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Full circle: SF Giants sign Darin Ruf to minor league deal, put Roberto Perez on 60-day IL

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The Darin Ruf trade is still paying dividends for the Giants.Saturday, the Giants signed Ruf to a minor league contract and will pay him only the league minimum salary after he was released by the Mets on April 2.“We love Darin,” said Giants manager Gabe Kapler. “Obviously, we have a lot of familiarity with him. With (injured outfielders) Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater needing a little time here and no timetable for them to actually go out on rehab assignments at this point, no specific date, it’s a good option for us to have some right-handed hitting depth in Triple-A.”Ruf was a key piece of the Giants’ attack against left-handed pitching from 2020 until last August, when they traded him to the Mets for J.D. Davis and pitching prospects Carson Seymour, Thomas Szapucki and Nick Zwack. Coincidentally, Seymour and Zwack were scheduled to be on the mound for Double-A Richmond in both games of a doubleheader on Saturday.Ruf struggled with the Mets, hitting just .1...

Kurtenbach: A weird Warriors regular season comes down to one last game and a plethora of possibilities

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

Klay Thompson was feeling confident Friday night, even after a shaky Warriors victory in a must-win game over the Kings.“I don’t see a team who can beat us in a seven-game series when healthy,” Thompson said.The Warriors’ wing isn’t unjustified in holding that stance. The Warriors have never lost a Western Conference playoff series when the team’s star trio — Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Thompson — are healthy.Heck, they’ve even won a few when they weren’t fully healthy.But that was a different time, and those were different teams.Those past Warriors squads never needed to win game No. 82 of the regular season to make the playoffs.These Warriors do.Related ArticlesGolden State Warriors | Warriors still pushing for playoff spot after 119-97 win in Sacramento Golden State Warriors | Light the beam? Kings have been doing it all season while Warriors remain in hunt for playoff spot Golden State Warriors ...

Hit-and-run collision leads to juvenile DUI arrest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

PETALUMA, Calif. (KRON) – A juvenile was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence after a hit-and-run collision early Friday morning, according to the Petaluma Police Department. Shortly after 1 a.m., officers responded to a collision in the intersection of East Washington Street and South McDowell Boulevard. The party who witnessed the collision and reported it to police said they witnessed a blue pickup truck flee the scene going westbound on East Washington Street, police said. Two separate illegal sideshows reported in East Bay The reporting party followed the pickup truck and observed the driver and passenger switch seats as the truck stopped in the middle of the roadway. The car then traveled toward Kenilworth Drive and drove through East Washington Plaza shopping center, PPD said.The reporting party continued to follow the car as it traveled toward Lindberg Lane and turned into the Gateway Shopping Center to park. Officers located the vehicle and detained two...

Yemen: Saudis free 13 Houthis as Omani officials visit Sanaa

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Saturday released over a dozen war prisoners to their rivals, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, a Houthi official said. The release came as Omani officials arrived in the Yemeni capital as part of international efforts to end Yemen’s years-long conflict.Abdul-Qader el-Murtaza, a Houthi official in charge of prisoner exchange talks in Yemen’s conflict, said 13 Houthi prisoners arrived Saturday in the capital, Sanaa.He said the prisoners were released in exchange for a Saudi prisoner the Houthis freed. He did not say when the rebels released the Saudi prisoner.Saturday’s release was part of a U.N.-brokered deal which Yemen’s warring parties stuck last month and includes the release of nearly 900 prisoners from both sides, el-Murtaza said.The U.N.-brokered deal is scheduled to be implemented this month.Yemen’s conflict began in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the country’s north, ousting the internationally recognized government that fled to the s...

Thompson scores go-ahead goal in Sabres 4-3 win over ‘Canes

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Tage Thompson scored the go-ahead goal 6:15 into the third period, Rasmus Dahlin had a goal, two assists and a key blocked shot and the Buffalo Sabres kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.Casey Mittelstadt scored twice and Buffalo improved to 6-1-1 in its past eight, with the win guaranteeing the Sabres remaining in contention through their game at the New York Rangers on Monday. A regulation loss, otherwise, would have put 10th-place Buffalo in position to be eliminated later in the day and extend its NHL-worst playoff drought for a 12th consecutive season.Buffalo (39-32-7) matched its most victories since finishing 39-32-11 in 2011-12.Buffalo rookie Devon Levi stopped 32 shots to improve to 3-1 in making his third start nine days.Sebastian Aho, with his Hurricanes-leading 35th goal, Seth Jarvis and Jesper Fast scored for Carolina. Antii Raanta stopped 26 shots in losing just his third game in regulation th...

