Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Giants look to end skid tonight in Miami; A’s jets are cooled drop second straight game after long win streak

Photo credit: @sfgiants_fanly

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 The San Francisco Giants have now lost six straight games. The latest loss was on Tuesday night in Miami where they were crushed by the hosts, the Miami Marlins, 11-3. The Marlins did most of their damage with four runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth.

#2 The Oakland A’s gave it their all, but couldn’t get their 11th straight win as the LA Angles scored twice in the top of the ninth to get a two-run lead over the A’s at the Oakland Coliseum in a 6-4 Angels win. The A’s took another loss for the second straight loss to the Angels on Wednesday afternoon 12-7 in extra innings.

#3 The San Jose Earthquakes are 5-2-6. They have won three out of their last four games and are on the road to face the DC United. The Quakes have a confidence about them that you didn’t see before.

#4 The NBA Finals are coming on Thursday night. The Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors will battle in Toronto in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

#5 The Boston Bruins and St Louis Blues played some old fashion physical hockey in Game 1 on Monday night at TD Waterhouse Garden. The Blues were up by two goals until the Bruins’ Sean Kuraly scored a third period goal to snap a tie and assisted on another goal to help the B’s get a 4-2 win. The Blues and B’s battle again tonight in Boston for Game 2.

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

Giants routed by Marlins 11-3; SF lost 6 straight

Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

Once again, the San Francisco Giants gave up double digits in runs and the game slipped in a nutshell.

Jorge Alfaro and Garrett Cooper each hit three-run home runs, as the Miami Marlins defeated the Giants 11-3 at Marlins Park.

The Alfaro and Cooper three-run blasts were the first three-run home runs by the Marlins during the 2019 season.

This was the third time in four games that the Giants have allowed at least 10 runs in a game, and have lost six in a row.

Over their last four games, the Giants have been outscored 45-11 and are a season-high 11 games under .500.

Joe Panik gave the Giants a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as he hit the first pitch of the game off of Trevor Richards for a solo home run.

Following the Panik home run, Richards settled down, as he ended up going seven innings, allowing just one run on two hits and the Marlins have won eight out of their last 11 games.

Alfaro blew the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he hit a three-run home run and then Cooper put the Marlins in double figures, when he smashed his three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Thru their first 51 games of the season, the Marlins did not hit a three-run home run and ended the night with two.

Rosell Herrera closed out the scoring for the Marlins in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he hit a pinch-hit home run, his first home run of the season.

All of the Marlins first seven runs came with two outs, as the Marlins are now 10-4 since 2017 against the Giants.

Jeff Samardzija lost for the third time in a row, as he saw his record fall to 2-4 on the season. Samardzija gave up a season-high five earned runs in four innings of work, tying his shortest start of 2019.

NOTES: Nick Vincent was forced to leave the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with a trainer.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner heads to the mound on Wednesday, as he looks for his fourth win of the season. Thus far in the month of May, Bumgarner is 2-0 in five starts and on the season, has walked only 13 and struck out 70.

Pablo Lopez will his first ever start against the Giants on Wednesday, as he looks to improve his record up to 4-5. On the season, Lopez is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in four home starts during 2019.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Bochy says it’s the worst season he’s seen in awhile

@BruceBochy file photo: San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy says this has been the worst season in awhile for the struggling Giants, who are on a five-game losing streak.

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the San Francisco Giants. The basics: no hitting and no pitching. Manager Bruce Bochy says its the worst season he’s seen in awhile.

#2 Up and down the lineup, they’re just not getting the hitting or run support from Joe Panik .245, Steve Duggar .242, Buster Posey .252,Brandon Belt .229, Evan Longoria .225, and Brandon Crawford .200.

#3 The Giants have also been lacking in their pitching help. For example, starters Drew Pomeranz, Andrew Suarez, and Shaun Anderson have pitched 11 2/3 innings and allowed 20 runs

#4 One item that has been discussed is local businesses have struggled near the ballpark. Merchants have said business has been down by half or worse and some say no one is coming into their business.

