Tag: Sports radio

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: How much of a force are the Bucks?; Warriors look to take second game against Blazers; plus more

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Photo credit: @BleacherReport

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony:

#1 The Milwaukee Bucks are truly a force to reckon with. The Bucks opened their series with the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night with a game one 108-100 victory in Milwaukee.

#2 The Bucks’ Brook Lopez led the Bucks in scoring with 29 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points. The Bucks have this great punch at the top of the offensive lineups.

#3 Kevin Durant not expected to be back for game two of Golden State’s playoff game against the Portland Trailblazers. We ask Tony if the Warriors will rest Durant for the rest of the series.

#4 Even with Durant out, the Warriors managed to get a 22-point win in game one. The Blazers are predicted to be overmatched in this series.

#5 The Oakland A’s went 1-8 on their last road trip, The A’s are on a nine-game trip this time and have already lost the first two games by just a run in each game. What’s lacking — hitting or pitching not closing the deal in the end of games?

Join Tony for Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s look to improve on their road record; play in Detroit tonight

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The Oakland A’s enjoyed a rare Wednesday off and are ready to open a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers on Thursday at Comerica Park.

#2 The A’s are struggling on the road with a 5-15 record and the A’s were 1-8 on their last nine game trip.

#3 The A’s lost the first two games of this trip to Seattle by one-run games 6-5 and 4-3.

#4 A day gives a team a lot to think about. What are some of the things that the A’s need to consider in trying to make this a good road trip the rest of the way?

#5 The A’s will be starting Chris Bassitt (1-1, 2.55 ERA) for the Tigers Spencer Turnbull (2-2, 2.42 ERA). Talk a little about this match up and the job Bassitt has done for the A’s.

Jerry does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Warriors make easy work of Blazers; Raptors-Bucks series feels almost like NBA Finals itself; plus more

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nba.com photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) drives the lane against the Portland Trail Blazers defense in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals last Tuesday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Golden State Warriors head into Game 2 Thursday night at Oracle Arena after coming away with a 116-94 win over the Portland Trailblazers. Is the 22-point win an indication of where the Warriors are in this series?

#2 You talk about the best versus the best. The Toronto Raptors with Kawhi Leonard and the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s a series that very well could go seven games.

#3 The San Jose Sharks and the St. Louis Blues, who were a tough pick on who wins this series, are all tied up. The Sharks, who opened with home ice, set the tone with a three-goal 6-3 win in Game 1, lost Game 2 in a 3-2 squeaker that had the Sharks trying to figure out the Blues all night. Game 3 Wednesday night in St. Louis will prove no different as these teams are expected to provide a close contest and an unpredictable game.

#4 The San Jose Earthquakes host the Chicago Fire at Avaya Stadium this Saturday. The Quakes are coming off a 3-1 loss last Saturday in New England to the Revolution, but were undefeated previous to that in four games with two wins and two ties. The Quakes are ninth in the West with three wins, six loses and two draws. For the Fire, they are eighth in the East with four wins, four loses, and four draws.

#5 In baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias was arrested and put on administrative leave for domestic abuse. Urias was arrested at a Los Angeles parking lot at a shopping mall. Details of what happened were not forthcoming, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said no matter this is not the ideal situation.

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

Preview of A’s four-game series with the Tigers

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nbcsports.com file photo: Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt gets ready to deliver as the A’s open up a four game series in Detroit on Thursday night at CoAmerica Park

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are having a very rare off-day on Wednesday as they travel to Detroit to face the Tigers for four games starting on Thursday.

The A’s, who are having trouble winning on the road, stumble into Motown with a 5-15 road record. The A’s were 1-8 on their last nine-game trip and have started this nine-game trip by losing the first two games to Seattle. The A’s overall are 19-24 for the season.

The A’s are currently residing in the basement in the AL West. Their starting rotation has not performed as well as A’s manager Bob Melvin had hoped. The A’s may have help coming in that department as pitchers Jharel Cotton and A.J. Puk are making their way back from Tommy John surgery and may be available soon.

