Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 121

SF Giants’ offense silenced as Harrison makes first start of year

WASHINGTON D.C. — Kyle Harrison finds himself at an interesting juncture in his major-league career.

Harrison, 23, is part of the Giants’ rotation for now, entering the mix when Justin Verlander hit the injured list. He made his first start on Saturday, allowing two runs over four innings as the Giants lost to the Nationals, 3-0, their offense stifled by Jake Irvin’s eight scoreless frames. Once Verlander returns, Harrison will likely return to the bullpen.

It’s tough to project how Harrison’s summer will unfold. After totaling the second-most starts and innings for the Giants last season, it’s unclear whether the former De La Salle High star sees more time as a starter or reliever. But Saturday was his — and his alone.

“Felt great,” Harrison said. “It felt good to have a day dedicated to me and go out there, went about my business. Good to get in a routine again.”

Harrison’s first major-league start of the year was never going to be long given that he hadn’t started a game since April 30 with Triple-A Sacramento. Manager Bob Melvin said Harrison’s pitch limit was in the neighborhood of 60 pitches, and Harrison ended at 57 pitches.

Through 12 pitches, though, the Giants found themselves in a deficit they’d never erase.

Following Amed Rosario’s 110.9 mph one-out double, James Wood followed with a 109.7 mph two-run homer on Harrison’s hanging slurve, a loud swing that put the Giants in an early 2-0 deficit. Harrison needed 23 pitches to complete the first inning, a rough start given he was on a pitch limit.

From there, Harrison kept Washington scoreless for the rest of his short outing, only allowing two hits the rest of the way. The left-hander found himself in a jam in the fourth when the Nationals put runners on first and second with one out, but Harrison escaped unscathed before giving way to the bullpen.

“Especially early, I was really strike focused, attacking these guys,” Harrison said. “Ultimately, that ended with me leaving pitches over the plate too much. After that inning, I looked at the locations and just had to get off the plate a little bit more because they were willing to swing and chase. As soon as I tapped into that a little bit more, got a little better.”

Added Melvin: “I thought he threw good. There was just the one pitch to Wood — hung a breaking ball. Other than that, (velocity) was up. It was pretty efficient. For his pitch count, he got four innings in, so can move along a little bit further after that. But all in all, it came down to one pitch. When you don’t score any runs, it is what it is.”

Harrison heavily relied on his four-seam fastball against the Nationals’ left-handed heavy lineup, his heater accounting for 42 of his 57 total pitches. His average fastball velocity of 94.7 mph was expectedly lower compared to the 95.8 mph he averaged as a reliever, but still considerably higher than last year’s 92.5 mph.

“It’s always good to have that velocity,” Harrison said. “Just going out there and attack — that was the game plan. Got beat a little bit, but didn’t give in, I thought, and made pitches when I needed to.”

For Irvin, those two runs from Wood’s homer were plenty. Irvin matched the longest outing of his career, tossing eight scoreless and striking out seven batters as San Francisco was shut out for the fifth time this season.

The Giants’ best opportunity to score off Irvin was in the fourth inning when they put runners on first and second with no outs, but Irvin escaped trouble by getting Matt Chapman to ground into a double play and striking out Willy Adames.

“He was just pounding the zone and able to locate his fastball,” Chapman said. “He came right after us and we weren’t really able to get anything going off him. He pitched well.”

Irvin benefitted from quick innings in the later half of his start, needing just five pitches to complete the sixth inning and four pitches to finish the seventh inning.

“You know what’s coming. It’s going to be sinkers in for the righties and they’re strikes,” Melvin said. “They’re trying to get him out of there. Sure, as we sit here now, you’d like to say be more patient with it, but it’s probably going to be strike one.”

Related Articles How SF Giants’ Doval returned to form, pitching with ‘joy’ SF Giants’ Roupp tosses second straight quality start in win over Nationals SF Giants’ Harrison to start in place of injured Verlander SF Giants at 50 games: Can they maintain a playoff position? The SF Giants needed a stopper. Logan Webb didn’t deliver.

Harrison’s next start should land against the Marlins in Miami next weekend. Despite the long gap between starts, Harrison said his body felt great and that he could’ve gone out for the fifth inning. In South Beach, Harrison will likely have an opportunity to pitch deeper into the ballgame.

From there, the Giants will determine whether Harrison needs to maintain a starter’s stamina.

Giants unveil “new” road look

The Giants have exclusively worn their alternative black jerseys during Saturday home games, but the team decided to wear them on the road for the first time this season.

Per the game notes, the jerseys represent the “team unity that was built in spring training and wanting to carry that momentum throughout the season.” The Giants’ 21-6 record during spring training was the best mark in baseball.

“We played well in it during spring training so we wanted to bust it out, but obviously didn’t go our way today,” Chapman said. “I don’t think the jersey has anything to do with it, but it’s nice to have something to switch to.”

San Francisco will continue using its traditional road grays as the primary road uniform but will have the ability to use the alternates on occasion.

How SF Giants’ Doval returned to form, pitching with ‘joy’

WASHINGTON D.C. — Camilo Doval didn’t feel any emotions in his return to Nationals Park. “None,” he said. But the story of Doval’s major-league career cannot be told without a mention of this venue.

On Aug. 8, 2024, Doval allowed three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to the Nationals at their home venue, blowing his fifth save of the year and ballooning his ERA to 4.70. He held his head in his hand as he walked off the field. The following day, the Giants didn’t just demote Doval from the closer role — they demoted him from the majors entirely.

On Friday night, Doval stepped on that same mound. He retired the side in the ninth, securing a win for San Francisco and shrinking his ERA to a crisp 1.16. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 19 appearances, the longest such streak of his career.

He’s no longer the Giants’ closer — Ryan Walker holds that title — but following the nadir of his career, Doval once again looks the part of an excellent high-leverage reliever.

“It’s been really impressive to see,” said catcher Patrick Bailey. “It’s not an easy thing to go through whatsoever. Obviously, on the field is awesome. But I think more impressive is seeing him get back to himself in the locker room and off the field — seeing that smile that you would see in ‘23 and the joy. This game will beat the heck out of you sometimes. You could see that last year, but this year, man, it’s been awesome to see him get back to himself.”

For Doval, returning to his old form meant embracing modified mechanics. Doval was “a little resistant to change” last season, according to pitching coach J.P. Martinez. This spring, Doval was much more receptive.

There were three main elements of Doval’s mechanics that he tightened up, all of which are intertwined: setup, leg kick and hand placement.

Regarding his setup, Martinez noticed in spring training that Doval was very closed off, so much so that they could see his entire name and jersey number from the first-base dugout at Scottsdale Stadium. Since Doval was so closed off, his natural inclination was to “open up” in his delivery, causing him to pull his pitches.

