SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A San Francisco Giants fan severely beaten outside Dodger Stadium has made “significant improvement” despite a series of ups and downs since his near-fatal attack more than four months ago, his doctor said Monday.

Bryan Stow is awake, breathing on his own, can move slightly and has been able to interact with his family, said Dr. Geoff Manley, the chief of neurosurgery at San Francisco General Hospital. However, Manley said it’s still unclear how far Stow’s recovery will take him.

“His ability to follow commands has greatly increased,” Manley said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs and we still don’t know where he’s going to plateau in terms of his recovery.”

The paramedic from Santa Cruz remains in serious condition after suffering a traumatic brain injury when he was attacked on March 31 following the Dodgers’ home opener against the Giants in Los Angeles. He underwent a life-saving procedure in Los Angeles and was put in a coma for several weeks.

He was transported to San Francisco to be closer to his family in May.

Last week, Stow’s family said on their website that he is responding to some directions. Stow lifted his left leg when asked and raised his left arm when asked if someone could hold his hand, relatives said.

The family also said that when Stow’s sister, Bonnie, asked if she could give him a kiss, he puckered his lips each time.

Last month, doctors performed emergency surgery on the father of two to remove fluid buildup in his head that caused a seizure. But Stow has responded well following surgery last week to replace a missing skull fragment with a prosthetic bone flap, Manley said.

Doctors will determine in the next week or so whether Stow will require a shunt to permanently divert the fluid, Manley added.

The goal, Manley said, is to place Stow in a long-term rehab center. The doctor said Stow has come far in terms of nearly being beaten to death; being placed in a coma, opening his eyes and now following some basic commands.

“In the spectrum of things, he’s not running down the hall and doing multi-step commands, but given where he was when he first came here, he’s significantly improved,” Manley said. “He still has a long way to go.”

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A San Francisco Giants fan severely beaten outside Dodger Stadium has made “significant improvement” despite a series of ups and downs since his near-fatal attack more than four months ago, his doctor said Monday.

Bryan Stow is awake, breathing on his own, can move slightly and has been able to interact with his family, said Dr. Geoff Manley, the chief of neurosurgery at San Francisco General Hospital. However, Manley said it’s still unclear how far Stow’s recovery will take him.

“His ability to follow commands has greatly increased,” Manley said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs and we still don’t know where he’s going to plateau in terms of his recovery.”

The paramedic from Santa Cruz remains in serious condition after suffering a traumatic brain injury when he was attacked on March 31 following the Dodgers’ home opener against the Giants in Los Angeles. He underwent a life-saving procedure in Los Angeles and was put in a coma for several weeks.

He was transported to San Francisco to be closer to his family in May.

Last week, Stow’s family said on their website that he is responding to some directions. Stow lifted his left leg when asked and raised his left arm when asked if someone could hold his hand, relatives said.

The family also said that when Stow’s sister, Bonnie, asked if she could give him a kiss, he puckered his lips each time.

Last month, doctors performed emergency surgery on the father of two to remove fluid buildup in his head that caused a seizure. But Stow has responded well following surgery last week to replace a missing skull fragment with a prosthetic bone flap, Manley said.

Doctors will determine in the next week or so whether Stow will require a shunt to permanently divert the fluid, Manley added.

The goal, Manley said, is to place Stow in a long-term rehab center. The doctor said Stow has come far in terms of nearly being beaten to death; being placed in a coma, opening his eyes and now following some basic commands.

“In the spectrum of things, he’s not running down the hall and doing multi-step commands, but given where he was when he first came here, he’s significantly improved,” Manley said. “He still has a long way to go.”

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—The family of the San Francisco Giants fan who was
severely beaten outside Dodger Stadium says he can slightly lift his arm and leg
and respond to some directions.

Bryan Stow’s family said on their website Monday that Stow lifted his left
leg when asked and raised his left arm when asked if someone could hold his
hand.

The family also says that when Stow’s sister Bonnie asked if she could give
him a kiss, he puckered his lips each time.

