. 66 of his pitches qualified as strikes. His performance lowered his ERA to 1.89.

Logan was followed by Camilo Doval, who promptly walked Spencer Steel and plunked Jacob Hurtubise, a last minute replacement for Jake Fraley. José Treviño laid down a sacrifice bunt,  and that was it for the Giants’ one time ballyhooed closer.

Erik Miller walked TJ Friedl to load the bases. Blake Dunn smacked a double into the right field corner, driving in Spencer and Hurtubise with what proved to be the only tallies of the game. Miller then wisely granted Elly De La Cruz an intentional walk and retired Gavin on a called third strike.  At this point, Lou Trivino replaced Miller and ended the inning by getting Christian Encarnacion-Strand to fly out to right.

San Francisco made a valiant attempt to bounce back in the home half of the ninth. LaMonte Wade, Jr., and Willy Adames went down quickly. But 이정후, known to Giant fans as Jung Hoo Lee, extended his base reaching stretch to niine games with a single to right center, which, along with  two brilliant catches, one in the first and another in the fifth, were bright spots in an otherwise disappointing night for the Gints. A walk to Matt Chapman put the potential tying run on a base, and drove the Redleg starter, Hunter Greene, from that mound. Tony Santillán retired Héctor Ramos on a line drive to left to end it all.

Greene got the well deserved win, bringing his record to 1-1,1.32. He toiled 8-2/3 frames and threw 104 pitches, 76 for strikes, allowing but four hits, one walk, and a wild pitch, while striking out seven opponents. One of those four hits was the 100th of Tyler Fitzgerald’s big league career.

Tuesday, the teams will pick up where they left off, in the second game of this three game series. Reds Southpaw Nick  Lodolow (1-1 ERA 1.42) will be on the bump for the Reds, and righty Landon Roupp (0-0,6.75) will toe the rubber for the Giants.

Soderstrom hits two HRs, but A’s just short of first Sacramento win in 5-4 loss to Padres

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Sacramento A’s Lawrence Butler (4) swings for an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento on Mon Apr 7, 2025 (AP News photo)

Monday, April 7, 2025

Sutter Health Park

San Diego Padres 5 (3-7)

Sacramento Athletics 4 (8-1)

Win: Michael King (2-0)

Loss: Luis Severino (0-2)

Save: Robert Suarez (5)

Time: 2:19

Attendance: 9,502

By Stephen Ruderman

WEST SACRAMENTO–The A’s came up just short Monday night, as despite two home runs by Tyler Soderstrom, the San Diego Padres came in and beat the A’s by a final of 5-4 in the series opener at Sutter Health Park.

After getting swept in their first home series against the Cubs last week, the A’s took two out of three in Denver against the Rockies. Now they returned to their rental home looking for their first win in Sacramento with the San Diego Padres making their first trip to the state capital.

There wouldn’t be any better night for the A’s first home win. Their ace, Luis Severino, was on the mound, and it was an absolutely-gorgeous night in what is truly a major league-caliber area in Sacramento.

Things wouldn’t start easy for Severino and the A’s in the top of the first inning. Luis Arraez and Manny Machado hit back-to-back doubles with one out to give the Padres a quick 1-0 lead. Jake Croenworth then came up and hit a two-run home run, much to the delight of the Padres fans who had made the trek up north from San Diego, to make it 3-0.

Michael King made the start for San Diego, and he had to battle his way through a rocky first two innings. The A’s were unable to do anything with a pair of walks in the bottom of the first, and then they wasted an opportunity with runners at first and second with one out in the bottom of the second.

Severino appeared to have settled down with a 1-2-3 top of the second, but the Padres tacked on another run off him in the top of the third. Arraez singled with one out, and then Machado shot a double into the gap in right-center to make it 4-0.

The A’s would get on the board with two outs in the bottom of the third when Tyler Soderstrom gulfed a line-drive home run to the A’s bullpen in right. After a 1-2-3 inning by Severino in the top of the fourth, the A’s were ready to do more in the bottom of the fourth.

Miguel Andujar reached on an infield hit to start the bottom of the fourth, and Jacob Wilson followed that up with a base-hit to right to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Gio Urshela flew out to right, but Max Muncy lined a double to left that scored Andujar to make it 4-2. Lawrence Butler then reached on an infield hit to third to make it a one-run game at 4-3.

