Tag: Sports Radio Service

San Francisco Giants day off report: McCovey’s wife Estela putting up ex-slugger’s awards, rings, and mementos on auction block

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants Hall of Fame slugger Willie McCovey said of his wife Estela in 2012 that when you work closely together you fall in love. Estela decided to put McCovey’s mementos up for bid. (photo from McCovey Chronicles)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Former San Francisco Giant the late Willie McCovey’s wife Estela will be putting up McCovey’s awards, mementos, and world series rings. The list from the late slugger “Stretch” will premier his 1969 National League MVP Award plaque his 2012 and 2014 World Series rings are also up for bid.

The other items include his first baseman’s gloves and mementos that have a total inventory of 200 items that will go up for sale. Estela will be working with Heritage Auctions over the weekend and the bidding is already in progress and all bids will end by August 22.

Estela’s heartbreak emotion at the time of McCovey’s passing says again this is another hard time of remembrance of the former Giants slugger as she passes on his greatest awards from an illustrious career as she told the SF Chronicle’s John Shea, “It’s hard for me emotionally. It’s hard just to think I’m giving away Willie’s stuff. I still don’t know if it’s the best time. I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong time.” said Estela.

The items were willed to Estela from McCovey’s estate amongst those his All Star Game rings from 1984 and 2007, 1989 and 2002 National League Championships and World Series rings from 2012 and 2014. McCovey had numerous uniforms, ball and bats from his big league career which started when the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958.

McCovey said of his wife Estela who he met while he was in rehab from back surgery was his caretaker. Estela Bejar at the time (2010 the same year as the Giants first of three World Series Championships) worked at her sisters home care facility and Estela still works there today. McCovey said in 2012 interview with Shea, “When you work that close together sometimes you fall for each other. She’s just a really, really, caring person.”

Morris Phillips is a San Francisco Giants reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s open up three game set in Cleveland Tuesday night at Progressive Field

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Starling Marte the Oakland A’s outfielder slugged four hits that help pave the way for an A’s win on Sun Aug 8, 2021 over the Texas Rangers is seen here gesturing to the A’s dugout in the bottom of the sixth inning after collecting his four hit of the game (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are going to Cleveland, Ohio, to start a ten-game road trip. The A’s, winners of eight of their last ten games, will begin with three against the Indians (54-55). The A’s will then play three against the Texas Rangers and finish the trip with four against the Chicago White Sox.

The A’s swept the Rangers over the weekend. The A’s improved to 64-48 for the year. They find themselves two games behind the Houston Astros in the race for the AL West crown. In addition, they are now 1/2 game ahead of the Boston Red Sox as the number one Wild Card team. If the season were to end today, The A’s would host the Wild Card game at the Coliseum.

The Indians, who will be known as the Guardians next season, are 54-55 for the year. Last month, the two teams met for three games at the Oakland Coliseum, just after the All-Star break. The Indians won the series two games to one. Two of the three games were decided by one run. The other game was won by Cleveland 4-2.

On Tuesday, The A’s will be sending lefty Sean Manaea to the hill to face the Indians. Manaea, in his last start, did not fare well against the San Diego Padres. Manaea’s pitched well in his two previous starts before the San Diego game.

A’s manager, Bob Melvin, hopes Manaea will get back on track. The Indians will counter with righty Triston McKenzie. McKenzie is 1-5 with an ERA of 5.89. On Wednesday, Frankie Montas will go for the A’s. Montas beat the Padres last week.

Montas is 9-8 for the year, and his ERA is 4.10. His opponent will be Cal Quantrill. Cal, the son of former Major League pitcher Paul Quantrill, his 3-1 and an ERA of 3.14. Thursday’s game will feature the A’s ace, Chris Bassitt (11-3, 3.19 ERA), going against Dan Plesac (6-4, 4.84.) Plesac is the nephew of Dan Plesac, who pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The A’s will be facing a team that is rebuilding. The Indians’ star shortstop, Francisco Lindor, signed a free-agent deal with the New York Mets. Their star pitcher, Shane Bieber, is on the 60-day Il. Their manager, Terry Francona, has stepped away from the team for the rest of the season. DeMarlo Hale is the interim manager. The team has a lot of new players that are not familiar to A’s fans. The Indians roster is made up of a lot of young players and a couple of older players.

A’s fans should keep an eye on third baseman Jose Ramirez. Ramirez is hitting .254 with 24 homers and 65 RBIs. Shortstop Amed Rosario is batting .270 to go along with six dingers and 32 ribbies. The other big bat is designated hitter Franmill Reyes. Reyes broke in with the San Diego Padres in 2018. The Padres traded him to Cleveland in 2019. Reyes’ line is .275/20 HR/52 RBIs.

The Indians’ bullpen has all right-handed pitchers. They are using James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase as the closers. Karinchak has 11 saves and Clase has 16. The veteran reliever, Bryan Shaw, has appeared in 55 games so far this season. Expect to see him pitch against the A’s this week. Hale will call Nick Wittgren, Trevor Stephan, Nick Sandin, Blake Parker, and Justin Garcia from the bullpen to shut down the A’s attack.

The A’s cannot afford to take the Indians lightly. They know the Indians can beat them. With the addition of Starling Marte, Josh Harrison, and Yan Gomes, the A’s offense has an entirely different look.

The A’s struggled to get clutch hits with men in scoring position before these three players arrived in Oakland. Marte had a walk-off home run against the Rangers Friday night. Yan Gomes, pinch-hitting in the ninth with two out and down to his last strike, came through with a single to tie the game. The A’s won that game in extra innings.

The A’s are playing well. Their starters have been pitching into the seventh innings. The bullpen has been outstanding—the A’s need to win the series against the Indians and the Rangers. They will have to be at their best when they play the White Sox. The Sox are in first place in the AL Central. They are cruising to the playoffs. The Sox will be gunning for revenge as the A’s eliminated them from the playoffs last year.

The A’s have momentum on their side right now. They know they are a good team. They know they can come back late in a game to win. They lead the AL in walk-off wins. Let’s hope they can have a successful road trip.

Earthquakes take down LAFC 2-1

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Jose Earthquakes get by LAFC at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sun Aug 8, 2021 the Quakes improve their record to 5-6-7 tenth place in the MLS Western Conference (@LAFC image)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE—The San Jose Earthquakes welcomed their newest addition to their team with a 2-1 win over LAFC on Sunday afternoon at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose traded for Portland Timbers forward Jeremy Ebobisse this past Thursday in exchange for $667k of General Allocation Money (GAM) in 2022 and $500k of GAM in 2023. The also rewarded Ebobisse with a new contract through the 2024 MLS season.

San Jose won at home for the first time since May 1st. They are now unbeaten in seven straight matches (2-0-5) to give them 21 points and tied for eight place in the Western Conference. LAFC have lost two matches in a row and are winless in its last five.

The Quakes were looking for more scoring punch and head coach Matias Almeyda has another weapon added to his arsenal. Ebobissse has scored 26 goals to go along with his eight assists, including five game-winning goals and two game-winning assists, across 88 appearances (54 starts). He has scored 23 goals in 65 appearances since the start of the 2019 season, tied for 11th most in MLS during that time.

Ebobisse’s teammates were able to score two goals in the first 28 minutes of the first half.

San Jose (5-7-6) drew first blood in the 11th minute. Off a set piece, Cristian Espinoza serviced a ball into the box where fullback Nathan lifted his foot high enough to get a piece of the ball that went past LAFC goalie Tomás Romero for his second goal of the season.

Nathan’s goal came two minutes after Cade Cowell set up Jackson Yueill who shot the ball off the crossbar.

The Quakes doubled its lead in the 28th minute when Espinoza intercepted a headed ball down the right wing and cut back into the middle, making Tristan Blackmon slide past him, before finding a wide open Chofis who buried the ball into the lower left corner for his team leading fifth goal of the season.

“I think it’s fundamental that we continue to keep the order that we’ve had in these last few matches. The last three or four matches were against really good teams, the best in the league in my opinion. We’ve done well. We’ve been able to take the victory in two of them, so I think it’s about keeping order and continue to be a team that gets better physically,” Espinoza said.