Stow suffered brain injuries when he was attacked after the Dodgers’ home
opener in late March. The father of two children underwent emergency surgery
last month for fluid buildup in his head that caused a seizure.

Officials at San Francisco General Hospital say he remains in serious
condition.

All-Star closer Heath Bell was working on a franchise-record stretch of 99 games and 102 at-bats without allowing a home run when he made one costly mistake on an 0-2 pitch.

Aubrey Huff led off the ninth inning with a tying drive into the right-field seats, and the San Francisco Giants went on to a 6-2 victory over the struggling San Diego Padres in 12 innings on Thursday night.

Mike Fontenot brought in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the 12th, and the NL West-leading Giants piled it on against the last-place Padres.

The bullpen collapse extended the Padres’ losing streak to six games, tying their season high.

Bell was trying to preserve a 1-0 win for Aaron Harang, who threw seven strong innings in his second start back from a stint on the disabled list, but Huff hit his ninth homer.

“Huge for us. We’re looking at a 1-0 loss there,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We needed something like that to save us and he did with the home run.”

Until Huff’s shot, Bell hadn’t given up a homer since San Francisco’s Juan Uribe went deep on April 19, 2010.

“I didn’t know until someone told me it was last year against these guys and then I remembered it was Uribe,” Bell said. “He tattooed one to left field.

“I threw a breaking ball inside, and then I tried to go down and in,” Bell said. It was a pretty good pitch but I think Huff was maybe expecting it. He saw it real well and he just lifted it up. That’s why he’s good. He can just kind of throw his bat down there and flip it out of here. As soon as I saw him hit it, I knew it was going to go 10 to 15 rows deep.”

It was Bell’s second blown save in 62 chances dating to last year and second in 28 opportunities this year.

“That’s a big hit right there, off one of the best closers in the game,” Giants starter Madison Bumgarner said. “To put us back in the game right there, that was a big-time hit.”

Giants All-Star closer Brian Wilson came on with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 12th for his 27th save in 31 chances. He allowed Will Venable’s sacrifice fly, then walked Chris Denorfia to load the bases before getting Jason Bartlett to ground out.

Cody Ross started the winning rally in the five-run 12th with a leadoff walk against Luke Gregerson (2-3) and was replaced by Emmanuel Burriss, who stole second. Gregerson then walked Brandon Crawford and committed an error trying to field Eli Whiteside’s bunt, loading the bases. Miguel Tejada fouled out and Andres Torres struck out before Fontenot walked on four straight pitches.

Pablo Sandoval added a two-run single, and Nate Schierholtz and Huff each drove in a run with a base hit. All five runs that inning were unearned.

Santiago Casillas (2-1) threw two perfect innings for the win.

The Padres, the lowest-scoring team in the NL, dropped 13 games behind the defending World Series champions and 13 games under .500.

The Padres had scored only two runs in their last 44 innings before the All-Star break. Their losing streak includes consecutive shutouts at Los Angeles, including a game in which the Dodgers didn’t get their first hit until there were two outs in the ninth inning.

Harang held the Giants to five hits while striking out four and walking one. In his previous start, Harang handed a no-hit bid to the bullpen after six innings before the Dodgers won 1-0 after getting two hits with two outs in the ninth.

Whiteside tied his career high with three hits.

The Padres had three consecutive hits off Bumgarner for a run with two outs in the third. Denorfia singled to right, advanced on Jason Bartlett’s base hit to center and scored on Chase Headley’s single to left.

Bumgarner allowed seven hits in six innings, struck out four and walked none.

NOTES: San Diego State football coach Rocky Long threw out the ceremonial first pitch, to Padres manager Bud Black, an SDSU alum. … The Padres wore 1983 throwback brown uniforms as a tribute to Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams, who died July 7. There was also a video tribute and a moment of silence. Williams managed the Padres from 1982-85, including reaching the World Series for the first time in franchise history in 1984. Williams managed the Oakland Athletics to back-to-back World Series titles and also led the Boston Red Sox to the 1967 World Series. … Headley left in the eighth with a bruised left ankle.