“He was getting around his fastball and cutting it more than he normally does,” Martinez said. “So, when we were looking back at some of his videos from 2023, his feet were a little closer at setup. They weren’t as far across.”

Doval also had a tendency to bring his hands up higher when he brought his leg up higher. When he kept his leg kick and hands lower, Martinez assessed he “had less of a tendency of close off a swing open.”

“I think he was more open (to adjustments) this year,” Martinez said. “I think that’s mostly because he’s matured as a player and a person, and not so much being in a good or bad headspace with performance.”

https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/bmJXZThfVjBZQUhRPT1fVndaWVZRSUVWZ2NBV2xSWFZ3QUhVQVVGQUZoUldnUUFDZ0FBQVZFRVZBQlRDUVFD.mp4

With those mechanical tweaks, Doval has addressed last year’s primary weakness: free passes. Doval walked 14.4% of the batters he faced last year, the second-worst mark among all relievers behind only Aroldis Chapman (14.7%). This year, he’s down to 9.3% — still below average, but far more manageable.

Doval’s pitch usage also looks fairly different. Last year, Doval threw his slider roughly half the time (51.5%), complementing the breaking ball with his cutter (34.9%) and sinker (13.8%). This season, Doval continues to rely on his slider (53.5%) but has upped his cutter usage (44.2%) and nearly eliminated his sinker (2.3%).

He didn’t make an intentional decision to throw fewer sinkers. Rather, his reliance on the slider and cutter has been a result of those pitches being more effective — the and the cutter more vertical movement. Against the cutter specifically, opponents are only hitting .038; by Run Value, it’s one of the most valuable cutters in baseball.

Doval’s average slider is generating more than an inch of additional horizontal movement compared to last year, going from 4.9 inches in ‘24 to 6.1 inches this year. He’s getting roughly the with his cutter, but there are two key differences with that offering: His horizontal release point is closer to the rubber, and his extension to the plate is slightly longer.

Camilo Doval’s extension, or stride length, when throwing his cutter is considerably longer this season (6.6 feet) compared to last season (6.4 feet). (Credit: Baseball Savant)Camilo Doval is releasing his cutter closer to the rubber compared to previous seasons. Per Baseball Savant, Doval has an average horizontal release point of -1.48 feet. Last year, by comparison, it was -1.67. (Credit: Baseball Savant)

“Like I always said: Just trust myself,” Doval said through team interpreter Erwin Higueros. “When I go out there, I’m just playing catch. I trust God’s wishes, and that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Added Bailey: “I feel like this year, he’s done a better job of getting the (vertical movement) back compared to last year. I feel like last year, he was pulling it and cutting it more. … I feel like he’s doing a really good job this year of keeping it towards the top of the zone.”

The most interesting wrinkle in Doval’s success this season is that he hasn’t been striking out as many batters.

Related Articles SF Giants’ offense silenced as Harrison makes first start of year SF Giants’ Roupp tosses second straight quality start in win over Nationals SF Giants’ Harrison to start in place of injured Verlander SF Giants at 50 games: Can they maintain a playoff position? The SF Giants needed a stopper. Logan Webb didn’t deliver.

Entering this season, Doval had a career strikeout rate just under 30%, but this year, he’s down to 23.3%. Opposing hitters aren’t generating consistent hard contact — Doval ranks in the 84th percentile of average exit velocity — but Doval’s .158 BABIP indicates he could be the recipient of some batted-ball luck.

The strikeouts might be down, but the Giants will gladly take the scoreless innings he has delivered over the last month and change.

“He has always been good,” said reliever Randy Rodríguez through Higueros. “Nobody has always asked him, ‘Why are you so good?’ He went to the All-Star Game and nobody questioned his ability, but the minute he failed to do something good, everybody wants to know, ‘What is your problem?’ Everybody goes through those bad ruts. He’s a good pitcher, and he’s been able to pitch to that level.”

Liza Horvath, Senior Advocate: Should I carry a loan on sale of real estate?

Question: I am trustee of my parents’ trust. The instructions are that I am to sell all the trust holdings, including real estate, and distribute everything equally to my siblings and myself. A potential buyer of the real estate has asked me to “carry back” a note for a portion of the sale. Interest on loans is so high right now and the buyer assures me that she will refinance and pay us off when rates come down. In any event, we would put a due date on the carry back loan. As trustee, is there anything I should be worried about in doing this deal?

Answer: Here are a few things to consider regarding a carry back when selling trust real estate. First, are your siblings in agreement with this loan? I recommend you have your attorney prepare what is called a “Notice of Proposed Action” and have it sent to your siblings. A NOPA is used in trusts anytime you, as trustee, are doing anything “out of the ordinary” or that is not specifically directed in the trust document. It informs beneficiaries of what you are planning to do and gives them an opportunity to agree or object.

The trust probably has some standard language that you can make loans, but to fully protect yourself, the NOPA should outline exactly what you are proposing to do and provide this information to your siblings. The information would include the amount of the carry back loan, interest rate, due date on the promissory note and include information such as the price you listed the house for and whether or not the buyer is paying full asking price. Also include how long the house has been listed (days on market) and confirm that it was fully exposed to potential buyers through the Multiple Listing Service. The NOPA provides your siblings 45 days in which they can either consent or object to your action. If they do not respond, then 45 days after the date you deliver the NOPA to them, you can assume they have consented.

Make sure you record your loan as a first deed of trust to fully secure the loan. Also, you will need to keep the trust open until the note is paid off. You could, ostensibly, distribute most of the trust’s assets but hold back a reserve in case you need to take legal action to collect the note. Finally, consider this: Most trustees, when selling real estate, prefer to do a “clean sale” since doing creative financing just ups the chances for possible problems.

Question: My employer is pushing me to put money into a Health Savings Account. I am healthy so I don’t really see the benefits. What am I missing?

Answer: Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are a great investment vehicle, and I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity! If you are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan, you can set up an HSA and, depending on who you are covering in your health insurance plan and your age, the HSA can be funded with up to $10,600 annually. HSA funds can be used to pay health insurance deductibles or for medical expenses not covered by insurance. When you use the funds for health expenses, you are not required to pay income tax on the amounts used.

Like IRAs, your HSA is funded with pre-tax dollars and the investments grow income and capital gains tax free. Unlike IRAs, you are not required to withdraw funds year over year and, if you withdraw funds to pay health costs, you do not pay income tax on the withdrawals. Triple tax savings!

Another advantage of an HSA is the “retroactive claim” opportunity. Say you are growing your fund and have a medical expense that is not covered by insurance but, at the time, you decide to pay the expense out-of-pocket. Keep track of the paid expenses along with the receipts and, later in life, you can “cash in” these paid expenses – retroactively.

