Sports

Cain Returns In Giants Win

Published

11 years ago

June 7, 2014

San Francisco, CA – It was a pitcher’s duel through the first four frames. Matt Cain returned to the mound after his second stint on the disable list this season. Cain was probably the best he’s been all season, he retired the first twelve batters he faced and held the New York Mets scoreless through five innings.

Cain tossed seven innings in the Giants 4-2 win over the Mets. He allowed two hits, walked one and yielded one home run. Cain put his first runner on base with a walk and had his no-hitter broken up in the sixth.

“He was sharp,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “What a great job. He misses three turns in the rotation, goes out and throws the ball like that. All his pitches were crisp and his command was good.”

Curtis Granderson was issued a free pass to leadoff the fifth. Andrew Brown followed by grounding into a double play and cleared the bases. San Francisco rallied two double plays after the first two batters got on base.

Ruben Tejada singled to lead off the sixth and broke up Cain’s “no-no”. Travis d’Arnaud grounded into a double play to clear the bases again. David Murphy’s two-run homer in the seventh gave New York the lead but that didn’t last. In fact, the Mets scored no more runs for the remainder of the game.

“It felt great,” Cain said. “Buster and I got that fastball working pretty well today. I think the big key today was getting that fastball and throwing strikes.”

“He was really good,” Posey said. “I thought the fastball had as much life on it as I’ve seen in awhile. I think what was encouraging was his off-speed stuff wasn’t as sharp as it can be. Definitely some positive stuff.”

Both Brandon’s worked together to knock the first runs in the fifth and the seventh. Brandon Hicks hit a triple that bounced off the center field wall with one out. And Brandon Crawford followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Giants the 1-0 lead.

Crawford tied the game 2-2 with a single up the middle, scoring in Hicks who was issued a free pass. Hicks advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring on Crawford’s single. Those two carried the offense while batting 7th and 8th.

“We have quite a quinella with these two,” said Bochy.

“That was my mistake. I shouldn’t have let Crawford get anything to hit,” Jon Niese said. “Both those runs, I made mistakes, and he put together some good at-bats. With him being the only lefty in the lineup, I shouldn’t make those mistakes.”

Posey went yard with a two-run homer to center field and gave San Francisco a 4-2 lead in the eighth. He snapped a 93 at-bat homeless drought. This marked his first home run since May 3rd at Atlanta and his first homer at home since April 29th against San Diego.

“Fortunately, I got a good pitch I could handle, and it went out,” said Posey.

Notes – They have the best record in the Majors, the Giants have a two-game lead on the top two American League teams, the Oakland A’s and the Toronto Blue Jays. A month away from the first half of the season coming to an end and San Francisco continues to play good baseball just as they did to start the season.

“We don’t look at the standings at all,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “They’ve done a great job of how they handle both wins and loses and I think that plays a huge part in our wins.”

San Francisco became the first team to reach 40 wins in the Majors. They didn’t win their 40th game last season until July 6th. The Giants have won three straight and 11 of their last 14. It’s safe to say the team’s chemistry is very good. San Francisco has scored a Major League best 47 runs in the 1st inning, three more than the Blue Jays, who rank with 44.

“We’re just playing,” Michael Morse said. “And that’s the good thing about our team. We’re not doing anything out of the norm, we’re playing with blinders on and everyone is playing their game.”

“We obviously all know we’re playing well…,” said Buster Posey. “We’re just having fun, trying to go out and play good defense and get some timely hits. It’s a good feeling right now, way better than last year. It’s fun to come to the park when your playing this well.”

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Related Topics:Buster Posey Matt Cain San Francisco Giants

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WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries Kick Off Season with Community Programs in Oakland

“The Golden State Valkyries are more than a team—they’re a movement,” said Oakland Interim-Mayor Kevin Jenkins. “Their touchdown in Oakland marks a new era of opportunity, inspiration, and equity in sports. This partnership reflects our city’s deep commitment to uplifting women, investing in youth, and building a community where every dream has a place to grow. We’re proud to welcome the Valkyries to The Town.”

Published

4 months ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

The Valkyries came to Oakland City Hall with a “Hoopbus.” Present were (from left to right): City Councilmembers Noel Gallo, Rebecca Kaplan, Zac Unger and Rowena Brown; Oakland Mayor-elect Barbara Lee, Valkyries President Jess Smith, a Valkyries team representative and Deputy Mayor LaNiece Jones. Photo courtesy Rebecca Kaplan’s office.

Team installs new nets at playgrounds, holds flag-raisings at City Halls in Oakland and S.F.

Special to The Post

The Golden State Valkyries brought the excitement of their inaugural season to every corner of the Bay Area with a full slate of community celebrations leading up to their historic home-opener against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Friday.

The week featured flag-raising ceremonies at city halls in Oakland and San Francisco, three “Violet Net” installation days at Oakland parks to encourage basketball play, fun “Hoopbus” takeovers at multiple schools presented by Kaiser Permanente, and player appearances.

In total, 90 violet nets were installed on 45 basketball courts across 34 public parks throughout Oakland this week. A list of the parks receiving violet nets can be found at Valkyries.com.

About the Golden State Valkyries

The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA affiliate of the seven-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, were announced as the 13th WNBA franchise on Oct. 5, 2023. According to Norse mythology, Valkyries are a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike.

