River Cats ride the long ball to second-straight win over Aces; Cats come up Aces 8-5 at Sutter Health

The Sacramento River Cats get a three run 8-5 win over the Reno Aces at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento on Thu Jun 29, 2023 (@RiverCats photo)

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento, California

Reno Aces 4 (45-32)

Sacramento River Cats 8 (35-41)

Win: Nick Avila (9-0)

Loss: Bryce Jarvis (3-5)

Time: 2:36

Attendance: 4,832

By Stephen Ruderman

SACRAMENTO–The River Cats rode three home runs to an 8-4 win over the Reno Aces in Game 2 of this six-game series.

The Giants’ top prospect, Kyle Harrison, who was coming off a rough outing on June 22 in Round Rock in which he gave up seven runs, made the start for the River Cats tonight. Harrison survived a leadoff walk in the top of the first inning and a pair of hits in the second unscathed, as he struck out the side in the second.

Bryce Jarvis made the start for Reno, and he pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the first, but Ivan Diaz led off the bottom of the second with a home run to right-center field to put the River Cats on the board.

Harrison then ran into trouble in the top of the third. Jorge Barrosa started the inning with a walk, and then Reno tied the game on a double off the bat of Diego Castillo that was then kicked by River Cats’ right-fielder, Dalton Guthrie, which allowed Barrosa to score and Castillo to third base.

The play was originally ruled a triple, and then a single and a two-base error before it was correctly ruled a double. Phillip Evans then followed with a two-run line-drive home run just inside the line to left.

The River Cats then responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the third. Ford Proctor walked to start the inning; Will Wilson flew out to center; Guthrie reached on an infield hit; and Bretty Wisely hit a three-run home run to put Sacramento back ahead.

Harrison gave up a leadoff single to Dominic Canzone to start the fourth. Canzone was thrown out trying to steal second, and P.J. Higgins struck out looking. Harrison then walked Blaze Alexander, and gave up an infield hit to Barrosa, which forced Harrison out of the game. Nick Avila came in, and got Castillo to ground out to third to end the inning.

While Harrison fared better tonight, he was still shaky, as he ended up going three and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs and six hits, while walking four and striking out seven.

The River Cats kept their 4-3 into the bottom of the fifth inning. Will Wilson walked to start the inning, and then Guthrie reached on a throwing error by Aces’ third-baseman, Josh Rojas. Brett Wisely hit a ground rule double to right, and Tyler Fitzgerald struck out swinging for the second out.

The Aces then elected to walk Isan Diaz intentionally to load the bases with two outs for the struggling Joey Bart, but perhaps that was the spark Bart needed, as he made the Aces pay with a grand slam to right-center to open up the River Cats’ lead to 8-3.

The Aces scored a run in the second, as Tristin English led off the inning on a double, and he scored on a base-hit to left by Higgins.

The rest of the game was smooth sailing, and the River Cats won, 8-4.

Game 3 of the series will be tomorrow night at 6:45, as Miguel Yajure will take the ball for Sacramento, and he will be opposed by the Aces’ left-hander, Konnor Pilkington.

Aces Dismiss Liberty 98-81

New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot (22) shoots against the Las Vegas Aces forward Candace Parker (3) and guard Chelsea Gray, right, during first half action at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Thu Jun 29, 2023 in Las Vegas (Las Vegas Review Journal photo)

Aces Dismiss Liberty 98-81

By Barbara Mason

Thursday evening the Las Vegas Aces (14-1) welcomed the New York Liberty (10-4) in a battle of two powerhouses. This was another game played on the Aces home court at ULTA Michelob Arena. They have been home for the last three games and have two more games at home before heading out on the road. It has been a great home-stand for the team. They added another win their 14th game with a 98-81 victory on Thursday.

The Aces took the first quarter leading 28-22 with Kelsey Plum leading the charge. Las Vegas took their largest lead of the game in the second quarter 37-28 at 5:54. At halftime, the Aces continued to hold the lead but the Liberty had made up some ground after trailing by as much as thirteen points. New York had cut the Aces lead to 49-42.

The Aces were having great success from beyond the arc shooting at 50% as well as 60% from the field. Plum finished the half with 15 points. The Liberty kept chipping away at the Las Vegas lead with Breanna Stewart orchestrating the rally.

As the Aces have seen all season, Las Vegas is a second half team putting games away in the third and fourth quarters. The third quarter of this game was no exception. Las Vegas took a 20 point lead after three, 76-56. Every starting player for Las Vegas had double digits with Plum the high with 16 points.

With 8:22 left in the fourth quarter the Aces had taken a 25 point lead. A desperate team takes desperate shots and such was the case for the Liberty. New York could not get those shots to drop. With 2:28 left on the clock, the starters for Las Vegas sat while their bench took this game home.

The bottom line is that the Aces excel on every level and the Liberty could not keep up with them. They were simply outplayed by Las Vegas. The Liberty are a very good team with a very good record but few teams can handle the Aces if any. Las Vegas has been beating teams by an average of 20 points per game.

Saturday afternoon the Aces will meet the only team that has beaten them this season, the Connecticut Sun. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 PM and promises to be a battle from start to finish.

Giants Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short Against Toronto Losing 2-1

Toronto Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt was dealing agianst the San Francisco Giants. Bassitt went six innings, three hits and 12 strikeouts at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Thu Jun 29, 2023 (@ESPNStatsInfo photo)

Giants Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short Against Toronto Losing 2-1

By Barbara Mason

Thursday evening the San Francisco Giants (45-36) finished off their three game series against the Toronto Blue Jays (45-37) and were defeated by the Blue Jays 2-1.

The winner the Blue Jays came out on top in this three game series winning it two games to one.

Going into the sixth inning neither team was able to put up much offense. In the bottom of the inning everything would change for the Blue Jays. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would knock a Keaton Winn pitch out of the yard with Brandon Belt on base and Toronto took a 2-0 lead.

This game would go into the ninth inning with San Francisco’s last chance to rally. Patrick Bailey doubled and Blake Sabol singled him home, the score now 2-1. With two outs the Giants were down to their final strike with Brandon Crawford at the plate. The Giants rally in the ninth inning came up one run short.

San Francisco had five hits in this game but it was the Guerrero two run home run that made the difference in this game. This was a bit of a pitching duel between Keaton Winn and Chris Bassitt. Bassitt had been struggling but he came to play in this game giving up only three hits with 12 punch outs in an outstanding start through six innings. Winn allowed three hits giving up two runs and only three strikeouts. This was his first start.

Post game notes: The Giants took game one 3-0 and Toronto was the victor in game two with a 6-1 win to tie up the series. Thairo Estrada was a huge factor for the Giants in the game one win with two RBI’s handing San Francisco their 13th win in their last 15 games.

In Game Two the Blue Jays George Springer set the tone with the first of four Toronto doubles putting the stops on the Giants ten game road winning streak. Springer’s double came in the first inning and going into the second inning the Blue Jays had a 5-0 lead. The Jays came away a 6-1 winner on Wednesday night.

The Giants now travel to New York to take on the Mets who are having terrible struggles. They have only won three of their last 12 games and have fallen into fourth place in the NL East with a record of 36-44. They are 17 games out of first place. Alex Cobb will take the mound for San Francisco. He has a 5-2 win/ loss record and a 3.09 ERA. Carlos Carrasco will get the nod for the Mets with a 2/3 win/loss record and a 6.19 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PM.

Yanks route A’s 10-4 win rubber game of three-game series at Coliseum

Oakland A’s Tony Kemp (5) considers rounding second base as the New York Yankees infielder Anthony Volpe (11) looks for the possible throw at the Oakland Coliseum on Thu Jun 29, 2023 (@Athletics photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s met the New York Yankees in a day game on Thursday at the Oakland Coliseum. Both teams, the A’s and the Yankees, wanted to win the rubber game of the three-game series. The A’s had to rebound from having been the recipients of Domingo German’s perfect game Wednesday night. The Yankees beat the A’s 11-0 and wanted to continue putting runs on the board.

Well, the Yankees found their offense again on Thursday as they erupted in the sixth inning to score eight times to break open the game and coast to an easy 10-4 win over the hapless A’s.

The A’s starter, lefty Hogan Harris, was pitching relatively well heading into the sixth. Harris had held the Yankees to just two runs in his first five innings. The A’s scored one in the first, two in the third, and led 3-2 heading into the fateful sixth inning. The Yankees sent 13 men to the plate in the sixth, scoring eight times. The game summary follows.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Tony Kemp led off the inning with a single. Kemp stole second and went to third on an errant throw from Yankees’ catcher Jose Ramirez. JJ Bleday’s sacrifice fly to left drove in Kemp for the score.

The Yankees tied the game with a run in the top of the second. Yankees left fielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa sent one of Harris’ pitches over the wall in center field. Esteury Ruiz tried to make a leaping catch. Ruiz had the ball in his glove, but his momentum crashing into the fence caused the ball and his glove to drop on the other side. 

The A’s plated two runs in the third to lead 3-1. Yankees’ starter Clarke Schmidt walked Ryan Noda and JJ Bleday to start the inning. Seth Brown singled to deep right field to drive in Noda, and Bleday went to third on the play. Carlos Perez’ Sacrifice fly drove in Bleday with the A’s third run.

The Yankees put their second run of the game on the board in the fourth. Harrison Baded doubled to get things going. Josh Donaldson’s ground out sent Bader to third base. Kiner-Falefa drove in BAder with a sacrifice fly. The A’s led 3-2 after four complete.

The Yankees had a huge inning in the sixth. The New Yorkers sent 13 men to the plate and scored eight runs. They had seven hits, one walk, and two batters hit by a pitch. Harrison Bader singled to get the rally started.

Third baseman Josh Donaldson, much maligned by Yankee fans for his poor showing this year, crushed a pitch that went 472 feet off the facing of the second deck in left field. Donaldson’s blast was the eighth-longest home run hit by any player in baseball this season.

Harris retired Kiner-Falefa for the first out. Anthony Volpe singled. A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in Lucas Erceg to pitch. Erceg hit Jose Trevino with a pitch. DJ LeMAhieu walked to load the bases. Glyber Torres singled to drive in Volpe and Trevino to make it a 6-3 Yankee lead.

The onslaught continued. Erceg hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch. Giancarlo Stanton doubled to drive in two more. Bader’s single drove in Rizzo with the Yankees’ ninth run and the seventh of the inning. The A’s brought in lefty Ken Waldichuk to pitch. Kiner-Falefa drove in his third run with a single to make it 10-3. The Yankees blew the game open.

The Yankees did not score after the sixth. The A’s scored a meaningless run in the eighth. The Yankees won 10-4 and won the series two games to one.

Game notes: The A’s have lost 12 of the last 14 games played. Their record is now a dismal 21-62. The Yankees improved to 45-36.

Hogan Harris was the losing pitcher. His record is 2-2. Hogan’s line was five and 1/3rd innings pitched. He allowed nine hits, five runs, four earned, walked two, struck out two, and gave up two home runs. Reliever Lucas Erceg did not record an out. He allowed three hits and four runs. 

The line score for Oakland was four runs, eight hits, and one error.

The Line score for New York was ten runs, 13 hits, and one error. 

When a pitch hit Anthony Rizzo in the sixth inning, it was the 212th time he was hit in his career. Only seven other players in all of baseball history have been hit more times.

Seth Brown’s three singles were the only bright spot for the A’s. 

The A’s welcome the Chicago White Sox to the Coliseum for three games starting Friday night. The A’s will send Luis Medina (1-7, 6.84) to the hill Friday night. The White Sox have yet to announce their starter. The game will start at 6:40 pm.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants ten game road win streak comes to an end in Toronto

San Francisco Giants Logan Webb gave up eight hits on five runs in the loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Wed Jun 28, 2023 (@SFGiants photo)

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Toronto Blue Jays George Springer first of four Blue Jays doubles against the San Francisco Giants in a five run first inning.

#2 The Blue Jays put a stop on the Giants ten game road win streak but what a streak it was for the Giants.

#3 The Giants injury bug is piling up Michael Conforto left with a left hamstring pull in the first inning do you see him being day to day and returning to line up soon.

#4 Talk about Logan Webb’s performance going five innings, eight hits and five earned runs was it a matter of Webb being off with his pitches or the Blue Jays just saw the ball well on Wednesday night.

#5 Starters for Thursday night’s conclusion of this series for San Francisco starter to be announced by manager Gabe Kapler most likely a opener game and for the Blue Jays Chris Bassitt (7-5 ERA 4.32) a 4:07PM PT first pitch.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s and Yankees conclude 3 game series today at Coliseum; A’s just couldn’t figure out Herman Wed night

New York Yankees pitcher Herman Domingo holds up the winner’s belt after throwing a perfect game no hitter at the Oakland Coliseum against the Oakland A’s on Wed Jun 28, 2023 (@Yankees photo)

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 He’ll be the talk of baseball for the rest of this season the New York Yankees pitcher Herman Domingo who threw a perfect no hit game against the Oakland A’s.

#2 The A’s have struggled up and down the line up how bad does it get for their confidence after having a no hit perfect game thrown against them?

#3 Watching Herman Jerry talk about his command and control against the A’s line up on Wednesday night.

#4 You can’t forget also the Yankees who hit everything that was thrown up at the plate for them they got 11 runs on 11 hits.

#5 The Yankees will start right hander Clarke Schmidt (2-6 ERA 4.32) who will be opposed by the A’s Hogan Harris (2-1 ERA 4.91) for a 12:37pm PT first pitch at the Oakland Coliseum to conclude the three game series.

Join Jerry Feitelberg for the Oakland A’s podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Yankee’s Right-Hander German Throws a Perfect Game, and His Bronx Bombers Hammer the A’s 11-0

New York Yankee Domingo German deals the last pitch of the game for ground out to third for a no hit perfect game at the Oakland Coliseum against the Oakland A’s on Thu Jun 29, 2023 (photo by Mauricio Segura)

By Michael Roberson

OAKLAND, Calif. — New York Yankees pitcher Domingo German is the 24th pitcher in Major League history to toss a Perfect Game, in an 11-0 shutout victory over the Oakland Athletics in the Coliseum.

Both teams were actually hitless and scoreless the first three innings of play, but that changed in the Top of the fourth.

Yankees right fielder Giancarlo Stanton belted a homer to left field, putting the visitors on the scoreboard, 1-0 NYY.  Eventually the game-winning run.

The fifth inning turned into an explosion for the Bronx County Batters.  They tallied a whopping 6 runs in a variety of ways, including two more rbi’s for Stanton on a single to left.  After five, 7-0 Yankees.

While this offensive onslaught was going on, New York’s pitcher was keeping Oakland at Bay.

The Yankees managed to add four more runs to their advantage, but that wasn’t the compelling story in the latter innings; could Domingo do it?

German not only Did It, but completed the mission in a very efficient fashion.  He threw 99 pitches, 72 strikes and executed nine strikeouts.

Postgame he acknowledged that Oakland just became one of his favorite US cities after his historic performance, and it will always be synonymous with his best game ever.

The same two combatants will battle Thursday Afternoon (12:37 Pacific) in the rubber game (1-1) of three-game series.

Oakland Roots Lose 2-0 To The Rio Grande Valley Toros Off Of A Wilmer Cabrera Brace

The Oakland Roots prayers were answered with a 2-0 shutout over the Grande Valley Toros at CSU East Bay in Hayward on Wed Jun 28, 2023 (@oaklandrootssc photo)

A rare weekday game for the Oakland Roots in Hayward, California at CSU East Bay, this game against the Rio Grande Valley Toros. This game was a standout game for goaltender Paul Blanchette of Oakland, but for the defensive back line it was something they wanted to forget immediately.

The first half showed promise as both teams each had good scoring chances that the goaltenders had to make highlight reel stops. The difference between both teams is how they approach their first moves, the Roots’ first move being more timid than RGV and in this game it was about who was more aggressive.

In the second half that point was proven masterfully by RGV. Even though at the beginning of the second half Lindo Mfeka had a huge scoring opportunity for the Roots, Oakland would only end up with five shots on goal total and compared to RGV’s 12 shots on goal that would be a deciding factor for this game.

Two of those 12 shots would go past a tired Paul Blanchette. First goal came from a breakout pass by RGV that would be stopped Oakland’s Joseph Nane, but when Nane tries to clear the ball, RGV gets it right back and Frank Lopez would sneak a pass past Barbir of the Roots to Wilmer Cabrera for a shot that finds the back of the net, 1-0 RGV.

The second goal coming eight minutes later and it would be a smoother play for the Toros as an offensive rush leads to Frank Lopez again getting an assist and again Wilmer Cabrera scorches it in the goal, 2-0 RGV and that was all that was needed to give RGV a W, but it wasn’t the only damage done before this game was over. Within two minutes, Guillermo Diaz got two yellow cards resulting in a red card and five minutes later the final whistle blew.

The next game for Oakland is July 8th against Tampa Bay and this is the time of year where teams at the top of the table start to separate from the rest and Oakland finds itself in the middle of the pack and they need to start winning and stop with the draws and losses before they look up and it’s October and they’re out of the race completely.

Domingo Dandy: Yanks Herman Pitches Perfect No Hit Game Against A’s At Coliseum In 11-0 Blow Out

New York Yankees starter Domingo Herman pitches a perfect no hitter against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Jun 28, 2023 (@Yankees image)

New York (AL) (44-36). 000 016 103. – 11. 11. 0

Oakland (21-61). 000 000 000 – 0. 0. 3

Time: 2:30

Attendance: 12,479

Wednesday, June 28 Oakland

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–JP Sears, whom the A’s acquired in the deal that sent Frankie Montás to New York, started the day at 1-5, 4.10. He went seven innings in each of his last two starts but lost both of them, allowing 16 earned runs in 14 innings.

That comes to an ERA of 3.82. Tonight, he was lights out for 3-2/3 inning and got lit up after that. He ended up pitching 4+ frames and allowing seven runs, six earned and three posthumous.He walked three and struck out five, allowing five hits, including a home run. He threw 92 pitches, 55 for strikes. He took the loss, leaving him with a record of 1-6, 4.43.

The Bronx Bombers entrusted mound duties to Domingo Germán, who brought a 4-5, 5.10 record with him. The 30 year old righty needed two strikeouts to reach 500, a milestone he reached in the bottom of the first and passed when caught Jonah Bride looking at a third strike to end the second.

But that was nothing to what was to come. He threw a perfect game. Nine innings. 99 pitches. 72 for strikes. No hits. No walks. No nothing. He ended the day at 5-5, 4.54.

Neither pitcher allowed a hit until the top of the fourth, when Giancarlo Stanton slammed a two out 422 foot shot into the left center field seats, his seventh round tripper of the year. Harrison Badere followed that with a double against the 367 foot sign in left, but Sears recovered to fan Josh Donaldson and hold the damage down to one run.

The damage increased by six runs in the next frame. Isiah Kiner-Falefa led off with a walk. Kyle Higashioka drove. him in with a two bagger to left. Anthony Volpe laid down a bunt and beat it out for a single. Sears had fielded the ball and then threw it past Noda at first for an error that allowed Volpe to reach second and Higashioka to score.

DJ LeMahieu singled Volpe home, and Gleyber Torres walked. It was Noda’s turn to make an error at first. He failed to handle Rizzo’s ground ball, loading the bases and sending Sears to the showers. His replacement was Shintaro Fujinami, who promptly gave up a two run single to Stanton. That and Kiner-Falefa’s two out single brought the score to 7-0.

The recently acquired and promoted Yacksel Ríos opened the top of the seventh, threw three balls to Stanton, and left with an as yet undisclosed injury, and left the game. Austin Pruitt replaced him and delivered the fourth ball to the Yankees’ right fielder. Josh Donaldson’s sac fly to center plated Stanton. The run was charged to Ríos.

The story had long since ceased to be about offense, much less who would win the game. The question was if the Athletics would manage to get a man on base.

San Long. pitched the top of the ninth and gave up three runs, but that was just a footnote to the main story.

Germán had thrown 93 pitches over eight innings, and the closest an A’s batter had come to reaching first was when Germán threw ball three to Jonah Bride before he grounded out to third to end the inning.

Kemp grounded out to short. Noda flew out to right. Rooker grounded out to third. The Yankees’ number 0 had thrown a perfect game.

The series winds up tomorrow, Thursday, with a rubber game that is likely to be anticlimactic, starting at 12:37. The Yanks will send Clarke Schmidt (2-6, 4.32) against an as yet to be announced Athletics’ hurler.

Major league baseball is important to Oakland and the rest of the East Bay, but it’s not the only baseball game in town, and it still won’t be even if the crew that lost a perfect game by the lopsided score of 11-0 today camps out in the back yard of Las Vegas’s Tropicana casino.

We still will have the college, high school, youth leagues, little leagues, and sand lots (not to mention the independent Pecos League) that are the seedbeds of the big leaguers and fans of the future. One of the unsung heroes of that organic infrastructure of the sport is Lou Profumo (1938-2021), one time Red Sox farm hand and longtime youth and women’s baseball and softball coach.

I received word today that, after a two year delay, a playing field in the area he loved will be dedicated to him. The ceremony will take place on Friday morning, July 7, at 10:00 o’clock. The location is the San Leandro Ballpark, Teagarden and Fairway Streets, in that city.

It can be reached from the Marina Boulevard exit of I-880. If baseball is to survive, it will be thanks to the selfless efforts of the Lou Profumos of this world and not because of the nefarious scheming of the corporate entities looking to line their pockets as they cry poverty all the way to the bank.

Cal Bears Football podcast with Michael Roberson: Caminog, coaches excited about quarterback coming to Cal

EJ Caminog will be joining the Cal Bears for a 2024 Commitment he and the coaching staff hit it off during off season workouts (CBS Sports file photo)

On the Cal Bears football podcast with Michael R:

#1 The Cal Bears introduced their starting quarterback for the 2024 season EJ Caminog who comes from Garfield High School in Seattle. Caminog became the first Cal committed player since Fernando Mendoza who was selected in 2022 when they didn’t land 2023 quarterback.

#2 Cal has selected running back Jamal Wiley is Cal’s seventh committed player in the 2024 class. Wiley is the fourth committed player from Texas to come Cal.

#3 Michael, your relationship with the coaching staff really plays a big role and going back to Cominog he had worked hard this summer and the Bears coaching staff got to like his work ethic and working with him on plays.

#4 Caminog said that he liked bonding with the coaching staff and that he also likes the education and connections at Cal what the University has to offer in academics and athletics.

#5 The coaches, head coach Justin Wilcox, offensive coordinator Jack Spavital, director of recruiting Cherrington, Terrance Brown, Benji Palu made Caminog feel at home adding that his family was grateful and excited about Caminog coming to Cal.

Michael Roberson covers NCAA Football for http://www.sportsradioservice.com