Rafael Devers hits first home run for Giants against former team Red Sox

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Rafael Devers hits first home run for Giants against former team Red Sox

2025-06-22 07:41 Last Updated At：07:50

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For Rafael Devers, his first home run for San Francisco felt similar to the 215 he hit for Boston — even if this one came against the Red Sox just six days after his surprising trade to the Giants.

Devers delighted his new fans in San Francisco when he connected for a two-run homer against his former team on Saturday to help fuel a 3-2 win for the Giants.

“Nothing more special than any other home run that I hit,” he said through an interpreter. “I’m just here and happy that I was able to contribute for the team’s win.”

Devers began his first series against the Red Sox by going 0 for 5 on Friday night and grounding out in his first at-bat Saturday. He then delivered just what his new team had been expecting when he hit an opposite-field drive off Brayan Bello over the left-field fence for a two-run homer in the third inning.

“That’s kind of typical him too, just let it travel and catch it late and block it out to left field,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s done it so many times in Boston. This park kind of plays that way to lefties as well. I think to get that one off his back, feels good about that, obviously being incredibly impactful in the outcome of the game. Now he can settle in and do his thing.”

Devers got loud cheers from the Oracle Park crowd of 39,027 as he rounded the bases for his 216th career home run that just happened to be caught by a fan in a Red Sox T-shirt.

“As soon as he hit it, you kind of feel almost a little weight fell off his shoulders when he hit that ball,” Giants starter Landen Roupp said. “You could just see it. We expect many more from him in that area. Really excited to have him on the team and he will be a huge help.”

Devers became the 10th player to homer for and against the same team in a span of seven days or fewer, according to Sportradar. The last player to do it was Abraham Toro, who homered for Houston against Seattle on July 26, 2021, and then for the Mariners against the Astros the next day.

This is the third time it happened with a player traded by the Red Sox. Don Lenhardt and Walt Dropo both did it in 1952, with their homers for Detroit against Boston coming in the same game on June 6 that season, three days after they were traded together in an eight-player deal.

Devers also joined Willie Mays, Jimmie Foxx and four other players who hit their first 200 career homers with one team and then had their first homer on their new team come against their former team.

Devers was traded by Boston less than two years into a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension that he signed in 2023.

Devers’ relationship with the Red Sox began to deteriorate when the team signed Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman during spring training and asked Devers to move to DH; he balked before agreeing to the switch. When first baseman Triston Casas sustained a season-ending knee injury, the Red Sox approached Devers about playing the field and he declined, saying the front office “should do their jobs” and look for another player.

A day after Devers’ comments to the media about playing first, Red Sox owner John Henry, team president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers and manager Alex Cora.

Devers’ stance didn’t change and he was eventually traded to San Francisco where he is practicing at first base to play there later this season. Devers said Friday that he wouldn’t have done anything differently in his time in Boston, adding that he was as happy as he has been in years after joining the Giants.

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

Paris court to rule in case involving alleged cyberbullying of Brigitte Macron

PARIS (AP) — A Paris court is to rule on Monday in a case involving 10 people accused of cyberbullying French first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, allegations her daughter said damaged her health and family life.

The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 60, are accused of posting “numerous malicious comments” falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron ’s wife was born a man and linking the 24-year age gap with her husband to pedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.

Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October.

Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about what she described as the “deterioration” of her mother’s life since the online harassment intensified. “She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” Auzière told the court. She said the impact has extended to the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.

Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, who is known as Amandine Roy and describes herself as a medium and an author, is considered as having played a major role in spreading the rumor after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021.

The X account of Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after his name was cited in several judicial investigations.

Other defendants include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist. Several told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted. They face up to two years in prison if convicted.

The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother. The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens.

The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. Brigitte Macron, 24 years her husband’s senior, was then called Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three.

Emmanuel Macron, 48, has been France’s president since 2017.