Jose Altuve hits 3-run homer and Astros beat Rangers 6-3

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer, Hunter Brown struck out five over six innings and the Houston Astros won their 10th straight home game, 6-3 over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

“How pretty is that swing, it never gets old,” Astros manager Joe Espada said about Altuve's homer. “Big homers, big moments, he hits it. The way the ball carries, it's exciting. I've been seeing it for years.”

Alex Bregman and Jake Meyers also homered while Josh Hader converted his 18th straight save opportunity. The Astros have the best record in the majors since June 1 at 25-11.

Holding on to a 3-2 lead in the sixth, Altuve crushed a 1-1 changeup from Texas reliever José Ureña 365 feet into the left field seats to make it 6-2.

“(I was looking for) a pitch I could hit, something up and in the middle,” Altuve said. “I was chasing all day long pitches out of the zone. So, I really focused on getting one pitch to hit.”

Houston’s defense kept the scorecard clean early for Brown. With two on in the first, Chas McCormick ended the inning with a diving grab in right field. The Astros then turned a pair of inning-ending double plays in the second and third innings.

“Those were huge,” Brown said. “With the first-inning pitch count kind of getting up there, those were big time for the overall feel of the game. Get out with two quick ones there and projected us into a good spot."

Brown (7-6) held the Rangers to two runs on five hits and walked two for his sixth win in his last seven starts.

“I thought that was a heck of an outing," Espada said. “His stuff was explosive and was pretty good. He made some really good pitches ... We needed an outing like that."

Hader struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth inning. This was his second-straight game with a save and his sixth in July.

“He's coming at you with heat,” Espada said.

Texas starter Andrew Heaney (3-10) gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits, walked two and struck out five in five innings. It was Heaney’s fourth loss in his last seven starts.

“He kept us in the game,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “Overall he gave us a chance. That's a good-hitting ball club. I thought he had good stuff, so overall I thought he threw fine.”

Corey Seager hit a two-run homer, his 18th of the year, and went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Marcus Semien went 3 for 3 for Texas in the leadoff spot.

Five of the Rangers' seven hits came from Seager and Semien at the top of the lineup. The rest of the lineup went 2 for 25 with two singles. Texas left six runners on base.

“That's probably what did us in tonight, we had a tough time getting some guys on base after those two,” Bochy said. “Corey got us back in the game, it's a one-run game. We like our chances there but they answered back with a two-out rally in the sixth.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: RHP Tyler Mahle (right UCL repair surgery) will pitch three innings in his third rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League … RHP Dane Dunning (right shoulder tightness) threw a live batting practice in Anaheim on Wednesday.

Astros: DH/OF Yordan Alvarez returned to the lineup on Friday after missing Thursday’s game due to hip tightness … RHP Luis Garcia (Tommy John surgery) didn’t throw his scheduled bullpen on Friday. Garcia is throwing off flat ground and Astros manager Joe Espada doesn’t consider this a setback in his rehab process …OF Kyle Tucker (right shin contusion) played catch on the field for a second straight day on Friday.

UP NEXT

Houston RHP Spencer Arrighetti (4-7, 5.96 ERA) faces Texas RHP Nathan Eovaldi (6-3, 3.10 ERA) when the series continues Saturday afternoon.

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

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Andrew Heaney delivers against the Houston Astros during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 12, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 12, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Texas Rangers' Adolis Garcia reacts after being hit by a pitch from the Houston Astros during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 12, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Texas Rangers' Corey Seager, right, celebrates after his two-run home run with Marcus Semien during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Friday, July 12, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Texas Rangers' Corey Seager, right, celebrates after his two-run home run with third base coach Tony Beasley during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Friday, July 12, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Astros' Jake Meyers hits a solo home run against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 12, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Astros' Jake Meyers watches his solo home run against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 12, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve (27) celebrates after his three-run home run against the Texas Rangers with Mauricio Dubon during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 12, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve hits a three-run home run against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 12, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court convicted two former editors of a shuttered news outlet on Thursday, in a sedition case that is widely seen as a barometer for the future of media freedom in the city once hailed as a bastion of free press in Asia.

Stand News former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam were arrested in December 2021. They pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications. Their sedition trial was Hong Kong’s first involving media since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Stand News was one of the city’s last media outlets that openly criticized the government amid a crackdown on dissent that followed massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.

