Abreu has 2 go-ahead hits as Red Sox beat Rangers 11-6 for first consecutive wins since break

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Wilyer Abreu put Boston ahead to stay with an RBI single after his earlier two-run homer, Nick Sogard had a two-run single for his first big league hit and the Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 11-6 on Friday night.

Ceddanne Rafaela and Rafael Devers also went deep for the wild card-chasing Red Sox, who have won consecutive games for the first time since before the All-Star break. They are 5-8 in that stretch and remained two games behind Minnesota for the AL's third wild card.

“We were very aggressive early in counts, but not trying to do too much,” Red Sox manger Alex Cora said. “We had some quality at-bats, we ran the bases well, and then obviously we hit the ball out of the ballpark.”

Corey Seager hit two solo homers, added a sacrifice fly and scored three of the Texas runs. Marcus Semien and Leody Taveras also had long balls.

All four Texas homers came off starter Kutter Crawford (7-8), who struck out five and walked one in 5 1/3 innings.

“My execution has got be better. ... I gave up some damage, and all those pitches were pretty much over the middle of the plate,” Crawford said. “It feels good when your offense can put up seven, eight, nine runs. We can swing it with the best of them, we’ve kind of seen it all this year. Fortunately for me, tonight they had my back.”

Rangers right-hander José Ureña (3-6) allowed seven runs and eight hits pitching into the fifth.

The reigning World Series champion Rangers have lost three games in a row, and six of seven, since a five-game winning streak that got them within a game of .500 — they haven't had a winning record since 24-23 on May 18, and have been in third place in the AL West since June 20.

“Just got to play better,” Seager said. “There’s always an urgency. You have to. I've talked about it all year, it's about winning series, we've tried to do it all year. Haven’t done a good job of it lately.”

Seager put Texas up 1-0 in the first before Abreu's two-run shot in the second. After Taveras and Seager homered for a 3-2 lead in the third, the Red Sox responded with a four-run fourth.

Boston's big inning began with four consecutive hits, with Connor Wong's RBI single tying the game before Abreu followed with his. They both scored on a sharp liner to right by Sogard, the 26-year-old second baseman who made his MLB debut after being called up from Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.

Rafaela homered in the sixth and Devers hit his 25th in the ninth off Andrew Chafin, who made his first appearance for the Rangers since his trade from Detroit on Tuesday.

Luis García retired all three batters he faced in the ninth in his first Red Sox game since they got him in a deadline deal from the Los Angeles Angels.

DOUBLING UP

The Rangers turned double plays in three consecutive innings. That included Ezequiel Durán making a catch in right field and then throwing out Tyler O'Neill trying to advance to third base to end the fifth inning. It was Durán's first career start in right.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: RHP Chris Martin (right elbow inflammation) is expected to throw a bullpen session Saturday, and could then go on a minor league rehab assignment. He last pitched July 3. ... RHP Kenley Jansen tweaked his back in his last appearance Wednesday, but manager Alex Cora said before the game that the closer was “doing OK, ready to go.” Jansen was warming up before Boston scored two runs in the ninth inning.

Rangers: Three-time Cy Young Award winner and active career strikeout leader Max Scherzer was placed on the 15-day injured list because of right shoulder fatigue. ... Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom is set to throw another bullpen Saturday. If all goes well, he could then face hitters for the first time since his elbow surgery last June.

UP NEXT

All-Star right-hander Tanner Houck (8-7, 2.79 ERA) pitches for Boston on Saturday night. The Rangers hadn't announced their starter.

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

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Luis Garcia (40) and catcher Connor Wong, right, celebrate after defeating the Texas Rangers in a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. Boston beat Texas 11-6. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Texas Rangers' Marcus Semien runs the bases on his two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Luis Garcia throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien fields a ground ball hit by Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Boston Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela, left, celebrates in his dugout with Nick Sogard (75) after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Boston Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela runs the bases on his two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Texas Rangers' Marcus Semien (2) is congratulated by Nathaniel Lowe (30) after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Texas Rangers starting pitcher José Ureña throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu, bottom, watches as a solo home run hit by Texas Rangers' Corey Seager heads toward fans during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Texas Rangers' Corey Seager (5) is congratulated by manager Bruce Bochy after hitting a solo home during the first inning of a baseball against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Boston Red Sox's Nick Sogard runs the bases on a two-run home run by Ceddanne Rafaela during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

Boston Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu, center, is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

NEW YORK (AP) — In what appears to be a sophisticated, remote attack, pagers used by hundreds of members of Hezbollah exploded almost simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria Tuesday, killing at least nine people — including an 8-year-old girl — and wounding thousands more.

