California Sports Feed

San Diego State still has six scholarships remaining, with at least half of them likely to be used to bring in transfers along the defensive line

Tyler Wade's bunt lights the fuse for a Padres rally during a sun-splashed Wednesday at Petco Park

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The Red Sox used three pitchers compared to five for the Giants, but the story was the hitting.

A night after getting shut out, San Francisco mustered one hit after the fourth inning and five overall in a 6-2 loss. Many of the Giants’ at-bats were competitive and produced hard-hit balls, but not enough found grass. San Francisco registered the three best exit velocities of the night, but didn’t get much to show for it.

The Giants (14-17) are 5-10 on the road this year and could get swept at Fenway Park on Thursday.

“There was some good swings today, really the past couple of games,” manager Bob Melvin told reporters postgame. “It’s frustrating — it’s about results, and we’re not getting the results yet.”

“We’re just not stringing enough together to put pressure on teams,” Melvin added. “We either go down quickly, or we’re behind in counts, and we’re just not getting in good counts to hit.”

For his first home run as a Giant, Tom Murphy scaled the Green Monster with a lined shot off a hanging slider. Murphy’s 407-foot solo shot left his bat at 106.4 mph.

The Giants signed the veteran catcher as an offense-first complement to starter Patrick Bailey. But before Wednesday, he was hitting .074 in 10 games — one of many Giants who had a slow April.

Murphy’s sudden strike broke an early scoreless stalemate, as Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford entered the evening with an American League-leading 1.35 ERA and looked the part. Former Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey has done tremendous work with Crawford and the rest of Boston’s staff.

The Giants have struggled in Blake Snell’s spot in the rotation — either with the reigning National League Cy Young winner on the mound or with an alternative in place.

“On this particular turn, it hasn’t been good,” Melvin said. “If we win half those games, it’s a little different at this point. But the fact of the matter is, this turn in the rotation has been a tough one.”

In Fenway Park, San Francisco deployed the opener strategy, starting left-hander Erik Miller against the lefty-heavy top of Boston’s lineup. The Giants considered calling up Mason Black, who has a minuscule ERA in Triple-A but instead recalled Daulton Jeffries to be the bulk arm.

Miller worked around consecutive walks for a scoreless first inning. Jeffries walked the leadoff man in the second but also escaped with a scoreless frame.

But when Jeffries allowed an infield single to start the third inning, the Red Sox had their third leadoff man on in as many innings. They were due to cash in.

Jeffries was victimized by the Monster on a Rafael Devers double that was lofted off the wall with a .010 expected batting average. But Devers’ moonball scored one of two Boston runs in the third, putting San Francisco behind 2-1.

A cheeky two-out bunt from Mike Yastrzemski with runners on second and third knotted the score in the fourth. Playing at Fenway Park, where his grandfather became an inner-circle Hall of Famer, is always special for the outfielder, as is his baseball I.Q.

But Boston answered immediately, again putting the leadoff man on against Jeffries and again using the Monster to drive him in. Then a stand-up triple from Jarren Duran made it 4-2.

The Giants offense needs all the help it can get, and it got little in Boston. Jung Hoo Lee’s lineout in the fifth would have left 14 of 30 ballparks. Right after that loud out, Jorge Soler snapped his bat over his leg in frustration because his 110.7 mph drive landed right in Devers’ glove.

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Boston added to its lead with a run off Taylor Rogers and Luke Jackson as the Giants’ bullpen started to run out of middle-inning options. The recently acquired Mitch White also served up a run in the seventh on a two-out double to catcher Connor Wong.

The Red Sox could’ve scored more, too; they went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, Crawford held the Giants hitless in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. San Francisco also went down in order in the eighth, despite another hard-hit ball from Lee, extending its hitless streak.

Up four runs, the Red Sox didn’t need to use their closer. Matt Chapman singled for San Francisco’s first hit since the fourth inning, but Thairo Estrada grounded into a double play to end it. The Giants will need more hits and more breaks to avoid a sweep in Boston.

Top-seeded Palisades defeats Granada Hills to win its 40th City Section tennis championship and 15th in a row.

Birmingham defeats Chatsworth 10-0 to move two games ahead of second-place Granada Hills in the West Valley League baseball standings.

