Estrada, Yastrzemski hit back-to-back homers to lead Giants past Pirates, 3-2

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Thairo Estrada and Mike Yastrzemski hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning, and rookie right-hander Keaton Winn had another strong start to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Rookie shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald added three hits for the Giants, who took two of three from the Pirates and finished their longest homestand of the season 6-4. Pittsburgh lost for the 10th time in its past 13 games.

Winn (3-3) held the Pirates to one run over six innings, his line over the past three starts, all victories. Winn walked one, struck out five. He also hit Edward Olivares to start the fifth inning, leading to a run on Rowdy Tellez’s RBI double.

Erik Miller and Ryan Walker each pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Winn. Closer Camilo Doval allowed a ninth-inning run, but retired Joey Bart on a groundball with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base to complete his fifth save.

The Giants relied on stifling performances by their starters on the homestand, which left them 14-15, good for second place in the National League West. They are 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Dodgers. The rotation has a 0.95 ERA over the past seven games, a lifeline for a team that has struggled to score.

Manager Bob Melvin said the Giants’ start “hasn’t been great, But to sit here right at .500, or a game below, we know there’s a lot more in there. It’s not a horrible place to be. No one’s really running away with the division, too.”

Pirates right-hander Jared Jones (2-3), making his sixth start in the majors, allowed three runs in five innings. Jones entered with a 2.79 ERA over his first five starts, striking out 39 in 29 innings. But the long ball has been an issue for the 22-year-old. The third-inning homers by Estrada and Yastrzemski were the sixth and seventh that Jones has surrendered.

Estrada hit the first pitch of the inning into the bleachers in left-center for his fourth of the season. Yastrzemski followed by driving a 2-2 pitch over the wall in straightaway center. The Giants had three more hits in the inning and scored a third run on LaMonte Wade Jr.’s no-out sacrifice fly.

Yastrzemski had a tough start to the season but has heated up ahead of the Giants’ first visit to Boston in five years Tuesday night. As a rookie in 2019, Yastrzemski homered in his first game at Fenway Park in the presence of his grandfather, Red Sox legend and Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. Before that game, Carl threw the ceremonial first pitch to Mike.

Yastrzemski hit .409 in 22 at-bats on the homestand, with two homers and eight RBIs, raising batting average from .121 to .236.

Melvin pegged Yastrzemski’s slow start to a spring-training shoulder injury. Yastrzemski also took a two-day paternity leave during the first week of the regular season.

Yastrzemski said that was part of it, but added, “I was also just not in a great place mentally, not getting off to the start that I wanted, pressing, trying to do too much. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to let that go and focus on the things that I needed to instead of the scoreboard and to start having better at-bats.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Giants: Shortstop Nick Ahmed did not start a day after taking Jack Suwinski’s 108-mph liner on the left wrist above his glove hand. He was available off the bench.

UP NEXT

Pirates LHP Bailey Falter (2-1, 3.33 ERA) was set to face RHP Joe Boyle (1-4, 7.06) in a series opener at Oakland on Monday night. Giants RHP Logan Webb (3-1, 2.33) will carry a career-high 19-inning scoreless streak into Fenway Park on Tuesday night The Red Sox have not announced a starter.

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

San Francisco Giants' Matt Chapman hits a single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' LaMonte Wade Jr. hits a sacrifice fly against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Tyler Fitzgerald scores against the Pittsburgh Pirates on a sacrifice fly by teammate LaMonte Wade Jr. during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Matt Chapman reacts after hitting a single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Jared Triolo, right, hits a groundout to San Francisco Giants shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. Pirates' Edward Olivares scored on the play. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Edward Olivares scores against the San Francisco Giants on Jared Triolo's ground out during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. Edward Olivares scored on the play. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Henry Davis walks to the dugout after striking out during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Erik Miller throws to a Pittsburgh Pirates batter during the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz, left, tags out San Francisco Giants' Tyler Fitzgerald, right, at second for a double play during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Mike Yastrzemski, right, celebrates with third base coach Matt Williams after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jared Jones during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jared Jones reacts after walking San Francisco Giants' Jung Hoo Lee during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Thairo Estrada runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) —

Fans of Korean pop bands around the world are increasingly channeling their millions-strong online community into climate and environmental activism, protesting business deals linked to coal power, urging K-pop entertainers to cut waste and raising awareness about climate-related issues.

Other climate activist groups have begun joining forces with Kpop4Planet, an environmental group founded in 2021 by K-pop fans Nurul Sarifah and Dayeon Lee. After Kpop4Planet petitioned South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co., it recently scrapped a deal linked to coal power plants in Indonesia.

