Rangers score four runs in ninth to beat Angels 9-8

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jonathan Ornelas had a two-run, pinch-hit single in Texas' four-run ninth and the Rangers scored six times in the final two innings to beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-8 on Saturday night.

Nathaniel Lowe had a home run among his three hits and drove in three runs, including one on a bases-loaded walk for the Rangers’ first run of the ninth. Dane Dunning (5-7) pitched a scoreless inning for the win and Kirby Yates got the last three outs for his 33rd save.

“We got down pretty good there and they just kept fighting,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “It was a very entertaining game. A little sloppy on both sides at time.”

Rookies Gustavo Campero and Niko Kavadas hit back-to-back home runs, and Logan O'Hoppe had four hits to tie a career high and scored twice for the Angels. Los Angeles squandered a 7-1 lead after three innings and lost their fifth straight game. They have lost 14th of their last 17 and extended their franchise record for losses in a season to 98.

With Angels left-hander Jose Quijada (2-2) on the mound to start the ninth inning, the Rangers loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter. Lowe brought home in his third run on another walk to bring Texas to 8-6.

The Angels called on rookie right-hander Ryan Miller, who gave up Ornelas’ two-run single to right, with the go-ahead run scoring on the play when Campero fired an errant throw back to the infield.

“Ornelas, I put him in a little tough of a situation but nice piece of hitting on his part,” Bochy said of the late pinch-hit assignment in place of Leody Taveras.

Campero's eventful night for the Angels came in his 12th career game.

“If we could throw some strikes and put some balls in play, maybe some good things would have happened,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. "But it turned out to be an ugly ninth in for us. And the kid in right field (Campero) threw the ball into no man’s land. They’re feeling the heat and the pressure.”

Lowe’s home run in the second inning, his 15th of the season, gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead. The Angels moved in front 3-1 in the bottom of the inning on Michael Stefanic's RBI double, Taylor Ward's run-scoring grounder and Jack Lopez's RBI single.

One batter after Texas starter Andrew Heaney showed discomfort while slipping on a slow roller from O’Hoppe that went for an infield single, Campero hit his first career home run just inside the foul pole in left field for a three-run shot in the third inning. Seven pitches later, Kavadas hit a full-count drive to left, his fourth on the season for a 7-1 lead. It was the sixth time the Angels hit back-to-back home runs.

The Rangers pulled a run back in the fourth when Adolis Garcia scored after Carson Kelly grounded into a double play. Langford hit his 16th of the season in the sixth inning off Hunter Strickland as Texas pulled to 7-3.

The Rangers made it 8-5 in the eighth on an RBI double by Lowe and an RBI triple by Jonah Heim.

Heaney gave up seven runs on 10 hits over four innings in his final start of the season and what could be the last outing of his Rangers tenure after signing a two-year, $25 million deal before the 2023 season.

“I'm extremely thankful to have the opportunity to have these coaches, these players, the fans, being close to home,” Heaney said. “I had amazing things happen in my life here. I had my girls, won a World Series and got to play with these guys who I thoroughly enjoyed getting to play with.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: RF Garcia departed in the sixth inning with a sore knee and is not expected to play Sunday, according to Bochy. ... RHP Josh Sborz was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder fatigue, while LHP Walter Pennington was recalled from the minors.

Angels: 1B Nolan Schanuel (lower leg bruise) did not play for the third consecutive game and is not likely to play in Sunday’s season finale, according to manager Ron Washington. ... SS Zach Neto (right shoulder irritation) did not start for the second consecutive game and his status for Sunday remains undecided.

UP NEXT

Rangers: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (11-8, 3.96 ERA) will make his 29th start of the season in Sunday's season finale.

Angels: RHP Jack Kochanowicz (2-5, 4.01 ERA) will close the regular season with his 11th start since his MLB debut July 11.

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

Los Angeles Angels' Gustavo Campero hits a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Brandon Drury and Logan O'Hoppe also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Texas Rangers' Ezequiel Duran avoids being hit by a pitch during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Texas Rangers' Matt Duffy celebrates in the dugout after scoring off of a double by Nathaniel Lowe during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Texas Rangers' Adolis García celebrates after scoring during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Angels' Gustavo Campero runs the bases after hitting a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Brandon Drury and Logan O'Hoppe also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Texas Rangers' Nathaniel Lowe doubles during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Matt Duffy scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Texas Rangers catcher Carson Kelly celebrates with pitcher Kirby Yates, right, after a 9-8 win over the Los Angeles Angels in a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford (36) and Nathaniel Lowe celebrate after scoring off of a single by Jonathan Ornelas during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Matt Duffy also scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Texas Rangers' Jonathan Ornelas singles during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Wyatt Langford, Matt Duffy, and Nathaniel Lowe scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed dozens of people on Sunday as the Hezbollah militant group sustained a string of deadly blows to its command structure, including the killing of its overall leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah confirmed Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of the militant group's Central Council, was killed on Saturday, making him the seventh senior Hezbollah leader slain in Israeli strikes in a little over a week. They include founding members who had evaded death or detention for decades.

