Tag: Washington Nationals

Snell strikes out eight in six innings, and offense comes to life for Giants in somewhat-dramatic 7-4 win over Nats

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell delivers against the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the third inning at Nationals Park in DC on Wed Aug 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024

Nationals Park

Washington, D.C.

San Francisco Giants 7 (58-58)

Washington Nationals 4 (52-63)

Win: Blake Snell (2-3)

Loss: Jake Irvin (8-10)

Save: Camilo Doval (22)

Time: 2:36

Attendance: 13,310

By Stephen Ruderman

It came with a little bit of drama, but the Giants clicked on all cylinders Wednesday night, as the offense was able to combine power with some timely RBI hits, and Blake Snell delivered another strong quality outing for his second win to get the Giants back to .500 with a much-needed 7-4 win over the Nationals in D.C.

The Giants were unable to get back over .500 Tuesday night, as they lost a tough one 11-5. The Giants’ offense, which has been home run happy since their three-game set in Cincinnati over the weekend, jumped out to a 4-0 lead Tuesday night, but was unable to catch up after the Nationals pounded Hayden Birdsong for seven runs.

Wednesday night would be another overcast and humid night in our nation’s capital, as the Giants looked to get back to .500 again. The Giants scored in the top of the first inning in each of the first two games of this series. However they were unable to do so tonight against Nationals’ starter Jake Irvin, who pitched a scoreless top of the first.

Blake Snell took the ball for the Giants Wednesday night, as he was coming off his long-awaited first win as a Giant in his last start, in which all he really did was throw a no-hitter.

Snell made history in his last two starts. In his previous start prior to his no-hitter on Friday, he struck out 15 over the first six innings of the first game of the Giants’ doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies on July 27, becoming the first pitcher in Modern National League/American League History to do so.

Perhaps expecting him to accomplish another sort of historic achievement would be a tall order, but the Giants had every reason to feel confident with him on the mound. Spoiler Alert: He did not pitch another no-hitter tonight. Juan Yepez singled and stole second with two outs in the bottom of the first, but Snell ended up pitching a scoreless inning regardless.

Matt Chapman doubled to lead off the top of the second, but of course the Giants wasted it, as Irvin retired the side. Snell then threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second.

Irvin retired the first two men he faced in the top of the third, but the Giants avoided the 1-2-3 inning when LaMonte Wade reached on a bloop single. Heliot Ramos singled back to the mound, and a pair of hits that did not go very far suddenly put runners at first and second with two outs.

Michael Conforto has been swinging the bat better as of late, and he came up with a chance to get a key RBI hit with a runner in scoring position. Conforto fisted a ball out into shallow center field, which Nationals’ center-fielder Jacob Young was unable with, and Wade scored to put the Giants on the board.

Next up was Matt Chapman. Chapman hit a chopper to third that Trey Lipscomb charged and threw to first. Chapman was called out by First Base Umpire Stu Scheurwater, which meant that the inning was over. However, after the Giants challenged the play, Chapman was safe, and Ramos scored to make it 2-0.

The Giants may have struck first, but just like last night, the Nationals struck back with a crooked number. Snell walked Jacob Young to start the bottom of the third and allowed him to get to second when he tried to pick Young off at first, but threw the ball away.

Young got to third on a ground out by CJ Abrams, and that brought up Alex Call, who got Young in with a base-hit to left. The Nationals were on the board, and then Juan Yepez gave them the lead with a home run just fair down the left field line.

Mike Yastrzemski tied the game with a home run to right-center in the top of the fourth, and Snell settled back down in a scoreless bottom of the fourth. With one out in the top of the fifth, Heliot Ramos flipped a home run to the Giants’ bullpen in left-center to put them back ahead.

Two batters later, Chapman hit a home run of his own to almost the exact same spot in the Giants’ bullpen in left-center. The Giants manufactured a pair of runs, so of course they had to hit three home runs. Anyway, Snell followed it up with a 1-2-3 shutdown inning in the bottom of the fifth.

In the top of the sixth, the Giants were at it again. Jose Ferrer came in for Irvin to start the inning, and he immediately hit Tyler Fitzgerald. Yastrzemski then pulled a bullet down the right field line for a triple that scored Fitzgerald and extended the Giants’ lead to 6-3.

Jerar Encarnacion was next up, and he joined the hit parade with a base-hit up the middle to center, which scored Yastrzemski to make it 7-3. See, there’s a couple of manufactured runs for you. They can still do it.

Snell threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth, and his night was over. He may not have struck out 15 or thrown a no-hitter, but he still pitched a quality outing, and other than the three-run bottom of the third, quite a strong inning. Snell gave up just four hits and struck out eight. Simply put, the Giants are getting the real Blake Snell now.

Eduardo Salazar replaced Ferrer to finish the top of the sixth, and Salazar came back out to throw a 1-2-3 top of the seventh.

Erik Miller was the new pitcher for San Francisco in the bottom of the seventh, and he ran into trouble after a one-out triple by Riley Adams. Miller was able to get a brief reprieve when Young flew out to shallow center and was unable to get Adams in.

Though maybe it would have been for the best if Adams scored, because it would have been a rally killer, and it would still be a three-run game. With the rally still going, Miller walked Lipscomb on four pitches, and Abrams poked one off the end of the bat for a base-hit to left, which knocked in Adams to make it 7-4.

