ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Justin Verlander picked up his first win since returning from a neck injury and Yordan Alvarez hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning as the Houston Astros defeated the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 on Saturday night.
Kyle Tucker added a pinch-hit homer, Jose Altuve had two hits and two runs scored, and the Astros won their third straight to remain 4 1/2 games ahead of second-place Seattle in the AL West.
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Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jose Altuve also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez runs the bases after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jose Altuve also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Angels' Taylor Ward (3) celebrates in the dugout after scoring off of a single hit by Nolan Schanuel during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve (27) scores off of a wild pitch from Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson during the first inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve singles on a bunt during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez runs the bases after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jose Altuve also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Tucker's home run was his first in seven games since returning from a shin fracture. He has yet to play the outfield in consecutive games since coming back Sept. 6.
“To have a guy like that on the bench, you'd rather have him on the field, but when you have him on the bench, you can't wait to throw him out there,” Astros manager Joe Espada said.
Verlander (4-6) gave up two runs and four hits over five innings after he was 0-4 with a 9.69 ERA in four starts since returning Aug. 21 following a 2 1/2-month absence due to neck stiffness. He had two walks and two strikeouts while earning his first win since May 24 against Oakland.
Ryan Pressly pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for his fourth save.
Despite the win, the 41-year-old Verlander is still looking for more from his outings as October approaches.
“It's start to start at this point, trying to play catchup,” the three-time Cy Young Award winner said. “Unfortunately, before I got hurt, I got on a little bit of a good run there, kind of found my mechanics and then the neck injury, and I kind of lost it. Obviously, I lost a lot of time. I'm trying as quickly as I can to get back to that version where I'm tougher to hit than I am right now.”
Los Angeles starter Tyler Anderson (10-13) gave up four runs and seven hits over five innings. Eric Wagaman delivered the first hit and RBI of his career in his fifth game for the Angels on a double in the fourth.
“That's awesome; now he can relax a little bit,” manager Ron Washington said.
Wagaman began his major league career 0 for 9 with two strikeouts.
Altuve got the Astros going by leading off the game with a bunt single and stealing second base. He went to third on a groundout and scored on Anderson's wild pitch.
Verlander walked his first two batters before Nolan Schanuel gave the Angels their first run on an RBI single.
Houston's defense picked up Verlander from there, starting with a diving catch in center field from Jake Meyers. That began a run in which Verlander retired nine of the next 10 Angels batters.
Astros right fielder Ben Gamel slammed into the short wall in right field in the fourth to take away a potential RBI from Mickey Moniak, although Wagaman followed with his RBI double for a 2-1 Angels lead.
“There's been some starts now when the ball hasn't gone my way, so it was nice to have some of those (defensive plays)," Verlander said. “It felt great.”
Verlander is lined up for at least two more starts before the regular season ends and the Astros put together potential roles for the postseason.
“We'll evaluate this one over the next few days and just continually try to add brick by brick in the right direction,” Verlander said. “Continue to try to improve.”
The Astros moved in front in the fifth when Alvarez followed a leadoff single from Altuve with a home run to right field, his 34th. With two outs, Jeremy Peña singled, stole second and scored on Victor Caratini's single.
The Angels nearly tied it in the eighth but Schanuel was thrown out at home plate by Meyers while trying to score from second base on Logan O’Hoppe’s RBI single that cut Los Angeles' deficit to 4-3.
Tucker connected for his 20th homer in the ninth, his first since June 1 before a long injury layoff.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: Meyers appeared to injure his left leg while tracking down a flyball on the warning track from Wagaman in the ninth, but remained in the game after a visit from the athletic training staff. ... OF Chas McCormick is optimistic he can return from a broken right hand before the regular season ends Sept. 29.
Angels: RHP Carson Fulmer (elbow inflammation) is optimistic he can return to a bullpen role by Tuesday after spending the past two weeks on the injured list. ... Angels infielders Michael Stefanic (calf) and Brandon Drury (hamstring) were out of the lineup.
UP NEXT
Astros: RHP Ronel Blanco (10-6, 2.99 ERA) has not given up more than two earned runs in any of his last three road starts.
