Shea Langeliers homers twice as the Oakland A's edge the Chicago Cubs 4-3

CHICAGO (AP) — Shea Langeliers homered twice, including a towering solo drive that cleared the Wrigley Field bleachers in left, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Langeliers’ third multihomer game of the season and No. 5 for his career upped his season total to 28, extending his career best.

“The homers kind of come in bunches,” said Langeliers, who finished with three RBIs. “It's not just a linear thing. You go through those stretches where you see the ball really well, you're on everything and sometimes it seems like you don't even see the ball.”

Lawrence Butler also went deep for Oakland, which stopped a three-game losing streak. The skid included back-to-back losses to the MLB-worst White Sox.

Ian Happ hit two solo homers for the Cubs (77-74), who fell six games behind the New York Mets for the final NL wild card with 11 games left.

Happ's 25th homer, a one-out drive to left on a 103.2 mph fastball from All-Star closer Mason Miller, got Chicago within one in the ninth. But Miller retired Dansby Swanson on a grounder to first before striking out Seiya Suzuki for his 26th save.

“It almost kind of forces you to rise to the occasion,” Miller said. “You obviously want to quiet an away crowd, but the ninth inning usually is the most exciting part of the game."

The Cubs said the switch-hitting Happ's shot in the ninth was the fastest pitch hit for a home run in the Statcast era, since 2015.

“I was trying to go up and missed down,” Miller said. “So I could kind of look at it that way, that I missed my spot, but going opposite field, you tip your hat.”

Happ said he was just trying to make contact and not swing late.

“You’re trying so hard to be on time for that fastball it makes the other stuff play up," Happ said. "That’s the difference. He’s throwing an 88-mile-an-hour slider, and that’s a 15-mile-an-hour difference. That’s crazy.”

Nico Hoerner hit three singles for Chicago, and Michael Busch drove in a run. Jordan Wicks (2-4) allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings.

Oakland rookie Mitch Spence (8-9) pitched five effective innings for his first win since July 27. He permitted two runs and seven hits.

With Brent Rooker aboard after a one-out single in the first, Langeliers drove a 1-0 fastball deep to left-center. Butler gave Oakland a 3-0 lead when he hit his 22nd homer into the basket in the third.

The Cubs responded with two runs in the bottom half on Happ's drive to right and Busch’s bloop RBI single.

Langeliers’ second homer of the night sailed 418 feet, reaching Waveland Avenue in the fifth.

MAKING MOVES

The Cubs recalled right-hander Daniel Palencia from Triple-A Iowa and optioned righty Trey Wingenter to their top farm club. Palencia pitched two scoreless innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: Butler was back in the leadoff spot and right field after a maintenance day on Monday.

Cubs: LHP Justin Steele will rejoin the rotation on Wednesday against Oakland. Steele, Chicago’s opening-day starter, has been on the 15-day injured list since Sept. 1 with left elbow tendinitis.

UP NEXT

Oakland LHP Brady Basso (1-0, 1.23 ERA) faces Steele (5-5, 3.09 ERA) in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon. Basso earned his first major league win against the White Sox on Friday.

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

Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ, right, slaps hands with third base coach Willie Harris as he runs the bases on a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Cubs' Miles Mastrobuoni, left, is forced out at second by Oakland Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson who throws to first in an attempted double play during the eighth inning of a baseball game ,Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner catches a pop out from Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Oakland Athletics pitcher Mason Miller reacts to striking out Chicago Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki to end the baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Oakland Athletics' Shea Langeliers hits a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Oakland Athletics' Shea Langeliers celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

JERUSALEM (AP) — With Israel's defense minister announcing a “new phase” of the war and an apparent Israeli attack setting off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon, the specter of all-out combat between Israel and Hezbollah seems closer than ever before.

Hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict appear to be fading quickly as Israel signals a desire to change the status quo in the country's north, where it has exchanged cross-border fire with Hezbollah since the Lebanese militant group began attacking on Oct. 8, a day after the war's opening salvo by Hamas.

In recent days, Israel has moved a powerful fighting force up to the northern border, officials have escalated their rhetoric, and the country’s security Cabinet has designated the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel an official war goal.

Here's a look at how Israel is preparing for a war with Lebanon:

While the daily fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated on several occasions, the bitter enemies have been careful to avoid an all-out war.

That appears to be changing — especially after pagers, walkie-talkies and other devices exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 20 and wounding thousands in a sophisticated attack Hezbollah blamed on Israel.

“You don’t do something like that, hit thousands of people, and think war is not coming,” said retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, who leads Israel Defense and Security Forum, a group of hawkish former military commanders. “Why didn't we do it for 11 months? Because we were not willing to go to war yet. What’s happening now? Israel is ready for war."

As fighting in Gaza has slowed, Israel has fortified forces along the border with Lebanon, including the arrival this week of a powerful army division that took part in some of the heaviest fighting in Gaza.

The 98th Division is believed to include thousands of troops, including paratrooper infantry units and artillery and elite commando forces specially trained for operations behind enemy lines. Their deployment was confirmed by an official with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements.

The division played a key role in Gaza, spearheading the army's operations in the southern city of Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold. The offensive inflicted heavy losses on Hamas fighters and tunnels, but also wreaked massive damage, sent thousands of Palestinians fleeing and resulted in scores of civilian deaths. Israel says Hamas endangers civilians by hiding in residential areas.

The military also said it staged a series of drills this week along the border.

"The mission is clear," said Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, who heads Israel's Northern Command. “We are determined to change the security reality as soon as possible.”

The military movements have been accompanied by heightened rhetoric from Israel's leaders, who say their patience is running thin.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday night declared the start of a “ new phase” of the war as Israel turns its focus toward Hezbollah. "The center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces,” he said.

He spoke a day after Israel's Cabinet made the return of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel a formal goal of the war. The move was largely symbolic — Israeli leaders have long pledged to bring those residents home. But elevating the significance of the aim signaled a tougher stance.

After meeting Wednesday with top security officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared: “We will return the residents of the north securely to their homes.”

Netanyahu delivered a similarly tough message with a top U.S. envoy sent to the region this week to soothe tensions.

An official with knowledge of the encounter told The Associated Press that the envoy, Amos Hochstein, told Netanyahu that intensifying the conflict with Hezbollah would not help return evacuated Israelis back home.

Netanyahu, according to a statement from his office, told Hochstein that residents cannot return without “a fundamental change in the security situation in the north." The statement said that while Netanyahu “appreciates and respects” U.S. support, Israel will “do what is necessary to safeguard its security.”

Israeli media reported Wednesday that the government has not yet decided whether to launch a major offensive in Lebanon.

Much, it seems, will depend on Hezbollah's response. The group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is expected to deliver a major speech on Thursday.

But public sentiment in Israel seems to be supportive of tougher action against Hezbollah.

A poll in late August by the Israeli Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, found that 67% of Jewish respondents thought Israel should intensify its response to Hezbollah. That includes 46% of Jewish respondents who believed Israel should launch a deep offensive striking Lebanese infrastructure, and 21% who seek an intensified response that avoids striking Hezbollah infrastructure.

“There’s a lot of pressure from the society to go to war and win,” said Avivi, the retired general. “Unless Hezbollah tomorrow morning says, ’OK, we got the message. We’re pulling out of south Lebanon,' war is imminent.”

Such a war would almost certainly prove devastating to both sides.

Already, more than 500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes since Oct. 8, most of them fighters with Hezbollah and other armed groups but also more than 100 civilians. In northern Israel, at least 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed by strikes from Lebanon.

Israel inflicted heavy damage on Lebanon during a monthlong war against Hezbollah in 2006 that ended in a stalemate. Israeli leaders have threatened even tougher action this time around, vowing to repeat the scenes of destruction from Gaza in Lebanon.

But Hezbollah also has built up its capabilities since 2006. Hezbollah has an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles, some believed to have guidance systems that could threaten sensitive targets in Israel. It has also developed an increasingly sophisticated fleet of drones.

Capable of striking all parts of Israel, Hezbollah could bring life in Israel to a standstill and send hundreds of thousands of Israelis fleeing.

Associated Press Writer Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Mourners carry the coffin of Mohammed Mahdi, son of Hezbollah legislator Ali Ammar, who was killed Tuesday after his handheld pager exploded, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Hezbollah fighters salute as they stand next to the coffins of four victims who were killed Tuesday after their handheld pagers exploded, during their funeral procession in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Hezbollah fighters carry one of the coffins of four fallen comrades who were killed Tuesday after their handheld pagers exploded, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Israeli firefighters work to extinguish a fire after a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an open field in northern Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

An Israeli firefighter works to extinguish a fire after a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an open field in northern Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)