Pollock and Betts go deep in Dodgers 6-2 win over SF

Los Angeles Dodgers’ A.J. Pollock, left, hits a three-run home run as San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Tyler Rogers, right, watches along with catcher Tyler Heineman, second from right, and home plate umpire Adam Hamari during the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

By Jeremy Kahn

Two bad pitches by relievers for the San Francisco Giants gave the game and the series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

AJ Pollock hit a three-run home run off of Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the Dodgers would go on to defeat the Giants 6-2 at Dodger Stadium.

Cody Bellinger hit a single off of starter Kevin Gausman with one out in the inning and then Justin Turner picked up a single off of Rogers. After Rogers struck out max Muncy for the second out of the inning, and then Pollock put a 3-2 offering from Rogers and put it into the left field pavilion.

Just one inning later, Mookie Betts put the game out of reach, as he launched a three-run home run of his own.

Will Smith picked up a leadoff walk and then Enrique Hernandez doubled off of Caleb Baragar, and then Betts picked up his first hit in four at-bats, when took a Baragar pitch and put into the left field pavilion just like Pollocks.

Jake McGee struck out one in his only inning of work to pick up his first win of the season for the Dodgers.

Mike Yastrzemski picked up the Giants first hit of the afternoon, as he singled to center field off of Walker Buehler that scored both Pablo Sandoval and Austin Slater from second and third respectively. Sandoval walked and then Buehler hit Slater, and then after a wild pitch by Buehler, Yastrzemski broke the scoreless tie with a single to centerfield.

Donovan Solano, who leads the major leagues in hitting, extended his hitting streak up to a career-high 14 games, when he singled in the top of the eighth.

Solano is hitting .455 on the season, as he attempts to become the first player since Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox in 1941 to finish the season with over a .400 batting average. That season, Williams, a native of San Diego finished the season with a .406 batting average and won the American League Most Valuable Player Award over San Francisco native Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees, who set a major-league record by hitting in 56 consecutive games.

Gausman went 6.1 innings, allowing just one run on three hits, not walking a batter and struck out six, as he did not fare in the decision.

NOTES: Right-handed pitcher Jordan Humphreys was placed on the restricted list for personal reasons and left-hander pitcher Jarlin Garcia was reinstated 60-day injured list.

The Giants acquired outfielder Luis Basabe and he will report to the teams alternate site in Sacramento. Former Oakland As pitcher Trevor Cahill was called up to the taxi squad, while Andrew Suarez was sent to Sacramento and Abiatal Avelino was designated for assignment.

UP NEXT: Lance McCullers, Jr. will open the three-game series for the Houston Astros on Monday night, while the Giants have yet to announce a starter.

Headline Sports podcast with Daniel Dullum: Flyers and Knights top seeds in Stanley Cup; Suns remain undefeated in the bubble; plus more

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (79) makes a save on Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Alex Killorn (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey playoff game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

On Headlines podcast with Daniel:

1 From under the NHL bubbles: Flyers are top seed in the East, Golden Knights are No. 1 in the West

2 Fighting is up in NHL playoffs

3 NBA: Suns are 5-0 in the bubble, T.J. Warren continues scoring binge for Pacers

4 MLB: Giants’ Johnny Cueto — close but no no-hitter; Cubs-Cardinals series postponed after more positive Covid-19 tests

5 NCAA: Mid-American Conference cancels all of its fall sports for 2020

6 If college football season doesn’t happen, NFL might play on Saturdays

Daniel does Headline Sports each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Hawkes: Bosa says rookie Kinlaw taking to NFL like an experienced player

The San Francisco 49ers Nick Bosa talks about rookie offensive tackle Javon Kinlaw saying he’s one of the biggest human beings he’s ever seen (photo from 49ers Webzone)

On the 49ers podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 Nick Bosa knows talent when he sees it and he says rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw will kill it this season.

#2 After taking in video meetings and watching Kinlaw, Bosa said Kinlaw is ready and will not be too overwhelmed while taking his position with the 49ers.

#3 Bosa said that he’s impressed with Kinlaw and also his work ethic in the team meetings saying he doesn’t seem like a rookie out there and he’s adjusting with no problems.

#4 Bosa also said physically Kinlaw doesn’t look like no rookie at 6’5 and 319 lbs. Bosa said he’s one of the biggest humans that’s he’s ever seen in person.

#5 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo says the offense is coming back and it’s a great group and he’s looking forward to getting to work with them.

