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Panik Gives Giants Fresh Start With Walk-Off Hit

Published

9 years ago

May 2, 2015

San Francisco, CA – The first month of the season can often be a struggle for many teams. The Giants however, surpassed that theory by opening up the month of April as one of their worst starts in almost twenty years. But that’s now behind them, pinch-hitter Joe Panik delivered his second walk-off hit this season. San Francisco’s 3-2 victory over the Angels was the fresh start they needed to begin their ten-game homestead.

“He’s a great weapon to have off the bench,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “With Joe, it’s a simple swing, short, and he smoked it. It’s a good thing he ended the game because I used all my set-up guys trying to end it.”

Heading into the bottom of the ninth the score was tied 2-2. Buster Posey led off the frame with a infield single. Pinch-runner Gregor Blanco advanced to second on Justin Maxwell’s sacrifice bunt. Angels reliever Joe Smith’s wild pitch moved Blanco to third and walked Andrew Susac. He struck out Brandon Belt but intentionally issued a free pass to Brandon Crawford.

That set up Panik’s single to center field giving San Francisco their third walk-off win of the season. The last time the Giants had walk-off wins over three straight home games was August 19 – Aug 21, 2003. Panik recorded his first career walk-off hit and second career walk-off RBI. Giants starter Chris Heston got off to a good start in the first retiring the first two batters he faced.

But Mike Trout knocked a double to center field. Kole Calhoun followed with a free pass from Heston before David Freese grounded into a force out to end the inning without any damage. Heston faced another hiccup in the third when Crawford’s error allowed a runner on base. But shortly after he returned to form retiring the next twelve batters he faced.

“He’s been really clutch for us,” Bochy said. “You lose [Matt] Cain, you lose [Jake] Peavy, you hope someone steps up, and he’s done more than that. I thought he threw the ball great tonight. It’s a shame he couldn’t come away with the win tonight, but he did his job.”

By the seventh things began to unravel for San Francisco. Kole Calhoun led off the inning with a single and Freese followed by grounding to third baseman Casey McGehee who mishandled the ball. Crawford recovered but was to late in tagging Calhoun at second. After the play was challenged, the umpires ruled it a fielder’s choice and Calhoun was out at second. Cron singled on the next play, putting two runners on.

Matt Joyce tied the game 1-1 with a single up the middle that knocked Heston out of the game. Jean Machi replaced Heston, striking out the next batter and forcing C.J. Wilson to fly out to center field leaving two stranded to end the inning. He tossing seven innings, gave up five hits, one run and struck out six.

The Giants clapped back in the seventh when Angel Pagan singled to led off bottom of the seventh. He advanced to second on a pass ball and Andrew Susac drove him in with a single to center field to make it a 2-1 game. The Angels tied the game again in the eighth. Reliever Sergio Romo gave up to back-to-back singles, the first resulting in a error at second. He struck out Trout and was replaced by Jeremy Affeldt who hit the next batter.

Affeldt was replaced by Santiago Casilla who gave up a sacrifice fly to Freese who tied the game 2-2. A pass ball moved Johnny Giavotella to third and Freese stole second. But C.J. Cron popped out to first to end the threat. Wilson takes full blame for this loss. His last visit to AT&T park was back in 2010 when he pitched for the Texas Rangers in game two of the World Series. Wilson yielded two runs (one earned), four hits over seven frames.

“I could’ve won the game for us, and I’m frustrated about that,” Wilson said. “Even thought I’m just a pitcher in the American League, I feel like I’m coming up there with a competitive at-bat, and I got a good pitch to hit and it just popped up.”

Nori Aoki sparked the offense in the first when he led off with a double. He advanced to second on Matt Duffy’s ground out to first baseman C.J. Cron. Pagan’s sacrifice fly drove in Aoki making it a 1-0 game. In his fourth quality start, Heston gave the San Francisco a chance to win. Pagan went 2-for-3 with a run scored and RBI. His 10 multi-hit game this season leads the club.

“We didn’t have a great month in April,” Bochy said. “So we’d like to turn things around here in May, play winning baseball, and it starts with this homestand.”

