Orioles avoid sweep in 3-2 win over Toronto

Sport

Orioles avoid sweep in 3-2 win over Toronto

2024-05-16 12:59 Last Updated At：13:00

BALTIMORE (AP) — Adley Rutschman’s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Baltimore a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, enabling the Orioles — yet again — to avoid a sweep.

Baltimore split the two-game set with the Blue Jays — the middle game Tuesday was rained out — and has now gone 105 straight regular-season series of at least two decisions without being swept. That’s tied for the third-longest run in major league history.

The Orioles were swept in last year’s AL Division Series against Texas, but the most recent time it happened in the regular season was from May 13-15, 2022, at Detroit. The streak almost ended exactly two years later, but after defensive replacement Isiah Kiner-Falefa misplayed Jordan Westburg’s grounder for an infield single to start the Baltimore ninth, Rutschman connected off Jordan Romano.

BREWERS 10, PIRATES 2

MILWAUKEE (AP) — William Contreras went 3 for 5 with four RBIs and hit one of Milwaukee’s five homers off Martín Pérez in Milwaukee's blowout of Pittsburgh.

The NL Central-leading Brewers won two of three from the Pirates before beginning a season-long, nine-game trip Friday at Houston. The Brewers also will visit Miami and Boston before coming back home May 27 for a four-game series with the Chicago Cubs that marks ex-Brewers manager Craig Counsell’s return to Milwaukee.

Gary Sánchez, Sal Frelick, Joey Ortiz and Jackson Chourio also homered off Pérez, who gave up 11 hits and nine runs before leaving with nobody out in the sixth inning.

The Brewers tied a franchise record for homers off a single pitcher in one game. They also hit five home runs off Cincinnati’s Chris Reitsma in 2002 and Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene in 2022.

WHITE SOX 2, NATIONALS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Korey Lee went 3 for 3 with an RBI, Garrett Crochet tossed five scoreless innings as the Chicago White Sox topped Washington for their second straight win.

Tommy Pham and Andrew Benintendi each singled and doubled for last-place Chicago. Pham drove in the White Sox’s first run as they won their second straight series and improved to 11-8 since a 3-22 start to the season. It was the White Sox’s second consecutive shutout of Washington after a 4-0 win over the Nationals in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader.

Crochet (4-4) allowed three hits and left after 89 pitches, 56 for strikes. The 6-foot-6 left-hander gave up struck out six and matched his season high with three walks.

The White Sox bullpen was dominant after that to complete the three-hitter.

MARLINS 2, TIGERS 0

DETROIT (AP) — Bryan De La Cruz homered, Trevor Rogers pitched five scoreless innings as Miami beat Detroit.

Miami (13-32) has won two straight and three of four after a four-game losing streak. They shut out the Tigers on Tuesday and Wednesday to win the three-game series.

Four relievers finished, with Tanner Scott pitching the ninth for his fifth save. Two-out singles by Javier Baez and Carson Kelly put runners on the corners, but Riley Greene struck out.

One day after Ryan Weathers pitched eight shutout innings, Rogers (1-6) held the Tigers scoreless for five innings. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six.

DIAMONDBACKS 2, REDS 1

PHOENIX (AP) — Brandon Pfaadt threw seven stellar innings, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth and Arizona beat Cincinnati.

The D-backs took two of three in the series and five of six from the Reds this season.

Pinch hitter Pavin Smith started the D-backs’ rally with a two-out double to right field. Gurriel followed with another double to right, which wasn’t hit as hard, but still fell just out of the reach of a sliding Jake Fraley.

Paul Sewald retired the Reds in order in the ninth for his second save of the season. Ryan Thompson (1-1) threw a scoreless eighth.

Cincinnati lefty Andrew Abbott matched Pfaadt through seven, giving up one run and four hits. He struck out four and walked two. Fernando Cruz (1-4) took the loss, giving up the game-deciding doubles.

