Donovan homers, Cardinals beat Giants 6-5 in game at Rickwood Field honoring Mays and Negro Leagues

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Brendan Donovan hit a two-run homer and a double and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the San Francisco Giants 6-5 in the Negro Leagues tribute game at Rickwood Field on Thursday night.

The 114-year-old Rickwood Field is the oldest professional ballpark in the U.S. and former home to baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues.

The first MLB game played at the ballpark was meant to honor Mays and many other Negro Leaguers, and it took on a more sentimental meaning when Mays, the electrifying center fielder who left an enduring mark on baseball, died Tuesday.

Tributes to Mays continued throughout the week in Birmingham, including a ceremony before Thursday's game.

Plenty of other Negro Leagues greats were honored, including former Black Barons player Bill Greason, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The game also featured the first all-Black umpire crew in AL/NL history.

Donovan, who grew up in Alabama, blasted a 1-1 pitch from Giants starter Keaton Winn (3-8) for his seventh home run of the season. He was 3 for 3 with a double in the third inning and an RBI single in the sixth.

“What a special night," Donovan said. "I mean, this is something that we should celebrate. This right here is pretty amazing. And to do it in Alabama, I’ve got some friends and family in the stands, it’s like playing summer ball again.”

Alec Burleson had a pair of singles and Masyn Winn reached twice for the Cardinals (37-37), who stopped a two-game losing streak.

Andre Pallante (3-3) pitched 5 1/3 innings in the win, allowing seven hits and three runs. He walked three and struck out five.

San Francisco's center fielder Heliot Ramos hit a tying three-run shot off Pallante in the third for his 10th home run, but the Cardinals retook the lead on Nolan Gorman's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.

“Any time you play center field for the San Francisco Giants, you think about Willie Mays," Giants manager Bob Melvin said. "We’re down three, then all of a sudden we’re tied up with one swing of the bat. And he’s been doing that for a while now.”

Winn struggled through 2 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and five runs with two strikeouts and a walk. He was replaced in the third by Randy Rodríguez, who gave up a run on a wild pitch against his first batter.

Patrick Bailey had three hits for the Giants, who closed a three-run hole with a two-run sixth. Matt Chapman led off the inning with a double, then came around to score on Wilmer Flores' line drive to center. Jorge Soler then scored on Nick Ahmed's sacrifice fly.

Ryan Helsley got three outs for his 24th save.

“It was fun," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "The pregame ceremony was incredible. I got emotional. Just knowing where you're standing. Just the overall feel of the tribute to Willie Mays. The impact he had on people that he met, but also people he never met.

"That's when you know you've done it right."

Both teams wore throwback uniforms with Mays' No. 24 on them. Over 23 major league seasons, mostly with the New York/San Francisco Giants but including one in the Negro Leagues, Mays batted .301, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,293 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs. He was Rookie of the Year in 1951 and a two-time MVP.

“One of a kind type of place to play," Melvin said of Rickwood. "You look around and kind of can feel what transpired here a long time ago and the players that played on the field. It’d be nice to win the game, but pretty cool experience.”

TRAINER'S ROOM

Giants: Recalled SS Tyler Fitzgerald from Triple-A Sacramento as an extra player for the Rickwood game. ... RF Mike Yastrzemski left with a tight left side.

Cardinals: 3B Nolan Arenado did not play after leaving Tuesday's game against the Marlins after being hit in the right elbow by a fastball thrown by reliever Huascar Brazoban.

UP NEXT

RHP Jordan Hicks (4-3, 2.82 ERA) will start for the Giants when the series continues Saturday in St. Louis. Miles Mikolas (5-6, 4.59) will start for the Cardinals.