Now the tying run was at the plate, and Bob Melvin went out to bring in Ryan Walker. Alex Call lined a base-hit to left, and things were now starting to get a little scary. Juan Yepez was up and worked the count full. On the payoff pitch, Walker got Yepez to strike out swinging at a beautiful filthy slider right on the outside corner, and the crisis was averted.

Everyone could take a deep breath, and the game moved to the eighth. Tanner Rainey threw a 1-2-3 inning for Washington in the top of the eighth, and submariner Tyler Rogers did the exact same for the Giants in the bottom of the inning.

After Joan Adon then threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth for the Nationals, it was time for Camilo Doval in the bottom of the ninth. Doval pitched his first 1-2-3 inning in over a month on Monday, so he had to make it dramatic Wednesday night.

Doval hit Keibert Ruiz to start the inning, and Young singled to right to put runners at first and second and bring the tying run up to the plate with nobody out. Here we go again.

Luis Robert Jr. pinch-hit and moved the runners over to second and third, and Abrams walked to load the bases with one out. It was now time to be scared again.

After Giants Pitching Coach Bryan Price came out for a chat, Alex Call stepped up to the plate as the potential winning run. With the year that Doval has had, it was time to fear the worst. However, on the very first pitch, Call chopped into a 6-4-3 double play, and just like that, the game was over. Disaster was averted, and the Giants were back to .500.

Blake Snell got his second win; Jake Irvin took the loss; and Camilo Doval picked up his 22nd save, though he did not make it easy.

Wednesday night’s game was a healthy mix of power and timely situational hitting for the Giants, and as I’ve said many times, they will have to consistently keep getting the timely RBI hits the rest of the way if they want to go to the Playoffs.

Heliot Ramos and Mike Yastrzemski both hit two-hit nights, and Matt Chapman had three hits. As for Tyler Fitzgerald, since he’s been on a tear, and everyone wants to know how he did, he went 0-for-3. It happens.

The Giants are indeed back to .500, as they improve to 58-58. With the Braves’ 10-0 shellacking at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Giants are now three and a half games back of Atlanta for the third wild card spot.

Thursday is getaway day, and the Giants can take the series and cap off a 5-2 road trip with a win. Kyle Harrison (6-5, 4.09 ERA) will take the mound for the Giants, and DJ Herz (2-4, 4.27 ERA) will start for the Nationals.

Remember, with the outskirts of Tropical Storm Debby coming into D.C. later Thursday, the game has been moved up to 12:05 p.m. in Washington, and a very-early 9:05 a.m. in San Francisco.

National League Wild Card Standings:

*1. Diamondbacks 63-52 +2.0

*2. Padres 63-52 +2.0

  1. Braves 60-53 —

Mets 60-54 0.5

Cardinals 59-56 2.0

GIANTS 58-58 3.5

Pirates 56-57 4.0

Cubs 57-60 5.0

Reds 55-59 5.5

*Tiebreaking procedures taken into effect.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Nats hitting too much for Giants Birdsong; Snell starts for Giants today

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Washington Nationals James Wood (right) steals second base on San Francisco Giants second baseman Casey Schmitt (left) in the bottom of the sixth inning on Tue Aug 6, 2024 at Nationals Park in DC (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Stephen:

#1 The Washington Nationals James Wood hit a home run, tripled, and scored four runs as the Nationals closed the gap on the San Francisco Giants Tuesday night in a 11-5 win.

#2 Wood also walked twice and stole two bases for the Nats. He’s been an asset for Washington.

#3 Nationals manager Dave Martinez said the game went from “gloom and boom” talk about how the Giants pitching just couldn’t hold them Tuesday night.

#4 For the Giants Michael Conforto hit a three run home run, doubled and walked but it wasn’t enough for San Francisco.

#5 3:45pm PT for today’s first pitch for the Giants LHP Blake Snell gets the call (1-3, ERA 4.29). For the Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (8-9, ERA 3.56) at National Park.

Stephen Ruderman is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Home run-happy Giants get off to fast start but unable to catch up after Nationals pound Birdsong to win 11-5

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San Francisco Giants centerfielder Heliot Ramos misses the ball hit by the Washington Nationals Alex Call in the bottom of the sixth inning at Nationals Park in DC on Tue Aug 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024

Nationals Park

Washington, D.C.

San Francisco Giants 5 (57-58)

Washington Nationals 11 (52-62)

Win: MacKenzie Gore (7-9)

Loss: Hayden Birdsong (3-1)

Time: 3:02

Attendance: 17,044

By Stephen Ruderman

The San Francisco Giants got off to a great start and seemed poised to get back over .500, as they scored four runs in the first inning, but Hayden Birdsong could not hold it, and the Washington Nationals ended up winning a wild one by a final of 11-5 Tuesday night at Nationals Park in DC.

The Giants finally had a chance to get back over .500 for the first time since an off day on May 30. They were in a solid position to do so, as had their young phenom, Hayden Birdsong back up and going for them Tuesday night.

There has been some wild weather on the East Coast. Games in New York and Cleveland were postponed, but fortunately, the storm system stayed north of the Beltway, so this game was a go on an overcast but humid night in D.C.

The Giants have been home run happy since they clubbed eight home runs over the weekend at Great American Smallpark in Cincinnati. They also hit two home runs enroute to their 4-1 win in the series opener Monday night.

Tuesday night, they immediately kept it going in the top of the first inning against Nationals’ starter MacKenzie Gore. Tyler Fitzgerald, who led off last night’s game with his 12th home run of the season, flew out to center field to start the game. However, Helliot who was back in the lineup after missing two games due to his jammed right thumb, then hit a home run out to right-center.

