Schwarber's 3-run homer paces Phillies to 4th straight win, 7-2 over Nationals

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber homered in the first inning for the second consecutive game, Max Kepler and J.T. Realmuto also went deep, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 7-2 on Wednesday night.

Schwarber launched a three-run homer off Washington starter Jake Irvin. It was his ninth of the season, and it extended his league-leading on-base streak to 36 games, dating to last season.

Kepler hit his third homer of the season in the sixth inning against Irvin and Realmuto added a homer off Eduardo Salazar in the eighth. Bryson Stott and Nick Castellanos each had RBI singles for Philadelphia, which has won four straight.

Cristopher Sanchez (3-1) allowed two runs in five innings in his first appearance since leaving a start after just two innings last Tuesday at the New York Mets with forearm tightness.

Nathaniel Lowe had an RBI double for the Nationals. Irvin (2-1) allowed six runs on eight hits in six innings.

Before the game, the Nationals cut their batting practice short when a member of their staff experienced a medical incident on the field. The person was attended to by the medical staff of both teams and paramedics at the ballpark before being taken away on a stretcher.

The Nationals did not identify the individual, nor did they provide an update prior to the conclusion of the game.

After yielding an RBI double to Lowe in his previous plate appearance, Sanchez struck him out with two men on base in the fifth inning to conclude his outing.

Washington OF Dylan Crews has struck out 31 times this season, 13 of them in five games against the Phillies. He struck out three times on Wednesday.

RHP Brad Lord (0-3, 4.67 ERA) will pitch for the Nationals against RHP Taijuan Walker (1-2, 2.78) of the Phillies as the series concludes on Thursday.

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

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams cannot reach a single by Philadelphia Phillies' J.T. Realmuto during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Carlos Hernández, right, and catcher J.T. Realmuto celebrate after the Phillies won a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' J.T. Realmuto, right, reacts past Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz after hitting a home against pitcher Eduardo Salazar during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber hits a three-run home run against Washington Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber, right, rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against Washington Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber hits a two-run home run against Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)