Tag: San Francisco

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: After losing Posey, team rallies around to battle D-Backs; McCutchen looks to stay in S.F.

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Photo credit: @Deadseriousness

On the Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 Buster Posey is done for the rest of 2018 due to hip surgery. Was his demise the key turning point where oddsmakers said the Giants’ season is pretty much done?

#2 Jeff Samardjiza looks like he could have surgery. He tried to rehab and tried throwing off flat ground, but he is being checked by an orthopedic surgeon. This is the second surgeon as he’s seeking a second opinion.

#3 The Giants in the Diamondbacks series starting Monday night have been getting some good pitching with Chris Stratton, who started, and the game ended up in a 2-0 shutout. Tuesday’s game was a 0-0 pitchers duel for most of the way between the Diamondbacks Andrew Chafin and the Giants Sam Dyson which San Francisco won 1-0.

#4 During their skid, the Giants seriously considered dealing outfielder Andrew McCutchen in their last trip to Cincinnati once that got out–the New York Yankees, Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals were said to take an interest. The waiver talk has simmered down and the Giants have looked good during the current series in Arizona.

#5 Talk a little bit about Aramis Garcia and his role backing up catcher Nick Hundley. Giants’ catching instructor Bill Hayes has some high hopes for Garcia when he gets in the lineup.

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

Hernandez saves the day with a walkoff; Giants shutout the D-Backs 1-0

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — When the San Francisco Giants needed the biggest hit of the game, they turned to the spark plug of the first half, Gorkys Hernandez.

After sitting on the bench for eight and a half innings, Hernandez hit a single to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Giants defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 before a crowd of 37,276 at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.

With the victory, the Giants are now six games behind the D-Backs, who are now with the Colorado Rockies atop the National League West, while the reigning National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers are a game behind.

This was the first walk-off hit of Hernandez’s career, as the Giants have won four in a row and six out of their last nine since being swept by the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark from August 17-19.

As for the first-place D-Backs, this was their fourth loss in their last five games and it was seventh time this season that they have been shutout.

The Giants have held the D-Backs scoreless over the past 23 innings, as the D-Backs last scored in the bottom of the fifth inning of the series finale on August 5.

Steven Duggar came up huge on both the offensive and the defensive sides of the diamond in the shutout win for the Giants.

After Austin Slater grounded out for the first out of the inning, Duggar drew a walk against losing pitcher Brad Ziegler. Then Nick Hundley singled to left field, and Duggar rounded second and was heading to third before putting on the breaks and slid back into second.

It was on that play where Duggar slid into second that showed everyone why the Giants called him up to be their everyday center fielder, as he jammed his shoulder into the ground and after stretching for the training staff, Bruce Bochy and others, Duggar did a few stretches and stayed in the game. Alen Hanson was announced as a pinch hitter, but Torey Lovullo countered with left-hander Jake Diekman and Hernandez was called onto pinch-hit and he came up with the biggest hit of the night to win the game for the Giants.

Duggar came up huge on defense in the top of the eighth inning, as he cut off a ball hit by David Peralta, threw to Brandon Crawford, who in turn, threw to Hundley to get Nick Ahmed at the plate after he went through the stop sign of third base coach Tony Perezchica.

Madison Bumgarner was sharp once again, as he went seven innings, allowing just four hits, walking four and striking out five, as he did not fare in the decision.

Bumgarner got into jams in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but it was vintage Bumgarner and he got out of all the jams unscathed.

Ketel Marte led off the top of the fifth inning with a double, but then Bumgarner regrouped to get Jeff Mathis and Clay Buchholz, but then John Jay walked and then A.J. Pollock flew out to Duggar in center for the final out of the inning.

Things got real dicey in the top of the sixth inning, as Bumgarner gave up a base hit to Paul Goldschmidt off the left field wall that kept Goldschmidt at first base and then walked Eduardo Escobar. Bumgarner got Steven Souza for the first out, but then Ahmed singled to load the bases.

Evan Longoria made a heads up on a Marte hit ball, as he threw to Hundley for the second out of the inning and the inning nearly came out of control, as Brandon Belt snared the Hundley throw before it went into the outfield to give the D-Backs the lead. Bumgarner then got out of the jam, as he got Mathis to fly out to Duggar to end the inning.

Once again, things got a little hairy in the top of the seventh inning, as Bumgarner fanned Buchholz for the second time, but then Slater lost the ball in the lights for a three-base error that allowed Jay to get to third base. Pollock then walked, but Goldschmidt, who just feasts on Giants pitching, was not able to get the run across, as he popped out to Joe Panik for the second out of the inning and then Escobar grounded out to Panik to end the seventh inning and yet another escape for the Giants and Bumgarner.