Matt Chapman walked with two outs, and then Mark Canha was hit by a pitch. That brought up Michael Conforto, and what did he do? You guessed it; he hit a three-run shot to right-center.

Birdsong had himself a 4-0 lead, and he took advantage of that with a scoreless bottom of the first inning. However, MacKenzie pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the second, the heat and humidity got to Birdsong in the bottom of the second.

James Wood led off the inning with a triple out to center and scored on a ground out by Travis Blankenhorn. Alex Call and Ildemaro Vargas walked, and then Jacob Young fisted a base-hit up the middle to center to knock in Call and make it 4-2.

That brought up CJ Abrams. Birdsong got Abrams to a 1-2 count, and then Abrams took a high fastball from Birdsong and tomahawked it out of the yard to right to suddenly put the Nationals ahead 5-4.

The Giants wasted an opportunity against MacKenzie in the top of the third, but with how home run happy they’ve become, that should be expected.

Birdsong had yet to give up more than three runs in a game, but he had just suddenly just given up five runs in. It may have caught Birdsong and the Giants off guard, but the Nationals were ready to go again in the bottom of the third.

Keibert Ruiz led off the inning with a home run to right to make it 6-4. James Wood then walked, and that ended the night for Birdsong. Wood stole second after Bob Melvin brought in Randy Roriguez, and he scored on a base-hit by Alex Call.

Birdsong gave up seven runs over two-plus innings when all was said and done. It ballooned his ERA all the way up to 4.73, which is unfortunately going to happen when you have a bad outing in just your seventh game. He just needs a few more solid outings like he’s had, and that ERA will be right back down.

Birdsong gave up seven runs over two-plus innings when all was said and done. It ballooned his ERA all the way up to 4.73, which is unfortunately going to happen when you have a bad outing

The Giants got some hope in the top of the fourth. Fitzgerald led off the inning with a base-hit to left, and that brought up Ramos. Ramos singled to left, and then it went under the glove of left-fielder James Wood, which allowed Fitzgerald to score all the way from first.

The Giants had a runner at second and the tying run at the plate with nobody out, and they had a golden opportunity to come right back in a game that had quickly turned into a slugfest. However, Gore retired the side, and the Nationals kept their 7-5 lead.

The Nationals tacked on another run against Rodriguez in the bottom of the fourth to make it 8-5, and the Giants wasted a leadoff double by Matt Chapman in the top of the fifth. Gore set down the side after Chapman’s double to end his night, and that started a streak of 12-straight Giants set down by Nationals’ pitching.

Former Giant Derek Law threw two 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh, and Robert Garcia pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eighth. The Nationals scored a run off Taylor Rogers in the bottom of the sixth when Call doubled in Wood to make it 9-5. Call hit the double off Sean Hjelle, who had come in for Rogers.

Washington scored two more when Wood hit an opposite-field shot to left-center off Hjelle in the bottom of the eighth to make it 11-5.

Fitzgerald hit a double off Tanner Rainey to lead off the top of the ninth, but of course, Rainey retired the side in order to end the game.

Through this craziness, MacKenzie Gore got the win, and Hayden Birdsong suffered his first major league loss. As I said, this was eventually going to happen to Birdsong. It happens

“Our situational at-bats were terrible tonight,” Melvin bluntly told reporters after the game.

It was true, and with the Giants being completely home run happy right now, it is costing them big time with runners in scoring position. If they are to make a serious run at the Playoffs, they can not continue to play this way.

The Giants fall back to under .500 at 57-58, and their standing in the wild card race will depend on what the Padres do against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. At the moment, the Padres hold a 4-0 lead in the top of the eighth.

The Giants can bounce back and get back to .500 with a win in the third game of this series. Though they’re 3-11 in that position. Blake Snell (1-3, 4.29 ERA), who will be making his first start after his no-hitter Friday, will go Wednesday. Jake Irvin (8-9, 3.56 ERA) will make the start for the Nationals.

Just like Monday night and Tuesday night, first pitch will be at 6:45 p.m. in D.C., 3:45 p.m. PT in San Francisco.

National League Wild Card Standings:

  1. Padres 62-52 +1.0
  2. Diamondbacks 61-52 +0.5
  3. Braves 60-52 —

Mets 59-54 1.5

Cardinals 58-56 3.0

Pirates 56-56 4.0

GIANTS 57-58 4.5

Reds 55-58 5.5

Cubs 56-60 6.0

Giants News and Notes:

Wilmer Flores, who has been dealing with tendinitis in his right knee throughout much of the season, is now done for the year following the non-surgical Tenex procedure on his right quad tendon Tuesday afternoon.

Flores, who turned 33 years old today, and is in his fifth season with the Giants, was hitting .204 with just four home runs. He is a free agent at the end of the season, but he has a $3.5-million player option for next season.

With Hayden Birdsong called up, reliever Spencer Bivens was sent down to the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Catcher Curt Casali was placed on the Paternity List, and catcher Jakson Reetz was called up from Triple-A Sacramento

The weather north of the Beltway is not the only storm system expected to affect our nation’s capital this week. With the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby expected to impact the Beltway starting late Thursday and early Friday, Thursday’s game, which had originally had been scheduled for the late afternoon, had been moved up to 12:05 p.m. EDT/9:05 a.m. PDT.