Angels: RHP Caden Dana (1-1, 9.00) lasted just one inning in his second career start last Sunday against the Rangers.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jose Altuve also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez runs the bases after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jose Altuve also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Angels' Taylor Ward (3) celebrates in the dugout after scoring off of a single hit by Nolan Schanuel during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve (27) scores off of a wild pitch from Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson during the first inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve singles on a bunt during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez runs the bases after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jose Altuve also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been transformed from a local armed group with limited capabilities to a powerful military organization with support from Iran, Iraqi armed groups, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants and others, U.N. experts said in a new report.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have exploited the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and worked to enhance their status in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” to gain popularity in the region and beyond, the experts monitoring sanctions against the Houthis said in the 537-page report to the U.N. Security Council.
To support Iranian-backed Hamas militants, whose surprise attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza, the Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, disrupting global shipping in a key geopolitical area.
Despite Houthi claims that they would target ships linked to Israel, the panel said its investigations revealed the rebels have been targeting vessels indiscriminately.
Its analysis of data from the International Maritime Organization, the U.S. and the United Kingdom revealed that at least 134 attacks were carried out from Houthi-controlled areas against merchant and commercial vessels and U.S. and U.K. warships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden between Nov. 15, 2023, and July 31, 2024.
“The group’s shift to actions at sea increased their influence in the region,” the U.N. experts said. “Such a scale of attacks, using weapon systems on civilian vessels, had never occurred since the Second World War.”
In their attacks, the experts said, the Houthis used a new and previously undisclosed ballistic missile, the Hatem-2.
The five-member U.N. panel includes experts on arms, finance, regional affairs, international humanitarian law and armed groups. The experts hail from India, Egypt, Switzerland, Belgium and Cabo Verde. Confidential sources told the panel that the Houthis are coordinating operations with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and strengthening ties to the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group in Somalia.
The Houthis have been engaged in a civil war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, since 2014, when they took control of the capital Sanaa and most of the north. Hopes for peace talks to end the war vanished after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
The U.N. experts said the Yemen conflict, which started as an internal fight and expanded into a regional confrontation, “has now escalated into a major international crisis.”
According to the experts, the number of Houthi fighters is estimated at 350,000 now, compared with 220,000 in 2022 and 30,000 in 2015.
“The panel observes the transformation of the Houthis from a localized armed group with limited capabilities to a powerful military organization, extending their operational capabilities well beyond the territories under their control,” the report said.
The experts said the transformation has been possible due to the transfer of military materiel and training provided by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, Hezbollah and Iraqi specialists and technicians.
Military experts, Yemeni officials and even officials close to the Houthis indicated that the rebel group couldn’t produce complex weapons systems such as ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, surveillance and attack drones, portable air defense systems, and thermal sights, which they have used without foreign support, the U.N. experts said.
“The scale, nature and extent of transfers of diverse military materiel and technology provided to the Houthis from external sources, including financial support and training of its combatants, is unprecedented,” the experts said.
The panel said it observed similarities between multiple military items used by the Houthis and those produced and operated by Iran or its allies in the Axis of Resistance, which includes Hezbollah and Hamas and armed groups in Iraq and Syria.
It said joint operations centers have been set up in Iraq and Lebanon with Houthi representatives “aimed at coordinating joint military actions of the Axis of Resistance.”
Inside Yemen, the panel said the Houthis have been intensifying military operations against the government. “The internal military situation is fragile, and any internal or external trigger could lead to the resumption of military confrontations,” it said.
The Houthis also have been recruiting large numbers of Yemeni youths and children as well as exploiting Ethiopian migrants, forcing them to join the fight against the government and engage in trafficking narcotics, it said.
“Exploiting high illiteracy rates, particularly in tribal areas, they have reportedly mobilized boys as young as 10 or 11, often despite parental opposition,” they said. “Recruitment sermons and weekly classes on jihad are reportedly delivered in schools.”
Child recruitment reportedly increased after the war in Gaza started and the U.S. and U.K. airstrikes in Yemen, the experts said. Yemen’s government said it received 3,298 reports of child recruitment in the first half of 2024, with youngsters reportedly used as human shields, spies and in combat — and for planting landmines and explosives, reconnaissance and as cooks.
Houthi supporters raise their machine guns during an Anti- U.S and Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)