Caballero's 2-run homer off Kelly in the 10th lifts Rays over Dodgers 9-8

LOS ANGELES (AP) — José Caballero hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off Joe Kelly in the 10th inning after Tampa Bay blew a 4-0 lead in the first and the Rays rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-8 on Saturday night.

“That helped us a lot,” teammate Junior Caminero said. "I probably screamed out there more than he did.”

Jonny DeLuca began the 10th as the designated runner at second, took third on Josh Lowe's groundout and scored on Caballero's shot to left-center off Kelly (1-1).

“There are some times that he comes in and he's lights out and other times he labors,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It's certainly been inconsistent.”

Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips allowed the tying homer to Caminero leading off the ninth before striking out the next three batters.

Shohei Ohtani hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth a night after the Japanese superstar became the fastest player in major league history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases.

Ohtani led off the bottom of the 10th against Garrett Cleavinger and sent a towering fly to right that was caught. Designated runner Miguel Rojas advanced to third and scored on Mookie Betts' sacrifice fly to center, leaving the Dodgers trailing 9-8. Freddie Freeman grounded to second to end the game.

“Guys are taking good at-bats. There's fight,” Roberts said. “Tonight we just didn't pitch well. We had a chance to win and we just couldn't put them away.”

Manuel Rodriguez (3-3) got the victory with one inning of relief. Cleavinger earned his fourth save.

“Our offense did a great job putting up two (runs) which made it much easier,” Cleavinger said. “The guys really swung well against some good arms.”

Trailing 5-3, Max Muncy doubled leading off the fifth, took third on Tommy Edman’s groundout and scored on Rojas’ single. Ohtani followed with his blast that was greeted by chants of “MVP! MVP!”

Rojas added a solo shot in the seventh — his first homer since June 14 — for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who had won five straight overall and seven straight at home.

The Rays' bottom of the lineup loaded the bases in the eighth against reliever Michael Kopech. Lowe singled, Caballero doubled and Alex Jackson walked with no outs. Yandy Diaz sacrificed into a double play, scoring Lowe. Jackson was thrown out at second when he inexplicably decided to tag and run on the fly ball to left. Brandon Lowe popped up to short to leave the Rays trailing 7-6.

“Definitely a roller coaster,” Cleavinger said. “We're kind of accustomed to it over here, grinding out wins.”

Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked two.

“He just wasn't sharp,” Roberts said. “He couldn't put batters away and they were putting balls in play.”

Rays starter Taj Bradley gave up six runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out five.

The Rays took a 4-0 lead off Kershaw in the first, when the left-hander needed 30 pitches while putting on five baserunners in a row.

Caminero had an RBI single, Christopher Morel doubled and left fielder Teoscar Hernández's fielding error allowed Caminero to score. DeLuca added two runs on an RBI single.

Hernández hit a two-run homer in the fourth.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rays: C Ben Rortvedt was reinstated from family medical emergency list.

Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow (elbow) played catch for the first time since going on the IL a week ago. He's expected to be out into September, but the team is optimistic he'll pitch again during the regular season.

UP NEXT

Rays: RHP Shane Baz (1-2, 3.48 ERA) faces the Dodgers for the first time in Sunday's series finale. He has one win since July 3.

Dodgers: RHP Gavin Stone (11-5, 3.44) leads the staff in wins. He scattered two hits over seven scoreless innings and struck out a career-high 10 against Seattle in his last start.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

The Tampa Bay Rays celebrate after a 9-8 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a baseball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani waits for a pitch during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw prepares to throw during the second inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Jonny DeLuca throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Brandon Lowe (8) celebrates with Christopher Morel after scoring off of a single hit by Junior Caminero during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández (37) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. Mookie Betts also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tampa Bay Rays' Christopher Morel doubles during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. Junior Caminero scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates with Teoscar Hernández (37) after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. Miguel Rojas also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tampa Bay Rays' Junior Caminero scores off of a double hit by Christopher Morel during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tampa Bay Rays' José Caballero (7) celebrates after hitting a home run during the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. Jonny DeLuca (21) also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tampa Bay Rays' José Caballero runs after hitting a home run during the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. Jonny DeLuca also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tampa Bay Rays' José Caballero hits a home run during the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. Jonny DeLuca also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Unauthorized migration to European Union countries dropped significantly overall in the first eight months of this year, even as political rhetoric and violence against migrants increased and far-right parties espousing anti-immigration policies made gains at the polls.

There was, however, a spike in migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that is increasingly used as an alternate stepping stone to continental Europe.

Irregular migration dominated the European parliamentary elections in June and influenced recent state elections in eastern Germany, where a far-right party won for the first time since World War II. The German government this week announced it was expanding border controls around its territory following recent extremist attacks.