This brand is Golden State’s modern interpretation of Valkyries: strong, bold, and fierce. Tipping off during the 2025 WNBA season, the team is headquartered in Oakland and will play home games at Chase Center in San Francisco. For Golden State Valkyries’ assets, including team logos, visit valkyries.com.

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Activism

McClymonds High Names School Gym for Star Graduate, Basketball Legend Bill Russell

William “Bill” Felton Russell was born on Feb. 12, 1934, and died on July 31, 2022. He achieved fame as a U.S. professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career.

Published

7 months ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Bill Russell and Brian McGhee in McClymonds High School Gym, 2011. Photo courtesy of Brian McGhee.

By Ken Epstein

West Oakland’s McClymonds High School, “the School of Champions,” this week named the school’s gymnasium in honor of one of its most famous graduates, basketball legend Bill Russell (class of ’52).

Russell is widely known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. In 2011, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civil honor, from President Barack Obama for Russell’s contributions to basketball and the Civil Rights Movement.

The McClymonds’ naming ceremony was held on Wednesday, the same day as Russell’s birthday. Oakland leader Bill Patterson, a longtime friend of Russell’s, was scheduled to cut the ribbon at the reopening of the gym, which had been closed for several months for renovation. Russell’s daughter Karen was scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting.

Russell’s name and signature are now printed on the gymnasium floor.

Patterson was working at DeFremery Park when he met Russell. “I befriended him as a boy and during his years at University of San Francisco” said Patterson. “We stayed friends for the rest of his life.”

Said McClymonds Principal Darielle Davis, herself a McClymonds graduate, “We are excited to honor Bill Russell for his sports accolades and because he broke color barriers. He is part of our legacy, and legacy is really important at McClymonds.”

Brian McGhee, community schools manager at McClymonds and former football player at UC Berkeley, said that Russell meant a lot to him and others at the school. “He was a beacon of light and hope for West Oakland,” he said. “He did a lot for sports and for civil rights.”

Starting in 2018, Ben “Coach” Tapscott worked with Patterson and other McClymonds grads, community members, and former coaches to encourage the Oakland Board of Education to endorse the naming of the school gym, which finally happened recently.

“We worked hard to make this happen,” said Tapscott. “He’s an important part of McClymond’s history, along with a lot of other famous graduates,” he said.

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Activism

OPINION: Politics, Football and Identity in Trump’s America

If you haven’t noticed, all Americans are engaged in an even bigger game that means so much more than the Super Bowl. Our democracy is falling apart.

Published

7 months ago

February 17, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Emil Guillermo

Two Filipino American stories made headlines recently.

First, Nikko Remigio, the Filipino and African American kick returner for the Kansas City Chiefs, did not win Super Bowl LIX.

The other, Alameda’s Rob Bonta said no to running for governor. I don’t blame him. It’s not like a mass of people wanted him to run.

But I did.

Whenever there is a Filipino American in a place you don’t expect, I’m rooting for that person.

As California’s Attorney General, Bonta is probably the most active defender among Blue States pushing back against Trump’s Extreme-Right agenda.

I’d like to Bonta run for California’s top job, but he’s better off waiting in line. The Democrats need a spot for Kamala Harris, and Bonta not running obliges the hierarchy.

History can wait. Bonta’s just 52.

Harris has held off speculation of her next move, saying she just moved back to the state. But it seems governor is the path for her.

For now, Bonta needs to continue taking the fight to Trump in the courts.

Football and Identity Politics

My dad, whose birthday would have been Super Bowl weekend, came to the US in 1928 as a colonized Filipino, an “American National,” where he couldn’t be a citizen, vote, own property or even marry the person he wanted.

Not if they were White.

Still, he believed in America. He never gave up.

Sort of like Nikko Remigio.

My dad would have loved Nikko.

If you haven’t noticed, all Americans are engaged in an even bigger game that means so much more than the Super Bowl. Our democracy is falling apart.

You want to get passionate about Eagles and Chiefs?

Let’s be passionate about our Founding Fathers, too.

Nikko didn’t change the game. He touched it three times and provided more yards than all of KC’s running backs.

That’s all I needed to see.

He’s our Filipino guy.

Detractors may call it “identity politics.”

People don’t seem to understand the fight for visibility. To be recognized. To be seen. It’s all wrapped up in the big idea of Civil Rights.

I was nowhere near as good as Nikko when I played. But when you are blessed to play football, you play your hardest.

For me, that was when I was 12 and 13 playing Pop Warner football in San Francisco. I was MVP for my team as a running back.

But I was ashamed of my dad. He wasn’t like the other dads. And I remember going to the team banquet to retrieve my trophy alone.

I didn’t realize it probably meant more to him than I thought.

I wish I had shared my MVP moment with him like Nikko shared his joy with his dad, Mark, born in Seattle to two Filipino immigrants, and his mom, whose mixture of Black and White made Nikko the picture of diversity.

Filipino American and Black and White at the Super Bowl.

But don’t forget, there is one game bigger.

The Super Bowl for Democracy. We’re battling for it every day Trump pushes a cockamamie idea that shakes the foundation of our Democracy.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is an award-winning journalist and commentator. Watch his micro-talk show “Emil Amok’s Takeout/What Does an Asian American Think?” on www.YouTube.com/emilamok1 Or join him on http://www.patreon.com/emilamok