Pirates announce HOFers

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Saturday that Kiki Cuyler, Vernon Law and Al Oliver will be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame as the Class of 2025.

Cuyler, a hero of the 1925 World Series, batted .336 in seven seasons with the Pirates and still holds the club record for total bases in a season (369). Law, the 1960 Cy Young Award winner, spent his entire 16-year career in Pittsburgh and ranks among the franchise leaders in wins (162) and strikeouts (1,092). Oliver, a three-time All-Star and key member of the 1971 championship team, hit .296 with 135 home runs over a decade with the club.

The trio will be honored before the Aug. 22 game against Colorado at PNC Park. The induction ceremony is set for Aug. 21.

Skenes dominant for Bucs

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes again pitched into the eighth for Pittsburgh before Andrew McCutchen came through with a go-ahead single that inning, helping the Pirates complete a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies with a 2-1 win on Sunday.

Skenes lowered his ERA to 1.88 while his record remained at 4-6. The 23-year-old ace gave up one unearned run on two hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in 7 2/3 innings before getting pulled for Braxton Ashcraft (1-0), who got the final four outs for his first win in the majors.

Cristopher S’nchez (5-2) walked Oneil Cruz to start the Pirates’ half of the eighth. McCutchen then hit a broken-bat single to right off Owen Kerkering and Cruz beat Nick Castellanos’ throw home after stumbling around third.

The Phillies have lost five straight and nine of 10.

Skenes is 1-4 in his past eight starts, even with allowing five runs in 42 1/3 innings over his last six. He gave up one run in eight innings against Houston in his previous outing.

S’nchez surrendered two runs — the first on an RBI double from Jared Triolo in the second — and five hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings.

Key moment

Ashcraft entered as boos subsided from the decision to pull Skenes with the bases empty and two outs in the eighth. He walked Marsh before forcing March’n into a groundout. Ashcraft finished the game by getting Alec Bohm to hit into a double play.

Key stat

Skenes has allowed no more than six hits in each of his 37 appearances in the majors.

Up next

Phillies: RHP Zack Wheeler (6-2, 2.96 ERA) is set to start Monday, opening a three-game home series against the Cubs and LHP Matthew Boyd (5-3, 3.01).

Pirates: RHP Mike Burrows (1-1, 5.27) will take the mound in the first of a three-game series against the Marlins on Monday.

Guardians tame Astros

CLEVELAND (AP) — Nolan Jones scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by pitcher Steven Okert in the seventh inning, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Steven Kwan followed with a sacrifice fly, plating Bo Naylor, as Okert (1-2) allowed two runs in his lone inning. Houston had tied the game at 2-all in the top of the seventh on Cam Smith’s two-run double against Tanner Bibee.

Cade Smith (2-2) retired all five batters he faced, striking out three. Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his 14th save.

Naylor matched his season high with three hits, including a two-run homer in the second off Brandon Walter. The Guardians had lost eight of their previous 12 games.

Walter, who was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier in the day, allowed two runs in six innings. Jake Meyers matched a career high with four hits for the Astros, who went 4-2 on a six-game trip and have won 10 of their last 14.

Bibee, who carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh, struck out six without a walk over 6 1/3 innings.

Key moment

Okert cleanly fielded Will Wilson’s sacrifice bunt in the seventh, but flung the ball past first baseman Christian Walker, allowing Jones to race home from second. Naylor also advanced to third on the error.

Key stat

Guardians third baseman JosÈ RamÌrez extended his on-base streak to 34 games with a single. It’s the longest for the franchise since Jason Kipnis’ 36-gamer in 2013.

Up next

Guardians: RHP Luis Ortiz (3-6, 4.02) starts Monday as longtime Cleveland manager Terry Francona returns to town with the Cincinnati Reds.

Ryan Fox wins Canadian Open

CALEDON, Ontario (AP) — Ryan Fox of New Zealand won for the second time in five weeks on the PGA Tour with another memorable shot in a playoff, this time a 3-wood to 7 feet on the fourth extra hole Sunday to beat Sam Burns in the RBC Canadian Open.

Fox won the Myrtle Beach Classic last month by chipping in for birdie to win a three-man playoff. This one on the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley took a little longer.

What turned out to be the winning shot might be more memorable. Fox smoked a 3-wood that landed softly just left of the pin and settled 7 feet away. Burns pulled his 3-wood some 55 feet left of the front right pin. He ran his eagle putt 8 feet by and missed that one.

Fox missed his eagle try before tapping in for birdie.

Denny Hamlin wins at Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) — Denny Hamlin is pulling off quite a juggling act.

Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan International Speedway for his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 57th of his career, juggling his roles as a driver, expectant father and co-owner of a racing team that’s suing NASCAR.

“The tackle box is full,” Hamlin said Sunday. “There’s all kinds of stuff going on.”

Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, went low to pass William Byron on the 197th of 200 laps and pulled away from the pack to win by more than a second over Chris Buescher.

“Just worked over the guys one by one, giving them different looks,” he said.

Ty Gibbs finished third, matching a season best, followed by Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson.

The 44-year-old Hamlin was prepared to leave his team to join his fiancée, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to their third child, a boy. If she was in labor by Lap 50 or sooner at Michigan, he was prepared to leave the track.

Hamlin said he would skip next week’s race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth.

To add something else to Hamlin’s plate, he is also co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, which is involved in a lawsuit against NASCAR.

He drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which hadn’t won at Michigan in a decade.

“I think it’s the most underrated track that we go to,” said Hamlin, who has won three times on the 2-mile oval.

Hamlin became JGR’s winningest driver, surpassing Kyle Busch’s 56 victories, and the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win after his 700th start.

“It feels good because I’m going to hate it when I’m not at the level I’m at now,” he said. “I will certainly retire very quicky after that.”

Hamlin’s team set him up with enough fuel to win while many drivers, including Byron, ran out of gas late in the race.

“It really stings,” said Byron, the points leader, who was a season-worst 28th. “We just burned more (fuel) and not able to do much about that.”

Hamlin, meanwhile, wasn’t on empty until his celebratory burnout was cut short.

Pole-sitter Chase Briscoe was out front until Byron passed him on Lap 12. Buescher pulled ahead on Lap 36 and stayed up front to win his first stage this season.

Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott took turns with the lead before a crash involving Alex Bowman brought out the red flag on Lap 67.

Byron took the lead again after a restart on Lap 78 as part of his strong start and surged to the front again to win the second stage.

Carson Hocevar took the lead on Lap 152 and was informed soon thereafter that he didn’t have enough fuel to finish, but that became moot because a flat tire forced him into the pits with 18 laps to go.

Hocevar faded to a 29th-place finish, a week after he was second to match a career best at Nashville, where he created a buzz with an aggressive move that knocked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out of the race.

Rough times for Bowman

Bowman hit a wall with the front end of his No. 48 Chevrolet as part of a multi-car crash in his latest setback.

“That hurt a lot,” he said after passing a medical evaluation. “That was probably top of the board on hits I’ve taken.”

Bowman, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, came to Michigan 12th in points and will leave lower in the standings. He has finished 27th or worse in seven of his last nine starts and didn’t finish for a third time during the tough stretch.

Reddick rallies

Defending race champion Tyler Reddick qualified 12th, but started last in the 36-car field because of unapproved adjustments and rallied to finish 13th.

Up next

NASCAR shifts to Mexico City for its first points-paying international race in modern history on June 15.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing