Tag: Wilmer Flores

Giants drop 6-5 decision to Braves

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Photo credit: Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves played their middle game on Saturday. Georgia was on San Francisco’s mind on Logan Webb Day or Webby Day. San Francisco (64-59) dropped a 6-5 decision to Atlanta (80-42) at Truist Field.

Giants pitcher Tyler Rogers (4-5, 2.73 ERA) took the loss after pitching two innings and giving up two hits, two earned runs, three strikeouts, and one home run.

The Giants’ starting lineup consisted of LaMonte Webb Jr., Wade Meckler, Wilmer Flores, Joc Pederson, Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis, Blake Sabol, Johan Camargo, Thairo Estrada, and of course, Logan Webb. Webb pitched six innings and gave up nine hits, four earned runs, five strikeouts, and one home run.

The Giants wasted no time getting on the board. LaMonte Wade Jr. homered on a fly ball to right field for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The Giants doubled their lead in the top of the second inning. Johan Camargo grounded into a forceout that went from Nicky Lopez to Orlando Arcia. J.D. Davis scored for a 2-0 lead. Blake Sabol went to second base, while Camargo went to first base with one out.

The Braves tied the game in the bottom of the second inning. Eddie Rosario doubled on a line drive to Joc Pederson. Matt Olson scored to cut the Giants’ lead in half to 2-1. Marcell Ozuna went to third base. Orlando Arcia grounded out and went from Johan Camargo to LaMonte Wade Jr. Ozuna scored to tie the game 2-2 with two outs.

The Giants took a two-run lead in the top of the fourth inning. J.D. Davis was out on a sacrifice fly to Ronald Acuna Jr. Joc Pederson scored for a 3-2 lead with one out. Thairo Estrada singled on a line drive to Eddie Rosario. Michael Conforto scored for a 4-2 lead. Johan Camargo went to second base.

The Braves made it a one-run game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Travis d’Arnaud doubled on a sharp line drive to Michael Conforto. Eddie Rosario scored to cut the Giants’ lead to 4-3.

The Braves tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ronald Acuna Jr. homered on a fly ball to right field to tie the game 4-4.

The Giants challenged a force play in the top of the sixth inning and the call on the field was upheld. Johan Camargo grounded into a double play that went from Nicky Lopez to Orlando Arcia to Matt Olson. Michael Conforto scored for a 5-4 lead. J.D. Davis went to third base, as Blake Sabol was out at second base and Camargo was out at first base with two outs.

The Braves responded in the bottom of the eighth inning. Eddie Rosario homered on a fly ball to center field. Luke Williams scored for a 6-5 lead.

Notes
The Giants placed Ross Stripling on the 15-day injured list — retroactive to August 17th — with a mid-back strain.

The Giants placed Ryan Walker on the paternity list.

The Giants recalled Sean Hjelle and Casey Schmitt from Triple-A Sacramento.

Up Next
The Giants and Braves will wrap up their series on Sunday at 10:35 am Pacific. The Giants’ starting pitcher is TBD, while the Braves named Max Fried (4-1, 2.57 ERA) their starting pitcher.

Giants lose 4-1 to Angels in a pitcher’s duel

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Photo credit: si.com

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants wrapped up their road series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Wednesday night. The Giants lost to the Angels 4-1 in the series finale at Angel Stadium. San Francisco fell to 62-53, while Anaheim improved to 58-58.

Tristan Beck (3-1, 3.03 ERA) took the loss after pitching three innings and giving up two hits, three earned runs, two walks, two strikeouts, and one home run. Beck entered the game after Sean Manaea (3-3, 5.10 ERA) pitched four innings and gave up one hit, one earned run, one walk, and six strikeouts.

The Giants’ starting lineup consisted of LaMonte Wade Jr., Thairo Estrada, Wilmer Flores, Joc Pederson, J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto, Patrick Bailey, Brandon Crawford, Luis Matos, and Ryan Walker. Walker pitched one inning and gave up one hit and three strikeouts.

After one scoreless inning, San Francisco got on the scoreboard. Brandon Crawford was out on a sacrifice fly to Mickey Moniak. Michael Conforto scored for a 1-0 Giants lead with two outs.

Neither team added to the scoreboard until the Angels finally got on the board with a four-run sixth inning. Brandon Drury singled on a line drive to Joc Pederson, who committed a fielding error. Luis Rengifo scored to tie the game 1-1. Shohei Ohtani went to third base, while Drury went to second base. Mike Moustakas homered on a fly ball to right field. Drury scored to put the Angels up 4-1.

