Tag: Sports radio

A’s end road trip with short two-game series with Rangers in Arlington

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chicagotribune.com file photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Manaea celebrates after pitching a no-hitter in May against the Boston Red Sox. He will get the call Tuesday night in Arlington against the Texas Rangers at the Ball Park.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland Athletics meet the Texas Rangers in Arlington for two games starting Tuesday. The A’s and Rangers have played seven games this season, and the A’s have won four games and lost three. The A’s are currently in fourth place in the American League West with a record of 31-29. The A’s won two out of three from the Kansas City Royals over the weekend and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. The A’s are 15-15 at home and 16-14 on the road. The Rangers are 25-37 and trail the first-place Seattle Mariners by 12 1/2 games. They are seven games behind the A’s for the fourth spot in the division.

The A’s will send Sean Manaea to the mound Tuesday night. Manaea, who pitched a no-hitter against Boston in April and was the AL Pitcher of the Month, did not have a good month of May. His record has dropped to 5-6, and his ERA is currently at 3.60. The A’s are hoping the big lefty can get back to the form that he exhibited in April. He will be opposed by the Rangers’ left-hander Matt Moore. Moore, who had a terrible year in 2017 with the San Francisco Giants, is not doing well with Texas. Moore is 1-5 and has an ERA of 7.89. Moore came off the DL last Wednesday and allowed five runs in 5 1/3rd innings of work. Moore is 1-2 lifetime against Oakland in six career starts.

On Wednesday, Daniel Mengden will go for Oakland. Mengden has been pitching well. In his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays, Mengden went 8 plus innings and gave up six hits and three runs. The ageless veteran, Bartolo Colon (2-3, 4.21 ERA), will be seeking his 243rd win to tie him with the great Juan Marichal for most wins by a pitcher from the Dominican Republic.

The A’s hitters have shown that they love to play on the road. The team has guys up and down the lineup that can hit the ball into the stands. Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, Jed Lowrie, and Matt Olson will be in the infield positions. Lowrie leads the team in hitting, and Olson has found the stroke that got him 24 homers in 59 games last year. Olson had four homers in his last four games. Mark Canha, MattJoyce, Dustin Powell, and Stephen Piscotty play solid defense in the outfield, and all have produced.

The Rangers’ pitching has been less than stellar this season. Their ace, Cole Hamels, is 3-5 with an ERA of 3.63. Hamels wants out of Texas and wants to be traded to a contender. He’s hoping the Yankees will trade for him, but the Rangers may demand more than the Yankees want to give up. Colon, Matt Moore. Doug Fister and Mike Minor are not going to have opposing teams quaking in their boots.

The Rangers’ veteran third baseman, Adrian Beltre, has been on the DL a couple of times this season and he is hitting .304 but has just one home run and 13 RBIs. Big Joey Gallo hits a lot of home runs, but he also strikes out a lot and is hitting just .205. Shortstop Elvis Andrus is still on the DL with a fractured elbow, but he could return soon. Jurickson Profar and Rougned Odor fill in at short and second baseman. Odor is having an off-year, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa will see time playing second base.

Shin-Soo Choo, Delino DeShields, and Nomar Mazara will be the outfielders.

After the two-game set with Texas the A’s return home to play four with the Kansas City Royals, three with Houston, and three with the LA Angels.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Rodriguez with fantastic rookie start; Holland goes after fifth straight win tonight

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

Son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, San Francisco Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez, might have punched his ticket to the big leagues with a Major League win in his debut in a 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rodriguez is the first Giants rookie to pitch for win in his big league debut since Ryan Sadowski did it in August 2009 against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Field. Rodriguez said that the Giants offense helped battle back the Phillies when they rallied for five runs in the sixth inning.

After 159 at-bats since his last homer, the Giants’ Andrew McCutchen tagged a homer to right field–a very difficult place to hit one out at AT&T Park. The last right-handed batter to get a big fly out over the right field fence was Nick Hundley on May 2nd.

Tonight, the Giants will start Derek Holland, whose on a four-game win streak and will open the series at AT&T against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks with a 7:15 PDT first pitch.

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

 

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Farquhar throws out first pitch recovering from aneurysm; Seahawks’ Russell wants to help move team to Portland; plus more

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photo from the nytimes.com: Chicago White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar (43) tosses out the first pitch Friday June 1st at Cellular One Field before their meeting with the Milwaukee Brewers

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar throws out first pitch six weeks after suffering brain aneurysm

2 Seahawks quarterback and wife want to bring MLB to Portland, Ore.

3 Giants win third in a row, beat Phillies with three-hitter.

4 Royals bounce back to beat A’s Saturday after Friday’s 16-0 pounding by Oakland.

5 RIP Bruce Kison age 68 – winning pitcher in first nighttime World Series game in 1971.

Daniel Dullum on the MLB The Show podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcasts with Matt Harrington: Series tied at 1-1, look for these finals to be razor-close games

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photo from russianmachineneverbreaks.com: The Washington Capitals Evgeny Kuznetsov at the Saturday morning skate at the Capital One Centre in Washington preparing for their game 3 meeting for Saturday night

On the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Matt:

#1 Washington Capitals’ top scorer Evgeny Kuznetsov is expected to be back in the lineup on Saturday night in Washington for game three. With the series tied at 1-1, Kuznetsov in Game 2 in Vegas was hit into the boards by the Vegas Golden Knights’ Brayden McNabb. The hit crumpled Kuznetsov to the ice holding his left wrist. Doctors and trainers have worked on Kuznetsov and say he good to go for Game 3. He was originally listed as day-to-day.

