CLEVELAND (AP) — Ryan Vilade had three hits and drove in two runs, including the go-ahead single in the eighth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays won their fifth straight by defeating the Cleveland Guardians 3-2 Monday night.
Daniel Schneemann had a two-run homer in the fifth inning and rookie Parker Messick struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings as the Guardians dropped their third in a row and fourth in five games.
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Tampa Bay Rays' Steven Matz pitches in the second inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians' Parker Messick pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians' Daniel Schneemann (10) is congratulated as he returns to the dugout after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios, left, scores behind Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges in the eighth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios, right, is congratulated by Jonny DeLuca (21) after scoring in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Jonathan Aranda led off the eighth with a home run down the right-field line off Hunter Gaddis (0-1) and Junior Caminero singled. Pinch-runner Richie Palacios stole second and scored on Vilade's hit up the middle.
Vilade also had an RBI single in the sixth inning and is 11 for 20 in his last 10 games after starting the year hitless in his first six at-bats.
Tampa Bay's Steven Matz (4-1) allowed two runs and four hits in a season-high seven innings.
David Fry got aboard with a walk when when his third strike on a full count was overturned by the Automated Ball-Strike system. Schneemann drove an elevated first-pitch slider into the left-center bleachers for a 2-0 lead.
The Guardians had runners on second and third with one out after pinch-hitter Kyle Manzardo's single and Chase DeLauter's double, but Bryan Baker struck out pinch-hitter George Valera and Schneemann for his seventh save.
Messick struck out six his first time through the order. The left-hander allowed only two hits through five innings, but Yandy Díaz led off the sixth with a walk, advanced on Aranda's grounder and scored on Vilade's hit.
Tampa Bay sends RHP Nick Martinez (1-1, 2.10 ERA) to the mound against Cleveland RHP Tanner Bibee (0-3, 4.45 ERA) in Tuesday night's middle game of the series.
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Tampa Bay Rays' Steven Matz pitches in the second inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians' Parker Messick pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Guardians' Daniel Schneemann (10) is congratulated as he returns to the dugout after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios, left, scores behind Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges in the eighth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios, right, is congratulated by Jonny DeLuca (21) after scoring in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — Heavy rain slowed the progress of two sprawling southern Georgia wildfires over the weekend, allowing crews to make some progress in containing the blazes that have destroyed more than 100 homes.
Although the rain helped the firefighting efforts, it wasn't “nearly enough to put the fires out" and crews responded to 10 new blazes throughout the drought-stricken state Sunday, the Georgia Forestry Commission said Monday.
Blackened trees and charred palmetto fronds lined the shoulders of U.S. 82 on Monday in Brantley County, where Georgia's second-largest blaze, the Highway 82 Fire, has been tearing through the forest. Smoke poured from the ground in several spots beside the highway — a sign that fire still smoldered beneath the dirt.
Residents like Anna Beaver, who had to evacuate her home in the small community of Atkinson, are doing what they can to help each other. Beaver has been spending her time accepting and sorting donated clothing at her church, Southside Baptist Church in Nahunta, a community of about 1,000 people that is the Brantley County seat. The church has been offering shelter, food, diapers and other supplies to people displaced by the fire.
“My heart hurts for everyone who has lost their homes, and I just want to help any way I can,” she said.
Danielle and David Grantham have been hunkering down at their home in the Atkinson area. They live in a neighborhood that was under an evacuation order Monday, so they wouldn't be allowed back in if they left, and have been accepting donations of pet food and other supplies from friends.
“We haven’t left just because we’re trying to help other people out,” Danielle Grantham said.
All across Brantley County on Monday, there was praise for the efforts of firefighters and other emergency responders.
In the small community of Waynesville, a charred cinderblock shed stood near a wood-sided home that appeared unscathed. The house has been vacant and is being sold. Larry Ferrell, a carpenter hired to perform maintenance and repairs on the home before the owner closes with a buyer, returned there to work Monday.
“The firefighters got in here and saved it,” Ferrell said.
Georgia's biggest blaze, the Pineland Road Fire, has scorched more than 50 square miles (130 square kilometers) and at least 35 homes in a sparsely populated and heavily wooded part of the state about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Florida, which is also dealing with wildfires. The area has been full of highly combustible dead trees and other vegetation since Hurricane Helene carved a destructive path northward in September of 2024.
About 60 miles (97 kilometers) to the northeast, the Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20. It has destroyed at least 87 homes and torched more than 35 square miles (90 square kilometers), according to figures released Monday. It is only 6% contained.
“The fire basically doubled last night in size,” Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said in a Facebook post Sunday. “It is a dynamic fire event that will be impacted by the wind.”
Authorities believe the Highway 82 blaze was sparked by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground. They think the Pineland Road fire was started by sparks from a welding operation.
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock was in the area of the Highway 82 fire pm Monday. He said he assured residents that he's pushing to get federal resources “both to contain this fire and then to respond to the devastation that communities will continue to experience over the next few weeks."
Warnock said he's working closely with the governor's office on getting disaster relief funds. Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to survey damage from the Pineland Road Fire on Tuesday.
An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast. Firefighters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida alone. Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees and other vegetation.
No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia. But in northern Florida, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died Thursday evening after he suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire.
Florida's blazes are smaller than Georgia’s two biggest, but the 139 Fire has burned 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) of the Apalachicola National Forest in Liberty County, southwest of Tallahassee, since March 17. No structures have been lost in that fire, and no serious injuries have been reported, federal authorities said.
Martin reported from Atlanta.
Blackened trees and charred palmetto fronds lined the shoulders of U.S. 82 on Monday, April 27, 2026 in Brantley County, Ga., as smoke poured from the ground in several spots beside the highway. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)
Blackened trees and charred palmetto fronds lined the shoulders of U.S. 82 on Monday, April 27, 2026 in Brantley County, Ga., as smoke poured from the ground in several spots beside the highway. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)
A charred cinderblock shed stands near the Waynesville community in Brantley County, Ga., on Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)
The photo provided by the Office of Gov. Brian Kemp shows smoke produced by a wildfire in Brantley County, Ga., Friday, April 24, 2026. (Office of Gov. Brian Kemp via AP)
The photo provided by the Office of Gov. Brian Kemp shows smoke produced by a wildfire in Brantley County, Ga., Friday, April 24, 2026. (Office of Gov. Brian Kemp via AP)
Jennifer Murphy and her dog Chip sit inside the Southside Baptist church as she is displanced by the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The photo provided by the Office of Gov. Brian Kemp shows smoke produced from a wildfire in Brantley County, Ga., Friday, April 24, 2026. (Office of Gov. Brian Kemp via AP)