For example, say this year you have uncovered medical expenses of $3,000 and pay them out-of-pocket. Then, in the future, you have a medical bill for $5,000 which comes at a time when you are not quite so flush with cash. You can “cash-in” your $3,000 receipt and withdraw an additional $2,000 from the HSA to pay the $5,000 doctor’s bill. The plans allow you to make a retroactive claim on your account and, best of all, when the funds are used for medical bills, you pay zero income tax! I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this great opportunity.

Liza Horvath has over 30 years’ experience in the estate planning and trust fields and is a Licensed Professional Fiduciary. Liza currently serves as president of Monterey Trust Management. This is not intended to be legal, tax or investment advice. If you have a question call (831)646-5262 or email liza@montereytrust.com.

Herald Heroes: With a wide range of volunteering experience, Erica Graham betters Marina community

Editor’s note — Recently we invited readers to send in their nominations for “Herald Heroes,” an effort to recognize the heroics of people doing great things behind the scenes. We then pursued the nearly impossible task of winnowing the list to five finalists and one winner among them. In the coming weeks, we will feature a different finalist each Sunday, acknowledging the good work they’ve contributed on behalf of our community and finishing with a feature on our winning Herald Hero, who will receive a $500 award.

MARINA – A mother of eight children from ages 7 through 25 and a dedicated volunteer for numerous organizations, Erica Graham has kept her schedule busy with volunteer work, parenting and furthering her own education. Ever since her eldest son came to Marina High as an athlete in 2014, she has stayed heavily involved with the high school and is a passionate advocate for enriching experiences for all children.

Graham was nominated by her husband, Michael, who said his wife’s “commitment transcends personal interest; she actively improves the community’s well-being … There’s no doubt that Erica Graham leads with heart and dedication, making her an invaluable asset to Marina and an inspiration to all who have the privilege to know her.”

Graham’s leadership roles have spanned several nonprofit organizations, including long-term contributions to the Marina Pony Baseball Softball League, Marina High Parents, Teachers and Students Association and the Marina Youth Soccer Association for 12 years.

While Graham loves all the work she does, she said it is a significant balancing act between parenting, volunteering and furthering her education at Cal State Monterey Bay. She is currently studying business administration, with a concentration in entrepreneurship. Graham has been on the dean’s list since returning to CSUMB this year after taking a break when she had her two youngest sons.

Herald Heroes (Arianna Nalbach - Monterey Herald)

Graham, who is a chef, and her husband, a biologist, own and operate Monterey Bay Seaweeds, a land-based seaweed farm in Moss Landing. They cultivate various edible seaweeds in tanks, selling them to high-end restaurants.

“I kind of did it backward,” Graham said. “We started our business and then I’m in school for it and I did all the stuff with the nonprofits, but it really has helped me to kind of refine some of the skills that I learned along the way and it has helped to understand how to do them easier.”

She said managing everything is challenging. “I don’t sleep very much and I really have to stay organized and do a lot of planning, because if not, I can fall behind and I really don’t like disappointing anybody, and I especially don’t like disappointing myself.”

Graham has managed to pull it all off, emphasising the importance of stopping sometimes and taking time to throw a ball in the backyard with her kids or take them to the park.

“It’s always a struggle and I feel like I’m balancing it OK,” she said. “I would never know if I’m doing the perfect job or not, but I just try to do the best with each different task and as long as I’m completing them and moving forward, I feel like everything else will be fine. I make mistakes along the way, but for the most part, it all works out in the end and everyone’s pretty happy.”

Graham has always tried to stay involved with what her kids are doing, “without hovering too tightly over them.” She has helped with events while her kids were in elementary school, helping organize things like pumpkin patches and fundraising for the fifth-grade science camp at Olson Elementary.

“It was pretty much just helping wherever I can, just for the experience and really giving back to the community,” she said. “It just takes a little bit of time and what you get out of it is so much more than what you put into it.”

Graham won the 2023 Marina Woman of the Year award from the Marina Foundation, which supports programs that benefit youth, teens and seniors in the community. Graham said when they were listing all the things she’d done “I’m like, oh, I forgot I did that. I forgot I did that too. But I just tried to help out wherever I can.”

Graham said she’s scaled back a bit on the number of organizations she volunteers with, but the experiences and skills she’s learned have been invaluable. She was able to learn “a lot of the basics” with fundraising and networking.

“It’s all played a huge role in what I’m doing now and makes it a little easier to be able to do all those things, because I do have a lot of connections,” she said.

Currently she is focusing on the athletic booster club at Marina High, where she is the vice president and treasurer of the program. “I pretty much run all of the daily everything,” she said with a laugh.

As the treasurer, she keeps up with all of the program’s funds, handling all of the collections and organization for any student fundraisers. She also purchases new uniforms and equipment and is “always trying to find a good grant to write.”

“I’m always looking for any way to get involved, get our kids into different situations where they get real-life experience,” Graham said.

Graham spent most of her childhood on the Peninsula, after moving to the area because her dad was in the military. Growing up in the area and raising her kids here, Graham has seen Marina High and the surrounding community expand – something she said was a highlight to all of her time volunteering.

“My kids haven’t known anything different than being out on the fields and being active in the community. It’s been nice to see the growth happen,” she said. “Hopefully we can move toward more fields and whatnot for our kids to play on, cause it’s played such an important role in my kids’ lives, especially my older ones.”

When she was in high school, there was no Marina High (it opened in 2006). Instead, Graham went to school in Seaside. When her kids started coming to Marina High, it had about 200 students.

Graham has had the opportunity to watch the student population grow to about 700 as Marina High constructs new buildings, creates programs and improves over time, she said. Graham attributed the construction of the gym as a big boon for the high school, but also highlighted the culinary and health programs, where her daughter learned to do CPR.

“It’s really exciting to see that that’s the direction we’re heading in and that my younger kids are gonna get to experience this amazing high school that’s just gonna keep having that build up by the time they get here.”

For Graham, her children have played a big part in her motivation for volunteer work. She said when her oldest kids started sports, she was a single parent and was on scholarship to afford their sports.

 

Erica Graham is the vice president and treasurer of the athletic booster club at Marina High School. (Arianna Nalbach - Monterey Herald)

“When you are on scholarship, you have to do volunteer work. And so I very quickly learned that was a possibility for me. There were only four of them at the time, and so I learned that that was an option and my kids could still be involved. At the same time, that’s when I learned it’s actually kind of fun to volunteer,” she said.

Seeing the return from the time and effort Graham was putting in with volunteering was a big reward for her. The more she learned, the more she wanted to do.

“It was just making an impact for not just my kids, but all the kids in the community,” she said. “It kind of just made me want to do more and it was really like a challenge for me, and I love a good challenge.”

