PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber launched two long home runs in Philadelphia's eight-run third inning and Bryce Harper became the 11th player in franchise history to hit for the cycle, leading the Phillies to a 15-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night
Schwarber led off the Phillies' huge inning with a solo homer off Mets starter Freddy Peralta, sending the ball 456 feet into the second deck in right field.
Later in the inning, Schwarber hit a three-run shot off Cionel Perez into nearly the same spot, 457 feet away.
Schwarber is the 67th player in major league history to hit two home runs in an inning and the second this season, joining Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who accomplished the feat on June 12. He's the fourth Phillies player to do so, along with Trea Turner (Aug. 19, 2023), Von Hayes (June 11, 1985) and Andy Seminick (June 2, 1949).
Schwarber hit his third homer of the game — giving him a major league-leading 28 — in the seventh, a two-run shot off Tobias Myers. He finished 4 for 5 with six RBIs and scored four runs.
Harper completed his first career cycle by the fifth inning. He hit a solo home run in the first, his 16th of the season. He doubled and scored on an error in the third, then singled after Schwarber’s second home run.
In the fifth, Harper lined a ball into the gap in left-center field and motored around to third base for a two-run triple. He's the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since Weston Wilson on Aug. 15, 2024. Harper finished 4 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs.
Harper is the second player this season — and this week — to hit for the cycle, joining the Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong, who accomplished the feat Monday night in a 5-4 win over Colorado.
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Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper reacts to hitting a triple for the cycle during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, June 20, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber, center, celebrates his three-run home run and his second of the inning with teammates during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, June 20, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber, front right, celebrates after his home run with Bryce Harper (3) during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, June 20, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands began Saturday by cheering the Dutch past Sweden in Houston.
The monarchs ended the day by watching Curacao make some history against Ecuador in Kansas City.
The small island nation of Curacao is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and that makes King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima the heads of state. So, after a quick flight north Saturday, the royal couple dutifully swapped out their bright orange scarves of Het Oranje Legioen they wore to their earlier match with bright blue ones for The Blue Wave.
Curacao, the smallest World Cup team in population and size, made its tournament debut last Sunday in a 7-1 loss to Germany. But it bounced back from that defeat to earn a 0-0 draw with La Tri and earn its first-ever point in the tournament.
“It is an extra-special World Cup because we have both the Netherlands and Curacao,” Willem-Alexander told RTL-TV. “So we have twice as many teams to cheer for. A great opportunity to cheer on both the Blues and the Oranges. All in all, it will be a special World Cup for me with two teams, and I naturally hope they go extremely far.”
The Netherlands moved one step closer to the knockout round after a 5-1 win over Sweden.
Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece to help coach Ronald Koeman's team bounce back from a disappointing draw in its opener and move atop Group F. The Netherlands concludes group play against Tunisia on Thursday in Kansas City.
Curacao is still alive, too, after Eloy Room made 15 saves — one off the World Cup record — to earn a draw with Ecuador. It concludes Group E play on Thursday against the Ivory Coast in Philadelphia at the same time Ecuador is playing Germany in New York.
It is quite rare for sitting monarchs to come through the area. Queen Ann of Romania attended the dedication of the Liberty Memorial, which is where Kansas City is holding its World Cup FanFest, in the 1920s, while King Gustav XVI of Sweden made a stop in the small Kansas town of Lindsborg when he was passing through the Midwest in the 1970s.
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King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Ariane of the Netherlands applaud on the tribune during the World Cup Group F soccer match between the Netherlands and Sweden in Houston, Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
In this combo image, from left, Netherlands King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Princess Ariane, top image, attend the World Cup soccer match between the Netherlands and Sweden in Houston; and the World Cup soccer match between Ecuador and Curacao in Kansas City, Mo., bottom image, both on Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, top; Ed Zurga, bottom)
Netherlands King Willem-Alexander, left, Queen Máxima and Princess Ariane, right, watch the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ecuador y Curacao in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)