CLEVELAND (AP) — Paul Skenes allowed one run and struck out eight in seven innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-1 on Sunday.
Skenes (9-8) went at least seven innings for the first time since May 12. The All-Star right-hander gave up seven hits.
After allowing eight runs (seven earned) in four innings in a 10-6 loss at Philadelphia on July 1, Skenes is 3-0 with a 2.46 ERA.
Billy Cook had a career-high three hits and drove in two runs, Esmerlyn Valdez continued his torrid July with a two-run homer in the ninth and Nick Gonzales had two doubles as the Pirates won their fifth straight interleague series. They have gone 11-4 in that span.
Steven Kwan had two hits for Cleveland, which had won its past three series against Pittsburgh.
Cook gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead in the second with a base hit to right off Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo (8-5) to drive in Gonzales.
The Pittsburgh center fielder led off the fifth with a triple off the wall in the right-field corner before scoring when Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges had a throwing error on a pickoff attempt at third.
Cook extended the Pirates’ lead to 4-1 in the sixth with an RBI single up the middle to score Jacob Gonzalez.
Valdez's drive down the left-field line off Will Dion in the ninth made him the sixth Pirates rookie with at least 20 RBIs in a calendar month.
Pirates: Head to New York for a three-game series against the Yankees. All-Star RHP Braxton Ashcraft (9-3, 3.49 ERA) gets the start on Monday.
Guardians: RHP Tanner Bibee (3-9, 3.90 ERA) goes on Monday when Cleveland opens a four-game set against Minnesota.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Cleveland Guardians' Joey Cantillo, right, pitches to Pittsburgh Pirates' Esmerlyn Valdez, left, in the first inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians' Gabriel Arias, center, slides safely into home plate to score in front of home plate umpire Alex MacKay, left, as Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis, right, loses the ball in the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The University of Michigan and athletic director Warde Manuel have agreed to a buyout of the remaining three years on his contract and he will step down at the end of 2026, culminating a decade-long run with four national championships and a string of scandals.
The announcement on Monday followed investigations into former football coach Sherrone Moore's relationship with his executive assistant and a probe into the athletic department.
“The broader culture review has identified serious concerns that require immediate action," interim school president Domenico Grasso said.
Michigan won this year's men's basketball title and the 2023 national championship in football under Manuel, but that wasn't enough for him to keep his job. Grasso said he asked Manuel to remain in his role through the end of the year.
“I am happy President Grasso asked me to stay on to work with him to implement the recommendations for continuous improvement,” Manuel said in a statement released by the athletic department. “I promise everyone I will have more to say about my decision at the appropriate time.”
The storied athletic department has been in turmoil for years, with scandal-tinged headlines jarringly alongside general excellence across most of the school's 27 teams in Division I and the Wolverines annually among the best in the powerhouse Big Ten. It got worse last December, when Manuel fired Moore following a law firm's investigation into a relationship he had with a subordinate.
The school later chose to widen the look into the department. A law firm was paid about $12 million to do the work and it interviewed nearly 300 people, including coaches, staff members, athletes and other stakeholders. The school said more than 90 people shared information via a hotline and 20,000-plus documents were reviewed during the investigations.
The athletic department review found problems with leadership accountability, organizational structure and a culture that didn't make employees and athletes feel comfortable raising concerns.
“The culture assessment is sobering,” Grasso said. “As a great university, we simply must do better.”
The school said the investigation did not find widespread misconduct. It also said the investigations did not identify any current employee with direct evidence of Moore's relationship with his executive assistant.
The 58-year-old Manuel, who played football for the Wolverines under the late Bo Schembechler and was on the track team, was hired to lead the department in 2016. He signed a contract extension at Michigan in 2024 that was set to run through June 2030, paying him a base salary of $1.9 million a year with opportunities to make more with bonuses and merit.
He led a department with an annual budget of about $250 million, 29 teams, 950-plus athletes and about 400 staff members.
The Wolverines won the national championship in football under former coach Jim Harbaugh, who later left to lead the Los Angeles Chargers, as a sign-stealing scandal loomed over the program and Moore's tenure.
The program is on NCAA probation and has seen many former staffers have run-ins with the law, including Matt Weiss, who is charged with hacking into the computer accounts of thousands of college athletes to find intimate images.
Michigan won it all in men's basketball earlier this year with coach Dusty May, who left to lead the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. Michigan also won men's and women's gymnastics national titles with Manuel as AD.
The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame gave Manuel the John L. Toner Award in 2024, honoring him for demonstrating superior administrative abilities and dedication to college athletics, especially football. He represented Michigan and the Big Ten as member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee and was chair during the 2004 season when the 12-team playoff format kicked off.
Manuel, who is from New Orleans, previously served as athletic director at UConn and Buffalo after working in Michigan's athletic department in various roles from 1996 to 2005.
Grasso said the school will conduct a national search for a new athletic director.
Potential candidates include three former Michigan athletes: Iowa Deputy Athletic Director Joe Parker, Big Ten Deputy Commissioner Diane Dietz and Katie Fraumann, a senior vice president at DePaul. Parker and Fraumann previously worked for Michigan's athletic department.
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
FILE - Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel watches against Indiana in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Oct. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