“It’s kind of shaped them and molded them into who they are now,” she said. Recently, her daughter did a college application and while Graham was reading through it, she found that it helped her daughter to understand her role as a community member.

Graham said she used to feel what she was doing too much volunteer work and “I was taking away from the time that I had with my kids.”

But reading her daughter’s application “was a really big moment for me, seeing that everything that I’ve put into my community, even my own children, get it, and they’re ready to give it back. She’s come a few times home from college and her first thing was ‘hey, are we working the snack bar, do we have games?’ and so it’s kind of cool to see that that’s happening.”

Graham was especially grateful to get to do everything with her kids.

“There’s only so much time in a day and the fact that we get to make such a big impact together, because they’re always by my side whatever I do, it’s just rewarding personally,” she said. “If I could get everybody to rally with me, like the world would be a better place. It would just be different and it would be better and we’d all get to enjoy a better place.”

Synchronized sensations

Three combinations from the Cypress Swim Club have qualified for the US National Junior Olympic Artistic Championships in Texas.

Taking part in the technical duet routine, sisters Reagan and Scarlet Dotterer finished third in the 15-17 age group at the West Zone Artistic Championships in Walnut Creek.

The Dotterer sisters teamed up with Elena DeCarlo, Elyse DeSalvo and Kathrin Reichstadt to take fourth in the team routine, adding Jannah Noonari in the Youth Combination to place fourth.

DeCarlo also finished fourth in the youth solo routine, with Noonari placing fifth, while the Dotterer sisters were eighth in the Youth Duet.

Pharmacists stockpile most common drugs on chance of targeted Trump tariffs

By Jackie Fortiér and Arthur Allen, KFF Health News

In the dim basement of a Salt Lake City pharmacy, hundreds of amber-colored plastic pill bottles sit stacked in rows, one man’s defensive wall in a tariff war.

Independent pharmacist Benjamin Jolley and his colleagues worry that the tariffs, aimed at bringing drug production to the United States, could instead drive companies out of business while raising prices and creating more of the drug shortages that have plagued American patients for several years.

Jolley bought six months’ worth of the most expensive large bottles, hoping to shield his business from the 10% across-the-board tariffs on imported goods that President Donald Trump announced April 2. Now with threats of additional tariffs targeting pharmaceuticals, Jolley worries that costs will soar for the medications that will fill those bottles.

Related Articles Aging Boom’s next stage: Rise of the 100-somethings RFK Jr.’s MAHA report raises concerns about vaccines, American foods and prescription drugs FDA panel is split on updates to COVID shots as questions loom for fall vaccinations Measles is very contagious. Here’s how to avoid it Crews continue to remove undamaged batteries from Vistra building

In principle, Jolley said, using tariffs to push manufacturing from China and India to the U.S. makes sense. In the event of war, China could quickly stop all exports to the United States.

“I understand the rationale for tariffs. I’m not sure that we’re gonna do it the right way,” Jolley said. “And I am definitely sure that it’s going to raise the price that I pay my suppliers.”

Squeezed by insurers and middlemen, independent pharmacists such as Jolley find themselves on the front lines of a tariff storm. Nearly everyone down the line — drugmakers, pharmacies, wholesalers, and middlemen — opposes most tariffs.

Slashing drug imports could trigger widespread shortages, experts said, because of America’s dependence on Chinese- and Indian-made chemical ingredients, which form the critical building blocks of many medicines. Industry officials caution that steep tariffs on raw materials and finished pharmaceuticals could make drugs more expensive.

“Big ships don’t change course overnight,” said Robin Feldman, a UC Law San Francisco professor who writes about prescription drug issues. “Even if companies pledge to bring manufacturing home, it will take time to get them up and running. The key will be to avoid damage to industry and pain to consumers in the process.”

Trump on April 8 said he would soon announce “a major tariff on pharmaceuticals,” which have been largely tariff-free in the U.S. for 30 years.

“When they hear that, they will leave China,” he said. The U.S. imported $213 billion worth of medicines in 2024 — from China but also India, Europe, and other areas.

Prescription drugs sit ready to be distributed to patients at 986 Pharmacy in Alhambra, California. ((Jackie Fortiér/KFF Health News)/KFF Health News/TNS)

Trump’s statement sent drugmakers scrambling to figure out whether he was serious, and whether some tariffs would be levied more narrowly, since many parts of the U.S. drug supply chain are fragile, drug shortages are common, and upheaval at the FDA leaves questions about whether its staffing is adequate to inspect factories, where quality problems can lead to supply chain crises.

On May 12, Trump signed an executive order asking drugmakers to bring down the prices Americans pay for prescriptions, to put them in line with prices in other countries.

Meanwhile, pharmacists predict even the 10% tariffs Trump has demanded will hurt: Jolley said a potential increase of up to 30 cents a vial is not a king’s ransom, but it adds up when you’re a small pharmacy that fills 50,000 prescriptions a year.

“The one word that I would say right now to describe tariffs is ‘uncertainty,’” said Scott Pace, a pharmacist and owner of Kavanaugh Pharmacy in Little Rock, Arkansas.

To weather price fluctuations, Pace stocked up on the drugs his pharmacy dispenses most.

“I’ve identified the top 200 generics in my store, and I have basically put 90 days’ worth of those on the shelf just as a starting point,” he said. “Those are the diabetes drugs, the blood pressure medicines, the antibiotics — those things that I know folks will be sicker without.”

Pace said tariffs could be the death knell for the many independent pharmacies that exist on “razor-thin margins” — unless reimbursements rise to keep up with higher costs.

Unlike other retailers, pharmacies can’t pass along such costs to patients. Their payments are set by health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers largely owned by insurance conglomerates, who act as middlemen between drug manufacturers and purchasers.

Neal Smoller, who employs 15 people at his Village Apothecary in Woodstock, New York, is not optimistic.

“It’s not like they’re gonna go back and say, well, here’s your 10% bump because of the 10% tariff,” he said. “Costs are gonna go up and then the sluggish responses from the PBMs — they’re going to lead us to lose more money at a faster rate than we already are.”

Smoller, who said he has built a niche selling vitamins and supplements, fears that FDA firings will mean fewer federal inspections and safety checks.

“I worry that our pharmaceutical industry becomes like our supplement industry, where it’s the wild West,” he said.

Pills sit in the tray of a pill-counting machine at 986 Pharmacy in Alhambra, California. ((Jackie Fortiér/KFF Health News)/KFF Health News/TNS)

Narrowly focused tariffs might work in some cases, said Marta Wosińska, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center on Health Policy. For example, while drug manufacturing plants can cost $1 billion and take three to five years to set up, it would be relatively cheap to build a syringe factory — a business American manufacturers abandoned during the covid-19 pandemic because China was dumping its products here, Wosińska said.

