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Parker, Giant’s Beat A’s In Bay Bridge Series

Published

10 years ago

September 26, 2015

Oakland, CA – Sometimes even the best pitchers are nervous. In what was supposed to be the matchup of the year, turned out to be a game to remember for rookie Jarrett Parker. He stole the show with three homer runs, including a grand slam that gave the Giants a 14-10 victory over the A’s.

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“It’s the best offensive game, I’ve ever seen, personally” said San Francisco’s manager Bruce Bochy. “To hit a grand slam with the game tied, just an amazing day for this kid. He makes it look easy and we needed it the way the game went. This is something he will never forget or I, or the whole club.”

It’s an unusual situation in baseball to have two former teammates pitch against each other while playing for both teams in a matchup. But for Barry Zito and Tim Hudson who were both part of the “Big Three” in Oakland, also won a World Series with the Giants. Today, they faced each other on the mound in the Bay Bridge Series.

Photo by Eric Taylor

“It’s really cool because there are so many story lines,” Reliever Sean Doolittle said. “Zito taking a year off and grinding it out all year in Triple-A. He didn’t have anything to prove, his career speaks for itself, this is something he wanted to prove he could do. It’s awesome. You couldn’t have scripted it any better. A lot of people don’t have the opportunity to have closure like this.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the start either pitcher imagined. Hudson lasted 1 1/3 innings after issuing two walks that resulted in two runs and two hit batters that led to one unearned run.

He gave up one hit and walked three before exiting to a standing ovation in the second. Zito outlasted his counterpart one batter, he was replaced after yielding a leadoff walk to Buster Posey to start the third.

“There’s a lot of fanfare around this game,” said Ryan Vogelsong. “I think its cool their both getting recognized about what they did because there are a lot of guys in this game they don’t get to have that. A lot of guys have to walk away from their last game just throwing their jerseys in the laundry. So it’s special to have the recognition as your going out, not everyone gets the Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera treatment.”

The fanfare and hype definitely overshadowed the actual game because both pitchers performance was below par. The A’s defense let a few opportunities squandered past them in keeping runners off base. Nonetheless, Zito gave up a two-run double to Marlon Byrd in the first, a solo home run to Parker and a RBI single to Kelby Tomlinson in the second giving San Francisco a 4-0 lead.

But Hudson allowed Oakland to get back in the game by keeping the bases loaded walking in three runs. With no outs he walked in two batters making it a 4-2 game. Hudson hit two batters, the second walked in a run. Bochy saw enough and replaced the righty in the middle of an at-bat. Ryan Vogelsong took over forcing Josh Reddick to hit into a double play to end the inning.

Photo by Eric Taylor

“It didn’t turn out exactly how I drew it up, but it turned out to be a good day,” Hudson said. “It was a day with a lot of emotions going on. I lost the feel for the strike zone and couldn’t really find it for whatever reason. I wish we both could’ve done better, it just wasn’t the case today. But both of us will appreciate this day forever.”

After Zito walked off to a standing ovation, the game returned to some normalcy. The A’s offense exploded scoring five runs in the third.

Danny Valencia led off the frame with a single, Stephen Vogt followed with a double and Eric Sogard drove them both in with a two-run double. Billy Burns doubled scoring in Sogard and Mark Canha doubled to center field, where the ball dropped in between both Parker and Angel Pagan extending Oakland’s lead 8-4.

The Giants didn’t give up hope, they scored three runs trimming the A’s lead down to one in the sixth. Trevor Brown hit a double and Pagan followed with a RBI single. Matt Duffy scored in Pagan with a double and Buster Posey drove in Duffy with a RBI single. Oakland’s defense fell apart giving San Francisco an opportunity to get back in this game. But Billy Butler kept the A’s alive when he went deep with a two-run homer making it a 10-7 game.

“I just tried to keep it simple and stick to my game plan,” said Parker. “Three home runs, I don’t think I’ve ever done that before, that’s pretty wild. Thinking about it now, it’s pretty crazy.”

Parker homered two more times in the seventh and eighth. He brought the Giants within one point on his second home run. His third was a grand slam putting the Giants ahead 14-10 to seal their win. Parker became the teams first rookie ever to hit three home runs in a game. He is also the first to have three home runs and seven RBI in a game since Willie Mays who had four home runs and eight RBI on April 30, 1961 at Milwaukee.

“I talked to almost every Giants hitter; I was telling them, ‘Man, this feels like a spring training game,’ the way it went back and forth,” Vogt said. “Bottom line: I do not care about the outcome. The outcome does not matter. Today was an outstanding day. It was everything that Oakland A’s fans deserve. It was everything that San Francisco Giants fans deserve.”

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.