Josh Lowe, Taj Bradley lead Rays to 2-1 victory over Red Sox

BOSTON (AP) — Josh Lowe hit an RBI double and scored a run in the seventh inning as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Friday night.

Right-hander Taj Bradley (8-11) got the win, going six scoreless innings while giving up three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts and a hit batter.

“It’s always good to go into the offseason with a good start, a good taste in your mouth,” said Bradley, who became the third pitcher in Tampa Bay history to record 150 or more strikeouts at age 23 or younger, joining Scott Kazmir (2005-07) and Matt Moore (2012).

“I just felt good with everything. There’s stuff (pitching coach Kyle Snyder) and I talked about for the past few weeks, and I was able to execute. And I was just giddy coming off the mound knowing that I did that.”

Lowe’s double broke a scoreless tie and scored Jonathan Aranda, who drew a one-out walk off Boston starter Nick Pivetta (6-12) before Jonny DeLuca’s single. DeLuca was thrown out at the plate attempting to score on Lowe’s hit, driving Pivetta from the game, with left-hander Zach Penrod entering.

“A couple good swings, (opposite field) on both of them,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Lowe, who had two hits. “Another guy, good to see doing some good things.”

Pivetta, who can become a free agent after the season, went 6 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits, a walk and six strikeouts.

“It’s been a hefty four years, almost five years for me and there’s a lot to be grateful for," Pivetta said. "A lot of opportunities have been given and try to take advantage of every single one. But also I’ve had a lot of help along the way and there’s been a lot of people around that have helped guide me and a lot of them are in the dugout and the coaching staff. So, it’s really emotional for me.”

“Excellent,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Pivetta’s outing. “The walk put him in a bad spot, we were talking about that, but, overall, a really good one.”

Penrod allowed all three batters he faced to reach base. He walked Richie Palacios, hit Jose Caballero with a pitch and walked pinch hitter Christopher Morel to score Lowe.

Penrod was relieved by right-hander Luis Guerrero, who ended the threat by inducing a ground out from lead-off hitter Yandy Diaz.

Boston answered back in the bottom of the inning, with Rays left-hander Colin Poche on the mound. After Masataka Yoshida flied out, Vaughn Grissom singled, took second on a wild pitch and then advanced to third on pinch hitter Romy Gonzalez’s single. Nick Sogard’s sacrifice fly scored Grissom.

No. 9 hitter Ceddanne Rafaela reached on a fielding error by third baseman Junior Caminero, but Jarren Duran’s fly out ended the inning.

Edwin Uceta pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fifth save of the season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: OF Tyler O’Neill was not in the starting lineup on Friday. While he is not on the injured list, he has missed time recently with a back injury. It is not known if Friday’s absence is related to that injury.

UP NEXT

RHP Kutter Crawford (9-15, 4.17 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Red Sox Saturday afternoon, opposed by Tampa Bay RHP Shane Baez (3-3, 3.07).

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

Tampa Bay Rays' Jonny DeLuca is out at home plate against Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong while trying to score on a double by Josh Lowe during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela, left, reacts as Vaughn Grissom, right, scores on a sacrifice fly by Nick Sogard during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox's Vaughn Grissom scores on a sacrifice fly by Nick Sogard during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Richie Palacios catches a flyout by Boston Red Sox's Masataka Yoshida during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox's Nick Sogard strikes out swinging in front of Tampa Bay Rays catcher Logan Driscoll to end the baseball game in the ninth inning, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta tips his cap to the crowd after being relieved during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, center left, relieves starting pitcher Nick Pivetta, center right, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Edwin Uceta and catcher Logan Driscoll celebrate after defeating the Boston Red Sox during a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe runs on his RBI double during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu signaled to the world from the United Nations on Friday that the multiple conflicts in the Middle East were far from resolved, and he vowed to continue battling the Lebanese Hezbollah and defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip until “total victory."

Shortly after the prime minister spoke, blasts rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut and the Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah's headquarters. The attack appeared to target Hezbollah’s leader and prompted Netanyahu to cut short his trip to New York by a day and make unusual travel on the Jewish Sabbath to get home.

“Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Netanyahu said, eliciting applause from supporters in the gallery of the General Assembly. “We’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met,” he said.

When Netanyahu entered the hall and was introduced, boos and raised voices echoed, and many delegates walked out through various exits.

Netanyahu spoke as international mediation efforts were underway to try to rein in the escalating conflict in Lebanon, where Israel has been striking Hezbollah targets intensively for the past week, sending the death toll in Lebanon soaring into the hundreds and raising fears that the conflict could spiral into all-out war.