Notes
Giants infielder Wilmer Flores improved to a 20-game on-base streak on Wednesday.

Giants bullpen catcher Alex Burg turned 36 on Wednesday.

The Giants made two roster moves on Wednesday. Outfielder Heilot Ramos was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento, while outfielder A.J. Pollock was placed on the ten-day injured list with a left oblique strain.

The Giants’ Rogers brothers have been putting up almost identical numbers. Taylor (2.52 ERA) has 46 strikeouts and a 1.09 WHIP, while Tyler (2.54 ERA) has 45 strikeouts and a 1.09 WHIP — both statistics are as of August 9, 2023.

Up Next
The Giants will return home to host the Texas Rangers on Friday at 7:15 pm Pacific. The Giants haven’t announced who will start for them, but Jon Gray (7-5, 3.72 ERA) will pitch for the Rangers.

Giants Lose In Extras To Diamondbacks 4-3 On The Skipper’s Birthday

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San Francisco Giants hitter Wilmer Flores rounds third base after connecting for a home run and gets congratulations from third base coach Mark Hallberg against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the bottom of the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon Jul 31, 2023 (AP News photo)

Monday, July 31st, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Francisco, CA -The San Francisco Giants began a four game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks it didn’t quite end as planned as the Diamondbacks edged San Francisco 4-3 at Oracle Park on Monday night.

On the mound Jakob Junis for the Giants and Ryne Nelson for the D-Backs. First three batters for starter Jakob Junis went down easily and set the tone for the Giants.

Wilmer Flores then sparked the crowd with a big pop that looked like it was going over the wall for the first run of the game, but Alek Thomas snatched it out of the air. First hit of the game for Arizona comes from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and is hit straight back at Junis in the leg and shakes him up, but he stays in the game and gets back to back strikeouts to get out the inning.

First hit for the Giants came from Blake Sabol on a chip shot over the head of the third baseman and was followed by a single from Patrick Bailey. Isan Diaz ‘first at bat after being called up from Sacramento results in a walk and bases loaded with Luis Matos coming to the plate.

Matos grounded into a fielder’s choice to stop the rally for San Francisco in its tracks. Flores sparked the crowd again with his second at bat, but this time the homer wasn’t robbed and it’s out of here, 1-0 Giants.

Alex Wood replaced Junis in the fourth inning and continued right where Junis left off. The Giants scored a second run after a rally was started by Sabol who got on from a walk. Bailey moved him over on a double and then a sac fly from Crawford scored Sabol, 2-0 Giants.

In the sixth, Arizona scored two runs to tie the game up. The first came when Corbin Carroll hit a single and scored Ketel Marte, then Gurriel Jr. hit a double and scored Carroll and now it’s tied at two. Camillo Doval came in the ninth, but not for a save this time around.

Doval gets three strikeouts in a row and Giants head into the bottom of the ninth hoping for another walk off. One, two, three inning in the bottom of the ninth for San Francisco and we then headed into extra innings.

Arizona started extras with McCarthy as the ghost runner and Emmanuel Rivera hit a double that would score McCarthy and take a one run lead. 3-2 Diamondbacks. In the bottom of the tenth a wild pitch brings in the ghost runner Brandon Crawford and the Giants tie it up. 3-3.

Lamonte Jr looked like he had a walk-off home run, but it wasn’t hit deep enough and the tenth continued. In the 11th Marte hits a ground rule double that scores the ghost runner Perdomo, 4-3 D-Backs.

Taylor Rogers gets out of the inning, but now it was on the bats to send the fans home happy. The Giants get sat down one, two three and the game ends with Giants losing 4-3. The win is rewarded to Kevin Ginkel, Taylor Rogers gets the loss, and the save goes to Scott McGough.

The next game is Tuesday August 1st with Zac Gallen (11-5 ERA 3.36) pitching for Arizona and Alex Cobb (6-3 ERA 2.97) on the hill for San Francisco first pitch 6:45pm PT.

Giants Lose to Tigers 5-1 in Sixth Straight Loss

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San Francisco Giants second baseman David Villar takes a leap of faith to take a stab at Detroit Tigers Jake Rogers hit at Comerica Park in Detroit on Mon Jul 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants visited the Detroit Tigers on Monday at Comerica Park. The Giants lost to the Tigers 5-1 for their sixth straight loss. San Francisco fell to 54-47, while Detroit improved to 46-54.

In case you didn’t know, the initial Giants at Tigers game on April 16th was postponed and rescheduled for July 24th.