The A’s had the tying run at third with one out, but they were unable to tie it. Brent Rooker was caught looking at a sinker at the knees after fouling off three-straight two-strike pitches for the second out, and Soderstrom lined out to second.

Severino pitched a pair of scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth, and then Fernando Tatis Jr. made it a 5-3 game with an absolute bomb over the top of what I assume is the A’s new clubhouse out in left. Despite giving up five runs, Severino went seven innings.

King, meanwhile, pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, and he was pulled following a two-out infield hit by Manny Machado in the bottom of the sixth. Adrian Morejon then struck Butler out on three pitches to end the inning.

Jeremiah Estrada came in for San Diego in the bottom of the seventh, and with one out, Soderstrom hit his second home run of the night to get the run right back and make it 5-4. It went almost to the same spot as his first home run back in the third. Unlike his first home run, however, this one hung up a bit higher, and it went to the grass just behind the A’s bullpen.

That would do it for the scoring. Angel Perdomo pitched a scoreless top of the eighth for the cityless team, and Jason Adam did the same for San Diego in the bottom of the eighth. Perdomo pitched another scoreless inning in the top of the ninth, and Robert Suarez came in to pick up his fifth save with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.

Michael King got the win, and Luis Severino, despite his valiant effort Monday night, was saddled with the loss.

The A’s fall to 4-7, and are now 0-4 at their rental home in West Sac.

The A’s will have another chance to pick up their first Sacramento win on what should be another beautiful evening for baseball Tuesday night. Dylan Cease (1-0, 3.38 ERA) will take the ball for San Diego tomorrow night, and Sacramento will counter with the lefty, Jeffrey Springs (2-2, 3.27 ERA).

First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m.

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Wilmer and Giants sweep Mariners and are in first place and off to 8-1 start with 5-4 walk-off win

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San Francisco Giants hitter Wilmer Flores (right) swings for walk off single in the bottom of the ninth inning as Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (left) looks on at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun Apr 6, 2025 (AP News photo)

Sunday, April 6, 2025

Oracle Park

Seattle Mariners 4 (3-7)

San Francisco Giants 5 (8-1)

Win: Camilo Doval (1-0)

Loss: Gregory Santos (0-1)

Time: 2:43

Attendance: 41,060

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants won their seventh their seventh in a row and swept the Mariners with a 5-4 win, as Wilmer Flores pinch-hit and won the game with a walk-off base-hit to right-center field, which staked the Giants to an 8-1 start and first place in the National League West.

Aaron Hicks, who is back in the rotation for the start of this season, took the mound for his second start. Hicks got Victor Robles to ground out to Willy Adames at short to start the game. However, with one out, Julio Rodriguez came to the plate, and just as he did with one out in the top of the first inning Friday, J-Rod hit a home run to give the Mariners an early 1-0 lead. However, this one was a no-doubter, unlike the cheapie he hit in the first inning on Friday.

Bryan Woo took the mound for the Mariners, and the Giants were unable to make anything of a two-out, two-strike double by Jung Hoo Lee in the bottom of the first. Aaron Hicks had to wiggle his way out of a two-out rally in the top of the second, and Woo threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second.

Cal Raleigh hit a home run of his own in the top of the third to make it 2-0, and after another 1-2-3 inning by Woo in the bottom of the third, there were some people who thought it was going to be one of those days for the Giants. However, these are the 2025 Giants, and as they would quickly see, today would not be one of those days.

Hicks finally settled down with a 1-2-3 top of the fourth, and Willy Adames led off the bottom of the fourth with a base-hit to left-center. You could definitely feel that the Giants were a-coming. after Adames’ base-hit. Lee took another nice two-strike swing for a base-hit to left, and the Giants were in business with runners at first and second with nobody out.

Matt Chapman flew out to right, but Heliot Ramos lined a base-hit to right that knocked in Adames and put the Giants on the board. Mike Yastrzemski came up and hit a home run to left-center, and just like that, the Giants were ahead 4-2.

Hicks followed that up with a scoreless top of the fifth. Adames helped with an incredible play to his left to take away a base-hit from J-Rod with one out.

