Dean Kremer holds Rays hitless for 6 innings as first-place Orioles beat Rays 2-0

BALTIMORE (AP) — Dean Kremer took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Gunnar Henderson hit his 36th home run and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 Friday night to remain atop the AL East.

Baltimore holds a half-game lead over the New York Yankees, who blanked the Chicago Cubs earlier Friday. The Orioles have 20 games left in the regular season and New York has 21 to go.

“Coming down the stretch, every game is important,” Kremer said. “We're just trying to win every one.”

Kremer lost his no-hit bid when rookie Junior Caminero led off the seventh with a sharp single to left field. Dylan Carlson then grounded a single to right. After Josh Lowe reached on an error to load the bases with no outs, Kremer was pulled by manager Brandon Hyde with Baltimore nursing a 2-0 lead.

Yennier Cano quelled the threat by striking out Jonny DeLuca and José Caballero before retiring Ben Rortvedt on a popup.

“My adrenaline was pumping at 100 percent there,” Cano said through an interpreter. “Obviously, that was a defining moment in the game, so I was really happy to help the team right there.”

Kremer (7-9) walked three and struck out seven. The right-hander was making his first start since Aug. 31, when he was forced out of the game after being struck on the right forearm with a line drive.

“I can still see the seams where it hit him,” Hyde said a few hours before Kremer took the mound against the Rays.

Afterward, Kremer said, “It hurt and it's stiff now, but it is what it is.”

Losing his no-hit bid was not necessarily a major disappointment.

“Disappointment is the wrong word,” Kremer said. “No hitters are rare. You usually give it up in the first inning, so you never usually think about it. You just move on.”

Seranthony Domínguez got the final four outs to complete the three-hitter and earn his ninth save, the eighth since coming to Baltimore in a late-July trade with the Phillies. He ended it by inducing a popup from Rortvedt with runners on second and third.

Shane Baz (2-3) allowed two hits and one earned run over six innings for the Rays. Baltimore scored an unearned run in the fifth before Henderson hit a solo shot to right in the sixth, his third home run in five games this month.

“I definitely won't complain about what Shane Baz did tonight. An outstanding effort on his part,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Unfortunately, their guy was just as good and kind of went toe-to-toe. That's why you had a low-scoring game.”

Tampa Bay has lost six of nine overall and is 2-9 against Baltimore this season.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rays: 2B Brandon Lowe was held out with a swollen middle finger on his right hand. “Right now, every little swing is aggravating him, so we're not sure how long it's going to take,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Orioles: INF Ramón Urías (sprained ankle) is off crutches and “making huge strides" in his bid to return in late September, Hyde said. ... 1B Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) is hitting off a tee, but “still not coming along the way we were hoping,” Hyde said. ... INF Jordan Westburg (hand) is engaging in some baseball activities but not yet swinging a bat. ... The Orioles are trying to determine if reliever Jacob Webb (elbow) needs another rehab start before coming off the IL.

UP NEXT

Zach Eflin (10-7, 3.60 ERA) faces the Rays on Saturday for the second time since being dealt from Tampa Bay to Baltimore on July 26. He's 5-0 in five starts with the Orioles. Ryan Pepiot (7-6, 3.76) starts for the Rays.

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Tampa Bay Rays' Taylor Walls reacts after lining out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson, right, celebrates with Adley Rutschman, left, after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Ryan O'Hearn throws his bat after hitting a flyout to Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Jonny DeLuca during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Former Baltimore Orioles player and current team minority owner Cal Ripken Jr., center, is introduced as the guest splasher to spray fans in the "Bird Bath Splash Zone" during a baseball game between the Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda reacts after striking out swinging during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson advances toward first base after hitting a single during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Dean Kremer delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

LONDON (AP) — Former BBC news anchor Huw Edwards, once one of the most prominent media figures in Britain, was given a suspended prison sentence Monday for images of child sexual abuse on his phone.

Edwards, 63, pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates’ Court in July to three counts of making indecent images of children, a charge related to photos sent to him on the WhatsApp messaging service by a man convicted of distributing images of child sex abuse.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring sentenced Edwards to a six-month prison term suspended for two years.

“It is not an exaggeration to say your long-earned reputation is in tatters,” Goldspring said.

Edwards' fall from grace over the past year has caused turmoil for the BBC after it was revealed the publicly funded broadcaster paid him about 200,000 pounds ($263,000) for five months of his salary after he had been arrested in November while on leave. The BBC has asked him to pay it back.

Edwards had been one of the BBC’s top earners when he was suspended in July 2023 over separate claims made last year involving a teenager he allegedly paid for sexually explicit photos. Police investigated and decided not to bring charges.

Although Edwards was not publicly named at the time those allegations surfaced, his wife later revealed he was the news presenter investigated and said he was hospitalized for serious mental health issues.

He never returned to the air but the BBC kept him on the payroll until he resigned in April for health reasons.

Edwards began his BBC career in Wales four decades ago. He went on to become lead anchor on the nighttime news for two decades and led the coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 as well as election coverage.

The BBC said it had been shocked to hear the details of the charges against Edwards at the time of his guilty plea.

More than 375 sexual images were sent to him on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021. More than 40 were indecent images of children, including seven classified as “category A” — the most indecent — with children estimated to be between 13 and 15. One child was aged between 7 and 9.

In chats with Alex Williams, a convicted pedophile, Edwards was asked if he wanted sexual images of a person whose “age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16,” and Edwards replied, “yes xxx,” prosecutor Ian Hope said.

“From that chat in December 2020, Alex Williams said that he had ‘a file of vids and pics for you of someone special,’” Hope said. “Mr. Edwards immediately queried who the subject was and was then sent three images of seemingly the same person, from two of which images the subject’s age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16.”

Williams later sent Edwards video in February 2021 that involved two children, one possibly as young as seven and another no older than 13, involving penetration, Hope said.

Edwards did not respond, but when later asked by Williams if the material was too young, he said, “don’t send underage.” He also said he didn’t want him to send anything illegal.

Defense lawyer Philip Evans said Edwards was “truly sorry” for the offenses and the damage he had done to his family.

“He apologizes sincerely and he makes it clear that he has the utmost regret and he recognizes that he has betrayed the priceless trust and faith of so many people,” Evans said.

Evans said Williams had reached out to Edwards on Instagram at a time when he was mentally vulnerable and began sending him images. He said Edwards never received gratification from the images and hadn’t saved them or sent them to anyone.

Hope said Edwards paid Williams “not insignificant sums of money,” as gifts that Williams used for support while studying at a university.

At one point, Williams asked for a “Christmas gift after all the hot videos” he had sent. Edwards had said some of the images were “amazing,” Hope said.

Williams, 25, was given a suspended 1-year sentence in March for possessing and distributing indecent images as well as possessing prohibited images of children.

Huw Edwards an ex-BBC news presenter arrives at Westminster Magistrate's Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in London, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

A small number of protesters wait for Huw Edwards an ex-BBC news presenter to arrive at Westminster Magistrate's Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in London, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

A small number of protesters wait for Huw Edwards an ex-BBC news presenter to arrive at Westminster Magistrate's Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in London, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Huw Edwards an ex-BBC news presenter arrives at Westminster Magistrate's Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in London, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Huw Edwards an ex-BBC news presenter arrives at Westminster Magistrate's Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in London, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Huw Edwards an ex-BBC news presenter arrives at Westminster Magistrate's Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in London, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Huw Edwards an ex-BBC news presenter arrives at Westminster Magistrate's Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in London, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Huw Edwards an ex-BBC news presenter arrives at Westminster Magistrate's Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in London, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)