NEW YORK (AP) — Zack Gelof hit a two-run homer off Victor González in the ninth inning, and the Oakland Athletics stopped an eight-game losing streak in the Bronx by beating the Yankees 2-0 Monday following the ejection of New York manager Aaron Boone just five pitches in.
After New York’s Carlos Rodón and Oakland’s JP Sears matched each other with shutout ball, Abraham Toro reached off González (1-1) leading off the ninth when the pitcher slipped while trying to pick up his dribbler between the mound and the third-base line.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Zack Gelof hit a two-run homer off Victor González in the ninth inning, and the Oakland Athletics stopped an eight-game losing streak in the Bronx by beating the Yankees 2-0 Monday following the ejection of New York manager Aaron Boone just five pitches in.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, right, argues with umpire Hunter Wendelstedt during the first inning of the baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Boone was ejected from the game. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics pitcher JP Sears throws during the first inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón throws during the first inning of the baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón throws during the first inning of the baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics pitcher JP Sears throws during the first inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the ninth inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof, left, celebrates with Nick Allen after the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. The Athletics defeated the Yankees 2-0. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof hits a two-run home run during the ninth inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the ninth inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Gelof hit an opposite-field drive into the right-field seats on a flat sinker for his third home run this season.
“To see him go oppo on a lefty, a really good lefty, is a good sign," A's manager Mark Kotsay said.
Gelof had entered 3 for 19 against left-handers after hitting .167 (12 for 72) with one homer against them last year.
“It's something that I focused on in the offseason,” Gelof said.
Kotsay dropped Gelof to sixth in the batting order for the second straight day after hitting him mostly second or third. Gelof has a .205 average this season, down from .267 as a rookie.
"Just trying to get him comfortable, get him relaxed," Kotsay said.
Lucas Erceg (1-1) pitched two innings and Mason Miller struck out Anthony Volpe, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge to remain perfect in five save chances, finishing a three-hitter and the fourth shutout against the Yankees in 23 games this season.
Miller threw eight fastballs averaging 101.8 mph and six sliders.
“He has a pretty good fastball,” Soto said.
Miller, a 25-year-old right-hander, was pitching at Yankee Stadium for the first time.
“Walking around before the game, it’s got a different air about it, for sure,” he said.
Oakland, which arrived after getting swept in a three-game series at Cleveland, had not won at the Yankees since 2021.
Judge was 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts and a double-play grounder, dropping his average to .174.
Ian Hamilton had gotten Shea Langeliers to swing under a high 96.1 mph fastball on a full count to strand the bases loaded in the eighth.
Boone was ejected over a remark from a fan behind the dugout aimed at the plate umpire. Esteury Ruiz was hit on the back foot by a Rodón slider leading, Boone questioned whether Ruiz swung at the pitch and Hunter Wendelstedt ejected Boone after a fan behind the dugout yelled at the umpire.
Rodón allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings, Nick Allen’s two-out single in the fifth, and lowered his ERA to 2.70. He has given up three runs or fewer in all five of his starts.
Former Yankees player JP Sears gave up three hits in six shutout innings with seven strikeouts and one walk.
“His slider for us lefties was tough, tough to see,” Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: 3B DJ LeMahieu (broken right foot) is set to start a minor league rehab assignment Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Yankees RHP Marcus Stroman (1-1, 2.42) starts Tuesday night against Oakland RHP Paul Blackburn (2-0, 1.08), who entered the series third in the major leagues in ERA.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt yells at New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone during the first inning of the baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Boone was ejected from the game. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, right, argues with umpire Hunter Wendelstedt during the first inning of the baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Boone was ejected from the game. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics pitcher JP Sears throws during the first inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón throws during the first inning of the baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón throws during the first inning of the baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics pitcher JP Sears throws during the first inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the ninth inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof, left, celebrates with Nick Allen after the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. The Athletics defeated the Yankees 2-0. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof hits a two-run home run during the ninth inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the ninth inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump returned to Manhattan court on Friday as his hush money trial entered its 11th day, capping a frenzied second week of witness testimony.
Lawyer Keith Davidson concluded his testimony Thursday after spending nearly 6 1/2 hours on the stand over two days. He laid out for jurors details of his negotiations with Michael Cohen and the National Enquirer on behalf of Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, not shying away from an election night realization that his efforts might have contributed to Trump's 2016 win.
Forensic analyst Douglas Daus also took the stand, testifying about what he found on Cohen's cellphone. Among other things, Daus said Cohen had nearly 40,000 contacts saved to the device.
Thursday's proceedings included a contempt hearing over whether the former president had again violated his gag order.
Merchan heard from both sides about four more prospective violations, including comments Trump made about the jury. Prosecutors said they were seeking only fines and not jail time for the potential violations. An immediate decision was not made and it was unclear when Merchan would rule.
Prosecutors have said that Trump and others conducted a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by purchasing and burying salacious stories that might hurt his campaign.
Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush money payments — including $130,000 given to Daniels, a porn actor, by Cohen — recording them instead as legal expenses.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.
Currently:
— Donald Trump moves much of his White House campaign to New York
— Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial
— The hush money case is just one of Trump’s legal cases. See the others here
— Trial begins for financial executive in insider trading case tied to taking Trump media firm public
Here's the latest:
Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal with the Manhattan district attorney's office, was called as the next witness in Donald Trump's hush money case on Friday.
She has been assigned to the Trump case for the past year and a half and her role has been to review publicly available records relevant to the case, including Trump’s social media accounts on the social platform X — formerly known as Twitter — Facebook, LinkedIn and Truth Social.
Picking up where he left off on Thursday, Trump attorney Emil Bove plied Douglas Daus, the forensic analyst, with a set of deeply technical questions Friday meant to suggest that Michael Cohen may have doctored a 2016 recording played in court the previous day.
As evidence, Bove noted that the audio cuts off suddenly, as well as “gaps” in the handling of the phone that Daus agreed were “not ideal.”
Prosecutors say the abrupt ending of the recording was the result of Cohen receiving another call. Under questioning from Bove, Daus said there was no record of an incoming call in the phone’s metadata — but said it would be difficult to say for sure without looking at call log data from Cohen’s phone carrier.
“In many ways, we’re just going to have to take Michael Cohen’s word for it, aren’t we?” Bove said.
“Yes,” Daus replied.
With that, Bove concluded his cross-examination.
Before testimony resumed in Donald Trump's hush money trial, Judge Juan M. Merchan ruled to prevent prosecutors from showing the jury a photograph of Trump with Billy Bush and soap opera actor Arianne Zucker at the time of the infamous “Access Hollywood” recording.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche had asked for the image to be excluded from the trial, pointing to a recent court decision overturning Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction. In that case, the appeals court ordered a retrial because the judge had allowed testimony at trial unrelated to the allegations.
Merchan said the appeals court decision “doesn’t really factor into this” case, noting that the ruling had not laid out any new law, but nevertheless agreed to block prosecutors from introducing the photograph.
Prosecutors had said the image would help establish the timeline of the revelations about the “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump could be heard bragging about grabbing women without permission.
Merchan has previously ruled the 2005 tape cannot be played in court for jurors, but said prosecutors can still question witnesses about the recording.
Trump lawyer Emil Bove on Friday morning resumed cross-examination questioning of Douglas Daus, a forensic analyst at the Manhattan district attorney’s office who extracted recordings, text messages and other evidence from two of Michael Cohen’s iPhones.
Judge Juan M. Merchan started the trial day also by clarifying that Donald Trump’s gag order doesn’t prohibit him from testifying on his own behalf, apparently responding to comments the former president made after court the day before.
“The order restricting extrajudicial statements does not prevent you from testifying in any way,” Merchan said, adding that the order does not in any way limit what Trump says on the witness stand.
Merchan directed his comments to Trump and his lawyers, saying it had come to his attention that there may have been a “misunderstanding” regarding the order.
Speaking to reporters before heading into court on Friday, Donald Trump clarified comments he made the day before about his gag order, saying it does not stop him from testifying in the case but it does keep him from “talking about people and responding when they say things about me.”
After court adjourned on Thursday, Trump had responded to questions about what he’d thought of the day’s testimony.
“I’m not allowed to testify. I’m under a gag order,” he said, causing some confusion. The gag order bars him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the case.
He also commented on the latest job numbers showing that U.S. employers scaled back hiring in April and said they’re “horrible.”
Donald Trump has arrived at the courthouse in Manhattan for the 11th day of his hush money trial.
Hope Hicks, who served as Donald Trump's 2016 campaign press secretary and went on to hold various roles in his White House, could testify in his hush money trial as early as Friday.
The two people who described her forthcoming appearance to The Associated Press insisted on anonymity to discuss internal trial preparations.
Hicks spoke with Trump by phone during a frenzied effort to keep his alleged affairs out of the press in the final weeks before the election.
Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.
Despite not yet having testified in Donald Trump's hush money case, Michael Cohen has been very present in the courtroom — in audio recordings of conversations he had and in witness testimony.
On Thursday, jurors heard a taped call between Cohen and Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels' former attorney, wherein Cohen could be heard telling Davidson about a conversation he'd had with someone believed to be Trump.
“I can’t even tell you how many times he said to me, ‘You know, I hate the fact that we did it.’ And my comment to him was, ‘But every person that you’ve spoken to told you it was the right move,’” Cohen said in the recording.
The panel also heard a recording of Cohen briefing Trump in September 2016 on the plan to buy former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story. That particular recording included Cohen detailing that he'd spoken to then-Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg about “how to set the whole thing up with funding.”
Cohen, who is the prosecution's star witness, was Trump's lawyer and personal fixer at the time.
Court proceedings in Donald Trump's hush money case will end early on Friday to accommodate an important appointment one of the jurors has in the late afternoon.
Judge Juan M. Merchan announced the scheduling change just before adjourning court on Thursday. Court will end at 3:45 p.m. Friday, about 45 minutes earlier than normal.
Donald Trump is expected to return to court Friday morning for the 11th day of his hush money trial as the second week of witness testimony wraps up.
Thursday's proceedings saw the former president facing yet another contempt hearing, this time over four more prospective violations of his gag order.
While Judge Juan M. Merchan did not immediately rule on the sanctions request from prosecutors, he told defense attorneys he was concerned about three of the potential violations — including comments that Trump made about the political makeup of the jury. Merchan said he wasn't worried about a comment Trump made last week calling former Enquirer publisher David Pecker a “nice guy.”
Prosecutors said they were only seeking fines and not jail time over the potential violations.
Trump is barred under a gag order from speaking publicly about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the case. He was fined $9,000 on Tuesday over nine online posts.
The introduction has been updated to correct the spelling of the last name of forensic analyst Douglas Daus, from Daul.
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday,, May 3, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday,, May 3, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday,, May 3, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump sits inside Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 2 2024. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/Pool Photo via AP)
