LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman's grand slam keyed a six-run third inning, Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a strong start and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to four with a 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
Freeman’s blast off Slade Cecconi (1-4) was part of an onslaught where the first six Dodgers got aboard and scored in the third.
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Los Angeles Sparks' Cameron Brink, left, and Rickea Jackson, right, throw the ceremonial first pitches before a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Joe Mantiply throws to a Los Angeles Dodgers batter during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Kevin Newman, left, throws over Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, right, to compete a double play after a ground ball hit by Dodgers' Freddie Freeman during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto follows through to an Arizona Diamondbacks batter during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. makes a sliding catch on a fly ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, left, is safe at first base on a bunt single past Arizona Diamondbacks first base Christian Walker, right, during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto points to the home plate umpire during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Kiké Hernández, left, celebrates after his solo home run with Teoscar Hernández during the third inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Kevin Newman, right, scores past Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith, left, on a single by Diamondbacks' Joc Pederson during the third inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman watches his grand slam during the third inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman (5) celebrates after his grand slam with teammate Shohei Ohtani (17) during the third inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Kiké Hernández and Will Smith also went deep in the inning as Los Angeles improved to 33-17. It is the ninth time in franchise history the Dodgers have at least 33 wins after 50 games.
Yamamoto (5-1) allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings. He threw a season-high 100 pitches, including 69 strikes.
It was the 18th time in 27 games a Dodgers' starter has gone at least six innings.
Daniel Hudson retired the side in the ninth for his third save in five opportunities.
“Offensively we are doing enough to score some runs to win,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that there’s room to continue to get better consistency up and down the lineup. But the pitching has been what has been the impetus for this hot streak.”
Arizona's Ketel Marte extended his hitting streak to 19 games. It is the longest run in the majors this season and tied for fifth-longest in franchise history.
Kyle Newman added three hits, his fifth multi-hit effort in the last nine games. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Jake McCarthy had back-to-back homers in the eighth, but the Diamondbacks have dropped four of six.
“I was very pleased with our approach. We built innings and had baserunners. We couldn’t get the big hit at the right time,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.
Freeman's grand slam was the sixth of his career and his third since the start of last season. He is one of seven players with three over the past two seasons.
The Dodgers are the only team in the majors with two players with at least three grand slams since the start of 2023. Max Muncy leads the team with four.
“I’m not looking for the grand slam, but just trying to keep the line moving and get a base hit there. Ultimately, I was able to get it out," Freeman said.
It didn't take the Dodgers long to respond after the Diamondbacks opened the scoring on Joc Pederson's RBI base hit to center.
Hernández led off the inning with a drive to center to tie it at 1-all. Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts followed with singles before Shohei Ohtani drew a walk to load the bases.
Freeman then got hold of Cecconi's fastball that was low in the strike zone and put it over the wall in right-center for his fifth homer of the year. It also was the third grand slam this season for the Dodgers.
Five pitches later, Smith added a solo shot to left-center, marking the second time this season the Dodgers have had back-to-back homers.
“I gave them pitches to hit and they hit them," Cecconi said. “It’s obvious that they hit a lot of home runs and put a lot of barrels on baseballs and they did that in the third.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Diamondbacks: OF Alek Thomas (strained left hamstring) has started pool running and taking live at-bats.
Dodgers: RHP Evan Phillips (right hamstring strain) is expected to have a two- to three-game rehab assignment sometime this week. ... RHP Bobby Miller (right shoulder inflammation) will throw a three-inning simulated game Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Arizona RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-3, 4.17 ERA) takes on Los Angeles RHP Gavin Stone (4-1, 3.27 ERA) in Tuesday's middle game of the series.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Los Angeles Sparks' Cameron Brink, left, and Rickea Jackson, right, throw the ceremonial first pitches before a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Joe Mantiply throws to a Los Angeles Dodgers batter during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Kevin Newman, left, throws over Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, right, to compete a double play after a ground ball hit by Dodgers' Freddie Freeman during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto follows through to an Arizona Diamondbacks batter during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. makes a sliding catch on a fly ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, left, is safe at first base on a bunt single past Arizona Diamondbacks first base Christian Walker, right, during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto points to the home plate umpire during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Kiké Hernández, left, celebrates after his solo home run with Teoscar Hernández during the third inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Kevin Newman, right, scores past Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith, left, on a single by Diamondbacks' Joc Pederson during the third inning of a baseball game Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman watches his grand slam during the third inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman (5) celebrates after his grand slam with teammate Shohei Ohtani (17) during the third inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court halted Thursday night’s scheduled execution of a man who would have become the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.
The late-night ruling to spare for now the life of Robert Roberson, who was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002, capped a flurry of last-ditch legal challenges and weeks of public pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who say he is innocent and was convicted based on flawed evidence.
For hours on Thursday night, Roberson had remained in a prison holding cell a few feet from America's busiest death chamber at the Walls Unit in Hunstville.
"He praised God and thanked supporters,” said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Amanda Hernandez, who spoke with Roberson after the court stayed his execution.
Although Texas' highest court normally does not weigh in on criminal cases, how it got involved in Roberson's case in the final hours underlined the extraordinary maneuvers used by a bipartisan coalition of state House lawmakers who have come to his defense.
