Yastrzemski knocks in four runs, Snell strikes out eight as Giants rout Brewers 13-2

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mike Yastrzemski homered and drove in four runs, Blake Snell struck out eight in five innings, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers 13-2 on Wednesday night.

Jerar Encarnacion also homered and had three RBIs, and Tyler Fitzgerald and Patrick Bailey each had three hits.

“Just good at-bats across the board,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We put some pressure (on the Brewers), had some big hits. (Going) 7 for 15 with runners in scoring position makes a big difference.”

The Giants knocked around Brewers starter Colin Rea (12-5) early, beginning the game with consecutive four-run innings. In the first, a passed ball on Brewers catcher Williams Contreras accounted for the first run. LaMonte Wade Jr. followed with an RBI single, and then Encarnacion hit a a rare opposite-field homer to right to give the Giants a 4-0 lead.

Encarnacion's homer was the 75th opposite field homer by a right-handed hitter in Oracle Park history and first by a Giant this season.

“I thought it had a chance to go because that’s where most of my power is,” Encarnacion said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “When I saw it leave, I knew it had a chance to go.”

The first four Giants batters had hits in the second inning for four more runs. Fitzgerald had an RBI double, and Yastrzemski followed with a three-run homer. Yastrzemski drove in his fourth run in the fourth inning with an extra-base hit. Matt Chapman homered later in the inning to pad the advantage to 10-1.

Melvin said that Yastrzemski is playing his best baseball of the year.

“Its impressive to watch,” Melvin said. “And he prepares himself to play every day. At this time of year, sometimes you get a little run down ... but he’s been fantastic here recently.”

San Francisco tacked on two more runs in the ninth against Jake Bauers, a position player.

Snell (3-3) gave up one run and four hits to get his first home win in a Giants uniform. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner rebounded after going just one inning in his last start. Snell who entered the game with a 1.42 ERA over his prior 11 starts after a sluggish start to the season, said he still has a lot to work on to get to where he wants to be. He said his curveball is not as good as what he's used to and he's working on command.

“I’m not far off,” Snell said. “Got to get my timing better, synched up better, and then I’ll be in the zone. I like the way that I’m thinking. I want to be in the zone. I want to attack the zone — just lack of doing it has been pretty frustrating. But to go five today with what I had to battle, it's good. But the offense carried us.”

The Giants drew a season-low crowd of 22,042 fans, after setting a prior low of 22,855 a week ago against the Diamondbacks.

Rea last just four innings for the third straight start, allowing career highs of 10 runs and 11 hits. The Brewers, who entered the day with an 8 1/2 game lead over the Cubs in the NL Central, have lost five of seven.

“It seemed like every ball they hit, there was no fielder there,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Tough one. But Colin hung in there, gave us four innings so we didn’t have to go into our pen any deeper. He didn’t have his great stuff, but I’m confident. ... He’s probably a little worn out like a lot of guys are. But there’s no time for that. He’ll bounce back.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Giants: RHP Jordan Hicks (right shoulder inflammation) pitched two innings and gave up two unearned runs in a rehab start with Single-A San Jose on Tuesday. Manager Bob Melvin was encouraged by the outing and Hicks’ chances at returning to the big club this season. ... LHP Robbie Ray (left hamstring strain) threw 42 pitches in a bullpen session on Wednesday, but Melvin said Ray stopped when he felt fatigued. He will be re-evaluated on Thursday.

UP NEXT

Giants RHP Hayden Birdsong (3-5, 5.19 ERA) is scheduled to start the final game of the series, facing Brewers RHP Frankie Montas (6-10, 4.69 ERA).

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

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins (12) catches a popup hit by San Francisco Giants' Matt Chapman during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Jerar Encarnacion hits a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants’ Matt Chapman hits a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Matt Chapman, right, is congratulated by LaMonte Wade Jr., left, after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Matt Chapman watches his solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jake Bauers pitches to a San Francisco Giants batter during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Tyler Fitzgerald, left, scores on Mike Yastrzemski's double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. Yastrzemski was tagged out at third on the play. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Mike Yastrzemski watches his three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Blake Snell pitches to a Milwaukee Brewers batter during the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Mike Yastrzemski, center, celebrates with Brett Wisely, left, and Tyler Fitzgerald after hitting a three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez)

San Francisco Giants' Mike Yastrzemski watches his RBI double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Mike Yastrzemski (5) hits a three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

AVIGNON, France (AP) — A 71-year-old French man admitted in court Tuesday that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious in their bed.

His wife of 50 years, who has divorced him since his arrest, also got to speak, telling the court that she feels completely betrayed.

In a trial that has gripped France and raised awareness about sexual violence in the home and beyond, Dominique Pélicot told the court that he also raped his wife, Gisèle Pélicot, and that the 50 men standing trial alongside him understood exactly what they were doing.

“Today I maintain that, along with the other men here, I am a rapist,″ Dominique Pélicot testified. “They knew everything. They can’t say otherwise.”