Hezbollah had earlier confirmed that Ali Karaki, another senior commander, died in Friday's strike that killed Nasrallah. Israel says at least 20 other Hezbollah militants were killed in the strike, including two close associates of Nasrallah, one of whom was in charge of his security detail.

Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes and drones carried out deadly strikes across Lebanon on Sunday. Two consecutive strikes near the southern city of Sidon, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Beirut, killed at least 32 people, the Lebanese health ministry said. Separately, Israeli strikes in the northern province of Baalbek Hermel killed 21 people and injured at least 47.

The Israeli military said it also carried out another targeted strike on Beirut, but did not immediately provide details.

Lebanese media reported dozens of strikes in the central, eastern and western Bekaa and in the south, besides strikes on Beirut. The strikes have targeted buildings where civilians were living, and the death toll was expected to rise.

In a widely circulated video of a strike in Sidon, verified by The Associated Press, a building swayed before collapsing as neighbors filmed. On one TV station, the broadcaster called on viewers to pray for a family caught under the rubble, posting their pictures, as rescuers failed to reach them. The Lebanese health ministry reported that at least 14 medics were killed over two days in the south.

Meanwhile, wreckage from the strike on Friday that killed Nasrallah was still smoldering. AP journalists saw smoke over the rubble as people flocked to the site, some to check on what’s left of their homes and others to pay respects, pray or simply to see the destruction.

In response to the dramatic escalation in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Hezbollah significantly increased its attacks in the past week, from several dozen to several hundred daily, the military said. The attacks injured several people and caused damage, but most of the rockets and drones were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems or fell in open areas.

The army says its strikes have degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities and the number of launches would be much higher if Hezbollah had not been hit.

Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said dozens of aircraft struck Houthi targets in Yemen in response to a recent attack on Israel. The military said it targeted power plants and sea port facilities in the city of Hodeida.

The Houthis launched a ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion airport on Saturday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving. The Houthi media office said the Israeli strikes hit the Hodeida and Rass Issa ports, along with two power plants in Hodeida city, a stronghold for the Iranian-backed rebels. Four people were killed and 33 wounded, Houthi-run media reported.

The Houthis claimed they took precautionary measures ahead of the strikes, emptying oil storages in the ports, according to Nasruddin Ammer, deputy director of the Houthi media office. He said in a post on X platform the strikes won’t stop the rebels’ attacks on shipping routes and on Israel.

Meanwhile, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Israel's airstrikes in Lebanon had “wiped out” Hezbollah’s command structure, but he warned the group will work quickly to rebuild it.

“I think people are safer without him walking around,” Kirby said of Nasrallah. “But they will try to recover. We’re watching to see what they do to try to fill this leadership vacuum. It’s going to be tough. … Much of their command structure has now been wiped out.”

Kirby, who spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union,” sidestepped questions about whether the Biden administration agrees with how the Israelis are targeting Hezbollah leaders. The White House continues to call on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day temporary cease-fire that was floated by the U.S., France and other countries last week as world leaders gathered for the U.N. General Assembly.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday appointed a former rival, Gideon Saar, to his Cabinet. The move expands Netanyahu’s governing coalition and helps entrench the Israeli leader in office.

Under their agreement, Netanyahu said Saar would be given a spot in the Security Cabinet, the body that oversees management of the ongoing war.

Saar had hoped to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, another rival of Netanyahu’s. But a deal to become defense minister fell through after fighting intensified with Hezbollah.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah was also targeted by a sophisticated attack on its pagers and walkie-talkies that was widely blamed on Israel. A wave of Israeli airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon have killed more than 1,030 people — including 156 women and 87 children — in less than two weeks, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been driven from their homes in Lebanon by the latest strikes. The government estimates around 250,000 are in shelters, with three to four times as many staying with friends or relatives, or camping out on the streets, Environment Minister Nasser Yassin told the AP.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group and political party backed by Iran, Israel’s chief regional rival, rose to regional prominence after fighting a devastating monthlong war with Israel in 2006 that ended in a draw.

Kaouk was a veteran member of Hezbollah going back to the 1980s and served as Hezbollah's military commander in southern Lebanon during the 2006 war with Israel. The United States announced sanctions against him in 2020.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies that consider themselves part of an Iran-backed “Axis of Resistance” against Israel.

The conflict has steadily ratcheted up to the brink of all-out war, raising fears of a region-wide conflagration.

Israel says it is determined to return some 60,000 of its citizens to communities in the north that were evacuated nearly a year ago. Hezbollah has said it will only halt its rocket fire if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, which has proven elusive despite months of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press reporters Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Aamer Madhani in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Jack Jeffery in Jerusalem contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

People gather near the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People check the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man stands on the rubble of buildings near the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man walks on rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People check the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A woman sleeps on Beirut's corniche after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Children sit in a motorcycle cart in Beirut's Martyrs' square after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A boy sleeps in Beirut's Martyrs' square after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A family sleep on the ground in Beirut's corniche area after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

An elderly man stands near al-Amin Mosque in Beirut's Martyrs' square after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather at the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Families sleep on Beirut's corniche after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man stands on the rubble of buildings near the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A destroyed building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A woman cares for her newborn girl, Fatima, in Beirut's Martyrs' square after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather near the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A hole in the ground near the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man walks on rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)