Steer homers twice and drives in 5 runs as Reds beat Cardinals

CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer homered in consecutive at-bats and drove in five runs, and Elly De La Cruz hit his team-leading 21st homer as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Monday night.

Andrew Abbott (10-9) allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings to snap his three-game losing streak. The left-hander was tagged for 12 earned runs over his previous 13 1/3 innings.

Cardinals starter Sonny Gray (11-7) struck out nine in five innings, but is winless in three career starts against his former club. He gave up six runs and five hits, including three homers.

Abbott escaped bases-loaded jams in the second and third. He finished with six strikeouts and retired 11 straight batters during one stretch.

Steer and De La Cruz homered on successive pitches from Gray to put Cincinnati ahead 3-1 in the third. It was the fifth time this season the Reds hit back-to-back homers.

ASTROS 6, RAYS 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Framber Valdez followed up his no-hit bid with 5 2/3 strong innings, and the AL West-leading won their six straight game by beating Tampa Bay.

Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz homered for the Astros, who lead the division by one-half game over idle Seattle.

Valdez (12-5) improved to 7-0 in his last nine starts after allowing three hits, one walk and striking out nine. The lefty was pulled after walking Yandy Díaz on his 101st pitch.

Tayler Scott and Kaleb Ort completed a four-hitter.

GUARDIANS 9, CUBS 8

CLEVELAND (AP) — Josh Naylor drove in José Ramírez with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Cleveland held on for a win over the Chicago Cubs.

Rookie Jhonkensy Noel hit a three-run homer and solo shot, and he made a diving catch in right field to save a couple runs for the AL Central-leading Guardians, who returned home after splitting a tense, four-game series at second-place Minnesota.

Steven Kwan added a two-run homer as the Guardians improved the league’s best home record to 36-20.

Ramírez opened the eighth with a double off Julian Merryweather (1-1) and pinch-hitter Will Brennan singled before Naylor bounced his base hit into left.

The Cubs led 3-0 and then fell behind 8-3 before tying it with four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth off Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen.

TWINS 8, ROYALS 3

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Willi Castro had a three-run home run and Royce Lewis hit a two-run shot in a six-run second inning for Minnesota on the way to a victory over Kansas City to open a key series between the division rivals and close wild card competitors.

The Twins, who improved to 6-2 against the Royals this season, remained 3 1/2 games behind American League Central leader Cleveland after splitting a four-game series with the Guardians during the weekend. The third-place Royals dropped to five games back.

The Twins (66-52) occupy the second AL wild card spot. The Royals (65-54) control the third spot, with a two-game cushion above the cut in their refreshing push to return to the playoffs for the first time since they won the 2015 World Series.

DODGERS 5, BREWERS 2

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Mookie Betts homered and drove in three runs to mark his return from a broken left hand, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and the Los Angeles defeated Milwaukee.

Clayton Kershaw struck out six in his first win this season, allowing one run over 5 2/3 innings as the Dodgers took the opener of a four-game series between NL division leaders.

The Dodgers activated Betts from the injured list earlier in the day and had him playing right field and batting second, with Ohtani leading off. Betts primarily had been playing shortstop and leading off this year before his hand got hit by a 98 mph fastball from Kansas City’s Dan Altavilla on June 16.

Milwaukee cut Los Angeles’ lead to 4-2 in the sixth when William Contreras greeted Joe Kelly with a two-out, two-run homer to right. Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez then hit back-to-back singles to put the potential tying run on base before Kelly struck out Rhys Hoskins to end the rally.

RED SOX 5, RANGERS 4, 10 INNINGS

BOSTON (AP) — Rob Refsnyder hit a game-winning single with two outs in the 10th inning after pinch-hitter Enmanuel Valdez’s double tied the score, lifting Boston to a 5-4 victory over fading Texas to snap a four-game losing streak Monday night.

Corey Seager had a tying, two-run homer for defending World Series champion Texas (55-64), which lost for the ninth time in 12 games to fall a season-low nine games under .500.

With automatic runner Romy Gonzalez on second, Valdez hit a drive to the edge of the triangle in right-center off Gerson Garabito (0-1) that just got past Leody Taveras and bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double.

Nick Sogard blooped a single to center and Mickey Gasper drew a one-out walk in his major league debut against Walter Pennington to load the bases. Following a force at home on Masataka Yoshida’s grounder, Refsnyder hit a 2-0 pitch for the winner.

Josh Winckowski (3-1) got the victory.

WHITE SOX 12, YANKEES 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Gavin Sheets matched a career high with four hits and drove in four runs, Korey Lee and Brooks Baldwin homered, and the Chicago White Sox gave interim manager Grady Sizemore his first win, pounding the New York Yankees.

The White Sox set season highs for runs and with 18 hits. They had lost three straight since beating Oakland to stop a 21-game skid that matched an American League record.

Lee connected leading off a two-run fourth against Yankees starter Luis Gil. Baldwin capped a six-run seventh with a three-run drive against Enyel De Los Santos that made it 11-2.

Sheets hit RBI doubles in a two-run first, in the fifth against Tim Hill and in the seventh off De Los Santos. He also scored in the inning on a single by Dominic Fletcher, and singled in a run in the eighth.

Andrew Vaughn had four hits and scored twice, helping the White Sox take out a team that came in tied with Baltimore for baseball’s best record.

New York’s Aaron Judge doubled in a run in the first against rookie Ky Bush. He came a few feet short of his 300th home run and a grand slam when he hit a fly to the warning track in the second.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, ROCKIES 4

PHOENIX (AP) — Corbin Carroll and Kevin Newman scrambled home on back-to-back wild pitches in the seventh inning, leading Arizona past Colorado for their fourth straight win.

The D-backs continued their extended roll, with an 18-5 record since the All-Star break.

Joc Pederson came to the plate in the seventh with Arizona trailing 4-3, two outs and runners on first and third, but he never had to hit the ball to put his team ahead. Tyler Kinley’s first wild pitch scored Carroll easily and Newman advanced all the way to third after getting a head start while stealing second.

Two pitches later, Kinley bounced another pitch that catcher Elias Díaz couldn’t quite handle. Newman made a daring dash home, sliding in ahead of the throw for the lead.

Jake McCarthy added two hits and two RBIs. Newman and Josh Bell also had two hits. Justin Martinez handled the ninth — working around a leadoff single — for his third save.

BLUE JAYS 4, ANGELS 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Bowden Francis pitched seven dominant innings and Will Wagner got hits in the first three at-bats of his major league debut as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Angels.

Leo Jiménez launched his first career home run and the last-place Blue Jays won the opener of a six-game trip after losing four of their previous five road games.

Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell homered for the Angels, who lost for the third time in four games after earning a series win on the road against the New York Yankees.

PADRES 2, PIRATES 1

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Xander Bogaerts had an RBI single in the seventh inning, Jackson Merrell made a game-saving diving catch in the ninth inning, and Joe Musgrove had a solid return from the 60-day injured list as San Diego beat Pittsburgh.

Musgrove, sidelined since May 26 due to right elbow inflammation, gave up two hits and walked one while striking out one in 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He pitched effectively, mixing his sliders, changeups and four-seam fastballs.

When Musgrove came out of the game in the fifth inning, he received a standing ovation from the 38th sold-out crowd of the season at Petco Park. He patted his heart and waived to the crowd while walking into the dugout.

Jeremiah Estrada (4-2) got the win for the Padres after pitching one inning in relief and closer Robert Suarez earned his 26th save after giving up two singles and a run in the ninth inning.

BRAVES 1, GIANTS 0, 10 INNINGS

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Chris Sale and Blake Snell put on a pitching show Monday night in a matchup of aces before Atlanta edged San Francisco on Travis d’Arnaud’s sacrifice fly in the 10th inning.

Snell carried a no-hit bid through six innings, 10 days after throwing his first career no-hitter at Cincinnati. The left-hander gave up Marcell Ozuna’s leadoff double in the seventh on his 103rd pitch.

Matt Olson followed with an infield single, but Snell struck out Orlando Arcia before getting pulled. The two-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 11 and walked three.

Sale fanned 12 without a walk in seven innings of three-hit ball. The eight-time All-Star lowered his ERA to 2.61 in his first season with Atlanta, which moved a game ahead of the New York Mets for the final National League wild card.

Cincinnati Reds' Spencer Steer hits a three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Phone video from one of 15 Palestinian medics killed by Israeli forces last month appears to contradict Israeli claims that the medics’ vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire on them in southern Gaza.

The footage shows the Red Crescent and Civil Defense teams driving slowly with their emergency vehicles’ lights flashing, logos visible, as they pulled up to help an ambulance that had come under fire earlier. The teams do not appear to be acting unusually or in a threatening manner as three medics emerge and head toward the stricken ambulance.

Their vehicles immediately come under a barrage of gunfire, which goes on for more than five minutes with brief pauses. The owner of the phone can be heard praying.

“Forgive me, mother. This is the path I chose, mother, to help people,” he cries, his voice weak.

Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a U.N. staffer were killed in the shooting before dawn on March 23 by Israeli troops conducting operations in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Troops then bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. U.N. and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to dig out the bodies.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society's vice president, Marwan Jilani, said the phone with the footage was found in the pocket of one of its slain staffers. The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations distributed the video to the U.N. Security Council. The Associated Press obtained the video from a U.N. diplomat on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public.

One paramedic who survived, Munzer Abed, confirmed the veracity of the video to the AP. Two block-shaped concrete structures visible in the video are also seen in a U.N. video released Sunday showing the recovery of the bodies from the site — a sign they are in the same location.

Asked about the video, the Israeli military said Saturday that the incident was “under thorough examination.”