The county will join the city in studying a tax increment financing district, meaning it will look at trading its share of future property tax revenue generated by the Midway Rising project to secure more affordable housing

No, Dortmund don't have a Kylian Mbappe like PSG do -- BVB's best stars leave. But collectively, they were better in the Champions League semifinal first leg.

Utilityman Tyler Wade happy to be annoying and in the middle of a lot for the Padres

LAFAYETTE — Taryn Veronda and Cale Hanson spent all season preparing for this weekend’s North Coast Section swimming championships. Countless hours in the pool helped the Acalanes seniors qualify for the big meet.

But Veronda and Hanson are among 13 Dons, including six other seniors, denied from competing on Friday at the Concord Community Pool because the electronic entry form the coach said he submitted to the section office was not received.

Coach Brett Usinger blamed the misstep on a glitch in the system. The Lafayette school is believed to be the only team that was unable to register its qualified swimmers.

The section made clear that the responsibility lies with the school and stands by its decision to move forward without the 13 boys and girls swimmers from Acalanes.

“Acalanes High School did not submit their NCS swim team entries for this weekend’s championships before the mandatory deadline of April 28, 2024, at 1:15 pm,” NCS commissioner Pat Cruickshank said in a statement to the Bay Area News Group on Wednesday.

“This occurred after a reminder was sent out to all NCS member schools by the section office that the deadline was mandatory and no exceptions for late entries would be made,” Cruickshank added. “The procedures and consequences for failing to follow these championship procedures were agreed to by NCS member schools.”

The fallout from the misstep and the section’s unwillingness to budge have left the swimmers devastated, especially the eight seniors who didn’t have an NCS meet their freshman season because of the pandemic.

Now, not only will they miss out on competing at NCS but they also can’t move on to the state championships the following weekend.

“I’ve been working my entire high school career to get to this point,” Hanson said. “Qualifying for individual events is not an easy task to do. It’s super important to all of us. The only way we can qualify for state is by swimming in this NCS meet.”

For swimmers who qualify for the NCS championships, coaches must manually enter their athletes into a computer program that helps organize swim meets called Club Assistant.

According to Usinger, he entered the names of his qualified swimmers and divers periodically last weekend. He said he finished on Sunday morning, before the 1:15 p.m. deadline.

But when Usinger checked on the submission page later that night to make sure his swimmers were on the list, he said none of them were recorded.

The only names to appear from Acalanes were its three divers.

Usinger said he frantically sent emails to NCS meet directors on Sunday night and early Monday morning but didn’t get a response.

The fifth-year head coach said Club Assistant does not send out email confirmations for submissions nor does it have the option to timestamp any entries. He described the submission process as a “big Excel sheet.”

Acalanes and Usinger were notified by NCS at 10 a.m. Monday that the section office did not receive any entries for Acalanes swimmers and that they would not be able to compete this weekend.

Immediately after the section’s ruling, Acalanes athletic community members voiced their displeasure on social media and created the hashtag #letdonsswim.

On Tuesday night, the 13 Acalanes swimmers posted a video to YouTube, asking for the NCS to reverse its decision.

“We all worked really hard this season to earn the opportunity to swim at NCS,” one swimmer said. “We deserve the chance to compete.”

While the efforts from the swimmers and the community have been valiant, the chances that the NCS’s decision will be reversed are slim, according to Acalanes athletic director Randy Takahashi.

“We believe we exhausted every possible avenue with the North Coast Section,” Takahashi said. “We’re going back to what NCS has determined in that we did not meet the deadline, and so our swimmers will not be in the championships this Friday or Saturday. As of right now, we’re moving forward (with the idea) that we won’t be able to compete.”

If Acalanes were to press the issue, there is a recent precedent for overturning a ruling similar to this one.

Three months ago on the East Coast, Longmeadow High School swimmer Benjamin Lyons won a case against the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to allow him to swim in the state championships after a technical error made by his coach when entering his name into the meet caused Lyons to be temporarily disqualified.

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Lyons and his family took the matter to court and a judge ruled in favor of the swimmer after the family claimed that not competing would cause “irreparable harm.”

Usinger said he has not been involved in any talks to take the Acalanes issue to court.

If nothing changes, the eight seniors will end their high school careers much like they started – with no section championships.

“We already had a missed opportunity our freshman year because of COVID,” Veronda said. “We’re the ones at the end of the day that are being impacted. We’re not in control of this, and just because of a technical issue, we’re the ones being left out of the opportunity to compete.”