The ability to quickly organize a large, dedicated group has made K-pop fans an increasingly influential lobby online as they participate in protests and promote causes that have included the Black Lives Matter movement. Politicians also have tried to tap into that power.

“I spotted how K-pop fans can be seen as a potential power,” said Sarifah. “We think we can harness that power for climate change action.”

In 2021, Korea Beyond Coal— a coalition of civic groups calling for South Korea to stop using coal power — teamed up with Kpop4Planet in 2021 to raise awareness about plans for a coal-burning power plant.

The plant site near Maengbang Beach, the photo shoot location for album artwork for one of K-pop band BTS's hit songs, is a popular destination for the band's fans and a joint petition created by Kpop4Planet and Korea Beyond Coal got thousands of signatures.

“We realized Kpop4Planet has the experience of mobilizing and connecting people and sharing information using social media ... which is very helpful when it comes to climate campaigning,” said Euijin Kim, a communications officer for Solutions for Our Climate, which is part of Korea Beyond Coal.

The power plant is still going ahead, but the groups were able to raise awareness about the environmental issues caused by coal power, Lee said.

“We want to show the power and influence that the K-pop fans can have ... we believe that if we gather all together, we can make better social impacts and maybe change our society in more sustainable ways,” said Lee. “And, of course, love K-pop together.”

Korean pop culture fan clubs' activism and philanthropy began in the 1960s, said Stephanie Choi, a postdoctoral associate at the University of Buffalo studying K-pop culture. Now, K-pop fans regularly organize thousands of people on social media platforms to buy gifts for wildly popular K-pop singers and bands, or promote other causes.

Sarifah and Lee have aligned Kpop4Planet’s activities with various causes, beginning with urging entertainment companies to cut back on waste related to the K-pop fan culture of collecting photo cards of band members, which are included in albums and sold as merchandise. K-pop labels often release multiple versions of albums with dozens of different photo cards, encouraging fans to bulk-buy albums to participate in lucky draws for meet-and-greet events with K-pop stars.

“The problem is that this creates a lot of waste,” Lee said in an interview. “We wanted to tackle that issue first, because it was the most well-known issue among K-pop fans.”

Entertainment companies haven't directly responded to Kpop4Planet's petitions and other approaches, but Lee still views the campaign as a success.

“There were changes after our campaigning: major entertainment companies published environmental, social and governance reports and published eco-friendly albums, including some releasing records using QR codes to minimize waste," she said.

Kpop4Planet's petition against Hyundai protested an agreement the company signed to buy aluminum from projects linked to coal power in Indonesia.

The memorandum of understanding signed in 2022 with a unit of one of Indonesia’s largest coal miners, Adaro Energy Indonesia, gave Hyundai the right to purchase low-carbon aluminum from an industrial park Indonesian officials portray as “green".

However, the smelter used to make the aluminum initially will be powered by newly built coal-fired plants. Hydroelectric and solar power will power the industrial park at a later date.

Given K-pop group BTS's collaboration with Hyundai, Kpop4Planet saw a chance to put their influence to work. In March 2023, Kpop4Planet launched a petition asking Hyundai to withdraw from the project until it phases out coal, and to disclose details of the energy used to make the aluminum. The petition got over 10,000 signatures in two months, and Kpop4Planet sent their pleas to Hyundai Motor's headquarters. In March, Hyundai Motor said it had ended its agreement with Adaro.

“Following the expiry of the MOU at the end of 2023, both companies have decided not to renew it and to explore other opportunities independently,” a spokesperson for Hyundai Motor wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

Adaro did not respond to a request for comment sent by AP.

“This a victory of thousands of people, friends who took actions and also show that they genuinely care about the climate crisis and local communities," said Sarifah.

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

In this image provided by Kpop4Planet, members demonstrate as part of a Hyundai, Drop Coal protest outside Hyundai Motorstudio Senayan Park in Jakarta, May 2023. The demonstration was in protest of Hyundai’s agreement to buy aluminum from an industrial park at least partially powered by newly built coal plants. Fans of Korean pop bands around the world are increasingly channeling their millions-strong online community into climate and environmental activism. (Kpop4Planet via AP)

In this image provided by Kpop4Planet, demonstrators pose at Maengbang Beach in Samcheok, South Korea, as part of the #SaveButterBeach campaign in September 2021. The group paired with climate groups in South Korea to raise awareness about plans for a coal-burning power plant. The plant site is near the beach of the photo shoot location for album artwork for one of K-pop band BTS’s hit songs. (Soojung Do/Kpop4Planet via AP)