PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Naylor homered twice, including a three-run shot that keyed a five-run first inning against All-Star Mitch Keller, and drove in six runs and the Cleveland Guardians rolled to a 10-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Naylor’s first homer gave the Guardians a 4-0 lead with none out in the first inning after Keller had thrown just seven pitches. Keller was making his first appearance since pitching one inning in last week’s All-Star Game in Seattle.

“It’s good to set the tone,” Naylor said. “Our offense was great all day today.”

In the ninth, Naylor connected again for a two-run blast, his 15th of the season, off Yohan Ramirez. In 22 games since June 18, the 26-year-old Naylor is hitting .396 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 22 games and seems to be emerging as a star after going deep 20 times last season.

“I think we always hoped he’d be a middle-of-the-order bat,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “When you start to see it, it’s exciting.”

Steven Kwan led off the game with a double and scored on Amed Rosario’s single. After Jose Ramirez singled, Naylor hit his blast to right-center.

Myles Straw capped the first-inning outburst with an RBI single. The Guardians have won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 21-1 after being swept in three games at AL West-leading Texas over the weekend.

Rookie left-hander Logan Allen (4-2) pitched five scoreless innings of one-hit ball after being recalled from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game. The lone hit was a one-out single in the fifth inning by Jared Triolo, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

“I was just attacking guys, trusting more of my stuff on the plate,” Allen said. “I was able to land some off-speed (pitches) and think that really helped because I started getting ahead of guys a little bit better. We got the big lead and I just wanted to get our guys back in the dugout to try to score some more runs.”

Allen struck out eight and walked one.

Keller (9-5) was tagged for eight runs and 10 hits in six innings.

“Every once in a while, something like that happens,” Francona said. “He didn’t get a chance to settle in. He’s good and he will continue to be good, and he stayed out there for a long time and sucked up some innings for them.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton agreed when he was asked if Keller got ambushed.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good word,” Shelton said. “They came out really aggressive and he didn’t come out extremely sharp and left some balls right in the middle of the plate, and they didn’t miss them.”

Josh Bell hit a two-run homer in the third, his 10th of the year. Naylor drove in another run with a ground out in the fourth to push the lead to 8-0.

Andres Gimenez had three of the Guardians’ 13 hits. Cleveland began the night in second place in the AL Central, 1 ½ games behind Minnesota.

Connor Joe’s solo homer in the sixth inning off Eli Morgan accounted for the Pirates’ lone run. Pittsburgh has lost five straight games since the All-Star break and is 2-12 in July.

WARREN, Pa. (AP) — A county prosecutor in Pennsylvania said Tuesday that he has asked the state attorney general’s office to take over the investigation surrounding a homicide suspect’s escape because of the possibility that jail staff might be charged with criminal negligence.

Warren County District Attorney Rob Greene said reports from the Warren city police investigation included information that “could possibly implicate” inmates and staff at the county jail as well as others in the July 6 escape of Michael Burham, 34. He was recaptured Saturday after a barking dog alerted a couple to his presence on their property.

Greene said he has seen nothing to indicate staff members participated or were complicit in the escape in which authorities say Burham climbed on exercise equipment, went through a window and scaled down a rope fashioned from jail bedding. But Green said staff could face criminal charges “if they were negligent in their duties to make sure Burham or other inmates did not escape.”

Greene said because he considers many jail staff in the small county his friends, and because he’s on the prison board, he asked the attorney general’s office to take over the escape case against Burham and any related case brought against anyone else.

Greene, who earlier also sought a state corrections department investigation, said he was “floored” at the idea of staff having some culpability. He also said he is “livid” about the negative attention the case had brought to the area. He added, however, that he didn’t believe there would be a problem with continued operations at the jail, emphasizing that his concerns involved only “negligence issues, complacency issues.”

“I can’t imagine, for the life of me, that any of those jail guards that might be under investigation at this point wouldn’t be straightening themselves up,” he said.

Greene acknowledged having potential suspects in mind but declined to say who or how many. He also declined to comment on whether anyone knew about Burham collecting sheets for his escape, saying it would be “an issue” in the attorney general’s investigation.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt, of Chautauqua County, New York, said in June that Burham was the prime suspect in the May 11 killing of Kala Hodgkin, 34, and a related arson in Jamestown, New York. Authorities also accuse him of abducting an older couple in Pennsylvania while trying to evade capture before his arrest in South Carolina. New York officials said they opted to let Pennsylvania handle the initial prosecution as they probe the killing and arson.

Greene said he will continue to handle the Pennsylvania kidnapping and burglary case that Burham was being held on.

Greene’s remarks came during the Crime Stoppers presentation of a $2,000 reward check to “Tucker the dog” and his owners, Ron and Cindy Ecklund, for their role in the recapture of Burham. Tucker, oblivious to the ceremony, barked as he tried several times to get Ron Ecklund to throw a new tennis ball for him to chase.

Cindy Ecklund said she and her husband recognized Burham as soon as they encountered him at the rear of their property. They tried to calmly but quickly withdraw in a golf cart they were using while calling 911. She said their dog not only alerted them to Burham’s presence but his aggressive barking once they encountered him likely intimidated the escapee.

“I think he was a little afraid of what Tucker might do,” she said.

Burham fled but was captured less than two hours later, looking wet, dirty and “worn-out,” police said.

The hero dog was sporting a new collar Tuesday and had a bucket of tennis balls, a few new toys, some treats from a well-wisher and a coupon for a spa day. And, “there is a ribeye steak in the fridge waiting for him after all this is over,” Ecklund said.

“He was protecting us, and you can’t ask for a better best friend than that,” she said.

FILE – A maintenance worker walks on the side of a locomotive in the Union Pacific Railroad fueling yard in north Denver, Oct. 18, 2006. Union Pacific will renew its push for one-person train crews later this summer when the railroad tests out the idea of having a conductor in a truck respond to problems on trains in Nebraska and Colorado. UP’s Jason Pinder confirmed the pilot program Monday, July 17, 2023, when he testified against a proposed Kansas rule that would require two-person crews. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific will renew its push for one-person train crews later this summer when the railroad tests out the idea of having a conductor in a truck respond to problems on trains in Nebraska and Colorado. Union Pacific will continue using two crew members on its trains during the test, but railroad officials believe this could bolster their case in future negotiations for cutting crew size if it is successful. A UP executive confirmed the plan Monday when he testified against a proposed Kansas rule that would require two-person crews. All the rail unions have long opposed cutting train crews down to one because of safety concerns, but the conductors’ union agreed to let Union Pacific test this idea.

Yardley Makefield Marine Rescue leaving the Yardley Boat Ramp along N. River Road heading down the Delaware River on Monday morning July 17, 2023, in Yardley, Pa. Search and rescue units are looking for two lost children caught in flood waters Saturday. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. (AP) — The search for a missing 2-year-old girl and her 9-month-old brother who were swept away from their car during flash flooding over the weekend carried into a fourth day. Upper Makefield Township police in a social media post thanked the countless volunteers who’ve come forward to assist but say their assistance isn’t necessary. Some 100 officials along with drones and cadaver dogs have combed the area near the creek that drains into the Delaware River. A news conference is set for Tuesday afternoon.

HARRISBURG, PA:  The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reported today that the combined total revenue generated from all forms of gaming, along with fantasy contests, during June 2023 was $440,491,675, an increase of 13% compared to revenue generated in June 2022.

 

Sources of gaming revenue regulated by the PGCB include slot machines, table games, internet gaming, sports wagering, fantasy contests and video gaming terminals (VGTs). The PGCB has posted separate reports for these types of gaming on its website, https://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/.