MARINERS 4, KANSAS CITY 2

SEATTLE (AP) — The Mariners took two of three from the Royals and have won eight of their last nine series. Seattle will head out on a key 10-game road trip on the East Coast four games above .500 and leading the AL West.

France hit a solo shot off Kansas City starter Alec Marsh in the fourth inning to give Seattle a 2-0 lead. France also homered on Monday in the series opener.

Seattle also got an unearned run in the second inning after Adam Frazier was unable to cleanly field Luis Urías’ grounder behind third base with the bases loaded, and the Mariners added on two key runs late. Josh Rojas had a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning and Luke Raley added an RBI single in the eighth.

Woo struck out five and walked only one. His first start of the season last Friday had been cut short due to tightness in his right forearm following a long inning in the dugout.

ROCKIES 8, PADRES 0

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Austin Gomber allowed two hits in six innings, Brenton Doyle and Jordan Beck homered and Colorado beat San Diego to complete a three-game sweep with their seventh straight victory.

Gomber (1-2) struck out five and walked two before three relievers finished a four-hitter. It was the first time last-place Colorado (15-28), which has won six road games all season, swept a three-game set in San Diego since 2013.

Beck, who had four RBIs and two extra-base hits, smacked his first major league homer in the sixth with a drive deep into the left-field seats. He extended his hitting streak to a career-high five games.

Michael King (3-4) had a rocky outing for the Padres, giving up his big league-high 11th homer to Doyle in a three-run second. Beck, who finished with three hits, also delivered a two-run double.

PHILLIES 10, METS 5

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper homered, doubled and drove in three runs, unbeaten Ranger Suárez became the first eight-game winner in the majors and the streaking Philadelphia defeated the New York Mets 10-5.

Cristian Pache added two RBIs for Philadelphia, which has won three straight against the Mets and 16 of 19 overall to improve baseball’s best record to 31-13.

J.D. Martinez homered late for the struggling Mets, who have lost five of six and dropped 11 games behind the first-place Phillies in the NL East.

Suárez (8-0) lowered his ERA to 1.37, allowing four hits and two unearned runs in five innings with three strikeouts and two walks.

RAYS 4, RED SOX 3

BOSTON (AP) — Yandy Díaz snapped a sixth-inning tie with a two-run single and Tampa Bay held off Boston.

Taj Bradley (1-1) pitched five solid innings in his second major league start this year, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

Kevin Kelly fanned two in a perfect ninth for his second career save and first this season.

Wilyer Abreu and Rafael Devers homered for Boston. Tanner Houck (3-5) allowed three runs — one earned — and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked three.

The right-hander threw a career-high 112 pitches, most by a Red Sox starter since Nick Pivetta threw 112 in his shutout against Houston on May 18, 2022.

CUBS 7, BRAVES 1

ATLANTA (AP) — Javier Assad pitched six shutout innings and the Chicago Cubs avoided their first sweep of the season by beating Atlanta.

Assad (4-0) allowed just four hits and walked one while matching a season high with seven strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 1.49 through nine starts.

Pete Crow-Armstrong went 2 for 4 with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored, and Seiya Suzuki and Mike Tauchman homered for the Cubs, who had 13 hits after mustering just eight while being shut out in the first two games of the series.

Nick Madrigal had three hits and Michael Busch scored two runs.

Charlie Morton (3-1) lasted just three innings for the Braves, giving up four runs — three earned — and five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

YANKEES 4, TWINS 0

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Aaron Judge followed a 467-foot home run with three hard-hit doubles, driving in two runs for the New York Yankees in a victory over Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Marcus Stroman (3-2) threw six scoreless innings for his first win in four starts, allowing only a double, a single and three walks as the Yankees kept up their decades-long dominance of the Twins.

Anthony Volpe had a sacrifice fly and Giancarlo Stanton added an RBI single for the Yankees (29-15), who collected eight of their 13 hits from Judge, Alex Verdugo and Stanton in the third, fourth and fifth spots.

