Regeln » spending big in free agency, the 49ers hope they have now st

OAKLAND http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-marquise-blair-jersey , Calif. — Two teams that began heading in opposite directions at just about the time they saw each other last month hook up again when the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics open a two-game interleague series Tuesday night.

The Padres were within arm’s length of .500 at 34-40, having won nine of 15, when the A’s ventured into San Diego and used a ninth-inning, two-out, two-strike, game-tying home run from Stephen Piscotty off relief ace Brad Hand to trigger a two-game sweep, winning 4-2 and 12-4.

The Padres now head north well out of contention in the National League West, having lost 11 of 14.

The A’s, meanwhile, have won 12 of 15 to surge well above .500 at 46-39 and into contention in the American League wild-card race.

Oakland has made much of its recent run without standout third baseman Matt Chapman, who has taken time off to allow pain in his right hand to subside.

Two cortisone shots later, Chapman had a pain-free hitting session Sunday and was sent to Class A for an injury-rehab game Monday.

It’s possible he could be reinstated from the disabled list during this series.

“He hit a few off the back wall in center field, so that tells me enough,” A’s manager Bob Melvin observed Sunday. “Getting him back in the lineup will be a nice little kick for us.”

The A’s need no such boost in their pitching. They have allowed two or fewer runs in four of their last five games.

Right-hander Chris Bassitt (1-3, 2.82 ERA) will look to extend that impressive run while at the same time taste his first career success in interleague play.

The 29-year-old began the A’s recent pitching showcase with six innings of two-hit T.J. Hockenson Jersey , scoreless ball in a 3-0 win at Detroit last Wednesday.

He has never faced the Padres in his career, and has lost both interleague starts despite a 2.45 ERA.

One intriguing potential matchup in the series is A’s closer Blake Treinen against Padres slugger Eric Hosmer, a pairing that carried a bit of history into a game-ending showdown in the A’s earlier 4-2 win in San Diego.

Then a member of the Kansas City Royals, Hosmer bombed a two-run, go-ahead homer off Treinen in the eighth inning of their first career head-to-head last August.

Treinen then extracted a measure of revenge in the June 19 rematch in San Diego, closing out the 10-inning game by striking out Hosmer as he represented the potential tying run.

Bassitt will be opposed by left-hander Clayton Richard (7-7, 4.29), who had a four-game winning streak stopped in a 5-2 loss at Texas last Wednesday.

He retains a good interleague record (9-5, 3.50) despite not having beaten an American League opponent since 2015.

You have to go back three years before that to find his last appearance against the A’s in Oakland, but it was a memorable one. He shut out a playoff-bound A’s team for 7 2/3 innings in 2012, allowing five hits in a 2-1 win.

He has faced the A’s three times in his career, twice as a starter, and gone 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA.

One A’s hitter that Richard will have to deal with is the aforementioned Piscotty, who played last season for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Piscotty has dominated the head-to-heads, going 3-for-4 with a home run and a flyout to deep center field in the only non-hit of the matchup.

A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy Jahlani Tavai Jersey , another former National Leaguer, also has a successful history against Richard, going 7-for-18 (.389) with two doubles and a homer.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Looking to add talent, depth and competition at several positions, the San Francisco 49ers felt they met all three objectives with their eight selections in the NFL draft.With high picks in every round each of the first two days, the 49ers obtained prospects that could make a difference on both sides of the ball for a team that won 10 games combined during the first two years general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan have guided the franchise.“You try to improve your team wherever you can,” Shanahan said Saturday. “It’s not the easiest thing. We were in some good draft spots this year where we could draft to add players better than the guys we had.”San Francisco completed two trades Saturday to add two extra picks on the draft’s final day.After trading down in the fourth round, the 49ers addressed a position where they’d sustained their biggest loss during free agency in March. San Francisco then drafted for depth with its fifth-round pick and each of its three selections in the sixth round.WHO THEY GOTThe 49ers acquired one of the draft’s premier prospects in Ohio State defensive lineman Nick Bosa with the No. 2 overall pick, then addressed their lack of playmaking talent at wide receiver by selecting South Carolina’s Deebo Samuel (second round, No. 36 overall) and Baylor’s Jalen Hurd (third, No. 67) with their Day 2 picks.San Francisco’s Day 3 picks were highlighted by the selection of Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky in the fourth round (No. 110). The 49ers added two sixth-round selections from Cincinnati when trading down from the No. 104 pick, taking Vanderbilt offensive tackle Justin Skule and Virginia cornerback Tim Harris with those picks.The 49ers also added Stanford tight end Kaden Smith with their sixth-round pick (No. 176) and Arkansas linebacker Dre Greenlaw (No. 148) with the fifth-round selection the team received when San Francisco traded linebacker Dekoda Watson and a sixth-round pick to the Denver Broncos.SURPRISE MOVEFor a team needing help to shore up one of the NFL’s weakest defensive backfields, the 49ers instead used their first selection Saturday on a specialist, taking Wishnowsky after trading down with the Bengals to acquire picks.Wishnowsky was the first specialist selected this year Will Harris Jersey , and also is the first punter drafted during the opening four rounds since 2012.He’ll compete with veteran Justin Vogel to replace Bradley Pinion, San Francisco’s fifth-round pick in 2015 who left the team as a free agent in March to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.HOW THEY DIDThe 49ers added a first-round prospect to their defensive line for the fourth time in their past five drafts, with Bosa joining Arik Armstead (2015), DeForest Buckner (2016) and Solomon Thomas (2017) to potentially complete a fearsome front that also added expensive edge rusher Dee Ford in free agency.The 49ers also added a physical dimension the team had been lacking at receiver with Samuel and a red zone threat the team lacks with Hurd, whom Shanahan said also could be a factor at running back and tight end as he develops.Wishnowsky has the tools to become a top-flight punter and each of San Francisco’s other four picks all have the ability to make the team and contribute as rookies, according to Lynch.The biggest need the 49ers failed to address is at safety, where the team started several different combinations of players last season.WHAT’S NEXTAfter trading for Ford, giving him a big contract and then stocking up in the draft and spending big in free agency, the 49ers hope they have now stockpiled enough talent to make a move up the standings in the third year of the Lynch/Shanahan regime.The 49ers continue to build around franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, whom the team is counting on this year to return from an ACL tear that ended his season in Week 3 last year. Running back Jerick McKinnon, one of the team’s top acquisitions in 2018 free agency, also returns after missing all of last season with an ACL tear.The biggest issue looming for the 49ers as they continue to shape their training camp roster is the status of free agent kicker Robbie Gould, whom the team has retained at the franchise tag rate of $4.971 million for kickers.Gould has been unable to come to an agreement with the team on a multiyear contract and reportedly requested a trade earlier this week.