Luis Gil gets 1st big league win in 3 years, pitches Yankees over Rays 5-4

NEW YORK (AP) — Luis Gil struck out a career-high nine over 5 2/3 innings for his first major league win in three years, and the New York Yankees took advantage of Adam Civale’s control problems in a four-run fifth to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Sunday.

Civale walked three straight batters with two outs in the fifth, then gave up Alex Verdugo’s two-run single and RBI singles by Jose Trevino and Oswaldo Cabrera — all in a three-pitch span — as New York spurted ahead 5-1. The Yankees had been 3 for 17 with runners in scoring position heading into the inning.

Verdugo had three hits as New York (15-7) improved to 6-1 in series this season.

Gil (1-1) allowed an unearned run caused by his own throwing error on a pickoff try and the first of his two balks. Making his 11th big league start, the 25-year-old right-hander gave up two hits and three walks.

His only previous win was with six shutout innings in his debut against Baltimore on Aug. 3, 2021. He tore his ulnar collateral ligament while pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 18, 2022, and had Tommy John surgery six days later.

“Throughout that time, you stay positive. You keep your head up, you keep doing all the work and you're looking for it to pay off," Gil said through a translator.

He returned to the mound with Class A Tampa last Sept. 1 and has a 2.75 ERA in four starts with the Yankees this season. Gil averaged 95.9 mph with his fastball and got 14 swings and misses, including 11 with his heater.

Amed Rosario extended his hitting streak to 13 games and is batting .351. He had a two-run double with two outs in the eighth off Dennis Santana and scored on Curtis Mead’s single.

“Try not to think about it. Try to keep my mind on just having some fun,” Rosario said through a translator.

Victor González got three outs for his second save, making a dramatic play for the final out with a runner on. González swept his glove behind his back to deflect pinch-hitter Harold Ramírez's comebacker, which bounced toward first. The pitcher sprinted for the ball, scooped it and while falling made an underhand flip to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, then pounded his glove on the grass in excitement.

“That's something that usually I never do,” González said through a translator, “but today it was a reaction.”

Civale (2-2) walked a career-high five while giving up five runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. Tampa Bay has alternated wins and losses over its last 10 games.

“Obviously, three straight walks is never a good thing," Civale said.

Rizzo hit an RBI single following a pair of walks in the first, but the Rays tied the score in the third when José Caballero doubled past the glove of Cabrera at third, advanced when Gil threw a pickoff attempt into center field and came home on a balk.

New York’s 2-0, 10-inning loss Saturday was its first shutout defeat in extra innings at home since July 7, 2001.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: OF Jose Siri had a kidney stone and didn't play. Siri said he went to a hospital and intended to fly home with the team.

Yankees: 3B DJ LeMahieu could start a rehab assignment Tuesday. He has been sidelined since breaking his right foot on a foul ball during a spring training game on March 16. ... RHP Tommy Kahnle (shoulder) probably will advance to batting practice after one more bullpen session, according to manager Aaron Boone.

UP NEXT

Rays: RHP Zack Littell (1-0, 2.14 ERA) starts vs. Detroit and LHP Tarik Skubal (2-0, 2.28) in the opener of a three-game homestand.

Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (1-1, 3.66 ERA) starts Monday afternoon’s series opener against Oakland and former Yankees LHP JP Sears (1-1, 4.35).

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

From left to right, New York Yankees' Gleyber Torres, Oswaldo Cabrera, Anthony Volpe and Anthony Rizzo celebrate after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees pitcher Victor González reacts after throwing out Tampa Bay Rays' Harold Ramírez to end the ninth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees pitcher Victor González reacts after throwing out Tampa Bay Rays' Harold Ramírez to end the ninth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Tampa Bay Rays' José Caballero, left, high-fives Isaac Paredes after scoring on a balk during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees' Alex Verdugo, left, comes around to score past Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Aaron Civale (34) during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees' Alex Verdugo reacts after hitting a two run-scoring single against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees' Jose Trevino reacts after hitting a run-scoring single against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees' Alex Verdugo, right, reacts with Jahmai Jones, left, after scoring during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil throws against the Tampa Bay Rays during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil is called for a balk against Tampa Bay Rays' José Caballero during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil reacts after being called for a balk during the third inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil walks off the field during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.