Despite the heated debates, irregular crossings over the southern borders of the EU — the region that sees the most unauthorized migration — were down by 35% from January to August, according to the latest preliminary figures compiled by the United Nation's International Organization for Migration.

Nearly 115,000 migrants — less than 0.03% of the EU’s population — have arrived without permission into the EU via Mediterranean and Atlantic routes so far this year, compared to 176,252 during the same period last year, the U.N. says. In contrast, more than a million people, most of them fleeing conflict in Syria, entered the EU in 2015.

Data shared by the EU's border and coast guard agency Frontex shows a similar trend: Unauthorized crossings over the region's southern borders fell 39% overall this year compared to last year.

“The emergency is not numerical this year, nor was it last year," Flavio di Giacomo, a spokesperson with the IOM office for the Mediterranean, told The Associated Press.

Camille Le Coz, an associate director of the nonprofit Migration Policy Institute in Europe, said irregular migration is “getting way too much attention compared to the scope of the issue and compared to other issues Europe should be tackling, such as climate change."

The most commonly used route for migrants is from North Africa, across the dangerous Central Mediterranean to Italy. Yet roughly 64% fewer migrants disembarked in Italy this year than during the same period in 2023, according to IOM and Frontex numbers.

Experts say that’s a result of the EU-supported crackdown in Tunisia and Libya, which comes at a price for migrants, many of whom are systematically rounded up and dumped in the desert.

How long the downward trend will hold remains to be seen, however. Smugglers are always quick to adapt and find new routes around border controls. In the Eastern Mediterranean, the second-most-used route, smuggling networks are now using speedboats in increasingly aggressive ways to avoid controls and targeting islands farther away from the Turkish coast in the central Aegean, according to Greek authorities.

The number of migrants arriving in Greece by sea and overland during the first eight months of the year rose by 57%, U.N. data shows.

Meanwhile, irregular migration from West Africa to the Canary Islands via the Atlantic, the third-most-used route, has more than doubled: More than 25,500 migrants — mostly from Mali, Senegal and other West African countries — had arrived in the islands as of Aug. 31, the U.N. says.

Countless other migrants have gone missing along the route, where rough winds and strong Atlantic currents work against them. Several migrant boats, carrying only the remains of Malian, Mauritanian and Senegalese citizens, have been found this year drifting as far away as the Caribbean and off Brazil. Precise numbers are hard to verify, but the Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders has reported more than 4,000 dead or missing.

The trend has Spanish authorities on alert for the fall, when conditions in the Atlantic are most favorable for the journey. The treacherousness of the route seems to have done little to dissuade would-be migrants, whose ranks have swelled to include people from Syria and Pakistan, according to rescuers.

“There are situations that need to be addressed, like the situation in the Canary Islands,” Le Coz acknowledged.

The adult migrants who successfully make it to the Canaries usually keep moving, headed for the promise of jobs and safety in mainland Spain or other European countries farther north. But that is not the case for thousands of unaccompanied minors. Under Spanish law, these young migrants must be taken under the wing of the local government, leading to overcrowded shelters and a political crisis. Earlier this year, island leaders fought unsuccessfully to have other regions of Spain share the responsibility.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recently traveled to three West African countries in an attempt to curb migration. In Senegal, he and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye signed agreements to promote temporary work opportunities in Spain for Senegalese nationals and vocational training in Senegal. They also agreed to step up police cooperation.

Current anti-immigrant sentiments notwithstanding, Europe’s aging population, declining birth rates and labor shortages have only increased the need for immigrant workers to sustain pensions and boost economic growth.

And as long as migrants lack opportunities in their own countries, their exodus will continue. Add to this the growing instability and conflict in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia that have displaced millions.

“There is no magic deterrence,” Le Coz said. “Migrants end up taking the toll of all of this: They are risking their lives, doing jobs in Europe where they face uncertain legal status for years and are vulnerable to all sorts of exploitation."

While long-term solutions to tackle unauthorized migration are being implemented, such as temporary work programs for migrants, they are still falling short.

“That’s one step in the right direction, but this needs to happen at a much larger scale, and they need the private sector to be more involved,” Le Coz added.

Follow AP's coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

CORRECTS TO DELETE THE EXTRANEOUS WORD OF "UNAUTHORIZED" FROM THE SUBJECTS - FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, on Aug. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)

FILE - A child is carried ashore from a crowded wooden boat as unauthorized migrants arrive at the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, on Aug. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)

FILE - Unauthorized migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, on Aug. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)

FILE - Unauthorized migrants react as they arrive at the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, on, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)

FILE - Unauthorized migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, on Aug. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)