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Ohtani drives in 3, Dodgers beat Giants for 5th straight win; SF's Fitzgerald extends HR streak to 5

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Ohtani drives in 3, Dodgers beat Giants for 5th straight win; SF's Fitzgerald extends HR streak to 5


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani had two hits and drove in three runs, rookie Landon Knack pitched five solid innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to five games by beating the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Tyler Fitzgerald became the first Giants rookie to homer in five consecutive games with a solo shot in the second inning. Fitzgerald had three hits and drove in both runs.

Gavin Lux — named the NL Player of the Week on Monday — had a two-run double in the first inning. Lux is 7 for 16 with five RBIs since the All-Star break.

“I’m trying to be more aggressive, get a good pitch to hit. Overall, as the year goes on get more at-bats, feel more comfortable and roll from there,” Lux said.

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Ohtani ended the night of San Francisco starter Jordan Hicks (4-7) in the fourth inning with a double off the right-field fence in front of the Giants’ bullpen to drive in Jason Heyward and Cavan Biggio, extending Los Angeles’ lead to 4-1.

Ohtani then added an RBI base hit up the middle in the eighth inning.

Fitzgerald’s homer was the only mistake by Knack (2-2), who picked up his first victory since April 23. The right-hander allowed one run on two hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Dodgers’ rookie pitchers have started 45 games this season and are 17-8 with a 3.00 ERA. Los Angeles is 27-18 when they have a rookie starter on the mound.

“It’s the guys you come up with this entire way, to be able to see them come up here and have some success too and be able to contribute here, it’s fun,” Knack said. “It’s cool to see the young guys step up and do their thing here. It’s been a great experience.”

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Fitzgerald drove a slider from Knack into the Dodgers’ left-field bullpen to get the Giants within 2-1.

The longest homer streak by a Giants rookie prior to Fitzgerald’s was four games by Jack Clark in 1977.

Fitzgerald is the first San Francisco player to homer in at least five straight since Barry Bonds had a seven-game streak in 2004.

“It’s cool and all, but it would have been definitely cooler if we would have won,” Fitzgerald said. “At the end of the year I’ll look back on this and smile about it, but we lost the game. Really, not a whole lot good came from it.”

The Giants had their first three runners reach base in the ninth inning, including an RBI single by Fitzgerald. San Francisco had the bases loaded with two out, but Evan Phillips got LaMonte Wade Jr. to ground out for his 15th save.

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Hicks had seven strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings but also walked five. The right-hander allowed four runs and three hits.

While the Dodgers have been rolling coming out of the break, the Giants have dropped four of five.

“We talked about kind of the cavalry coming, but we need to do it now,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We’re going to have to to wear this one a little bit today and come out and win a game tomorrow, because the more we dig a hole for ourselves, the tougher it’s going to be for us.”

ROSTER MOVE

The Giants claimed OF Derek Hill off waivers from the Texas Rangers. Hill was a former first-round pick by the Detroit Tigers in the 2014 draft. He batted .256 with three home runs and five RBIs in 16 games with the Rangers this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (right hip inflammation) threw a bullpen session before the game, but the next steps remain to be determined.

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Giants: LHP Robbie Ray will make his season debut. Ray signed with San Francisco during the offseason after having Tommy John surgery on his left elbow last year. His last game in the majors was on March 31, 2023.

Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow (8-5, 3.47 ERA) will be activated off the injured list. He has missed the last two weeks due to lower back tightness.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb





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San Francisco, CA

Man convicted in the deadly 2021 assault of a Thai grandfather in San Francisco avoids prison

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Man convicted in the deadly 2021 assault of a Thai grandfather in San Francisco avoids prison


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man convicted in the fatal 2021 attack of an older Thai man in San Francisco, which galvanized a movement against anti-Asian hate, will be able to avoid prison time, a judge ruled Thursday.

Antoine Watson, 25, was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter in the death of Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84. But, having already spent five years in jail awaiting trial, Watson received credit for time served, and San Francisco Superior Court Judge Linda Colfax said he could have the remaining three years suspended if he follows the rules of his probation.

Ratanapakdee’s daughter, Monthanus, expressed her family’s disappointment in a statement shared by Justice For Vicha, the foundation named for her father.

“We respect the court process. However, this is not about revenge — it is about accountability,” she said. “When consequences do not reflect the seriousness of the harm, it raises concerns about how we protect our seniors and public safety.”

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Vicha Ratanapakdee was out for his usual morning walk in the quiet neighborhood he lived in with his wife, daughter and her family when Watson charged at him and knocked him to the ground. Ratanapakdee never regained consciousness and died two days later.

Watson testified on the stand that he was in a haze of confusion and anger at the time of the unprovoked attack, according to KRON-TV. He said he lashed out and didn’t know that Ratanapakdee was Asian or older.

San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, whose office defended Watson, also said at his trial that the defendant is “fully remorseful for his mistake.”

The Office of the San Francisco Public Defender did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment on Watson’s sentencing.

Footage of the attack was captured on a neighbor’s security camera and spread across social media, prompting a surge in activism over a rise in anti-Asian crimes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of people across several U.S. cities commemorated the anniversary of Ratanapakdee’s death in 2022, seeking justice for Asian Americans who have been harassed, assaulted and even killed in alarming numbers.

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Asians in America have long been subject to prejudice and discrimination, but the attacks escalated sharply after COVID-19 first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. More than 10,000 hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported to the Stop AAPI Hate coalition from March 2020 through September 2021.

While the Ratanapakdee family asserts he was attacked because of his race, hate crime charges were not filed and the argument was not raised in trial. Prosecutors have said hate crimes are difficult to prove absent statements by the suspect.



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Authors gathering in San Francisco to raise awareness and money for the National Kidney Foundation

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Authors gathering in San Francisco to raise awareness and money for the National Kidney Foundation


A number of notable authors are set to take part in a special event in San Francisco this Sunday, celebrating a shared love of reading while shining a light on an often overlooked health issue. The National Kidney Foundation Authors Luncheon brings together writers and community members to support kidney health awareness and raise funds for critical programs.



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Yankees top Giants 7-0 as robot umpire debuts

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Yankees top Giants 7-0 as robot umpire debuts



Aaron Judge went hitless on opening day for the first time and struck out four times for the first time since September 2024, but the New York Yankees still produced plenty of offense and beat San Francisco 7-0 Wednesday night in the debut of Giants manager Tony Vitello as the major league season began.

José Caballero drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in a five-run second and also lost the first challenge taken to Major League Baseball’s so-called robot umpire, unsuccessfully appealing a strike by Logan Webb in the fourth.

Max Fried (1-0) allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings to became just the fifth Yankees pitcher since 1969 with at least 6 1/3 shutout innings on opening day, joining Catfish Hunter (1977), Ron Guidry (1980), Rick Rhoden (1988) and David Cone (1996). New York won an opener with a shutout on the road for the first time since 1967.

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Webb (0-1) started the fourth inning with a 90.7 mph sinker on the upper, inner corner that was called a strike by Bill Miller, a major league umpire since 1997. Caballero tapped his helmet, and the 12 Hawk-Eye cameras of the Automated Ball-Strike System upheld Miller’s decision in a graphic shown on the Oracle Park scoreboard.

Caballero singled in the second and Ryan McMahon followed with a two-run single before Austin Wells’ single prompted a mound visit for Webb. Trent Grisham hit a two-run triple and was checked by medical staff after a hard slide into third.

Judge was booed before the game and during each at-bat as he began his 11th big league season. The California native had been pursued by the Giants during free agency in 2022 but he ultimately chose the Yankees’ $360 million, nine-year contract offer.

Webb, a 15-game winner last season making his fifth start on opening day, was tagged for six earned runs — seven in all — and nine hits over five innings.

The 47-year-old Vitello made the big jump from coaching the University of Tennessee.

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The teams resum3 the series Friday afternoon, with RHP Cam Schlittler starting for New York opposite lefty Robbie Ray.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb



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