PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brandon Marsh, Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber homered, Jesús Luzardo pitched seven strong innings and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Miami Marlins 8-2 on Tuesday night.
In a matchup of starting pitchers facing their former teams, Luzardo (6-4) was on point. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth, and yielded only two runs and five hits while striking out nine.
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Miami Marlins pitcher Tyler Phillips adjusts his hat after giving up a two-run triple to Philadelphia Phillies' Bryson Stott during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm, left, and Bryson Stott celebrate after Bohm's two-run home run against Miami Marlins pitcher Tyler Phillips during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Jesús Luzardo pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Brandon Marsh, left, and Kyle Schwarber celebrate after Marsh's home run against Miami Marlins pitcher Tyler Phillips during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber reacts after hitting a home run against Miami Marlins pitcher Tyler Phillips during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The same couldn't be said for Miami's Tyler Phillips, who gave up all three homers to his former teammates and a two-run triple to Bryson Stott. Phillips (1-2) permitted eight runs on six hits and three walks in four innings.
Marsh hit his ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot, to expand the Phillies' lead to 5-0 in the second. It was his fourth consecutive game at Citizens Bank Park with a home run.
Bohm, who had an RBI single as well, also hit his ninth homer of the season, crushing a 2-0 sinker from Phillips 447 feet into the left-center seats.
The last time Phillips faced the Phillies last September, he caught a line drive by Bohm to end an inning, and then showing some emotion as he walked off the field, he fired the ball behind him and it went in the direction of Bohm. Phillips later apologized to the Phillies third baseman, saying it was unintentional.
Schwarber reclaimed the major league home run lead when he hit No. 25 off Phillips in the fourth. It's the ninth time in his career Schwarber has reached 25 homers in a season, including all five seasons he's played in Philadelphia.
Esteury Ruiz provided the lone runs for the Marlins, hitting a two-run homer off Luzardo in the seventh.
It was the first time the Marlins have lost consecutive games in June.
The Marlins will start RHP Sandy Alcantara (6-4, 4.25 ERA) in the finale of the three-game series against Phillies RHP Andrew Painter (1-7, 6.43) on Wednesday.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Miami Marlins pitcher Tyler Phillips adjusts his hat after giving up a two-run triple to Philadelphia Phillies' Bryson Stott during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm, left, and Bryson Stott celebrate after Bohm's two-run home run against Miami Marlins pitcher Tyler Phillips during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Jesús Luzardo pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Brandon Marsh, left, and Kyle Schwarber celebrate after Marsh's home run against Miami Marlins pitcher Tyler Phillips during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber reacts after hitting a home run against Miami Marlins pitcher Tyler Phillips during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lionel Messi used the front of his white-and-blue, sweat-soaked jersey to wipe the tears from his eyes, a flood of emotions cracking his usually calm, confident demeanor after he gave Argentina an early lead in its World Cup opener against Algeria.
Then he scored again. And again.
Suddenly, any questions about Messi's hamstring injury, or whether he could help Argentina become the third team to win consecutive World Cups — even as his 39th birthday approaches next week — had been answered. With a brilliant hat trick in a 3-0 win over Les Fennecs, Messi moved into a tie with Miroslav Klose for the tournament's career scoring record.
"My tears after the first goal? I’ve had some tough days. It wasn’t related to football. And those feelings were because of that,” Messi said afterward, without elaborating. “I thank my teammates, the coaching staff and the delegation for helping me.”
Messi scored that emotional first goal in the opening minutes on a nifty feed from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, the second off an opportunistic rebound early in the second half, and the third on a crisp strike moments before subbing out to a standing ovation from a crowd of 69,045 tilted heavily toward the three-time World Cup champions.
“At a loss for words about Leo. What can I say?” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “He’s incredible."
His incredible trio of goals came 20 years to the day that Messi made his World Cup debut in a match against Serbia and Montenegro — he scored in that one, too — and made the pride of Rosario only the second player to score in five editions of the tournament.
Messi has 16 goals in his record six World Cup appearances overall, and it seems inevitable that Klose's record will fall in the coming weeks. The hat trick was the 61st of Messi's career and his 11th while playing in his national team colors.
It also was the fifth straight World Cup game in which Messi has scored.
“It makes me very happy to have lived through everything that came my way. What I’m living though now is the cherry on top,” Messi said. “I’m very happy an grateful for this wonderful group. I enjoy it so much.”
Messi upstaged two of soccer's other stars — Kylian Mbappé of France and Erling Haaland of Norway — who had big games of their own on Tuesday. Mbappé scored twice in France’s 3-1 win over Senegal to move into a tie for fourth on the World Cup goals list with 14, while Haaland scored twice for Norway in its 4-1 victory over Iraq.
“Messi is a madman,” Haaland said in a post on Snapchat during Argentina's game.
Messi had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury with Inter Miami that slowed him in the lead-up to the World Cup. But the eight-time winner of the Ballon d'Or, which honors global soccer's best player, had no problems in a tuneup last week with Iceland, scoring on a penalty kick while playing 20 minutes in a sharp performance.
“This is my sixth World Cup, and I still feel like I’m in good shape,” Messi said. “Fortunately, I’m doing well, and today we managed to win a tough match. It’s important to start the tournament with a victory in the first game, as that’s never easy in a World Cup.”
Messi's appearance against Algeria was the 200th of his international career, which began in 2005 at age of 18. The only players with more are Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who will play his 229th on Wednesday, and Bader al-Mutawa, who played in 202 for Kuwait.
Messi and Ronaldo are the only players to have scored in five World Cups.
“Class is permanent,” Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic said. “He's fortunate to have the privilege that the entire Argentina team works for him, and supports him, and for a number of years now — decades — he's done incredible things.”
Argentina is among four national teams making their base camps in the Kansas City metro. And much as it has the rest of the world, Messi-mania has swept through the area ever since La Albiceleste's arrival in the Heartland about two weeks ago.
On match day, thousands of fans wearing his No. 10 jersey trekked into the home of the NFL’s Chiefs on the outskirts of Kansas City, singing odes to their hero. Meanwhile, during a watch party at the downtown Power & Light District, a goat accompanied by former NFL quarterback-turned Fox broadcaster Jameis Winston came on stage wearing an Argentina jersey.
The humorous moment seemed to have foreshadowed a big night for Messi when he scored an hour later, and the argument that he's soccer’s GOAT — the greatest of all time — is becoming no argument at all with every match he plays.
“It’s an advantage to have Leo because of how he handles the group and pushes it forward. Because of who he is,” De Paul said. “He doesn’t care about individual records. He prioritizes the group, and for us it’s incredible.”
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) shoots and scores their third goal against Algeria's Riyad Mahrez (7) and Nabil Bentaleb (19) during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring his third goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates after scoring his second goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Argentina's Lionel Messi is congratulated by teammate Cristian Romero, left, as Rodrigo de Paul, right, watches after scoring his team's first goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi, third left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) battles for the ball with Algeria's Fares Chaibi (10) during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates with Rodrigo de Paul (7) after scoring their opening goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Argentina's Lionel Messi, right, celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
