Tag: San Francisco

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: First time for SF being four games from .500, but not in a good way

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

On the Giants podcast with Michael and Morris:

It’s a red letter day for the San Francisco Giants this is the first day that the Giants have not been within three games above .500. They’re four games below .500. They’ve lost four out of five. They’ve lost four straight. Giants manager Bruce Bochy admitted last week it’s a strong uphill climb.

The Giants are competitors and they’re never going to wave the white flag, but they’re acknowledging the rest of this season is audition time. Remember this is the club that was the only MLB team that didn’t make a move after the All-Star game and before the trade deadline.

The one major move they’ve made is obtaining Austin Jackson from Texas and McCutchen’s move earlier this week to New York. It has been audition time for a while now and one of the things that we’ve been pointing to is how guys are pitching and that the Giants pitcher Reyes Moronta, who came in to relieve on Tuesday night, was touched up by the Rockies.

Join Michael and Morris on the Giants podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants’ skid hits four; drop second game to Rockies 6-2; no pitching relief nor hitting in sight

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Photo credit: @Fawn_Liebowitz

On the Giants podcast with Marko:

Marko talks about the Giants’ tough 4-1 loss at AT&T Park last Sunday versus Noah Syndergaard and the New York Mets. Syndergaard won on his game, striking out a career-high 11 and going the distance and allowing only one Giants run.

The Giants lost to the Colorado Rockies on Monday night to open the series as Giants starter Madison Bumgarner got lit up for eight hits and seven runs (six earned), one walk, and six strikeouts. The Giants made a three-run comeback in the top of the ninth, but came up one short to lose 9-8 it as Rockies closer Wade Davis shut the door.

The Giants, who in the second game of their three-game series with the Rockies, dropped another tough one 6-2 at Coors Field on Tuesday night. The Giants continue the series at Coors Field Wednesday night with Giants starter Andrew Suarez (6-9) against the Rockies’ Antonio Senzatela (4-5).

Marko Ukalovic does the Giants podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers preview: New look 49ers get ready to roll

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mercurynews.com file photo: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo talks with the media on June 13th at Levis Stadium. Garoppolo will start opening day this Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the 49ers prepare to kick off the 2018 regular season, the expectations and the anticipation are completely different from a year before.

Of course, winning the last five games of the previous season, with a new, young quarterback at the helm, has a tendency to raise the excitement a little bit.

That’s what the 49ers are experiencing, as they travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings to start the regular season. Of course, most people know about the acquisition of Jimmy Garoppolo, and the new signal-caller responding by winning the first five games he started for his new team.

But they have also added a few new pieces on defense over the past couple of years, which will add to an improved unit.

There have been a few bumps in the road, however. The 49ers suffered a major setback last week, when running back Jerick McKinnon suffered a torn ACL in practice during a non-contact drill, meaning that the back, whom the team signed this offseason to a four-year contract, will miss the entire 2018 season.

That opens up the opportunities for the other running backs exponentially. Matt Breida and Alfred Morris, whom the 49ers signed in training camp when McKinnon and Breida suffered injuries early on in the preseason, are expected to split the carries early on, but it is unclear who will be the team’s starting tailback.

Second-year linebacker Reuben Foster, who spent some time out of the lineup with a nagging shoulder injury last year, is suspended for the first two games of this season stemming from his domestic-abuse case this spring.

That means guys like Brock Coyle will get more of a chance to see what he can do, particularly when the games count.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Stratton and Syndergaard engage in pitching duel, but Mets’ early hits hand the Giants a loss

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Photo credit: @MLB_News247

On the SF Giants podcast with Morris:

San Francisco Giants starter Chris Stratton on Sunday pitched what would be called a quality start, but Stratton and the Giants lost the game to the New York Mets 4-1. Stratton pitched six innings, two runs, three hits, a walk and two strikeouts.

Stratton gave up a two run-homer to Michael Conforto and a double to Todd Frazier. The Mets’ starter Noah Syndergaard pitched his first complete game and gave up one run and two hits, walked one, and struck out a season-high 11. The Giants start a six-game road trip in Colorado and open up a three-game series in Milwaukee on Friday. Two teams the Giants face that are both in the run for postseason play in a crucial road trip for the Giants, who are trying to get some day light for postseason themselves.

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

Syndergaard throws a gem in Mets’ 4-1 win over Giants

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Photo credit: @genymets

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — With the exception of two bad pitches in the second inning, it was a spectacular pitching performance for Chris Stratton.

Michael Conforto hit a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw from Stratton in the top of the second inning, helping the New York Mets to a 4-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants before a crowd of 39,692 at AT&T Park on Sunday afternoon.

Just one pitch prior to Conforto’s 20th home run of the season, Todd Frazier lined a double to left field.

Noah Syndergaard was outstanding for the Mets, as he threw his first career complete game, allowing just one run on just two hits, walking just one and striking out a season-high tying 11 and won for the 10th time on the season.

This was just the second complete game against the Giants this season, joining Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who tossed one on April 17.

Syndergaard’s lone mistake of the afternoon, was when Alen Hanson hit a triple just out of the reach of a diving Brandon Nimmo in right field and then Stratton got the Giants on the board with a sacrifice fly to Nimmo that easily scored Hanson from third base,

Stratton went six innings, allowing two runs on three hits, not allowing a walk and striking out two.

Following the Hanson triple and subsequent sacrifice fly by Stratton, Syndergaard only allowed two more baserunners to reach base, as Evan Longoria singled in the bottom of the fourth inning and then Brandon Belt reached on a throwing error by Jay Bruce.

Despite the loss, the Giants made some great plays on defense, especially three by Hanson and one by Gregor Blanco, who robbed former teammate Austin Jackson of extra bases, as he made a diving catch of a Jackson hit in the top of the fifth inning. Austin Slater made a great defensive to end the top of the ninth inning, as he robbed Tomas Nido of extra bases with Nimmo on first base after a walk with one out in the frame.

Jeff McNeill continues his hot hitting against the Giants, as he picked up two more hits on the afternoon, including a two-run single in the top of the eighth inning that stretched the Mets lead up to 4-1.

In seven games versus the Giants since being recalled from the Las Vegas 51s, McNeil is batting .500 against the Giants, as he is 9-for-18 in seven games.

NOTES: Kelby Tomlinson was recalled from Sacramento prior to the game. The Giants now have 27 players on their roster.

Brandon Crawford sat out the weekend series against the Mets due to soreness in his left knee, and will be re-evaluated by the doctors over the next few days.

Steven Duggar will have season-ending shoulder injury sometime this week, might be Tuesday.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner opens the Giants two-city six-game road trip with a start against the Colorado Rockies on Monday afternoon, as he faces Tyler Anderson for the Rockies at Coors Field. Game time is set for 12:10 pm PDT.

Following the three-game series in Denver, and an off day, the Giants make their only trip to Milwaukee, where they will face the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend at Miller Park.

MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington: Despite recent losses in Posey and Duggar, Giants keep the wins coming; A’s catching up to Astros in AL West; plus more

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

#1 Just when you thought that the Giants would start sinking, they plugged the holes up, got some strong bullpen help and after losing Buster Posey and Steven Duggar to injuries. The Giants are also getting help from their young players, including Aramis Garcia, who hit his first big league home run on Friday night for a 7-0 win over the New York Mets.

#2 The Oakland A’s are closing in the AL West with a win over the Seattle Mariners. The A’s in second now are just 1 1/2 games behind first place Houston.

#3 Frustration in New York. The New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected from Friday’s night game for arguing balls and strikes and demonstrating by posing as the catcher in a squat where the strike zone is. The Yanks did win 7-5, but are battling with the A’s and Mariners for the wild card spot.

#4 The Chicago Cubs, who hold a 3 1/2 game lead in the NL Central over the second place St. Louis Cardinals, took a tough loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night 2-1. Asdrubal Cabrera went deep for a solo shot in the 10th that helped the Phils gain a one-run win.

#5 You can’t win them all…with the Yankees winning the Boston Red Sox set their sights for the Chicago White Sox, but took a five-run loss 6-1. Red Sox starter Nathan Evaldi pitched two innings and gave up three runs and the Red Sox didn’t get much help from their lineup either–scoring just a run in the top of the eighth.

Matt Harrington does the MLB podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Part deux of Giants and Mets: Rookie power shows flashes in SF’s 7-0 shutout over NYM

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By: Ana Kieu

This Friday night marked the start of part deux of the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets series. This time around, these two teams met inside AT&T Park instead of Citi Field.

In case you missed it, SF flew out of NYC with a 3-1 win to salvage a split of the four-game split. That wasn’t what the Giants wanted, but it’s better than getting swept on the road.

The Giants got things rolling with Andrew Suarez (5-9, 4.42 ERA) on the mound, and the Mets countered with Zack Wheeler (9-6, 3.46 ERA).

The Giants also got a good glimpse at the future of the franchise, as the Chris Shaw era began on Friday night, but it was Andrew Shaw who helped the Giants roll over the Mets 7-0 at AT&T Park.

After six scoreless innings, Shaw’s sacrifice fly to Austin Jackson allowed Brandon Belt to score to give the Giants a 1-0 lead at the bottom of the seventh inning.

The Giants continued to pour in the runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Aramis Garcia on a fly ball to left field for a 2-0 lead. Belt tripled on a sharp fly ball to Jay Bruce, which allowed Gregor Blanco and Evan Longoria to both score for a 4-0 lead. Austin Slater singled on a line drive to Bruce, which allowed Belt to score for a 5-0 lead. Gorkys Hernandez singled on a ground ball to Bruce, which allowed Slater to score for a 6-0 lead and moved Hunter Pence to third base. Garcia capped off the Giants’ scoring with a single on a fly ball to Jackson, which allowed Pence to score for a 7-0 lead and moved Hernandez to third base.

The Mets were unable to recuperate, and the Giants won 7-0 in a laugher.

Notes
Chris Shaw was called up to SF from the Sacramento River Cats.

Andrew McCutchen tweeted out a shoutout to the Giants and thanked them for the love and support they gave to him and his family. McCutchen also gave a shoutout to the fans and added that he got chills every time he saw his banner outside of AT&T Park.

Up Next
The Giants and Mets meet again Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT. The matinee will feature a pitching matchup of SF’s Derek Holland (7-8, 3.65 ERA) and NY’s Steven Matz (5-11, 4.36 ERA).

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Mullens and Heneghan show they can play some backup quarterbacks in final preseason game

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Photo credit: @YahooSportsUS

On the SF 49ers podcast with Joe:

The 49ers, who were in their final preseason game, didn’t grow their injury list and the quarterbacks showed improvement. Quarterbacks Nick Mullens and Jack Heneghan threw for offensive drives in the 49ers win over the LA Chargers 23-21. Heneghan threw for a score a little more than two minutes left in the game.

Towards the end of the game, the 49ers’ defensive line allowed a kick return that put the ball in the 49ers zone, which happened after the go-ahead score. The 49ers opened the season in Minnesota on Sunday, Sept. 9. Joe sets up opening day and how confident head coach Kyle Shanahan is going into this one.

Joe Lami does the 49ers podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: What’s the best benefit in trading McCutchen?; Can Giants overcome Mets?

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

On the SF Giants podcast with Miguel:

What were the best benefits for the San Francisco Giants in trading a player like Andrew McCutchen to the New York Yankees? In recent years, McCutchen’s last All-Star appearance was in 2015. McCutchen’s skills have gradually slipped. He hit .255 for San Francisco this season and the Pirates parted with him, sending him to San Francisco,  knowing that his batting average had slipped.

With the Yankees’ Aaron Judge out with a right wrist injury, will McCutchen help in the outfield and in the Yankee lineup? Michael also had a chance to speak to McCutchen during the season about what kind of a player was he and what he meant to the Giants clubhouse.

The Giants open a three-game series tonight at AT&T Park against the NY Mets. Michael sets up this series and the Giants chances of wining the series.

Join Michael each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com for the Giants podcasts

Giants to host Mets for three-game series starting Friday night

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Photo credit: goldstar.com

By: Ana Kieu

The Giants have been pretty darn good as of late. But let’s not forget that the Giants struggled in Flushing against the Mets in Citi Field and merely got out of the Big Apple with a 3-1 win to halt what could’ve been the Mets’ three-game sweep at home.

This weekend, San Francisco will host New York for a three-game series before embarking on a six-game road trip starting in Coors Field with the Rockies and then Miller Park with the Brewers. That’s quite a lot of airfare miles, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

The Giants, however, must avoid looking down on the Mets. Why’s that? The Mets are cellar-dwellers just like the Giants, so they can possibly play spoilers like they did with the Nationals and Phillies.

In other news, the Giants’ Twitter retweeted a tweet from Baseball Hall that announced an “On This Day in 1965” on Wednesday, writing that Willie Mays set a record with his 17th homer in the month of August in the Giants’ 8-3 win over the Mets. Coincidence, much?

The Giants’ Twitter also announced that on Tuesday that more than 50 volunteers from CarMax, the Giants and the American Red Cross put together 500 kits for aid in disaster relief efforts. Lou Seal and Chase d’Arnaud were also there. You can help by going on redcross.org/Giants.

And, if you have some extra bucks to spend, you can book your next three-day stay in San Francisco with Hilton–the official hotel partner of the Giants’ 60th anniversary season–and you’ll save 50% off on Sunday night stays.

The Giants host the Mets at AT&T Park for game one on Friday night at 7:15 pm PDT. You can watch the game on NSBA and SNY.