Cantillo gets his 1st major league win as the Guardians knock off the White Sox 5-3

CHICAGO (AP) — Joey Cantillo pitched seven sparkling innings for his first major league win, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 on Monday night.

Cantillo was working on a perfect game before Andrew Benintendi grounded a single into right field with two outs in the seventh. Benintendi advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Andrew Vaughn's single, but Korey Lee bounced to third for the final out of the inning.

Cantillo (1-3) struck out a career-high 10 in his fifth start and sixth major league appearance overall. The 24-year-old left-hander, recalled from Triple-A Columbus earlier in the day, stepped into the rotation after Alex Cobb was scratched Saturday because of a blister.

“That was a beautifully pitched game,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.

Asked if the seventh was Cantillo's last inning no matter what, a grinning Vogt played it coy.

“Let's just say I was not too upset that the hit happened,” he said. “Yeah, I mean you get to that point in the game and we have to think of his health, we have to think of the rest of the season.”

David Fry and Bo Naylor homered for Cleveland, and Steven Kwan reached three times from the leadoff spot and scored two runs.

The Guardians increased their AL Central lead to 3 1/2 games over second-place Kansas City, which lost 10-4 to the New York Yankees.

“It means a lot,” Cantillo said of his first win. “I mean, a little weight lifted off, I guess. ... We know how important that is to just get that win. A team win.”

It was a franchise-record 13th consecutive home loss and No. 15 in 17 games overall for the lowly White Sox. At 33-112, they are approaching the majors’ modern record for most losses — 120 by the 1962 New York Mets in their inaugural season.

Bryan Ramos hit his first big league homer for Chicago in the eighth, a two-run drive off Nick Sandlin. Emmanuel Clase handled the ninth for his 43rd save in 46 opportunities.

“I was looking at the score a couple of times and I say, ‘What’s going on? Come on, guys. I know we can do it,’” Ramos said. “Finally Benny got a hit. After that, the team kind of got going.”

Fry lifted Cleveland to a 3-0 lead when he hit a solo drive off Jared Shuster (1-4) in the third. Naylor went deep against Enyel De Los Santos in the fourth.

It was the 14th homer of the season for Fry and No. 12 for Naylor.

“Our guys had great at-bats for the majority of the night,” Vogt said.

Chicago dropped to 5-23 since Grady Sizemore took over as interim manager on Aug. 8, replacing Pedro Grifol. Sizemore, 42, was a three-time All-Star outfielder while spending the first eight years of his playing career with Cleveland.

“I have nothing but good memories from my time there," Sizemore said before the game. "I guess it’s always a little exciting and a little motivation when you’re playing your old team, but just trying to focus on our guys really and just put together another good series.”

TRAINER'S ROOM

White Sox: 3B Yoán Moncada (left adductor strain) is going to continue with his rehab stint with Triple-A Charlotte for now. "He’s been responding well, but at this point, we want to continue to make sure he’s in a good spot and he feels good about where his body’s at before we make a decision on bringing him back,” general manager Chris Getz said.

UP NEXT

Jonathan Cannon (3-9, 4.53 ERA) starts for Chicago on Tuesday night. The rookie right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in an 8-1 victory at Baltimore on Wednesday. Cleveland had not announced its starter.

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

Chicago White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore, right, pats designated hitter Bryan Ramos (44) on the back after Ramos was struck out by the Cleveland Guardians during the third inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore walks to the mound to make a pitching change during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Cleveland Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel removes his glove after Chicago White Sox pitcher Jairo Iriarte walked him, forcing in a run by Steven Kwan, during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago White Sox pitcher Jairo Iriarte bites his glove after being removed from the mound by interim manager Grady Sizemore during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Cleveland Guardians' Bo Naylor celebrates after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Cleveland Guardians' Bo Naylor runs the bases after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Cleveland Guardians' Josh Naylor celebrates after scoring on a double by Lane Thomas during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Joey Cantillo throws against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

GENEVA (AP) — Independent U.N. human rights experts said in a new report Tuesday that their findings show Venezuela's government has intensified the use of “harshest and most violent" tools of repression following the disputed July presidential election.

The official results of the July 28 vote have been widely criticized as undemocratic, opaque and aimed to maintain President Nicolás Maduro in power.

In its report, the fact-finding mission on Venezuela, commissioned by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, denounced rights violations including arbitrary detentions, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence by the country's security forces that “taken as a whole, constitute the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds.”

“During the period covered by this report, and especially after the presidential election of July 28, 2024, the state reactivated and intensified the harshest and most violent mechanisms of its repressive apparatus,” said the experts in the report, which covered a one-year period through Aug. 31.

The findings echo concerns from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Human Rights Watch, and others about Venezuela and its democracy, including repression before and after the highly anticipated vote and the subsequent flight into exile of Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo González.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, said he won with 52% of the vote. But opposition supporters collected tally sheets from 80% of the nation's electronic voting machines, and said that indicated González had won the election — with twice as many votes as Maduro.

Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice, whose members are aligned with the ruling party, to audit the results. The high court reaffirmed his victory.

The independent experts, who do not represent the United Nations, decried the government's efforts to crush peaceful opposition to its rule.

The justice system — led by the Supreme Tribunal — “is clearly subordinated” to the interests of Maduro and his close allies and served as a “key instrument in its plan to repress all forms of political and social opposition,” they wrote.

In the hours after Maduro was declared the winner, thousands of people took to the streets across Venezuela. The protests were largely peaceful, but demonstrators also toppled statues of Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez, threw rocks at law enforcement officers and buildings, and burned police motorcycles and government propaganda.

Maduro's government responded to the demonstrations with full force, carrying out arbitrary detentions, prosecutions as well as a campaign that encourages people to report relatives, neighbors and other acquaintances who participated in the protests or cast doubt on the results.

The independent experts said they compiled the report through interviews with 383 people and reviews of court case files and other documents while also acknowledging limits to their information-gathering in the post-election period.

The experts said their requests for information from Venezuelan authorities were “ignored” despite appeals for cooperation from the rights council, which is made up of a rotating membership among 47 U.N. member countries.

Associated Press writers Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

FILE - Protesters clash with police during demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)