Cedric Mullins homers in the eighth inning, lifting Rays over the Rangers 3-2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Cedric Mullins hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, Jonny DeLuca also went deep and seven pitchers combined on a two-hitter for the Tampa Bay Rays in a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday.

Bryan Baker converted his 30th save of the season and 19th in a row with a scoreless ninth. Garrett Cleavinger (3-3) picked up the win as AL East-leading Tampa Bay moved a season-best 20 games over .500 (64-44).

Ben Peoples (0-1) took the loss.

Mullins hit his 13th homer with two outs in the eighth, looping an opposite field fly ball that landed beyond the short wall down the left-field line on the first pitch he saw from Peoples.

Texas threatened in the ninth after Nickey Lopez won two ABS challenges on third-strike calls to draw a leadoff walk. But Victor Mesa Jr. tracked down a line drive into the right-field corner to deny pinch-hitter Evan Carter of extra bases before Baker escaped with a strikeout of Ezequiel Duran to end the game with runners on first and second.

The Rays went in front in the third on a two-out double by Hunter Feduccia followed by a single from Yandy Diaz.

Tampa Bay starter McClanahan allowed the first two batters to reach in the fourth before getting pulled from the game because of back tightness. After Duran took third on a fly ball, pinch-hitter Joc Pederson hit a ground ball up the middle that was fumbled by Taylor Walls, allowing Duran to score.

Wyatt Langford doubled in Alejandro Osuna from first base to put Texas in front in the fifth before DeLuca hit a 415-foot homer to left field in the sixth to tie the game.

Rangers: Open a series at Houston on Friday with RHP Nathan Eovaldi (10-8, 4.05 ERA) starting against Astros RHP Hunter Brown (2-1, 3.45).

Rays: Host the White Sox beginning Friday with RHP Nick Martinez (10-2, 2.45) starting against Chicago RHP Erick Fedde (5-6, 4.25).

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

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan reacts after giving up a walk during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Thursday, July 30, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Texas Rangers pitcher Ben Peoples throws during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tampa Bay Rays' Cedric Mullins is greeted in the dugout after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Texas Rangers' Ezequiel Duran strikes out during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Texas Rangers catcher Austin Wynns looks away as Tampa Bay Rays' Cedric Mullins crosses home plate after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 30, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

The Trump administration cannot deny immigrants detained inside the United States a chance for release on bond, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The 2-1 decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with a judge appointed by President Donald Trump in the majority, deepened a split between federal appeals courts over the administration's mandatory detention policy.

Four other appeals courts have also rejected it, while the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans and Eighth Circuit in St. Louis have sided with the Trump administration.

The expanding circuit split increases the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually take up the issue. The administration last month asked the high court to consider it.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement it “strongly disagrees with the Ninth Circuit panel and is confident in its legal position regarding mandatory detention.”

“President Donald Trump and Secretary Mullin are now enforcing the law as it was actually written to keep America safe,” the statement said.

Under previous administrations, most noncitizens without a criminal record who were arrested inside the U.S. were allowed to seek a bond hearing while their immigration cases were pending. Mandatory detention was generally reserved for people arrested at the border.

Last July, immigration officials issued guidance expanding mandatory detention to immigrants in the U.S. interior. The move — part of the administration's mass deportation campaign — prompted a deluge of federal lawsuits by immigrants seeking release from custody.

Some federal judges who ordered bond hearings blasted the administration for repeatedly violating their orders.

The Trump administration has argued that Congress changed immigration law in 1996 to allow mandatory detention beyond the border, but previous administrations didn't enforce that provision.

Writing for the majority in Thursday's ruling, 9th U.S. Circuit Judge Daniel Bress rejected that argument.

“Although no reading of the complicated and interrelated textual provisions at issue here is without some shortcomings, the historical understanding of the statute is the better one,” Bress, a Trump appointee, wrote.

He was joined by Judge M. Margaret McKeown, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton.

Judge Carlos Bea, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, dissented, saying the text and purpose of an amendment Congress approved in 1996 support the Trump administration's reading.

FILE - A group of undocumented migrants is deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the McAllen–Hidalgo–Reynosa International Bridge in McAllen, Texas, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)