Erick Fedde pitches 6 strong innings, Martin Maldonado has 3 RBIs and White Sox rout Guardians 8-2

CLEVELAND (AP) — Erick Fedde allowed one run in six innings, Martin Maldonado homered and had three RBIs, and the Chicago White Sox routed the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians 8-2 on Wednesday night.

Fedde (6-3) retired the final 12 batters he faced, giving up three hits while striking out three. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.13, increasing his potential value in advance of the July 30 trade deadline.

“It’s something that’s talked about constantly, so you can’t avoid it,” said Fedde, who pitched in Korea last season. “If you start pitching bad, these (rumors) go away, which is not what you want. I love it here and I’m happy, but whatever happens happens.”

Lenyn Sosa matched his career-high with three hits and Andrew Benintendi had a two-run double in the four-run fourth for Chicago. The White Sox have the worst record in the majors at 25-63, but are 5-4 against Cleveland.

Guardians starter Gavin Williams (0-1) went four innings and 74 pitches in his season debut after missing three months with right elbow inflammation. He gave up five runs and seven hits in his first major league appearance since Sept. 17 against Texas.

“It might take Gavin a couple times out to get back to executing, but he showed some signs,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “You’ve got to give Chicago credit. But we saw a lot more good than bad from him tonight.”

Williams’ return should boost the Guardians’ inconsistent rotation, which has a 4.42 ERA. Former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery and righty Triston McKenzie was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

Brayan Rocchio hit a solo homer for Cleveland, which had won six straight at Progressive Field and still has the best home record in the majors at 27-10.

“Fedde gives us a chance to win every time and he went six innings against a great team tonight,” Maldonado said.

Maldonado, who entered the game with an .083 average and five RBIs, doubled in a run in the fourth and had a two-run homer in the eighth off Tim Herrin.

Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez and left fielder Steven Kwan were named All-Star starters. Kwan went 1 for 4 and is hitting .360, but is one plate appearance shy of qualifying for the league leaders.

“My whole career, I’ve kind of watched how José goes about his business on and off the field, and I’m going to lean on him again,” Kwan said.

The season-high attendance of 37,151 was Cleveland’s seventh sellout of the year.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Guardians: RHP Nick Sandlin (lower back inflammation), who has been on the injured list since June 17, tossed one scoreless inning in his initial rehab appearance for Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

White Sox: LHP Jared Shuster (1-0, 3.15 ERA) will start a bullpen game in the series finale. Rookie Drew Thorpe has been pushed back to Friday at Miami.

Guardians: RHP Ben Lively (7-4, 3.03 ERA) makes his 14th start of the year. Lively has a 4-0 record and 2.08 ERA in six career outings at Progressive Field.

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

Chicago White Sox catcher Martin Maldonado, left, shakes hands with relief pitcher Steven Wilson, right, after the White Sox defeated the Guardians in a baseball game Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians' Gavin Williams pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chicago White Sox's Martin Maldonado celebrates his home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chicago White Sox's Martin Maldonado celebrates his home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Eli Morgan, right, throws out Chicago White Sox's Martin Maldonado at first base in the sixth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams is greeted in the dugout after the second inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Erick Fedde wipes his face in the dugout after the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians' Daniel Schneemann gestures from second base after hitting a double in the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams tosses the rosin bag in the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians' Daniel Schneemann scores in the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chicago White Sox's Luis Robert Jr. celebrates in the dugout with teammates after scoring in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Chicago White Sox's Erick Fedde pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.

Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to Iran’s Shiite theocracy in his campaign and long has held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all matters of state in the country. But even Pezeshkian’s modest aims will be challenged by an Iranian government still largely held by hard-liners, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and Western fears over Tehran enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels with enough of a stockpile to produce several nuclear weapons if it chose.

A vote count offered by authorities put Pezeshkian as the winner with 16.3 million votes to Jalili’s 13.5 million in Friday’s election. Overall, Iran's Interior Ministry said 30 million people voted in an election held without internationally recognized monitors, representing a turnout of 49.6% — higher than the historic low of the June 28 first round vote but lower than other presidential races.

Supporters of Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and longtime lawmaker, entered the streets of Tehran and other cities before dawn to celebrate as his lead grew over Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator. Pezeshkian later traveled to the mausoleum of the late Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and addressed journalists in a chaotic event.

“In this election, I didn’t give you false promises. I did not lie,” Pezeshkian said. “It’s been many years after the revolution that we come to the podium, we make promises and we fail to fulfill them. This is the biggest problem we have.”

Pezeshkian's win still sees Iran at a delicate moment, with tensions high in the Mideast and a looming election in the United States that could put any chance of a detente between Tehran and Washington at risk. Pezeshkian's victory also wasn't a rout of Jalili, meaning he'll have to carefully navigate Iran's internal politics as the doctor has never held a sensitive, high-level security post.

