PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jared Jones pitched six strong innings, Jake Mangum had an RBI double in the second inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the skidding Los Angeles Angels 1-0 on Friday night.
The MLB-worst Angels (53-88) lost for the 10th time in 11 games. The Pirates have won five of six games.
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Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Wilber Dontel (left) gets a mound visit from catcher Henry Davis as they play the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Los Angeles Angels rerlief pitcher Samy Natera Jr. gets a mound visit from pitching coach Tim LeLeveque during the eight inning as they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Los Angeles Angels' Vaughn Grissom heads to third base on a single hit by Moises Ballesteros during the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Wilber Dotel throws to the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Los Angeles Angels catcher Moises Ballseteros, eft, tries unsuccessfully to tag out Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin, right, during the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Jones (3-6) blanked the Angels on three hits to win for the first time in eight starts since beating Cleveland on July 18. He struck out nine, walked one, and threw 63 of 91 pitches for strikes.
Wilber Dotel pitched two innings, and Mason Montgomery worked the ninth to complete the four-hitter and the Pirates’ ninth shutout of the season. Montgomery had his ninth save.
Ryan Johnson (3-8) was the hard-luck loser, giving up one run and four hits over six innings with six strikeouts and two walks. He has a 1.67 ERA in his last six starts and allowed zero or one run in five of those outings.
Prized rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin returned from the injured list for the Pirates and made an immediate impact when he scored the lone run from first base on Mangum’s one-out double to right field in the second inning.
Griffin had been sidelined since July 6 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left ring finger. The Pirates signed the 20-year-old to a nine-year, $140-million contract, the richest in franchise history, in April.
The Angels hit back-to-back singles to open the top of the second, but Jones got Christian Moore to foul out, then struck out Jose Siri and Adam Frazier. The Halos have been shut out 12 times.
Angels LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-5, 5.65 ERA) faces RHP Braxton Ashcraft (14-5, 3.59) on Saturday night in the middle game of the series.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Wilber Dontel (left) gets a mound visit from catcher Henry Davis as they play the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Los Angeles Angels rerlief pitcher Samy Natera Jr. gets a mound visit from pitching coach Tim LeLeveque during the eight inning as they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Los Angeles Angels' Vaughn Grissom heads to third base on a single hit by Moises Ballesteros during the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Wilber Dotel throws to the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
Los Angeles Angels catcher Moises Ballseteros, eft, tries unsuccessfully to tag out Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin, right, during the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was released from federal custody Friday after appearing in court on charges of lying to investigators about the circumstances that led to the shooting of a Venezuelan man during the Minnesota immigration crackdown last winter.
A federal indictment accuses Christian Castro of falsely telling investigators that he was attacked with a broom and shovel before he opened fire, injuring Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in January.
Castro was shackled at his wrists, waist and feet during a brief hearing in the federal court in McAllen after he had turned himself into authorities Thursday evening. The judge ordered him released on a $75,000 unsecured bond and with a GPS ankle monitor.
Defense attorneys David A. Lindenmuth and Rolando Cantu said Castro intends to plead not guilty in the case. He was ordered to next appear in federal court in Minnesota on Sept. 18.
It's the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer for actions taken during this year's massive Operation Metro Surge, which brought thousands of agents to the Twin Cities and led to sweeping protests, arrests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers.
The allegations in the federal indictment mirror those brought by Minnesota officials, who have separately charged Castro with assault and false reporting of a crime related to the nonfatal shooting of Sosa-Celis.
According to the federal indictment, Castro told an FBI agent that a man grabbed a red broom off a front porch and began hitting him with it while Castro was trying to detain another man outside a Minneapolis home. Castro also claimed that another man hit him with a snow shovel and that he opened fire while on the ground as the men ran away.
The indictment alleges that Castro had a short “physical interaction” with Sosa-Celis and another man, before the two ran into a home with a 1-year-old child inside. Castro then fired a shot through the front door while standing as the men began to close it, hitting Sosa-Celis in the leg, the indictment says.
“No person struck” Castro “with a broom as he described, and no persons wielded the broom and snow shovel as he described,” the indictment says.
An attorney for Castro urged the public not to rush to judgment and to let his client “have his day in court.” Castro served in the military before becoming a federal immigration officer, the lawyer, David Lindenmuth, said after the hearing.
“His life has been that of public service to our country and to our nation, either through its military or protecting its borders and enforcing its laws,” Lindenmuth said.
Federal prosecutors had initially charged Sosa-Celis and the other man, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, with assault but dropped the charges after video evidence showed the officer may have lied about the encounter. Castro was suspended from ICE in February while authorities pursued an investigation.
The federal charges follow Castro’s release from jail last week after Texas’ governor refused to immediately sign an extradition warrant to hand him over to Minnesota authorities.
The federal investigation into Castro created turmoil inside the Justice Department, with a prosecutor on the case accusing higher-ups of blocking efforts to bring more serious civil rights charges.
In an email obtained by ProPublica, the prosecutor told lawyers for Sosa-Celis and others that Castro would be charged only with making false statements over his “strongest objections,” adding the decision was “being directed by the Main Justice and the US Attorney.”
A person familiar with the investigation, however, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the civil rights probe is continuing and additional charges could still be brought.
The prosecutor, Matthew Evans, has since been fired and the Justice Department is now investigating whether he broke any laws during his handling of the case, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not publicly authorized to discuss ongoing investigations.
An automatic email response from Evans’ Justice Department account said he was on leave, and other attempts to reach him were not immediately successful.
Sosa-Celis' lawyer is pressing for Castro to face stiffer charges, saying in a statement Thursday that Castro’s statements were made to “cover up the fact that he shot my client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification.”
“Mr. Sosa Celis wants Mr. Castro to be held fully accountable for his crimes,” said the attorney, Robin Wolpert. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota said Thursday that Sosa-Celis also plans to seek damages from the federal government.
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Richer reported from Washington.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that court records do not indicate Castro entered a not guilty plea on Friday. His attorneys say he intends to do so going forward.
FILE - A federal agent wears an Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge in New York, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
