TORONTO (AP) — JJ Bleday and Zack Gelof both homered in a six-run first inning, JP Sears pitched seven innings to win his third straight start and the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-4 on Sunday for their 50th win, matching their total from last season.
Lawrence Butler had three hits, including a pair in the first inning, and drove in a run as Oakland improved to 20-13 since July 2, the third-best record in baseball in that span.
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Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Daulton Varsho (25) is forced out at second base by Oakland Athletics second baseman Zack Gelofn the eighth inning of an MLB baseball game in Toronto on Sunday, Aug 11, 2024/Jon Blacke. ( Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller (19) throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Michel Otanez throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter in the first inning of an MLB baseball game in Toronto on on Sunday, Aug 11, 2024/Jon Blacke. ( Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough throws to an Oakland Athletics batter in the fifth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho (25) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Lawrence Butler (4) slides safely into second base ahead of a tag by Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Leo Jimenez (49) in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Max Schuemann (12) ducks away from an inside pitch in the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker (25), left, is tagged out in a run down by Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement (28) in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker (25) hits a double against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays' Luis Del Los Santos (20) is forced out at second base by Oakland Athletics shortstop Max Schuemann (12) in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Max Schuemann (12) watches his fly ball, caught by Toronto Blue Jays George Springer, not pictured, in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Lawrence Butler (4) gestures to the dugout after hitting a double against the Toronto Blue Jays as second base umpire Mike Muchlinski, right, calls a time out during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' JJ Bleday (33) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Athletics are 13-8 since the All-Star break.
“It all comes with confidence and confidence is contagious,” Sears said.
Oakland (50-69) lost 112 games last season and 102 the year before that.
In 2023, the Athletics didn’t earn their 50th win until Sept. 30, the penultimate day of the regular season.
“Last year was brutal at times,” Gelof said. “This year, it’s the same group. We’ve got a few newer guys. I feel like we’re all just on the same page, pulling the same rope. It’s just great to be a part of. I feel like everyone is doing their job and we’re having fun doing it.”
Bleday reached base four times, Gelof had three hits and Brent Rooker added two hits and an RBI. The Athletics have won six of their past eight series.
“They’ve got confidence in that room,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “That group is realizing that they can win baseball games and go out and be competitive, win series for that matter. It’s really nice to watch their success.”
Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 0 for 4, ending his hitting streak at 22 games. Guerrero’s streak matched his career high, first set in 2022.
Guerrero scorched a 112.7 mph grounder to shortstop in the first but was thrown out to end the inning. He flew out to right in the fourth and grounded into double plays in the seventh and eighth.
“I thought his swing was a little bit big today,” manager John Schneider said. “It just wasn’t his day.”
Sears (10-8) allowed three runs and three hits, reaching double figures in wins for the first time. He walked three and struck out four.
“It’s great to play behind him,” Gelof said. "He’s always filling up the zone.”
The left-hander retired the first 10 batters in order before Daulton Varsho homered in the fourth.
Varsho’s home run was his 14th. It was Toronto’s first hit since the second inning of Saturday’s 1-0 loss, and its first run since the eighth inning of Friday’s 3-1 win.
Sears was replaced after walking the first two batters in the eighth. Michel Otañez came on and gave up an RBI double to Luis De Los Santos and a two-run single to George Springer. Otañez hit Varsho with a pitch but escaped further damage when Guerrero grounded into a double play on the first pitch.
Oakland’s Mason Miller finished with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The first four batters of the game reached safely against Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt (9-11). Butler doubled and scored on a fielding error before Bleday hit a two-run homer, his 14th. Three batters later, Gelof hit a two-run shot, his 15th. Daz Cameron doubled before Butler capped the inning with an RBI single.
Making his sixth career start against his former team, Bassitt matched a season worst by giving up seven runs in four innings.
ROSTER MOVES
Toronto reinstated LHP Génesis Cabrera from the paternity list and optioned RHP Yerry Rodríguez to Triple-A Buffalo.
UP NEXT
Athletics: Oakland had not named a starter for Tuesday’s interleague game in New York against the Mets. RHP Paul Blackburn (5-2, 3.86) is scheduled for New York.
Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (4-3, 5.44 ERA) is scheduled to face Angels RHP Davis Daniel (1-3, 6.04) on Monday night as Toronto heads west to begin a three-game series at Los Angeles.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Daulton Varsho (25) is forced out at second base by Oakland Athletics second baseman Zack Gelofn the eighth inning of an MLB baseball game in Toronto on Sunday, Aug 11, 2024/Jon Blacke. ( Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller (19) throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Michel Otanez throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter in the first inning of an MLB baseball game in Toronto on on Sunday, Aug 11, 2024/Jon Blacke. ( Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough throws to an Oakland Athletics batter in the fifth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho (25) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Lawrence Butler (4) slides safely into second base ahead of a tag by Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Leo Jimenez (49) in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Max Schuemann (12) ducks away from an inside pitch in the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker (25), left, is tagged out in a run down by Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement (28) in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker (25) hits a double against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays' Luis Del Los Santos (20) is forced out at second base by Oakland Athletics shortstop Max Schuemann (12) in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Max Schuemann (12) watches his fly ball, caught by Toronto Blue Jays George Springer, not pictured, in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' Lawrence Butler (4) gestures to the dugout after hitting a double against the Toronto Blue Jays as second base umpire Mike Muchlinski, right, calls a time out during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Oakland Athletics' JJ Bleday (33) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
ROME (AP) — Human rights groups voiced outrage Wednesday after Italy released a Libyan warlord on a technicality, after he was arrested on a warrant from the International Criminal Court accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Hague-based court, for its part, issued a more diplomatic response but its anger appeared evident. In a stern statement late Wednesday, the ICC reminded Italy that it is obliged to “cooperate fully” with its prosecutions and said it was still awaiting information about what exactly Rome had done.