Buchholz also went seven innings, allowing just five hits, walking two and striking out three, as like Bumgarner, he did not fare in the decision.

It was a tough start to the night for Panik, as he grounded into a double play just moments after it looked like Andrew McCutchen stole second base in the bottom of the first inning, but Panik fouled the Buchholz pitch back to the screen.

Two innings later, Panik hit a ball to centerfield that sent McCutchen to third base and it looked like Panik got into second safely; however, Lovullo challenged the call and after a nearly two-minute review, the call was reversed and Panik was called out to end the inning.

NOTES: This was the Giants’ 12th shutout of the season, and their sixth at home.

It was the third time this season that they have shutout their opponents in back-to-back games, as they shutout the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first two games of the season, then the Philadelphia Phillies on June 1-2 and now the D-Backs.

This was the ninth walk-off win of the season for the Giants, and the first since Buster Posey singled in the bottom of the 13th inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs on July 11.

UP NEXT: The Giants and D-Backs close out their series with a Wednesday night finale at 7:15 pm PDT.

Dereck Rodriguez looks for his seventh win of the season on Wednesday night, as he takes the hill in the series and season finale against the D-Backs, who will send 13-game winner Zack Godley to the mound.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Astros’ rally boots A’s out of the park 11-4; Pale Hose gets season-high fourth consecutive win over Yanks; plus more

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Photo credit: @Astros

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Houston Astros got seven hits and three consecutive doubles off A’s starter Brett Anderson. A’s relievers Lou Trivino and Emilio Pagan gave up three home runs in the 11-4 win. Are the Astros back?

#2 The White Sox are red-hot. Well, at least for now. They just matched their season-high for consecutive wins with four straight and got pitching help from Carlos Rodon, who had 18 pitches and five for strikes. The Yankees have been struggling at the plate as they lost to the Sox.

#3 Anthony Rizzo had a night for the Cubs with a home run and hitting his 1,000th career double. The Cubs’ Ben Zobrist got a go-ahead double as the Cubs defeated the New York Mets 7-4 at Wrigley Field.

#4 Turning to football since it’s the last week of preseason football. The NFL has a strict rule they already enforced several times during this preseason about lowering the helmet. The lowering of the helmet is considered a weapon in the NFL and players who lower their helmets will get hit with a 15-yard penalty and up to a suspension and fines.

#5 Jemele Hill, a former ESPN host from the talk show His and Hers, was fired and got a buyout from reports up to $6 million and is not allowed to talk about the buyout. Hill had talked about President Trump, racism, and political issues on her Twitter account and was told by ESPN not speak about politics. Hill was suspended once and then a second time after talking politics again. ESPN said that on-air talent will stick to talking sports and leave politics out of it.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Last preseason game Thursday–what will the 49ers be looking for?; plus Kaepernick’s copyright phrase “I’m with Kap”

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Photo credit: @mercnews

On the 49ers podcast with David:

Here it is the final and last week of camp and the 49ers host the LA Chargers Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium. What are the expectations of this final preseason game?

Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has copyrighted the trademark phrase, “I’m with Kap.” The phrase has appeared on T-shirts and clothing items. With the copyright, Kaepernick could make a hefty income. Kaepernick had already donated $1 million to nonprofits and charities.

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: Giants get third consecutive win, beat first place D-Backs to start the home cooking 2-0

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Photo credit: @kristadunton

On the Giants podcast with Michael and Morris:

On the homestand, the San Francisco Giants took two out of three from the Texas Rangers and entertained the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are in first place as they come into town a game ahead of Colorado and 2 1/2 ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The one thing the Diamondbacks didn’t expect was to get shutout by Giants starter Chris Stratton Monday night.

The Giants rested a few regulars Monday night in anticipation of facing the Dodgers this weekend, but Stratton was in control. He pitched great going eight innings, five hits, no runs, no walks and six strikeouts. Three straight wins for the Giants having been more than four games under.

Catch Michael and Morris on the Giants podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Lots of catching up to do if SF plans to get back into the playoff hunt

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Photo credit: @bcraw35

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 The Giants, who are eight games behind Arizona, seven back of Colorado, and five and half back of Los Angeles in the NL West. They are eight games out for second in the NL Wild Card race.

#2 The Giants got a 3-1 win behind the pitching of Derek Holland (7-8), who went six plus, one run, three hits, three walks, and four strikeouts against the Texas Rangers on Sunday at AT&T Park.

#3 The Giants’ Aramis Garcia will be catcher Nick Hundley’s backup. Garcia came up from the minors Sunday and is working with catching instructor Bill Hayes whose getting him prepared when he gets in his first game.

#4 Giants’ pitcher Jeff Samardzija couldn’t make the come back as he’s been plagued by shoulder pain and is scheduled to meet with Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Tim McAdams. No confirmation if Samardzija will have surgery.

#5 The Giants will open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at AT&T Park. The Giants will need to start winning series or sweeping series in order to make up lost ground and to get back into the postseason hunt.

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

Holland beats his former team–Rangers–for the first time, 3-1

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Derek Holland faced his former team in the Texas Rangers for just the third time in his career, but it was a rookie that came up with the biggest hit of the game.

Steven Duggar hit a two-run triple that helped the San Francisco Giants defeat the Rangers 3-1 before a crowd of 39,260 at AT&T Park on Sunday afternoon.

Duggar’s triple off of Yovani Gallardo scored Hunter Pence and Nick Hundley with what proved to be the winning margin, as the Giants took two of three in a rematch of the 2010 World Series.

That triple was the first of Duggar’s career.

Gallardo got the first two batters out in that fateful fourth inning, but Pence singled and then Hundley walked before Duggar launched a Gallardo pitch into Triples Alley to give the Giants the lead for good.

Holland went 6.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits, while walking three and striking out four, as he won for the seventh time on the season.

This was the first career win for Holland against the team that drafted him in the 25th round of the 2006 Major League Draft. Holland played his first eight seasons with the Rangers, where he went 62-50 with a 4.35 earned run average in 179 games (158 starts).

The 158 starts by Holland with the Rangers is the eighth-most in Rangers history, and his 62 wins are the ninth-most.

Evan Longoria got the Giants going in the bottom of the first inning, as he tripled to the appropriately named ‘Triples Alley,” and then Brandon Belt singled to score Longoria. As for Longoria, that was his third triple of the season, the most for him since the 2013 season, when he also hit three.

The Rangers tied it up in the top of the third inning, as Elvis Andrus hit a double to left field that Hunter Pence bobbled in left field to allow Rougned Odor to score the tying run for the Rangers.

Following the Andrus double that tied up the game, Brandon Crawford came up with the defensive play of the game, as Adrian Beltre hit a ball into the hole that looked like it was going into left field; however, Crawford dove for the ball, got up and was able to throw out Beltre to keep the score tied at one. Not only did Crawford make another fantastic play, but Brandon Belt dug the ball out of the dirt for the final out of the inning that kept Andrus from scoring the potential go-ahead run.

That was the only hit that Holland would allow until he gave up two in the top of the seventh inning.

Duggar gave the Giants the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth inning, as his triple scored the eventual winning runs for the Giants.

Holland got into a bit of a jam in that seventh inning, as he gave up two hits in the top of the seventh inning; however, both Joey Gallo and Isiah Kiner-Falefa were stranded at third base, when Tony Watson struck out Robinson Chirinos and then got Odor out on an attempted bunt to end the inning.

Without the services of usual closer Will Smith, Mark Melancon came on to finish the game, and despite the fact that he gave up a pinch-hit single to Shin-Soo Choo with one out in the top of the ninth inning, Melancon was able to get the last two batters for his third save of the season.

NOTES: Buster Posey will undergo season-ending hip surgery on Monday in Vail, Colorado to repair a damaged labrum and remove bone spurs in his right hip.

Posey was placed on the 10-day disabled list, and to replace Posey on the roster will be Aramis Garcia, who was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.

This was the first time that Melancon picked up back-to-back saves in consecutive games since May 19 and 20, 2017 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

By winning the series finale against the Rangers, the Giants won their 65th game of the season, surpassing their total of 64 from just one year ago.

UP NEXT: The Giants host the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game series starting Monday night at 7:15 pm PDT.

Giants’ Chris Stratton will look for his ninth win of the season on Monday night, as he takes the mound against Patrick Corbin of the D-Backs, who is looking for his 11th win of the season for the Diamondbacks.

Giants strike first, but end up losing to Rangers 7-6 in 10 innings

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By: Ana Kieu

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The San Francisco Giants had hoped to build their win streak when they returned to AT&T Park, where they welcomed the Texas Rangers for a three-game series that began on Friday night.

Prior to Friday’s game, Dereck Rodriguez, who missed the Giants’ last 10 games with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, was reinstated from the 10-day DL. Following Thursday’s game, Casey Kelly was optioned to triple-A Sacramento.

Speaking of Dereck, his father Pudge was in attendance to watch his rookie son play like any proud Papa would. And, of course, the Rangers’ Twitter had to sarcastically ask Pudge who he was going to root for tonight.

In case you didn’t know, Pudge played the majority of his MLB career with the Rangers as a catcher from 1991-2002. Pudge was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. in his first year of eligibility on January 18, 2017. Pudge received 76% of the votes at the time.

Nathan Aung threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Giants. Aung did a darn good job like when he last threw the first pitch at the Giants vs. Dodgers game at AT&T Park on August 22, 2013.

The Giants got on the board first, thanks to Andrew McCutchen, who hit his 15th home run of the season and 10th career leadoff homer. San Francisco had a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

The Giants continued to roll in the bottom of the first. Evan Longoria’s RBI single scored Joe Panik for a 2-0 lead. Then, Brandon Crawford’s sac fly allowed Buster Posey to score for a 3-0 lead. And then Alec Hanson’s sac fly that drove in Brandon Belt for a 4-0 lead.

The Giants led the Rangers 4-0 after the first. Texas had a lot of work to do in order to mount a comeback.

Fast forward to the bottom of the fourth inning, where the Giants continued pouring in the runs. Posey hit a single to score McCutchen for a 5-0 lead. Belt followed up with a single that scored Panik for a 6-0 lead.

The Giants led the Rangers 6-0 after the fourth. The Texas defense hadn’t come up with any answers to suppress the San Francisco offense yet.

After a scoreless sixth inning, the Rangers proceeded to score some runs–one apiece in the seventh and eighth innings and two in the ninth inning, which forced the game into extra innings. The Giants fans were delighted to see some free baseball on a cool, cloudy night…just not the end result.

Rangers’ Robinson Chirinos walked and Jurickson Profar scored to lift the Rangers past the Giants 7-6 in 10 innings.

Notes
This weekend, MLB is celebrating Players Weekend, a joint effort between MLB and the MLBPA. Players will be wearing traditional alternate uniforms with nicknames on the back and a patch on their sleeve to pay tribute to a person or persons who aided their career.

Enter the Catch the Cure Tacoma Sweepstakes by donating at busterstacoma.com. You could win Buster’s Toyota Tacoma!

Up Next
The Giants and Rangers meet again Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT. Andrew Suarez (4-9, 4.68 ERA) will take the mound for San Francisco, while Texas will counter with Martin Perez (2-5, 6.93 ERA).

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Was Holland’s racial jokes about Japanese on MLB’s “Intentional Talk” at Giants’ massage therapist intentional?

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photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Derek Holland (45) sits in the dugout during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Sunday, June 10, 2018, in Washington. Holland apologized Thursday over racially insensitive jokes he made in an interview alongside the team’s massage therapist, who is Japanese. 

On the Giants podcast with Miguel:

#1 San Francisco Giants pitcher Derek Holland and Giants massage therapist Haro Ogawa both appeared on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk. On the show, Holland was doing Japanese bows and yelling in pigeon Japanese-mocked accents. Holland later apologized to Ogawa, who is a native from Japan, as well as Giants’ bullpen catcher Taira Uematsu.

#2 The team issued a rather terse and deservedly so statement, “The Giants were disappointed to learn of the Derek Holland’s behavior on Intentional Talk. We do not condone that type of behavior nor does it reflect our organizational values. Derek has taken full responsibility for his actions and has made a public apology.”

#3 We asked Michael what this will do for Holland’s future on the team as the Giants returned home after concluding a four-game series against the Mets in New York on Thursday.

#4 Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is still perfect in New York at 6-0. He picked up a Thursday matinee victory over the New York Mets 3-1. Bumgarner passed former Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum on the Giants wins list with 109.

#5 The Giants open a series tonight against the Texas Rangers at AT&T Park. The Rangers are also coming off a win over the red-hot A’s 4-2 on Wednesday.

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

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: 49ers GM Lynch says team is deeper and with game changers this season

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Photo credit: si.com

On the 49ers podcast with David:

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said he feels a lot better than last year saying the team is a lot deeper than last year and that their looking for game changers. Expectations are high for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo going into the season. For game 3 in Indianapolis this Saturday, David takes a look what to expect in a game where the starters get more time on the field.

Denver Broncos’ general manager John Elway tipped the scales of the Colin Kapernick collusion case. Elway said that he offered the former 49ers quarterback Kaepernick a $7 million deal, but Kapernick–who was making $11 million on his last deal–declined. The NFL is looking into a gag order violation involving any discussions regarding bringing Kaepernick back in the NFL.

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com