Blocked by courts and Texas' parole board in their efforts to spare Roberson's life, legislators on Wednesday took a different route: issuing a subpoena for Roberson to testify before a House committee next week, days after he was scheduled to die by lethal injection.
Less than two hours before Roberson's execution, a judge in Austin granted the lawmakers an order upholding the subpoena, putting the execution on pause. An appeals court then briefly reversed that decision but was overruled by the high court's order.
“We're deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas legislature in such consequential matters," Democratic Rep. Joe Moody and Republican Rep. Jeff Leach wrote in a joint statement.
Roberson, 57, was convicted of killing of his daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. His lawyers and some medical experts say his daughter died not from abuse but from complications related to pneumonia.
Gov. Greg Abbott had authority to delay Roberson’s punishment for 30 days. Abbott has halted only one imminent execution in nearly a decade as governor and has not spoken publicly about the case.
Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt the execution, although Justice Sonia Sotomayor — in a 10-page statement about the case — urged Abbott to grant a 30-day delay.
Roberson’s lawyers had waited to see if Abbott would grant Roberson a one-time 30-day reprieve. It would have been the only action Abbott could take in the case as the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Wednesday denied Roberson’s clemency petition.
The board voted unanimously, 6-0, to not recommend that Roberson’s death sentence be commuted to life in prison or that his execution be delayed. All board members are appointed by the governor. The parole board has recommended clemency in a death row case only six times since the state resumed executions in 1982.
The one time Abbott halted an imminent execution was when he spared the life of Thomas Whitaker in 2018.
The Texas committee on Wednesday held an all-day meeting on Roberson's case. In a surprise move at the end of the hearing, the committee issued a subpoena for Roberson to testify next week.
During its meeting in Austin, the committee heard testimony about Roberson’s case and whether a 2013 law created to allow people in prison to challenge their convictions based on new scientific evidence was ignored in Roberson’s case.
Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell, whose office prosecuted Roberson, told the committee a court hearing was held in 2022 in which Roberson’s attorneys presented their new evidence to a judge, who rejected their claims.
“Based on the totality of the evidence, a murder took place here. Mr. Roberson took the life of his almost 3-year-old daughter,” Mitchell said.
Most of the members of the committee are part of a bipartisan group of more than 80 state lawmakers, including at least 30 Republicans, who had asked the parole board and Abbott to stop the execution.
Roberson’s case has renewed debate over shaken baby syndrome, known in the medical community as abusive head trauma.
His lawyers as well as the Texas lawmakers, medical experts and others including bestselling author John Grisham say his conviction was based on faulty and now outdated scientific evidence. The diagnosis refers to a serious brain injury caused when a child’s head is hurt through shaking or some other violent impact, like being slammed against a wall or thrown on the floor.
Roberson’s supporters don’t deny head and other injuries from child abuse are real. But they say doctors misdiagnosed Curtis’ injuries as being related to shaken baby syndrome and that new evidence has shown the girl died from complications related to severe pneumonia.
Roberson’s attorneys say his daughter had fallen out of bed in Roberson’s home after being seriously ill for a week.
Roberson’s lawyers also suggested his autism, then undiagnosed at the time of his daughter’s death, was used against him as authorities became suspicious of him because of his lack of emotion over her death. Autism affects how people communicate and interact with others.
Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70.
Dani Allen, an anti-death penalty advocate, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Dani Allen, center left with microphone, an anti-death penalty advocate, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Thomas Roberson, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, protests with others outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Ann Dorn, a local Catholic parishioner opposed to the death penalty, protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Thomas Roberson, right, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, and Jennifer Martin, center left, holds signs with others as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Jennifer Martin, left, and Thomas Roberson, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, right, holds signs as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Texas State Rep. John Bucy III speaks to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Gloria Rubac, left, an anti-death penalty activist, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Jennifer Martin, center, and Thomas Roberson, right, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, holds signs with others as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Prison staff gather at the main entrance of the building housing the execution chamber as Robert Roberson awaits his execution, at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Texas state representatives Lacey Hull, left, and John Bucy III, speak to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Prison staff gather at the main entrance of the building housing the execution chamber as Robert Roberson awaits his execution, at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Texas State Rep. John Bucy III speaks to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Texas state representatives Lacey Hull, left, and John Bucy III, speak to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Elizabeth Ramirez, center, Casandra Rivera, center right, and Anna Vasquez, second from right, of the "San Antonio 4" group, deliver boxes with petitions in the Texas State capitol for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeking the pardoning of Robert Roberson's execution, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Austin, Texas. Roberson, 57, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 17, for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence. (AP Photo/Nadia Lathan)
Casandra Rivera, left, Anna Vasquez, second from left, and Elizabeth Ramirez, center, of the "San Antonio 4" group, hold boxes with petitions being delivered in the Texas State capitol for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeking the pardoning of Robert Roberson's execution, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Roberson, 57, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 17, for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence. (AP Photo/Nadia Lathan)
Texas man set to be first in US executed over shaken baby syndrome makes last appeals
FILE - Texas lawmakers meet with Robert Roberson at a prison in Livingston, Texas, Sept. 27, 2024. (Criminal Justice Reform Caucus via AP, File)
Texas man set to be first in US executed over shaken baby syndrome makes last appeals