All-Star closer Heath Bell was working on a franchise-record stretch of 99 games and 102 at-bats without allowing a home run when he made one costly mistake on an 0-2 pitch.

Aubrey Huff led off the ninth inning with a tying drive into the right-field seats, and the San Francisco Giants went on to a 6-2 victory over the struggling San Diego Padres in 12 innings on Thursday night.

Mike Fontenot brought in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the 12th, and the NL West-leading Giants piled it on against the last-place Padres.

The bullpen collapse extended the Padres’ losing streak to six games, tying their season high.

Bell was trying to preserve a 1-0 win for Aaron Harang, who threw seven strong innings in his second start back from a stint on the disabled list, but Huff hit his ninth homer.

“Huge for us. We’re looking at a 1-0 loss there,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We needed something like that to save us and he did with the home run.”

Until Huff’s shot, Bell hadn’t given up a homer since San Francisco’s Juan Uribe went deep on April 19, 2010.

“I didn’t know until someone told me it was last year against these guys and then I remembered it was Uribe,” Bell said. “He tattooed one to left field.

“I threw a breaking ball inside, and then I tried to go down and in,” Bell said. It was a pretty good pitch but I think Huff was maybe expecting it. He saw it real well and he just lifted it up. That’s why he’s good. He can just kind of throw his bat down there and flip it out of here. As soon as I saw him hit it, I knew it was going to go 10 to 15 rows deep.”

It was Bell’s second blown save in 62 chances dating to last year and second in 28 opportunities this year.

“That’s a big hit right there, off one of the best closers in the game,” Giants starter Madison Bumgarner said. “To put us back in the game right there, that was a big-time hit.”

Giants All-Star closer Brian Wilson came on with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 12th for his 27th save in 31 chances. He allowed Will Venable’s sacrifice fly, then walked Chris Denorfia to load the bases before getting Jason Bartlett to ground out.

Cody Ross started the winning rally in the five-run 12th with a leadoff walk against Luke Gregerson (2-3) and was replaced by Emmanuel Burriss, who stole second. Gregerson then walked Brandon Crawford and committed an error trying to field Eli Whiteside’s bunt, loading the bases. Miguel Tejada fouled out and Andres Torres struck out before Fontenot walked on four straight pitches.

Pablo Sandoval added a two-run single, and Nate Schierholtz and Huff each drove in a run with a base hit. All five runs that inning were unearned.

Santiago Casillas (2-1) threw two perfect innings for the win.

The Padres, the lowest-scoring team in the NL, dropped 13 games behind the defending World Series champions and 13 games under .500.

The Padres had scored only two runs in their last 44 innings before the All-Star break. Their losing streak includes consecutive shutouts at Los Angeles, including a game in which the Dodgers didn’t get their first hit until there were two outs in the ninth inning.

Harang held the Giants to five hits while striking out four and walking one. In his previous start, Harang handed a no-hit bid to the bullpen after six innings before the Dodgers won 1-0 after getting two hits with two outs in the ninth.

Whiteside tied his career high with three hits.

The Padres had three consecutive hits off Bumgarner for a run with two outs in the third. Denorfia singled to right, advanced on Jason Bartlett’s base hit to center and scored on Chase Headley’s single to left.

Bumgarner allowed seven hits in six innings, struck out four and walked none.

NOTES: San Diego State football coach Rocky Long threw out the ceremonial first pitch, to Padres manager Bud Black, an SDSU alum. … The Padres wore 1983 throwback brown uniforms as a tribute to Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams, who died July 7. There was also a video tribute and a moment of silence. Williams managed the Padres from 1982-85, including reaching the World Series for the first time in franchise history in 1984. Williams managed the Oakland Athletics to back-to-back World Series titles and also led the Boston Red Sox to the 1967 World Series. … Headley left in the eighth with a bruised left ankle.