PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Gibson retired his first 18 batters and pitched one-run ball over eight innings, Kyle Schwarber hit his NL-leading 34th homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 7-2 Friday night.

Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and Darick Hall also homered for the Phillies, who have won eight of nine to solidify their standing in the race for the NL’s third and final wild-card position. The victory moved Philadelphia 10 games over .500 for the first time since they were 37-27 on June 8, 2019.

Gibson overpowered Washington’s lineup, weakened significantly after the club traded Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego this week. He struck out four, allowed two hits and hit two batters over 105 pitches.

Gibson forced 12 groundball outs, including a sparkling backhand defensive play by third baseman Alec Bohm on a hard-hit ball by Ildemaro Vargas to end the sixth.

Washington’s Victor Robles broke up the perfect game by getting plunked with a fastball in his left forearm to begin the seventh inning. The next batter, Luis Garcia, ended Gibson’s no-hit bid with a clean single into left field over the glove of Bohm.

Mancini hits 2 HRs, Astros roll past Guardians 9-3

CLEVELAND — Trey Mancini hit two home runs, including his first career grand slam, and drove in five runs, leading the Houston Astros over the Cleveland Guardians 9-3 on Friday night.

Astros manager Dusty Baker tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the game. Baker held his usual pregame availability with the media about two hours before the 7:10 p.m. first pitch.

Baker, 73, is in his third season as Houston’s manager. Bench coach Joe Espada filled in for Baker against Cleveland.

Mancini, acquired from Baltimore on Monday to bolster Houston’s already dynamic lineup, hit a solo homer in the second and capped the Astros’ five-run third with a blast that cleared the 19-foot wall in left field and landed in the home run porch.

Mancini, starting at DH on Friday, has homered three times in four games with Houston. The Astros acquired him in a three-team trade that also included Tampa Bay.

Mancini missed the 2020 season while battling Stage 3 colon cancer. He returned to the field last season and was named the AL Player of the Year.

Mancini batted .268 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs with Baltimore this season.

Yordan Álvarez drove in his 73rd run of the season �’ good for third in the AL �’ with a single in the third inning that gave Houston a 2-1 lead. Jose Altuve had three hits and an RBI.

Framber Valdez (10-4) gave up a solo homer to Amed Rosario in the first. The left-hander held Cleveland in check until the seventh when Luke Maile and Myles Straw drove in runs.

Valdez was pulled after walking rookie Will Benson to load the bases with one out. Seth Martinez retired Rosario on a popup and struck out pinch-hitter Nolan Jones. Valdez allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Houston has won seven straight at Progressive Field and has outscored Cleveland in the first two games of this series 15-3.

Mancini and the Astros spoiled the major league debut of Cleveland right-hander Hunter Gaddis (0-1), who was charged with eight runs in 3 1/3 innings.

He retired the side in order in the first before Houston’s offense took control.

Contreras HR lits Cubs

over Marline

CHICAGO (AP) — Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift Chicago past Miami.

The Cubs looked like they were on the way to their sixth straight loss before Contreras drove an 0-1 pitch from Dylan Floro (0-1) to left with one out in the eighth for his 16th homer.

Chicago’s Justin Steele went 4 2/3 innings, striking out a career-high 10, allowing four hits and walking. Rowan Wick (3-5) got the final four outs.

Joey Wendle singled in a run in the seventh for the Marlins, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Acu�’a, Rosario lead Braves past Mets 9-6

NEW YORK (AP) — Ronald Acu�’a Jr. got four hits and robbed Pete Alonso of a two-run homer as the Atlanta Braves built a big early lead and beat the New York Mets 9-6 on Friday night to rebound quickly in their NL East showdown.

Eddie Rosario hit a three-run homer in the first inning and an RBI double in the second to help the Braves open an 8-0 cushion. Rookie center fielder Michael Harris II also went deep and threw out a runner at the plate.

William Contreras added a solo homer in the ninth, and the Braves avoided their first three-game losing streak of the year. The last team to go this deep into a season without a three-game skid was the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who set the major league mark by not losing three in a row until a four-game slide from games Nos. 147-150, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Mets starter Taijuan Walker (9-3) managed only three outs in a rare but untimely flop, and his teammates were unable to recover. Atlanta moved back within 3 1/2 games of first-place New York after dropping the opener of the five-game series Thursday night.

Rays draw club-record 13 walks, rally to beat Tigers 5-3

DETROIT (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the eighth inning for the Tampa Bay Rays, who walked a franchise-record 13 times while rallying to beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Friday night.

Three of the walks came in Tampa Bay’s three-run eighth. The Rays trailed 3-0 after two innings before coming back to win their third straight game.

The Rays had walked 12 times in an 11-inning win over the Marlins on June 19, 2010, and had walked 11 times in several nine-inning games.

The Tigers led 3-2 going into the eighth before Joe Jimenez (3-1) walked the first two batters –Tampa Bay’s 11th and 12th walks — and Lowe followed with a two-run double. Isaac Paredes, traded from Detroit to the Rays in the spring, made it 5-3 with an RBI single.

Jalen Beeks (2-1) picked up the win with a scoreless seventh.

The Tigers brought the winning run to the plate in the ninth before Colin Poche struck out Riley Greene for his seventh save.