ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Kay tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings, Andrew Benintendi, Everson Pereira and Miguel Vargas hit home runs, and the Chicago White Sox beat the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays 9-1 on Sunday.
The White Sox (58-52), who entered August in first place of the AL Central for the first time since 2021, hold a 3 1/2 game lead over the Minnesota Twins.
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Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, left, runs to first base on a fielding error by Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Griffin Jax, right, during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi (23) rounds the bases after hitting a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Griffin Jax, left, during the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Rays catcher Nick Fortes, center left, waits as Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, right, crosses the plate after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Chicago White Sox pitcher Anthony Kay throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Kay (8-5) fanned three batters and allowed seven hits while walking one. Duncan Davitt surrendered the lone run on his first pitch of the ninth.
Benintendi scored the game's first run on a fielding error by Griffin Jax (6-9) in the first inning, and Colson Montgomery doubled the lead after Benintendi's advance to second allowed him to come across from third; the play was officially scored as a wild pitch by Jax.
Benintendi launched his 12th homer of the year 378 feet over the right-center field wall in the fourth, and Pereira extended the lead with a two-run double in the sixth inning.
Pereira tacked on his his fourth home run of the year in the ninth before Vargas sealed the game with a 413-footer to the left-field seats at Tropicana Field.
In five innings, Jax allowed three runs on four hits while striking out eight.
Ben Williamson scored the Rays' only run with a solo homer to left field.
During the game, the Rays acquired starting pitcher and two-time All Star Freddy Peralta for three prospects in a trade with the New York Mets. Peralta carries a 4.99 ERA across 22 starts — the second-worst ERA among all qualified pitchers in the MLB this season.
Rays LHP Ian Seymour (7-3, 4.37 ERA) gets the start for a series opener against Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (3-9, 6.54) on Monday.
The White Sox continue their six-game road trip at Fenway Park to face the Red Sox. Neither teams have announced a starter for Tuesday's game.
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Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, left, runs to first base on a fielding error by Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Griffin Jax, right, during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi (23) rounds the bases after hitting a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Griffin Jax, left, during the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Rays catcher Nick Fortes, center left, waits as Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, right, crosses the plate after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Chicago White Sox pitcher Anthony Kay throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Five water-dropping planes and another five helicopters took off at first light Monday to help hundreds of firefighters battling a major wildfire west of Athens, Greece, a day after a midair collision between two firefighting helicopters killed two crew members.
The collision laid bare the danger at the most volatile front of Europe’s wildfire emergency. Flames bore down deeper into the region of the Greek capital, forcing fresh evacuations in the early hours of Monday. In France, firefighters guarded a still-burning scar four times the size of Paris.
The two crew members — one Greek and one Danish national — died when their helicopter collided with another near the seaside area of Psatha while tackling the fire that started Friday morning. The blaze raged through pine forests and scrubland through the weekend, whipped by gale force winds that often prevented water-dropping planes from operating.
The crew of the second helicopter – a Greek and a British national – were taken to a hospital, where their injuries were reported to be light. Foreign firefighting and helicopter crews are often deployed in Greece to help tackle wildfires during the country’s hot, dry summers.
Strong winds were dying down Monday, raising hopes that the nearly 500 firefighters battling the blaze could manage to halt its advance. But authorities warned the broader Athens region of Attica remained at a high risk for wildfires due to a forecast increase in temperatures.
More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from the region, including more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches in the area. Evacuation orders were issued in the early hours of Monday for three more areas, while crews worked to create firebreaks in a forest to help halt the advance of the blaze.
Greece’s firefighting department said Sunday the fire apparently began from sparks emitted by a faulty power line transporting electricity from a private wind generator facility to the main electricity network.
Two people were arrested — an electrical engineer responsible for designing and overseeing the power project, and a contractor involved in constructing the electricity transmission network. Both face felony arson charges, while authorities had also issued an arrest warrant for the owner of the wind generator company.
Greece has devastating wildfires every summer, with hot, dry conditions and frequently strong winds making it easy for small sparks to trigger major blazes. Measures to limit fire risks, such as bans on barbecues and certain outdoor work such as welding and use of electrical power saws are often ignored. The vast majority of the hundreds of wildfires the country has each year are caused by negligence.
But some fires are deliberately set. On Sunday, authorities said one man was arrested on Kefalonia on suspicion of having started a fire that spread quickly in the southeastern part of the island, triggering the evacuation of nearby villages.
Farther west, France’s largest wildfire remained held within its perimeter on Sunday night after forcing 224,000 people to flee in what may have been the country’s largest civilian evacuation outside wartime.
Hot spots still burned within a 420-square-kilometer (162-square-mile) scar, thousands remained unable to return home, and nearly 3,000 firefighters were deployed against the Gironde megafire and a second blaze in Provence.
Together, fires in France and Spain have driven roughly a third of a million people from homes and vacation sites, emptied communities at the height of the European summer and stretched emergency services across simultaneous disasters.
Adamson reported from Paris.
A firefighting helicopter drops water over a smoke-filled forest during a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
Flames are seen on a mountainside during a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
A volunteer firefighter observs a flame rising next to a house during a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
A volunteer tries to extinguish small flames during a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
