Jake Meyers hits go-ahead HR, Josh Hader gets 12th save as Astros beat Rays 4-3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jake Meyers hit a go-ahead home run, and Josh Hader stranded a runner on third in the ninth inning to preserve the Houston Astros' 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.

Chandler Simpson reached on catcher's interference to begin the ninth against Hader. Simpson advanced on a ground out before stealing third. Hader then got Taylor Wells to pop up a bunt and Isaac Paredes to pop out near third for his 12th save in 12 opportunities.

Meyers went 2 for 3 and hit his third home run on the second pitch from reliever Manuel Rodriguez (0-2) to put the Astros ahead in the seventh.

Meyers walked, stole his eighth base and scored on a double by Cam Smith as part of a three-run first inning against Rays starter Ryan Pepiot. Victor Caratini opened the scoring with his third home run — a two-out solo shot — and Chas McCormick capped it with an RBI single.

Houston's Colton Gordon — a native of St. Petersburg, Florida, making his second career start — allowed a single to Yandy Díaz leading off the first then retired 12 straight until Brandon Lowe singled in the fifth. Danny Jansen followed with his third homer to make it 3-2. Díaz and José Caballero had back-to-back doubles in the sixth to tie it.

Gordon allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts. Bryan King (2-0) got four outs for the win.

Pepiot allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings.

King allowed a walk and a single to begin the seventh with a one-run lead but came back to strike out both Taylor Walls and pinch-hitter Jonathan Aranda swinging. Bryan Abreu entered and got Díaz on a grounder for the third out.

The Rays have gone 10-8 on the road but just 11-18 at George M. Steinbrenner Field — their temporary home.

Rays RHP Zack Littell (3-5 4.31) starts Tuesday's middle game. The Astros have not announced a starter.

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

Tampa Bay Rays' Taylor Walls pops out to Houston Astros' Jose Altuve while attempting to bunt during the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Houston Astros outfielder Jake Meyers (6) celebrates with outfielder Jose Altuve (27) and shortstop Jeremy Peña (3) after the team defeated the Tampa Bay Rays during a baseball game Monday, May 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Houston Astros pitcher Bryan King delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Houston Astros pitcher Josh Hader delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Houston Astros' Jake Meyers watches his solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Manuel Rodríguez clear the fence during the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, May 19, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

BERLIN (AP) — U.S. envoys arrived in Berlin Sunday morning for another round of talks intended to secure a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were spotted in downtown Berlin by a photographer for German news agency dpa.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian, U.S. and European officials will hold a series of meetings in Berlin in the coming days.

“Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys of President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, concerning the foundation of peace — a political agreement to end the war,” Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation late Saturday.

Washington has tried for months to navigate the demands of each side as Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied by Russian forces, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

“The chance is considerable at this moment, and it matters for our every city, for our every Ukrainian community,” Zelenskyy said. “We are working to ensure that peace for Ukraine is dignified, and to secure a guarantee — a guarantee, above all — that Russia will not return to Ukraine for a third invasion.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the part of the Donetsk region still under its control and abandon its bid to join NATO among the key conditions for peace — demands Kyiv has rejected.

Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told the business daily Kommersant that Russian police and national guard troops would stay in parts of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas even if they become a demilitarized zone under a prospective peace plan — a demand likely to be rejected by Ukraine as U.S.-led negotiations drag on.

Ushakov warned that a search for compromise could take a long time, noting that the U.S. proposals that took into account Russian demands had been “worsened” by alterations proposed by Ukraine and its European allies.

“We don’t know what changes they are making, but clearly they aren’t for the better,” Ushakov said, adding: “We will strongly insist on our considerations.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has spearheaded European efforts to support Ukraine alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said Saturday that “the decades of the ‘Pax Americana’ are largely over for us in Europe and for us in Germany as well.”

He warned that Putin's aim is “a fundamental change to the borders in Europe, the restoration of the old Soviet Union within its borders.” “If Ukraine falls, he won’t stop,” Merz warned on Saturday during a party conference in Munich.

Putin has denied plans to restore the Soviet Union or attack any European allies.

As peace efforts continued, Russia and Ukraine exchanged another round of aerial attacks.

Ukraine’s air force said overnight Russia launched ballistic missiles and 138 attack drones at Ukraine. In its daily report, the air force said 110 had been intercepted or downed but missile and drone hits were recorded at six locations.

Zelenskyy said Sunday that hundreds of thousands of families were still without power in the south, east and north-east regions and work was continuing to restore electricity, heat and water to multiple regions following a large-scale attack the previous night.

The Ukrainian president said that in the past week, Russia had launched over 1,500 strike drones, nearly 900 guided aerial bombs and 46 missiles of various types at Ukraine.

“Ukraine needs peace on decent terms, and we are ready to work as constructively as possible. These days will be filled with diplomacy. It’s very important that it brings results,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 235 Ukrainian drones late Saturday and early Sunday.

In the Belgorod region, a drone injured a man and set his house ablaze in the village of Yasnye Zori, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in Uryupinsk in the Volgograd region, triggering a fire, according to the regional governor, Andrei Bocharov.

In the Krasnodar region, the Ukrainian drones attacked the town of Afipsky, where an oil refinery is located. The authorities said that explosions shattered windows in residential buildings but didn’t report any damage to the refinery.

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Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland.

In this grab from a video provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Friday, Dec 12, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy records a video at the road entering of Kupiansk, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)