Bay Area News Group’s Joseph Dycus contributed to this report.

SANTA CLARA – A 5-foot-5 Argentinian No. 10 with a penchant for shredding opponents in the attacking third made his first appearance in the South Bay. 

Now Hernán López, the great-nephew of the late Maradona who was famous for such plays, hopes to recreate some of that same magic for the last-place San Jose Earthquakes.

López, the 23-year-old midfielder blessed with the legend’s genes and at least a bit of the late Argentinian’s footballing talent, was at Levi’s Stadium on Wednesday. During his introductory press conference, he didn’t hesitate to talk about Maradona, who died of a heart attack in 2020 at the age of 60.

“I’m very excited to be here in San Jose, and I wish to represent my uncle well,” said López, who was signed from Argentina’s famed club River Plate last week. “That’s what my game is modeled after: breaking lines and getting in behind.”

López isn’t expected to play Saturday when the Quakes host LAFC at Levi’s Stadium. Still, he should be in game shape, considering he played in a Copa de la Superliga Liga Profesional Playoff match on April 21. 

The MLS team that has lost eight of 10 games doesn’t expect their Argentinian signing with an all-time great relative to save the club single-handedly.  But he will work with a 2023 all-star and fellow Argentine in wing Cristian Espinoza to unlock the team’s stuttering attack. 

The Earthquakes (1-8-1), owned by the notoriously frugal John Fisher, dropped a club record $6 million to bring López stateside. 

“There’s things that are there that aren’t coachable, and his talent and creativity is natural,” second-year coach Luchi Gonzalez said. 

López has spent his entire career playing in Argentina, so, before the move, he sought counsel from several other compatriots like Espinoza, who had made the jump from the Primera Division to Major League Soccer. 

“He grew up with a heavy backpack on his shoulders carrying the name of his uncle,” Espinoza said. “But for us, he’s just Hernan López, and we’re going to try to help him adapt to the team.”

SANTA CLARA – Earthquakes soccer player Hernan Lopez (black hoodie) is interviewed by media. The San Jose Earthquakes introduced Lopez, the great-nephew of Diego Maradona, to the media at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara Calif. on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group) 

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López said he couldn’t get ahold of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, though. 

“It is cool, and it will be exciting the first time,” López said of talking to Messi, who led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup. 

Though River Plate owned his rights, López spent most of his career loaned out to other league sides in Central Cordoba and Godoy Cruz, where he scored 12 goals with seven assists across 84 appearances. 

Gonzalez’s team could use a boost. The Earthquakes entered this week in 14th and last place in the Western Conference, with five of their losses by one goal. Last season, Gonzalez led the Earthquakes to a surprising playoff berth in his first year on the job. 

“We’ve been competitive in 95 percent of our games and have had the lead in six or seven of our games,” Gonzalez said. “This is the kind of game that can spark momentum.”

A playmaker like López will be asked to use his attacking talents to swing games like that back in the Earthquake’s favor. 

The team has surrendered a league-worst 25 goals, four more than second-place Portland, and an attacking midfielder like López won’t be asked to help stop opposing surges. 

But if the Earthquakes are trying to double-down on offense, where the team’s 14 goals rank them a respectable 14th out of 29, then the Quakes could do far worse than the uber-talented wunderkind. 

“He couldn’t have come at a better time for us,” the Earthquakes coach said before he watched his new signing pose with a 49ers jersey. 

López is expected to be far more than just a one-year jolt of energy for the struggling side. He’s signed through 2026, with club options in 2027 and 2028. 

“It’s great to know that he’s in our project for years to come,” Gonzalez said. 

SANTA CLARA – Earthquakes soccer player Hernan Lopez poses with a San Francisco 49ers jersey. The San Jose Earthquakes introduced Lopez, the great-nephew of Diego Maradona, to the media at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara Calif. on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group) 

A billboard across from Crypto.com Arena trolls the Dallas Mavericks before the Clippers host them Wednesday in Game 5 of the first round playoffs.

Southern Californian who began his career working at Churchill Downs reaches horse racing's crown jewel for first time

OAKLAND — There’s something downright cruel about it.

Sadly, such a punishment is not unusual from the Oakland Athletics.

Of course, the A’s developed into a team worth watching just before they head out of The Town.

Yes, there’s something to these 2024 A’s. They’ve won back-to-back straight series, sit in the middle of the American League West standings (above the Astros), and have arguably the best 1-2 end-of-game bullpen punch in baseball right now.

