Anthony Santander's walk-off homer lifts Orioles to 5-3 win over Giants

BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Santander hit a game-ending two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, his 42nd longball of the season, and the Baltimore Orioles moved closer to a postseason berth with a 5-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.

“That's a reminder of who we are,” Santander said of an Orioles team that's nearly assured of a playoff spot but mired in a rough patch. “A close game, and then we stay positive, we stay together.”

Santander’s shot off Ryan Walker (9-4) came after Casey Schmitt tied the game at 3-all with a single off Seranthony Domínguez in the top of the ninth.

The walk-off homer landed a few feet over the front of the grounds crew shed in right-center to end an afternoon that began with Baltimore having lost three in a row and eight of 10. The Orioles moved three games ahead of idle Kansas City for the top AL wild card and pulled within four games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees, who lost at Seattle.

“I was like this: ‘Huff, huff, huff, keep going please,’" Santander said while making a blowing gesture. “I hit it good with the barrel, but too high. I was hopeful that that ball kept going. And thankfully it did."

Gregory Soto (3-5) induced a quick double play in relief of Domínguez to keep the game tied.

Adley Rutschman had an RBI double and Jackson Holliday drove in two runs with a two-out single to complete a three-run fourth for Baltimore. Michael Conforto’s 18th home run gave San Francisco a 2-0 lead in the top half.

“It felt like the guys were doing everything they can to win this game today,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, who recorded his 400th career victory. “Not that they haven't been. But for me, this was a needed win.”

The teams traded zeroes until the ninth, when Dominguez walked the first two batters and Schmitt hit a high-arcing fly ball to right-center.

The diving Austin Slater got his glove to it but couldn’t hold on while colliding with center fielder Cedric Mullins, and pinch-runner Brett Wisely scored from second despite tagging on the play.

“We come back in the ninth and have some good at-bats late in the game like we typically do,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “But just fell an at-bat short.”

Mullins received medical attention but remained in the game.

With Gunnar Henderson on first, Santander fell behind 0-2 against Walker but took a ball and fouled off four pitches before connecting on a slider over the middle.

“Don't really try to do too much,” Santander said. “Just to see the ball deep. And thank God I got a slider in the middle of the plate and I put a good swing on it.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Orioles: LHP Danny Coulombe faced three batters and allowed a hit in his third rehab outing at Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday. Hyde said the club will make a decision on his status after he goes through pregame activities with Norfolk on Thursday. ... Hyde said he hopes 1B Ryan Mountcastle can begin a rehab assignment with Norfolk sometime this weekend.

UP NEXT

Giants: Rookie RHP Mason Black (0-4, 7.07 ERA) takes his fourth turn since he was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento at the end of August as the Giants play the first of three against the Royals.

Orioles: Ace Corbin Burnes (14-8, 3.06) makes what could be his final regular-season start in Baltimore as the O’s start a three-game set against Detroit to close their home schedule. Burnes will be a free agent this offseason.

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

San Francisco Giants' Michael Conforto (8) runs home after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson, right, steals second base ahead of the throw to San Francisco Giants shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald, left, during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) catches a fly ball hit in by San Francisco Giants' Tyler Fitzgerald for an out in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson celebrates after hitting a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

San Francisco Giants' Michael Conforto (8) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Adley Rutschman (35) slides into home plate to score ahead of the tag by San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey (14) during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Adley Rutschman (35) slides into home plate to score in front of San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey (14) on a hit by Jackson Holliday during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Jackson Holliday (7) advances toward first base after hitting a single to score two runs during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

QABATIYA, West Bank (AP) — Israeli soldiers pushed three apparently lifeless bodies from rooftops during a raid in the northern part of the occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene and video obtained by AP.

An AP journalist in the town of Qabatiya witnessed three soldiers push the bodies off the roofs of adjacent multi-story buildings, sending them falling out of view. It was the latest in a series of suspected violations by Israeli forces since the start of the Israel-Hamas war that rights groups say show a pattern of excessive force toward Palestinians.

“This is a serious incident that does not coincide with IDF values ​​and the expectations from IDF soldiers," the military said in a statement, using the acronym it goes by. "The incident is under review.”

Israel said its troops had killed four militants during operations in Qabatiya on Thursday.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah did not immediately confirm multiple deaths, but said one person had been killed in the town and that Israeli gunfire sent 10 Palestinians to the hospital.

In the video obtained by AP, three soldiers can be seen picking up what appears to be a stiff body and then dragging it toward the edge of the roof as troops stand on the ground below. The soldiers on the roof peer over the edge before heaving the body off.

On an adjacent rooftop, the soldiers hold another apparently lifeless body by its limbs and swing it over the edge. In a third instance, a soldier kicks a body toward the edge before it falls from view. Photos captured by AP during Thursday’s raid show an Israeli army bulldozer moving near the buildings where the bodies were dropped.

Other journalists at the scene also witnessed the bodies being pushed off the roofs.

The identities of the dead and the cause of their deaths were not immediately known.

When withdrawing from raids, the army usually leaves behind any Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire. Occasionally the army brings dead bodies into Israel.

Under international law, soldiers are supposed to ensure dead bodies, including those of enemy combatants, are treated decently.

“There is no military need to do this. It’s just a savage way of treating Palestinian bodies,” said Shawan Jabarin, the director of Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, after watching the footage.

Jabarin said the video was shocking but not surprising, and he was doubtful Israel would properly investigate the incident. The Israeli military rarely prosecutes soldiers in cases of reported harm to Palestinians, rights groups say.

“The most that will happen is that soldiers will be disciplined, but there will be no real investigation and no real prosecution," said Jabarin.

The AP reporter who witnessed the raid saw a blindfolded and shirtless Palestinian man kneeling before an Israeli army jeep and armed soldiers. Smoke billows from several buildings that appeared damaged.

As the world’s attention focuses on the far more deadly war in Gaza less than 80 miles away, scores of Palestinians have been killed, shot and arrested in the West Bank, where the Israeli military has waged a months-long crackdown.

Over 700 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war erupted on Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The northern West Bank has seen some of the worst violence since the war’s outbreak.

Israel says the raids are necessary to stamp out militancy, which has flared since Oct. 7. In that time, Palestinian gunmen have attacked Israelis at checkpoints and staged several attacks within Israel.

Earlier this month, Israel staged its deadliest raid into the northern West Bank since the war began, killing at least 33 people.

Frankel reported from Jerusalem. AP reporter Jack Jeffery contributed reporting from Ramallah, West Bank.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Israeli soldiers look over a rooftop where two lie motionless in the West Bank town of Qatabiya during a raid, Thursday, Sept.19, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Israeli soldiers look over a rooftop where two bodies lie motionless in the West Bank town of Qatabiya during a raid, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - An explosion is seen as three bodies lie motionless on rooftops in the West Bank town of in the West Bank town of Qatabiya during a raid, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Israeli soldiers stand near three bodies on rooftops in the West Bank town of Qatabiya during a raid, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Three bodies lie motionless on rooftops in the West Bank town of Qatabiya during a Israeli raid, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - An explosion is seen as three bodies lie motionless on rooftops in the West Bank town of Qatabiya during a raid, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)