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

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Tuch scores gamer Knights get No.1 seed face Blackhawks next

Colorado Avalanche goalie Philipp Grubauer (31) gives up a goal to Vegas Golden Knights’ Alex Tuch (89) during overtime in an NHL hockey playoff game in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh:

#1 The Vegas Golden Knights Alex Tuch hammered in the winning goal in overtime with just 16 seconds for the 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday at Scoitabank in Edmonton. Tuch he’s reliable, dependable, skillful and he’s been doing it for them all post season.

#2 The win was huge for Vegas as it put the them as the top seed in the Western Conference as they come off a 3-0-0 start in the round robins.

#3 The Knights Jonathan Marchessault was a big contributor scoring two goals and Nicolos Roy scored and the Knights got some defense in front of the net from goalie Robin Lehner with 32 saves

#4 With the win the Knights will move onto face Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks how do you see this match up?

#5 The Avalanche with the loss of the series will move down to the number two seed and prepare for their next round against the No.7 seed the Arizona Coyotes.

Mary Lisa Walsh does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs every other Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Slater homers twice off of Kershaw in Giants win 5-4

San Francisco Giants’ Austin Slater, left, runs to first base as he hits a solo home run while Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, center, and catcher Austin Barnes, right, watch during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

By Jeremy Kahn

Austin Slater joined an exclusive club in Game Two of the three-game series between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Slater became only the seventh player to hit two home runs in the same game versus Kershaw in the same game, as the Giants hung on to defeat the Dodgers 5-4 at Dodger Stadium.

Leading off the top of the third inning, Slater hit a solo home run over the center field wall to give the Giants a 1-0 lead and then two batters later, Mike Yastrzemski made it 2-0, as he hit a home run into the right field bleachers.

Just two innings later in the top of the fifth inning, Slater did it again, as he launched his second home run of the game and the season to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.

After Donovan Solano doubled to left field, Yastrzemski made it 4-0, as he doubled off of Kershaw and that was the end of the night for Kershaw.

Johnny Cueto was cruising into the bottom of the sixth inning, as he was throwing a no-hiter; however, he it was gone after the first batter of the inning after a weird play in the outfield.

Enrique Hernandez hit a fly ball to left field that should have been an easy out for Hunter Pence, but Pence lost the ball in the lights and Hernandez ended up on third base with a triple. Immediately after the Hernandez triple, Austin Barnes grounded to shortstop that allowed Hernandez to score from third base.

Both Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger walked, but inside of pulling Cueto, who was limping from an apparent leg injury, Giants manager Gabe Kapler allowed Cueto to stay in the game and face nemesis Justin Turner, who took the right-hander deep to cut the Giants down to 5-4 and that was the end of the line for Cueto, who was replaced by Tony Watson, who got Max Muncy to pop out to Chadwick Tromp.

In all, Cueto was fantastic, as he went five and two-thirds innings, allowing four runs on just two hits, walking three and striking out three to pick up his first win of the season.

On the other side of things, Kershaw went 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out six.

This was the second shortest start in Kershaws career against the Giants, a team that he was 23-12 with a 1.74 earned run average in his career. It was also the first time that he ever allowed three home runs to the Giants in the same game in 49 starts.

Trevor Gott walked one in the bottom of the ninth inning, but was able to get the final out for his fourth save of the season.

The quartet of Slater, Solano, Yastrzemski and Evan Longoria, the first four batters of the Giants lineup went a combined 9-for-19 with three home runs and four batted in.

Once again, the Giants bullpen was outstanding, as Watson, Trevor Rogers and Gott went the final 3.1 innings, allowing just a walk and strikeout, as the Giants put an end to their two-game losing streak.

NOTES: Cueto was forced to leave the game with blister on his toe, and Jeff Samardzija will not throw for seven to 10 days due to inflammation to his rotator cuff and will return to the Bay Area, when the Giants head to Houston.

With the two home runs versus Kershaw, Slater joined Adam Dunn of the Washington Nationals on (August 6, 2010), Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies (May 2, 2012), Jayson Werth (July 21, 2013), for the Nationals, Jay Bruce (September 8, 2013) of the Cincinnati Reds, Jose Reyes of the New York Mets (June 19, 2017) and Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays (August 20, 2019).

UP NEXT: Kevin Gausman will start the finale for the Giants, as he looks for his first win of the season, while Walker Buehler will take the ball for the Dodgers.