Twins starter Pablo López (4-3) surrendered a season-high 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings. He gave up three runs.

ASTROS 3, ATHLETICS 0

HOUSTON (AP) — Framber Valdez struck out eight in seven strong innings and combined with Seth Martinez for a two-hitter, and Houston beat Oakland for their season-high fourth straight victory.

Valdez (3-1) allowed both hits and walked two. The left-hander recorded 11 groundouts.

Valdez has yielded two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. Martinez earned his first save of the season.

Oakland’s only hits off Valdez were a weak infield single by J.D. Davis in the fourth and Shea Langeliers’ single in the seventh. The A’s have lost four straight.

Jose Altuve singled leading off the first, had reached third on Kyle Tucker’s double and scored on a throwing error by Zack Gelof, who was trying to get Tucker at second. Tucker scored on Bregman’s sacrifice fly two batters later.

Mauricio Dubón added a sacrifice fly in the fourth to make it 3-0.

RANGERS 4, GUARDIANS 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jon Gray pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning and Texas got two-run homers from Marcus Semien and Adolis García to beat Cleveland, stopping a five-game losing streak.

Gray (2-1) allowed only one runner beyond first base while throwing 94 pitches in 6 1/3 innings. He’s limited opponents to seven earned runs in 48 1/3 innings over eight starts since giving up five runs in 3 2/3 innings during his season debut.

The defending World Series champion Rangers (23-22) have never been under .500 since Bruce Bochy became their manager before last season. This was their seventh victory this year while at .500.

ANGELS 7, CARDINALS 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Griffin Canning pitched six innings of one-run ball, Nolan Schanuel hit his first career leadoff homer and the Los Angeles Angels snapped their three-game skid with a victory over the St. Louis.

Willie Calhoun had three hits, including an RBI double during the Angels’ four-run first, while Zach Neto and Taylor Ward homered later in the Angels’ seventh win in 26 games. Kevin Pillar had his fourth consecutive multi-hit game for Los Angeles, which pounded out 14 hits while salvaging the finale of a 2-5 homestand against Missouri’s two major league teams.

Canning (2-4) had another sharp start for the Halos, finishing the homestand with 11 2/3 innings of one-run ball over two outings. St. Louis managed five hits and three walks off Canning, but the right-hander stranded six runners and held the Cards scoreless for his first five innings.

Paul Goldschmidt homered in the sixth for the Cardinals, whose three-game winning streak ended. St. Louis still hasn’t swept a series this season.

Lance Lynn (1-2) gave up four runs and eight hits with two walks over five innings for St. Louis. The veteran has allowed at least four earned runs in all three of his starts in May.

GIANTS 4, DODGERS 1

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Logan Webb pitched six scoreless innings and Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer as San Francisco beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to avoid a three-game sweep.

Webb (4-4) limited Los Angeles to three hits, striking out five and walking three to help the Giants snap a six-game losing streak against their longtime rivals.

The right-hander got some help from his defense in the fourth when center fielder Luis Matos leaped and reached over the wall to rob Teoscar Hernández of a home run.

Yastrzemski took Los Angeles starter Elieser Hernández deep to right in the third for his fourth home run of the season.

Heliot Ramos added an RBI double in the sixth to make it 3-0.

Hernández (0-1) permitted three runs and four hits in six innings, striking out three and walking one in his Dodgers debut. The right-hander had his contract selected from Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier Wednesday.

Max Muncy drove in the Dodgers’ run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Brazil judge gives 2 former cops long sentences for the 2018 murder of leftist icon Marielle Franco

2024-11-01 07:48 Last Updated At：07:50

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A judge on Thursday handed down long sentences to two former police officers for the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco, an icon of Brazil’ s political left whose killing sparked outrage.

Ronnie Lessa and Élcio de Queiroz were sentenced to almost 79 years and almost 60 years, respectively, for the March 14, 2018 drive-by shooting that killed Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes. Jurors found that Lessa fired the gun and de Queiroz was the wheelman on the night of the crime.