Major League Baseball News and Notes:

The Chicago White Sox, who tied the 1988 Baltimore Orioles for the second-longest losing streak in Baseball History at 21 games, finally snapped their losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Oakland A’s Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum.

The White Sox will not catch the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost a modern major league record 23 games in a row.

Giants finally back up to .500 for first time since May 31 after solid outing from Webb and home runs lead to 4-1 win over Nationals

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San Francisco Giants Tyler Fitzgerald right on dugout steps is congratulated by Matt Chapman (left) after hitting a home run against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in DC on Mon Aug 5, 2024 (AP News photo)

Monday, Aug. 5, 2024

Nationals Park

Washington, D.C.

San Francisco Giants 4 (57-57)

Washington Nationals 1 (51-62)

Win: Logan Webb (9-8)

Loss: Patrick Corbin (2-12)

Save: Camilo Doval (21)

Time: 2:22

Attendance: 14,674

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants have finally gotten back to .500 for the first time since May 31, as home runs by Tyler Fitzgerald and Matt Chapman carried them to a 4-1 win over the Washington Nationals in the first game of this four-game series in D.C.

The Giants came into our nation’s capital winners of seven of their last nine. However, something has greatly eluded them this season. That has been their ability to get back to .500. The Giants came into tonight 2-11 when they’re just a game under .500, and they haven’t even been at .500 since May 31.

Monday night was looking to be the Giants’ best opportunity to get back to .500 in a while. They were up against the veteran left-hander, Patrick Corbin, who came into tonight 2-11 with a 5.88 ERA. Plain and simply, he’s having a terrible season, and the Giants needed to take advantage of that.

Indeed the Giants did take advantage of Corbin’s abysmal season, and they did so right off the crack of the bat. The first crack of the bat in this game to be exact, as Tyler Fitzgerald, who was in the leadoff spot Monday night, started the game with a home run to left field.

It’s just remarkable what Fitzgerald has been able to do. This was his 12th home run of the season, and his 11th in 17 games. Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Jim Ray Hart, Walker Cooper and Mel Ott are the only Giants who have hit 11 home runs in 17 games.

Another reason this was the Giants’ best opportunity to get back to .500 was that they had their ace, Logan Webb, on the mound. After a rough appearance in the All-Star Game and start to his second half, Webb threw a complete game shutout against the Oakland A’s last Wednesday, and he looked to build off that Monday night.

Webb started his night with a 1-2-3 bottom of the first inning and a scoreless bottom of the second. Corbin pitched a scoreless top of the second, but the Giants rallied against him in the top of the third.

Mike Yastrzemski doubled to start the top of the third, but after Fitzgerald lined out and Mark Canha grounded out, Yaz was still standing at second. Michael Conforto then walked, and that brought up Matt Chapman, who hit a high and towering three-run home run down the left field line. It was an absolute blast that went almost all the way to the back of the seats out in left.

Webb and the Giants had a 4-0 lead, and Webb responded by pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third. After Corbin threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, Webb ran into his first jam in the bottom of the fourth.

Luis Garcia Jr. walked with one out and stole second base to put a runner in scoring position for the Nationals for the first time Monday night. James Wood walked with two outs, as Washington had a rally for free going. However, Webb got Travis Blankenhorn to ground out to third to end the inning.

Patrick Corbin ended up going six innings, as he pitched scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth to end his night. Webb pitched through a two-out double in the bottom of the fifth, and he retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of the sixth, but he ran into trouble with two outs.

Keibert Ruiz walked and advanced to second on a balk called by First Base Umpire Dan Merzel. Wood, who was at the plate when the balk was called, then shot a base-hit into right-center to score Ruiz and put the Nationals on the board.

Blankenhamp singled Wood over to third to bring up the tying run to the plate, and that did it for Webb. Ryan Walker came in for the Giants and got Alex Call to fly out to right to end the inning, as the Giants kept their 4-1 lead going to the seventh.

As for Webb, he was solid. He gave up just one run and four hits over five and two thirds innings. However, with a pitch count of 95, he got winded out a bit, and as a result, he struggled in the sixth.

Jacob Barnes pitched a 1-2-3 top of the seventh for the Nationals, and Walker stayed in for the Giants to throw a scoreless bottom of the seventh.

Eduardo Salazar came in for Washington in the top of the eighth. A single by LaMonte Wade and a double by Michael Conforto put runners at second and third with nobody out for the Giants. However, the Giants who have become home run happy in the last few days, were unable to add to their lead, as Salazar retired the side to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Nationals did the exact same thing the Giants did in the top of the inning. Garcia singled and Ruiz doubled off left-hander Taylor Rogers to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Taylor then Wood and Blankenhorn out swinging, both on three pitches.

Bob Melvin then pulled Taylor Rogers for Tyler Rogers. Tyler got Call to fly out to right to end the inning, so the eighth inning was the exact same for both teams. A leadoff single, followed by a double, and then the side was retired without anybody scoring.

Jose Ferrer threw a 1-2-3 top of the ninth for the Nationals, and Melvin brought in his closer, Camilo Doval, for the bottom of the ninth. Doval had been snakebit since his blown save in Pittsburgh on May 21, so drama was expected.

However, Doval surprised us all by striking out the side to close out the game in a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth. It was Doval’s first 1-2-3 inning since July 2.

Logan Webb got the win; Patrick Corbin got the loss; and Camilo Doval got his 21st save of the season.

