WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit his 18th homer, then had a tiebreaking, two-run double in the 11th inning that lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-6 victory Saturday night extending their winning streak to nine and sending the Athletics to their 11th straight loss.
Max Kepler tied the score 6-6 in the ninth with a home run on a 101.4 mph pitch from Mason Miller.
Click to Gallery
Athletics' Jacob Wilson hits an RBI single during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) attempts to tag out Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner (7) as he steals second base during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper, left, scores on a double hit by Nick Castellanos (not shown) during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) attempts to tag out Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner (7) as he steals second base during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm, center, celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Logan Davidson had a forgettable major league debut for the A’s. The 27-year-old entered as a pinch runner in the 10th and was thrown out at the plate, was called for obstruction at first base in the 11th and then struck out for the final out against Max Lazar, who got three outs for his first big league save.
Davidson pinch ran for Nick Kurtz, who left with what A's manager Mark Kotsay said was a left hip flexor.
Brandon Marsh prevented the A’s from winning in the 10th when he threw out Davidson at the plate for a double play on Brent Rooker’s 279-foot. bases-loaded, no-outs fly to center.
Schwarber doubled in the 11th off Mitch Spence (1-1), was awarded third on the obstruction call and scored on Nick Castellanos’ sacrifice fly. Schwarber is tied with the Yankees' Aaron Judge for the major league home run lead.
The A's wasted 5-4 and 6-5 leads and dropped to 22-31, including 8-19 at their temporary home in Sacramento. Their bullpen has a 10.02 ERA during the losing streak.
Brent Rooker's 12th home run, a solo drive off Joe Ross, had given the A's a 6-5 lead in the eighth.
Orion Kerkering (4-1) pitched a scoreless 10th.
Marsh throwing out Davidson.
Phillies starting pitchers had a 1.82 ERA through the first eight games of the streak.
LHP Jesús Luzardo (5-0, 1.95) starts Sunday's finale for the Phillies against RHP Gunnar Hoglund (1-2, 5.06).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Athletics' Jacob Wilson hits an RBI single during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) attempts to tag out Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner (7) as he steals second base during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper, left, scores on a double hit by Nick Castellanos (not shown) during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) attempts to tag out Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner (7) as he steals second base during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm, center, celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The party of Kosovo 's Prime Minister Albin Kurti won an early parliamentary election Sunday in the Balkan country by a clear margin, near-complete preliminary results showed.
The Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party won nearly 50% of the ballots, far ahead of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21%, and the Democratic League of Kosovo with nearly 14%, the state election, authorities said after some 96% of the ballots were counted.
The snap ballot on Sunday was scheduled after the Self-Determination party failed to form a government despite also winning the most votes in a Feb. 9 election (is this correct?).
It was not immediately clear whether the Self-Determination party has won 61 seats in the 120-member parliament to be able to rule alone.
The previous postelection stalemate marked the first time Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention.
Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking concern over the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people.
Lawmakers also are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmani’s mandate expires in early April. If this fails too, another snap election must be held.
After voting Sunday, Kurti urged Kosovo’s 1.9 million voters to turn out in large numbers to grant “more legitimacy for our institutions.”
“Once the election result is known, we will do our best to constitute a new parliament as soon as possible and to proceed with the election of the new government,” he said.
Turnout was at around 44%, according to the state election authorities.
According to Kosovo’s election laws, 20 parliamentary seats are automatically assigned to ethnic Serb representatives and other minority parties.
Opposition parties have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovo’s U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021.
Lumir Abdixhiku from the Democratic League of Kosovo urged voters to “move away from the gloom, the deadlock and the division that has accompanied us for these years.”
A former political prisoner during Serbia’s rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures.
Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.
Ilmi Deliu, a 71-year-old pensioner from the capital, Pristina, said he hoped the election will bring a change or “we will end up in an abyss.”
“Young people no longer want to live here,” he said.
Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote.
Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press.
Kosovo has one of the poorest economies in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must first normalize relations.
A man folds his ballot prior to voting in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
A couple cast their votes in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Voters fill their ballots behind voting booths for early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Kosovo's acting prime minister and leader of VeteVendosje political party Albin Kurti casts his ballot in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Supporters of Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista prepare to go at a polling station and cast their ballots in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)
A voter arrives at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)
A voter prepares her ballot at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)
People walk past a giant banner of the leader of VV (Selfdetermination) political party Albin Kurti, in the capital Pristina on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
People waiting in the iluminated bus station with banners of LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) leader Lumir Abdixhiku in capital Pristina on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