Ebobisse made his Quakes debut in the 36th minute when he substituted in for Luciano Abecasis to a standing ovation from the Earthquakes faithful.

“I think he Is a player that will give San Jose a lot,” said Almeyda on Ebobisse’s debut. “Whenever a player wins on their debut, that is important. He and his teammates gave their maximum effort.”

Three minutes later, LAFC (6-7-5) cut the lead in half thanks to an own goal by Jackson Yueill. Carlos Vela sent in a free kick from 35 yards out into the middle of the box and unfortunately for San Jose, the ball deflected off of Yueill’s head and into the back of the net.

Latiff Blessing had a great opportunity to score the equalizer in the 65th minute when he cut back on his right foot inside the box and outdeked two San Jose defenders. However, his point blank shot was stopped by Quakes goalie JT Marcinkowski.

Ebobisse said it has been a nice, easy transition since coming to San Jose.

“It was a really warm welcome from everyone, starting with the fans and getting into the locker room with players, coaches. Everyone in the team environment has been super open and have been trying to make it as easy as possible for me to feel settled in. Once we get onto the field, we all speak the same language, the language of the sport and we start to see different connections popping up. It’s just really exciting and refreshing to be in this environment. There’s more for me to give from a personality standpoint and then from a footballing standpoint. The first couple of days, with the hectic nature of packing up, taking a flight and getting acquainted with a new system, meeting everyone and getting to know different names and different tendencies, I think it’s been a relatively smooth transition,” Ebobisse said.

LAFC did not generate any scoring chances in the last nine minutes of stoppage time.

Marcinkowski finished the match with six saves on six shots on target to earn the victory. Romero made two saves on four shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had six corner kicks. LAFC had three.

The Quakes extended their winning streak against LAFC to three. San Jose is now 3-5-0 all-time vs. LAFC, including a 2-2-0 record at home.

Chofis’ goal marked the first game-winning goal of his MLS career.

Espinoza tallied assists on Nathan and Chofis’ goals, marking his fifth and sixth assists of the season and 27th and 28th of his MLS career. It marks the first time an Earthquakes player tallied two or more assists in a single match since April 24, 2021 (Cade Cowell; two vs. D.C. United). Espinoza has now tallied six assists, including two game-winning assists, in six regular season appearances vs. LAFC.

Yueill made his 100th MLS appearance, starting and played the full 90 minutes.

UP NEXT: San Jose continue its three-game homestand on Friday 8/13 as they host the Vancouver Whitecaps at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Collins defeats Kasatkina to capture Mubadala Silicon Valley Championship in a three set victory

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

8-8-21-SAN JOSE-DANIELLE COLLINS POSES WITH HER CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY TALKING TO THE MEDIA AFTER HER THREE SETS VICTORY OVER DARIA KASATKINA TO WIN THE MUBADALA SILICON VALLEY CLASSIC FINALS. Courtesy of Sports Radio Service.

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE—Danielle Collins is living up on cloud nine.

The American came into San Jose on fire, winning the Palermo Open, and left town scorching as she defeated Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in an emotional three-sets victory 6-3 6-7 (11-9) 6-1 to conclude the 50th anniversary of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic on Sunday afternoon at the San Jose State Tennis Complex.

It is the second straight tournament championship for Collins as well as the second of her career.

It has not been all beds of roses for Collins in 2021. The 27-year old budding tennis star had surgery back in April for endometriosis. The condition is where cells like the ones in the lining of the womb grow elsewhere in the body. It caused her too much physical agony.

“Before my surgery, I was having to pull out of so many tournaments because of what I was dealing with my endometriosis,”, said Collins. “Now that I’m feeling better, it’s hard for me to think back to all of the weeks and days and months of having to deal with that. Always having to work around my training, always having to take stuff for (the pain) and not have it get any better. So I’m just trying to embrace every moment of feeling good.”

Collins broke serve in the first set when she was up 4-3 and used that momentum to close out the set.

In the second set Kasatkina was down 5-3 and ended up breaking serve at 4-4. However Collins rallied to tie it up at 6-6, sending the second set in an epic tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker went back and forth with neither player budging. A couple times during the tiebreaker Collins became frustrated with fans cheering before the point was over. Kasatkina seized the moment and ended up winning the tiebreaker 11-9 to force the deciding third set.