Sean Manaea, who had shoulder surgery, is coming along and he may be back later this year. Manaea won 12 games and tossed a no-hitter last season before exiting with the shoulder problem. In the meantime, Bob Melvin will send Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas, Daniel Mengden, and Mike Fiers to face the Tigers this weekend.

Montas has been the most consistent starter the A’s have had this year. Fiers is 3-3, and he threw a no-hitter in Oakland against the Cincinnati Reds. Bassitt has made three or four starts since being recalled, and Mengden will b making his second start.

The A’s bullpen has not been as good as it was last year. Most of the relievers are back, but baseball people know that last year’s success is no guarantee that the pitchers will be as successful this year. The A’s lost Jed Lowrie to free agency. Lowrie was a consistent hitter, and he knocked in 99 ribbies last season. The A’s acquired Jurickson Profar to replace him, but Profar has been struggling both on offense and on defense.

The A’s will be facing a Detroit Tiger team that is in the midst of a rebuild. The Tigers are not the juggernaut of 2012 when the won the AL Pennant. Gone are pitchers Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Anibal Sanchez. Their starters are now lefties Matthew Boyd and Daniel Norris.

Righty Tyson Ross is on the 10-day IL and Michael Fulmer is on the 60-day IL. Former SF Giant, Matt Moore is also on the 60-day IL. Spencer Turnbull, Victor Alcantara, Daniel Stumpf, and Buck Farmer will see action this weekend against the A’s. Their closer, Shane Greene, has recorded 15 saves and has a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 1.50. The Tigers are in fourth place in the AL Central with a record of 18-22.

The Tigers’ two best players are Miguel Cabrera and Nick Castellanos. Cabrera is day-to-day with a knee issue. Cabrera missed most of 2018 with injuries, and his power has yet to return this year. His batting average is a respectable .282, and he has just one home run and 15 RBIs so far this year.

Castellanos, who will be a free agent at the end of next year, is on the trading block. The Tigers are paying him 10 million this season. In 37 games this season, Castellanos is hitting .270 with three homers and 12 RBIs. Last year he hit .298 and had 23 dingers.

The infielders for Detroit are Niko Goodrum at first, Josh Harrison, at second, Jeimer Candelario will play third, and Ronny Rodriguez will be the shortstop. Rodriguez has been productive, but the other three are just slightly below average.

The outfield will be manned by Christin Stewart in left, JaCoby Jones in center, and Castellanos in right. Cabrera will be the DH.

The series will be a battle between two teams hoping to improve. The A’s want to regain the form they had last season when they won 97 games. The Tigers, who lost 98 games in 2017 and 2018, are hoping to find a way back to respectability. They hope their young players will mature and improve. The A’s are hoping to end their road woes with a good series. Let’s see how this plays out in Detroit this weekend.

Giants’ top pitching prospect to make debut Wednesday against Blue Jays

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mercurynews.com photo: San Francisco Giants starter Shaun Anderson had quiet a Major League debut with two hits and fine start against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

By Ben Leonard

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants’ flurry of May roster moves has continued, but their most recent call-up may be the most significant yet.

After 35 May roster moves before Wednesday, struggling San Francisco (17-24) has called up its top pitching prospect, 24-year old right-hander Shaun Anderson, to make his major league debut against the Toronto Blue Jays (17-24) Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. at Oracle Park. Anderson will try to stabilize his slot in a Giants’ rotation that has struggled mightily outside of veterans Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija.

“He’s a guy that’s throwing as well as anybody” in Triple-A, manager Bruce Bochy said, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. “So that’s why he’s here.”

Starter Tyler Beede was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. Beede gave up 10 earned runs in his last three outings, lasting just 6.2 innings. Anderson will fill struggling starter Dereck Rodriguez’s slot in the rotation after he was also optioned to Sacramento May 11.

Anderson hails from the University of Florida, where he was a lockdown closer and then was drafted by the Red Sox in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft. The Giants acquired Anderson in a 2017 trade deadline deal that sent infielder Eduardo Nunez to Boston.

Anderson isn’t by any means a blue-chip prospect, but he has pitched solidly in just over three years in the minor leagues.

Anderson posted a 3.45 ERA in Double-A Richmond for the Giants in 2018 before posting a 4.18 ERA to finish the season for Triple-A Sacramento. He has kept that up this year in Sacramento, posting a 4.11 ERA with a 3.55 FIP and striking out nearly 10 batters per nine innings.

Anderson will face veteran right-hander Edwin Jackson, who will make his Blue Jays debut Wednesday. When he throws his first pitch for Toronto, Jackson will have pitched for a record 14 major league teams. Jackson was acquired from the Oakland Athletics for cash after posting a 3.33 ERA in 2019.

Rain is expected in the forecast Wednesday during and prior to the contest. Grounds crews covered the field with a tarp and worked on the field Wednesday morning. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic reported that the Giants say there is a window to play the game, with the heaviest rain set to come more than four hours after the scheduled first pitch. 

LINEUPS: 

BLUE JAYS:

Brandon Drury, 2B

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B

Rowdy Tellez, 1B

Randal Grichuk, CF

Freddy Galvis, SS

Teoscar Hernandez, LF

Billy McKinney, RF

Luke Maile, C

Edwin Jackson, SP

GIANTS:

Joe Panik, 2B

Steven Duggar, RF

Evan Longoria, 3B

Pablo Sandoval, 1B

Mac Williamson, LF

Brandon Crawford, SS

Kevin Pillar, CF

Aramis Garcia, C

Shaun Anderson, SP

Mariners nip the A’s 4-3 to sweep the 2-game series

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photo from yahoosports.com: Seattle Mariners closing pitcher Roenis Elias reacts as stadium lights flash after the team’s baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, in Seattle. Elias earned the save as the Mariners won 4-3.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland  A’s road woes continued as they fell to the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Seattle Tuesday night. The A’s, who were 1-8 on their last nine-game road trip, started this road trip 0-2. The A’s are off on Wednesday and will start a four-game set with the Tigers in Detroit before finishing the trip with three games with the Cleveland Indians.

Brett Anderson was on the mound for Oakland Tuesday night. Anderson gave the A’s six innings, and he allowed six hits and four runs. He was the losing pitcher, and his record dropped to 4-3. Mike Leake started for Seattle, and he picked up his third win of the year. Leake went 6 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and three runs (one earned).

The M’s put two on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Anderson gave up solo homers to Daniel Vogelbach and Tim Beckham.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the fifth. Leake walked Ramon Laureano and gave up a single to Robbie Grossman. Both runners advanced when Josh Phegley flew out to deep center field. Marcus Semien reached on Beckham’s throwing error, and that allowed Laureano and Grossman to score.

The game didn’t stay tied for long. With one out, Anderson walked J.P. Crawford. M’s centerfielder, Mitch Haniger, who loves to play against Oakland, hit his second home of the series to give the Mariners the lead 4-2.

The A’s scored a run in the top of the seventh. Stephen Piscotty led off with a double. Robbie Grossman singled to drive in Piscotty. The A’s trail 4-3.

The M’s brought in Roenis Elias to pitch with two-out in the seventh. Elias responded by getting the final seven outs of the game to preserve the win for Seattle.

The A’s drop to 19-24 while the M’s improve to 21-23.

Time of game was two hours and 37 minutes. 11,355 fans were in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s will have the day off on Wednesday before heading to Detroit and Comerica Park. Starting for the A’s on Thursday night Chris Bassitt (1-1, 2.55 ERA). The Tigers starter is yet to be determined.

Jerry Feitelberg is the Oakland A’s beat reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants feature: He was a Giant? A Foster Folly; Former Giants outfielder George Foster

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photo provided from autographwarehouse.com: Former San Francisco Giant outfielder George Foster who was dealt to Cincinnati in 1971 part of Tony the Tiger’s feature He was a Giant?

THE FOSTER FOLLY

By Tony “the Tiger” Hayes

SAN FRANCISCO — On the night that Nick Vincent was Be-Bop-A-Lulaed by Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. — in the worst opening act experiment San Francisco has witnessed since Country Joe & the Fish warmed up a 1978 Winterland audience for the Sex Pistols — we take a look back at another disastrous Orange & Black event: the botched 1971 trade of George Foster.

He Was a Giant?
The Giants never considered Foster more than a backup to Willie Mays.

So it was pretty ironic that six years after SF dealt Foster to the Reds for next to nothing, the late blooming star would became the first slugger to bash 50 HR in a season since… Willie Mays.

Foster had not shown much in his 54 game audition in SF, so it wasn’t much of a shocker when he was dealt to Cincinnati for a pair of nobodies in 1971.

At first, nobody thought much of the swap – either way.

The pair of players the Giants received washed out of SF quicker than an Ocean Beach riptide and Foster stalled initially in the Queen City.

But after Foster had established himself as one of the ferocious power threats of the 1970s, the trade was forever cemented as one of the most atrocious swaps of Giants history, right alongside the blundering bartering of Orlando Cepeda.

Why Was He a Giant?
Foster actually replaced Mays in the Giants lineup mid-game in his big league debut in 1969. The club was auditioning farm talent as potential replacements for the aging Mays, but the painfully shy, still developing Foster — who was disqualified from the Vietnam War draft due to an old back injury — didn’t scream future star.

He saw just limited action in ‘69. The pattern repeated itself in 1970.

The Giants were on their way to their first ever western division title in 1971 when they swapped Foster to the Reds in late May for SS Frank Duffy and RHP Vern Geishert.

Before & After
A Giants third round pick out of Southern California, Foster began opening eyes at Single-A Fresno in ‘69, driving 14 HR and batting a gaudy .321, prompting the late season cameo with SF.

In 1970 he leapfrogged Double-A and starred at Triple-A Phoenix- resulting in another September call up to Candlestick Park.

The Giants were on their way to their first ever western division title in 1971 when they swapped Foster to the Reds in late May. In 36 games. Foster was batting .267 with 3 HR for SF

The star stacked Reds would show patience with Foster easing him along until he finally ripened.

Beginning in 1976 – when he was voted All-Star Game MVP – , Foster would lead the NL in RBI for three straight campaigns. In 1977 – the season he crushed 52 long balls, Foster was the run away NL MVP. Foster ended with 348 career HR and 1135 RBI.

He Never Got A (Giants) Bobblehead. But…
Shortly before his trade away from the Giants, Foster produced his first four- hit big league game, batting 4-for-4, with 3 RBI with a double and solo HR off Mike McQueen in a 5-3 win at Atlanta (4/28/71).

Giant Footprint
The returns the Giants received for Foster are legendarily ignominious, but if you’ve blotted the painful memory from your brain pan, here’s a refresher.

First, Geishert. Most followers of horrible Giants trades know the right-handed never did play for the Giants in the big leagues. But according to his Baseball Reference page Geishert never even appeared in a game in the minors for SF as well!

Duffy, a Stanford man, batted 5-for-28 in 28 games for the Giants through the end of ‘71 and then was dealt as part of another of the Giants careless trades. This time, Duffy exited town, going to Cleveland along with great Gaylord Perry for the catastrophe that was pitcher Sam McDowell.

By the way, it was the SF based punk group the Avengers who actually opened for the Sex Pistols in ‘78.

Guerrero Jr. homers twice in Blue Jays’ 7-3 win over Giants

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-In his first ever appearance as a major leaguer at Oracle Park, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., did not disappoint the allegiance of Toronto Blue Jays fans in the crowd.

Guerrero Jr. launched a solo home run deep over the center field wall, helping the Blue Jays to a 7-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants before a crowd of 31,230 at Oracle Park.

Once again, the first inning was a troublesome inning for the Giants, as with the three runs that the Blue Jays scored in the first inning, the Giants have been outscored 45-5 in the opening frame.

In his next at-bat, Guerrero Jr. singled and then walked in his third at-bat, as the rookie is proving to everyone why he was the number one minor league prospect coming into the 2019 season.

Nick Vincent was the opener for the Giants, and pitched the first inning, allowing three runs on four hits and threw 31 pitches in that opening frame.

This was the second start of Vincents career, as he started a game on August 21, 2018, while pitching for the Seattle Mariners against the Houston Astros at Safeco Field. In that game, Vincent threw two perfect innings.