The Giants’ starting lineup featured Austin Slater, Wilmer Flores, J.D. Davis, Patrick Bailey, Luis Matos, Michael Conforto, David Villar, Casey Schmitt, LaMonte Wade Jr., and Ross Stripling. Stripling (0-4, 5.77 ERA) took the loss after pitching six innings and giving up ten hits, three earned runs, and three strikeouts.

After two scoreless innings, Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Kerry Carpenter singled on a ground ball to Michael Conforto. Jake Rogers scored as Riley Greene went to third base.

The Tigers made it a 3-0 game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kerry Carpenter singled on a sharp line drive to Michael Conforto. Riley Greene scored as Spencer Torkelson went to third base.

The Giants finally got on the board in the top of the sixth inning and cut the Tigers’ lead to 3-1. Wilmer Flores homered on a fly ball to left field.

The Tigers sealed the scoring with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning. Zack Short homered on a fly ball to left field. Andy Ibanez scored.

Notes
Former Giants outfielder Barry Bonds turned 59 today.

Up Next
The Giants will return to San Francisco to host the Oakland Athletics in the Bay Bridge series on Tuesday at 6:45 pm Pacific. The A’s will be starting Ken Waldichuk (2-6 ERA 6.75) and for the Giants Alex Cobb (6-3 ERA 3.15).

Giants’ Seven-Game Winning Streak Ends With 3-2 Loss to Reds

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Photo credit: @Reds

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds squared off Wednesday at Great American Ball Park. The Giants lost 3-2 to the Reds in the third game of their series. San Francisco fell to 54-42, while Cincinnati improved to 51-46.

The Giants’ starting lineup featured Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores, Michael Conforto, Luis Matos, Blake Sabol, David Villar, Brett Wisely, Casey Schmitt, and Ross Stripling. Stripling pitched for six innings and gave up four hits, three earned runs, two strikeouts, and one home run. Stripling’s now 0-3 with a 5.92 ERA.

After two scoreless innings, Cincinnati took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the third inning. Will Benson homered on a fly ball to left center field. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Tyler Stephenson scored for a 3-0 lead.

The Giants finally scored in the top of the fifth inning. Joc Pederson grounded into a double play to Christian Encarnacion-Strand to Elly De La Cruz to Graham Ashcraft. David Villar scored to cut the Reds’ lead to 3-1. Brett Wisely went to third base, Casey Schmitt was out at second base, and Pederson was out at first base with two outs.

The Giants made it a one-run game in the top of the seventh inning. Blake Sabol homered on a fly ball to left field to cut the Reds’ lead to 3-2.

Notes
Giants infielder Brandon Crawford was put on the ten-day injured list with left knee inflammation, which was retroactive to July 17.

The Giants recalled infielder David Villar from Triple-A Sacramento. Moreover, outfielder Bryce Johnson was returned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Former Giants infielder Eddie Bressoud passed away peacefully last Thursday at age 91. Bressoud played for the New York and San Francisco Giants from 1956 to 1961.

Up Next
The Giants and Reds will wrap up their series on Thursday at 9:35 am Pacific.

Giants Sweep Pirates With 8-4 Win in Pittsburgh

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Photo credit: post-gazette.com

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants wrapped up their three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on a positive note, a sweep on the road — and their fifth win in a row. The Giants defeated the Pirates 8-4 at PNC Park on Sunday.

The Giants improved to 52-41, while the Pirates fell to 41-52. Giants pitcher Ryan Walker picked up the win for a 3-0 record after pitching one inning and giving up one strikeout.

The Giants’ starting lineup featured LaMonte Wade Jr., Joc Pederson, J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto, Mike Yastrzemski, Luis Matos, Blake Sabol, Brandon Crawford, Brett Wisely, and Alex Wood. Wood pitched five innings and gave up one earned run, three walks, and one strikeout.

The Pirates got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. Bryan Reynolds singled on a soft ground ball to Brandon Crawford. Jared Triolo scored for a 1-0 lead. Jason Delay went to third base, while Connor Joe went to second base.

The Giants took the lead in the top of the third inning. J.D. Davis singled on a line drive to Henry Davis. Brett Wisely and LaMonte Wade Jr. scored for a 2-1 lead. Joc Pederson went to second base as a fielding error was made by Henry Davis. Luis Matos grounded out softly to Nick Gonzales to Osvaldo Bido. Joc Pederson scored for a 3-1 lead. J.D. Davis went to third base, while Mike Yastrzemski went to second base with two outs.

The Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the sixth and eighth innings, respectively. Jared Triolo grounded out to Brandon Crawford to LaMonte Wade Jr. Henry Davis scored to cut the Giants’ lead to 3-2 with one out. Triolo was out on a sacrifice fly to Michael Conforto. Andrew McCutchen scored to tie the game 3-3. Josh Palacios went to third base with one out.

