BALTIMORE (AP) — Charlie Morton struck out a season-high 10 in five innings, Ryan O'Hearn and Ramón Laureano hit home runs and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angeles 2-0 on Friday night in a game that was delayed by rain before the start and again in the fifth inning.
Morton (3-7) surrendered two straight singles to begin the fourth, but he struck out LaMonte Wade Jr. on three pitches before two ground balls got him out of the jam. Morton fanned Zach Neto leading off the fifth. He left after rain forced the second delay.
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Los Angeles Angels third baseman Luis Rengifo fields a ground ball to record an out in the bottom of the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
The scoreboard warns of inclement weather in the area as a tarp covers part of the field before a baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jack Kochanowicz throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Charlie Morton throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz (3-8) used three groundball outs to retire the side in order in the first, but O’Hearn hit his 10th home run on Kochanowicz’s first pitch in the second for a 1-0 lead. Laureano led off the fifth with his eighth homer for the final run. The second delay followed after a one-out single by Ramón Urías.
Yennier Cano, Gregory Soto and Bryan Baker each pitched a scoreless inning for Baltimore before Félix Bautista had the final two of 14 strikeouts by the Orioles in notching his 12th save in 13 chances.
Kochanowicz gave up two runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings and the Angels used four relievers to finish.
The Orioles beat the Angels for the 20th time in the last 25 matchups. LA won 2 of 3 against Baltimore on May 9-11.
Morton allowed the first two batters to reach in the first inning but came back to strike out Mike Trout and Jorge Soler looking and Logan O’Hoppe on a foul tip to set the game's tone.
The Orioles began the day with a staff ERA of 5.00 — second-worst in the AL followed by the Angels at 4.76.
Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-3, 3.99) starts Saturday against Orioles RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (5-4, 3.23).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Los Angeles Angels third baseman Luis Rengifo fields a ground ball to record an out in the bottom of the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
The scoreboard warns of inclement weather in the area as a tarp covers part of the field before a baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jack Kochanowicz throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Charlie Morton throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alyssa Howell)
PARIS (AP) — France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen denied any wrongdoing as she appeared in court on Tuesday to appeal an embezzlement conviction, with her 2027 presidential ambitions hanging on the outcome of the case.
Le Pen, 57, is seeking to overturn a March ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds in the hiring of aides from 2004 to 2016. She was given a five-year ban from holding elected office, two years of house arrest with an electronic bracelet, a further two-year suspended sentence and a 100,000-euro ($116,800) fine.
“I'd like to tell the court that ... we did not feel we had committed any offence,” Le Pen told the three-judge panel. She said European Parliament officials did not at the time tell her party that the way it was hiring people was potentially against any rules.
"We have never concealed anything," she added. The room was packed with dozens of reporters and members of the general public.
The European Parliament's lawyer, Patrick Maisonneuve, said he disagrees with Le Pen's presentation of the institution's role as "an arbitrator."
“There’s a contradiction in saying at the same time: ‘I deny you the right to examine the content of my work as a member of parliament’ and then saying: ‘but the European Parliament didn’t conduct a thorough review,’” Maisonneuve told reporters.
Le Pen was seen as the potential front-runner to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 election until last year's ruling, which sent shock waves through French politics. She denounced it as “a democratic scandal.”
Her National Rally party has been coming out on top in opinion polls, and Le Pen alleged that the judicial system brought out “the nuclear bomb” to prevent her from becoming France’s president.
Anti-corruption campaigners argue that Le Pen’s conviction was proof that French democracy works, and that no one is above the law. Advocacy group Transparency France noted that her conviction came after years of investigation and a lengthy trial in which Le Pen and other party members were able to freely defend their positions.
The appeal trial, involving Le Pen, 10 other defendants and the National Rally party as a legal entity, is scheduled to last for five weeks. The panel is expected to announce its verdict later, possibly before summer.
Several scenarios are possible, from acquittal to another conviction that may bar her from running in 2027. She also could face an even tougher punishment if convicted anew — up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros ($1.17 million).
In March, Le Pen and other party officials were convicted of using money intended for EU parliamentary assistants who instead had other duties between 2004 and 2016, in violation of EU rules. Some did work for the party, known as the National Front at the time, in French domestic politics, the court said.
In handing down the sentence, the judge said Le Pen was at the heart of a “system” set up to siphon off EU parliament funds — including to pay for her bodyguard and her chief of staff.
All defendants denied wrongdoing, and Le Pen argued the money was used in a legitimate way. The judge said Le Pen and the others did not enrich themselves personally.
The legal proceedings initially stemmed from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities.
The case and its fallout weigh heavily on Le Pen’s political future after more than a decade spent trying to bring the far right into France’s political mainstream. Since taking over the party from her late father, Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2011, she has sought to shed its reputation for racism and antisemitism, changing its name, expelling her father in 2015 and softening the party’s platform and her own public image.
The National Rally is now the largest single political group in France’s lower house of parliament and has built a broad network of elected officials across the country. It is most well-known for its anti-immigration, nationalist stance and its rhetoric often targeting Muslims.
Le Pen and other party members also have long criticized the EU and its rules and campaigned for more national sovereignty, even while serving in the EU Parliament. She stepped down as party president in 2021 to focus on the presidential race, handing the role to Jordan Bardella.
If Le Pen is ultimately prevented from running in 2027, Bardella, 30, is widely expected to be her successor. His popularity has surged, particularly among younger voters, though some within the party have questioned his leadership.
Le Pen's potential conviction would be “deeply worrying for (France's) democracy,” Bardella said Monday in a New Year address.
AP journalists Angela Charlton, John Leicester, Nicolas Vaux-Montagny and Catherine Gaschka contributed to this report.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen returns after a break during her appeal trial after an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
In this courtroom sketch, French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center left, appears in court with other members of the far-right National Rally party, to appeal an embezzlement conviction that risks affecting her 2027 presidential ambitions Tuesday, Jan. 13, 1970 in Paris. (AP Photo/Valentin Pasquier)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen leaves for a break during her appeal trial after an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen leaves for a break during her appeal trial after an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
European Parliament lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve arrives to an appeal court for far-right leader Marine Le Pen's appeal trial for an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives for her appeal trial after an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella speaks during his New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center, is framed by Louis Aliot, left, and conservative lawmaker Eric Ciotti during National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
