Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 367

SF Giants overcome Blake Snell’s one-inning start to walk off D’backs

SAN FRANCISCO — Despite their team’s sinking playoff hopes, just one win to show for the first five games of their homestand and the season’s two lowest attendance figures the past two days, almost 28,000 Giants fans showed up Thursday to watch the reigning August pitcher of the month take the ball in his first start of September.

They’d better hope there will be more chances next year.

Blake Snell labored through 42 pitches to complete the first inning and didn’t emerge from the dugout again, but the Giants were still able to avoid being swept by the Diamondbacks, 3-2, thanks to the relief work of Landen Roupp and the clutch hitting of Patrick Bailey.

Bailey laced a two-strike fastball from Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel into left-center field, allowing Tyler Fitzgerald to race home from second to score the winning run on the catcher’s second RBI hit of the afternoon. He was responsible for all the Giants’ runs with his most RBIs since June 30.

Bailey’s average stood at .284 with a .786 OPS after that June game but had batted just .160 with a .417 OPS in 43 games since entering Thursday.

“The last month and half hasn’t gone as I’d wish, but I’ve been feeling a lot better the last couple days,” Bailey said, adding that he’s changed up his pregame routine and isn’t feeling the same fatigue that set in in the second half of last season. “It’s my first full year in the big leagues. I had something like this (second-half slump) happen last year, so I’m just trying to learn and go forward to shorten up slumps as much as I can. … I’m very encouraged with the progress from last year to this year.”

Bailey was clearly disappointed with himself when he dropped a strike three that could have ended Snell’s first inning short of 42 pitches, the most he has thrown in one inning since he required 43 to make it out of the fourth on Aug. 24, 2022, with the Padres.

Along with a throwing error from Fitzgerald, it was one of a couple defensive miscues that prolonged the inning. But both players made up for it in the end.

Putting the Giants in a 2-0 hole in the fourth-shortest start of his career, Snell issued a pair of walks and wasn’t happy with his difficulty locating his fastball or putting hitters away but had only one takeaway. He threw 40 pitches in the second inning two starts ago in Seattle and learned that was too many to keep going.

“I went back out, but that was kind of stupid of me,” he said. “I’ve just got to get the fastball in the zone more. It’s tough to be self-critical on myself right now because it was one inning. It wasn’t like it was the fourth inning. It was the first inning, like we’re still getting going. I felt good. It was just a weird inning.”

With his pitch count in an uncomfortable spot, the bullpen door opened to begin the top of the second, and Roupp mowed through the next four innings in the longest and most effective outing of his young big-league career. The 25-year-old rookie limited Arizona to one hit and a pair of walks while striking out five and not allowing a run.

“That was the key to the game,” manager Bob Melvin said. “When he originally went out there, we were thinking two (innings), maybe three. He ends up going four. With no runs, that ended up being huge. And it goes a long way for his confidence, too.”

The Diamondbacks didn’t advance another runner into scoring position until Christian Walker led off the eighth with a double off Camilo Doval, and Ryan Walker stranded him on third base with a strikeout of Jake McCarthy after Melvin called on his new closer to record the final out of the inning.

Roupp lowered his ERA to 3.41 in his 19th relief appearance of the season, but he said afterward that he hopes to compete for a job in the starting rotation next spring.

“I’ve been a starter my whole career, really, until this year,” Roupp said. “Like (bullpen coach Garvin Alston) said, ‘Just treat it like a start.’ And that’s what I did. … I’d like to think (I set myself up to compete for a rotation spot next spring). That’s the plan. That’s what I want to do. But wherever they see me and wherever I fit is good for me.”

Whether or not there’s an open spot could depend on if the Giants are able to negotiate a long-term extension with Snell like the one they announced with Matt Chapman before the game. Snell’s agent, Scott Boras, was one of those in the house for the cloud-free, 70-degree matinee.

But he was on hand to help announce the Giants’ six-year, $151 million extension with Chapman, another client of his, who doubled Michael Conforto into scoring position and crossed the plate on Bailey’s two-out, two-RBI poke into left field for the Giants’ only runs in seven innings against Arizona starter Merrill Kelly.

Like Chapman, Snell has the ability to opt out after this season and is expected to exercise it in hopes of cashing in on a long-term deal. Even lasting only a single inning Thursday, Snell’s ERA in 11 starts since returning from a groin strain on July 9 sits at a sparkling 1.42, the lowest mark in the majors by half a run.

Boras prefers his clients to set their price on the open market, and Snell isn’t expected to be a similar exception as Chapman, who lobbied publicly and privately to get a deal done. He recently pushed back on Jordan Montgomery’s criticism of how Boras handled their free agencies last winter, when neither got the long-term deal they were seeking.

That said, Snell was asked if he would like an extension similar to the one inked by Chapman.

“I mean, yeah, a deal would be nice,” he said. “But I think just finishing the season strong, focusing on that, is probably most important to me. If that’s something they want to talk about, I’m always open to it. I’ve enjoyed my time here a lot. I know fans have been hounding me about it, but truthfully it’s up to them.”

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At the conclusion of Chapman’s news conference, Zaidi and Boras were asked about the progress on an extension for Snell. The Giants’ baseball boss chuckled and deflected the question without offering a meaningful response. Snell’s representative said as much in a few more words.

“I’m sure that in any of these things, every organization wants to do what’s best for them. Much like with Matt, when teams reach out we respond,” Boras said. “The biggest and most important thing is when players play well somewhere, you have to pay attention to it. I do. Because we want players to play well, do well. I think those are very attractive dynamics about why you would want players in certain situations.”

Up next

The Giants head to San Diego, where they will continue their stretch of divisional foes with three games against the Padres. RHP Mason Black (0-2, 7.45) will start the first game of the series, which will air exclusively on Apple TV+. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.

