Moniak's double and O'Hoppe's slump-ending homer help Angels rally for 3-2 victory over Braves

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mickey Moniak hit a go-ahead double in the sixth inning, Logan O'Hoppe snapped an 0-for-29 slump with a tying homer in the fourth and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 on Friday night to stop their three-game losing streak.

Moniak, who was 1 for 11 on the homestand when he came up to bat, narrowly missed a home run when he drilled Pierce Johnson's curveball off the right-field wall. That drove in Nolan Schanuel, who drew a walk from Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach (4-6) leading off the inning.

“Every time they get a ball close to him he does some damage,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “We needed what he gave us tonight. Both teams were stretching to score runs and we scored more than them.”

Brock Burke (1-0), the third of six Los Angeles pitchers, earned the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Ben Joyce got five outs for his second save.

“We had to piece that together, especially after (starting pitcher José) Soriano ran out of gas," Washington said. “Everyone came in and did a good job. We needed the bullpen to step up and they did.”

The Braves had eight hits and drew seven walks, but were unable to get the clutch hit they needed after the fourth inning. They left 11 on base and were 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

“We had a lot of opportunities. Just couldn’t get a big hit,” manager Brian Snitker said. “When you’re having trouble scoring runs, you hope someone gets a big hit and relaxes everyone. But we’ve had a hard time doing that.”

Schwellenbach allowed three runs on four hits and two walks in five-plus innings. He struck out eight and has 85 strikeouts this season, most by a Braves pitcher through their first 13 games in franchise history.

O'Hoppe tied the game at 2 in the fourth with his 17th homer, which is third among catchers in the majors.

“I felt like a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders. It's been a tough week, but it's not over yet. It's a good sign and I feel like I have something to latch onto and build off,” O'Hoppe said.

Atlanta jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Marcell Ozuna led off with a base hit and Matt Olson walked before Sean Murphy lined a single to left field to drive in Ozuna. Jarred Kelenic brought in Olson with a one-out chopper that third baseman Anthony Rendon was unable to handle cleanly.

The Angels tied it in the home half when O’Hoppe drove a low curveball from Schwellenbach into the center-field stands. O'Hoppe drove in Schanuel, who got aboard with a leadoff double down the left-field line.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Braves: OF Jorge Soler missed a second straight game due to a mild left hamstring strain.

Angels: Rendon was removed in the fourth inning with a bruised right elbow. He was hit by a pitch in the second.

UP NEXT

Braves LHP Chris Sale (13-3, 2.61 ERA), who leads the NL in wins and ERA, threw seven scoreless innings at San Francisco on Monday. Angels RHP Griffin Canning (4-10, 5.11) has allowed at least four runs in three of his last five starts.

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Los Angeles Angels' Logan O'Hoppe, left, congratulates Ben Joyce (44) after a save in the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves during a baseball game Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Angels' Ben Joyce, pitches against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Atlanta Braves' Marcell Ozuna breaks his bat on a single in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Angels in a baseball game Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Angels' Jose Soriano delivers to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Atlanta Braves' Spencer Schwellenbach delivers to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Atlanta Braves' Marcell Ozuna uses a custom-painted bat on Players' Weekend in the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Angels' pitching coach Barry Enright, left, talks to starting pitcher Jose Soriano, right, in the dugout following the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill follows the flight of his triple off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Angel Chivilli in the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Atlanta Braves' Marcell Ozuna is congratulated in the dugout after scoring in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Angels' Nolan Schanuel, left, avoids a tag by Atlanta Braves' Whit Merrifield (15) for a double in the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Atlanta Braves' Jarred Kelenic, right, is out at second as Los Angeles Angels' Michael Stefanic, left, throws to first to complete a double play in the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Angels' Logan O'Hoppe watches the flight of the ball on a two-run home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight and Wednesday hit a U.N. school sheltering displaced Palestinian families as well as two homes, killing at least 34 people, including 19 women and children, hospital officials said.

The deadliest strike came Wednesday afternoon, targeting the U.N.’s Al-Jaouni Preparatory Boys School in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas militants planning attacks from inside the school. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

At least 14 dead from the strike, including two children and a woman, were brought to Awda and al-Aqsa Martyrs hospitals nearby, officials from the facilities said. At least 18 people were wounded in the strike, they said.

One of the children killed was the daughter of Momin Selmi, a member of Gaza’s civil defense agency, which works rescuing wounded and bodies after strikes, the agency said in a statement. Selmi hadn’t seen his daughter for 10 months, since he remained in north Gaza to keep working while his family fled south, the agency said.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes by Israeli offensives and evacuation orders are living in Gaza’s schools. The al-Jaouni school, one of many in Gaza run by the U.N. agency for Palestinians UNWRA, has been hit by multiple strikes over the course of the war.

Israel frequently bombs schools, saying they are being used by Hamas militants. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties from its strikes, saying its fighters base themselves and operate within dense residential neighborhoods.

More than 90% of Gaza’s school buildings have been severely or partially damaged in strikes, and more than half the schools housing displaced people have been hit, according to a survey in July by the Education Cluster, a collection of aid groups led by UNICEF and Save the Children.

Israel’s 11-month-old campaign in Gaza has killed at least 41,084 Palestinians and wounded another 95,029, the territory’s Health Ministry said Wednesday. The ministry's count does not differentiate between civilians and militants. Israel launched its campaign vowing to destroy Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 250 others.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an Israeli strike killed five people in the northern town of Tubas, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The military said it was targeting a group of militants. The ministry did not specify whether the dead were militants or civilians.

Israel has stepped up its military raids across the West Bank, saying it is working to dismantle militant groups and prevent attacks. Palestinians say such operations are aimed at cementing Israel’s seemingly open-ended military rule over the territory.

A driver crashed a fuel truck into a bus stop in the central West Bank, injuring one person in what the Israeli military said was an attack targeting troops operating there. Officials said that soldiers and an armed civilian had “neutralized” the attacker, but it was not immediately clear whether that meant he had been killed.

Earlier Wednesday, a strike hit a home near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, killing 11 people, including six brothers and sisters from the same family ranging in age from 21 months to 21 years old, according to the European Hospital, which received the casualties.

A strike late Tuesday on a home in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed nine people, including six women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the civil defense. The civil defense said the home belonged to Akram al-Najjar, a professor at the al-Quds Open University, who survived the strike.

The Israeli military said two soldiers died and seven were injured when their helicopter crashed in the southern Gaza Strip as they evacuated wounded troops. It said the overnight crash was not the result of enemy fire and is under investigation. There have been 340 Israeli soldiers killed since the ground operation began in Gaza in late October, at least 50 of whom died in accidents, according to the military.

Israeli security forces inspect the scene of what they say is a Palestinian ramming attack at a bus station near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Beit El, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An Israeli soldier flashes a V-sign to photographers during an army raid in Tubas, West Bank, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

An Israeli soldier aims her rifle during an army raid in Tubas, West Bank, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Israeli soldiers arrest a blindfolded Palestinian during an army raid in Tubas, West Bank, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)