Oakland Post

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Arts and Culture

San Jose Jazz Fest ‘24: Fun, Food and an Unforgettable Frankie Beverly Farewell

SAN JOSE — The sounds of summer echoed through the heart of town during the 3-day-long San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024, held Aug. 9 – 11. Multiple stages hosted a variety of iconic performers such as Incognito; local favorites like Tia Carroll; and trailblazers such as Herbie Hancock. Guests enjoyed dozens of vendors featuring art, gifts, and clothing. Tasty bites included flame-grilled barbeque, seafood and a variety of desserts

Published

3 days ago

September 16, 2024

Oakland Post

Frankie Beverly performing at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024. Photo Courtesy of Frankie Beverly.

By Carla Thomas

SAN JOSE — The sounds of summer echoed through the heart of town during the 3-day-long San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024, held Aug. 9 – 11.

Multiple stages hosted a variety of iconic performers such as Incognito; local favorites like Tia Carroll; and trailblazers such as Herbie Hancock.

Guests enjoyed dozens of vendors featuring art, gifts, and clothing. Tasty bites included flame-grilled barbeque, seafood and a variety of desserts.

Oakland entrepreneur Ava Carrie and several friends said it was great to get out, enjoy the sun and hear great music. “This is a wonderful festival and just a great time with friends,” said Carrie.

Festival goer Cin-Dee said she flew in from Virginia to celebrate her birthday in the Bay Area. She was saddened that she missed Frankie Beverly’s farewell tour that kicked off in March when he performed in her area on the east coast, capping a 50-year career. When Cin-Dee noticed Maze would feature Beverly in the line up at the San Jose Jazz Festival, in a tribute to him, she made sure to cut short her touring of Santa Cruz to not miss the performance on Sunday evening. “I am so happy to be here and have this opportunity to see Frankie with Maze,” she said, dancing to the music. “This is really special and it’s great to see Frankie on stage and hear my favorite songs.”

Maze performed favorites in tribute to Beverly while introducing their new lead singer, Tony Lindsay. During the last stretch of the concert, Beverly performed, “Happy Feelings,” and “I Wanna Thank You.” The performance was emotional for Beverly as the audience stood up and danced during the entire performance, capturing the historic moment on their cell phones.

Maze was founded by Beverly in 1970 in Philadelphia and was recognized by Marvin Gaye when they relocated to the Bay Area in 1971. The group went on to earn nine gold albums between 1977 and 1993 with mega hits such as “Happy Feelin’s” and “Before I Let Go.” Beverly, known for his soulful baritone voice, wrote hit after hit during his five-decade career. Beverly said he was initially inspired by the pacesetting R&B doo-wop group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

Performances at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest also included the John Santos Sextet, the San Jose Jazz High School All Stars, Faye Carol, Delfaeyo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, David Benoit Quartet, Andre Thierry Accordion Soul, Ayo Brame, The Family Stone, and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra.

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Bay Area

Advocates Hold Rally to “Issue a Citation” to City to Stop Homeless Encampment Sweeps

Advocates in San Francisco held a rally Thursday afternoon in front of City Hall to issue a symbolic citation to Mayor London Breed, urging an immediate end to the sweeps of homeless encampments in the city. “What do we want? Housing! When do we want it? Now!,” the group chanted. The group of allies and advocates originally intended to start their rally off on Jessie Street, where a sweep of an encampment was going to take place around noon. But, the group had to change their plans because the city allegedly heard about the rally and chose to sweep the area earlier in the day.

Published

3 days ago

September 16, 2024

Oakland Post

San Francisco homelessness advocates held a rally in front of City Hall to issue a symbolic citation to Mayor London Breed to stop sweeping encampments. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

By Magaly Muñoz

“What do we want? Housing! When do we want it? Now!,” the group chanted.

The group of allies and advocates originally intended to start their rally off on Jessie Street, where a sweep of an encampment was going to take place around noon. But, the group had to change their plans because the city allegedly heard about the rally and chose to sweep the area earlier in the day.

The streets adjacent to Jessie St., such as Mission and Market St, are lined with multiple encampments and unhoused individuals. Many stand in groups or walk along the streets by themselves.

One member of the group, Leah, said she lived in District 6 and what politicians claim is an “open drug market” area. She criticized the extra funding that has gone to the San Francisco Police Department to “solve homelessness” but no positive results have been shown.

