CHICAGO (AP) — Elly De La Cruz drove in automatic runner Matt McLain with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning as the Cincinnati Reds snapped a three-game skid with a 5-4 comeback win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.
The Reds rallied from three runs down in the eighth inning after White Sox starter Sean Burke allowed only one run on three hits in seven innings.
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Chicago White Sox's Edgar Quero hits a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz hits an RBI single during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
A fan wears a promotional pope hat during a baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Chicago White Sox mascot Southpaw stands on the dugout wearing a pope outfit during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Sean Newcomb (1-3) took the loss. Brock Burke (5-4) picked up the win and Emilio Pagan recorded his 14th save with a perfect 10th.
Bryan Hudson gave up an RBI single to De La Cruz in the eighth and Tyler Stephenson drove in two runs with a basesloaded single off Grant Taylor to tie the score.
The White Sox drew 38,113, their ninth sellout, for a unique giveaway: team-branded papal-style hats in honor of Pope Leo XIV, a lifelong White Sox fan who attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series as Father Robert Prevost. Sister Mary Jo Sobieck threw out the first pitch.
Brenton Doyle hit Nick Lodolo's first pitch 415 feet to deep center, his fourth career leadoff home run and the sixth for the White Sox this season. Edgar Quero and Miguel Vargas also hit solo home runs for the White Sox.
Burke scattered three hits over seven innings, allowing one run on Eugenio Suarez’s third homer in four games, his 17th. Burke, who has allowed two or fewer runs in eight of his last nine starts, struck out eight Tuesday, walking none.
Muneteka Murakami extended his on-base streak to 26 games with a double in the eighth.
Lodolo was activated off the injured list (blister) to make his first start since July 11. He gave up four runs on five hits in four innings.
Reds RHP Rhett Lowder (4-7, 5.26 ERA) faces White Sox RHP Luis Castillo (3-9, 5.30) on Wednesday.
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Chicago White Sox's Edgar Quero hits a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz hits an RBI single during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
A fan wears a promotional pope hat during a baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
Chicago White Sox mascot Southpaw stands on the dugout wearing a pope outfit during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Wednesday that he survived a leadership vote prompted by a challenge from his defense minister less than three months before an election.
The vote took place during a hastily convened meeting of Luxon’s center-right National Party lawmakers at Parliament in Wellington, which was held behind closed doors and ran for more than three hours. Luxon then emerged flanked by his lawmakers to give a brief statement and departed without taking any questions from reporters.
“There was a confidence vote in my leadership this morning at our caucus meeting,” he said. “I had the full support of our caucus and our caucus is united and it is determined to win this election.”
Luxon didn’t say how many lawmakers had voted for him to continue in the job, although such ballots are usually a secret.
Hours later, he said in a statement that the vote was prompted by a leadership challenge from his defense minister, Chris Penk, adding that he had removed Penk from his ministerial portfolios.
The vote was the second Luxon had called about his own leadership since April and leaves lingering questions coming so close to the election scheduled for Nov. 7.
The April vote followed drops in polling for National, while this week’s followed recent public remarks Luxon had made on various issues that some in his party saw as gaffes.
On Tuesday, the leader took the rare step of disclosing on social media that he faced renewed rumblings about his leadership, and announcing he would call a meeting of his lawmakers Wednesday to resolve it.
“It is my firm belief that division and disunity are a major distraction only 90 days out from the election,” he wrote on X. “I also believe this distraction is unfair to the New Zealand people, and dedicated National Party candidates, supporters and volunteers, when there is so much at stake.”
National has led a right-wing coalition government since New Zealand’s 2023 election. Luxon, a former airline executive who entered Parliament in 2020, had led the party since 2021.
Among the recent remarks that appeared to prompt renewed leadership murmurings were comments Luxon made to a business audience earlier this month, when he said some business leaders in the country had a “parent-child mentality” and too often looked to the government for direction. Luxon, who was once an executive at Unilever when he lived in the United States, has always sold himself as a business expert and has sometimes pointed out where he sees New Zealand as falling short of global trends.
When elected, he pledged to use his experience to reverse New Zealand’s economic woes of recent years. This month’s remarks were lambasted, including by some in his own party, as being out of touch while the economy remained sluggish.
He later apologized for the comments. In another episode, he was forced to divulge that he had used a military aircraft to return to Wellington after a political party fundraiser.
Luxon also surprised his lawmakers this month when he promised a referendum on New Zealand’s electoral system if reelected – apparently without first telling his caucus. The episodes were seen among some in his party as an unwelcome distraction ahead of the election and revealing of Luxon’s relative political inexperience.
Details of who had prompted the leadership rumblings at first remained a mystery.
Nobody publicly confirmed plans for a leadership bid or expressed intentions to oust their leader, and those whose names were reported speculatively by news outlets denied it.
Several hours after the vote, Luxon named Penk as his challenger and said his now former minister’s position was “untenable.”
Penk, 47, was also the minister for building and construction, and responsible for the security services and space portfolios. A former lawyer who served in Australia’s navy, Penk entered Parliament in 2017 and will remain in office as a constituency lawmaker.
He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Luxon’s political opponents criticized him and his party.
“Backstabbing and infighting just means more delay and more distraction for New Zealand,” said Chris Hipkins, the opposition leader and leader of the center-left Labour party. “If National can’t govern itself, how can New Zealanders trust it to govern the country?”
This version has corrected that Luxon entered Parliament in 2020, not 2000.
FILE - New Zealand Minister of Defence Chris Penk delivers his address during the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File)
Vehicles move past an Electoral Commission billboard in central Wellington, New Zealand, encouraging voters to enroll, Monday Aug. 10 2026. (AP photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)
People walk past New Zealand's Parliament buildings in Wellington, New Zealand on Monday, Aug. 10 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, center, speaks to reporters at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on Wednesday, Aug. 12 2026, after a leadership vote among his own party’s lawmakers. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to reporters at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on Wednesday, Aug. 12 2026, after surviving a leadership vote among his own party’s lawmakers. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay) CORRECTION: Corrects date to Aug. 12, instead of Aug. 10
FILE - New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks at a news conference at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay, File)
