ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Larnach and Brooks Lee homered to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Monday night.
The Twins earned a second straight victory for the first time since they won three in a row from Aug. 15-17. They remained 3 1/2 games behind AL Central-leading Cleveland and moved a game ahead of Kansas City for the AL’s second wild-card spot.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Larnach and Brooks Lee homered to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Monday night.
Tampa Bay Rays' Jonny DeLuca, right, celebrates his home run off Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Cole Sands with Christopher Morel during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Minnesota Twins' Brooks Lee (72) celebrates with third base coach Tommy Watkins (40) after his solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Garrett Cleavinger during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach (9) celebrates with Brooks Lee (72) and Kyle Farmer (12) after the team defeated the Tampa Bay Rays during a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Jhoan Duran celebrates with catcher Christian Vazquez after closing out the Tampa Bay Rays during the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Five Minnesota relievers combined for 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Jorge Alcala (4-3) got four outs for the win, and Jhoan Duran handled the ninth for his 21st save in 23 chances.
“We needed a lot of guys to come in and pitch well. Ultimately it was a very good, overall, communal team win,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “There were a lot of calls to the bullpen. I called down there early and said it’s basically gonna be a bullpen kind of battle between both teams. Some of them were fresh, some of them were far from fresh, but we got the win.”
Playing in front of a Labor Day crowd of 11,636, Tampa Bay lost for the fourth time in five games.
Dylan Carlson drove in two runs for the Rays, and Jonny DeLuca hit his fifth homer of the season. Zack Littell (5-9) allowed four runs and seven hits in four innings.
Carlson’s two-run single gave the Rays a 2-1 lead in the first. But Larnach connected for a three-run shot in the second for his 15th homer.
“We’re not sitting here where we’re at without Trevor Larnach,” Baldelli said. “He’s hitting in a prominent spot in the lineup and he’s there for a reason.”
Lee went deep in the eighth against Garrett Cleavinger, hitting a drive to center for his third homer.
Littell walked four and struck out two in his return from the 15-day injured list after being sidelined by right shoulder fatigue.
“Physically I felt good, just obviously not very sharp,” Littell said. “Command wasn’t great. Missed a lot over the plate. I mean, four (walks) just doesn’t play.”
The Rays played without outfielder Jose Siri, who was away from the team on a personal matter. He is expected back on Tuesday.
Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up three runs and six hits.
“We got a win, right? You won’t hear any complaining from me,” said Woods Richardson, who threw 71 pitches. “It’s not ideal, but we got the win.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: OF Byron Buxton, out since Aug. 15 with right hip inflammation, went 1 for 3 with a walk in his first game of a rehab assignment at Triple-A St. Paul. ... OF Manuel Margot, on the IL with a right groin strain, will be shut down for five to seven days with a minor strain of the right abductor tendon. ... OF Max Kepler was scratched because of left knee soreness.
UP NEXT
RHP David Festa (2-4, 4.89 ERA) will pitch Tuesday night for the Twins against LHP Jeffrey Springs (1-2, 3.67 ERA).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Tampa Bay Rays' Brandon Lowe celebrates after scoring on an RBI double by Junior Caminero off Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson during the third inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays' Jonny DeLuca, right, celebrates his home run off Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Cole Sands with Christopher Morel during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Minnesota Twins' Brooks Lee (72) celebrates with third base coach Tommy Watkins (40) after his solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Garrett Cleavinger during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Minnesota Twins' Trevor Larnach (9) celebrates with Brooks Lee (72) and Kyle Farmer (12) after the team defeated the Tampa Bay Rays during a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Jhoan Duran celebrates with catcher Christian Vazquez after closing out the Tampa Bay Rays during the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
PRAGUE (AP) — Another night of torrential rains pounding Central Europe forced massive evacuations in the hardest hit areas in the Czech Republic, where floods reached extreme levels on Sunday.
Meteorologists have warned the situation still might get worse as waters in most rivers are rising, the flood wave made its way through the country and more heavy rains could return overnight.
Authorities declared the highest flood warnings in almost 90 places across the country and in two northeastern regions that recorded the biggest rainfall in recent days, including the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.
In the city of Opava, up to 10,000 people out of a population of some 56,000 have been asked to leave their homes for higher ground. Rescuers used boats to transport people to safety in a neighborhood flooded by the raging Opava River.
“There’s no reason to wait,” Mayor Tomáš Navrátil told the Czech public radio. He said the situation was worse than during the last devastating floods in 1997, known as the “flood of the century.”
“We have to focus on saving lives,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala told the Czech public television Sunday. His government was to possibly meet Monday to assess the damages.
Thousands of others also were evacuated in the towns of Krnov and Cesky Tesin. The Oder River that flows to Poland was expected to reach extreme levels in the city of Ostrava and later in Bohumin.
Towns and villages in the Jeseniky mountains, including the local center of Jesenik, were inundated and isolated by raging waters that turned roads into rivers. The military sent a helicopter to help with evacuations.
Four people who were swept away by waters were missing, police said.
About 260,000 households were without power Sunday morning in the entire country while traffic was halted on many roads, including the major D1 highway.
A firefighter died after “slipping on stairs” while pumping out a flooded basement in the town of Tulln, the head of the fire department of Lower Austria Dietmar Fahrafellner told reporters on Sunday.
Authorities declared the entire state of Lower Austria a disaster zone. The situation remains tense, especially at the water reservoir of Ottenstein, which is expected to reach its maximum capacity on Sunday.
In Poland, one person was presumed dead in floods in the southwest, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday.
Tusk said the situation was “dramatic” around the town of Klodzko, with some 25,000 residents, located in a valley in the Sudetes mountains near the border with the Czech Republic.
In Glucholazy, rising waters overflowed a river embankment and flooded streets and houses. Mayor Paweł Szymkowicz said, “we are drowning” and appealed to residents to evacuate to high ground.
Energy supplies and communications were cut off in some flooded areas and regions may resort to using the satellite-based Starlink service, Tusk said.
Several Central European nations have been hit by severe flooding, including Romania, where four people had died, as well as Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary, as a result of a low-pressure system from northern Italy dumping heavy rainfall in the wide region.
The weather change arrived following a hot start to September in the region, including in Romania. Scientists have documented Earth’s hottest summer, breaking a record set just a year ago.
A hotter atmosphere, driven by human-caused climate change, can lead to more intense rainfall.
Associated Press writer Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland and video journalist Philipp-Moritz Jenne in Vienna contributed to this report.
Residents cross a bridge during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A resident looks at the flooded city center of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A resident looks at the flooded city center of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A dog stands near the flooded city center of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
The flooded city center of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A resident carries bottles of water during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Residents cross a bridge during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Firemen help a resident during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A resident looks at the flooded streets of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Cars submerge in flood water in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Residents fill sand bags to protect their houses during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
The Bela River flows past a church during floods in Mikulovice, Czech Republic, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Firemen attend to a house during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Firemen drive through flooded streets of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Firemen help residents during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Flooded streets and houses in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