Vincent gave way to Tyler Beede, who pitched 2.1 innings, striking out five, including the side in the top of the third inning.

Trent Thornton went the first 5.2 innings for the Blue Jays, as he allowed two runs on three hits, walking five and striking out seven, as he won his first major league game.

Thornton also picked up his first major league hit, as he singled in the top of the fourth inning off of Beede. He liked hitting so much that he added a single in the top of the sixth inning off of Reyes Moronta.

Guerrero Jr. added a second home run in the top of the sixth inning, as on the first pitch he saw from Moronta, it landed about one-quarter up into the left-center field bleachers.

The home run was measured at 451 feet, a three-run shot that scored Thornton and former Oakland As second baseman Eric Sogard, who was hit by a pitch just prior to the Guerrero Jr. home run.

Pablo Sandoval gave Giants fans their only bit of excitement in the bottom of the third inning, as he hit his fifth home run of the season that scored Joe Panik, who led off the inning with a single.

Sandoval walked in the fifth and seventh innings, and it marked the two walks of the season for him.

NOTES: With those four hits in the first inning, opponents are now 55-for-172 in the first inning, a batting average of .320. On the other side of things, the Giants are now 23-for-135, a .167 clip in the first inning.

Aaron Altherr was added to the 25-man roster, while to make room for Altherr, the Giants designated Catcher Erik Kratz for assignment.

UP NEXT: Shaun Anderson will make his major-league debut for the Giants in the series and home stand finale on Wednesday afternoon.

This season for the Sacramento Rivercats, Anderson was 2-1 with a 4.11 earned run average, as he walked 11 and struck out 37 in 35 innings.

Edwin Jackson will make his season debut for the Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon, and will make major-league history in the process.

The Blue Jays are the 14th major league team of Jacksons career, breaking a tie he currently shares with Octavio Dotel.

In his career, Jackson has worn the uniforms of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa (Devil) Rays, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, and Oakland Athletics, prior to signing with the Blue Jays.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Will Irving reunite with LeBron in L.A.?; Leonard’s 4-bouncer rim shot gets Raptors in the semi Finals; plus more

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Photo credit: @AFordTaurus

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 What about all the talk from ESPN radio that they can see a LeBron James and Kyrie Irving reunion at the Los Angeles Lakers especially if Jason Kidd had come on board as head coach but Frank Vogel got the job as Lakers head coach? Stephen A Smith says that not going to happen that his sources tell him that Irving is going to the Knicks and Brooklyn is trying to weigh in on Irving, but Irving is focused on going to the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.

#2 The Toronto Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard sunk a four-bouncer on the rim and got the Raptors into the next round defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 92-90 on a buzzer beater. Leonard had himself a game finishing with 41 points in a Game 7 elimination contest to advance to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

#3 The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lilliard will be all the rage as the Blazers are coming off a narrow 4-3 win past the Denver Nuggets. It took seven games for the Blazers to advance. Do the Blazers have enough to go deep with Golden State? In game one the Warriors rolled past Portland 116-94.

#4 In hockey, the San Jose Sharks and St Louis Blues played Game 2 Monday night in the best of seven in this third round of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Final. The Sharks have been getting help from all around, but the Sharks’ Timo Meier has been on fire with two goals scored in Game 1. The Sharks had home ice in game for the first two games.

#5 The Oakland A’s opened up a two-game series in Seattle on Monday night the A’s got five homers but couldn’t win it in the end. The A’s and M’s are battling for that third place spot in the American League West and are two games out of second place but eight games behind Houston. The A’s and M’s have almost identical records in a short series that could prove to test the A’s on the road and the M’s against an A’s team who’s capable to break out the bats and get good pitching.

Barbara does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary every Tuesday night and is a freelance writer for Area Grande Spanish papers at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Curry to take on Lilliard and brother Seth in Semifinals; Can Warriors get by Blazers without Durant?

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Photo credit: @NBCSWarriors

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 What does it mean for Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors to be battling the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lilliard and his brother Seth in the Western Conference Finals?

#2 The Warriors are without Kevin Durant, whose situation is game to game during this series. What is the extent of his pain and injury to his calf?

David does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com