The game went to extra innings.

The Giants poured in the runs in the top of the tenth inning. Joc Pederson was out on a sacrifice fly to Josh Palacios. Casey Schmitt scored for a 4-3 Giants lead with one out. Michael Conforto doubled on a sharp fly ball to Henry Davis. Wilmer Flores and J.D. Davis scored for a 6-3 Giants lead. Patrick Bailey doubled on a sharp fly ball to Josh Palacios. Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski scored for an 8-3 Giants lead.

The Pirates cut the Giants’ lead in half in the bottom of the tenth inning. Henry Davis singled on a ground ball to Luis Matos, deflected by Casey Schmitt. Andrew McCutchen scored to pull the Pirates within four, 8-4, but that’s all she wrote.

The Giants will take on the Cincinnati Reds on Monday at 4:10 pm Pacific.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum – Fiesta Gigantes -José Uribe Award

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Author, Amaury Pi Gonzalez (left) stands with San Francisco Giants Wilmer Flores (right) after Flores accepts the Jose Uribe Award at Oracle Park from Amaury on behalf of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Hall of Fame Museum on Sun Sep 19, 2022 (@SFGiants photo)

Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum – Fiesta Gigantes -José Uribe Award

By Amaury Pi-González

SAN FRANCISCO–On Sunday, the 18th of September, Fiesta Gigantes at Oracle Park, home of the Giants, was not stopped by the rain storm that invaded the Bay Area.

Prior to the game the José Uribe Sportsmanship Award is awarded to Wilmer Flores a San Francisco Giant Hispanic player who best exemplifies the character and Sportsmanship, of the late José Uribe, a former San Francisco Giant shortstop from the Dominican Republic who was a member of the 1989 National League Champion, San Francisco Giants who went on to play the Oakland Athletics during the Loma Prieta-Earthquake stricken World Series.

Wilmer Flores was all smiles as he received the José Uribe Award inside the Giants dugout prior to facing the LA Dodgers during the last game of the year against the all-time rivals.

Wilmer is the most versatile player for the Giants this season and recently agreed to a two-year $13 million contract extension, including a mutual option for the 2015 season. He was gracious and humble as he accepted the José Uribe Award. The museum thanks Bertha Fajardo her staff and all invoked in making this possible.

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame was founded in San Francisco in 1998, is committede to preserving the history and profound influence that Hispanic players have had on America’s favorite pastime.

To visit the museum site: hhbmhof.com

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame — Presents Wilmer Flores with the José Uribe Sportsmanship Award

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Logo was provided by the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum Hall of Fame

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame — Presents Wilmer Flores with the José Uribe Sportsmanship Award –

By Amaury Pi-González

SAN FRANCISCO–This Sunday at Oracle Park, San Francisco, The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame will present Wilmer Flores with the José Uribe Sportsmanship Award. The José Uribe Sportsmanship Award is awarded to a San Francisco Giant Hispanic player who best exemplifies the character and Sportsmanship, of the late José Uribe, a former San Francisco Giant shortstop from the Dominican Republic who was a member oi the 1989 National League Champion, San Francisco Giants who went on to play the Oakland Athletics during the Loma Prieta-Earthquake stricken World Series.

Representatives of The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame will present Wilmer Alejandro Flores García, prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

To visit The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame, click: hhbmhof.com

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Bullpen Blues: Giants can’t get off the field twice in rough 13-7 loss to the Padres

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By Morris Phillips

Twice on Wednesday afternoon, the Giants needed “shut down” innings. Instead they got beat down by the potent Padres’ lineup. The result was a 13-7 loss that once again has the team confronting its reality on the outside of the postseason chase.

And the even-more troubling aside? The beefed-up Padres, who figure to be a menace within the NL West for years to come, are gaining their stride as witnessed by newly-acquired Juan Soto’s swagger-filled summation of the afternoon.

“We showed it today,” Juan Soto said. “We’re coming back from everything.”

Soto’s overanxious path to Austin Slater’s single in the third inning allowed the ball to get by him, resulting in Slater taking third base and two runs scoring. That was the highlight of the Giants’ four-run inning that, briefly, had them in control.

But in the bottom of the inning, the first seven Padres reached base in a six-run answer that chased Giants’ starter Jakob Junis and gave San Diego a 6-4 lead. Soto singled as the inning’s third batter to load the bases. That would set the stage for a gaudy, four-hit afternoon for the hosts with the bases loaded.

