Rays' Wander Franco found guilty in child sex abuse case
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic on Thursday and received a two-year suspended prison sentence.
Franco, now 24, was arrested last year after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old when he was 21 years old.
He also faced charges of sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking.
Franco last played in Major League Baseball in August 2023 before he was placed on administrative leave after the allegations involving his relationship with the underage girl surfaced.
Franco played parts of three seasons with the Rays, and was named an All-Star in the 2023 season.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for updates.
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Mets beat Braves 4-0, lose Griffin Canning to injury
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8 minutes ago
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And getting swept at home by a losing club, the Miami Marlins, would make anyone a tad irritable and hypersensitive. Wilmer Flores appeared ready to fight the entire Marlins dugout in the latter stages of Thursday's 12-5 loss when he reacted to someone's comment following his strikeout on a checked swing appeal. Both benches and bullpens emptied in the seventh inning, and Jung Hoo Lee dragged Flores away from the front line before the situation escalated. not to be dramatic but… everyone has a hit and we just hit our season-high 12 runs. — Miami Marlins (@Marlins) June 26, 2025 The two teams were already playing under a warning from the umpiring crew after Hayden Birdsong hit Otto López with a fastball in the first inning — a pitch that dripped with so much obvious motivation that Miami manager Clayton McCullough drew an ejection for arguing that the umpires let the Giants off too easy. 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Webb's language was thinly coded: A Giants pitcher would throw a retaliatory pitch Thursday to show their hitters that they had their backs. Birdsong's apparent beanball came in the exact time and place that the unwritten rules prescribe: two outs, bases empty, first pitch. Birdsong did not headhunt, either. The fastball hit López below the belt, not above it. But then Agustín Ramírez hit a double. Kyle Stowers hit a homer. The Marlins took a quick 3-0 lead, and from there, Birdsong looked very much like a green 23-year-old — either distracted or disinterested, but obviously off his game. 'His velo was kind of all over the place,' Melvin said. Maybe the Giants felt they had to send a message both to opposing teams and their own clubhouse. Maybe it'll help them be a more cohesive group over the coming weeks and months. But it came at a price Thursday. Playing angry sure as heck didn't make them play any better. The Giants hadn't been swept at home all season. They hadn't been swept at home by the Marlins since 2017. In that context, it might have been difficult to appreciate that Devers slugged his second home run as a Giant — a 438-foot blast to center that ranked as the longest hit by a Giant at home in more than four years. (Austin Slater hit a 456-foot shot in 2021.) 4️⃣3️⃣8️⃣ feet — SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 26, 2025 'Yeah, it's hard to feel good about today,' Giants right fielder Mike Yastrzemski said. 'It's not hard to feel good about where we are. If you were to tell us in February that at the halfway point, we'd be seven games over .500 and in the thick of things, with a guy (Devers) we didn't expect to have, I think we'd take that. He swung the bat really well today, Willy (Adames) has been swinging great. We couldn't put it together as a team, but to see those guys having those at-bats is a real positive sign.' Advertisement At least the Giants received good news on third baseman Casey Schmitt, whose apparently unintentional plunking in the ninth inning Wednesday night was viewed as the last straw by Webb and others in the clubhouse. Schmitt underwent a CT scan that ruled out a hand fracture. He said he couldn't swing a bat Thursday and the hand was swollen, but he held out hopes of returning to the lineup Friday night on the South Side of Chicago. By the tail end of this road trip, there's a chance the Giants will have Matt Chapman at third base, Schmitt at second and Devers at first. Purpose pitches and anger management aside, what the Giants most need in the second half is a lineup with more depth and danger. 'It's tough to have perspective from the beginning of the year to where we are right now,' Melvin said. 'We are who we are, and we feel we're a lot better than we played the last three games. So we're not in a horrible position. 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Yahoo
13 minutes ago
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Alonso's 3 hits help Mets overcome loss of pitcher Canning in a 4-0 win over Braves
Atlanta Braves' Grant Holmes pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) New York Mets' Edwin Díaz pitches celebrates after a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) New York Mets' Jeff McNeil (1) and Brett Baty (7) celebrate with teammates after a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) New York Mets pitcher Griffin Canning is helped off the field by head athletic trainer Joseph Golia, right, and assistant athletic trainer Bryan Baca during the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) New York Mets' Pete Alonso hits an RBI single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) New York Mets' Pete Alonso hits an RBI single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) Atlanta Braves' Grant Holmes pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) New York Mets' Edwin Díaz pitches celebrates after a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) New York Mets' Jeff McNeil (1) and Brett Baty (7) celebrate with teammates after a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) New York Mets pitcher Griffin Canning is helped off the field by head athletic trainer Joseph Golia, right, and assistant athletic trainer Bryan Baca during the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) New York Mets' Pete Alonso hits an RBI single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, June 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso had three hits and an RBI and the New York Mets overcame the loss of starting pitcher Griffin Canning to injury in the third inning Thursday night for a 4-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves and a split of the four-game series. The Mets, who had lost 10 of 11 games before a 7-3 win over the Braves on Wednesday night, moved back into first place in the NL East, a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. Advertisement Canning worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings before suffering a left ankle injury on a non-contact play while trying to race off the mound. After the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said it 'looks like an Achilles injury.' The team said he would undergo imaging to determine the severity of the injury. After Canning left, four relievers limited the Braves to two hits the rest of the way. Austin Warren (1-0) replaced Canning and threw 2 1/3 one-hit innings. Tyrone Taylor lofted a sacrifice fly against Grant Holmes (4-7) in the fourth, and Alonso doubled the lead with a run-scoring hit in the fifth. Jeff McNeil added a two-run single in the seventh. Holmes allowed two runs and six hits while walking three and striking out six over five innings. Advertisement Key moment Canning's injury may have created another vacancy in a depleted rotation for the Mets, who are already without ace Kodai Senga (right hamstring) and Sean Manaea (oblique, elbow). Key stats Braves first baseman Matt Olson played in his 700th straight regular-season game — the longest streak in the majors since Miguel Tejada's 1,152-game streak from 2000-07. … The first pitch temperature was 69 degrees (20 Celsius), 28 degrees cooler than Tuesday's Citi Field record. Up next LHP David Peterson (5-3, 2.98 ERA) starts for the Mets against Pittsburgh RHP Mitch Keller (1-10, 4.02) Friday night. The Braves and RHP Bryce Elder (2-4, 4.77 ERA) host the Philadelphia Phillies and RHP Mick Abel (2-1, 3.47). ___ P MLB:
