PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a three-run homer, Ranger Suárez struck out six in seven shutout innings and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-0 on Friday night.
Suárez (5-1) continued to shine since his return from an early season back injury. He allowed seven runs in his first start of the season and has allowed only seven total in his next seven starts.
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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman throws during the third inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber (12) hits a three-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman during the second inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Phillies' Max Kepler makes a diving catch on a ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Myles Straw during the second inning of a baseball game Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ranger Suárez throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber celebrates after hitting a three-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman during the second inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
The Phillies have won three of their last four games, and remain in the thick of the NL East hunt, even with key pieces Bryce Harper and Aaron Nola nursing injuries.
Harper fielded groundballs at first base before the game, but has yet to swing the bat or throw as he recovers from right wrist inflammation. A two-time NL MVP, Harper seems unlikely to return from the 10-day injured list when his eligibility is up after the three-game set with the Blue Jays. Nola has an injury in his right ribcage and can’t throw for at least two weeks. Nola, who had already been out since early May with a sprained right ankle, said he experienced discomfort when he takes deep breaths, and “obviously, throwing.”
Suárez received a standing ovation from Phillies fans when he walked off the mound in the seventh after throwing his 94th pitch.
He got all the help he needed when the Phillies scored four runs off Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman (5-5) in the second inning. Brandon Marsh socked an RBI double off the wall for a 1-0 lead and Schwarber connected on his 22nd homer of the season, a 410-foot shot to dead center that landed just beyond the outstretched glove of Myles Straw.
Otto Kemp, a rookie who played at first base to move Alec Bohm back to his natural third base spot, doubled for his first career extra-base hit in the second and tacked on an RBI single in the sixth for a 5-0 lead.
Trea Turner held an Emmy Award won for a documentary on his 2023 turnaround and then turned in a Gold Glove play in the third inning on a sliding grab to rob Toronto of a hit.
Suárez walked just one batter.
The Blue Jays send RHP Bowden Francis (2-8, 6.18 ERA) against Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (5-2, 3.10 ERA) on Saturday.
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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman throws during the third inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber (12) hits a three-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman during the second inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Phillies' Max Kepler makes a diving catch on a ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Myles Straw during the second inning of a baseball game Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ranger Suárez throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber celebrates after hitting a three-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman during the second inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