A U.S. official said Israel briefed the U.S. on the operation — in which small amounts of explosive secreted in the pagers were detonated — on Tuesday after it was concluded. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the information publicly.

The Iran-backed militant group blamed Israel for the deadly explosions, which targeted an extraordinary breadth of people and showed signs of being a long-planned operation. Details on how the attack was executed are largely uncertain and investigators have not immediately said how the pagers were detonated. The Israeli military has declined to comment.

Here's what we know so far.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying they could be used by Israel to track the group's movements. As a result, the organization uses pagers to communicate.

A Hezbollah official told The Associated Press the exploded devices were from a new brand the group had not used before. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press, did not identify the brand name or supplier.

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday it had authorized use of its brand on the AR-924 pager model and a Budapest, Hungary-based company called BAC Consulting produced and sold the pagers. Further information on BAC wasn't immediately available.

Nicholas Reese, adjunct instructor at the Center for Global Affairs in New York University’s School of Professional Studies, explains smart phones carry a higher risk for intercepted communications in contrast to the simpler technology of pagers.

This type of attack will also force Hezbollah to change their communication strategies, said Reese, who previously worked as an intelligence officer, adding that survivors of Tuesday's explosions are likely to throw away "not just their pagers, but their phones, and leaving their tablets or any other electronic devices.”

Even with a U.S. official confirming it was a planned operation by Israel, multiple theories have emerged Tuesday around how the attack might have been carried out. Several experts who spoke with The Associated Press explained how the explosions were most likely the result of supply-chain interference.

Very small explosive devices may have been built into the pagers prior to their delivery to Hezbollah, and then all remotely triggered simultaneously, possibly with a radio signal.

By the time of the attack, “the battery was probably half-explosive and half-actual battery," said Carlos Perez, director of security intelligence at TrustedSec.

A former British Army bomb disposal officer explained that an explosive device has five main components: A container, a battery, a triggering device, a detonator and an explosive charge.

“A pager has three of those already,” explained the ex-officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he now works as a consultant with clients on the Middle East. “You would only need to add the detonator and the charge.”

After security camera footage appeared on social media Tuesday purporting to show one of the pagers explode on a man’s hip in a Lebanese market, two munitions experts offered opinions that corroborate the U.S. official's statement that the blast appeared to be the result of a tiny explosive device.

“Looking at the video, the size of the detonation is similar to that caused by an electric detonator alone or one that incorporates an extremely small, high-explosive charge,” said Sean Moorhouse, a former British Army officer and explosive ordinance disposal expert.

This signals involvement of a state actor, Moorhouse said. He adds that Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, is the most obvious suspect to have the resources to carry out such an attack.

N.R. Jenzen-Jones, an expert in military arms who is director of the Australian-based Armament Research Services, notes that Israel had been accused of carrying out similar operations in the past. Last year, AP reported that Iran accused Israel of trying to sabotage its ballistic missile program through faulty foreign parts that could explode, damaging or destroying the weapons before they could be used.

It would take a long time to plan an attack of this scale. The exact specifics are still unknown, but experts who spoke with the AP shared estimates ranging anywhere between several months to two years.

The sophistication of the attack suggests that the culprit has been collecting intelligence for a long time, Reese explained. An attack of this caliber requires building the relationships needed to gain physical access to the pagers before they were sold; developing the technology that would be embedded in the devices; and developing sources who can confirm that the targets were carrying the pagers.

And it's likely the compromised pagers seemed normal to their users for some time before the attack. Elijah J. Magnier, a Brussels-based veteran and a senior political risk analyst with over 37 years experience in the region, said he has had conversations with members of Hezbollah and survivors of Tuesday's pager attack. He said the pagers were procured more than six months ago.

“The pagers functioned perfectly for six months," Magnier said. What triggered the explosion, he said, appeared to be an error message sent to all the devices.

Based on his conversations with Hezbollah members, Magnier also said that many pagers didn’t go off, allowing the group to inspect them. They came to the conclusion that between 3 to 5 grams of a highly explosive material were concealed or embedded in the circuitry, he said.

Jenzen-Jones also adds that “such a large-scale operation also raises questions of targeting" — stressing the number of causalities and enormous impact reported so far.

“How can the party initiating the explosive be sure that a target’s child, for example, is not playing with the pager at the time it functions?” he said.

Hezbollah issued a statement confirming at least two members were killed in the bombings. One of them was the son of a Hezbollah member in parliament, according to the Hezbollah official who spoke anonymously. The group later issued announcements that six other members were killed Tuesday, though it did not specify how.

“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression that also targeted civilians,” Hezbollah said, adding that Israel will “for sure get its just punishment.”

Associated Press journalist Johnson Lai in Taipei

People donate blood for those who were injured by their exploded handheld pagers, at a Red Cross center, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)