They’re young, homegrown, punchy, and now that they’ve started hitting a bit (10th in baseball in OPS over the last 15 games), they’ve become quite interesting.

Now, I don’t think the A’s are going to close out the Coliseum with a World Series win, or even playoff baseball, but while this organization might not be building a ballpark in Oakland — or Las Vegas, for that matter — early returns suggest that the front office has, against all odds and the will of their owner, built another worthwhile team.

These guys might just be mediocre. And I mean that as a compliment. After all, in the modern game, mediocre pays big — even if the A’s don’t.

What a waste.

Wednesday was a perfect day for baseball — seventy-two degrees and sunny — and the A’s finished off a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 4-0 win. Starting pitcher Ross Stripling earned his first victory since 2022 by throwing six shutout innings, and Abraham Toro and Tyler Nevin stayed hot with solo home runs each.

There were even a few “Let’s Go Oak-Land” chants as closer Mason Miller blitzed 101 mile-per-hour fastballs to proceed another P.A. rendition of “Celebration.”

I can think of a million worse ways to spend two-and-a-half hours on a May afternoon.

But thanks to years of fan neglect and an ownership strategy that blatantly rips off the 1989 classic movie Major League, the game was only played in front of a crowd of hundreds (laughably announced as 4,679, half of which seemed to be the kids who sang the national anthem).

In all, the paid attendance for the three-game series was 12,083.

Woof.

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Now, I’m in no way advocating giving A’s owner John Fisher — the real-life, far-less-attractive Rachel Phelps (the team has wisely opted against a risqué cutout in the clubhouse) — a cent of your hard-earned money.

But, much like how we often have to separate art from the artist or the politician from the country, we have to ignore the soulless, vapid, and soporific owner of a group of players who might just be the opposite.

The A’s lost 112 games last year. They started this season with a woeful, everyone-saw-it-coming 1-7 start.

It might have been the best thing for them.

“We were all pressing — trying to do too much,” catcher Shea Langeliers told me. “Now we have kind of a looser grip on the steering wheel. We went to Detroit (1-7) and (decided) let’s just go out there, have fun, and relax. It helped us come together as a team. We’re having a good time.”

And anyone who hasn’t been scared away from this organization would be having a good time, too.

It makes sense. Of course, a bunch of young guys — a roster full of players being paid pennies compared to their peers — were pressing to start the season. They were trying to prove they were big league.

But now, the prevailing wisdom is clear: what’s the worst that can happen?

You can sense that devil-may-care attitude when the A’s play.

Over their last 25 games, the A’s have won 15, winning a series against the Rangers, Orioles, and Tigers, and splitting a four-game set in the Bronx with the Yankees. (I’m sure that was a sad outcome for Fisher, whose favorite player is Aaron Judge.)

As such, I’ve been A’s curious for a few weeks now. And with the Giants so far trotting out another limp, lifeless product, I, unlike Fisher, am keen to invest in the Oakland Nine.

Because not only is this team playing good ball, but they seem to be scratching the surface.

The A’s offense has been jump-started by the red-hot play of Nevin, Toro, and centerfielder JJ Bleday as of late. They’re classic A’s “misfit toys,” making the most of their opportunities.

Surely, that trio won’t stay hot forever, but it’d be foolish to think they haven’t proven they’re everyday big leaguers.

And what happens when the young players expected to lead the A’s this season — Langeliers, outfielder Lawrence Butler, and currently injured second baseman Zack Gelof — find their swings at the plate?

There are hints that Langeliers, for one, is on the verge of a breakthrough.

The A’s catcher — the only worthwhile piece of the team’s last fire sale of All-Star talent — is barreling the ball as frequently as Juan Soto this season. It’s only a matter of time before those hard-hit balls start avoiding gloves and carrying walls.

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All this to say that there’s a real chance the A’s offense of late might be the A’s offense we should expect for the rest of the season. And seeing as that is rightly perceived as the team’s weakness, it’s an encouraging development.

There’s no question about the bullpen. With the indomitable combination of South Bay flamethrower Lucas Erceg and Miller — there’s no better eighth- and ninth-inning pair in the game — the A’s are playing commissioner Rob Manfred’s ideal form of baseball: a seven-inning game.