Pélicot’s testimony marked the most important moment yet in a trial that has shocked the world. Although he previously confessed to investigators, his court testimony will be crucial for the panel of judges to decide on the fate of his co-defendants, who range in age from 26 to 74. Many of them deny having raped Gisèle Pélicot, saying her then-husband had manipulated them or that they believed she was consenting.

Many following the case also hope his testimony might help explain why Dominique Pélicot would subject the mother of his three children to such unconscionable abuse.

Gisèle Pélicot has become a hero to many rape victims and a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France for agreeing to waive her anonymity in the case, letting the trial be public and appearing openly in front of the media. She shows up every day, passing through the courthouse security line behind men accused of raping her. As she left court during a break Tuesday, supporters brought her flowers.

After days of delay due to what his lawyers said was a kidney stone and urinary tract infection, Dominique Pélicot, seated in a wheelchair, testified that the charges against him are true. With his ex-wife looking on from the packed gallery and his voice trembling and barely audible at times, he started a long day of testimony trying to explain childhood traumas that he said scarred and molded him into the person he became.

“One is not born a pervert, one becomes a pervert,” Pélicot told the judges after recounting, sometimes in tears, being raped by a male hospital nurse at age 9 and being forced to take part in a gang rape at age 14.

Pélicot also said that for years, his father sexually abused a young girl his family had taken in, and that his brother later said their father had invited other men to do the same.

He regretted that his parents didn't let him continue his studies after he turned 14. He said that around that time, he tried to persuade his mother to leave the house with him, but “she never wanted to.”

“I don’t really want to talk about this, I am just ashamed of my father. In the end, I didn’t do any better,'' said Pélicot, who faces 20 years in prison if convicted.

After he spoke about his difficult upbringing, Gisèle Pélicot was given the opportunity to address the court.

“It is hard for me to hear this. For 50 years, I lived with a man. I couldn’t imagine even one second that he could have committed acts of rape,″ she said. “I trusted this man entirely.″

The two looked at each other, him from behind the dock’s glass window and her from the witness stand.

“I am guilty,” he told her. “I regret everything I did. I ask you for forgiveness, even if it is unpardonable.”

Asked if she wanted to respond, Gisèle Pélicot turned and left the stand.

When asked about his feelings toward his ex-wife, Dominique Pélicot said she didn't deserve what he did.

“From my youth, I remember only shocks and traumas, forgotten partly thanks to her,” he said in tears.

At that moment, Gisèle Pélicot put on her sunglasses.

Later, Dominique Pélicot said, “I was crazy about her. She replaced everything. I ruined everything.”

A supermarket security guard caught Pélicot in 2020 secretly shooting video up women’s skirts, according to court documents. During a search of his house and electronic devices, police found thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual acts with Gisèle Pélicot while she appeared to be unconscious in bed.

With the recordings, police were able to track down most of the 72 suspects they were seeking, but not all.

In addition to the photos and videos of Gisèle Pélicot, investigators found photos of the Pelicots' daughter, Caroline Darian, and two daughters-in-law that were surreptitiously taken while they were in their underwear, getting undressed or taking showers, according to authorities.

While her mother has stayed remarkably calm throughout the trial, Darian walked out of the courtroom Tuesday as her father was being asked about photos of her that were found on his laptop.

″Excuse me, I’m going to vomit,″ she said angrily before rushing out. She has written a book about what happened to her family, called ″And I Stopped Calling you Daddy.″

After retiring, the Pélicots moved from the Paris region to a house in Mazan, a small town in the Provence region.

When police officers called Gisèle Pélicot in for questioning in late 2020, she initially told them her husband was “a great guy,″ according to legal documents. They then showed her some photos. She left and later divorced her husband.

Since Dominique Pélicot’s arrest, other cases have surfaced. He was fined after being caught shooting video of a women’s crotch in 2010 and required to see a psychologist. Gisèle Pélicot has said she never knew about this incident.

Under French law, the proceedings inside the courtroom cannot be filmed or photographed. Dominique Pélicot has been brought into the court through a special entrance that's inaccessible for the media, because he and some other defendants are being held in custody during the trial and can't be filmed. Defendants who are not in custody have been arriving at the courthouse wearing surgical masks or hoods to avoid having their faces filmed or photographed.

Among those hoping to secure a seat to watch the Tuesday's proceedings was Bernadette Tessonière, a 69-year-old retiree who lives a half-hour drive from Avignon, where the trial is taking place.

“How is it possible that in 50 years of communal life, one can live next to someone who hides his life so well? This is scary,” she said.

Gisele Pelicot arrives at the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Her ex-husband admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious. (AP Photo/Diane Jantet)

Gisele Pelicot arrives at the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Her ex-husband admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious. (AP Photo/Diane Jantet)

Gisele Pelicot exits the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, after her ex-husband admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious. (AP Photo/Diane Jantet)

FILE - Police officers walk in the Avignon court house prior to the trial of Dominique Pelicot, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot speaks to media as she leaves the Avignon court house, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)