Late Wednesday, the United States, France and other allies jointly called for an “immediate” 21-day cease-fire to allow for negotiations. Israel said Thursday that discussions were ongoing and Hezbollah hasn’t officially responded to the cease-fire proposal, but has said it won't stop firing until the Gaza war ends.

Hezbollah began striking Israel a day after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in an act of solidarity with the Palestinians. The sides have exchanged relatively low-level fire since then on almost a daily basis, volleys that intensified sharply after a wave of exploding communication devices targeted Hezbollah operatives - an attack widely blamed on Israel. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.

Netanyahu has faced increasing pressure from within his own government and from Israelis displaced by the fighting to deal Hezbollah a heavy blow. Recent strikes have targeted the group's senior leadership.

“Just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns ... How long would the American government tolerate that?” he said, shaking his fist in emphasis. “Yet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say: Enough is enough.”

Netanyahu pointed a finger at Iran for being a destabilizing force in the region, noting its support for both Hamas and Hezbollah. He warned Tehran that “if you strike us, we will strike you.” As he spoke, the seats in the Iran delegation sat empty. Outside, protesters against Netanyahu and Israel’s policies demonstrated behind police barricades.

Armed with visual aids as he has been in the past, the prime minister defended his nation’s response to Hamas' attack on Israel that triggered the war that has devastated the Gaza Strip. He said Israel had destroyed much of Hamas' rocket arsenal, killed or captured half of its fighting force and dismantled many of its underground tunnels. He said Israel was “focused on mopping up Hamas’ remaining fighting capabilities.”

But the war in Gaza will soon stretch into its second year with still no end in sight. Multiple attempts at bringing about a cease-fire have stalled over Hamas' demand that Israel withdraw all troops and end the war, and over Israel's insistence on maintaining a presence in some areas. All the while, civilians have borne a staggering toll in the continuing violence; roughly 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Health Ministry. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but more than half the dead have been women and children, including about 1,300 children under the age of 2.

Israel has maintained its military operations are justified and are necessary to defend itself.

“This war can come to an end now. All that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms and release all the hostages,” Netanyahu said. “But if they don’t – if they don’t – we will fight until we achieve total victory. Total victory. There is no substitute for it. “

In an address steeped in talk of conflict, Netanyahu also made a lengthy appeal for Israeli relations with Saudi Arabia, echoing the content of his speech last year, when efforts toward that goal were underway. But the U.S.-backed normalization talks were derailed by Hamas' attacks, which refocused a spotlight on Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, casting doubt on Netanyahu's argument that ties with Saudi Arabia are not contingent on Palestinian statehood.

As Netanyahu took the stage Friday morning, there was enough ruckus in the audience that the presiding diplomat had to shout, “Order, please.”

The two speakers who preceded Netanyahu on Friday each made a point of calling out Israel for its actions. “Mr. Netanyahu, stop this war now,” Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said as he closed his remarks, pounding the podium. And Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking just before the Israeli leader, declared of Gaza: “This is not just a conflict. This is systematic slaughter of innocent people of Palestine." He thumped the rostrum to audible applause.

It wasn't just Friday, either. On Thursday, the leader of the Palestinian Authority and a top Lebanese official both made their cases to fellow leaders — cases that included harsh words for Israel as well. Mahmoud Abbas' first words to the General Assembly were a sentence repeated three times in reference to Gaza: “We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave.” He accused Israel of destroying Gaza and making it unlivable. And Abdallah Bouhabib, Lebanon's foreign minister, decried Israel's “systematic destruction of Lebanese border villages.”

“The crisis in Lebanon threatens the entire Middle East,” Bouhabib said. “We wish today to reiterate our call for a cease-fire on all fronts.”

At the General Assembly late Friday evening, Iran exercised its “right of reply” at the end of the day's regular speeches and denounced Israel as “the exclusive source of insecurity and instability in the region and beyond.”

“What you heard here today from the notorious Israeli prime minister was nothing but an unsuccessful attempt to distract attention from his genocide and brutal war crimes,” said an Iranian diplomat whose name was not immediately available. He addressed the General Assembly in English.

See more of AP’s coverage of the U.N. General Assembly at https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Chairs for the Iranian delegation sit empty as Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Haredi Jews step on the Israeli flag to protest against Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu in front of his hotel during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

People protest against Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

People protest against Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

People protest against Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

People protest against Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Police stand guard near Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu's hotel during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu enters the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Delegates leave the General Assembly as Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)