The Mariners got runners to first and second with one out against Hicks in the top of the sixth, and Bob Melvin went to Randy Rodriguez. Ryan Bliss came up and lined a base-hit to left, and Luke Raley scored to make it 4-3. Unfortunately, to compound matters, the throw from left-fielder Luis Matos skipped off the glove of Patrick Bailey, which put the tying and go-ahead runs both in scoring position with just one out.

However, Rodriguez was not fazed, as he got out of the inning with the Giants still ahead. As for Hicks, he went five and a third, while giving up three runs and six hits. He walked one and struck out five.

Woo ended his day with a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth. He gave up four runs and five hits, and he walked one and struck out six.

Tyler Rogers came in for the seventh, which was a bit surprising considering all five of his previous appearances came in the eighth inning. However, it was no problem for Rogers, who threw a 1-2-3 inning.

After Carlos Vargas pitched a scoreless inning for Seattle in the bottom of the seventh, the lefty, Erik Miller, was summoned by Melvin for the top of the eighth. Former Giant Donovan Solano and Mitch Garver both hit base-hits to start the inning, and the Mariners were in business right away Not to worry, however, as an infield fly and a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Bliss took Miller out of the inning unscathed.

Eduard Bazardo threw a scoreless bottom of the eighth, and with the fact that Giants closer Ryan Walker had pitched the last two days, it was old closer Camilo Doval who got the ball for the ninth.

Victor Robles singled the other way to left with one out, and he got to second on a ground out by J-Rod. Melvin elected to intentionally walk Raleigh to get to the 2-for-13 Randy Arozarena. Doval got Arozarena to a 2-2 count, but Arozarena was able to beat a good slider at the bottom of the zone and line a double down the left field line to tie the game.

Doval got beat on a good pitch, and after the rough outings he had last season that led him to lose the closer’s job, it wasn’t unreasonable to fear that a big inning would be coming from the Mariners, especially after a walk to Miles Mastrobuoni. Doval then got Mitch Garver to pop out to third, and the game stayed tied 4-4 going to the bottom of the ninth, where the Giants were in a perfect position for another walk-off win.

Mariners Manager Dan Wilson brought in Gregory Santos for the bottom of the ninth. Santos walked Yastrzemski on four pitches to start the inning, and he fell behind 2-0 to Matos. After taking a strike, Matos reached on a fielder’s choice.

Patrick Bailey came up, and things were about to go nuts. Bailey hit a towering fly ball down the right field line that this writer thought was going to be a walk-off bomb into the water from his view in the press box. While it came close to clearing the 24-foot-high Willie Mays wall in right, Mariners’ right-fielder Victor Robles ran like the wind to his left to make a spectacular catch, as he went hard up against the netting and tumbled back into play.

Robles was down and in severe pain. He rolled the ball back towards the infield, which allowed Matos to advance 180 feet all the way to third. Trainers from both teams came out to check on Robles, who held his left arm in agony as he was carted off the field on a stretcher.

While Robles was being tended to, Melvin challenged whether it was a catch, but it was confirmed that Robles’ feet were over the field of play as he caught the ball. The Mariners then challenged that Robles had gone out of play after the catch, which was quite clear. As a result, Ramos was sent back to second, as a fielder going out of play after a catch is only a one-base award.

The loss of 90 feet would not be an issue. Wilmer Flores pinch-hit for Christian Koss, and he lined a base-hit to right-center that easily scored Matos to win it.

The Giants are now off to just their fifth 8-1 start in franchise history, and their second in San Francisco. The other was their wire-to-wire 100-win season of 2003, a season that ended quite painfully might I add.

Camilo Doval should have been rewarded for his slider with a strikeout and the save, but Arozarena had other plans. Instead, Doval was rewarded with his first win of the year, Gregory Santos took the loss.

Terry Francona’s Cincinnati Reds will come into town for three games starting tomorrow night. The Giants took two out of three from the Redlegs to start the season in Cincinnati, and they will hope for the same magic and success this week in their own ballpark.

It will be an opening day rematch on the mound in the series opener tomorrow night. Giants’ ace Logan Webb (1-0, 3.00 ERA) will get the start, and he will be opposed by Reds’ right-hander Hunter Greene (0-1, 2.25 ERA). First pitch will be at 6:45 p.m., which has been the custom for night games on mondays through thursdays at Oracle Park since 2019, but six years later, I am still not used to it.

Oh yeah, before I forget, the Giants are first place. Have a good day, folks!