First game-ending robot umpire call gives Suárez first save in 9 years as O's top Rangers 8-3

BALTIMORE (AP) — The first game-ending call by a so-called robot umpire gave Albert Suárez his first major league save in nine years, ending the Baltimore Orioles' 8-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.

A 1-2 fastball on the upper, outside corner to Evan Carter was called a ball by plate umpire Manny Gonzalez and Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo tapped his helmet, initiating the challenge.

About 13 seconds later, the scoreboard graphic from the Automated Ball-Strike System showed the ball clipped the strike zone. Basallo jogged to the mound as Gonzalez made the announcement, and the catcher hugged Suárez, who allowed one run over three innings for his first save since Aug. 6, 2017, for San Francisco against Arizona.

Basallo and Dylan Beavers homered, Trevor Rogers pitched six solid innings and Baltimore stopped Texas' four-game winning streak.

Rogers (2-0) allowed two runs and six hits, helping the Orioles avoid a three-game sweep. Leody Taveras, Jeremiah Jackson and Taylor Ward — their No. 8, 9 and 1 hitters — drove in two runs apiece.

Nathan Eovaldi (0-2) allowed six runs and eight hits in four-plus innings.

Corey Seager homered for the Rangers.

Jackson opened the scoring in the second with a sacrifice fly, and Ward followed with an RBI double. An inning later, Taveras made it 4-0 with a two-run double.

The only runs off Rogers came when he allowed four straight singles with two out in the fourth. Josh Jung and Ezequiel Duran had the RBIs.

Basallo led off the fifth with a 437-foot drive to center that hit the green batter's eye on the bounce. Baltimore would score twice more in the inning on Jackson's RBI single and Ward's sacrifice fly.

Beavers made it 8-2 with a solo shot in the sixth.

Zach Eflin went on the injured list as expected for the Orioles, a day after he was removed from his start with elbow discomfort. Baltimore called up right-hander Albert Suárez to replace him, and Suárez worked the final three innings for his second career save and first since 2017.

Seager homered off Suárez in the eighth.

Both teams are off Thursday. Texas is starting MacKenzie Gore (1-0) for its home opener Friday against Cincinnati.

The Orioles are at Pittsburgh on Friday, with Kyle Bradish (0-1) taking the mound for Baltimore against Mitch Keller (0-0).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Baltimore Orioles' Leody Taveras scores past Texas Rangers catcher Danny Jansen on an RBI double hit by Taylor Ward during the second inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Samuel Basallo (29) hits a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Albert Suarez, left, and catcher Samuel Basallo, right, celebrate their team's victory over the Texas Rangers after a pitch call was overturned through the Automated Ball-Strike system in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A called ball is overturned through the Automated Ball-Strike system, resulting in a win for the Baltimore Orioles over the Texas Rangers in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A called ball is overturned through the Automated Ball-Strike system, resulting in a win for the Baltimore Orioles over the Texas Rangers in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The death of a nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who was found on a Buffalo street in February — five days after Border Patrol agents left him at a doughnut shop — has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.

The Erie County Medical Examiner's Office didn't reach any conclusions about responsibility for Nurul Amin Shah Alam's death, which the agency said was caused by complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer, precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration. Ruling a death a homicide means it resulted from another person's actions — or inaction — but doesn't necessarily mean that a crime was committed.

“This should not have happened,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, a Democrat, said at a news conference Wednesday, expressing condolences to Shah Alam’s family.

The state attorney general’s office and the Erie County district attorney’s office have been reviewing the case. Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, called for a criminal investigation into the Border Patrol agents' conduct.

Shah Alam sought safety in the U.S. and "instead, he was left to die in the street,” Awawdeh said by email. “Every single person who was involved must be held responsible.”

Asked about the medical examiner's finding, U.S. Customs and Border Protection pointed to its previous statement that Shah Alam “showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance” when agents dropped him off Feb. 19 at a Tim Hortons restaurant, a spot chosen as “a warm, safe location” near his last known address.

“This death had NOTHING to do Border Patrol,” its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, said in a Feb. 27 social media post that the border agency also cited Wednesday.

The restaurant was closed when Shah Alam was dropped off there, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan has said.

Shah Alam, 56, was a member of the Rohingya ethnic minority, who are nearly all denied citizenship and other rights in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Shah Alam left Myanmar many years ago for Malaysia, where he worked in construction for many years. He got approval to come to the U.S. as a refugee and arrived in the United States with his wife and two of his children in December 2024, according to advocates for the family.

He spent about a year in the Erie County jail on felony assault and other charges after a 2025 struggle with police who encountered him carrying what appeared to be curtain rods. Police said he bit two officers; advocates for his family said he hadn't understood officers’ commands to drop the items.

He eventually pleaded guilty to two lesser, misdemeanor charges and was released from jail Feb. 19. Border Patrol then briefly detained him until determining that he wasn't eligible for deportation. His family, which had been awaiting his release from jail, wasn't informed of it.

Shah Alam’s lawyer ultimately reported him missing to Buffalo police on Feb. 22.

Two days later, he was found dead near the downtown sports arena where the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres play. It was unclear how he got there from the Tim Hortons, several miles away, or when he died.

FILE - This image from body camera video provided by the Buffalo Police Department shows Nurul Amin Shah Alam, center, led by Buffalo Police officers, Feb. 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Buffalo Police Department via AP, File)