Junis’ line for the afternoon was six runs allowed with only seven outs recorded. Since returning from his hamstring injury in June, he hasn’t regained his stride. That’s especially frustrating since he outgrew expectations that he would be a short-stint opener, and instead blossomed into a full-fledged starter. Now he’s saddled with a five-game stretch of appearances that haven’t gone as many as five innings.

“I just wanted to go out there and try to give the team a chance to win and I didn’t do that,” Junis said. “The offense came back and took the lead. Just as a pitching staff we couldn’t do it today.”

After recording the first out of the inning, Junis gave way to Alex Young, who gave up an RBI single and a RBI groundout to Austin Nola that scored Chris Drury.

After Young stabilized things in the fourth and fifth innings, the Giants answered in the sixth with three runs. Austin Wynns and Joc Pederson came up with RBI hits in that frame that allowed the Giants to regain the lead, 7-6.

But for the second time, the Giants couldn’t back their offense and the Padres came up with a second, massive rally. First, Yunior Marte allowed a three-run homer to Drury, and the Padres regained the lead, 9-7. But Marte remained in the game, and two batters later, he also allowed an RBI double to Ha-Seong Kim. Brandon Belt’s throwing error stained Jarlin Garcia’s entrance, then Garcia became his own worst enemy by allowing Nola’s two-run homer to cap a seven-run rally.

“You don’t see too many six spots and seven spots in the same game,” manager Bob Melvin said of his Padres.

The Giants have Thursday off, and they open a three-game set against the Pirates on Friday night. With 51 games remaining, they’re 7 1/2 games behind the Brewers, the prerequisite hurdle to attempting to catch the Padres for a wild-card spot.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A disputed check swing and why rule should be changed

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A moment that will be discussed for years to come the Wilmer Flores check swing ruled a strike by first base umpire Gabe Morales in the bottom of the ninth during the NLDS game 5 on Thu Oct 14, 2021 at Oracle Park in San Francisco for the last out against the Los Angeles Dodgers (AP News photo)

A Disputed Check Swing and Why Rule should be Changed

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Thousands of people at Oracle Park in San Francisco and millions across the country witnessed a terrible call by first base umpire Gabe Morales, (after a request asking for help, from the home plate umpire) decided a Wilmer Flores “swing” for the third strike, thus ending Game 5 which Dodgers won 5-4 over the Giants. Dodgers advanced to the NLCS and Giants went home for the winter.

During the past several years baseball has been changing many things, mostly trying to speed up the game. Here is one rule that they should change. What we all witness happens more often than you think, probably thousands of times during games in the regular season, but what made it much more blatant was it was the last out of a very important game with a huge television audience. TBS telecast of this game delivered the biggest audience this postseason so far.

Baseball uses six (6) umpires during the postseason, the regular four (4) on the infield, plus two (2) are added, one on left field and one in right field. We know this is done for the sake of accuracy because these are much more important games than the 162-regular season affairs. This rule (see MLB rules below) should be revised and possibly changed. The rule in question is very nebulous.

For the record: Wilmer Flores, prior to the questioned at-bat and during his career, never got a hit from Max Scherzer in 17 turns at the plate with 8 strikeouts. The probability that Flores was going to get a hit against this pitcher was very low, but just like baseball is not played on paper but on the field, baseball is also not played in probability but in actual time on the field. The Giants, including their manager Gabe Kapler showed a lot of class, considering what happened during what was out number 27 and the last one of that crucial game for both teams.

As of today I have never met a robot and had a conversation with one or somebody that walked on water and never made a mistake, I believe umpire Gabe Morales also was very candid after the game when he said the following (quote) “Check swings are one of the hardest calls we have. I don’t have the benefit of multiple camera angles when I’m watching it live. When it happened live, I thought he went, so that’s why I called it a swing.” (end of quote) Check swings are interpreted many ways by different umpires, not reliable when it comes to consistency. It is like the argument “what came first the chicken or the egg”?

Major League Baseball has a lot on their agenda this winter, especially negotiating a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) describing the rules of employment and financial structure of the game. The most recent was finalized on November 30, 2016 and last until December 1, 2021. This is a big deal for both sides, owners, and players, and will take a very good effort from both sides.

I am sure MLB still will have time on how to correct the controversial “check swing” rule, a very confusing rule that makes umpires more vulnerable and open for mistakes based on interpretation. This is the link to the Official Baseball rules. http://mlb.mlb.com/documents/0/8/0/268272080/2018_Official_Baseball_Rules.pdf

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead broadcaster for Oakland A’s Spanish radio on 1010 KIQI Le Grande San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com