The reaction came after the Italian government on Tuesday released and sent back home Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, who heads the Tripoli branch of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution, a notorious network of detention centers run by the government-backed Special Defense Force.
Al-Masri had been arrested Sunday in Turin, where he reportedly had attended the Juventus-Milan soccer match the night before. The ICC warrant, dated the day before, accused al-Masri of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Mitiga prison in Libya starting in 2015 that are punishable with life in prison.
The ICC said he was accused of murder, torture, rape and sexual violence. It said the warrant was transmitted to member states on Saturday, including Italy, and that the court had also provided real-time information that he had entered Europe.
The court said it had reminded Italy at the time to contact it “without delay” if it ran into any problems cooperating with the warrant.
But Rome’s court of appeals ordered al-Masri freed Tuesday, and he was sent back to Libya aboard an aircraft of the Italian secret services, because of what the appeals court said was a procedural error in his arrest. The ruling said Justice Minister Carlo Nordio should have been informed ahead of time, since the justice ministry handles all relations with the ICC.
The ICC said it had not been given prior notice of the Rome court's decision, as required, and “is seeking, and is yet to obtain, verification from the authorities on the steps reportedly taken.”
Al-Masri returned to Tripoli late Tuesday, received at the Mitiga airport by supporters who celebrated his release, according to local media. Footage circulated online showed dozens of young men chanting and carrying what appeared to be al-Masri on their shoulders.
“This is a stunning blow to victims, survivors and international justice and a missed opportunity to break the cycle of impunity in Libya,” said Amnesty International’s Esther Major, deputy director of research for Europe.
Nordio appeared in the Senate on Wednesday for a previously-scheduled briefing, and was grilled by outraged opposition lawmakers who demanded clarity about what happened. Former Premier Matteo Renzi accused the right-wing government of hypocrisy given its stated crackdown on human traffickers.
“But when a trafficker whom the International Criminal Court tells us is a dangerous criminal lands on your table, it’s not like you chase him down, you brought him home to Libya with a plane of the Italian secret services,” said Renzi of the Italia Viva party. “Either you’ve gone crazy or this is the image of a hypocritical, indecent government.”
The Democratic Party demanded Premier Giorgia Meloni respond specifically to parliament about the case, saying it raised “grave questions” given the known abuses in Libyan prisons for which al-Masri is accused. Nordio didn't respond.
Italy has close ties to the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, on whom it relies to patrol its coasts and prevent waves of migrants from leaving. Any trial in The Hague of al-Masri could bring unwanted attention to Italy’s migration policies and its support of the Libyan coast guard, which it has financed to prevent migrants from leaving.
Human rights groups have documented gross abuses in the Libyan detention facilities where migrants are kept, and have accused Italy of being complicit in their mistreatment.
Two humanitarian groups, Mediterranea Saving Humans and Refugees in Libya, which have documented abuses committed against migrants in Libyan detention facilities, said they were incredulous that Italy let al-Masri go.
David Yambio, a 27-year-old from South Sudan who said he was abused by al-Masri while he was detained at the Mitiga prison in 2019-2020, said he felt betrayed by Italy. Yambio, who eventually escaped from the prison and arrived in Italy on a smuggler’s boat in 2022, said he had a “fleeting feeling of justice” when he heard that al-Masri had been arrested in Turin.
“Those who waited long before me, the Libyans who are victims of his criminal network, his war crimes, have been wanting for this day to come,” said Yambio, who received asylum and now lives in Modena and runs his Refugees in Libya advocacy group. “But when it came, it was immediately extinguished hours before it could even truly be felt in our hearts.”
But Tarik Lamloum, a Libyan activist working with the Belaady Organization for Human Rights which focuses on migrants in Libya, said Italy’s release of al-Masri was expected. He said his release shows the power of militias who control the flow of migrants to Europe through Libya’s shores.
“Tripoli militias are able to pressure (Italy) because they control the migrants file,” he told The Associated Press.
Militias in western Libya are part of the official state forces tasked with intercepting migrants at sea, including in the EU-trained coast guard. They also run state detention centers, where abuses of migrants are common.
As a result, militias — some of them led by warlords the U.N. has sanctioned for abuses — benefit from millions in funds the European Union gives to Libya to stop the migrant flow to Europe.
The European Commission spokesman reaffirmed all EU members had pledged to cooperate with the court.
“We respect the court’s impartiality and we are fully attached to international criminal justice to combat impunity," said EU commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni. In a 2023 summit, the EU leaders committed “to cooperate fully with the court, including rapid execution of any pending arrests,” he added.
Magdy reported from Cairo. Paolo Santalucia in Rome and Molly Quell in The Hague contributed.
FILE - View of the ICC, the International Criminal Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi makes his remarks during Justice Minister Carlo Nordio's appearance at the Senate for the report on the justice administration, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)
Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi makes his remarks during Justice Minister Carlo Nordio's appearance at the Senate for the report on the justice administration, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio addresses the Senate during the report on the justice administration, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio puts his hand to his head during the presentation of the report on the justice administration, at the Senate, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio addresses the Senate during the report on the justice administration, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)