And this A’s rotation is underrated, pairing big-time stuff (J.P. Sears, Joe Boyle) with valuable experience (Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood, Stripling).

In all, you have a team that can punch well above its weight. And those are the kind of teams I like to watch.

“We’re definitely focused on continuing in this direction,” manager Mark Kotsay said Wednesday. “(It’s) about the details of the game and the fundamentals. We might have given away free bases today — it was a bit of a rough defensive game — but when we had to make plays, we made plays.

Those types of plays are being made, and we’re getting the pitching from the starters to the bullpen. And when those things start to align, and the offense is scoring enough runs …”

Let me finish for you, Mark: It creates a product worth watching.

But we return to the elephant in the room. And no, I’m not referencing Stomper.

If this is the start of another A’s cycle — if a wave of wins is building, the East Bay won’t be able to ride it.

No, this will be Sacramento’s team next season. (Or will it be? The A’s won’t be claiming the city.)

At some point, maybe, it will be Las Vegas’. We’ll see.

It would be great if there was a Major League-like ending, where the A’s get hot, stay hot, and play so well that they keep the team in the Coliseum for years to come.

Sadly, this movie will have a different ending.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t be worth watching in the interim.

The Sparks don't have a "superstar" on the roster this season, but their draft picks and revamped roster could help end their playoff drought.

Grand slam in seventh breaks tie; Joe Musgrove allows two runs in 6 innings

By The Associated Press

Twenty horses stampeding 1 1/4 miles around Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. The Kentucky Derby turns 150 years old this year, extending its run as America’s longest continuously held sporting event.

The 2-minute race features a dash out of the starting gate, especially for the horses breaking from posts 15-20 whose jockeys want to angle them in to save ground. There’s a scramble for positioning going into the first turn before the field stretches out on the backside. The pace picks up heading into the final turn before the thrilling run through the stretch with 150,000 fans cheering.

When is the Derby post time?

6:57 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.

What’s the forecast?

Saturday’s forecast is for 79 degrees (26 Celsius) with a 52% chance of rain. The last sloppy track for the Derby was in 2019, when Country House was declared the winner after a 22-minute review by the stewards. Maximum Security crossed the line first, but was disqualified for interference. The Churchill dirt strip has been listed as fast for the last four Derbies.

How to watch

Coverage begins Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern with five hours of racing from Churchill Downs, capped by the Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies (USA Network, streaming on Peacock).

Derby Day coverage on Saturday begins at noon with the undercard races on USA Network and Peacock. At 2:30 p.m., coverage shifts to NBC and Peacock. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to subscribers. NBC Sports Audio (channel 85 on SiriusXM radio and the SiriusXM app) will begin coverage at 10 a.m. Telemundo Deportes will have Derby coverage Saturday starting at 6:30 p.m. on Universo, and streaming on TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo app.

What to watch

A pre-race tradition is the walkover, when the horses are led from the stable area to the paddock where they are saddled for the race. Some are cool and calm, others get fractious and sweaty. Accompanying them are usually the grooms, trainers and owners. The riders emerge from the jockeys’ room and walk to the paddock to meet their mounts.

Besides the horses, check out the crowd decked out in huge hats and fascinators, floral-print dresses and seersucker suits that make the Derby the world’s most fashionable sporting event.

Retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady will be among the celebrities in attendance. He is friends with Mike Repole, who owns Fierceness. Retired Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth co-owns Dornach (say DOOR-nack), a long shot named for a golf club in Scotland.

Who are the favorites?

Fierceness is the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez, the bay colt will break from the No. 17 post, which has never produced a Derby winner. Fierceness won the Florida Derby by 13 1/2 lengths in his last race.

Sierra Leone is the early second choice at 3-1. The dark bay/brown colt cost $2.3 million, making him the highest-priced runner in the full field of 20. He is trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, who are a combined 0 for 13 in the Derby.

Catching Freedom is the early third choice at 8-1. The bay colt is trained by Louisville native Brad Cox and ridden by Flavien Prat.

The co-fourth choices at 10-1 are Just a Touch and Forever Young. Cox also trains Just a Touch, who is co-owned by Sheikh Fahad Al Thani of Qatar. The bay colt did not race at age 2, and neither did his sire Justify, who won the Triple Crown in 2018.

Forever Young is one of two Japanese horses in the field. The bay colt is undefeated in five career starts, including the UAE Derby, but winners of that race are 0 for 19 in the Derby.

What does the winner get?

Churchill Downs increased the total purse for the 150th Derby to $5 million, with the winning owner earning $1.3 million and a gold trophy. Second place is worth $1 million, with payouts down to fifth place. The winning horse is draped in a hand-sewn blanket of red roses. The winning jockey typically earns 10% of the purse and a smaller trophy.

The slick-fielding shortstop has started every game for the Aggies, who are America's top-rated team as the regular season winds down

OAKLAND – The Ballers’ stay at Raimondi Park became official Tuesday when the Oakland City Council unanimously approved an agreement for their use of the field.

In exchange, the B’s will invest $1.6 million to upgrade the park’s facilities – including a new video scoreboard and a repaired playground – so they are suitable for professional baseball games and the crowds of thousands they may draw.

“While this is about sports, it’s also not just about sports – it’s about how working together can uplift a community,” Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

“It’s been a real team effort between the Ballers and the city of Oakland to make this happen and we couldn’t be more excited,” Paul Freedman, co-founder of the B’s, told the Bay Area News Group on Wednesday.

Raimondi Park had been under construction for the last several months, but prior to Tuesday’s vote, the team was limited to working on the field, itself. Now, the team can build up the infrastructure around the field, a list that includes the scoreboard, bleachers, dugouts, playground and more. Freedman expressed confidence that the infrastructure will be completed prior to the team’s home opener on June 4.

The approval of the Ballers’ plan comes less than a month after the A’s announced that they will play in Sacramento from 2025 to 2027 following the expiration of their lease at the end of this season, ending the team’s 57-year tenure in Oakland.

With Raimondi Park now officially the Ballers’ home, the team outlined some plans for the park ahead of its first season and released stadium renderings Wednesday.

A rendering of the Oakland Ballers’ planned ballpark at Raimondi Park in Oakland. (Courtesy of Oakland Ballers) 

The park will have a capacity of 4,000 seats, not including the grass beyond the outfield fences. Originally, the seated capacity was around 200. The bleachers are temporary, set to be put up in May and taken down after the season. The Ballers are partnering with InProduction, a company that specializes in temporary seating.

Regarding transportation, the team’s goal for its first season is to ensure that 25% of fans arrive using means other than a car. To that end, the Ballers will provide a shuttle from the West Oakland BART station to Raimondi Park. The shuttle will run every 20 minutes, starting three hours prior to first pitch and ending 30 minutes after the game concludes. There are also several AC transit stops within a half mile of the ballpark.

Additionally, the team will provide a free bike and scooter valet near the ballpark. Local bike groups will lead bikers to and from the park. According to Freedman, the team is coordinating a bike caravan in cooperation with fans.

“It will be cool if the experience of going to a baseball game actually begins an hour earlier because you’re biking with a whole bunch of people down Telegraph Ave. ultimately on your way to Raimondi,” Freedman said. “We want to build these things into our culture as well.”

For fans who drive, there will be three attended parking lots, two of which will be under a roof, with more than 1,000 parking spaces, including one lot available for rideshare. Overflow parking will be available at the West Oakland BART station. Parking can be purchased ahead of games on the team’s website. In addition to private security, the team is partnering with the Oakland Police Department.

As far as food and beverages, Raimondi Park will feature a standard ballpark slate of burgers, fries, hot dogs, nachos, vegetarian options, soda, beer, wine and cocktails, among other choices. The Ballers plan to rotate food trucks as well.

On nights when the team is not using Raimondi Park, the field will be available to the community. Access to the field includes use of the video scoreboard, which is 31 feet by 19 feet can be reserved for movie nights. The playground near the ballpark has been repaired and updated.

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Starting Wednesday, the Ballers will pause ticket sales as they migrate to a new ticketing system that the team says will decrease fees. Beginning on May 6, fans can purchase single-game tickets ahead of games for $15 (bargain bleachers), $20 (general admission), $25 (reserved bleachers) or $30 (premium reserved seats) (including fees). For fans who purchase tickets on gameday, prices will be $18 (bargain bleachers), $23 (general admission), $28 (reserved bleachers) and $33 (premium reserved seats) (including fees).

Raimondi Parki will have a pair of gates on 18th Street and 20th Street Both gates will open one hour before first pitch. For those who purchased reserved seats, the 20th Street gate will open an hour and a half before first pitch.