Lessa and de Queiroz, arrested in 2019, previously signed plea bargains confessing their roles, but the jury had final word on their guilt on homicide and other charges. The verdict, although expected, comes as a measure of solace to the many who saw the martyrdom of the Black, bisexual woman as an attack on democracy, and worried that the crime would go unpunished.

The prosecutors had argued each man should be sentenced to the maximum possible 84 years for the three counts — double homicide, attempted homicide and driving a cloned vehicle.

As Judge Lucia Glioche finished reading the sentence, applause erupted in the room as victims’ families began to cry. Marielle’s sister, Anielle Franco, Brazil’s minister for racial equality, held a long, tearful embrace with her parents and Marielle’s daughter, Luyara Franco. Her father rested his head on the chest of former congressman Marcelo Freixo, who was her political mentor.

Brazilian law does not allow for life imprisonment, and each man will serve no more than 30 years of their sentences. Due to their sealed plea bargains, local media has reported that Queiroz and Lessa may serve 12 and 18 years in prison, respectively, including time already served. Prosecutors have denied their sentenced would be reduced.

Either way, Thursday’s sentencing is seen as only a step toward justice being done, with another trial yet to come for the men accused of ordering her killing. They will also have to pay 706,000 reais ($122,000) in moral damages to several of the victims’ family members and provide an allowance to the young son of Gomes until he turns 24, according to a statement on the court's website.

Known universally by her first name, Marielle, she was raised in one of Rio’s poor communities known as favelas. She became known for her efforts to improve the lives of ordinary residents. Following her election in 2016, she fought against violence targeting women while defending human rights and social programs.

Testimony Wednesday during the first day of the trial offered details about the moments preceding and following the shooting. Franco’s assistant and friend who was also in the car, Fernanda Chaves, was among those giving testimony, as was Franco’s mother and her partner Mônica Benício.

Choked up and often unable to talk, Benício said the last thing Marielle ever said to her was “I love you.”

“We had plans to get married with a wedding party. When Marielle died, what I felt was that they had taken away our promise of the future,” she said, later adding that the right to a just city was one of Marielle’s causes.

“Marielle also defended the right to decent housing from the perspective of the favela, the periphery, this was the theme of the city’s rights agenda.”

Both defendants participated in the trial by videoconference from prison. Lessa is in Sao Paulo while de Queiroz is in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia.

Federal authorities started investigating the case in earnest once leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2023.

With Lessa and de Queiroz sentenced, attention will now turn to the men accused of ordering the hit: two brothers with purported ties to criminal groups known as militias, which illegally charge residents for various services, including protection.

Guilhermo Catramby, a Federal Police detective, told the court Wednesday that the assassination was “undoubtedly” motivated by Marielle’s work regarding land rights, especially in the west side of Rio de Janeiro. Her work there was “a thorn in the side of militia interests,” Catramby said.

In March, Federal Police detained the two brothers, federal lawmaker Chiquinho Brazão and his brother Domingos Brazão, a member of Rio state’s accounts watchdog. They have denied any involvement in the killing or with militias and have yet to go on trial.

In his plea bargain, Lessa told police that the politician brothers hired him and informed him that the then-chief of the state’s civil police, Rivaldo Barbosa, had signed off beforehand. Barbosa, who also denies any involvement, was arrested in March.

Marielle’s family and Ágatha Arnaus, widow of Gomes, spoke to journalists after the trial. Holding hands, they said that while the conviction offered some reparation after years of struggle and pain, it was just the first step in a long journey toward justice.

“I wanted my mother here, but today will certainly go down in this country’s democratic history,” said Luyara, the councilwoman’s daughter, holding back tears.

“If the justice system had not convicted these two cruel murderers, we wouldn’t have a moment of peace. But this doesn’t end here,” said Antonio Francisco da Silva, Marielle’s father. “There are those who ordered the crime. Now the question is: when will those who ordered it be convicted?”

Sá Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo.