Messick throws 6 strong innings and Hedges hits 2-run homer as Guardians beat Angels 4-2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Parker Messick pitched six innings of one-run ball and Austin Hedges hit a two-run homer in the Cleveland Guardians’ 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.

Jo Adell hit a go-ahead single for the Guardians against his former team. Messick (10-8) gave up three hits, struck out four and walked one while extending to nine his string of consecutive starts with two or fewer runs allowed.

Through 26 starts, the rookie left-hander has a 2.50 ERA with 156 strikeouts in 155 innings.

Colin Holderman struck out three of four batters in the seventh. Hunter Gaddis tossed a scoreless eighth and Cade Smith gave up a run in the ninth before earning his 34th save.

Cleveland won its fifth straight and pulled within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

Angels rookie George Klassen (2-2) gave up three runs — two earned — and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Adell, acquired from the Angels on Aug. 3, snapped a 1-all tie with a two-out single in the fifth — his 13th RBI in six games. Hedges made it 4-1 with a two-out homer off reliever Blake Weiman in the sixth.

The Angels pulled to 4-2 on Gustavo Campero's sacrifice fly in the ninth, but Christian Moore flied out to the left-center warning track with a runner on for the final out.

Messick retired his first nine batters before Zach Neto and Mike Trout opened the fourth with singles. Neto went to third on Trout’s hit, and Trout took second on the throw.

Trout was caught off the bag on Vaughn Grissom’s hard grounder to second but stayed in a rundown long enough for Grissom to reach second.

Moisés Ballesteros dunked an RBI single into center for a 1-all tie, advancing Grissom to third. Messick escaped further damage by striking out Jose Siri and getting Campero to pop out.

Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the third when Steven Kwan and José Ramírez singled, Adell walked and Nathaniel Lowe hit a sacrifice fly.

Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (12-7, 3.72 ERA) will oppose Angels RHP Walbert Ureña on Tuesday night.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout looks to field a single by Cleveland Guardians' Petey Halpin during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Cleveland Guardians' Jo Adell tips his batting helmet to fans during an at-bat in the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Cleveland Guardians' Jo Adell singles in a run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Cleveland Guardians' Austin Hedges is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Parker Messick delivers to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) — Authorities in Indonesia’s South Sumatra, the province with the highest number of wildfire hot spots, turned to spiritual measures on Tuesday as huge blazes in central and western regions scorched wide areas of forests and peatland, creating a choking haze that blanketed some cities in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.

The prayer gathering initiative comes as the province faces prolonged dry weather that has heightened the risk of forest and peatland fires.

The latest satellite data from the Environment Ministry showed South Sumatra recorded the highest number of hot spots nationwide with 1,429, followed by West Kalimantan with 1,226 and Central Kalimantan with 811. Forestry Ministry data indicated that nearly 940 square kilometers (363 square miles) were burned in July alone, including over 20 square kilometers (8 square miles) in South Sumatra province.

About 3,000 residents gathered in Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province, to perform a special Islamic prayer for rain, known as “salat istisqa.” They prayed shoulder to shoulder in the courtyard of the governor’s office as thick smoke shrouded roads, buildings and public facilities, reducing visibility and forcing motorists to drive with their headlights on during the day.

“We have done everything we can and worked closely with all relevant parties,” South Sumatra Gov. Herman Deru said before the prayer. “As people of faith, we are also praying to God to send rain so that life can return to normal.”

He also said the public prayer would complement ongoing firefighting and drought-mitigation measures and serve as a moment for residents to unite in confronting the environmental challenges facing the province.

Emergency services have been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia and Brunei, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

Indonesia is actively intensifying weather-modification operations to help firefighters combat wildfires by inducing rainfall through the dispersal of salt particles into suitable clouds, with 30 aircraft for cloud-seeding and water-bombing operations over Kalimantan, and another 22 helicopters covering Sumatra.

Indonesian police have arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the forest and peatland fires, while four companies are under investigation for allegedly using fire to clear land at low cost.

Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming, triggering hazardous haze that reduces visibility, disrupts land and air transportation and threatens public health.

Fires are a regular problem during the dry season in Indonesia, and the haze they generate has periodically drawn diplomatic complaints from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

Indonesian Muslims perform a prayer requesting for rain following wildfires that burn through peatlands in several regions in Sumatra and Kalimantan Island, in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

A woman prays during a prayer requesting for rain following wildfires that burn through peatlands in several regions in Sumatra and Kalimantan Island, in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

In this photo released by Jambi Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD Jambi), a helicopter conducts a water bombing to extinguish wildfire burning through a peatland field in Danau Lamo, Jambi province, Indonesia, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (BPBD Jambi via AP)

Indonesian Muslims attend a prayer requesting for rain following wildfires that burn through peatlands in several regions in Sumatra and Kalimantan Island, in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

People walk along the Ampera Bridge as haze from wildfires blankets the city of Palembang, in South Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

A man is silhouetted against the haze from wildfires that blankets Musi River in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Fajri)

A volunteer sprays water in an attempt to extinguish a wildfire burning through a peatland field in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Hatta)

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire burning through a peatland field in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Hatta)