Yastrzemski and Conforto homer to help Giants beat sinking Orioles 5-3

BALTIMORE (AP) — Mike Yastrzemski homered on the game's first pitch, Michael Conforto also hit a solo shot and the San Francisco Giants beat the sinking Baltimore Orioles 5-3 Wednesday night.

Baltimore has lost eight of 10 to fall five games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East with 10 to play. Before their current skid, the Orioles held a half-game lead.

For the second time in two nights, Yastrzemski put the Orioles in an immediate hole with a leadoff homer. On Tuesday, he did it on the second pitch. In this one, he hit Dean Kremer's initial offering into the right-field seats.

“That was pretty cool,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He came in the dugout and said he had the same approach as he did last night, so I guess you stick with it, right? You don't see that often, two leadoff homers like that.”

Baltimore took a 2-1 lead in the third inning, but the Giants answered with a three-run fourth highlighted by a sequence that exemplified the Orioles' shortcomings of late. With the bases loaded and no outs, Grant McCray hit a tapper in front of the plate. Kremer (7-10) grabbed the ball and flipped it to catcher James McCann in plenty of time for the force play — but McCann's foot was off the plate.

“That hurt,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “The catcher is wearing spikes and he's not really feeling the plate. He came out a half-inch too far.”

Casey Schmitt followed with a two-run single to put San Francisco ahead for good.

“In the big inning I didn't do a good job limiting damage,” Kremer said. “Balls got put in play and a little out of the reach of fielders. It's on me.”

Conforto hit his 17th homer leading off the sixth for a 5-2 lead. That was too much to overcome for the Orioles, who haven't scored more than five runs since Sept. 3.

Down by two in the seventh, Baltimore loaded the bases with two outs for Colton Cowser, who was retired on a flyball.

Baltimore stranded eight and went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Giants rookie Hayden Birdsong (4-5) gave up three runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings to earn his first win in eight starts since July 27.

Ryan Walker, the fourth San Francisco reliever, worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save.

After coming to town with a four-game losing streak, the Giants are primed to sweep a team poised to reach the playoffs.

“They're fighting for a lot, and they're a real good team, too,” Melvin said. “To win the first two here, it's good.”

KIMBREL CUT

The Orioles bid farewell to struggling reliever Craig Kimbrel, designating him for assignment less than 24 hours after he gave up six runs in the ninth inning of a 10-0 loss to the Giants. The nine-time All-Star lost his job as closer in late July and had a 5.33 ERA with six blown saves.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Giants: 3B Matt Chapman was placed on the paternity list, and Schmitt was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.

Orioles: 3B Jordan Westburg (hand) and INF Ramón Urías will begin rehab assignments with Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.

UP NEXT

San Francisco's Logan Webb (12-10, 3.53 ERA) faces Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.55) in the series finale Thursday afternoon. Eflin is 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA since coming to Baltimore in a July trade with Tampa Bay.

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

Baltimore Orioles' Jackson Holliday (7) celebrates with Anthony Santander, left, after scoring on a groundout hit in by Cedric Mullins during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants' Heliot Ramos slides into home base to score in front of Baltimore Orioles catcher James McCann during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong delivers during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson (2) reacts after striking out on a foul tip during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants' Mike Yastrzemski rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants' Michael Conforto (8) and Tyler Fitzgerald, right, celebrate after both scoring on a single hit in by Casey Schmitt during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.

It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.

Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.

Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.

The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.

Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.

Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)