#5 Giants have a much-needed day off before heading to Florida. Starting for SF, Jeff Samardzija (2-3, 3.27 ERA) vs. the Marlins Trevor Richards (1-5, 4.14 ERA).

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

D-Backs break out broom on Giants

Photo credit: @carskelly

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — This will be a series that the San Francisco Giants will want to put behind them, and look forward to hitting the road.

Ketel Marte hit a solo home run off of Shaun Anderson in the top of the first, and then Eduardo Escobar scored on a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones and the Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Giants after a 6-2 victory before a crowd of 37,017 at Oracle Park.

This was the first sweep by the Diamondbacks over the Giants in San Francisco since June 12-14, 2015.

In the three-game series, the Giants were outscored by the Diamondbacks 34-8.

If you’re going to look now (on Memorial Day weekend), now’s the time. That’s the worst series of the year. I can’t remember one where we had three consecutive games with that kind of baseball we just played. Starters had a hard time getting the ball where they wanted. Anderson (pitch location) was up early, he finally made an adjustment. But along with the hits, the mistakes he made. Now you throw in bad defense and that’s a recipe for what happened today. You know that’s three games where we just played our worst ball, said Bruce Bochy.

Escobar singled following the Marte home run, advanced to second on an Anderson wild pitch and then scored on the Jones sacrifice fly.

Buster Posey got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the first inning, as he doubled in Joe Panik, who led off the inning with a double that came up feet short of Paniks third home run of the season.

Nick Ahmed started off the second inning by singling, stole second and went to third, when Andersons pitch got by Posey. After a Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt and Ahmed, when Anderson failed to look Ahmed back to third base.

Jarrod Dyson got in on the act, as he singled in Kelly. Following the Dyson single, Marte drove in his second run of the game, as he singled, went to second on the throw and when the throw hit the third base bag, Dyson scored easily from third base.

Weaver picked up his fourth win of the season, as he went five innings, allowing one run on six hits, walking two and striking out six, before leaving the game with tightness in his right arm.

Anderson went five innings, as he gave up six runs (four of them earned) on nine hits, walking one and striking out one and lost for the first time in his major-league career.

It was a huge day at the plate for rookie Mike Yastrzemski, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored; however, he will be best remembered for what happened on his first major league hit. Yastrzemski wandered too far off of first base, and as he attempted to get back to first base, he was thrown out by left fielder Blake Swihart.

In comparison, it took Yastrzemskis grandfather, Hall of Famer Carl, 10 games to notch his first three-hit game in the majors. The 21-year old Yastrzemski picked up his first three-hit game on April 29, 1961 for the Boston Red Sox against the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium.

Sam Coonrod made his major-league debut, as he pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

NOTES: With the 34 runs scored in the series, the Diamondbacks broke their team record of 32 for most runs in a three-game series on the road. The previous record was set from June 3-5, 2014 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The 34 runs tied a team record that was set at Chase Field from September 12-14, 2016 against the Rockies.

This was the second time this season that the Giants have been swept at home, as the New York Yankees swept the Giants from April 26-28.

Overall, the Giants have lost 14 out of their last 20 games at Oracle Park.

To make room for Coonrod on the roster, the Giants optioned Saturdays starter, Andrew Suarez to Triple-A Sacramento.

Posey picked up his 13th double of the season, giving him 259 in his career, which is fourth all-time in SF history. The late Willie McCovey is third all-time with 308 doubles during his two stints with the Giants.

UP NEXT: After an off-day on Monday, the Giants begin a three-city, nine-day road trip on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.

Jeff Samardzija will take the mound for the Giants, while Trevor Richards will open the series for the Marlins.

D-Backs drop a 10 spot on the Giants

Photo credit: @Dbacks

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — If you thought the Arizona Diamondbacks scored enough to score to be all scored out, you are watching the wrong game.

Ildemaro Vargas reached on a fielding error by Pablo Sandoval that allowed Ketel Marte to score from third base, and then Kevin Cron hit a sacrifice fly to Kevin Pillar that saw Pillar fly in the air like Superman, got up and threw to Joe Panik, who in turn threw to Brandon Belt for the double play; however, Vargas was originally as no across the plate in time. Torey Lovullo challenged the call and it was reserved, as that would be all the runs that the D-Backs would need on their way to 10-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants before a crowd of 31,531 at Oracle Park.

“It’s bad baseball, there’s no getting around it,” said Bruce Bochy.

This was the first time that the D-backs scored at least 10 or more runs in back-to-back games since September 20, 2017 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, and then two days later against the Miami Marlins on September 22 at Chase Field.

As for the Giants, it was not as long, as they gave 10 or more runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 29 and 30 of 2018.

Andrew Suarez helped out his cause in the bottom of the second inning, as he legged out an infield single that allowed Brandon Belt to score from third base. That run batted in by Suarez would account for the Giants only run on the afternoon until Evan Longoria walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning that scored Mike Yastrzemski, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning.

Yastrzemski, who is the grandson of Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame left fielder Carl Yastrzemski was recalled from Sacramento and to make room for Yastrzemski, the Giants designated Mac Williamson for assignment.

In his debut, Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with a hit by a pitch, as he started in left field before moving to center field in the top of the eighth inning.

Things went from bad to worse for the Giants, as the D-Backs scored eight runs between the third and fifth innings to blow the game wide open.

It was a tough day for Suarez, who went four innings, allowing nine runs (seven of them earned), walked three and struck out four, also threw two wild pitches and allowed a home run and fell to 0-2 on the season.

The nine runs allowed by Suarez were a career-high, breaking the previous mark of eight that was set on August 4, 2018 against the D-Backs at Chase Field.

Tyler Clarke went 6.1 innings for the D-Backs, allowing three runs on six hits, walking three and striking out one, as he picked up his first major league win.

Marte hit a home run for the second time in as many games, as it was the second time in his career that he hit home runs in back-to-back games.

NOTES: On the double play that ended the first inning, that was the 16th outfield assist for the Giants this season, which leads the major leagues. The Miami Marlins are second in assists with 12.

Cron picked up his first major league hit and run batted in, as his father Chris Cron, who is the manager of the D-Dbacks Triple-A farm club, Reno Aces, looked on from the crowd.

UP NEXT: Shaun Anderson continues to look for that elusive first major league win, as the former Florida Gators pitcher faces Luke Weaver, who pitched for the Gators rival, the Florida State Seminoles and is looking for fourth win of the season for the D-Backs.

Pomeranz, Giants bitten by Diamondbacks 18-2

Photo credit: @Dbacks

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — If you thought allowing another first inning run to an opponent was nothing new for the San Francisco Giants, just wait to see what happened over the next five innings.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Ildemaro Vargas home run, the Arizona Diamondbacks quickly relinquished that lead, when Austin Slater smashed a two-run home run to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

Unfortunately, that Giants lead would last only one-half inning, as the Diamondbacks scored 17 runs over the next six innings on their way to a 18-2 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 31,777 at Oracle Park.

The win by the Diamondbacks stopped their five-losing streak.

Ketel Marte tied up the game in the top of the second inning, as he singled in Nick Ahmed, who singled to lead off the frame.

Vargas then picked up his second run batted in of the game, as he singled to right field that scored Carson Kelly, who walked after Ahmed singled.

Robbie Ray helped out his own cause in the top of the third inning, as he hit a two-run single that scored Adam Jones and Ahmed.

That third inning would be the end of the line for Drew Pomeranz, as he went 2.2 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, while walking just one and striking out six and lost for the fifth time in six decisions this season.

It was a huge night for Jones, who went 4-for-5 with three runs and three runs batted in before being replaced by Blake Swihart in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Not only was a huge night for Jones, but Ray pitched a good game as well. Ray went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs, five hits, walking two and striking out and won for the fourth time in five decisions.

Ahmed got in on the run batted in parade in the top of the fourth inning, as he walked to Eduardo Escobar; however, the big hit in the inning was a two-run single by Tim Locastro.