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

Singer and songwriter Andra Day performs her original song "Rise Up" during a Stand Up To Cancer placard moment during a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Fans hold signs as they participate in a Stand Up To Cancer activity during a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

The lineup is seen in Rickwood Field as the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals play a baseball game Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Rickwood Field is seen in a general view during a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

San Francisco Giants' Mike Yastrzemski follows through on a single during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn celebrates after hitting a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Home plate umpire Alan Porter pauses during the second inning of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Players pause to honor Willie Mays before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Willie Mays' son Michael Mays, center, honors his father as baseball greats Ken Griffey Jr., left, and Barry Bonds, right, listen before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. Willie Mays, who began his professional career with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues in 1948 and played at Rickwood Field, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 93. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Former Negro Leagues player Bill Greason throws out the first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

San Francisco Giants' Heliot Ramos watches his three-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Keaton Winn throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

St. Louis Cardinals' Brendan Donovan rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

St. Louis Cardinals' Brendan Donovan watches his two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, were set to face off Thursday evening for a debate that offered an unparalleled opportunity for the two candidates to try to reshape the presidential race.

Biden, the Democratic incumbent, will have the chance to reassure voters that, at 81, he’s capable of guiding the U.S. through a range of challenges. The 78-year-old Trump, meanwhile, may use the moment to try to move past his felony conviction in New York and convince an audience of tens of millions that he’s temperamentally suited to return to the Oval Office.

Biden and Trump entered the night facing stiff headwinds, including a public weary of the tumult of partisan politics and broadly dissatisfied with both, according to polling. But the debate was likely to highlight how they have sharply different visions on virtually every core issue — abortion, the economy and foreign policy — and deep hostility toward each other.

The current president and his predecessor haven’t spoken since their last debate weeks before the 2020 presidential election. Trump skipped Biden’s inauguration after leading an unprecedented and unsuccessful effort to overturn his loss that culminated in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection by his supporters.

Trump has promised sweeping plans to remake the U.S. government if he returns to the White House and Biden argues that his opponent would pose an existential threat to the nation’s democracy.

Thursday’s broadcast on CNN, moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will be the earliest general election debate in history. It’s the first-ever televised general election presidential debate hosted by a single news outlet after both campaigns ditched the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which had organized every matchup since 1988.

Aiming to avoid a repeat of their chaotic 2020 matchups, Biden insisted — and Trump agreed — to hold the debate without an audience and to allow the network to mute the candidates’ microphones when it is not their turn to speak. There will be two commercial breaks, another departure from modern practice. The candidates have agreed not to consult staff or others while the cameras are off.

Trump and his aides have spent months chronicling what they argue are signs of Biden’s diminished stamina. In recent days, they’ve started to predict Biden will be stronger on Thursday, aiming to raise expectations for the incumbent.

Biden’s team too predicted that he would rise to the occasion, and expressed hope that Trump would be forced to address his positions they believe are anathema to voters.

Heading out of the debate, both Biden and Trump will travel to states they hope to swing their way this fall. Trump is heading to Virginia, a onetime battleground that has shifted toward Democrats in recent years.

Biden is set to jet off to North Carolina, where he is expected to hold the largest-yet rally of his campaign in a state Trump narrowly carried in 2020.

Miller, Price and Weissert reported from Washington.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an interview in the spin room before a presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump in Atlanta, Thursday, June 27, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Corey Lewandowski speaks with reporters in the spin room before a presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, hosted by CNN in Atlanta, Thursday, June 27, 2024.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., speaks with reporters in the spin room before a presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, hosted by CNN in Atlanta, Thursday, June 27, 2024.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, from fourth left, and current Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, greet President Joe Biden as Biden arrives at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Marietta, Ga., en route to Atlanta to attend the presidential debate. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks in the spin room before a presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump in Atlanta, Thursday, June 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nathan Ellgren)

Stacey Abrams, former State House of Representatives Minority Leader, former State House of Representatives Minority Leader, center, greets President Joe Biden, right, as he arrives at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Marietta, Ga., en route to Atlanta to attend the presidential debate. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

First lady Jill Biden poses for photos with campaign volunteers and supporters at the Virginia Beach Democratic Coordinated Campaign Office on Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/John C. Clark)

President Joe Biden, second right, greets supporters, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Ga., before a presidential debate. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden, second right, greets supporters, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Ga., before a presidential debate. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden takes a photo with a child as he greets supporters, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Ga., before a presidential debate. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden, left, greets supporters, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Ga., before a presidential debate. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - This combination of photos taken in Columbia, S.C. shows former President Donald Trump, left, on Feb. 24, 2024, and President Joe Biden on Jan. 27, 2024. (AP Photo)