This was a real team effort, but the fact that the Giants are home run happy again meant that they are still wasting a fair amount of opportunities with runners in scoring position. That will have to change if this team wants to make a serious run at the Playoffs.

The Giants are indeed back at .500 for the first time since May 31, as they improve to 57-57. They remain four and a half games back of a playoff spot, as the Padres and Diamondbacks are tied for the second wild card, and they are in a virtual tie with the Braves, who hold the first wild card by a percentage point.

The Giants and Nationals will be right back at it in the second game of this series Tuesday night. Hayden Birdsong (3-0, 2.97 ERA) will be called back up to make the start for the Giants, and he will be opposed by left-hander MacKenzie Gore (6-9, 4.54 ERA).

With a win, the Giants would be over .500 for the first time since their offday on May 30. First pitch will be at 6:45 p.m. in D.C., 3:45 p.m. back home in San Francisco.

National League Wild Card Standings:

  1. Braves 60-51 —

*2. Diamondbacks 61-52 —

*3. Padres 61-52 —

Mets 59-53 1.5

Pirates 56-55 4.0

Cardinals 57-56 4.0

GIANTS 57-57 4.5

*Denotes tiebreaker. Tiebreaking procedures taken into effect.

Giants News and Notes:

Blake Snell was awarded with the National League Player of the Week after his no-hitter in Cincinnati on Friday. That should come as no surprise, and it was very much well deserved.

Some bad news. Wilmer Flores, who had been dealing with tendinitis in his right knee throughout much of the season, will undergo a non-surgical Tenex procedure on his right knee Tuesday in Los Angeles.

A Tenex procedure is minimally invasive, and it uses ultrasound to treat chronic tendon pain.

The Giants have yet to announce a timeline for Flores’ recovery.

Mason Miller Shines In Oakland Win Over Nationals 7-6; A’s score six in sixth in comeback win

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Left to right congratulations all around by Oakland A’s Darell Hernaiz (2), Seth Brown (15), Zack Gelof (20), Lawrence Butler (4) defeat the Washington Nationals for their third consecutive series win a first in three years. Game played at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Apr 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After trailing by the score of 6-1 going into the sixth inning a loss was beginning to look eminent for the Oakland A’s (7-9). The A’s never hung their heads and came away with an amazing six run inning winning the game 7-6 against the Washington Nationals (6-9). The A’s had 11 hits in the game with JJ Bleday and Lawrence Butler with three hits apiece. Mason Miller closed out this game with a 1,2,3 inning striking out two players. He has been something special this season.

Game recap: Neither team scored in the first two innings of the game but it was the Nationals who got up on the board first in the third inning and it did not end there. Washington scored not only two runs in the third but went on to score in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings taking a 6-1 lead.

In the third inning the National’s Jacob Young and CJ Abrams both scored giving Washington a 2-0 lead. In the fourth inning Young doubled driving Riley Adams home extending their lead to 3-0.

The Nationals would continue to add to their lead when Lane Thomas hit a solo home run for a 4-0 advantage. Oakland finally got on the board in the 5th inning when Shea Langeliers singled Lawrence Butler home but they had a whole lot of work to do.

It was looking grim for Oakland when in the sixth inning the Nationals hit a couple of singles that brought Trey Lipscomb and Joey Meneses both home and the A’s were looking at a rather daunting 6-1 National lead.

Oakland has shown a lot of fight this season and they refused to back down in this game. They had an amazing sixth inning not only tying the game but taking a 7-6 lead in an unlikely comeback. Abraham Toro, JJ Bleday, Tyler Nevin, Lawrence Butler, Shea Langeliers and Ryan Noda all crossed home plate to take the lead. A collection of singles, a wild pitch and a walk accounted for the six runs. It was a sixth inning that will not soon be forgotten.

The A’s had the bases loaded in the seventh inning with a great opportunity for some insurance runs but came away empty. Relief Pitcher Lucas Erceg breezed through the eighth inning and the A’s were three outs away from a third series win in a row.

Oakland went into the ninth inning with Mason Miller on the mound looking to close out this game facing Lane Thomas at the plate. Thomas struck out. Joey Gallo was next up at the plate and experienced the wrath of Miller striking out. Luis Garcia Jr. struck out for the third out and the A’s had one amazing win 7-6. This guy is something special and it was “Miller Time” indeed.

Game notes: Sunday afternoon the A’s took on the Nationals in game three of their series. The A’s took game one 2-1 in ten innings but dropped game two to Washington 3-1. Oakland got their third series win in a row. Alex Wood got the start for the A’s but struggled. He went 4.1 innings allowing 7 hits, and 4 runs with 4 strikeouts.

Monday the Oakland A’s will be back at work beginning a series against the St. Louis Cardinals. This will be a three game series with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM. Both teams have the same 7-9 record. Ross Stripling will take the mound for Oakland and Sonny Gray will start for the Cardinals.

Oakland A’s podcast with Augie Mesenburg: A’s win third straight series with win over Nationals at Coliseum

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Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof (left) throws to first baseman JD Davis (5) for the out against the Washington Nationals at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Apr 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Augie Messenburg:

#1 Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore had control on the Oakland A’s line up sending down 11 hitters on strike outs.

#2 Augie the A’s have had success on their last road trip going 4-2 and started this homestand with a 2-1 extra inning win over the Nats on Friday night. The A’s just couldn’t figure out Gore and while their getting the pitching their not getting the hitting.