NBA opens investigation into Dallas’ move to sit players

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

The NBA has opened an investigation into Dallas’ decision to rest several players while the team still had a mathematical chance of making the play-in tournament.The league made the announcement Saturday, one day after the Mavericks held out Kyrie Irving for the full game, Luka Doncic for most of the game, and many other rotation players in what became a loss to the Chicago Bulls. The loss knocked Dallas out of postseason consideration.“The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks’ roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions,” league spokesman Mike Bass said.Dallas was in an uphill spot for the last play-in berth in the West anyway. It needed to win Friday and Sunday, and hope that Oklahoma City would lose to Memphis on Sunday — just to get the No. 10 spot and still need two more road wins to make it to a Round 1 series a...

Carballes Baena sets up unseeded Marrakech final vs Muller

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — Roberto Carballes Baena knocked out his third seeded opponent at the Grand Prix Hassan II when he overcame Dan Evans 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals on Saturday.Carballes Baena, who won his only previous ATP final in 2018 at Quito, will face Alexandre Muller, who is through to his maiden tour-level final. Neither are seeded.Muller defeated Pavel Kotov 7-6 (3), 7-5.Carballes Baena used a five-game run from 4-3 down to win the second set and lead 2-0 in the third to turn around his fortunes against second-seeded Evans.The Spaniard also beat fifth-seeded Maxime Cressy in the first round and fourth-seeded Tallon Griekspoor in the quarterfinals.Muller, at a career-high ranking of 126, will enter the top-100 for the first time on Monday. The Frenchman lost his only previous matchup with Carballes Baena in 2019 at Roland Garros.___More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Haaland scissor-kick lights up Man City’s big win in EPL

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

Erling Haaland backed away from his marker, set himself with his back to goal, and leapt high to deliver an acrobatic scissor-kick into the bottom corner.Tap-ins, headers, majestic flying volleys. The Manchester City striker really can do anything.Haaland took his tally of English Premier League goals in his first season with City to 30 with a double in a 4-1 victory at Southampton that kept the pressure on Arsenal in the title race on Saturday.His first goal, a close-range header, couldn’t have been easier. His second simply took the breath away.After meeting Jack Grealish’s cross with that stunning volley, Haaland sat on the ground and celebrated with a zen pose. Before long, he was laughing at the brilliance of his own goal — his 44th in all competitions for City this season.City could still have 18 more matches to play if it goes all the way in the FA Cup and Champions League. Fifty goals looks inevitable for Haaland.“We lived two incredible decades with Cristiano Ro...

Haaland scissor-kicks goal as Man City smothers Southampton

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — Erling Haaland scored twice — including from a spectacular scissor-kick volley — to lead Manchester City to a 4-1 victory over Southampton in the English Premier League and keep the pressure on Arsenal in the title race on Saturday.The Norway striker broke the deadlock with a close-range header in the 45th minute before Jack Grealish made it 2-0 after the restart.Haaland’s league-leading 30th goal was a beautiful finish with his back to goal as he met Grealish’s cross.The hosts were able to claw only one back through Sekou Mara.That was quickly canceled out when Kevin De Bruyne was fouled for a penalty, allowing Haaland’s substitute, Julian Alvarez, to score the spot kick.City moved five points behind Arsenal, which visits Liverpool on Sunday.One of Haaland’s 28 goals going into Saturday’s game came in the reverse fixture at Etihad Stadium in October against a Saints team then managed by Ralph Hasenhuttl.Two managers later, and with the sides separa...

Ljungblom leads Sweden past Hungary in women’s world hockey

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:45:09 GMT

BRAMPTON, Ontario (AP) — Lina Ljungblom scored four times to lead Sweden past Hungary 6-2 on Saturday in the women’s world hockey championship.Linnea Andersson and Hilda Svensson had the other goals for Sweden (1-1), which opened the tournament with a 6-2 loss to Germany in Group B play.Reka Dabasi and Mira Seregely scored for Hungary (1-1), which defeated France 4-2 in its Group B opener.Sweden took control of the game by outscoring Hungary 4-2 in the first period. After Ljungblom registered the first two goals of the game, Seregely and Dabasi pulled Hungary even before Ljungblom and Andersson countered to give the Swedes their two-goal margin.Ljungblom had the lone goal of the second before Svensson rounded out the scoring in the third.Canada plays Japan later Saturday.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource