SAN FRANCISCO — Giants players in their orange and black emerged from the third-base dugout and walked to the mound as the rival Dodgers in blue did the same from the first-base side.
On a rare night when players from both teams addressed fans before the first pitch, Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt and Dodgers second baseman Jamey Carroll came together for a joint message: This rivalry must stay on the field, without violence and hatred.
The teams gathered on the pitcher’s mound Monday night before their series opener at AT&T Park to make clear there should be no repeat of the events following their season opener March 31 in which longtime Giants fan Bryan Stow was assaulted outside Dodger Stadium and left in a medically induced coma.
With heightened security at the waterfront ballpark, the teams took the field for a game dedicated to the 42-year-old Stow, a paramedic from nearby Santa Cruz and father of two.
“There’s no room in this game for hatred and violence. It is about respect,” Carroll told the sellout crowd to applause. “This is America’s national pastime, and let’s keep it that way.”
Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp expressed sadness about what happened to Stow.
“That’s a terrible thing what happened to that man,” Kemp said. “It’s a rivalry, but it’s not so serious to almost take somebody’s life. This guy is never going to be same again over wearing the wrong jersey.”
The team and Stow’s employer, American Medical Response, collected money outside and inside the ballpark for a fund set up to help pay his medical bills.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers recalled outfielder Jamie Hoffmann from Albuquerque and optioned John Ely to the Triple-A affiliate.
Footnotes.
The Athletics and right- hander Trevor Cahill reached agreement on a five-year contract worth $30.5 million.
• Right-hander Clay Buchholz has been guaranteed just under $30 million in new money as part of an agreement with the Red Sox that runs through 2015.
• The Blue Jays placed outfielder Rajai Davis (ankle) on the DL and activated outfielder Corey Patterson.
• The Padres reinstated ace Mat Latos from the 15-day disabled list and optioned pitcher Wade LeBlanc to Triple-A Tucson.
The Associated Press
