Freeman, Schaeffer ejected in the third inning of Colorado's game at Milwaukee

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Freeman, Schaeffer ejected in the third inning of Colorado's game at Milwaukee

2025-06-30 06:43 Last Updated At：06:50

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Warren Schaeffer certainly showed he's willing to defend his players after Colorado outfielder Tyler Freeman was ejected in the third inning.

Schaeffer came charging from the dugout and appeared to take something out of his mouth and throw it on the ground. Then he took his hat off and spiked that as well, at which point plate umpire Ramon De Jesus ejected him too.

“I like Ramon, but that was way too quick to get rid of Freeman. Way too quick," said Schaeffer, Colorado's interim manager. "One of our best players, in the third inning? That’s ridiculous.”

The Rockies kept battling, just like their manager, beating Milwaukee 4-3 in 11 innings Sunday for just their 19th win of the year. Colorado's Orlando Arcia hit a two-out solo homer in the top of the ninth to tie it at 2.

Six innings earlier, Freeman took a called third strike and appeared to say something to De Jesus as he was leaving the batter's box. De Jesus promptly threw Freeman out of the game.

Schaeffer came out to argue as well, and after he was tossed, he was far from finished. He got down on one knee in the batter's box and held his hand out over the plate, indicating that he felt the pitch was low.

“He has our backs, more than anything. It fired me up to see that, in a good way," Freeman said. "It got the boys going. We ended up winning that game. We don’t quit. Kind of the same on that end. He has our backs.”

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Kosovo voters cast ballots in a second attempt this year to elect a government and avoid more crisis

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Voters in Kosovo cast ballots on Sunday in an early parliamentary election in hopes of breaking a political deadlock that has gripped the small Balkan nation for much of this year.

The snap vote was scheduled after Prime Minister Albin Kurti's governing Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party failed to form a government despite winning the most votes in a Feb. 9 election.

The deadlock marked the first time Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention.

The prime minister's party is again the favorite in the race, but it is unclear whether it will manage to muster a majority this time in the 120-member parliament, after other mainstream parties refused an alliance.

According to Kosovo’s election laws, 20 parliamentary seats are automatically assigned to ethnic Serb representatives and other minority parties.

Another inconclusive vote would further deepen the crisis. Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking fears of possible negative effects on the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people.

Lawmakers also are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmani’s mandate expires in early April. If this fails too, another snap election must be held.

The main opposition parties are the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Democratic Party of Kosovo. They have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovo’s U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021.

A former political prisoner during Serbia’s rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures.

Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.

No reliable pre-election polls have been published. Kurti's party at the previous election won around 42% of the votes while the two main rival parties had together around 40%.

Analysts say that even the slightest changes in numbers on Sunday could prove decisive for the future distribution of power but that nothing is certain.

Ilmi Deliu, a 71-year-old pensioner from the capital, Pristina, said he hoped the election will bring a change or “we will end up in an abyss.”

"Young people no longer want to live here,” he said.

Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote.

Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press.

Kosovo has one of the poorest economies in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must first normalize relations.