“If giving the police more money actually solved the housing crisis, the homelessness crisis…then it would’ve gotten better, but it has actually just been getting worse and worse as more services for poor people have been cut,” Leah said.

Other speakers said the problem with sweeping and citing people for living on the streets is that the homeless problem is being exacerbated, and it’s ultimately not helping those who are struggling.

In order to help alleviate the problem, advocates have called for expansions to permanent supportive housing, resources and services, housing vouchers, and rent relief for struggling residents.

According to the 2024 Point in Time Count, 8,323 people were experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. A seven percent increase since 2022 where there were 7,754 sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals.

In her mission to get people off the streets, Mayor Breed has directed city crews to clear encampments more frequently than before. This decision comes after the landmark case, Grants Pass v. Johnson, was overturned by the U.S Supreme Court and cities were given the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets.

The mayor also instructed city workers to offer transportation tickets to people before offering shelter with the intent that those who are not originally from San Francisco can return to family or friends elsewhere and services can then be used for long-time residents.

A former homeless resident, Yolanda, in attendance at the rally said it was difficult to get off of living on the streets because of the barriers to housing and services.

Yolanda told the Post that she had grown up in the city with her family, but once her father passed away, there was no one to maintain the bills so they had to relocate to Oakland for a few years. She said her family stayed there for a few years before returning to San Francisco.

As she got older, she found herself living on the streets or in temporary shelter. But these shelters would only allow people to stay for a few months at a time and were very restrictive in what people could do, such as leave when they wanted or have guests with them.

After some time, Yolanda and her boyfriend were selected for housing through a housing allocation program, where she still currently lives now. She said they were one of the lucky ones, but others do not get to experience this same fortune.

She shared that at one point in her journey to find a housing placement, there was a 2,000 person waitlist, making it nearly impossible and disheartening for those looking for a roof to put over their heads.

Yolanda said it was unfair to criminalize people for not being able to afford housing, considering the extremely high costs of living in the area.

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Community

GRIP Invites Community to Walk to End Homelessness, Hunger

The Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) is warming up for its 38th annual “Harmony Walk to End Hunger and Homelessness” Saturday, Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Nicholl Park in Richmond. Registration is $38 per person and includes event swag and access to all related activities, with discounts available. The event’s new theme, “A Harmony Walk in the Park,” will focus on park activities this year, including a walk to GRIP and back starting at 10 a.m.

Published

3 days ago

September 16, 2024

Oakland Post

Hundreds attended the 32nd Annual GRIP Harmony Walk and 5K Run on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. Photo by Mike Kinney.

By Kathy Chouteau

The Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) is warming up for its 38^th annual “Harmony Walk to End Hunger and Homelessness” Saturday, Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Nicholl Park in Richmond. Registration is $38 per person and includes event swag and access to all related activities, with discounts available.

The event’s new theme, “A Harmony Walk in the Park,” will focus on park activities this year, including a walk to GRIP and back starting at 10 a.m.

Organizers also welcome the community to enjoy a fun run, food truck offerings, vendor booths and other activities as they learn about how GRIP is fighting hunger and homelessness while serving 15,000 people each year in West Contra Costa County.

“What I love about it is how the community comes together from across the region to walk the neighborhood, connect and learn about what’s new at GRIP…,” said Brandon Mercer, a GRIP board member.

During the event, ABC-7 TVs Julian Glover will be on hand alongside other local personalities and community leaders, who will share their experiences with GRIP and with supporting the community, according to the organization.

Food trucks lined up include Curbside Kitchen and Black Star Pirate BBQ, with additional offerings still being coordinated. Live music throughout the day, games/activities for the kids and raffle prizes donated from sponsors—with dinners, merchandise and passes to Disneyland—are also in the mix.

GRIP tipped its hat to its major sponsors—including Chevron, EBMUD, Kaiser Permanente, Lifelong Medical Care, Sims Metal and others—emphasizing that their support helps make this event possible and ensures that the organization can continue to provide vital services to the community.

Nicholl Park is located at 3230 Macdonald Ave. in Richmond. Again, registration is $38 per person. Discounted rates of $12 are available for each additional registration purchased alongside the one full-price registration. The ticket price includes event access, a Harmony Walk T-shirt and five raffle tickets.

Learn more about GRIP.