Abreu has a two-run homer and 3 RBIs, Tolle pitches 6 scoreless innings and Red Sox beat Orioles 8-1

BOSTON (AP) — Wilyer Abreu hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, Payton Tolle pitched six scoreless innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-1 on Wednesday.

Mickey Gasper had a two-run triple in Boston's five-run fifth inning and Ceddanne Rafaela had three hits for the Red Sox, who have scored five or more runs in six of their last nine games. They had recently endured a stretch where they went 11 straight games without scoring more than four runs.

Willson Contreras had two singles and a double, and every spot in the Red Sox batting order had at least one hit.

Tolle (3-2) allowed seven hits, struck out five, walked two and lowered his ERA to 2.28. He has allowed less than four runs in nine of his 10 career starts.

Jarren Duran hit a leadoff single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Abreu drove Duran across to put the Sox ahead 1-0, and added a two-run homer in the third that made it 3-0.

The Red Sox erupted for five runs in the fifth, started by Gasper's two-run triple. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Caleb Durbin, and Rafaela each drove in one run in the frame.

Adley Rutschman got the O's on the board with an RBI triple in the seventh. Chris Bassitt (4-4) allowed six hits and three runs in three innings, and Taylor Ward had three singles.

Ryan Watson earned his first career save with two strikeouts and one run allowed in three innings.

Trevor Rogers (2-6, 6.84) takes the hill for the Orioles in the rubber match. The Red Sox have not announced their starter.

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Boston Red Sox's Mickey Gasper watches the flight of his two-run triple during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Baltimore Orioles left fielder Taylor Ward heads to the dugout at the completion of a tough fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran returns to the dugout after he struck out swinging in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Boston Red Sox's Payton Tolle delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu watches the flight of his two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court has denied a prosecutor’s appeal of an order that the state’s fake elector case against President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and others over the 2020 presidential election be sent back to a grand jury.

The decision released Thursday marks another setback for Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes as she struggles to push the sprawling case through the courts. Mayes’ office said it will again present the case in its entirety to a grand jury rather than end the prosecution. Her office declined to comment further on the court's decision.

The ruling came after similar cases in Michigan and Georgia were dismissed by the courts and a special prosecutor dropped a federal case in late 2024 that charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Cases related to the fake elector scheme remain in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.

A lower-court judge in Phoenix concluded in May that the case’s first grand jury hadn’t been shown the text of the Electoral Count Act, a 19th century law that governs the certification of presidential contests and was invoked by those charged in defending themselves.

Defense lawyers argued the law allowed for multiple slates of electors to be submitted to Congress in case the results were disputed, though it was amended in 2022 to specify that a state could put forward only one slate of electors and that it was the governor who would sign off. Mark L. Williams, an attorney representing Giuliani, applauded the court’s decision and questioned whether Mayes’ office will carry through on its promise to bring the case back to the grand jury. “In my mind, the whole thing is meritless," Williams said. "Mr. Giuliani has done nothing wrong.” There has been no movement in the Arizona case at the trial court level since mid-May 2025.

Former President Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020 by 10,457 votes.

The state attorney general has faced steep challenges in making her case.

It was filed nearly three and a half years after the 2020 election and levels complicated conspiracy charges against 18 defendants. A dozen dismissal requests filed by defense attorneys have slowed down the case’s pace.

The first judge on the case recused himself in late 2024 after an email surfaced in which he told fellow judges to speak out against attacks on Kamala Harris’ campaign for the presidency. The next judge ordered the case to be sent back to a grand jury.

Of the 18 Arizona defendants, two were former Trump aides, five were lawyers working for Trump and 11 were Republicans who submitted a document falsely claiming Trump won Arizona.

Three defendants have resolved their cases, including one who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

The rest have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges. Some said they signed the certificate in case Trump won court challenges and a new slate of electors was needed urgently before Congress’ Jan. 6 deadline to tally votes.

FILE - Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes speaks at the Arizona State Prison, March 19, 2025, in Florence, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb, File)