BaseballReference.Com contributed to this report

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: DJ takes lead, but Koepka still in the hunt

Dustin Johnson hits from the fairway on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at TPC Harding Park Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

By Jeremy Harness

Dustin Johnson grabbed the 54-hole lead on Saturday, shaking off a damaging double bogey with an impressive back nine in the hopes of winning the second major title of his career.

Johnson, who won the U.S Open in 2016, dropped two shots at the par-four ninth hole while having trouble around the green but rallied very quickly thereafter. He birdied the 10^th and picked up three more shots in a four-hole stretch to card a five-under round of 65.

“I putted really well,” Johnson said. “That was key. But I hit a lot of good shots to give myself some good looks because the flags are tucked. The greens are firm and fast. So I did hit a lot of quality iron shots.

“Tomorrow I think I need to go — I definitely need to hit some more fairways, because it’s really tough playing this golf course from the rough. Obviously the bunkers, too, are very tough. A couple — had a few nice up-and-downs out of the bunkers, but also a few poor ones.”

One shot behind him, however, is another long hitter in Sacramento native Cameron Champ, who has made a steady climb toward the top of the leaderboard after a first-round score of 71.

He rallied the next day with a 64 and finished Saturday’s round at TPC Harding Park with a three-under 67 that featured six birdies against three bogeys.

“I’ve been really feeding off my driver,” said Champ, who won last year’s Safeway Open in Napa. “That’s been the key for me. Obviously today, I missed a few more fairways than I did yesterday, but I still was able to manage it from the rough. The drives I did hit well and I did hit in the fairway, I was able to take advantage of and make some putts.”

Among those a shot behind Champ is Brooks Koepka, who has won the PGA Championship twice in a row and is in the hunt for a third.

He was two-under for the first 12 holes but got on a bogey train on holes 13 through 15 before hopping off with a birdie at the par-4 16^th. He finished his round with a birdie at the 18^th to finish with a one-under 69 and well within striking distance.

“I thought I played a lot better than my score reflected,” Koepka said. “Really made one bad swing. But I left it in a good spot and just hit a poor chip. The other ones I was in the semi a lot, and I think sometimes in the semi, it can come out without spin or it can come with spin, and if you’re going to do that in the wind, it’s kind of tough to judge.”

“Maybe took a little bit too aggressive of lines on those out of the semi, but I just missed them in the worst spot possible, but they were good shots, so I felt like I played really well, putted really well, and the driver I hit great. It’s just sometimes they didn’t move with the wind, hit them too good.”

Koepka certainly has experience on his side going into Sunday’s final round. Of those who are currently in the top-six, only Koepka and Johnson have won majors, as Koepka also has two U.S Open titles to his credit.

Also at seven-under for the tournament is Cal product Collin Morikawa, who played TPC Harding Park numerous times during his tenure as Golden Bear and has a little local knowledge going for him.

“I felt really good,” Morikawa said. “I didn’t practice yesterday after the round, but I kind of had some thought of what I wanted to do before the round. Obviously playing with Adam Scott, great ball-striker, great swing, and it kind of helps when you play with someone like that just to kind of get the momentum.

“I hit some really good shots off the first few holes and had a little stumble on 12 and 13, but knew I had to regroup especially with 15 coming up, or 14 coming up. It’s not an easy hole. So definitely want to get out with at least a par. But overall, I felt really good. Rolled the putter really well, and keep that into tomorrow.”

Oakland A’s game wrap: Good pitching beats good hitting A’s win eighth straight 3-1 defeat Astros

Oakland Athletics’ Sean Murphy, Liam Hendriks (16) and Marcus Semien, from left, and teammates celebrate the 3-1 win over the Houston Astros in a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Charlie O

The Oakland A’s became baseball’s hottest team after they defeated the visiting Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum 3-1 winning their eighth straight game. The A’s Marcus Semien who got the game winning hit the night before in the 13th inning to send the Astros packing this time lead off the ball game on Saturday with a home run in the first inning.

The A’s also got some great pitching help from starter Frankie Montas who picked up his second win against one loss throwing seven innings of shutout ball against a Astros line up that can pound the ball. Montas was pitching out of his mind and looked like he could have completed the game if it weren’t for the pitch count.

Montas surrendered two hits and walked a hitter the seven innings of work and top it off Montas struck out five batters. For the Astros their suffering in their own right taking a fourth straight loss, they have three starting pitchers that are shelved and can’t seem to get that old magic feeling like when they won their three previous AL West division title seasons.

