Back-to-back homers from Alex Bregman, Yainer Diaz push Astros past Orioles 6-3

BALTIMORE (AP) — Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz hit solo homers on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning, lifting the Houston Astros to a 6-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday night and a split of the four-game series.

Ramón Urías hit a three-run shot for the Orioles to tie the game in the fifth, but Bregman and Diaz went deep in the seventh off Burch Smith (2-1) to give Houston a 5-3 edge.

“The swing felt the best it's felt since coming back," said Bregman, who has dealt with elbow issues recently. “Obviously missing some time, you kind of lose a little bit of the rhythm that you had.”

Héctor Neris (1-0) got four outs in his first appearance since coming back to the Astros this week. The right-hander, who was with the Astros in 2022 and 2023, returned after being released by the Chicago Cubs.

"Just like he was back at home," manager Joe Espada said. “Big outs.”

Bryan Abreu pitched the eighth, and Josh Hader finished for his 28th consecutive save since blowing his first opportunity this season.

Houston remained 4 1/2 games ahead of Seattle atop the AL West, and Baltimore fell 1 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East.

Astros outfielder Mauricio Dubón was shaken up after crashing into the left field wall following a spectacular running catch. Dubón went on a lengthy sprint deep into the corner before making a backhanded grab in fair territory on a fly ball hit by Urías but couldn’t stop himself before slamming into the wall.

Dubón remained down for a while but was able to walk off the field. That was the last out of the seventh, and Houston pinch-hit for him in the eighth. Jake Meyers, the replacement batter, came through with a sacrifice fly to put the Astros up by three.

Yusei Kikuchi held the Orioles hitless until the fifth inning, when Eloy Jiménez led off with a single. A one-out walk set the stage for Urías, who hit a drive into the Baltimore bullpen. The homer tied the game at 3 and gave reliever Cionel Pérez a chance to show off his trick — catching home runs in his hat — for a national television audience.

But the Orioles managed just those two hits in the game. This was the fourth time in their last eight games they were held to three hits or fewer.

Houston took a 3-0 lead in the fourth thanks to five straight two-out hits. Jeremy Peña, who was running with the pitch, was able to score all the way from first on Victor Caratini's single to left-center. Zach Dezenzo added a two-run double.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Astros: Slugger Yordan Alvarez (neck) missed a third straight game.

Orioles: 1B Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) and OF Cedric Mullins (quad) did not play.

UP NEXT

Astros: Houston heads to Philadelphia, where Justin Verlander (3-3) starts for the Astros on Monday night against Zack Wheeler (12-6).

Orioles: Baltimore has Monday off before a series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. The Orioles send Cole Irvin (6-5) to the mound Tuesday night against Jack Flaherty (10-5).

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

Houston Astros left fielder Mauricio Dubón sits on the ground and is seen by the trainer after running into the wall to make a catch during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Houston Astros' Alex Bregman hits a solo home run against Baltimore Orioles pitcher Burch Smith during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Houston Astros' Alex Bregman (2) is greeted at home plate by Yainer Diaz (21) after hitting a solo home run against Baltimore Orioles pitcher Burch Smith during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Houston Astros pitcher Yusei Kikuchi throws during the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Houston Astros' Victor Caratini is tagged out by Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) while attempting to steal a base against catcher Adley Rutschman during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson throws to first base for an out on a ball hit by Houston Astros' Yainer Diaz during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Houston Astros pitcher Yusei Kikuchi throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, left, attempts to turn a double play after getting a force out against Baltimore Orioles' Emmanuel Rivera, right, on a ball hit by Gunnar Henderson during the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A fake video that ricocheted across the internet claiming tensions between France and the United Arab Emirates after Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's detention in Paris likely came from Russia, an analysis by The Associated Press shows, despite Moscow's efforts to maintain crucial ties to the UAE.

It remains unclear why Russian operatives would choose to publish such a video falsely claiming the Emirates halted a French arms sale, which appears to be the first noticeable effort by Moscow to target the UAE with a disinformation campaign. The Emirates remains one of the few locations to still have direct flights to Moscow, while Russian money has flooded into Dubai's booming real estate market since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

France, however, remains one of the key backers of Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the war grinds on. Meanwhile, Russia likely remains highly interested in what happens to Telegram, an app believed to be used widely by its military in the war and one that's also been used by activists in the past. And the move comes amid concerns in the United States over Russia, Iran and China interfering in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Russia's Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

The fake video began circulating online Aug. 27, bearing the logos of the Qatar-based satellite news network Al Jazeera and attempting to copy the channel's style. It falsely claimed the Emirati government had halted a previously announced purchase of 80 Rafale fighter jets from France worth 16 billion euros ($18 billion) at the time, the largest-ever French weapons contract for export. It also sought to link Dubai's ruler and his crown prince son to the decision, as Durov holds an Emirati passport and has lived in Dubai.

Such a decision, however, was never made. The UAE and France maintain close relations, with the French military operating a naval base in the country. French warplanes and personnel also are stationed in a major facility outside the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi.

Reached for comment, Al Jazeera told the AP that the footage was “fake and we refute this attribution to the media network.” The network never aired any such claim when reporting on Durov’s detention as well, according to an AP check. On the social platform X, a note later appended by the company to some posts with the video identified it as “manipulated media.”

The video also appeared to seek to exploit the low-level suspicion still gripping the Gulf Arab states following the yearslong Qatar diplomatic crisis by falsely attributing it to the news network. State-funded Al Jazeera has drawn criticism in the past from Gulf nations over its coverage of the 2011 Arab Spring, from the United States for airing videos from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and most recently in Israel, where authorities closed its operation over its coverage of the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The social media account that first spread the video did not respond to questions from the AP and later deleted its post. That account linked to another on the Telegram message app that repeatedly shared graphic images of dead Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian messages.

Such accounts have proliferated since the war began and bear the hallmark of past Russian disinformation campaigns.

In Ukraine, the Center for Countering Disinformation in Kyiv, a government project there focused on countering such Russian campaigns, told the AP that the account engaged in “systematic cross-quoting and reposting of content” associated with Russian state media and its government.

That indicates the account “is aimed at an international audience for the purpose of informational influence,” the center said. It “probably belongs to the Russian network of subversive information activities abroad.”

Other experts assessed the video to be likely Russian disinformation.

The Emirati government declined to comment. The French Embassy in Abu Dhabi did not respond to AP's request to comment.

Durov is now free on 5 million euros bail after being questioned by French authorities and preliminarily charged for allegedly allowing Telegram to be used for criminal activity. He has disputed the charges and promised to step up efforts to fight criminality on the messaging app.

Despite the video being flagged as fake online, captions and versions of the video continue to circulate, showing the challenge of trying to refute such messages. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov just attended a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Saudi Arabia attended by the UAE. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have mediated prisoner exchanges amid the war.

Given those close ties, the UAE likely will or has reached out quietly to Moscow over the video, said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute who has long studied the region.

“It may be that this is a part of the Russian playbook which is to seek to create wedges between political and security partners, in a bid to create divisions and sow uncertainty," Ulrichsen said.

“The importance of the UAE to Russia post-2022 does make it unusual, but it may be that the campaign is aimed primarily at France and that any impact on the UAE’s image and reputation is a secondary issue as far as those behind the video are concerned.”

Associated Press writer Volodymr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

FILE - United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron pose for photographers ahead of their working dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)