Matt Chapman helps preserve Giants' 3-2 win over Angels with ugly but effective defensive play

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Matt Chapman helps preserve Giants' 3-2 win over Angels with ugly but effective defensive play

2025-04-20 13:27 Last Updated At：13:32

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Matt Chapman rarely feels panicked on defense — you don’t win five Gold Glove Awards and two Platinum Glove Awards by showing any fear in the field.

But that’s exactly what the San Francisco Giants third baseman felt in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday night when, with a runner on first base, one out and the Giants leading the Los Angeles Angels by a run, Logan O’Hoppe swung at a 3-0 pitch from Ryan Walker and sent a ground ball to third.

“I got set up a little late because I was trying to fix this divot that was out there by third base,” Chapman said after the Giants’ 3-2 victory. “Walker came set super fast, so I was kind of back-pedaling. I honestly didn’t think he would swing at the 3-0 pitch. Then he swung, and it was hit right at me, so I think that kind of caused a little panic.”

Chapman, who hit a two-run home run to give San Francisco a first-inning lead it would not relinquish, stumbled as he broke for the potential double-play grounder, which was hit to his left.

Chapman fell to his knees, fielded the ball cleanly and, still on his knees, made a long throw to first that barely beat O’Hoppe to keep the potential winning run off base.

“It was not that fun,” Chapman said of the sinking feeling he had when he stumbled and fell to the ground. “I’ll just call timeout the next time and tell (Walker) to step off instead of trying to take a guess that he’s not gonna swing at a pitch. Luckily I was able to save it, but that could have been ugly.”

Walker got Mike Trout, who hit solo homers in the fourth and sixth innings, to fly to the wall in left-center for the first out of the ninth before giving up a single to Jorge Soler, who was replaced by pinch runner Tim Anderson.

Anderson took second on O’Hoppe’s grounder. Walker then got Nolan Schanuel to fly out to left to end the game, preserving the win for right-hander Landen Roupp, who gave up two runs and five hits, striking out a career-high nine, and walking one in seven innings to improve to 2-1.

“Nobody makes that play,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said of Chapman. “It looks like a double-play ball off the bat, and then all of a sudden, you’re hoping to get one.

“I don’t know how he pulled that one out of his hat to be able to get a throw across the diamond for an out, which was huge. (Otherwise), there are two runners on base, one out and a different complexion to the inning.”

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

Detained Philippines ex-President Duterte poised to win mayoral race in his home city

2025-05-13 12:29 Last Updated At：12:51

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Despite his detention thousands of miles away in the International Criminal Court, former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte appeared to have been elected as mayor in his home city by a landslide, according to preliminary results on Tuesday.

At least five candidates backed by his family were also among those leading the race for 12 Senate positions, in a stronger-than-expected showing in Monday's mid-term elections. Pre-election surveys had indicated only two of them would emerge victorious.

The results come as a boost for Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, ahead of an impeachment trial in the Senate in July over a raft of charges including alleged misuse of public funds and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife and the House speaker.

Sara Duterte is considered a strong contender for the 2028 presidential race. But if convicted by the Senate, she will lose her job and be disqualified from holding public office forever. To be acquitted, she needs at least nine of the 24 senators to vote in her favor.

The official election results will be known within a week. But the partial and unofficial count by election watchdog Parish Pastoral Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting showed Duterte garnering more than half a million votes in his stronghold Davao City, nearly eight times more than his closest rival.

His youngest son, Sebastian, the incumbent mayor of Davao, is also leading the unofficial vote count in the race for Davao vice mayor. His eldest son, Paolo, who is seeking re-election as a member of the House of Representatives, and two grandsons in local races were also in the lead, in an indication of the family's continued influence.

“Duterte landslide in Davao!” his youngest daughter Veronica posted on Facebook.

Duterte, nicknamed “the Punisher” and “Dirty Harry,” served as Davao's mayor for two decades before becoming president. He has been in the custody of the International Criminal Court since March, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity over a brutal war on illegal drugs that left thousands of suspects dead during his 2016-2022 presidency.

The impeachment and Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and transfer to the tribunal in The Hague came after Marcos and Sara Duterte’s ties unraveled over political differences and their competing ambitions. Duterte supporters slammed Marcos's government for arresting and surrendering the former leader to a court whose jurisdiction his supporters dispute.

Under Philippine law, candidates facing criminal charges, including those in detention, can run for office unless they have been convicted and have exhausted all appeals.

Sara Duterte had told reporters after voting on Monday that she was in talks with her father's lawyers on how he could take his oath as mayor despite being behind bars. She had said the vice mayor, widely expected to be Sebastian, would likely be the acting mayor.