Pacific Grove council takes next steps toward by-district elections

Pacific Grove is moving forward with creating a ballot measure to ask voters if they want to go from six to four council members, however voters likely will not see the final result until the 2026 mid-term elections.

The City Council voted 6-0-1 on Wednesday directing city staff to start the process of attaining a demographer to help draft district maps and creating a resolution of intent that they plan to vote on in October. Mayor Pro Tempore Nick Smith was absent.

The city’s decision affects the election system, how people vote. But voters will be tasked with reducing the number of council seats. Council members brought up how important it will be to inform voters in the coming months about what the decision means to keep six council members while moving to a by-district election.

“I will be supporting Measure Z, because trying to cut Pacific Grove into six pieces will be virtually impossible,” councilwoman Debby Beck said. “I think we need at least two people running from each district, and I think that’s possible with four districts. It’s a matter of moving forward at this point.”

The transition process into a by-district election has several steps, including retaining a demographer, hosting public hearings, drafting the new district maps and publishing the information to the public.

First, the council must adopt a resolution of intent to transition. City Attorney Brian Pierik said if the city adopts the resolution during their meeting Oct. 2, then the city will be eligible for the Safe Harbor provision, which caps the amount of costs that can be recovered by the demanding party, which is currently $37,000. The latest letter the city received from the League of United Latin American Citizens, on Aug. 23, gives them 45 days to adopt a resolution of intent, which ends Oct. 7.

If the resolution is passed during that October meeting, then the city will have 90 days to complete all public hearings and adopt an ordinance to approve district maps and the election sequence.

“By providing that additional 90 days, that would provide additional time for more public input, more time to review maps and public hearings,” Pierik said. “Plus, you’d be having all that in the first three months of 2025 instead of the last three months of 2024, as we all know the holidays are in November and December. The holiday might not be the most public-friendly method of doing this.”

If the city completes the requirements in time, Pacific Grove should be able to request an extension of the Jan. 1 deadline, if agreed to by the League of United Latin American Citizens.

The council was mostly unanimous in their commentary, agreeing that options were limited on how to move forward. Reports in previous council meetings have detailed that no city has ever won a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit.

“It’s already been said that if we reject the demands, then essentially it’s a liability for the city, so I recommend that we move forward and start the process,” councilman Chaps Poduri said.

Though council members did mention that voters have been presented with the question of reducing council members before and it failed by just a few votes.

“We’ve been down the road of Measure Z before and it was defeated, so I would agree that by-district elections should be decided upon, but we’ll see what happens with Measure Z,” councilman Joe Amelio said.

The council member said they are also aware of the public demand for more information and transparency during this next try, and even some unhappy residents who do not want to move to districts at all.

“This is what the state wants us to do,” Mayor Bill Peake said. “I just want to recognize that people are not happy, and they don’t think this will help local government improve. But maybe this will encourage more people to run.”

Trump suggests tariffs can help solve rising child care costs in a major economic speech

By JILL COLVIN, ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and JOSH BOAK, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump suggested to business leaders Thursday that his plans to increase tariffs on foreign imports would solve seemingly unrelated challenges such as the rising cost of child care in the U.S.

The GOP presidential nominee promised to lead what he called a “national economic renaissance” by increasing tariffs, slashing regulations to boost energy production and drastically cutting government spending as well as corporate taxes for companies that produce in the U.S.

Trump was asked at his appearance before the Economic Club of New York about his plans to drive down child care costs to help more women join the workforce.

“Child care is child care, it’s something you have to have in this country. You have to have it,” he said. Then, he said his plans to tax imports from foreign nations at higher levels would “take care” of such problems.

“We’re going to be taking in trillions of dollars, and as much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it’s — relatively speaking — not very expensive, compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in,” he said.

Trump has embraced tariffs as he appeals to working-class voters who oppose free-trade deals and the outsourcing of factories and jobs. But in his speech Thursday and his economic plans as a whole, Trump has made a broader — to some, implausible — promise on tariffs: that they can raise trillions of dollars to fund his agenda without those costs being passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices.

His campaign attacks Democratic nominee Kamala Harris ’ proposals to increase corporate tax rates by saying they would ultimately be borne by workers in the form of fewer jobs and lower incomes. Yet taxes on foreign imports would have a similar effect with businesses and consumers having to absorb those costs in the form of higher prices.

The United States had $3.8 trillion worth of imports last year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Trump in the past has talked about universal tariffs of at least 10%, if not higher, though he has not spelled out details about how these taxes would be implemented.

Kimberly Clausing, an economist at the University of California, Los Angeles, has repeatedly warned in economic analyses about the likely damage to people’s finances from Trump’s tariffs. She noted that Trump wants tariffs to pay for everything, even though they can’t.

“I believe Trump has already spent this revenue, to pay for his tax cuts (which it doesn’t), or to perhaps end the income tax (which it cannot),” she said in an email. ” “It is unclear how there would be any revenues left over to fund child care.”

Trump was asked to talk about child care

Child care is unaffordable for many Americans and financially precarious for many day care operators and their employees. Democrats in Congress have long argued the child care industry is in crisis and requires a drastic increase in federal aid — and some Republicans have joined them. Trump pointed to his tariff ideas as well as efforts he announced to reduce what he described as “waste and fraud.”

“I want to stay with child care, but those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I’m talking about, including growth, but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just told you about,” he said.

Trump’s running mate JD Vance was also asked about proposals to lower day care costs earlier this week, and he suggested making it easier for families to keep the kids at home with a grandparent or another relative.

“Make it so that, maybe like grandma or grandpa wants to help out a little bit more,” he said. “If that happens, you relieve some of the pressure on all the resources that we are spending on day care.”

Vance also suggested training more people to work in day cares, and said some states required what he called “ridiculous certification that has nothing to do with taking care of kids.”

Trump laid out a series of economic proposals

In his speech, Trump said he would immediately issue “a national emergency declaration” to achieve a massive increase in the domestic energy supply and eliminate 10 current regulations for every new regulation the government adopts. He said Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk has agreed to head a commission to perform a financial audit of the federal government that would save trillions of dollars.

“My plan will rapidly defeat inflation, quickly bring down prices and reignite explosive economic growth,” Trump claimed.

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Harris calls for raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%. Her policy proposals this week have been geared toward promoting more entrepreneurship, a bet that making it easier to start new companies will increase middle-class prosperity.

On Thursday, Trump attacked Harris’ proposals on banning price gouging and accused her of embracing Marxism and communism.

“She wants four more years to enforce the radical left agenda that poses a fundamental threat to the prosperity of every American family and America itself,” he said.

He also vowed to end what he called Harris’ “anti-energy crusade,” promising that energy prices would be cut in half, although energy prices are often driven by international fluctuations. He said an emergency declaration would help with rapid approvals for new drilling projects, pipelines, refineries, power plants and reactors, where local opposition is generally fierce.

And he also said he would ask Congress to pass legislation to ban the spending of taxpayer money on people who have entered the country illegally. He specifically said he would bar them from obtaining mortgages in California, targeting a bill passed in that state last week. Throughout his campaign, Trump has railed against the economic impact of the influx of migrants that have entered the country in recent years and their strain on some government services.

The Harris campaign issued a memo accusing Trump of wanting to hurt the middle class, arguing his ideas would expand the national debt and shrink economic growth and job creation.

“He wants our economy to serve billionaires and big corporations,” the campaign said in a statement.

Their dueling economic proposals are likely to be central to the upcoming presidential debate on Tuesday. Harris arrived Thursday in downtown Pittsburgh to devote the next several days to preparing for the debate. She intentionally picked a key part of the battleground state of Pennsylvania to hone her ideas ahead of their showdown.

Trump plans to rely heavily on tariffs

In June, the right-leaning Tax Foundation estimated that Trump’s proposed tariffs would amount to a $524 billion yearly tax hike that would shrink the economy and cost the equivalent of 684,000 jobs. After Trump floated tariffs as high as 20% in August, the Harris campaign seized on an analysis suggesting that figure would raise a typical family’s expenses by almost $4,000 annually.

The money raised by tariffs would not be enough to offset the cost of his various income tax cuts, including a plan to whittle the corporate rate to 15% from 21%. The Penn Wharton Budget Model put the price tag on that at $5.8 trillion over 10 years.

Economists have warned about Trump’s plans to impose tariffs that he says would return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Some have said such taxes on imports could worsen inflation, though he is vowing to cut down costs. Inflation peaked in 2022 at 9.1% but has since eased to 2.9% as of last month.

“Some might say it’s economic nationalism. I call it common sense. I call it America First,” he said on Thursday.

___

Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Boak reported from Pittsburgh. Associated Press writers Moriah Balingit and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report.

College volleyball: Otters attacking season with different mindset

SEASIDE – The reaction following a recent practice signaled a new direction was being taken, that the positive vibes included teaching moments from within the cast on the volleyball court.

Eight different players for Cal State Monterey Bay stood up and spoke out about a solid week of volleyball practice, providing insight and direction going forward.

“We are thinking collectively,” CSUMB coach Courtney Materazzi said. “Our block talk has been excellent. We respect our training. We have the ability to reflect and communicate.”

The inevitable task of taking over the program following the pandemic has created a few bumps in the Otters’ path for Materazzi in back-to-back sub .500 seasons.

Mikayla Nolte is back as a disruptive force in the middle for CSUMB. (Photo by Katie Tozier, CSUMB)

Yet, the attitude of the former CSUMB outside hitter is contagious. Excuses? There are none. Instead, Materazzi preaches cohesiveness and embracing what’s in front of them.

“I’d rather say we have more work to do,” Materazzi said. “We’re embracing that as a privilege. It’s a tough conference. It’s going to grind you. You have to be able to respond.”

The Otters are playing in arguably the strongest Division II conference in the nation, as proved by CSU Los Angeles coming out as a third place finisher in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and winning the national title last fall.

Still, Materazzi doesn’t feel that the Otters are that far behind in chasing supremacy. The biggest thing in the off-season has come from a mental standpoint.

“We have doubted ourselves in the past,” Materazzi admitted. “We’ve worked on competitive maturity. It’s OK to be confident and have high expectations and work through failures.”

Before the season even started, Materazzi asked each player to come up with three words to use as a purpose when they are on the court, whether it’s practice or matches.

“Mine are gratitude, confidence and perspective,” senior Jackie Wahl said. “You have to be able to motivate yourself and your teammates. The mental part of the game can be more challenging than the physical aspect if you’re not fully focused.”

Seven new faces this season have created a competitive atmosphere in practice. That in turn has also brought more juice to the court as positions are being challenged.

“I think the way we’ve reacted to this point has been great,” Materazzi said. “We had our best week of practice. I’m pumped. It’s exciting to see them proud of themselves.”

The Otters, who will host a five-team tournament on Friday, are still in the process of finding rotations that work in terms of chemistry on the court.

“You know what we have this year that’s refreshing is leaders that treat everyone as an equal,” said Wahl, who is coming off a career-high 228 kills last season.

Materazzi, who took Fairmont State to the NCAA Division II tournament in 2016 en route to winning 130 matches over seven seasons before coming to CSUMB, believes there are similarities between both programs.

Returning to CSUMB 14 years after graduating, Materazzi feels the right personnel doesn’t always constitute bringing in a prize player.

“We haven’t won a conference title because we weren’t set up for success,” Materazzi stressed. “I won’t default to that. We are a place that will be loyal to you on the court and in the classroom.”

As Materazzi begins her fourth season at CSUMB, these are now all players she recruited. Her system is in place. The teaching part is more fine tuning and enhancing skills.

“I look for people that are gritty, relentless,” Materazzi said. “We have healthy competition fitting into our roles. There’s development. Put yourself out there. Competition is tight.”

Among those Materazzi is banking on to ignite the attack at the net is Wahl, who emerged last fall as one of the top outside hitters in the conference.

The 5-foot-9 senior has arguably the best vertical jump on the team, compiling double digits in kills in 12 matches last fall.

“She has big goals for herself,” Materazzi said. “She’s worked incredibly hard to set herself up for a big season.”

Wahl improved her defense last season to remain on the court, collecting 183 digs, more than double the total from her first two years combined. She also produced 32 service aces.

“For me personally, I treat every single practice like it’s my last,” Wahl said. “Volleyball has been a huge part of my life for 13 years. Being at the end makes it emotional.”

Wahl will not be the only target a trio of Otters setters will have to feed the ball to at the net as 6-foot-4 Mikayla Nolte is back as a disruptive force in the middle.

Nolte put down a career-high 98 kills last season for CSUMB. Yet, it was her defense that forced the opposition to adjust their games, as she averaged 0.83 blocks per set.

Having arrived with Materazzi at CSUMB, the senior is No. 4 all-time in career blocks per set and in the top 15 in school history in total blocks (155).

Adding to the Otters’ strength at the net will be the return of a healthy Kennedy Adams on the outside. Limited to two matches last fall due to injuries, the 5-11 hitter showed glimpses of her potential in 2022 as a freshman with 96 kills.

“She’s had a great off-season and has looked good in practices,” Materazzi said. “So have Hannah (Castillon) and sophomore Malia Thorne.”

Listed as an outside hitter/setter, the 5-foot-10 Castillon has excelled in practice as a setter. That in turn has Materazzi toying with running a two-set attack this fall.

“We have a lot of new setters and new middles that are creating a healthy environment in terms of competition,” Materazzi said. “We feel we have sought and built each position.”

Which is critical because the Otters will have just two tournaments to sharpen themselves before the start of conference play.

“There is a sense of urgency,” said Materazzi, who is No. 7 all-time in kills and No. 10 in aces at CSUMB. “There is a lot you want to get done. I feel we have responded to that.”

While a conference title has eluded CSUMB since becoming a Division II member, goals start from within, establishing a foundation and confidence to believe it’s a reality.

“Our goal sheet is about expectations and capabilities,” Materazzi said. “We want to work on resilience based on their expectations. We want them feeling confident.”

That next step, whether it’s improvement in the win column, chasing a tournament appearance, or matching up against a contender, starts at the net.

“In this conference, you have to have a high kill percentage,” Materazzi said. “Just look at the top four teams. We have to be able to score. If you’re killing the ball, you are digging it up.”

49ers happy Ricky Pearsall around teammates ahead of season opener

SANTA CLARA — Ricky Pearsall laced up his black and white Nike cleats. He wore a gray 49ers T-shirt that matched his sweatpants. He flipped his gray cap backward. A football spun in his hands. He high-fived one teammate, then another.

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“It’s kind of been amazing just watching him,” said coach Kyle Shanahan, who spoke Thursday for the first time since Pearsall was shot in the chest Saturday by an attempted robber in San Francisco’s Union Square.

Pearsall watched Thursday’s practice like any kid wishing he could just play ball. Instead, he could only toss the ball in the air to himself, while showing no impairment from a bullet that, according to Shanahan, struck the rookie wide receiver just two inches below a chest tattoo of praying hands.

Pearsall has been a constant presence at 49ers headquarters since his one-night hospitalization. Rather than be a distraction ahead of Monday night’s season opener against the New York Jets, this year’s first-round draft pick is providing inspiration.

“Thank God he’s even alive with us today. It was an insane situaion, and I’m so happy he’s here around the building with us,” linebacker Fred Warner said.

Pearsall is not allowed to play in at least the first four games while on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List. However, in the immediate aftermath of being shot, Pearsall had other ideas.

“I still think I can play against the Jets,” Pearsall told Shanahan in a FaceTime call him from his hospital bed Saturday afternoon.

“I’m like, ‘Dude what are you talking about. There are other things (in life),’” Shanahan said. “When that adrenaline goes away, that (mental aspect) is a much bigger deal.”

Pearsall is walking around, attending meetings, and must wait a week before working up a sweat. Then he’ll ramp up his rehab to make his NFL debut as soon as next month.

Shanahan said he and the 49ers organization took about an hour to locate which hospital Pearsall was rushed to after the afternoon shooting. “By the time we got to him, it was good. He FaceTimed me and it was the first time I knew he was alright,” said Shanahan, who then relayed that positive prognosis to the rest of the 49ers as they arrived for a scheduled team party at the coach’s house.

Shanahan said he’s advised his team not to badger Pearsall in asking for details about the shooting, adding: “I told the team I don’t want to make him relive that 80 times. He knows how much everyone cares. He loves being around. It’s all up to him. Everyone is trying to give him space and let him work through that process. It’s a pretty big mental toll, too.”

TEAM CAPTAINS

Defensive end Nick Bosa half-jokingly called it “big-time news” that he and other 49ers captains will get reserved parking spots closer to the locker room.

Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner are the only defensive players who are captains, while the ball, er, the captain’s patch also got spread around to Brock Purdy, Kyle Juszczyk, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams.

“Being a captain on a team like this with unbelievable players who’ve done great things in this league, it’s an honor and I want to uphold it,” said Bosa, who was a captain in 2022 but not last season after his holdout lasted into Week 1 of the season.

McCAFFREY STILL LIMITED

Running back Christian McCaffrey looked fine in practice but remains limited by not just a calf but an Achilles issue, which is not a new injury, Shanahan said; Thursday marked the first day since last season in which the 49ers must provide an official injury and participation report. McCaffrey participated in Tuesday’s light, one-hour practice for his first team work since Aug. 4.