Government officials up to Khameni, the supreme leader, predicted higher turnout as voting got underway, with state television airing images of modest lines at some polling centers. However, online videos purported to show some polls empty while a survey of several dozen sites in Tehran saw light traffic and a heavy security presence on the streets.

Authorities counted 607,575 voided votes — which often are a sign of protest by those who feel obligated to cast a ballot but reject both candidates.

Khamenei praised the turnout Saturday despite what he alleged was a boycott campaign “orchestrated by the enemies of the Iranian nation to induce despair and a feeling of hopelessness.”

“I would like to recommend Dr. Pezeshkian, the elected president, put his trust in God, the Compassionate, and set his vision on high, bright horizons,” Khamenei added.

Voters expressed a guarded optimism.

“I don’t expect anything from him — I am happy that the vote put the brake on hard-liners," said bank employee Fatemeh Babaei, who voted for Pezeshkian. "I hope Pezeshkian can return administration to a way in which all people can feel there is a tomorrow.”

Taher Khalili, a Kurdish-origin Iranian who runs a small tailor shop in Tehran, offered another reason to be hopeful while handing out candy to passersby.

“In the end, someone from my hometown and the west of Iran came to power,” Khalili said. "I hope he will make economy better for small businesses.”

Pezeshkian, who speaks Azeri, Farsi and Kurdish, campaigned on outreach to Iran's many ethnicities. He represents the first president from western Iran in decades — something people hope will aid the county as those in the western part are considered more tolerant because of the ethnic and religious diversity in their area.

The election came amid heightened regional tensions. In April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel over the war in Gaza, while militia groups armed by Tehran — such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels — are engaged in the fighting and have escalated their attacks.

While Khamenei remains the final decision-maker on matters of state, Pezeshkian could bend the country’s foreign policy toward either confrontation or collaboration with the West.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, which has reached a detente with Iran, sent his congratulations to Pezeshkian that stressed his “keenness to develop and deepen the relations that bring our two countries and peoples together.” Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has relied on Iranian-made drones in his war on Ukraine, similarly congratulated Pezeshkian.

Responding to questions from The Associated Press, the State Department called the Iranian election “not free or fair" and noted that “a significant number of Iranians chose not to participate at all.”

“We have no expectation these elections will lead to fundamental change in Iran’s direction or more respect for the human rights of its citizens,” the State Department added. “As the candidates themselves have said, Iranian policy is set by the supreme leader.”

However, it said it would pursue diplomacy “when it advances American interests.”

Candidates repeatedly touched on what would happen if former President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew America from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, won the November election. Iran has held indirect talks with President Joe Biden's administration, though there's been no clear movement back toward constraining Tehran's nuclear program for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Pezeshkian's win did see Iran's rial strengthen Saturday against the U.S. dollar, trading 603,000 to $1, down from 615,000 on Thursday. The rial traded 32,000 to $1 at the time the 2015 nuclear deal was reached.

Though identifying with reformists and relative moderates within Iran's theocracy during the campaign, Pezeshkian at the same time honored Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on one occasion wearing its uniform to parliament. He repeatedly criticized the United States and praised the Guard for shooting down an American drone in 2019, saying it “delivered a strong punch in the mouth of the Americans and proved to them that our country will not surrender.”

The late President Ebrahim Raisi, whose death in a May helicopter crash sparked the early election, was seen as a protégé of Khamenei and a potential successor as supreme leader.

Still, many knew him for his involvement in the mass executions that Iran conducted in 1988, and for his role in the bloody crackdowns on dissent that followed protests over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained by police over allegedly improperly wearing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab.

Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed to this report.

A woman casts her vote for the presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iran held a runoff presidential election on Friday that pitted a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman gets her ballot to vote for the presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, early Saturday, July 6, 2024. Iran held a runoff presidential election on Friday that pitted a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A policeman casts his vote for the presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iran held a runoff presidential election on Friday that pitted a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Candidate for the Iran's presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator, shakes hand with a supporter after casting his vote for the presidential runoff election in Qarchak near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iran was holding a runoff presidential election Friday pitting a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker, though both men earlier struggled to convince a skeptical public to cast ballots in the first round that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic's history. (AP Photo)

Candidate for the Iran's presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator, casts his vote for the presidential runoff election at a polling station in Qarchak near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iran was holding a runoff presidential election Friday pitting a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker, though both men earlier struggled to convince a skeptical public to cast ballots in the first round that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic's history. (AP Photo)

Reformist candidate for the Iran's presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian clenches his fist after casting his vote as he is accompanied by former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, at a polling station in Shahr-e-Qods near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iranians are voting in a runoff election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a May helicopter crash in the country’s northwest along with the foreign minister and several other officials. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Reformist candidate for the Iran's presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian waves as he arrives to vote at a polling station in Shahr-e-Qods near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iranians began voting Friday in a runoff election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

This combination of photos shows Iranian presidential election candidates Masoud Pezeshkian, left, a reformist lawmaker and a former Health Minister, and Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former senior nuclear negotiator, during their campaigns, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)