WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Judge had four hits to get his average back above .400 and Ben Rice hit a grand slam to lead the New York Yankees to a 12-2 victory over the Athletics on Sunday.
Judge hit a two-run single in a five-run second inning against former teammate Luis Severino (1-4) and added hits in his final three at-bats to raise his average on the season to .409 — the fourth highest ever for a player with at least 14 homers in the first 40 games of a season.
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New York Yankees' Ben Rice hits a grand slam during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Athletics pitcher Luis Severino, right, hands the ball over to manager Mark Kotsay, left, was he exits during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge hits a double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
New York Yankees' Ben Rice, right, celebrates with Aaron Judge after hitting a grand slam during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
The Yankees broke the game open in the fifth inning when Rice hit his first career grand slam after Mitch Spence had relieved an ineffective Severino.
The former Yankees starter struggled in his first career start against his former team, matching a career worst with eight earned runs allowed in four-plus innings.
Ryan Yarbrough (1-0) allowed two runs in five innings in his second start of the season to get the win.
JJ Bleday homered for the A's, who fell to 8-13 at home this season.
The Yankees took control of the game in the second inning with an RBI single by Anthony Volpe, a bases-loaded walk by Oswaldo Cabrera and a run-scoring groundout by Jorbit Vivas. Judge then delivered the big hit with a line single that drove in two runs, giving him 39 RBIs this season.
Paul Goldschmidt had three doubles and has now hit safely in all 19 road games he has played this season. The only other Yankees to do that are Derek Jeter with 23 straight to open the 2007 season and Jack Lelivelt with 21 in 1912.
The Yankees open a three-game series in Seattle on Monday night with RHP Clarke Schmidt (0-1, 4.79) set to start. The A's start a three-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on Tuesday night with LHP Jeffrey Springs (4-3, 4.81) set to start the opener.
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New York Yankees' Ben Rice hits a grand slam during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Athletics pitcher Luis Severino, right, hands the ball over to manager Mark Kotsay, left, was he exits during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge hits a double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
New York Yankees' Ben Rice, right, celebrates with Aaron Judge after hitting a grand slam during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday.
Four apartment buildings were damaged in the bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. Power company DTEK said two of its energy facilities suffered significant damage. The company said that 10 substations that distribute electricity in the Odesa region were damaged in December alone.
Russia has this year escalated its long-range attacks on urban areas of Ukraine. In recent months, as Russia’s invasion of its neighbor approaches its four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified its targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.
From January to November this year, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier this month. That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.
Russia’s sustained drone and missile attacks have taken place against backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before." The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with the heads of European governments supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.
The ongoing attacks, meantime, are inflaming tensions.
The overnight Odesa strikes “are further evidence of the enemy’s terror tactics, which deliberately target civilian infrastructure,” Kiper, the regional head, said.
Moscow has alleged that Ukraine attempted to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northwestern Russia with 91 long-range drones late Sunday and early Monday. Ukrainian officials deny the claim and say it’s a ruse to derail progress in the peace negotiations.
Maj. Gen. Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed Wednesday that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions.
At a briefing where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they were downed by Russian air defenses over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.
It was not possible to independently verify the reports.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on Wednesday called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from the peace talks.
“No one should accept unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war,” Kallas posted on X.
Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States. The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.
Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has so far received $4.3 billion, with almost $1.5 billion coming in December alone, he said on social media.
Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that Russia fired 127 drones at the country during the night, with 101 of them intercepted by air defenses.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.
The Ukrainian attack started a fire at an oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, but it was quickly put out, local authorities said.
This story has corrected the day of the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian president’s residence to late Sunday and early Monday.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this image made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, a Russian Army soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
