Butler drives in go-ahead run, A's pitchers combine for 18 strikeouts in 7-4 win over Mariners

SEATTLE (AP) — Lawrence Butler drove in the go-ahead run with two-run single in the top of the fifth, and Athletics pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts in a 7-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.

Zack Gelof hit a solo homer for the A's in the first, but the Mariners responded with a three-run bottom half of the inning.

Julio Rodríguez drove in Seattle’s first run with an RBI double and scored when Cal Raleigh Raleigh singled to right field for a 2-1 lead. Mariners rookie Lazaro Montes followed with a two-out single to left field in his first at-bat at T-Mobile Park for the Mariners' third run against A’s starter Jack Perkins.

Jeff McNeil scored on a bases-loaded double play in the second to make it 3-2, and Butler put the A’s back in front with a two out single off Mariners rookie starter Kade Anderson (0-1) in the fifth.

Anderson, making his third MLB start, allowed four earned runs on seven hits over five innings, with two walks and three strikeouts.

A’s pinch-hitter Donovan Walton hit a solo homer in the sixth off Carlos Vargas, but Seattle scored on an RBI fielder’s choice groundball from Rodríguez in the next inning.

Rodriguez stole three bases to become the first player in MLB history to start his career with five consecutive 20 homer/20 stolen base seasons.

Max Muncy had an RBI single in the eighth, and McNeil had an RBI double in the ninth.

Hogan Harris pitched the ninth for his 14th save. Scott Blewett (1-0) got the win.

The Mariners are six games back of Houston in the AL West, and 4 1/2 games back of Cleveland for the third wild-card spot.

Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert (11-8, 3.42 ERA) was set to start Friday against A’s righty Kade Morris (0-1, 9.82).

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Hoby Milner throws against the Athletics during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodríguez tips his cap after stealing second base, reaching a fifth consecutive season of 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Athletics center fielder Henry Bolte (33) and right fielder Lawrence Butler (4) run to the infield while celebrating a win over the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Athletics' Jonah Heim runs home to score on an RBI double from Jeff McNeil during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Athletics relief pitcher Hogan Harris throws against the Seattle Mariners during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescuers in Nepal pulled two workers alive from a hydropower tunnel Friday, raising hopes of reaching a dozen others believed to be trapped nine days after catastrophic floods devastated towns and swept away villages.

The two men were rescued from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A construction site.

Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane posted about the second rescue on his Facebook page shortly after army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet confirmed the first trapped worker’s rescue. Basnet said one of the survivors told rescuers that more people were still alive inside the tunnel.

Officials identified the two men as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor.

Rescuers first heard voices from inside the tunnel Friday morning, confirming that people were alive and allowing them to locate the two men, Neupane said.

Local television news channels showed images of the first rescued worker covered in mud and being carried from the site on a rescuer’s shoulder. Officials said both men were in stable condition and were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu.

“I can’t explain what we are feeling at the moment. We are just grateful to god,” Amir Maharjan, brother to one of the rescued workers, told The Associated Press. He said the family was on its way to the hospital to see him.

At least 557 workers are missing from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project along the Trishuli River, with about 115 believed to be trapped in the tunnel, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.

Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina said officials remain hopeful that more workers will be rescued.

“We are waiting for the rescue of more and more people,” Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page.

At least 1,259 people were killed in the Aug. 26 floods, likely caused by a glacier collapse, and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to the country’s disaster management agency. China said late Wednesday that 21 people were killed and 541 were missing on the Tibet side of the border.

About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local authorities.

Saaliq reported from New Delhi.

In this photo provided by the Nepal Army, soldiers rescue a worker alive from a tunnel during an ongoing operation at the Trishuli-3A hydropower project in Nepal's Rasuwa district, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (Nepal Army via AP)

In this photo provided by the Nepal Army, soldiers rescue a worker alive from a tunnel during an ongoing operation at the Trishuli-3A hydropower project in Nepal's Rasuwa district, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (Nepal Army via AP)

In this photo provided by the Nepal Army, soldiers rescue a worker alive from a tunnel during an ongoing operation at the Trishuli-3A hydropower project in Nepal's Rasuwa district, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (Nepal Army via AP)

A drone view shows rescue workers inspecting damaged structures amid sludge, debris and landslides in the aftermath of flash flooding along the Trishuli River in the Devighat area of Nepal's Nuwakot district, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

A drone view shows houses damaged by flash floods surrounded by sludge, mud and debris along the swollen Trishuli River in Devighat, Nepal, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)