#3 Gore pitched five innings of shutout against the A’s to top it off Gore never really cooled off he threw for 90 pitches and he struck out the last five batters he faced.

#4 Speaking of the A’s needing hitting Esteury Ruiz crushed a 400 foot plus home run that hit the wall in the back of the bleachers at Las Vegas Ballpark Saturday night . Ruiz was the stolen base leader for the A’s last season, he was hitting over .400 when he got sent down after the first week of the season. What is so wrong about Esteury Ruiz that he’s still in triple A Las Vegas?

#5 The A’s are hoping to pick up a win against the Washington Nationals today in game 3 of the series. If they succeed this would be the third series they would have won for the season in their last three games series.

Augie Mesenburg is a podcast contributor for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants Snell coughs up two HRs and 7 runs over four innings in return to Tampa Bay loss 9-4

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Rough outing for San Francisco Giant pitcher Blake Snell as he gives up a hit in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg on Sun Apr 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, April 14, 2024

Tropicana Field

St. Petersburg, Florida

San Francisco Giants 4 (6-10)

Tampa Bay Rays 9 (9-7)

Win: Tyler Alexander (1-0)

Loss: Blake Snell (0-2)

Time: 2:20

Attendance: 19,470

By Stephen Ruderman

The Rays returned the favor after yesterday’s offensive explosion from the Giants, and lit up Blake Snell in his return to Tampa Bay, as they pounded the Giants 9-4 to take the series at the Trop.

After the Giants’ offense was stymied again Friday night in a tough 2-1 loss, they exploded for 11 runs yesterday in a performance that included five home runs. The offense looked to keep it going today in what would be a bullpen game for Kevin Cash and the Rays.

Shawn Armstrong was the opener for the Rays, and the Giants carried their momentum from yesterday into the top of the first inning today. Jung-hoo Lee lined a base-hit to right field to start the game and stole second. Wilmer Flores struck out looking, but LaMonte Wade Jr. singled the other way to left to knock in Lee.

Blake Snell would make the start for the Giants. Snell of course began his career with the Rays, as he was called up in 2016 and spent five years in Tampa. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2018, and helped lead the Rays to the World Series in the COVID-shortened 60-game sprint season of 2020.

After spending three years in San Diego with the Padres, where he won the National League Cy Young Award in 2022, Snell hit free agency at the end of last season. Snell signed with the Giants late in Spring Training, and made his Giants debut on April 8 against the Washington Nationals. Snell struggled with his control, and gave up three runs over three innings.

Today, Snell would coincidentally be making his second start with the Giants back at Tropicana Field, where it all started for him. It was also his first start and visit to Tampa since being traded following the 2020 Season, as the Padres did not go to Tampa Bay to play the Rays in the last three years.

It was a festive return home for Snell, but once the game started, the Rays wouldn’t be so festive. Yandy Diaz doubled to left-center to start the bottom of the first, and scored on a one-out base-hit off the bat of Randy Arozarena to tie the game at 1-1.

With two outs, Amed Rosario came up and hit a two-run home run to left that barely cleared the fence. Bob Melvin asked the umpires to review the play, which did not use up the Giants’ challenge, as challenges are not required to have a home run-related call reviewed. The call was upheld, and Blake Snell ended up giving up three runs in his first inning back at the Trop.

Armstrong and Snell both calmed down and pitched 1-2-3 innings in the second.

Tyler Alexander came in for the Rays in the third, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. As for Snell, the Rays got to him for another run in the bottom of the third. Harold Ramirez singled with one out and advanced to second on a ground out by Arozarena. Isaac Paredes then lined a single the other way to right to knock in Ramirez and make it 4-1.

Alexander threw another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, but Snell ran into more trouble in the bottom of the inning. Snell walked Curtis Mead and Niko Goodrun to start the inning, and struck out Jose Siris for the first out. Rene Pinto then came up and hit a three-run home run barely to the left of straight away center.

Snell finished the fourth without suffering any further damage, but that would be the end of his day. For Snell, it was a rude welcome back home, as he was torched for seven runs over four innings. Snell has struggled in his first two outings. The good news is that he also struggled in April and May last season, and bounced back with a powerful final four months to win the cy young.

Tyler Alexander pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, as he and Armstrong combined to set down 14-straight Giants after LaMonte Wade’s RBI single in the first. Kai-Wei Tang came in for Snell and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth for the Giants.

Tyler Fitzgerald, who got another start today, doubled to lead off the top of the sixth. It appeared that Fitzgerald would be stranded after Lee and Flores couldn’t advance him, but after Austin Slater pinch-hit and walked. Jorge Soler then singled to left to knock in Fitzgerald and make it 7-2.

Rene Pinto hit his second home run of the game, an opposite field shot to right, with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and Michael Conforto homered to right to lead off the seventh. The home run parade continued when Isaac Peredes homered to left with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to make it 9-3.

The Giants couldn’t do anything with a two-out double in the top of the eighth, and that would do it for Tyler Alexander, who ate up the bulk of the game for the Rays with six innings.

Teng retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of eighth, and then he was pulled for the submariner, Tyler Rogers, who struck out Pinto to end the inning.

Kevin Kelly came in for Alexander in the top of the ninth, and the Giants were able to get to him for a run, as Tyler Fitzgerald tripled in Thairo Estrada to make it 9-4. Jung-hoo Lee then popped out to shallow left, as the Rays’ shortstop, Niko Goodrum, made the catch and nearly collided with Arozarena to end the game.

Tyler Alexander got the win for the Rays, and Snell got the loss, as he is now 0-2 to start the season.

The good news is that the Giants’ offense did somewhat keep the momentum from last night into today. They struck early in the top of the first inning, and were able to get a pair of RBI hits with runners in scoring position.

The Giants are now off to a 6-10 start in their first 16 games, but another piece of good news is that they will make the short trip to the other coast of Florida to Miami, where they will take on the 3-13 Marlins for three games starting tomorrow night. This series will be an opportunity for the Giants to pick up two or three wins, get closer to .500 and give them a bit of momentum.

Kyle Harrison will make his fourth start of the season to start the series tomorrow. First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m. in Miami, 3:40 p.m. back home in San Francisco.

A’s hitters baffled by Nats pitcher MacKenzie with 11 K’s in 3-1 loss

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Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore pitches into the bottom of the fifth inning against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Apr 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Washington (6-7). 010 010 001. 3. 10 0

Athletics (6-9). 000 000 100. 1 8. 0

Time: 2:35.

Attendance: 3,330

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the baseball fans today. The forecast was for unseasonably low temperatures and thunderstorms between noon and one o’clock. Cloudy weather was forecast for the rest of the afternoon, except for more thundershowers between 3:00 and 5:00. That kind of put a damper on the Athletics’ recent surprisingly successful past, in which they had won five of their previous six contests.

Joe Boyle (1-1 ,8.22 at game time) threw the first pitch at 1:07. He would throw 85 more before leaving after five innings, trailing 1-0. The tally he allowed was earned in what turned out to be a 3-1 loss to the visitors, but the predicted thundershowers never materialized, and the youngster pitched rather well.

Boyle yielded five hits and a walk over five full innings, allowing but a single run, which was earned, on five hits and a walk, striking out five. His pitch count reached 86, 51 of them being considered strikes. He took the loss, and now stands at 1-2, but lowered his ERA to 5.68.

“I thought Boyle was good today,” said Manager Mark Kotsay. Obviously, we always know that the pitch count’s going to get run up with him. He’s more of a strikeout guy. He had five today, and only one walk, which is a good sign. I thought he did his job really well.”

The forecast for MacKenzie Gore, Boyle’s opposite number on the team from the nation’s capital, was mixed but promising. Here’s what the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga had to say about him on April 2:: …even after a somewhat uneven outing in [the Nats’ home opener] this much is obvious: He can do things with a baseball most people can’t.”

Svrluga went on to comment, “So that’s what the 2024 season is about for Gore, the Nationals’ gifted but developing left-hander: taking that arm talent and squeezing results from it. His stat line from his first start of the season …. was decidedly middling. His stuff is not. The trick: getting the outcomes to match the ability about 30 more times.”

Gore pitched well in his 5-2/3 inning mound tenure. Derek Law replaced him and left after retiring Gelof and Davis and allowing a single to Tyler Nevin and a walk to JD Davis. The starter had shut the A’s out on four hits and a walk. He struck out 11 of the 19 batters he faced and,with the win, improved his record to 2-0, 2.81.

Washington took the lead in the top of the third. Zack Gelof made a beautifully smooth play to rob Riley Adams of a hit that was heading towards right field. Jacob Young followed with a hard line drive that bounced off Boyle and caroomed over to Gelof for an infield single. After a quick check up, Boyle stayed in the game and surrendered a triple down the right field line to bring in Young and put Washington up 1-0.

Kyle Muller replaced Boyle for the sixth and gave up another run on doubles to left center by Winker and García. Muller pitched three innings in total.

“This is a good role for Kyle,” said Kotsay. He’s had some good outings this season. He worked really hard this off-season. We met early on in the off-season, and talked to him about maybe making some changes to the pitch shape, but he wanted to make a change to his arm angle and raise it up. He’s done a great job, and we’ve seen good results, so [I] tip my cap to Kyle for putting in the work this off-season and showing up and really making a difference right now in his role helping the bullpen out. He’s [had] some good performances so far.”

The A’s cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the seventh. Nick Allen singled off Robert García, who had relieved Gore with two down in the “home” sixth, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on Abraham Toro’s double to left.

Washington used a total of six pitchers. They were, in addition to Gore and Law, Robert García, Jordan Weems, Hunter Harvey, and Kyle Finnegan, who earned his fourth save with a 1,2,3 bottom of the ninth.

TJ MacFarland and Michael Kelly pitched in the top of the ninth for the A’s. The former left with two out and Trey Lipscomb on first with a single to right. The latter gave up a single to Adams and an RBI double to Young that drove the last nail into the A’s coffin. The run was charged to MacFarland.

“The moral of the story is the offense,” said Kotsay. “We need to hit better, and we need to score more runs, because the margin for error is very minimal right now.”

Game Notes: Oakland A’s public address announcer Amelia Schimmel did double duty doing the A’s and Nationals PA announcing on Saturday afternoon and then doing the PA announcing in San Jose at SAP Center at the NHL San Jose Sharks-Minnesota Wild game which started at 7:30pm on Saturday night.

Sunday, afternoon, the A’s will try to salvage a series split. They’ll send lefty Alex Wood (0-1,8.03) to the mound. Washington will go with Trevor Wiliams, a right with a 2-0, 2.61 record. Monday, A’s fans will get a chance to watch Sonny Gray (1-0,0.00) in his old stomping grounds as he pitches for the visiting Sonny Gray.

The Butler did it: A’s Butler drops single for game winning hit defeat Nats in 10 innings 2-1 at Coliseum

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Oakland A’s hitter Lawrence Butler (center) is mobbed by his teammates after hitting a right field single to score the winning run in the 10th inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Apr 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

Friday, April 12, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

Washington (5-7) 000 000 001 0 1 8 1

Athletics (6-8) 001 000 000 1 2 3 1 10 innings

Time: 2:36

Attendance: 5 ,777

OAKLAND–Yesterday’s magnificent 1-0, one hit win over Texas in Arlington behind the stellar mound work of JP Sears capped a successful 4-2 road trip was an indication that just maybe Fisher’s Fugitives might, after all, blossom in Sacramento and the desert wastes of Las Vegas.That is, if Fisher and Manfred’s machinations don’t turn out to be a mirage.

The peripatetic A’s pulled off a thrilling 10 inning squeaker of a win over the wobbly Washington Nationals, who had just steadied themselves by taking two out of three from the Giants in San Francisco, in a game that had a exciting beginning and an amazing end.

They won it behind that excellent mound work of Paul Blackburn and five relievers, the.bat of Lawrence Butler, and an alert play by late inning replacement Tyler Nevin at first. It didn’t hurt that Max Schuemann made his major league debut by scoring the winning tally as a pinch runner. But the excitement wasn’t limited to the frantic two frames of the finale.

The Naats’ Joey Meneses led off the top of the second of a scoreless tie with a single to center. Jesse Winker followed that with a single to right that sent Meneses to second. Both runners moved up 90 feet on Eddie Rosario’s grounder to first.

Menses tried to score on Riley Adams’ grounder to JD Davis at third, and umpire John Libka called him safe, a ruling that, after a long delay, was overturned on review. Blackburn wiggled out of jam when Luis García, Jr. fouled out to Davis After the game, manager Mark Kotsay had high praise for both Davis’s throw and Shea Langliers’ tag.

In the “home” half of the third, rookie Lawrence Butler slammed an 89 mph cutter from Washington’s starter, Jake Irvin 415 feet into right field to give the A’s a 1-0 lead.

Blackburn continued to pitch well, but not without trouble, for a total of 6-1/3 innings. His fielding was one the causes of his troubles. He didn’t get out Ryan Noda’s way on a pop fly to the mound in the top of the sixth.

The two A’s collided, and the ball fell for a two base error on Blackburn. Kotsay later characterized the play with words that recalled Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, “a failure of communication.” The A’s started managed to escape unscathed and ended up without allowing a run in that or any other inning, holding the Nats to five hits and two walks, and maintaining a pristine 0.00 ERA, eventually having to settle for a no decision

Austin Adams (1/3 of inning), TJ MacFarland (also 1/3 of aninning), Lucas Ercig (an inning) blanked the visitors through the eighth. But Dany Jiménez allowed a full count game tying home run by Winker that just snuck over the low fence in front of the Budweiser seats in right.

Jiménez remained poised in spite of that blow and a two out double to Luis García, Jr. keeping the score tied, Mike Kelly pitched the tenth and get win. He was helped by a heads up play by Nevin, who, with runners on first and second, fielded a grounder by CJ Abrams, stepped on the bag and made an error throw to third to complete a unassisted 3-5 double play.

Hopes rose for the Athletics when Gelof reached base on an error by Nasim Núñez at second, who had pinch run for García in the top the frame. Gelof stole

Irvin, the victim of Butler’s blast, was no slouch on the mound either. That round tripper was the only hit the National’s starter allowed in his six frame stint. He walked two and struck out five, using 74 pitches, of them strikes, walked two and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 4.24 from the 5.73 he had brought with him to the mound.

The Nationals used four relievers, Jordan Weems, Robert García, Hunter Harvey, and Kyle Finnegan, who took the loss.

The A’s hung that loss on Finnegan after Schuemann ran for Seth Brown, who had been placed on second as the zombie runner. Then Washington decided to grant Shea Langeliers an intentional walk. Fielding hero Nevin went down swinging. Then Butler came through with a single to left, andS chuemann was off and running. He beat the throw home, and the green and gold had a walk off win to bring them within two games of .500.

Tomorrow, Saturday, the two evenly matched squads will do battle at 1:07. Joe Boyle (1-1,8.22), a righty, will face Washington southpaw MacKenzie Gore (1-0, 4.09)

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants get hitting from Ahmed and Fitzgerald and pitching from Hicks in 7-1 win

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San Francisco Giants hitter Tyler Fitzgerald connects for an RBI single in front of Washington Nationals catcher Drew Milas in the bottom of the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Apr 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 The San Francisco Giants took care of business Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park avoiding a sweep and defeating the Washington Nationals by six runs 7-1. How important was it to avoid a sweep for the Giants especially on their first homestand.

#2 San Francisco pitcher Jordan Hicks allowed just one earned run in each of his three starts. Jordan said after the game that he feels he’s in a good spot.

#3 Giants manager Bob Melvin said that each of Hicks starts were very good each one of them. Hicks went six innings gave up four hits and just one earned run. Hicks said that his sinker was working for him.

#4 Nick Ahmed had two RBIs and scored three times. Melvin said that Ahmed is the fastest player on the team. That’s not to take anything away from Tyler Fitzgerald who stole two bases and score two times.

#5 San Francisco Giants starter Keaton Winn will get the start in the Giants next game in Tampa Bay. The Rays have not announced a starter for Friday yet.

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

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