BALTIMORE (AP) — Tyler O'Neill had four hits in his home debut for Baltimore, and the Orioles used a pair of big offensive innings to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-5 on Monday.
Baltimore scored four runs in the first and four more in the eighth in its home opener, and the Orioles' bullpen threw 4 2/3 innings. Matt Bowman, Seranthony Domínguez (1-0), Keegan Akin and Yennier Cano blanked Boston in relief. Then Félix Bautista came on for the ninth to a big ovation — the big closer missed all of last season because of Tommy John surgery.
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Baltimore Orioles' Adley Rutschman (35) celebrates with designated hitter Heston Kjerstad, left, after scoring on an RBI hit in by Ryan Mountcastle during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Baltimore Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle celebrates after advancing to second base on a fielding error by Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran after hitting a single during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers reacts after striking out during the second inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Baltimore Orioles' Cedric Mullins advances toward first base after hitting a two-run RBI double during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Bautista allowed two runs and had to face Alex Bregman as the tying run with two on. Bregman hit a game-ending popup.
Orioles starter Cade Povich allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings but struck out eight. Sean Newcomb (0-1) threw three shutout innings after allowing four runs in the first in his Boston debut.
Baltimore began the bottom of the first with four straight singles, including RBI hits by O'Neill and Ryan Mountcastle. Cedric Mullins added a two-out, two-run double to make it 4-0.
O'Neill, who signed with the Orioles in the offseason, had three singles and a double.
Jarren Duran hit a two-run triple in the second for Boston, and the Red Sox scored again in the third, but the Orioles pulled away in the eighth. Heston Kjerstad singled home a run, Mullins drove in two more with a bases-loaded single, and Jackson Holliday hit an RBI single.
Mullins twice doubled Baltimore's lead from two to four, and he has 10 RBIs through five games.
Boston star Rafael Devers continues to scuffle. He did draw two walks in this game but struck out his other three times up. He is 0 for 19 with 15 strikeouts on the season.
The teams are off Tuesday before resuming the series Wednesday night. Boston's Garrett Crochet (0-0) takes the mound against Zach Eflin (1-0).
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Baltimore Orioles' Adley Rutschman (35) celebrates with designated hitter Heston Kjerstad, left, after scoring on an RBI hit in by Ryan Mountcastle during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Baltimore Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle celebrates after advancing to second base on a fielding error by Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran after hitting a single during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers reacts after striking out during the second inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Baltimore Orioles' Cedric Mullins advances toward first base after hitting a two-run RBI double during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Saudi warplanes have reportedly struck on Friday forces in southern Yemen backed by the United Arab Emirates, a separatist leader says.
This comes as a Saudi-led operation attempts to take over camps of the Southern Transitional Council, or STC, in the governorate of Haramout that borders Saudi Arabia.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE rose after the STC moved last month into Yemen’s governorates of Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. The move pushed out forces affiliated with the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces, a group aligned with the coalition in fighting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Meanwhile, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen accused the head of the STC of blocking a Saudi mediation delegation from landing in the southern city of Aden.
The STC deputy and former Hamdrmout governor, Ahmed bin Breik, said in a statement that the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces advanced toward the camps, but the separatists refused to withdraw, apparently leading to the airstrikes.
Mohamed al-Nakib, spokesperson for the STC-backed Southern Shield Forces, also known as Dera Al-Janoub, said Saudi airstrikes caused fatalities, without providing details. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify that claim.
Al-Nakib also accused Saudi Arabia in a video on X of using “Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda militias” in a "large-scale attack " early Friday that he claimed sepratists were able to repel.
He likened the latest developments to Yemen’s 1994 civil war, “except that this time it is under the cover of Saudi aviation operations.”
Salem al-Khanbashi, the governor of Hadramout who was chosen Friday by Yemen's internationally recognized government to command the Saudi-led forces in the governorate, refuted STC claims, calling them “ridiculous” and showing intentions of escalation instead of a peaceful handover, according Okaz newspaper, which is aligned with the Saudi government.
Earlier on Friday, al-khanbashi called the current operation of retrieving seized areas “peaceful.”
“This operation is not a declaration of war and does not seek escalation,” al-Khanbashi said in a speech aired on state media. “This is a responsible pre-emptive measure to remove weapons and prevent chaos and the camps from being used to undermine the security in Hadramout,” he added.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen demands the withdrawal of STC forces from the two governorates as part of de-escalation efforts. The STC has so far refused to hand over its weapons and camps.
The coalition's spokesperson Brig. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said Friday on X that Saudi-backed naval forces were deployed across the Arabian Sea to carry out inspections and combat smuggling.
In his post on X, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, said the kingdom had tried “all efforts with STC” for weeks "to stop the escalation" and to urge the separatists to leave Hadramout and Mahra, only to be faced with “continued intransigence and rejection from Aidarous al-Zubaidi," the STC head.
Al-Jaber said the latest development was not permitting the Saudi delegation's jet to land in Aden, despite having agreed on its arrival with some STC leaders to find a solution that serves “everyone and the public interest.”
Yemen’s transport ministry, aligned with STC, said Saudi Arabia imposed on Thursday requirements mandating that flights to and from Aden International Airport undergo inspection in Jeddah. The ministry expressed “shock” and denounced the decision. There was no confirmation from Saudi authorities.
ِA spokesperson with the transport ministry told the AP late Thursday that all flights from and to the UAE were suspended until Saudi Arabia reverses these reported measures.
Yemen has been engulfed in a civil war for more than a decade, with the Houthis controlling much of the northern regions, while a Saudi-UAE-backed coalition supports the internationally recognized government in the south. However, the UAE also helps the southern separatists who call for South Yemen to secede once again from Yemen. Those aligned with the council have increasingly flown the flag of South Yemen, which was a separate country from 1967-1990.
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Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.
Southern Yemen soldiers of Southern Transitional Council (STC) at a check point, in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo)
