Sabol records ace

CALCUTTA — Jen Sabol of Chester aced Beaver Creek Meadows 125-yard, No. 16 with a No. 5 rescue on Monday. Witness was Art Duron.

Astros pitcher ejected

HOUSTON (AP) — Astros starter Ronel Blanco was ejected at the start of the fourth inning against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night after a foreign substance check.

Third base umpire Laz Diaz ejected Blanco after a check of his glove before he threw a pitch in the fourth inning. The umpires, Blanco and Houston manager Joe Espada stood at the mound for a couple of minutes discussing the issue before the right-hander was ejected.

Blanco’s glove was confiscated and first base umpire Erich Bacchus ran off the field with it and took it somewhere before returning.

Blanco held out his hands and patted them together in front of the umpires while they inspected his glove before he was ejected, and he did the motion again after he was tossed.

Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his season debut, allowed four hits and struck out one in three scoreless innings Tuesday. He has a 2.09 ERA this season. The Astros led 1-0 when he was replaced by Tayler Scott.

MLB began cracking down on foreign substances in June 2021, and Blanco will likely face a 10-game suspension for the infraction.

Frelick keys Brewer win

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sal Frelick homered for the first time this season, Joe Ross and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Pittsburgh’s Nick Gonzales hit his first homer of the year, and Connor Joe also went deep for the Pirates.

Gonzales’ last homer was July 2 against the Brewers. Frelick hadn’t homered since Aug. 7 of last season, against the Pirates.

Frelick also made two diving catches in center field. He caught a sinking liner from Jared Triolo to end the second and made a play on the warning track to rob Andrew McCutchen of an extra-base hit in the eighth.

Joe homered with two outs in the ninth off Trevor Megill to cut Milwaukee’s lead to 4-3, but Megill struck out Jack Suwinski to earn his fifth save.

Ross (2-4) struck out six while allowing two hits, two runs and one walk in five innings. Bryan Hudson pitched two innings and Elvis Peguero worked the eighth without allowing anyone to reach base.

Brewers pitchers had retired 15 straight Pirates before Joe’s homer.

After each team left runners on the corners in the first inning, the Brewers took the lead for good in the second.

The Brewers collected five straight hits against Quinn Priester (0-4) during one stretch in that inning. Joey Ortiz got things started with a one-out double before Frelick lofted an 0-1 slider over the right field wall.

Oliver Dunn, Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang then delivered three consecutive singles, with Turang’s hit driving in Dunn. Christian Yelich’s two-out single brought home Chourio to make it 4-0.

Gonzales cut Milwaukee’s lead in half with his two-run shot in the fourth.

Priester lasted six innings and gave up four runs and nine hits. He struck out five and walked two.

Naylor brothers key big frame for Guardians

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Josh Naylor hit a three-run homer, Bo Naylor had a two-run double and the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians beat the Texas Rangers 7-4 on Tuesday night, handing the reigning World Series champions their season-high fifth consecutive loss.

Those big hits by the Naylor brothers came in a six-run second inning for the Guardians. Older brother Josh’s 12th homer with two outs put them up 6-0 and chased top pitching prospect Jack Leiter (0-1).

Adolis García, Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe hit solo homers for the Rangers (22-22).

Ben Lively (2-2) struck out five and walked three in five innings, with the only runs coming on those homers. The right-hander had given up only two long balls over 27 1/3 innings in his first five starts of the season.

Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his 12th save in 14 chances.

There was a scary moment in the fifth inning when Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio and center fielder Tyler Freeman both stayed down for several minutes after a hard collision while going for a fly ball.

Freeman was clearly calling for the ball hit by García as he ran forward. He made the catch and held on even as Rocchio, with his back to the infield and on the run, ran directly into him. Both remained in the game after being checked by three athletic trainers.

Leiter (0-1, 16.39 ERA) was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock for his third big league start, his first at home. The son of former big leaguer Al Leiter, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, allowed three hits, walked three and hit two batters.

García homered in the second, his ninth of the season but first in 15 games. It also snapped a span of 18 consecutive scoreless innings for Texas, which lost 7-0 to Cleveland on Monday, a day after a 3-1 loss at Colorado completed a three-game sweep for the Rockies.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Guardians: RHP Gavin Williams (right elbow inflammation) threw his first bullpen session since an anti-inflammatory injection April 24. He initially got hurt throwing a weighted ball in spring training, and got the shot after experiencing the same discomfort last month when starting his rehab process.

Rangers: Rookie LF Evan Carter missed his fourth game in a row with lower back stiffness. He did get a cortisone shot after an MRI revealed no significant issue. He could be back in the lineup as early as Wednesday. … RHP Dane Dunning (right rotator cuff strain) threw a bullpen session. Manager Bruce Bochy said he will throw two more and could be ready to return sometime next week.

UP NEXT

A matchup of 6-foot-4 right-handers for the series finale Wednesday. Carlos Carrasco (2-3, 5.36 ERA) is set to pitch for the Guardians, who play the last of 16 games in 16 days. Jon Gray (1-1, 2.36) is the scheduled starter for the Rangers.

___

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