It’s not surprising that giants such as Novartis and Eli Lilly have promised Trump they’ll invest billions in U.S. plants, she said, since much of their final drug product is made here or in Europe, where governments negotiate drug prices. The industry is using Trump’s tariff saber-rattling as leverage; in an April 11 letter, 32 drug companies demanded European governments pay them more or face an exodus to the United States.

Brandon Daniels, CEO of supply chain company Exiger, is bullish on tariffs. He thinks they could help bring some chemical manufacturing back to the U.S., which, when coupled with increased use of automation, would reduce the labor advantages of China and India.

“You’ve got real estate in North Texas that’s cheaper than real estate in Shenzhen,” he said at an economic conference April 25 in Washington, referring to a major Chinese chemical manufacturing center.

But Wosińska said no amount of tariffs will compel makers of generic drugs, responsible for 90% of U.S. prescriptions, to build new factories in the U.S. Payment structures and competition would make it economic suicide, she said.

Several U.S. generics firms have declared bankruptcy or closed U.S. factories over the past decade, said John Murphy, CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines, the generics trade group. Reversing that trend won’t be easy and tariffs won’t do it, he said.

“There’s not a magic level of tariffs that magically incentivizes them to come into the U.S.,” he said. “There is no room to make a billion-dollar investment in a domestic facility if you’re going to lose money on every dose you sell in the U.S. market.”

His group has tried to explain these complexities to Trump officials, and hopes word is getting through. “We’re not PhRMA,” Murphy said, referring to the powerful trade group primarily representing makers of brand-name drugs. “I don’t have the resources to go to Mar-a-Lago to talk to the president myself.”

Many of the active ingredients in American drugs are imported. Fresenius Kabi, a German company with facilities in eight U.S. states to produce or distribute sterile injectables — vital hospital drugs for cancer and other conditions — complained in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that tariffs on these raw materials could paradoxically lead some companies to move finished product manufacturing overseas.

Fresenius Kabi also makes biosimilars, the generic forms of expensive biologic drugs such as Humira and Stelara. The United States is typically the last developed country where biosimilars appear on the market because of patent laws.

Tariffs on biosimilars coming from overseas — where Fresenius makes such drugs — would further incentivize U.S. use of more expensive brand-name biologics, the March 11 letter said. Biosimilars, which can cost a tenth of the original drug’s price, launch on average 3-4 years later in the U.S. than in Canada or Europe.

In addition to getting cheaper knockoff drugs faster, European countries also pay far less than the United States for brand-name products. Paradoxically, Murphy said, those same countries pay more for generics.

European governments tend to establish more stable contracts with makers of generics, while in the United States, “rabid competition” drives down prices to the point at which a manufacturer “maybe scrimps on product quality,” said John Barkett, a White House Domestic Policy Council member in the Biden administration.

As a result, Wosińska said, “without exemptions or other measures put in place, I really worry about tariffs causing drug shortages.”

Smoller, the New York pharmacist, doesn’t see any upside to tariffs.

“How do I solve the problem of caring for my community,” he said, “but not being subject to the emotional roller coaster that is dispensing hundreds of prescriptions a day and watching every single one of them be a loss or 12 cents profit?”

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Aging Boom’s next stage: Rise of the 100-somethings

Not so long ago, Lillian Kahan would’ve been an oddity.

She’s 104 years old (“104 and a half,” she corrects), and, until recently, a life of such length was a statistical quirk, rare enough to warrant news coverage or scientific research or at least a cupcake at the local senior center.

These days that’s only half true. Kahan’s age still makes news, and scientists increasingly are interested in people like her. She still gets the odd cupcake.

But the attention isn’t coming because she’s so uncommon. It’s because she’s not.

In fact, being a Kahan – living to 100 and beyond – might be a glimpse of the future.

“Being this old is fun,” Kahan said. “I recommend it.”

Welcome to Ageville

The number of centenarians worldwide has more than doubled over the past 25 years and demographers at the United Nations project that the 100-something crowd will quadruple by mid-century. Today, the biggest centenarian populations are in Japan (146,000) and the United States (108,000). But, soon, countries like China and India, where the overall populations are huge but the aging curve is only now starting to trend upward, will have even bigger 100-something age bubbles. By 2054, nearly 4 million people around the world will be 100 or older.

The trend is expected to be even more pronounced locally. The state projects that from now until 2050, the ranks of centenarians will jump more than fivefold in each of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Of course, centenarians are just the tip of a bigger demographic spear.

Populations are aging up in most advanced economies, at a rate never before seen in human history. In many countries, older people already outnumber children or they’re expected to in the near future. Aging demographics are reshaping everything from retirement plans and immigration patterns to diaper sales and popular ideals about beauty.

Like many aspects of the aging boom, the rise of centenarians is a mixed bag.

For example, it’s unambiguously good that lifestyle changes and cancer prevention and medical sciences have all improved enough to make it possible for so many people to live so long and, often, so well.

“Every centenarian I’ve met is exceptional,” said Stacy Andersen, who, as co-director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University, has met a lot of centenarians.

“These people have delayed chronic, age-related diseases. That’s the baseline. But many also continue to live vibrant lives, to stay engaged in their community and with their families,” she added. “It’s a wonderful view of what aging can be.”

It’s also unambiguously great that younger relatives and friends – everybody under 100, really – can, if they listen, pick up some life hacks that come with living 100 or more years.

The country’s fastest-growing age group isn’t little kids or middle-agers or even recent retirees; it’s the super old, people 100 and up. Above, June Barthol, 107, mugs for the camera during an annual Centenarian Celebration at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. The senior living community celebrated 15 residents over 100 years old. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Lillian Kahan, 104, at her board and care in Mission Viejo, CA, on Thursday, May 15, 2025. The still-vibrant centenarian said, “the secret to longevity is lots of sex” as she laughed during the photo shoot. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Lillian Kahan, 104, at her board and care in Mission Viejo, CA, on Thursday, May 15, 2025. The still-vibrant centenarian said, “the secret to longevity is lots of sex” as she laughed during the photo shoot. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Lillian Kahan, 104, at her board and care in Mission Viejo, CA, on Thursday, May 15, 2025. The still-vibrant centenarian said, “the secret to longevity is lots of sex” as she laughed during the photo shoot. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Lillian Kahan, 104, at her board and care in Mission Viejo, CA, on Thursday, May 15, 2025. The still-vibrant centenarian said, “the secret to longevity is lots of sex” as she laughed during the photo shoot. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Lillian Kahan, 104, at her board and care in Mission Viejo, CA, on Thursday, May 15, 2025. The still-vibrant centenarian said, “the secret to longevity is lots of sex” as she laughed during the photo shoot. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Show Caption1 of 6The country’s fastest-growing age group isn’t little kids or middle-agers or even recent retirees; it’s the super old, people 100 and up. Above, June Barthol, 107, mugs for the camera during an annual Centenarian Celebration at Rowntree Gardens in Stanton, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. The senior living community celebrated 15 residents over 100 years old. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Expand

“I still love waking up,” said Kahan, her New York accent still thick after six-plus decades in Mission Viejo and other parts of Southern California.