The Israeli military earlier said it opened fire on the vehicles because they were “advancing suspiciously” on nearby troops without headlights or emergency signals.

The initial account of the vehicles not having emergency lights on was mistaken, an Israeli military official told journalists Saturday evening. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Younes Al-Khatib, called for an independent investigation. "We don’t trust any of the army investigations,” he told a briefing at the U.N. on Friday.

One medic, Assaad al-Nassasra, is still missing, the Red Crescent says. Abed said he saw al-Nassasra being led away blindfolded by Israeli troops. Al-Khatib said the organization has asked the military where it is holding the staffer.

Al-Khatib said the slain men had been “targeted at close range” and that a forensic autopsy report would be released soon.

Israel has accused Hamas of moving and hiding its fighters inside ambulances and emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, arguing that justifies strikes on them. Medical personnel largely deny the accusations.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 150 emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Civil Defense, most of them while on duty, as well as over 1,000 health workers, according to the U.N. The Israeli military rarely investigates such incidents.

Ambulances started heading to Tel al-Sultan at around 3:50 a.m. on March 23, responding to reports of wounded, Jilani said. The first ambulance returned safely with at least one casualty, he said. But, he said, subsequent ambulances came under fire.

His hands trembling, Abed told the AP on Saturday that as his ambulance entered the area, its siren lights were on. “All of a sudden, I am telling you, there was direct shooting at us,” so intense that the vehicle ground to a stop, he said.

A 10-year veteran of the Red Crescent, Abed said he was sitting in the back seat and ducked to the floor. He said he could hear nothing from his two colleagues in the front seat — the only others in the vehicle. They appear to have been killed instantly.

Israeli troops, some with night goggles, dragged Abed out of the ambulance and onto the ground, he said. They made him strip to his underwear, beat him all over his body with their rifle butts, then tied his hands behind his back, he said.

They interrogated him, asking him about his paramedic training and how many people were in the ambulance with him, he said. One soldier pressed the muzzle of his automatic rifle into his neck. Another pressed his knife blade into Abed’s palm, almost cutting it, until a third soldier pulled them away and warned Abed, “They’re crazy.”

Abed said he witnessed them opening fire on the next vehicles to arrive. Soldiers forced him onto his stomach and pressed a gun into his back, he said, and amid the shooting in the darkness, so he could only see two Civil Defense vehicles.

The phone video shows a rescue convoy of Red Crescent and Civil Defense vehicles that was sent out after contact was lost with the stricken ambulance. Taken from the dashboard of one vehicle, it shows several ambulances and a fire truck moving down a road through a barren area in the darkness. The emergency lights on their roofs are flashing the entire way.

They arrive at an ambulance on the side of the road and stop next to it, their lights still flashing. No Israeli troops are visible.

“Lord, let them be OK,” a man in the car says. Then he cries out, “They’re tossed around on the ground!” — apparently referring to bodies. Three men in orange Civil Defense clothing can be seen getting out of the vehicles and walking toward the stopped ambulance.

A shot rings out and one of the men appears to fall. Gunfire erupts.

The man holding the phone appears to scramble out of the car and onto the ground, but the screen goes black, though the audio continues. The gunfire goes on for nearly five and a half minutes, with long, heavy barrages followed by silences punctuated by individual shots and shouts and screams.

Throughout, the man with the phone says over and over, “There is no God but God and Muhammad is God’s prophet” — the profession of faith that Muslims say when they fear they are about to die. Near the end of the six-minute, 40-second video, voices can be heard shouting in Hebrew. “The Jews are coming,” the man said, referring to Israeli soldiers, before the video cuts off.

The Israeli military official asserted there was “no mistreatment,” and said he didn’t know why the vehicles had been buried. He had no information about the medic who remained missing.

The Israeli military says that after the shooting, troops determined they had killed a Hamas figure named Mohammed Amin Shobaki and eight other militants. However, none of the 15 slain medics has that name, and no other bodies are known to have been found at the site.

The military has not said what happened to Shobaki's body or released the names of the other alleged militants. The Israeli military official said Israel was “working to bring evidence” that Hamas operatives were killed.

Jonathan Whittall, interim head in Gaza of the U.N. humanitarian office OCHA, dismissed allegations that the slain medics were Hamas militants, saying staff had worked with the same medics previously in evacuating patients from hospitals and other tasks.

“These are paramedic crews that I personally have met before," he said. “They were buried in their uniforms with their gloves on. They were ready to save lives.”

Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip; Keath from Cairo. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, Sarah El Deeb in Cairo, Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Areej Hazboun contributed to this report.

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

FILE.- Mourners carry the bodies of 8 Red Crescent emergency responders, recovered in Rafah a week after an Israeli attack, as they are transported for burial from a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana,File)

FILE.- Mourners gather around the bodies of 8 Red Crescent emergency responders, recovered in Rafah a week after an Israeli attack, as they are transported for burial from a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana,File)