Not practicing Thursday were defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and linebacker Dee Winters (ankle), both of whom ran on the side. Others limited: wide receiver Jauan Jennings (ankle), running back Isaac Guerendo (groin), safety Talanoa Hufanga (knee) and guard Aaron Banks (pinky).

QUARTERBACK ROTATION

Brandon Allen beat out Josh Dobbs to serve as Brock Purdy’s immediate backup, at least for Monday’s opener, Shanahan announced. Allen did not play last season as the No. 3 quarterback behind Purdy and Sam Darnold, the latter of whom is now the Minnesota Vikings’ starter.

RODGERS ON 49ERS

As Aaron Rodgers prepares to start against the 49ers for the 15th time in his 20-year career, the Chico native and Cal product claims he no longer harbors a grudge over not being drafted No. 1 in 2005 by his childhood team.

“It’s all different people. I’ve outlasted a lot of people over there. A lot are still coaching around the league. It’s a great staff over there,” Rodgers told Jets’ reporters. “I’ve played against John Lynch, that’s how old I am. And obviously I’ve had battles against Kyle. And (defensive coordinator Nick) Sorensen, I think I’ve played against him too. There’s a lot of familiarity there.”

Actually, Rodgers was still backing up Brett Favre when the Packers went into Denver and beat Lynch’s Broncos in 2007. Sorensen indeed played against Rodgers in 2009, and it was Sorensen who made the tackle on the second-half kickoff for the Browns.

“Obviously it’s fun to go back to the Bay Area. But it really is just another game,” Rodgers added. “If this had happened first or second year as a starter, it’s a different energy when all the guys you feel passed on you, you have some bitterness you hold onto. I don’t have any of that anymore.”

Rodgers also harbors no ill will toward new 49ers pass rusher Leonard Floyd, who was the one who sacked Rodgers on the play he sustained a torn Achilles in the Jets’ opener last year against the Buffalo Bills.

 

 

Bunk beds are the trendiest new amenity at luxury hotels

Carlye Wisel | (TNS) Bloomberg News

The new trend at luxury hotels draws inspiration from the least luxurious accommodations on Earth: dorm rooms.

At a time when consumers are looking for better value and hotels are dealing with unprecedented demand, the bunk bed has emerged a win-win design solution.

“In markets with really high room rates and really high occupancies, adding a few more beds to a room means you can fit more people in it and charge more,” says Alastair Thomann, chief executive officer of the hip hostel brand Generator, where custom bunks now stretch three high in some locations. “Suddenly, a little villa which used to sleep two or three can sleep five because they’re doubling up. The space allows it. So that’s the game, really — that’s the economics behind it.”

But it isn’t just well-designed hostels that are thinking vertically: It’s luxury and lifestyle brands that range from JW Marriott to Montage and Moxy. And the demand isn’t coming from budget travelers but from parents who want a luxe vibe without paying for multiple rooms. In these cases, bunk beds provide a glorious and rare compromise. They allow families to room together without getting in one another’s way.

Thomann, who got in early on the bunk bed trend, says the uptick in demand has been so sharp — from hoteliers and consumers alike — that it’s driven up purchasing costs and created a supply chain crisis. As a result, he says he now spends 40% more per bunk bed than he did five years ago. And there are so many orders that factories can’t keep up the production, leaving hotels waiting two to three times longer for their orders. Thomann says it’s like witnessing the emergence of a new cottage industry. “The companies that manufacture for us are producing fantastic numbers,” he says. “Their sales guys are really happy.”

With luxury bedding and cozy accommodations, these posh hotel bunks are a far cry from your teenage backpacking days. Here are some high-capacity alternatives for your next family getaway.

Tourists, North Adams, Massachusetts

This Berkshires weekend escape — a 48-room converted motel whose owners include the former bassist of Wilco — is all about comfortable minimalism, with a white-and-blond-wood look that’s full of clean lines and rustic accents. For a particularly smart use of space, book into the Caravan rooms: They have a lofted wooden bunk tucked between the king bed and the wall. Sure, it’s meant as a sleeping nook, but the boxy design feels almost like a fort or play area for kids who need a break from all the hikes, art classes and activities on offer. The bunks are such a hit that when Tourists designed a new cluster of rental homes near the main hotel earlier this year, they included a five-bedroom option with its very own bunked room. Caravan rooms from $196 per night.

Moxy Hotels, New York, New York

“There is something about bunk beds that is inherently playful and camplike,” says Mitchell Hochberg, president of real estate group Lightstone and developer of Moxy Hotels in New York City. He thought the quad bunk accommodations at the 612-room Times Square property, which opened in 2017, would appeal to young travelers who’d also enjoy the nightly DJs at the rooftop bar. But the rooms, outfitted with two sets of twin bunks, have been a hit with a much wider demographic. “Much to our surprise, they’ve been embraced by a broader array of guests — everyone from families with small children to bachelorette parties,” he says.

The bunks were added as a riff on Yabu Pushelberg’s initial design for the hotel, which had an urban camping theme—think pegboard closets, retro phones and metal-framed tray tables with ceramic campfire mugs. They’ve proved so successful that the brand has added them to several other locations around the city, including the Moxy Hotels in the Lower East Side, Chelsea, the East Village and Williamsburg. “The rooms become a win-win to both travelers and hotel owners, notes Hochberg. “They afford a lower rate to the individual traveler [in cases where multiple friends are splitting the nightly rate] and, in the aggregate, a higher rate to the hotel.” Twin bunk rooms from $264.

Beaverbrook, Surrey Hills, UK

Just 20 miles outside London is this family-friendly manor with 470 acres in the scenic Surrey Hills. Since December 2023, it’s also been home to the Village, a collection of cottages inspired by literary and artistic giants, including C.S. Lewis and the Brontë sisters. Of the 21 rooms, a half-dozen are whimsically outfitted suites that feature bunks: pastel-colored beds adorned with sweet checkered blankets and seersucker privacy curtains.

The elevated design of the bunks proves that Beaverbrook is a place that knows how to play to fancy kids—or perhaps fancy parents. On any given week there are G-rated film screenings in a private cinema, mini bento box lunches in the dining room and a full slate of camplike weekend activities, such as survival skills training and beekeeping. That means parents get to explore the grounds on their own, whether that means enjoying an afternoon spritz at Sit Frank’s Bar, which is lined floor to ceiling in botanical paintings, or taking a jaunt to the checkerboard-tiled pool at the Coach House Spa. Village Suites from $1,512.

JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida

Bunk suites have proved so popular among theme-park-bound families in central Florida that the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes doubled its inventory just two years after first introducing them in 2022. “As we continue to see the rise of multigenerational travel, the need and desire for this style of room continues to grow,” says Michael Scioscia, the hotel’s general manager. Guests in the hotel’s two-bedroom suites — which have a king bed and twin bunks in one bedroom and a king bed in the other — get a dedicated hospitality team and VIP check-in experience. (Consider it a leg up on the chaos of Disney and Universal.) The newly renovated on-site water park is another perk: Its three waterslides, lazy river and aquatic ropes course rival the options at its theme-park neighbors. Two-bedroom suites from $1,741.

Montage Los Cabos, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

The two- and three-bedroom residences at this Baja Peninsula getaway take bunk beds to another level — a wider one. Here, three sets of bunks contain a total of six queen-size mattresses — no twins — which may be the plushest way to sleep a half-dozen cousins under one roof.

“It’s a great way to turn a room into a fun, larger sleepover experience,” says Azadeh Hawkins, global creative director for Montage International, which has also installed bunks at its Big Sky, Montana location. In Cabo, it takes an already kid-friendly resort over the edge. When larger broods aren’t splashing in the villa’s private plunge pool or running on the white sand beaches of Santa Marina Bay, their younger members can partake of activities such as paintball, mountain biking and archery. As for the adults, the hotel has a focus on mezcal, using it for “renewal” massages at the spa, putting it into Benedicts at breakfast and offering classes on mixing the spirit into cocktails. Three-bedroom residences with bunks from $4,370.

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©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Review: ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ has Michael Keaton and everything going for it, except the funny

Revisit the 1988 “Beetlejuice” if you haven’t lately. It’s stranger, jankier, funnier and try-anything-er than you may recall. As the freelance bio-exorcist Betelgeuse, aka Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton delivered wondrous combinations of subtle vocal throwaways and outlandish visual invention as both participant and heckler in his own paranormal comedy. Director Tim Burton, hot off “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” reportedly considered casting Sammy Davis Jr. in the role, among others. But it was kismet for Keaton, and for Winona Ryder as the grieving, healing Lydia Deetz, as well as a crack supporting ensemble seemingly assembled in some sort of dream.

There’s a lot more Keaton in the 36-years-later reboot “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which pays off in terms of a great and versatile star’s screen time. But holy cats, is this movie disappointing! I mean really not good enough! Some people, Burton fans many of them, slag off Burton projects like the live-action “Dumbo” or the feature “Dark Shadows.”  While many disagree, given the wide but generally admiring critical response to “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” in its world premiere last week at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, this one, for me, ranks right down there with “Dumbo.” It is not enough to make a swole version of the first “Beetlejuice,” at somewhere around 14 times the original’s $15 million product budget. With the effects upgrades and joyless bombast taking over, did the comedy ever have a chance?

Now the mother of teenage Astrid (Jenna Ortega), ghost-friendly Lydia hosts a successful reality/talk show produced by her smarmy fiancee (Justin Theroux). The show is a haunted-house affair, featuring standoffs between supernatural and super-normal inhabitants of the same domiciles, with Lydia acting as “psychic mediator.” The tragic death of Lydia’s father leaves Astrid bereft and also skeptical: If mom’s TV shtick is genuine, why can’t she make afterlife contact with Astrid’s grandfather?

When Beetlejuice enters the story, he’s still smitten with Lydia. Beyond that, his ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci), determined to exact revenge on her dirty dog of a former husband, goes about sucking the souls out of humans who get in her way. There’s more to the screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, including Astrid meeting a sweet fellow outsider (Arthur Conti), and Willem Dafoe’s deceased but lively detective — an actor who played a detective when he was alive, so why stop now?

Jenna Ortega as Astrid and Winona Ryder as Lydia in the 2024 Warner Bros. movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” (Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros./TNS)

Catherine O’Hara as Delia in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” (Warner Bros./TNS)

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Jenna Ortega as Astrid and Winona Ryder as Lydia in the 2024 Warner Bros. movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” (Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros./TNS)

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Burton’s design teams remain among the finest commercial film creatives working, and there are some visual ideas and images in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” that hit that elusive sweet spot between the macabre and the wittily macabre only a Burton movie can manage. When Keaton sails into a flashback reverie about how he and Delores met and then broke up, it’s depicted in the operatically intense style of an Italian gallo horror melodrama. Elsewhere we get bits of the cramped “Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” German Expressionism in the scenic design, which is amusing. More clinically impressive than amusing: the sight of Bellucci’s formerly dismembered Delores reattaching her own limbs with a staple gun.

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What’s missing is not simply surprise, or the pleasurable shock of a new kind of ghost comedy. It’s the near-complete absence of verbal wit, all the more frustrating since Keaton is ready to play, and he’s hardly alone. The legendarily gifted Catherine O’Hara returns as Lydia’s stepmother Delia, as haughty as ever. But we keep waiting for the jokes to land — to do their job, in other words. Without a fresh take on familiar material, director Burton makes do with his own detours and let’s-try-this-for-a-while segments, including a torturous musical sequence backed by the song “MacArthur Park” that goes on approximately forever. Then there’s a “Soul Train” riff, which feels way, way off, taste-wise and big-ending-dance-party wise.

It can’t hold a candle, in other words, to the happy ending of the first “Beetlejuice,” which found human and otherworld cohabitants of the same old house on the hill living in peace and harmony, with Harry Belafonte’s rendition of the Calypso classic “Jump in the Line” providing the backbeat. I’m sure this sequel will do well enough. But it’s a helluva comedown, and seeing “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” in a huge opening-night crowd at the Venice festival, I didn’t hear much in the way of actual laughter, proving that a couple of hundred million can buy you almost anything. Almost.

“Beetle Beetlejuice” — 1.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use)

Running time: 1:44

How to watch: Premieres in theaters Sept. 5

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

Horoscopes Sept. 5, 2024: Michael Keaton, embrace the future optimistically

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Kat Graham, 35; Rose McGowan, 51; Michael Keaton, 73; Claudette Colvin, 85.

Happy Birthday: Slow down, smell the flowers, take a moment to relax and remember what life is about. It’s necessary to reduce excess, spend more time with loved ones and reassess what’s next. Change begins with you; ignoring your habits, health and overall well-being will make you vulnerable. Take notes, correct what’s failing you and embrace the future optimistically. Sustainability comes from good lifestyle choices. Your numbers are 8, 19, 21, 24, 30, 36, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Expand your mind, prospects and relationships. Test what works best for you and take advantage of an opportunity to learn or try something new. Don’t let the changes others make deter you from doing what’s best for you. Focus on implementing cost-efficiency and control. Self-improvement is favored. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Keep personal information private. Listening will be in your best interest. Knowing what others want or are thinking will help you make better choices and more suitable offers. Sharing a common interest or experience with someone will bring you closer together and enhance your chance to advance. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Participate in events that allow you to show your strengths. Your go-getter attitude will make the competition reluctant to fight back and your teammates enthusiastic to support your leadership. Strive for perfection, initiate high standards and continue until you are satisfied with your results. Romance is favored. 5 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Stifle your emotions, gather the facts and sit tight until the time is right for you to make your next move. Look for a unique way to get what you want. Add flair and detail to whatever you do, and let your work and performance lead the way. 2 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Let your actions lead the way. Take the initiative to be a leader, and present what you offer through gestures instead of words. Thoughts, followed by actions, will have the best impact on how others respond and will open doors to new beginnings. 4 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Turn a negative experience into a positive, and you’ll find it easier to open doors to more significant opportunities. Learn from what transpires and differentiate between outdated, current and futuristic ideas. Use your imagination to create something that captivates and entices those you approach. 3 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Spread love to neighbors, friends and family, and let them know you are there for them. Your outpouring of kindness and generosity will lead to new connections that benefit your goal. What you put out, you will get back tenfold. Romance is on the rise. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Check your bank account before you donate or spend frivolously. A misconception will arise if you listen to hype or to someone trying to sell you something. Look inward and determine what you need and what you can do without. Discipline is encouraged where money, health and entertainment are concerned. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Drop everything and examine what’s fact and what’s fake. You require an honest evaluation before you can make a choice. Refrain from scrimping when it comes to knowledge. The more information you have, the better armed you will be when faced with tough decisions. Do what’s best for you. 4 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t let anger set in when action is necessary. Stop waiting for someone else to do things for you. Size up situations and make things happen. Initiate a move, and you’ll impact how situations unfold. Take control of your emotional and physical well-being. 2 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Be consistent; if you keep changing your mind, you’ll face opposition and lose the right to choose. Be pragmatic; sum up costs, emotional wear and tear, and sustainability, and you’ll know what to do next. Life is only complex when you invite drama and indecisiveness into your orb. 5 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Refuse to let foolishness or excess become your disadvantage. Discipline will be necessary to avoid falling behind. Say no to temptation, and surround yourself with those who set a good example. Don’t let life bring you down; rise above and use your assets to forge ahead. 3 stars

Birthday Baby: You are meticulous, opportunistic and insightful. You are encouraging and intelligent.

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.

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SF Giants ink Matt Chapman to 6-year extension

SAN FRANCISCO — Matt Chapman, the most productive free agent the Giants added last offseason, has agreed to a long-term extension to stay with San Francisco through 2030, the team announced Wednesday night.

Chapman, 31, agreed to a six-year, $151 million contract with the Giants on Wednesday. He’ll earn $25 million each season from 2025 to 2030 and additionally receive a $1 million signing bonus in 2025.

Asked last month by this news organization about the possibility of a contract extension, Chapman expressed interest in staying in a Giants uniform.

“That’s not really my focus right now; my focus is on trying to make the playoffs,” Chapman said. “But the Giants, I love being here and they know that I want to be here. They know that I’m open to that. I’m kind of just waiting on them.”

Chapman has played all but four games this season, with one of his absences being a late scratch on the night of the club’s announcement. The four-time Gold Glover ranks 13th in MLB with 4.5 Fangraphs WAR among position players this season.

The Giants committed nearly $400 million in guaranteed contracts this past offseason, including an $18 million deal for Chapman in March that included a player option for 2026 and a mutual option in 2027. The six-year extension rips all of that up.

A two-time Platinum Glove winner, Chapman leads all third basemen in 2024 with 13 defensive runs saved. He leads the Giants in home runs (22), runs (90), doubles (33), hits (126) and RBI (69).

Chapman’s new six-year extension is the richest contract president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has executed. The team’s press release did not include any mentions of options in his new deal.

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The Orange County-raised Chapman played the first five years of his career with the A’s after being selected by Oakland in the first round of the 2014 draft out of Cal State Fullerton.

He was an All-Star in 2019 with the A’s, slugging a career-high 36 home runs and finishing sixth in the American League MVP vote as a key member of a team in the middle three consecutive playoff seasons. Oakland traded him to the Blue Jays during its teardown of that core in March 2022.