“You should try to do that. It’s pretty important.”

But good things often come with a cost, and the rise of centenarians presents some huge challenges.

Money, health, family hassles; the same issues that plague younger people don’t go away when someone turns 100. But the ability to leap over those hurdles – or, perhaps, to worry about them at all – drops considerably when you become a centenarian.

“I don’t necessarily want to make it to 100,” said Margo Carle, an ombudsman with the Council on Aging Southern California who works as an independent advocate for older people who live in nursing homes and other facilities.

“I see too much of how it can be,” Carle said.

“If you don’t have money, being 100 can be … Well, it’s not always pretty.”

Stresses for all

For Kahan and her 100-something cohorts, the cost of living isn’t cheap.

Though studies show centenarians generally are more physically robust than other older people, age is still age. About half of the 100-something crowd in the United States has some form of dementia, and most of those people need full-time care.

And even among those with little or no cognitive decline, only a small fraction can live on their own without someone – paid or otherwise – checking in every day to help them.

In this file photo, Caltech Nobel Laureate Rudolph Marcus, a chemistry professor, celebrates his 100th birthday at a symposium in his honor at the Linus Pauling Lecture Hall at Caltech in Pasadena on Friday, July 21, 2023.Marcus who is now 101, lives in the same Pasadena house he shared with his late wife, Laura, who died in 2003. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)Caltech Nobel Laureate Rudolph Marcus, a chemistry professor, celebrates his 100th birthday at a symposium in his honor at the Linus Pauling Lecture Hall at Caltech in Pasadena on Friday, July 21, 2023. Marcus who is now 101, lives in the same Pasadena house he shared with his late wife, Laura, who died in 2003. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)Show Caption1 of 2In this file photo, Caltech Nobel Laureate Rudolph Marcus, a chemistry professor, celebrates his 100th birthday at a symposium in his honor at the Linus Pauling Lecture Hall at Caltech in Pasadena on Friday, July 21, 2023.Marcus who is now 101, lives in the same Pasadena house he shared with his late wife, Laura, who died in 2003. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)Expand

“My sons are all teachers. And they’ve arranged their schedules, they rotate, so they can stay with me,” said Rudolph Marcus, a 101-year-old chemist and former Caltech professor who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1992.

“That helps me continue with my work,” Marcus said. “I still think about my work every day, to be honest. Some problems I can still solve, some I can’t.

“But I could not do any of that without their help.”

Marcus, who won the Nobel for his work on how electrons jump from atom to atom (something that affects the functionality of solar panels and electric cars, among other things), is an outlier. He lives in the same Pasadena house he shared with his late wife, Laura, who died in 2003. Most people his age live in some kind of congregate setting, which in Southern California can run $5,000 to $15,000 a month.

Given that many newly minted centenarians have outlived their retirement savings, or didn’t have much to begin with, the cost of that care often falls to families and the government.

Soon, half of that equation might change.

A proposal being debated in Congress this month could include big cuts to Medicaid, the federal program that helps pay the costs of long-term care for, among others, centenarians. Those cuts, if passed, could result in lower-quality care or, in some cases, displacement. Other proposed Medicaid adjustments could reduce compensation for in-home care, making it tough for centenarians to live without family help.

For families who don’t want to hire out, or who can’t, the costs of centenarian care can run deeper than money.

Unlike younger retirees, whose adult children typically are young enough to still be working, the children of centenarians often are aged themselves – typically in their 70s or 80s. For them, providing care for an aging parent can be devastating, financially and otherwise.

“In many of the cultures that are common in Los Angeles, it’s an honor to care for your aging relatives,” said Heather Cooper Ortner, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Los Angeles, a nonprofit that helps provide services to people and families battling dementia.

“So it isn’t about people being unwilling to do this, or seeing it as a burden. That’s not always the case,” she said.

“But caring for older people can present an incredible level of stress for family caregivers,” Cooper Ortner added. Food, medical questions and appointments, bathing, bathroom help, fall prevention – caring for a centenarian is, literally, a full-time job. For a child in her 80s, it can be too much.

“It’s not uncommon to see a caregiver pass away before the person they’re caring for,” Cooper Ortner said.

“It’s a very complicated dynamic.”

Survive, delay, escape

The first public service messages warning Americans that smoking causes cancer started airing on television in 1967. A few years later, jogging became a national craze and, over the next two decades, about 25 million Americans started going for a run as a regular part of their lives. Less red meat. More sunblock. Meditation. All of it means one thing:

If you’re on deck to turn 100 this year, you’ve spent about half your life in a world where the phrase “healthy lifestyle” wasn’t a punchline.

It’s one reason, though not the biggest, that explains why so many people are living so long. People who study centenarians – and there are hundreds of aging experts looking into the topic in the United States, Japan and Europe – say genetics and the sheer power of population numbers are even bigger factors.

“At the turn of the last century, life expectancy was about 50. But a lot of things – cleaner water, prevention of infant deaths, antibiotics – made it so a lot more people made it into adulthood. That just means there are a lot more people who are going to have the opportunity to hit 100,” said Andersen, of the New England Centenarian Study.

But at least one projection suggests population numbers alone are only part of the broader trend. Even as more people, overall, hit 100, the ratio of people who reach that age is skyrocketing. According to United Nations data, Japan currently has about 12 centenarians for every 10,000 residents (the ratio in the U.S. is about 3 in 10,000). By 2050, the ratio in Japan will be about 40 out of every 10,000, and in the U.S., it’ll be about 14 out of 10,000.

“Having good, healthy habits can get you about 10 years longer. And it definitely makes those years better, which is important,” Andersen said. “But it doesn’t necessarily get you to 100.”

Genes might.

Andersen said there is no single “centenarian gene.” Instead, researchers have identified about 200 different genes to date that do age-related things like reduce inflammation and boost immune systems. People who have certain combinations of those genes have significantly better odds of making it to 100.

“We’re still trying to understand the relationships between protective genes,” Andersen said. “But it’s more about genetics than we once believed. And we’re learning more about that all the time.”

The New England Centenarian Study, which started in 1994, has tracked the lives of more than 1,800 centenarians, including 123 so-called “supercentenarians,” meaning people who made it to 110 or older. It’s also looked at more than 600 of their children, and more than 400 so-called “controlled” subjects, (usually spouses and relatives of spouses), as a way to identify the balance between genetics, lifestyle and other factors when it comes to cracking 100.

They’ve learned, so far, that so-called “exceptional longevity” – meaning the likelihood of making it to 100 — runs in families. They’ve also learned that many people who tend to live so long hit age-related illnesses later in life, and that they often compress their debilitations into shorter windows.

“Centenarians spend about 10% of their lives with a chronic illness. Others spend about 20% of their lives in that kind of situation, on average,” Andersen said.

The study has identified three basic types of centenarians. About 4 in 10 (43%) are “delayers,” meaning they didn’t experience age-related diseases, like dementia, until age 80 or later. Another 4 in 10 (42%) are “survivors,” meaning they made it to 100 even though they’ve been battling some kind of disease since before their 80th birthday. And about 1 in 7 (15%) are “escapers,” or people who, even at 100, don’t have any age-related disease.

Marcus, the chemist from Caltech, is probably an escaper.

“I don’t play tennis anymore. And I don’t ski. My sight doesn’t really allow it. But otherwise I feel pretty much the same,” he said.

When asked if he’s still learning about himself, at age 101, or if he’s got any advice to someone hoping to live well at his age, Marcus said yes and demurred.

“I’m learning every day. I try to live in the moment. I’d like to think I don’t live in the past and I never thought too much about the future, even when I was younger. And I definitely don’t do it now, at my age,” Marcus said, laughing.

“But I wouldn’t know if that’s what other people should or shouldn’t do,” he added. “It’s just the way I’ve always been.”

Kahan is probably a delayer. She doesn’t have dementia, but she said she battles health issues she declined to offer in detail.

She did offer one tip.

“Every day. I watch some TV, I talk with my friend. I enjoy my day,” Kahan said.

“But time passes very quickly,” she added. “Even at my age, it doesn’t slow down. And I think that means something.”

Anyone interested in participating in the New England Centenarian Study can call 888-333-6327 or email agewell@bu.edu.

Horoscopes May 24, 2025: John C. Reilly, distance yourself from anyone pressuring you

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Mark Ballas, 39; John C. Reilly, 60; Priscilla Presley, 80; Bob Dylan, 84.

Happy Birthday: Distance yourself from anyone pressuring you. You require peace to process and consider your options. Positive change is in the stars, but thought and planning determine how far you get. Don’t be fooled by lofty suggestions or offers full of optimism without facts. Be diligent, get what you want in writing and go through the proper channels to avoid setbacks and disappointment. Your motto this year is “Look, see and do.” Your numbers are 3, 17, 24, 29, 35, 42, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take control and use your talents, voice and connections to help bring about positive change. Don’t let the small stuff get in your way. React swiftly, without malice, and you’ll capture the required attention to turn your plans into a reality. An adjustment to how you earn or handle your money looks promising. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Change your mind as often as necessary until you feel comfortable with the outcome. It’s your life, so don’t allow anyone the option to speak or decide for you. Round up your thoughts and follow the dots until they lead you in a direction that excites and motivates you to give your all. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It’s up to you to make things happen. Step up, take responsibility and stop second-guessing your every move. Uncertainty will lead to mistakes. Look, size up your situation, talk to experts and research your options. You’ll accomplish plenty if you are direct and bold and move forward with precision. 4 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Spend more time on self-improvement and less time trying to change others. When something doesn’t feel right, start implementing the necessary changes within your jurisdiction, and you’ll save yourself from conflict and controversy. Protect against health risks, injury and neglect by improving your fitness and diet. 2 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Do it. Set your sights on what you want to achieve, and don’t stop until you reach your destination. Take an interest in available resources that can raise your profile or qualifications, and load up your roster with events and activities that allow you to show off what you have to offer. 5 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Embrace the future with enthusiasm and the willingness to try something new and exciting. Search for fun things to do that don’t break the bank. Spending less, engaging in more outdoor activity and returning to nature will have a calming effect and set you on a path to better health. Attitude is everything. 3 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Put everything in perspective before you proceed. You will encounter false information, making verification necessary if you want to implement new plans. Protect meaningful relationships and put more effort into presenting yourself and your ideas to those you want by your side. Make love and romance a priority. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A change will help you see your options clearly and encourage you to hit the reset button and start something new. Discuss your concerns and intentions with someone you trust, and you’ll get a different perspective regarding what’s best for you. Dump costly subscriptions and memberships you can do without. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Stick with what and who you know, and discard any iffy situations that may stand in your way. Put your energy into partnerships and joint ventures, which will help you lower your overhead. Learn from experience and redesign how you want to use your skills and knowledge moving forward. Love and romance are favored. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Look for alternative options that will satisfy you and those you encounter. Meeting in the middle will help keep the peace and allow you the freedom to engage in events and activities that bring you joy. Take responsibility for your happiness and allow others the same privilege. You’ll find independent relationships more engaging. 5 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Address your spending habits and lock in to a budget and routine you can easily afford. Lowering debt will ease stress and help you save for something meaningful. Get involved in affordable activities to share with someone you love, and build memories. Pooling your resources and engaging in joint ventures will lead to financial opportunities. 4 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Push forward and don’t look back. A steady pace and a clear vision regarding what you want to achieve will help you bring about positive change and eliminate what is dragging you down. Cut your losses and maintain a budget, routine and healthy lifestyle. Trust your instincts, and surround yourself with like-minded people. 3 stars

Birthday Baby: You are calculating, playful and encouraging. You are popular and thoughtful.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes.2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others.3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals.4 stars: Aim high; start new projects.5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.

Want a link to your daily horoscope delivered directly to your inbox each weekday morning? Sign up for our free Coffee Break newsletter at mercurynews.com/newsletters or eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.

College baseball: Otters season ends in Super Regionals to Northwest Nazarene

NAMPA, Idaho — It’s going to sting for a while, particularly for 28 seniors, several of which have been down this road the last three seasons.

Coming up short isn’t something you prepare for. Making amends, seeking redemption and chasing a dream on the baseball field have been the targets all season for Cal State Monterey Bay.

Over time, the Otters will look back on three successive school record-tying 39-win seasons, including this past season, with fond memories. Turning in uniforms on Monday will be a somber moment.

“What hurts is the relationships you build and the finality of everything,” CSUMB coach Walt White said. “I’ve had some practice at it  now. I’m just not very good at these end of the year speeches.”

An historical season, which included a fourth straight California Collegiate Athletic Association title and a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Super Regionals, ended Friday after the Otters fell 7-3 to Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho.

As a result, the 44-12 Nighthawks are headed to Cary, N.C. for the Division II College World Series, while CSUMB will be on a flight back to the Monterey Peninsula.

