WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Zebby Matthews allowed six hits and one run over seven innings, Josh Bell drove in three runs, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Athletics 9-6 on Monday night.
Byron Buxton had three hits and scored four times, rookie Kaelen Culpepper had four hits for the first time in his 14th game, and Ryan Kreidler homered to help the Twins snap a three-game skid.
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Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton reacts while running to first base after winning a challenge in the first inning during a baseball game against the Athletics, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Minnesota Twins' Ryan Kreidler hits a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning during a baseball game against the Athletics, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Minnesota Twins pitcher Zebby Matthews throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Athletics pitcher Jeffrey Springs throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Matthews (8-8) struck out seven and gave up one walk. The right-hander has won all four of his August starts.
Tommy Nance pitched a scoreless eighth, but Yoendrys Gómez surrendered a two-run double to Jeff McNeil and back-to-back RBI doubles to Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler in the ninth before Andrew Morris retired Tommy White on a lineout to first for his fourth save.
Kody Clemens drove in Buxton with RBI singles in the fifth and eighth innings. Culpepper singled home Bell in the eighth for the Twins' final run.
Buxton drew a walk from Jeffrey Springs (3-12) with one out in the first after a successful challenge on a third strike call, and Bell hit his 27th double — a shot off the top of the wall in left-center field for a 1-0 lead.
Bell added a run-scoring groundout for a 2-0 lead in the second and a sacrifice fly to the wall in left field following a two-run double by Luke Keaschall for a 7-1 lead in the sixth.
Butler had an RBI single in the third for the A's, and White had an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.
Springs gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander had three straight wins to begin April but hasn’t in 21 starts since.
Twins RHP Taj Bradley (9-5. 3.90 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Athletics LHP Gage Jump (5-8, 4.83).
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Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton reacts while running to first base after winning a challenge in the first inning during a baseball game against the Athletics, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Minnesota Twins' Ryan Kreidler hits a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning during a baseball game against the Athletics, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Minnesota Twins pitcher Zebby Matthews throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Athletics pitcher Jeffrey Springs throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
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)
