Ian Happ's homer sets the tone for the Cubs in a playoff victory against the Brewers

CHICAGO (AP) — With one big swing, Ian Happ sent a charge through an electric crowd of 41,770 at Wrigley Field.

After a rough start to the playoffs, it was a pretty sweet moment for the longest-tenured player with the Chicago Cubs.

Happ connected for a three-run homer in the first inning on Thursday night, sending Chicago to a 6-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that pushed their NL Division Series to a decisive Game 5.

“I’m just so happy for Ian,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I think it was great for Ian to have the playoff moment that he deserved. It was a huge swing.”

Nico Hoerner singled and Kyle Tucker walked ahead of Happ's two-out drive to right on a 1-1 fastball from Freddy Peralta. Chicago became the first team in major league history with a first-inning homer in four straight games during one postseason.

The switch-hitting Happ also connected against Peralta in Game 1, but he is 2 for 32 with 14 strikeouts against the right-hander in the regular season.

“I’ve had a ton of at-bats against him,” Happ said. “He’s had my number quite a bit. But I got him in Milwaukee on a fastball so I knew he was going to go changeup, changeup to start the at-bat and it was probably going to be a lot more soft stuff. I was able to get a fastball in that at-bat to hit.”

Happ was selected by Chicago with the No. 9 pick in the 2015 amateur draft out of the University of Cincinnati. He made his big league debut in 2017, batting .253 with 24 homers and 68 RBIs for a Cubs team that won the NL Central and made it to the NL Championship Series.

He played in his 1,000th game with the team on April 5, but struggled for much of the year. He hit .243 with 23 homers and 79 RBIs in 150 games.

“He's been around for a while, and he's kind of the leader of this group,” teammate Michael Busch said. “Just the way he goes about his business each and every day. No matter if it's a spring training game, postseason game, he's always going to give you a good at-bat, and he had quite a few of them tonight."

Happ went 2 for 21 with 11 strikeouts in Chicago’s first six postseason games this year. After going deep in the first, he flied out to the warning track in the third and again in the seventh.

“It felt great,” Happ said of the first-inning homer. “The guys have been carrying me all postseason so to contribute in that moment and give us the lead was awesome for me. It was a really cool moment at Wrigley.”

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Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ (8) runs the bases after hitting a 3-run home run during the first inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ (8) hits a 3-run home run during the first inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ (8) runs the bases after hitting a 3-run home run during the first inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ (8) runs the bases after hitting a 3-run home run during the first inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ (8) hits a 3-run home run during the first inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

NAHARIYA, Israel (AP) — Israel’s government is objecting to the White House announcement of leaders who will play a role in overseeing next steps in Gaza as the ceasefire moves into its challenging second phase.

The rare criticism from Israel of its close ally in Washington said the Gaza executive committee “was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy,” without details. Saturday's statement also said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the foreign ministry to contact Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The committee announced by the White House on Friday includes no Israeli official but has an Israeli businessman, billionaire Yakir Gabay. Other members announced so far include two of U.S. President Donald Trump’s closest confidants, a former British prime minister, a U.S. general and representatives of several Middle Eastern governments.

The White House has said the executive committee will carry out the vision of a Trump-led “Board of Peace,” whose members have not yet been named. The White House also announced the members of a new Palestinian committee to run Gaza’s day to day affairs, with oversight from the executive committee. The Palestinian committee met for the first time on Thursday in Cairo.

The executive committee’s members include Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Trump’s Deputy National Security Adviser Robert Gabriel.

Committee members also include a diplomat from Qatar, an intelligence chief from Egypt and Turkey’s foreign minister — all countries have been ceasefire mediators — as well as a Cabinet minister for the United Arab Emirates.

Turkey has a strained relationship with Israel but good relations with Hamas and could play an important role in persuading the group to yield power and disarm. Hamas has said it will dissolve its government in Gaza once the new Palestinian committee takes office, but it has shown no sign that it will dismantle its military wing or security forces.

Netanyahu's office didn't respond Saturday to questions about its objections regarding the executive committee.

Minutes after its statement, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in a statement backed Netanyahu and urged him to order the military to prepare to return to war. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right Netanyahu ally, said on social media that “the countries that kept Hamas alive cannot be the ones that replace it."

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Gaza’s second-largest militant group after Hamas, in a statement Saturday also expressed dissatisfaction with the makeup of the Gaza executive committee and claimed it reflected Israeli “specifications.”

The Trump administration on Wednesday said the U.S.-drafted ceasefire plan for Gaza was now moving into its second phase, which includes the new Palestinian committee in Gaza, deployment of an international security force, disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction of the war-battered territory.

The ceasefire in the deadliest war ever fought between Israel and Hamas took effect on Oct. 10. The first phase focused on the return of all remaining hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees, along with a surge in humanitarian aid and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza.

The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took over 250 hostage. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 71,400 Palestinians, including over 460 since this ceasefire began, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

Associated Press writer Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed.

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

Displaced Palestinian Amr Al-Manaya, 35, sits by the fire with his children, Muhammad and Hala, next to their tent in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A displaced Palestinian boy runs past empty water barrels as residents wait for a drinking water delivery in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Displaced Palestinians gather outside a tent at a temporary camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Displaced Palestinian Amr Al-Manaya, 35, sits by the fire with his children, next to their tent in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)