It was shut down just months after the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, whose jailed founder Jimmy Lai is fighting collusion charges under a sweeping national security law enacted in 2020.

Chung and Lam were charged under a colonial-era sedition law that has been used increasingly to crush dissidents. They face up to two years in prison and a fine of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $640) for a first offense.

Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd., the outlet’s holding company, was convicted on the same charge. It had no representatives during the trial, which began in October 2022.

Judge Kwok Wai-kin said in his written judgement that Stand News’ became a tool for smearing the Beijing and Hong Kong governments during the 2019 protests.

“When speech, in the relevant context, is deemed to have caused potential damage to national security and intends to seriously undermine the authority of the Chinese central government or the Hong Kong government, and that it must be stopped,” he said.

The case was centered on 17 articles. Prosecutors said some promoted “illegal ideologies,” or smearing the security law and law enforcement officers.

Judge Kwok found that 11 of the carried seditious intent, including commentaries written by activist Nathan Law and esteemed journalists Allan Au and Chan Pui-man. Chan is also Chung’s wife. He found that the other six did not, such as interviews with pro-democracy ex-lawmakers Law and Ted Hui, who are among a group of overseas-based activists targeted by Hong Kong police bounties.

Chung appeared calm after the verdict was handed down, while Lam did not appear in court due to health reasons. The pair were given bail pending sentencing on September 26.

Defense lawyer Audrey Eu read out a mitigation statement from Lam, who said Stand News reporters sought to run a news outlet with fully independent editorial standards. “The only way for journalists to defend press freedom is reporting,” Eu quoted Lam saying.

Eu did not read out Chung's mitigation letter in court. But local media outlet quoted his letter, in which he wrote that that many Hong Kongers who are not journalists have held to their beliefs, and some have lost their own freedom because they care about everyone’s freedom in the community.

“Accurately recording and reporting their stories and thoughts is an inescapable responsibility of journalists,” he wrote in that letter.

The delivery of the verdict was delayed several times for reasons including awaiting the appeal outcome of another landmark sedition case. Dozens of residents and reporters lined up to secure a seat for the hearing, which began an hour late.

Resident Kevin Ng, who was among the first in the line, said he used to be a reader of Stand News and has been following the trial. Ng, 28, said he read less news after its shutdown, feeling the city has lost some critical voices. He said if the editors were found guilty, he would have “complex feelings.”

“They reported the truth, they defended press freedom," said Ng, who works in risk management industry.

Stand News shut down in December 2021, following a high-profile police raid at its office and the arrests. Armed with a warrant to seize relevant journalistic materials, more than 200 officers participated in the operation.

Days after Stand News shut down, independent news outlet Citizen News also announced it would cease operations, citing the deteriorating media environment and the potential risks to its staff.

Hong Kong was ranked 135 out of 180 territories in Reporters Without Borders’ latest World Press Freedom Index, down from 80 in 2021. Self-censorship has also become more prominent during the political crackdown on dissent. In March, the city government enacted another new security law that many journalists worried it could further curtail press freedom.

Reporters Without Borders condemned the guilty verdict in a statement, saying it has set a dangerous precedent and struck another blow against the city’s “shattered press freedom.”

Eric Lai, a research fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said the ruling is in line with “the anti-free-speech trend” of rulings since the 2020 security law took effect. He said it criminalized journalists carrying out their professional duties.

The Hong Kong government insists the city still enjoys press freedom, as guaranteed by its mini-constitution.

FILE - Protesters from Hong Kong in Taiwan and local supporters hold slogans reading "Protest Against Totalitarian Liquidation of Stand News" and " Support Press Freedom in Hong Kong" to protest outside of the Bank of China in Taipei, Taiwan, Dec. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File)

FILE - A worker carrying some containers walks past police officers during a raid on the office of Stand News during a raid in Hong Kong, Dec. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

FILE - Former chief editor Chung Pui-kuen, right, and former acting editor Patrick Lam, left, of the now-defunct independent media outlet Stand News leave the court on the last day of the publication's sedition trial closing statements in Hong Kong, June 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)

FILE - Chung Pui-kuen, second left, former chief editor and Patrick Lam, left, former acting editor of the now-defunct independent media outlet Stand News leave the court on the last day of the publication's sedition trial closing statements, in Hong Kong, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)