Semien is off to the races during the A’s eight game win streak Semien is the first A’s player in the team’s franchise history to get a get a walk off hit to win a ball game and the very next day to leadoff with a home run.

Mark Chapman also provided some offense for the club he belted an eighth inning homer and picked up an RBI when he grounded out in the sixth. The A’s scored a single run in each of the first, sixth, and eighth inning frames good enough to defeat the Astros.

This was Astros manager Dusty Baker’s first visit back to the Bay Area. Dusty worked in the San Francisco Giants front office last season before getting hired as the Astros manager for this season. Dusty is trying to weather the storm with an injured pitching staff of starters and the team in the middle of a four game losing streak.

Sunday’s starting pitchers: The Houston Astros for game three of this series will be starting right hander Cristian Javier (1-0 ERA 1.42) with 11 strikeouts on Sunday. Javier won his first major league game on Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

The A’s will be starting left hander Jesus Luzardo (0-0 ERA 2.31) threw five innings of shutout ball in his major league starting debut against the Texas Rangers. Luzardo made his major league pitching  debut in releif against the Houston Astros last season.

 

 

 

Sac Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings take fourth loss while Nets clinch for playoffs 119-106

Brooklyn Nets’ Jarrett Allen (31) and Caris LeVert (22) react after a play against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Aug. 7, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla (AP photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The loss to the Brooklyn Nets sets the Kings back to 1-4 since the restart with just three more games left in the regular season and pretty much puts the final touches on the Kings?

#2 Jeremiah it was pretty much a close game but that second quarter really sank the Kings chances when the Nets outscored the Kings 39-26 on Friday.

#3 The Kings Bogdan Bogdanovic 27 pts, DeAaron Fox 21 pts, and Buddy Hield 17 were the three top scorers for the Kings but it wasn’t enough.

#4 With three games left for the Kings with the Rockets, Pelicans, and Lakers do they have enough in the tank to do some damage or just expect them to go through the motions at this juncture.

#5 The Kings had that one win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night and handled them with authority 140-125 it’s their only win so far.

Jeremiah does the Kings podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Qualifiers podcast with Matt Harrington: Habs upset Pens advance to next round; Isles advance on Panthers 4-3; plus much more

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) makes a save on Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Jason Zucker (16) as Canadiens defensemen Jeff Petry (26) and Xavier Ouellet (61) help out during the first period of an NHL hockey playoff game Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Qualifier podcast with Matt:

#1 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 vs Toronto Maple Leafs 4 (series is tied 2-2)

#2 New York Islanders 5 vs. Florida Panthers 1 (Isles win series 3-1)

#3 Arizona Coyotes 4 vs. Nashville Predators 3 OT (Arizona wins series 3-1)

#4 Montreal Canadiens 2 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins 0 (Montreal wins series 3-1)

#5 Chicago Blackhawks 3 vs. Edmonton Oilers 2 (Chicago wins series 3-1)

#6 Vancouver Canucks 5 vs. Minnesota Wild 4 OT (Vancouver wins series 3-1)

Matt Harrington does the Stanley Cup Playoffs podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants hoping to have a better go of it in LA after struggles in Colorado

The San Francisco Giants Mauricio Dubon shooshes the empty stands at Coors Field in Denver after belting a three run homer in the seventh inning but it wasn’t enough as the Giants lost by two runs to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday 6-4 (AP photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 The Giants have lost three out of four the the Rockies before heading to LA on Friday. The way you saw that series in Denver was it a matter of just a lot of good hitting for the Rockies or the Giants bullpen couldn’t get tracked?

#2 It’s a shame that Tyler Anderson couldn’t complete a game we know about the pitch count 66 for Anderson five innings, two hits, two walks, and three strike outs a decent start for Anderson.

#3 Talk about Brandon Belt he helped the Giants from getting swept in Colorado with a big fly to edge the Rockies on Wednesday 4-3. Belt’s been hitting .182 talk about how effective he could be in the line up?

#4 There were times that people just gave up on Pablo Sandoval in the past but he’s still durable on Wednesday he got two hits and right now Sandoval is hitting .206, no homers an RBI.

#5 Michael talk a little about catcher Chad Tromp hitting .318 and Mauricio Dubon hitting .258 with a homer on Thursday and they can help the Giants.

Michael joins Sports Talk every other Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com