The Ballers begin their inaugural season on May 21, but they open the campaign with a 12-game road trip and will not play their first game at home until June 4 when they host the Yolo High Wheelers, who will also be playing their inaugural season in the Pioneer League.

The Ballers, originally slated to play at Laney College until plans fell through, will play 48 home games this season. They planned to play one game at the Oakland Coliseum in late June, but the A’s blocked the agreement.

Last night, Oakland City Council unanimously voted to approve our $1.6M plan to reactivate our city’s historic Raimondi Park.

We're so grateful to the residents of Prescott and West Oakland, the City of Oakland, the fans of baseball and all who believe in the Town for your… pic.twitter.com/tK4uklZFob

— Oakland Ballers (@OaklandBallers) May 1, 2024

SANTA CLARA — Two years after Brock Purdy wore No. 14 in the 49ers’ rookie camp, Ricky Pearsall will do the same next week.

“That’s what they assigned to me for camp, so we’re going to rock out with it,” Pearsall said Wednesday morning on 95.7 The Game. “We’re going to make it look good.

“They say that number has no aura but I’m going to put some aura in it.”

History lesson: No. 14 did have a positive aura, back in the day.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Y.A. Tittle wore No. 14 from 1952-60, and Ray Wersching donned it as the 49ers’ kicker on their first two Super Bowl-winning teams.

Portrait of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Y.A. Tittle in uniform and holding a football, 1950s. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 

Purdy wore No. 14 before switching to No. 13 upon making the season-opening roster in 2022, eventually seizing the starting quarterback role. By the way, Purdy’s jersey was the NFL’s 13th-best-selling jersey over the first three months of last season, according to the NFL Players Association.

Sam Darnold wore No. 14 last season as Purdy’s backup. Darnold left in free agency to join the Minnesota Vikings, who drafted J.J. McCarthy at 10th overall in last week’s NFL Draft.

One of the 49ers’ biggest draft busts wore No. 14 in his brief career: quarterback Jim Druckenmiller, their 1997 first-round pick. Among others assigned No. 14 in recent years include Max McCaffrey, Bill Musgrave, J.T. O’Sullivan, Kassim Osgood, Tom Owen, Mohamed Sanu, Jerome Simpson, Vinny Sutherland, and Jeff Wilkins.

Drafted at No. 31 overall in Thursday’s first round, Pearsall wore No. 1 at Florida the past two seasons, and No. 19 at Arizona State from 2019-21. (Sidebar: Deebo Samuel switched from No. 19 to No. 1 for this coming season.)

Pearsall flew into Santa Clara last Friday for a one-day tour of the facility. “I’m antsy. I’m ready to go,” Pearsall added on 95.7 The Game’s “Morning Roast” with Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky.

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Pearsall’s initial locker is near the far corner from the entry doors, and it flanks long snapper Taybor Pepper while offensive mainstays George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey are just to Pearsall’s right.

Here are the newcomers’ jersey numbers and incumbents’ new numbers (*undrafted rookie whose signing has yet to be officially announced by the team):

1: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel

*4: Quarterback Tanner Mordecai

5: Quarterback Josh Dobbs

14: Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall

19: Wide receiver Trent Taylor

22: Cornerback Isaac Yiadom

26: Cornerback Chase Lucas

32: Running back Patrick Taylor

33: Cornerback Rock Ya-Sin

36: Linebacker Curtis Robinson

*38: Running back Cody Schrader

38: Cornerback Kemon Hall

43: Safety Malik Mustapha

47: Linebacker Zeke Taylor

48: Linebacker Tatum Bethune

49: Running back Isaac Guerendo

*49: Safety Jaylen Mahoney

56: Defensive end Leonard Floyd

59: Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell

60: Offensive tackle Sebastian Gutierrez

62: Offensive lineman Jarrett Kingston

64: Defensive end Raymond Johnson

*66: Offensive lineman Drake Nugent

*66: Defensive tackle Evan Anderson

67: Offensive tackle Isaac Alarcon

67: Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu

*69: Offensive lineman Briason Mays

75: Offensive tackle Brandon Parker

77: Offensive lineman Dominick Puni

82: Tight end Eric Saubert

83: Wide receiver Jacob Cowing

*84: Wide receiver Terique Owens

*89: Tight end Mason Pline

91: Defensive end Earnest Brown

92: Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott

94: Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos

99: Defensive tackle Maliek Collins