In the third set, Collins regained her form and was able to control the final seven games as Kasatkina looked to be running on fumes the rest of the way.

“I did get the sense that (with) my tactics I was doing the right thing,” said Collins. I did feel I was wearing her down a little bit. I was really persistent, (saying to myself) I got this. “

Collins had Kasatkina running up and down the court throughout the entire match and it proved to be too much for Kasatkina.

“She started up 2-0 in the beginning (of the third set),” said Kasatkina. “When (your) opponent is winning game by game in the third set and you already pretty tired, then yes it seems like the life is leaving your body.”

When asked after all she has been through with her physical well being, if she thought she would be a two-time winner this year, Collins would have never envisioned her recent success.

“It wasn’t even a thought in my brain. Honestly, one of my goals was to win a tournament this year. To now win two, it’s been…incredible. It’s still hard to comprehend that I’ve won two (tournaments) back to back. Like I said yesterday, that wouldn’t have been possible months ago, years ago. To be able to just know I can physically go out on the court and play with this type of stamina, this endurance, it means so much to me,” Collins said.

For her effort, Collins takes home the grand prize of $67,570 out of the total prize money of $565,530.

The team of Croatia’s Daria Jurak and Slovenia’s Andreja Klepac defeated the Brazilian-Canadian team of Luisa Stefani and Gabriela Dubrowski in straight sets 6-1 7-5 to capture the doubles championship earlier in the afternoon.

The Balkan duo dominated the first sets only losing one game to Stefani and Dubrowski. They had a first serve percentage of 73.3% and 10 out of 11 first serve points to cruise to the open set win.

“We were really hungry to win this tournament,” said Klepac. “Hungry to win the finals. I am happy with our performance.”

In the second set, Stefani and Dubrowski went up 5-4 and were on the verge of forcing the deciding tiebreaker third set. However, Jurak and Klepac broke serve and were able to finish off their opponents winning the last three games of the match and collect their trophies.

“Andeja (Klepac) was saying keep on going,” said Jurak. “Believe it can turn around. We can break them (on serve) again and that’s exactly what happened. We believed we could win even when we have some of the hiccups. I mean you’re human beings, it can happen.”

Jurak and Klepac compared their on court relationship to a husband and wife, when explaining how well their chemistry works.

“Well we’ve spent a lot of time together. “And I’m very demanding person. I want it too badly sometimes. She (Klepac) knows how to deal with it. That’s a huge deal for me. It’s like a marriage. When the woman says to the man, ‘ok shut up now I now understand!’. You know, she’s doing this to me. That’s how it goes (when you’re playing) in doubles,” Jurak said.

The team takes home $25,230 for winning the championship.

The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic returns next year to the San Jose State University Tennis Complex in 2022 from August 1st-7th.

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Japan wins gold shutting out USA in baseball; Durant and Green reunion in basketball

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica:

#1 Japan threw a 2-0 shutout against USA in baseball at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and got gold medal defeating the USA 2-0.

#2 Munetaka Murakami’s hit a home run provided offense for Japan in the third inning and that was all they needed to win Friday’s game.

#3 Masato Morishita and four relievers combined for a six hitter, Japan played to a 5-0 record and matched their softball team’s record.

#4 Team USA basketball pulled off a huge win on Friday defeating France 87-82 as old unlikely teammates Kevin Durant and Draymond Green united in the win.

#5 Durant led Team USA with 29 points resulting in the US’s fourth straight Olympic gold.

Join Jessica for Headline Sports every other Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Hawkes: 49ers looking for big things from Brooks; Right Guards getting ready for pre season action

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

At the right guard position Daniel Brunskill (60) seen in file photo is getting ready in camp for the 2021 49ers season (Niners Wire file photo)

On the 49ers podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Rookie guard Aaron Brooks is yet to get some work with the first team offense in Santa Clara at training camp. The 49ers are hoping for big things from Brooks.

#2 Daniel Brunskill and Tom Compton have been working at the right guard position in camp with Colton McCovitz tell how you see this trio at the right guard position as the first pre season game is one week away.

