Tigers extend Guardians' losing streak to 8 games with homers from Pérez and McKinstry

CLEVELAND (AP) — Wenceel Pérez and Zach McKinstry homered as the Detroit Tigers extended the Cleveland Guardians' losing streak to eight games, 2-1 on Friday night.

José Ramírez went deep for the Guardians, who are on their longest skid since dropping nine straight in 2021.

Tyler Holton (4-3) pitched 2 2/3 innings of one-hit ball to earn the win. Will Vest went 1 1/3 innings for his 14th save in 17 opportunities.

Steven Kwan gave the Guardians some hope in the ninth with a two-out double down the left-field line, but Kyle Manzardo hit a grounder to Vest for the final out.

Detroit's Reese Olson made his first start since May 17 and allowed only one run on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. The right-hander was out nearly seven weeks due to right ring finger inflammation.

Pérez tied it at 1 in the third inning with a drive to center field off Cleveland starter Slade Cecconi (3-4). McKinstry then led off the fourth by connecting on a curve ball over the wall in right-center for his second go-ahead homer of the season.

Ramírez snapped an 0-for-21 drought when he put a 94.8 mph fastball from Olson into the right field stands for his 14th homer of the season. It was also the first time he had gone deep since June 14 at Seattle.

Cecconi went six innings and threw a career-high 105 pitches. He gave up six hits and struck out five.

Cleveland had the bases loaded with two out in the eight inning, but Daniel Schneemann grounded out to second baseman Gleyber Torres on the first pitch of the at-bat to end the frame.

The AL Central-leading Tigers are 6-0 this season when McKinstry homers.

RHP Casey Mize (8-2, 2.86 ERA) takes the hill for Detroit against Cleveland LHP Logan Allen (5-6, 4.27).

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Detroit Tigers' Reese Olson pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians' José Ramírez gestures as he runs the bases on a home run in the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Cleveland, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians' Carlos Santana slides safely into third base on a hit by Lane Thomas in the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Cleveland, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Detroit Tigers' Wenceel Pérez (46) is congratulated by teammate Riley Greene (31) after hitting a home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Detroit Tigers' Zach McKinstry gestures as he runs to home plate with a home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)