Israel has portrayed the southern Gaza city of Rafah as Hamas' last stronghold, saying it must invade in order to succeed in its goals of dismantling the group and returning scores of hostages. A limited operation there has expanded in recent days, forcing some 300,000 people to flee.

But the rest of the war-ravaged territory seems to provide ample opportunities for Hamas. Israel has yet to offer a detailed plan for postwar governance in Gaza, saying only that it will maintain open-ended security control over the coastal enclave, which is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.

Prime Minister Benjmain Netanyahu has rejected postwar plans proposed by the United States for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to govern Gaza with support from Arab and Muslim countries. Those plans depend on progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, something to which Netanyahu's government is deeply opposed.

With the two close allies divided, Gaza has been left without a functioning government, leading to a breakdown in public order and allowing Hamas to reconstitute itself in even the hardest-hit areas.

Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp and other areas in the northern Gaza Strip, which has suffered widespread devastation and been largely isolated by Israeli forces for months. U.N. officials say there is a “full-blown famine” there.

Residents said Israeli warplanes and artillery struck across the camp and the Zeitoun area east of Gaza City, where troops have been battling Palestinian militants for over a week. They have called on tens of thousands of people to relocate to nearby areas.

“It was a very difficult night,” said Abdel-Kareem Radwan, a 48-year-old Palestinian from Jabaliya. He said they could hear intense and constant bombing since midday Saturday. “This is madness.”

First responders with the Palestinian Civil Defense said they were unable to respond to multiple calls for help from both areas, as well as Rafah, on the southern edge of Gaza. Israeli troops have been battling militants there since the army seized the nearby border crossing with Egypt last week.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesman, said troops are fighting in all parts of Gaza, “in areas where we have not yet operated and in places where we have.”

He said that in addition to Jabaliya and Zeitoun, forces were also operating in Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, towns near Gaza's northern border with Israel that were heavily bombed in the opening days of the war.

Five Israeli soldiers were killed in Zeitoun on Friday, and Palestinian militants fired a barrage of 14 rockets toward the Israeli city of Beersheba that night. Another rocket launched overnight damaged a home in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, the military said Sunday.

The United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees, the main provider of aid in Gaza, said 300,000 people have fled Rafah since the operation began there. Most are heading to the heavily damaged nearby city of Khan Younis or Mawasi, a crowded tent camp on the coast where some 450,000 people are already living in squalid conditions.

Rafah was sheltering some 1.3 million Palestinians before the Israeli operation began, most of whom had fled fighting elsewhere in the territory.

Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, and Hagari said dozens of militants had been killed there as “targeted operations continued.” The United Nations has warned that a planned full-scale Rafah invasion would further cripple humanitarian operations and cause a surge in civilian deaths.

Rafah borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, which are already affected. Israeli troops have captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, forcing it to shut down. Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel on the delivery of aid though the crossing because of “the unacceptable Israeli escalation,” the state-owned Al Qahera News television channel reported, citing an unnamed official.

U.S. President Joe Biden has said he won't provide offensive weapons to Israel for Rafah. On Friday, his administration said there was “reasonable” evidence that Israel had breached international law protecting civilians — Washington's strongest statement yet on the matter.

Israel rejects those allegations, saying it tries to avoid harming civilians and blaming Hamas for the high toll because it fights in dense, residential areas.

The war began when Hamas and other militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 250 hostage. They still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30.

Israel’s air, land and sea offensive has killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Israel says it has killed over 13,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Krauss reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

A Palestinian woman chants slogans against Israel during a protest called by Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, at the Palestinian refugee camp of Chatila in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 11, 2024. The Arabic on his headband reads: "No God but Allah and Muhammed is his messenger, top, Al-Quds Brigades, center, and The Islamic Jihad group in Palestine." (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Protesters holding Palestinian flags shout slogans during a protest rally at Syntagma Square, central Athens, Greece, Saturday, May 11, 2024. Activist groups and Palestinians living in Greece rallied in front of the Parliament and marched to protest Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Palestinian medics treat a wounded man in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)

Police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue of the Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn their child relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, early Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)

Palestinians mourn their relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, early Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)

A Palestinian woman mourns her child, Mahmoud Essa, 12, who was killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, early Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)