#3 Quarterback Trey Lance has been looking sharp in practice throwing for 45 yards with a ball over the middle to Travis Benjamin who made a spectacular catch jumping over defender Dontae Johnson.

#4 In practice head coach Kyle Shanahan knows there was good Lance and bad Lance who threw for five completions in practice but turned around and threw for four incompletions. Was that due to focus and non focus issues or not enough experience yet.

#5 Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for completions to fullback Kyle Juszczyk, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, tight end George Kittle. Garoppolo looked ready.

Join Joe for the 49ers podcasts each Sunday for the 49ers podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland crushes Rangers 12-3, could sweep on Sunday

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Oakland A’s Matt Olson swings for a two run double against the visiting Texas Rangers in the bottom of the third inning where Oakland scored seven times at the Oakland Ring Central Coliseum on Sat Aug 7, 2021 (AP News photo)

Texas 3 – 7 – 0

Oakland 12-16 – 0

By Lewis Rubman

Saturday, August 7 2021

OAKLAND–The A’s got off to a rocky start before they righted their ship in the third frame, finally anihilating the Texas Rangers by the score of 12-3 this afternoon.

Starter Cole Irvin got ahead of Texas rookie third baseman Jonny Hernández 0-2 with one out in the first but let the newcomer work the count full and then smack a single to center. That set up Adolis García’s 24th home run of the year, a 450 foot blast to center that had the home team down 2-0.

It took a spectacular leaping grab over the center field fence by Sterling Marte to catch Andy Ibáñez´s blast and keep Oakland from trailing by three before the home team even came to bat. It was not an auspicious start to the souhpaw’s quest for an eighth victory to offset the 10 defeats on the season that he brought with him to the mound.

Meanwhile, the Rangers’ rookie hurler Drew Anderson (0-0,0.00 in two games), a right hander who had a sip of espresso with the 2018 Phillies, looked unfazed in his first time through the A’s batting order in this, his second major league start.

He surrendered a single in each of his first two innings but didn’t let things go any further until the home third. A walk to number nine hitter Elvis Andrus, followed by another to lead off man Mark Canha set up a down the line double to right by the sterling Starling Marte that went for a two run two base hit to tie the game up. Olson doubled down by doubing to left, which put Oakland ahead with still nobody out.

Lowrie took a page from Canha’s book at got hit by a ptich. Anderson took a walk to the showers. He left after throwing 60 pitches, 34 for strikes and allowing three runs, all earned, on four hits, two walks, and a hit batter. He would end up the losing pitcher.

Anderson’s replacement, Jimmy Herget, who had coughed up Marte’s 11thinning walk off homer last night, served up a double to Yan Gomes, which plated Olson and sent Lowrie to third. Harrison fouled out to deep left, but Chapman doubled off the right field wall, driving in Gomes.

All of those runs except Gomes’s were charged to Anderson, leaving final total of runs allowed at five. Singles by Andrus and Canha hiked the A’s lead to 7-2. This has not been a kind week end to Mr. Herget. It was no surprise that Jharel Cotton opened the fourth on the bump for the Rangers.

Nor was it entirely unexpected that Gomes, who, along with Marte has added considerable umph to the Oakland batting order since their recent arrival, whacked a three run round tripper wto center with Olson and Lowrie on base before the hapless Cotton could retire a batter. It was Gomes’s 11th long ball of the season, the second since he donned the green and gold a week ago. And you thought Carmen Miranda was the Brazilian Bombshell!

Cotton sandwiched a couple of outs between a single by Harison and another by Andrus, followed by a bases loading walk to Canha, but he struck out Marte looking to staunch the hemorrage. Demarcus Evans replaced him on the reliever merry-go-round for the fifth.

Josh Harrison hit a two run homer to center off him. Evans was rewarded for this relatively successful performance by being kept in the game another inning to pitch a scoreless sixth, including two strike outs, before handing the ball to Josh Sborz.

Irvin’s afternoon ended after seven innings of excellent work. Think of the discipline it took to maintain his concentration and rhythm in such a lopsided contest. He allowed two runs, both earned and coming in the first inning, on four hits, three of them also in the initial frame, and two walks. He struck out four and lowered his ERA to 3.45, while bettering his won-lost record to 10-8. 62 of his 92 offerings were strikes.

Irvin’s successor, JB Wendelken, didn’t fare as well but still showed the same ability as Irvin to take a beating and keep on ticket . The Rangers combined three singles and a wild pitch to push a run across the plate with one out, but Wendelken buckled down and put an end to that nonsense.

Infielder Brock Holt pitched the eighth for the Lone Star state. He somehow managed to set the side down in order with a repetory that topped out with a 77 mph slider.

Burch Smith closed out the game for the A’s with a scoreless ninth.

Several Oakland batters had multi-hit games. Olson went four for five; Harrison, three for five; Andrius, two for three and Marte, Gomes, and Chapman, two for five.

Oakland will close out this homestand with on Sunday afternoon with James Kaprielian (5-4, 3.24) facingJordan Lyles (5-8, 5.25) at 1:07.

The A’s will play in Cleveland, Arlington, and Chicago before returning home to face the rampaging Giants at 6:40 in the evening of August 20.

Collins storms her way into the MSVC finals in straight sets to highlight semifinals action

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

8-7-21—SAN JOSE DANIELLE COLLINS RETURNS A BALL FOR A POINT DURING HER SEMIFINALS MATHUP SHE WON IN STRAIGHT SETS TO ADVANCE TO THE FINALS AT THE MUBADALA SILICON VALLEY CLASSIC ON SATURDAY EVENING. Courtesy of Sports Radio Service.

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE—Danielle Collins is on a mission.

The number seventh only needed 52 minutes to dispose of Croatia’s Ana Konjuh in a straight sets victory 6-0 6-2 on Saturday evening at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at the San Jose State University Tennis Complex.

This will be Collins’ second final this season as she won the Palermo Open last month. Collins will be seeking her second straight championship and second of her career when she takes to the court on Sunday afternoon.

Collins, who won the first nine games and the last four of the match, had her serve working well for her with a 70% first serve percentage. What was even more impressive was her winning 16 out of 17 second return points.

“I think that’s one of the strengths in my game, said the 27-year native of St. Petersburg, Florida. “I usually have a pretty descent percentage of points won on their second serve because of how aggressive I play. So I try to use that as one of my weapons. I try to be relentless about it.”

On the opposite end, nothing went well for Konjuh who struggled with her first serve and return game, having six double faults and only winning 30% of her total points.

The 25-year old Croatian had an impressive run at the tournament. Konjuh came in as a wild card having to earn her way through the qualifying round. She won five of the six matches, the most played by any player this week, she participated in and said she will take away the positives she earn during her time in San Jose.

“For sure it was a good week for me,” said Konjuh. “I came here as a qualifier and didn’t expect much. I secured my place in the top 100 at the end of year, so I did what I came here to do. It’s a boost of confidence for me to do well even though I haven’t been playing that well “

In the other semifinal, number four seeded Daria Kasatkina cruised her way into the final after a straight sets victory over top seed Elise Mertens 6-3 6-2.

Kasatkina played with poise and patience throughout the match. She had timely returns that had Mertens guessing wrong on a few occasions. She broke serve twice in the second set and finished off the match winning the final three games in a row.

“During the game I’m studying the play,” said Kasatkina. “Whether I have to go for the big shot or to put more pressure that is what I will do. If I see my opponent is tense, I will play it accordingly. Every thing depends on a certain moment, also what the score is as well. And that is how I’ve played since I was a kid.”

Kasatkina utilized her serve during the match. She finished with four aces, a first serve percentage of 76.9% and won 82.5% of her first serve points.

Mertens struggle with her serve during both sets. She finished with seven double faults and only had a first serve percentage of 52.8%. Frustration grew for the 25-year native of Leuven, Belgium as her return game suffered, having only won seven out of 40 (17.5%) first return points.

“I felt like my legs were a little bit heavier (today),” said Mertens. “The energy was a little bit lower, I had a tough one (match) yesterday. She (Kasatkina) was hitting her spots. Her serve was doing well. I really wanted to win this one too but I couldn’t change it around.”

The Balkan team of Daria Jurak and Andreja Klepac defeated the American duo of Cathy McNally and Coco Vandeweghe in the first semifinal in straight sets 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6) as both sets went to a tiebreaker.

Klepac and Durak jumped ahead in each set only to have McNally and Vandeweghe rally back each time to force the tiebreaker. In the first tiebreaker the Croatian-Slovenian team of Klepac and Durak easily handed the Americans winning the first tiebreaker 7-2. Then in the second tiebreaker the teams went back and forth, each scoring four unanswered points. Klepac-Durak finished the match winning the final two point to punch their ticket to the final on Sunday.

Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani defeated Ellen Perez and Kveta Pesche in a three-sets victory 6-3 4-6 10-8 to secure the final spot in the doubles finals.

Singles Finals matchup:

Daria Kasatkina vs Danielle Collins at 4:00pm.

MLB podcast with Larry Crino: Laureano said he didn’t want to dishonor his teammates and coaches; Tatis shags flies recovering from shoulder injury; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Diego Padres Fernando Tatis Jr took fly balls during batting practice before Fri Aug 6, 2021’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park in San Diego (AP News file photo)

On the MLB podcast with Larry:

#1 Larry, how deserving did you see the suspension of Oakland A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano for 80 games on Thursday night. Laureano says he didn’t dishonor the game of baseball and knows about it’s policy about illegal banned use of substances.

#2 Fernando Tatis Jr was taking fly balls before Friday’s game and some wonder if he’ll be back soon after suffering a shoulder injury. Tatis covered a lot of ground during the shag session and robbed some teammates of some home runs during batting practice.

#3 Larry, talk about the pitch that Boston Red Sox pitcher Hansel Robles threw that hit Toronto Blue Jays hitter Randal Grichuk in the elbow pad that drew warnings to both dugouts from umpires and that eventually had the Blue Jays leaving the bench to go after Robles after he gestured to them to “come out” and Sox manager Alex Cora came racing out to intercept Robles and stop what would have most certainly an ugly situation.

#4 The Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Adrian Houser tested positive for Covid 19 who became the latest Brewer to test positive. The Brewers who are hosted the San Francisco Giants on Friday night have activated outfielder Christian Yelich who said he’s feeling fine and ready to come back.

#5 Former Houston Astro JR Richard 71, who suffered a stroke in 1980 has passed away of Covid 19 he was not vaccinated. Richard pitched for the Astros for ten seasons was 107-71 with a ERA 3.15, 1493 strike outs and had a club season record of strikeouts of 313 in 1979 until the record was broken by Gerrit Cole in 2019.

Join Larry for the MLB podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Collins outlasts Rybankina highlighting quarterfinal play at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

SAN JOSE-8-6-21 CROATIA’S ANA KONJUH WINS A POINT AGAINST CHINA’S ZHANG SHUAI IN HER QUARTERFINALS MATCH SHE WON IN THREE SETS TO ADVANCE TO THE SEMIFINALS OF THE MUBADALA SILICON VALLEY CLASSIC ON SATURDAY. Courtesy of Sports Radio Service

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE–Danielle Collins keep on rolling along.

Collins defeated Russian Elena Rybakina in straight sets 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) in an intense quarterfinal matchup on Day 5 at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at the San Jose State University Tennis Complex.

Collins over came blistering serves by Rybakina (her highest was 119mph) and played her game to eventually outlast Rybakina in both tiebreakers.

The match featured multiple long rallies in both sets that worked to Collin’s advantage.

“I had to be patient and at certain times I had to tell myself to be more aggressive here, don’t be as passive. Don’t be afraid to go for it. So yeah trying to work each point very tacitly and keep her guessing,” Collins said.

For Rybakina, she takes away a learning experience from her first MSVC tournament.

“I think it was good preparation for (me playing) in the next tournament,” said Rybakina. “It was the first time (I had to deal with a) time difference of 16 hours (coming from Tokyo). For now I need more matches, more experience.”

Wild card sensation Ana Konjuh of Croatia kept her magical run going with her three-sets defeat 3-6 6-2 6-0 over China’s Zhang Shuai in her quarterfinal match earlier in the afternoon.

Zhang jumped out early in the first set as she won 67% of her first serve points won and four out of five break points saved.

“I tried to play aggressive,” said Zhang. “But it did not work out. I made a lot of mistakes. She (Konjuh) had a very good serve and it was tough to return. Tough to win points out there.”

Konjuh opened the second set with two straights win. Zhang closed the gap to 2-3 before the 23-year old native of Dubrovnik finished the match winning the last nine games in a row to punch her ticket to the semifinals on Saturday.

“I had this match under control in a sense,” said Konjuh. “I knew I had to keep my serves that was the big key. I didn’t let her win any games that she didn’t really deserve.”

Konjuh’s used her powerful serve as her main weapon against Zhang. Konjuh finished with eight aces and a first serve percentage of 64.4%.

“I knew she (Zhang) couldn’t be aggressive if I actually put more of my first serve in (play). Just making sure I was in charge of the points in the beginning.”

It helped to have family in the stands for Konjuh, who has cousin living in the South Bay area, in having a bit of a home court advantage.

“It feels awesome. Just to have the fans back in the stands for the atmosphere again. Putting on a show for them, it’s really nice, especially with my family there as well. They’ve been kind of a good luck charm (for me) this week,” Konjuh said.

Russia’s Daria Kasatkina defeated Poland’s Magda Linette in a fierce three-set victory 6-4 3-6 6-4 to clinch her way into the semifinals on Saturday.

Kasatkina had her serve working well in the first set. Linette evened it up in the second set using her speed and a strong return game. Down 1-3 in the third set, the 24-year old native of Russia, rallied back to go up 5-4 and was able to close out the match.

“It was a tough match,” said Kasatkina. “Every set was a different story. It was a very tense moments at the end of the third set and I was happy I was better at the end in that moment.”

Linette admits her downfall in the match was too many mistakes in the third set.

“I just made too many mistakes there and let her (Kasatkina) come back,” said Linette. “She (Kasatkina) was changing the rhythm a lot, but I dont think the balls were, in many cases, as difficult for me to not set up my legs. I think I was too lazy with my left shoulder, too slow. My balls didn’t have as much quality (on them) as my previous matches.”

Kasatkina felt more confident after tying the score at 3-3 in the third set.

“When the score changed from 1-3 to 3-3, from that point I started to feel much better (about my game). As we say in Russian, ‘my plate’. I felt I was back and if I made another step forward I would have my chances to close out the match,” Kasatkina said.

Elise Mertens had to battle hard for every point she earned against Yulia Putintseva in a straight sets victory 6-3 7-6 (10-8).

Mertens was in total control only losing three games in the first set. In the second set, Putintseva came on strong and forced Mertens into numerous mishits during the set.

It looked like Putintseva was going to force a third set when she broke serve to even the set at 5-5 and then went up 6-5. However, Mertens never say die attitude forced the 6-6 tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, Putintseva had three set point chances to put away Mertens but each time the 25-year old Belgian came back to even the tiebreaker before eventually winning the last two points to win the tiebreaker 10-8 and the match.

“I think it was a little bit of change at the end,” said Mertens. “She (Putintseva) had some set points. I think keeping my serve in. The first serve was very important. I wanted to win so badly, I wanted to win in two sets. So I really had to go for it.”

Putintseva credited Mertens with having a really good serve during the match.

“She had a good serve. So every time she serves she has an advantage. I think (playing) the baseline is more of my game. Her game is to build it up, three of four shots, (play) aggressive) and my game is to stay there for every point and get into long rallies as long as I can,” Putintseva said.

Mertens is now 2-1 against Putintseva as the two squared off twice against each other in 2020. Mertens will face off against Kastkina in the first semifinal on Saturday.

In doubles actions the Croatian/Slovenian team of Andreja Kelpac and Daria Jurak defeated the Great Britain/American team of Tara Moore and Emna Bektas in straight sets 6-2 6-3 to advanced to the semifinals on Saturday.

The Canadian/Brazilian team of Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani beat the young American duo of Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery in straight sets 6-4 6-2 to have their place in the semifinals.

Saturday’s singles semifinals matchup:

Elise Mertens vs Daria Kasatkina at 3:00pm

Ana Konjuh vs Danielle Collins at 6:00pm