He played 295 of 314 possible games in Toronto over two seasons, winning his fourth Gold Glove in 2022, before becoming a free agent and returning to the Bay Area last spring with the Giants.

SF Giants continue plummeting as Zac Gallen tosses 6 no-hit innings

SAN FRANCISCO — Beelining toward their third straight .500 or worse season, the Giants notched four hits in a loss to the postseason-contending Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen no-hit the Giants for the duration of his six-inning start, consistently getting into two-strike counts and generating whiffs on offspeed pitches out of the zone from there.

LaMonte Wade Jr. hit his sixth career Splash Hit — and the franchise’s 104th overall — once Gallen departed, but his seventh-inning shot didn’t ignite a serious comeback bid in the 6-4 defeat.

San Francisco Giants’ Spencer Bivens (76) fields a ground ball against Arizona Diamondbacks’ Jake McCarthy (31) in the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

“All our best at-bats come later in the game off, a lot of times, the best relievers,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said postgame. “It happens again today. It’s trying to put pressure on the starter early in the game, score some runs — it takes the pressure off our starters. We talk about it a lot. We try to prepare the best we can for a starter, and it’s really been all year that we’ve struggled with that.”

San Francisco (68-72) has now lost six of its last seven games as the club’s focus has turned from an outside shot at a playoff run to next season. They’ve officially lost four straight series. The announced paid attendance of 22,855 set a new season-low at Oracle Park, breaking the prior low point from the night before.

Giants starter Hayden Birdsong has impressed at times this season, but there have been more downs than ups. Before Wednesday night’s rocky outing, his season ERA in nine starts against teams other than the Rockies was 6.15.

Birdgong’s past month in particular, specifically with his control, has been difficult.

“Honestly, I don’t really know,” Birdsong, 23, said of his command. “I’m still working on it obviously. I’d love to be in the zone all the time, but sometimes that’s how it goes. Hopefully I can figure it out for my next start. Just keep working on it, hopefully it comes back. Just keep grinding.”

Birdsong labored through three innings and was lucky to cough up only two runs. The rookie righty walked five, gave up a home run to Eugenio Suarez in the second and made a throwing error while delivering 77 pitches.

To end the second frame, Josh Bell just missed what would’ve been a grand slam, instead flying out to the warning track in the left-field corner. Still, Birdsong forced the Giants to hand the game over to the bullpen earlier than they would’ve liked.

“I hate killing the bullpen. It hurts my feelings, and it screws us later in the series or whatnot. I just want to get to five, get to six, regardless of if I give up three or four runs or whatever. If I can keep it there, five or six innings, it’d feel okay.”

The Giants similarly couldn’t cash in on a bases-loaded situation when a trio of rookies — Luis Matos, Marco Luciano and Brett Wisely — drew consecutive two-out walks. That threat ended when backup catcher Curt Casali committed on his check swing on a Gallen curveball in the dirt.

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As Birdsong exited and Spencer Bivens (4IP, 2ER, 3K, 1BB) pitched well in his place, Gallen continued to cruise through the Giants’ order. The second-inning trio of walks were three of the only four baserunners he put on all night.

Gallen struck out the side of Tyler Fitzgerald, Wade and Luis Matos in the fourth inning, extending his no-hit bid.

San Francisco’s lineup was littered with rookies and second-year players — as it should be in a September bereft of a postseason chance. Matt Chapman, who has played all but four games this year, was a late scratch. That allowed Fitzgerald and Wisely to occupy the left side of the infield, with Luciano starting his second straight game at second base. Ramos and Matos joined veteran Mike Yastrzemski in the outfield.

Bivens, another rookie, retired the first five Diamondbacks he faced before leaving a changeup over the middle to Pavin Smith, who socked it for a solo home run.

The Giants rarely even hit the ball out of the infield against Gallen, who took the mound for the sixth with a 3-0 lead. Yastrzemski then worked a 13-pitch walk, driving Gallen closer to a departure. But Ramos grounded into a double play on the first pitch he saw and then Michael Conforto struck out, allowing Gallen to leave with his no-hitter intact.

San Francisco Giants’ Marco Luciano (37) attempts to tag Arizona Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll (7) during a steal in the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

“He’s always good, right?” Melvin said of Gallen. “Curveball always looks like a strike and ends up being below the zone. Makes big pitches when he has to.”

Fitzgerald singled up the middle off Kevin Ginkel to lead off the seventh for San Francisco’s first hit of the evening and the very next batter, Wade, crushed a Splash Hit to halve Arizona’s lead.

Wade’s sixth home run of the year landed in the drink 412 feet from home plate.

But the same issues that have plagued embattled former closer Camilo Doval resurfaced in the eighth. Doval allowed a leadoff walk, didn’t hold the runner on, and then Suarez came centimeters away from his second homer of the game, settling for a double. Both eventually scored.

Wade drove in two more runs in the bottom of the ninth with a single up the middle, accounting for all four of San Francisco’s RBI. But the next three batters after him failed to reach base, leaving a half-full Oracle Park with a loss for the second straight night.

San Francisco Giants’ Marco Luciano (37) throws the ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Marco Luciano (37) jumps for the ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks’ Jake McCarthy (31) in the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Tyler Fitzgerald (49) doubles against Arizona Diamondbacks’ Justin Martinez (63) in the ninth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

Arizona Diamondbacks’ Joc Pederson (3) walks on deck against the San Francisco Giants in the seventh inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

San Francisco Giants’ LaMonte Wade Jr. (31) singles scoring San Francisco Giants’ Tyler Fitzgerald (49) and San Francisco Giants’ Michael Conforto (8) against Arizona Diamondbacks’ Justin Martinez (63) in the ninth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Hayden Birdsong (60) pitches against Arizona Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll ()7 in the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Camilo Doval (75) pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

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San Francisco Giants’ Marco Luciano (37) throws the ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

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