The quartet of Marte, Vargas, Escobar and Jones racked up 14 of the 21 Diamondbacks hits on the evening.

Marte ended the night with three hits, Vargas with five, Escobar with two and Jones with four.

Escobar joined the home run parade in the top of the sixth inning, as he smashed a Nick Vincent offering onto the arcade for a three-run home run.

All in all, Vincent went 2.2 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits, and striking out two.

Derek Holland was cruising in the top of the seventh inning, as he got the first two outs; however, then the wheels fell off, as he gave up a single to Kelly, then hit Locastro, then Swihart grounded into a fielders choice that saw Donovan Solano throw the ball into right for another Diamondbacks run.

Marte then got in on the home run derby, as he smashed a Holland pitch into the left field bleachers.

The biggest applause of the night came in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Pablo Sandoval came into the game to pinch hit and promptly singled to right field.

Following the Marte home run, the fans began to chant Let Pablo Pitch, but it did not come to fruition and Holland returned to the mound, much to the chagrin of the remaining fans that hung around.

Zach Godley pitched the final three innings to pick up his second save of the season for the Diamondbacks.

On the other side of things, the usually stellar Giants bullpen was anything but that, as they 13 runs (nine earned) on 13 hits, walked two and struck out six. They also gave up three home runs over the final seven and one-thirds innings.

NOTES: The 18 runs scored by the Diamondbacks are the most by a visiting team in the history of Oracle Park breaking the record of 17 that was set by the Colorado Rockies on May 5, 2016.

Also, the 18 runs scored by the Diamondbacks tied for the second most in team history, and the most ever on the road.

Their 21 hits are also the second most in team history, one shy of the team record that was set on August 24, 2013, when they smashed 22 hits against the Philadelphia Phillies.

UP NEXT: Andrew Suarez makes his second start of the season, as he takes the mound for the Giants on Saturday afternoon. Right-hander Tyler Clarke will toe the rubber for the Diamondbacks, as he looks for that elusive first win of the season

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants’ Williamson and company lacking the hits

Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

On the Giants podcast with Miguel:

#1 What’s off with the Giants’ Mac Williamson swing? He was striking out five times on Thursday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves

#2 Five times they needed that bat of Williamson to make hay in a one-run loss that went 13 innings.

#3 Williamson is trying to make this club and be a main stay. We ask Michael is this a temporary hang up or something that needs a quick fix?

#4 Another bat out of the Giants’ lineup: shortstop Brandon Crawford, who missed Thursday night’s contest due to pink eye.

#5 The Giants opened a three-game series on Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks started Robbie Ray (3-1) and the Giants went with Drew Pomeranz (1-4)

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

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: By trade deadline, you can expect a lot of changes to come to the Giants

photo from nbcsports.com: San Francisco Giants pitcher Shaun Anderson during his second major league outing last Tuesday at Oracle Park. Anderson pitched five innings and gave up eight hits and two runs.

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca:

The San Francisco Giants are everything you would have expected them to be the way the pitching staff has been going were not sure if manager Bruce Bochy could name the five man starting rotation. The Giants are playing to the trade deadline, you can expect a lot of changes to come to this team.

On Tuesday night, for the 27th time in their entire history, they came from behind for a win in the ninth inning and there were 12,000 more people in the ballpark than usual. The Giants were 21-27 after their loss on Wednesday night at Oracle Park. The Giants are desperate for runs they have won eight of their last 10 wins by one run and 13 of 21 wins of one run.

Michael and Morris do the Giants podcasts weekly at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Well Worth the Wait: Braves take first lead in the 13th, beat the Giants 5-4

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — The list of youthful sluggers that have raked in their Oracle Park debuts is growing lengthier.

Yandy Diaz, Gleyber Torres, Aaron Senzel, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and now Austin Riley have all had big games. Consequently,  the Giants win-loss record is suffering.

Riley capped his first trip to San Francisco as a big leaguer with a two-run, game-tying home run in the eighth inning, then topped himself with the game-winning base hit in the 13th inning of the Braves’ 5-4 victory over the Giants.