#2 Talk about the Capitals’ top players versus the Knights’ top players. For the Caps, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson. For the Golden Knights, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith

#3 Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed more goals per game in the finals than he did in the playoffs. Matt talks about those allowed Fleury goals.

#4 For the playoffs the Knights have scored first in 13 of their 17 contests and took 11 of those games. The Knights are potent in getting the lead in the first period–they’ve won seven out of eight times.

#5 So it’s Game 3 tonight for Washington a win on home ice would give them a 2-1 lead and an advantage going into Game 4 on Monday night. For the Knights a win would not only give them the one-game lead, but also a shot at a two-game lead if they can win Game 4 and a leg up going back to Vegas.

Matt Harrington does the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Joe Lami: Caps’ Kuznetsov day-to-day after getting checked into boards in Game 2

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Photo credit: @ScoresNStatsCom

On the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Joe Lami:

The Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov is on a day-to-day basis nursing an injury that Caps head coach Barry Trotz wouldn’t say what it was. It was reported that Kuznetsov injured his left arm after being slammed into the boards by the Vegas Golden Knights’ Brayden McNabb.

Kuznetsov was in the Knights zone with the puck when McNabb hit him into the boards and fell and hold his left hand. After the Knights took a 6-4 two-goal win over the Caps in Game 2, the Capitals kicked into high gear in tying the series 1-1, taking the series back to Washington.

For both games, there’s little doubt that Vegas goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury has seen his share of shots and allowing four goals in Game 1 and allowing three goals in Game 2. Caps goaltender Braden Holtby was amazing in Game 2 with stretching the goalie stick to make a save on the Knights’ Alex Tuch’s shot.

Joe Lami is doing analysis on the NHL Stanley Cup Finals for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Phillies come in one of the toughest in the NL to face Giants at AT&T Park tonight

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Photo credit: @Phillies

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 The Philadelphia Phillies are just one game back in the NL East. Atlanta holds the top spot as the Phillies are in third. The Giants in third in the NL West. How do you see this series, which starts tonight?

#2 Giants starter Chris Stratton comes into the contest 6-3 ERA 4.97. Michael talks about Stratton facing the Giants’ lineup.

#3 The Phillies’ Aaron Nola came out throwing 90 MPH heat against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday in the Phillies’ 2-1 win. Nola struck out seven in seven innings. The Phillies have been getting some good pitching of late and Nola was a huge contributor.

#4 The Giants have recalled pitcher Tyler Beede from Triple A Sacramento. Beede joins the Giants with a 0-1 and a 8.22 ERA. Beede is taking pitcher Jeff Samardjiza’s spot on the roster.

#5 Michael talks about the big breakout month that Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford had in May.

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

 

 

A’s bats come alive to beat the Rays 7-3; Mengden wins sixth game of the year

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@Athletics photo: A’s starter Daniel Mengden, who pitched for eight innings gets the win on Thursday afternoon over the Tampa Bay Rays to avoid a sweep at the Oakland Coliseum

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- Tha A’s salvaged the finale of the four-game series as they hit three home runs to help Daniel Mengden win his sixth game of the year. Mengden was brilliant for eight innings as he allowed no runs and just three hits. He stumbled a bit in the ninth, but the A’s bullpen quelled the Rays rally to win 7-3. The Rays’ Ryne Stanek, who, usually pitches out of the bullpen, was selected to continue Kevin Cash’s program of using relievers to start.

The Rays were hoping to sweep the A’s as their pitching had held the A’s to just three runs in the last three games. The A’s hitters were scuffling, but today, they snapped out of the hitting funk. The A’s Khris Davis, who was on the 10-day DL, was cleared to play and he helped get the team going when he doubled in his first at-bat. The A’s also hit three home runs to aid Mengden’s cause. The A’s had hit just 19 at home so far this year as compared to 47 on the road. The changed the numbers when the three Matts, Olson, Chapman, and Joyce all homered.

In the bottom of the second, the A’s exploded to score three times.  The A’s had scored just three runs in the 4-game series with the Rays had to be ecstatic as the bats came alive. Khris Davis, in his first at-bat after being on the 10-day DL, doubled to right-centerfield. Chad Pinder walked to give the A’s runners at first and second with one out. Bruce Maxwell struck out for the second out. Stephen Piscotty, who has been scuffling, doubled to the left-field corner to drive in Davis and Pinder. Mark Canha followed with a single to give the A’s the lead 2-0 after two complete.

The A’s scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the seventh to take a 5-0 lead. With one out, Matt Olson hit a solo home run to right. Two batters later, Matt Chapman sent a Ryan Yarbrough pitch into outer space for his ninth of the season.

Matt Joyce joined the homer parade in the eighth. Stephen Piscotty walked to put a man on first with one out. The Rays recorded the second out of the inning when Mark Canha popped out to the Rays’ first baseman Brad Miller in foul territory. Joyce then blasted his seventh big fly to put the A’s in the driver’s seat 7-0.

A’s manager let Mengden start the ninth. Mengden gave up a single to C.J.Cron and Joey Wendle to put men on first and second with no out. Rays’ catcher Wilson Ramos doubled to drive in Cron and Wendle. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Josh Lucas to pitch. Mengden received a standing ovation from the 12, 070 fans in attendance. Lucas struck out Daniel Robertson for the first out. He then walked Brad Miller. Lucas struck out Rob Refsnyder for the second out. He needed one more out to get the save, but he couldn’t retire Christian Arroyo. Aroyo slammed a double into left field to drive in Ramos. Miller stopped at third base. Melvin brought in closer Blake Treinen to end the game. Rays’ right fielder Josh Field hit a blooper that looked as if it was going to fall in for a hit. Chad Pinder made a sensational over-the-shoulder catch to end the game. It was not easy as the ball bounced off Pinder’s glove, but he somehow was able to grab the ball with his bare hand as he fell to the ground.  The A’s win 7-3

Game Notes: Mengden had his scoreless streak end at a career-high 25 innings. It was the longest streak by an A’s pitcher since Sean Doolittle in 2014 (26.1) and the longest by an A’s starter since Corey Lidle in 2002 (32.0). Mengden also pitched 16 consecutive innings without issuing a walk. He has won four consecutive games for the first time in his career. Blake Treinen recorded his 13th save of the year, and it was his 10th save in May tying him with Dennis Eckersley for the most saves in May in Oakland history.

The A’s seven runs ended a 14-game consecutive streak of 4 runs or less. They finished the month with a record of 15-14 which was the first winning record in May since 2014.

The line score for Oakland was 7 runs, 7 hits, and no errors. The Rays’ line was 3 runs, 7 hits, and 2 errors. The A’s improve to 29-28 while the Rays fall to 28-27.

Up Next: The A’s start a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals Friday night in Kansas City. They are off on Monday before going to Texas for two more with the Rangers. Frankie Montas, who pitched well in his last start, will handle the pitching chores for the Green and Gold and the Royal will start the veteran righty, Ian Kennedy. Kennedy is 1-5 and has an ERA of 5.15. Game time is at 5:15 pm PST.

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: Will this be another series of LeBron versus four guys from the Warriors?

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Photo credit: @warriors

On Headline Sports with Tony Renteria:

The NBA Finals gets underway tonight at Oracle Arena in Oakland for Game 1 between Cleveland and Golden State. Same teams in the finals for the last four years. Will it be a series where LeBron has to depend on his teammates to get past the Warriors’ best of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson?

The Philadelphia 76ers team president Bryan Colangelo. who opened five Twitter accounts only to criticize his own players, was found out. The worst of it was when he disclosed an Jahlil Okafar injury that was supposed to be private, but was made public on twitter by Colangelo.

Turning to football: The Oakland Raiders’ practice on Tuesday was obviously missing some key players wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Seth Roberts, safety Reggie Nelson, and defensive end Khalil Mack all are in contract discussions. Preseason starts in August so the Raiders would like to get them in camp soon.

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria is podcasted each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Panik’s return is near; Cueto to throw on flat ground; plus more

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Photo credit: @zesty_mlb

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael and Morris:

Just mentioning that Giants second baseman Joe Panik is super itchy to get back. Panik expects to play and have a seamless transition in case anyone is trying to throw him in the minor leagues for any amount of time.

Also, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto is going to start throwing on flat ground sometime this week. The Giants need him, it’s just not Cueto; it’s Bumgarner the Giants are seeing that breaking point in terms of the rotation. With the Giants having to fill all these holes, Suarez pitched great, but now starter Jeff Samardzija has an issue, but not with the shoulder.

Join Michael and Morris for the SF Giants podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Oakland 3-5 on current homestand so far; looking to have breakout offense against Rays

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Photo credit: @RaysBaseball

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

First of all let’s talk about Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Nathan Eovaldi who was coming off his second Tommy John surgery and hadn’t pitched since August 10, 2016. Eovaldi pitched six innings reached his 70 pitch count and was throwing a no hitter and left the game for reliever Wilmer Font who was an A’s pitcher once upon a time until the A’s designated him for assignment and the Rays picked him up.

Font gave up the only hit in the ball game for the A’s when the A’s Jed Lowrie got a single that broke it up. If the Rays succeeded with the no hitter it would be the first time since 1991 that the A’s would have been no hit.

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