Riley Greene homers twice and surging Tigers top struggling Orioles 4-2

DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene homered twice and drove in three runs, and the Detroit Tigers beat Baltimore 4-2 on Sunday to take two of three from the Orioles.

Greene hit a two-run homer with two outs in the third off Cade Povich (2-9) and a solo drive in the eighth against Gregory Soto. Greene leads the Tigers with 23 homers. He hit both homers off left-handers after entering the day batting .203 with four homers against lefties.

Detroit (77-73) remained 2 1/2 games behind Minnesota (79-70) for the last AL wild card, has won six of eight.

“That's a really, really good team over there,” Greene said. “We just keep putting our ourselves in good positions to get a possible win. Our goal is just to win every single game we can.”

Baltimore (84-64) dropped its second straight series and scored just six runs in the three games. The Orioles, who have lost six of eight, fell three games back of the AL East-leading Yankees but are in position for the top AL wild card.

“Our pitching's been really good,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We're giving ourselves a chance to win almost every single night out. We're playing pretty good defense. We're just not getting enough baserunners and when we do, we're not getting them home.”

Keider Montero (6-6) gave up five hits in five innings and Jason Foley got four straight outs for his 23rd save in 26 chances.

"Having control of the zone, that was the key for sure," Montero said through an interpreter.

Povich allowed two runs, two hits and two walks in five innings while striking out eight.

Colt Keith boosted the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single in the sixth against right-hander Jacob Webb.

Adley Rutschman hit a two-run homer in the eighth against Will Vest, Rutschman’s 19th homer this season but first since Aug. 18.

“We've just got to get going offensively,” Hyde said. “We had the two-run homer later in the game but we're not stringing together many hits. When we have opportunities, we're not cashing them in.”

Soto has allowed 30 home runs in his big league career but Greene's was just the fifth by a left-handed batter.

Soto is an ex-Tiger, and that familiarity was somewhat helpful for Greene.

“I know he's got that sinker and slider. It's still not a comfortable at-bat because he's really good,” Greene said. “Just trying to put the barrel on the ball.”

Baltimore outfielder Heston Kjerstad was activated from the 10-day injured list after recovering from a concussion and went 0 for 2 and Webb was reinstated from the 15-day IL following a bout of right elbow inflammation. Left-hander Cole Irvin and infielder Nick Maton were designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Orioles: RHP Albert Suárez (8-5, 3.39 ERA) will start the opener of a three-game home series against San Francisco on Tuesday night.

Tigers: RHP Seth Lugo (16-8, 2.94) starts for Kansas City on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against visiting Detroit.

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

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Cade Povich throws against the Detroit Tigers in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers' Colt Keith hits an RBI single, scoring Matt Vierling, in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch watches from the dugout in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, left, and head athletic trainer Brian Ebel, right, watch from the dugout in the third inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tyler Holton throws against the Baltimore Orioles in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers third base coach Joey Cora, left, watches as Matt Vierling, right, runs to score on an RBI single by Colt Keith against the Baltimore Orioles in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Cade Povich throws against Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene reacts after hitting a two-run home run off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Cade Povich in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene, right, is congratulated by Andy Ibáñez after hitting a two-run home run off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Cade Povich in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — In a duplex in a quiet neighborhood of the Hungarian capital is the headquarters of a company that is linked to the manufacture of the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria as part of an apparent Israeli operation against the Hezbollah militant group.

BAC Consulting shares the ground floor of the modest building in Budapest with other enterprises. On Wednesday morning, Associated Press journalists saw the names of multiple companies, including BAC, posted on pieces of printer paper and taped in a window.

In a corporate registry, the company listed 118 official functions, including sugar and oil production, retail jewelry sales and natural gas extraction.

BAC reportedly supplied the thousands of devices that killed at least 12 people, including two children, and wounded about 2,800 on Tuesday in a coordinated attack that Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed on Israel.

More attacks were reported Wednesday, when walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in multiple parts of Lebanon. The second wave of attacks killed at least nine people and wounded more than 300, the Health Ministry said.

The Taiwanese company whose brand appears on the pagers, Gold Apollo, said Wednesday that it had authorized the use of its name on the devices.

BAC was authorized “to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” Gold Apollo said in a statement.

A Hungarian government spokesman said the pagers were never in Hungary and that BAC Consultants merely acted as an intermediary.

“Authorities have confirmed that the company in question is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary. It has one manager registered at its declared address, and the referenced devices have never been in Hungary,” Zoltán Kovács posted Wednesday on X.

Hungarian national security services were cooperating with international partners, and the matter posed no national security risk to Hungary, he added.

BAC Consulting, which was registered as an limited liability company in May 2022, brought in $725,000 in revenue in 2022 and $593,000 in 2023, according to the company registry.

Its CEO is Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, who describes herself on LinkedIn as a strategic adviser and business developer with a doctorate.

BAC could be an acronym, in the Eastern name order that is used in Hungary, for Bársony-Arcidiacono Cristiana.

The AP attempted to reach Bársony-Arcidiacono by email and social media sites but received no response. It was not clear what connection, if any, she or BAC had to the attack.

She describes herself as a physicist and a consultant for projects to solve environmental and political issues. She co-authored a paper in 2022 for a UNESCO conference on underground water management.

Among other positions, Bársony-Arcidiacono's LinkedIn page said she serves on the board of directors of the Earth Child Institute, a sustainability group. But the group does not list Bársony-Arcidiacono among its board members on its website.

She also writes that she is a strategic adviser for major international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the CARE humanitarian agency, as well as for venture capital firms.

The IAEA confirmed that a person named Cristiana Arcidiacino was an intern with the agency for nine months in 2008 and 2009. The other relationships could not be immediately confirmed.

In an article featuring her on an online expert site, Bársony-Arcidiacono said: “A good understanding of local issues and a network of collaborators in various areas are important to succeed.”

The BAC Consulting website, which became unavailable Wednesday, describes the company's fields of expertise as “environment, development and international affairs.”

Phone calls to the number listed for BAC went unanswered. A woman who emerged Wednesday from the Budapest building housing the company's headquarters said the location is used as a service that provides addresses to companies. She would not give her name.

Social media accounts indicate Bársony-Arcidiacono studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the School of Oriental and African Studies. She has also posted published scientific papers on water ionization, climate change and other topics in the natural sciences.

An Instagram account features many of her “photos and sketches from around the world.”

“Sicily, Budapest, Paris, Africa, etc.,” it reads.

Associated Press Writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Előd Novak, a member of the National Assembly of Hungary, talks to the local media in front of a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, is headquartered in Budapest Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Előd Novak, a member of the National Assembly of Hungary, talks to the local media in front of a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, is headquartered in Budapest Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Előd Novak, a member of the National Assembly of Hungary, talks to the local media in front of a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, is headquartered in Budapest Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Előd Novak, a member of the National Assembly of Hungary, tries to enter to a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, is headquartered in Budapest Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Local media works around a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, is headquartered in Budapest Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

This shows a sign featuring the names of several companies on the door of a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria is headquartered in Budapest Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)