The homer was Riley’s third in the series, and his fifth in his first eight, big league games. That second feat makes the slugger the fastest to hit his fifth home run in the history of the Braves franchise.

“To be able to do that is an honor,” Riley said. “The last hit was even more special to me because it put the team ahead and got the job done.”

Getting the job done in Riley’s case required driving Reyes Moronta’s 97 mph offering into the right field corner with a swing that was executed with Riley lunging and off balance. That came with two outs, and scored Darby Swanson, running at Moronta’s release, and scoring from first base.

That effectively ended the Giants’ afternoon in which they held 2-0 and 4-2 leads but couldn’t close the door. Adding to their frustration, Madison Bumgarner’s impressive, six innings of work was squandered. The Giants’ ace departed in line for the win.

“We just couldn’t get the bats going later on against their bullpen,” said manager Bruce Bochy.

While Riley showed off a natural swing that belied his age and experience, the Giants flailed. After pinch hitter Tyler Austin homered in the seventh to give the Giants’ a two-run cushion, the home team went scoreless over the final six frames. But more disturbing than the zeros was the quality of the at-bats.

In the eighth, with a runner on, Kevin Pillar and Mac Williamson fanned to end the inning. In the ninth, with two runners aboard, Buster Posey hit a chopper to the third on the first pitch. Pablo Sandoval got his opportunity as a pinch hitter in the ninth, and struck out on a pitch in the dirt.

Continuing the theme, Evan Longoria struck out in the 13th without unleashing a swing, and Williamson fanned five times, prompting questions after the game.

“We’ll talk about it,” Bochy said. “It was a rough day for Mac. I know he’s probably pressing… I can’t say probably. That’s a tough day there. So anyway, we’ll huddle up and see what we can do to add some offense here.”

The Giants open a three-game set with the Diamondbacks on Friday at Oracle Park.

Giants wiped out by nightmarish, second inning in 9-2 loss to the Braves

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Jeff Samardzija threw 107 pitches Wednesday and didn’t allow any earned runs. Not bad.

No, not good. The pitcher’s throwing error that wasn’t turned out to be the portal to a Braves’ six-run, second inning that wiped out the Giants in a flash. Simply, the key juncture in a 9-2 loss that serves as a reminder that these days suffering outweighs prosperity inside the ballpark at 2nd and King streets.

“There are a lot of great things about these shifts but sometimes it does take guys out of the double play position. That’s kind of what happened. It was just a freak thing,” said Samardzija of his gaffe.

With a runner on, and one out, Ozzie Albies hit a grounder that Samardzija fielded with his infielder behind him in a shift, three defenders stationed between first and second base.

Well, shifts are designed to get batters out, not necessarily the best strategy to turn two. So when Samardzija looked to start a double play, he turned to see his experienced third baseman (Evan Longoria) and shortstop (Brandon Crawford) unsure of who would take the pitcher’s throw at second then throw into first. Both infielders froze, Samardzija threw accurately to Longoria, who was nowhere near the bag to retire the advancing Austin Riley.

Both runners were safe on a play that scorekeepers expect to yield an inning-ending double play, saddling the Samardzija with the error, eventhough he threw accurately. Matt Joyce singled to load the bases, then pitcher Max Fried grounded out, scoring Riley.

Ronald Acuna then struck out, but catcher Buster Posey couldn’t corral the wild pitch allowing Acuna to reach. Back-to-back home runs by Darby Swanson and Freddie Freeman were next, and the Braves led 6-0.

Fried, like Mike Soroka who pitched for Atlanta on Monday, has an All-Star resume and presented to the Giants over a six-inning stint. The 25-year old won for a league-leading seventh time, allowing just two runs.

“I didn’t throw strikes as much as I would have liked, but I was obviously picked up big time,” said Fried, who improved to 7-2. “The offense was incredible. It was just a good team win.”

The Braves look to make it three of four over the Giants in Thursday’s matinee finale. Madison Bumgarner will face the Braves’ Kevin Gausman at 12:45 pm.