“I need to reaccess, just not now,” White said. “It just feels like I let everyone down. The hurt is the fact that this is three consecutive years of being in the position. We’ve been beaten by three different teams — good teams. But who likes being second best?”

The postseason has been a redemption tour of sorts for the Nighthawks, who avenged last year’s 6-3 loss to CSUMB in the West Regionals, and a loss to Pt. Loma in the 2022 postseason. It will be their second World Series appearance in five years.

“They played better baseball than we did these last two days,” White said. “We made some uncharacteristic mistakes on the bases. We did things you can’t do in this setting when the games are on the margins. One mistake can cost you four runs.”

For just the second time all season, the Otters — ranked No. 9 in the nation — dropped two consecutive games, having fallen to Cal Poly, Pomona on February 22 and 23.

Shutout in Thursday’s 14-0 loss to Northwest Nazarene in the best-of-three series, the Otters went 11 straight innings before putting a run on the scoreboard in the Super Regionals.

“When is the last time we didn’t homer in two straight games?” said White, whose squad set a team record with 77 this year. “We hit four balls to the warning track today. Had that been yesterday with the wind, they would’ve been homers. Today they were outs.”

Some of that had to do with the Nighthawks pitching as CSUMB faced two starters in the last two days that are a combined 23-0 this year, including All-American Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, who tossed seven shutout innings on Thursday.

This time it was Cole Calnon taming the Otter bats, allowing just one run over 5.2 innings. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and an All-American doubles as a .300 hitter as Northwest Nazarene’s starting shortstop.

“Both threw a ton of strikes,” said White, who has taken CSUMB to eight straight postseason appearances. “We might have started pressing a little. That happens when a pitcher is carving you up. We just didn’t hit.”

Seven of the nine starters in the Otters lineup came into the series hitting over .300, including Jacob Dressler, whose two-out, run-scoring single in the third scored Max Farfan to tie the game at one.

The Nighthawks, who set a school and GNAC conference record for wins this season, broke up the tie with two runs in the fifth, then added four insurance runs in the eighth, with Calnon coming up with a clutch two-run single.

The Otters did put up two runs in the ninth on a two-out, two-run single from Nick Maestas, with the potential tying run sitting in the on-deck circle when Northwest Nazarene ended the game with a called third strike.

“We have a lot of pitching coming back,” White said. “We have some position players returning who had different roles this year. And I can recruit. Everyone has kids in the transfer portal. We have kids that want to stay here. We have some work to do. We’re behind in recruiting. In Division II, you have to stay relevant.”

 

SF Giants’ Roupp tosses second straight quality start in win over Nationals

WASHINGTON D.C. — The Washington Nationals announced a paid attendance of 19,195 on Friday night at Nationals Park. It’s unclear how many of those in attendance were Giants fans, but there were more than enough — especially behind the third-base dugout — to start “Let’s go Giants” chants in the lower bowl.

Landen Roupp pitched six-plus shutout innings, and the Giants’ offense jumped on the Nationals’ bullpen once starter MacKenzie Gore left the ballgame with an injury in the seventh inning as San Francisco beat Washington 4-0.

“(Gore’s) pitching a game, Roupp’s pitching a great game, and somebody’s going to blink first,” said manager Bob Melvin. “With (Gore) coming out of the game, we did a good job (against) their bullpen in the end.

“It’s kind of what we do — we jump on bullpens. I would never want somebody going out with an injury, but we did better work after he left.”

Gore and Roupp traded zeros for the game’s first six innings, but the Giants finally scratched across the night’s first runs in the seventh when Gore unexpectedly departed.

After walking Jung Hoo Lee on five pitches to lead off the seventh, Gore left the game alongside a trainer in the middle of a plate appearance against Matt Chapman due to a charley horse in his left leg. The ailment originated in the top of the second inning when Willy Adames hit a line drive off Gore, who finished his night with nine strikeouts.

Chapman finished the plate appearance by drawing a walk against reliever Jackson Rutledge (charged to Gore), and following Wilmer Flores’ 6-4-3 double play, Willy Adames drove in Lee by sneaking a single up the middle.

San Francisco expanded the lead to 2-0 when Rutledge walked Casey Schmitt, Mike Yastrzemski, and Patrick Bailey in back-to-back-to-back plate appearances, and Bailey scored Adames with his free pass with the bases loaded. The Giants had a chance to pile on, but Nationals reliever Zach Brzykcy entered for Rutledge and got Tyler Fitzgerald to hit into an inning-ending groundout.

Roupp cruised through the first six innings but was pulled in the seventh after allowing a double and a walk to begin the inning. Randy Rodríguez entered for Roupp and immediately put out the fire, striking out Robert Hassell III and getting José Tena to ground into an inning-ending 6-3 double play.

From there, left-hander Erik Miller pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Camilo Doval finished off the win with a scoreless ninth, his 19th consecutive scoreless outing.

“It really is amazing what he’s done this year,” Melvin said. “Lefties, righties. He’s got the toughest assignment. Typically, he’s coming in with guys on base. After a starter gave us six innings, a couple guys on base, and he gives up nothing.

“I want to say it’s just not surprising, but it’s very difficult to do to come on with guys on base and nobody out like that.”

Added Roupp: “Unbelievable. He looks really good right now. Just happy for him to come out of there and throw strikes and get out of that inning.”

Related Articles SF Giants’ Harrison to start in place of injured Verlander SF Giants at 50 games: Can they maintain a playoff position? The SF Giants needed a stopper. Logan Webb didn’t deliver. Double trouble for SF Giants: Logan Webb gets roughed up, Verlander goes to IL SF Giants look to get out of left-handed rut on upcoming road trip

While Roupp couldn’t finish the seventh inning, the outing represented his second consecutive quality start, the first time he’s had back-to-back quality starts as a major leaguer. His outing against the Nationals was especially tough given their lineup was composed entirely of left-handed hitters, two of whom (Keibert Ruiz, Josh Bell) were switch-hitters batting left-handed.

Roupp leaned on his sinker and changeup to combat Washington’s lineup, with those two offerings accounting for 51 of his 76 pitches. The right-hander only generated four whiffs, but he limited the damage and stifled the Nationals’ opportunities with runners in scoring position in the second and fifth.

“I had to have (the sinker) today, and I feel like I did a good job of locating,” Roupp said.

The Giants doubled their lead to 4-0 in the top of the eighth inning when Wilmer Flores drove in Lee with a single, tying the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki for the most in the National League, and Chapman scored from third on a wild pitch. Following Flores’ RBI single, a group of Giants fans began to make their voices heard in the lower bowl.

Worth noting

The Giants’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 15 has been selected for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The game will now be played at 4:10 p.m. PT instead of 1:10 p.m. PT.