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Bryce Harper hears boos at Nationals Park. His three hits help the Phillies beat the Nats 4-0

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Bryce Harper hears boos at Nationals Park. His three hits help the Phillies beat the Nats 4-0
Sport

Sport

Bryce Harper hears boos at Nationals Park. His three hits help the Phillies beat the Nats 4-0

2024-04-06 10:44 Last Updated At:10:51

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper, still hearing boos at Nationals Park all these years later, doubled twice and singled in a run to back Aaron Nola's 5 2/3 scoreless innings, helping the Philadelphia Phillies beat Washington 4-0 on a chilly Friday night.

Another former player for the Nationals, Kyle Schwarber, contributed a two-run single in the second inning for the visitors, stretching his hitting streak to a half-dozen games.

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Washington Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper slides into second with a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper slides into second with a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper works out before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper works out before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper hits a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper hits a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies'Nick Castellanos slides home to score on a single by Kyle Schwarber during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies'Nick Castellanos slides home to score on a single by Kyle Schwarber during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper gestures during his at-bat in the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper gestures during his at-bat in the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

“You're obviously getting results,” Schwarber said. “I'm more happy with the consistency.”

Manager Rob Thomson praised Schwarber for being “really committed to using the entire field.”

Nola (1-1) allowed a pair of hits in the third inning and a total of four walks and otherwise was in command after allowing six earned runs in his first start of the season — so his ERA went way down, from 14.54 to 5.40.

Didn't seem to matter to him that the temperature was in the 40s.

“It was pretty brisk,” Nola said.

Washington’s batters had zero hits after the third in front of a crowd announced at 21,374.

“We didn't really get nothing going,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We've got to come out and score first.”

Harper won NL Rookie of the Year honors and the first of his two NL MVP awards while with Washington, before leaving for Philadelphia as a free agent after the 2018 season. The Nationals won the World Series the following year — and have finished in last place every year since.

Harper delivered doubles in the first and third innings, and drove in a run in the seventh with his third hit. All of those came against Patrick Corbin (0-1), who gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings.

One blip for Harper came when he got caught in a rundown between third and home and eventually was tagged out for what officially went into the books as a “caught stealing” scored 1-3-4-1-5-2-3.

The Nationals fell to 2-5, hurting themselves with nine walks issued by their pitchers, by some questionable baserunning in the third inning — CJ Abrams got thrown out at second by first baseman Harper trying to stretch a single into a double while Luis García Jr., who doubled earlier, remained at third base — and by a second throwing error in three games by rookie third baseman Trey Lipscomb.

“He had his head down,” Martinez said about Abrams on the basepaths. “He's just trying to be aggressive.”

The Phillies went into Friday ranking 21st of 30 major league clubs in batting average at .223 and 20th in OPS at .660. They had scored only 25 runs through six games, an average of 4.17; if you took away their two previous wins, they had just 11 total runs across their four losses, an average of 2.75.

Sitting in the visiting dugout before the game, Thomson dismissed the idea that the early season chill in the air — the temperature was 48 degrees at first pitch and several players wore balaclavas — might be affecting his batters.

“Sometimes that’s an excuse. And I don’t like to use excuses,” Thomson said.

“Some guys are off to a decent start. … It just hasn’t all come together yet,” he said. “But it will.”

TRAINER'S ROOM

Phillies: RHP Taijuan Walker, on the 10-day IL with a shoulder injury, is slated to throw two innings of batting practice at Nationals Park on Saturday. … RHP Orion Kerkering was scheduled to throw one-plus inning at Class A Clearwater on Friday.

UP NEXT

The Phillies send LHP Ranger Suárez to the mound against Nationals RHP Jake Irvin. Each pitcher enters the game with a 0-0 record and 5.40 ERA.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Washington Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper slides into second with a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper slides into second with a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper works out before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper works out before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper hits a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper hits a double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies'Nick Castellanos slides home to score on a single by Kyle Schwarber during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies'Nick Castellanos slides home to score on a single by Kyle Schwarber during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper gestures during his at-bat in the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper gestures during his at-bat in the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and in sweeping remarks suggested Kyiv should abandon hopes of winning all its territory back from Russia and instead prepare for a negotiated peace settlement to be backed up by international troops.

Hours later, President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin “negotiations” on ending the Ukraine war. In a social media post, the Republican disclosed a call between the two leaders and said they would “work together, very closely.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said Zelenskyy and Trump also had a phone conversation, which lasted about an hour.

Addressing allies eager to hear how much continued support Washington intends to provide to the Ukrainian government, Hegseth indicated that Trump is determined to get Europe to assume most of the financial and military responsibilities for the defense of Ukraine, including a possible peacekeeping force that would not include U.S. troops.

The defense secretary, making the first trip to NATO by a member of the new Trump administration, also said the force should not have Article 5 protections, which could require the U.S. or the 31 other nations of the NATO alliance to come to the aid of those forces if they end up in contact with Russian forces.

Hegseth’s stark message, and his insistence that Russia should keep some territory that Ukraine wants back, offered the closest look yet at how the administration might try to end the war.

The secretary's comments were also sure to dim Ukraine’s hopes of making itself whole again and to complicate talks later this week between Zelenskyy and U.S. Vice President JD Vance and other senior American officials at a major security security conference in Munich.

“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said, as Kyiv’s backers gathered at NATO headquarters for a meeting to drum up more arms and ammunition for the war, which will soon enter its fourth year.

All 32 allies must agree for a country to join NATO, meaning that every member has a veto.

“Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops,” Hegseth said. “To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.”

Hegseth insisted that NATO should play no role in any future military mission to police the peace in Ukraine and that any peacekeeping troops should not be covered by the part of NATO’s founding treaty that obliges all allies to come to the aid of any member under attack.

Article 5 has been activated only once, when European allies and Canada used the collective security guarantee to help the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks on New York and Washington.

Hegseth also said Europe "must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine.” Ukraine currently relies equally on Europe and the U.S. for about 30% each of its defense needs. The rest is produced by Ukraine itself.

Speaking with the allies of Ukraine known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, he also insisted that Ukraine’s Western backers must abandon the “illusionary goal” of returning the country to its pre-2014 borders, before Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and seized parts of eastern Ukraine.

“Members of this contact group must meet the moment,” Hegseth said to the approximately 50 member countries that have provided support to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said Hegseth’s words would not go unheeded.

“We heard his call for European nations to step up. We are, and we will,” he said.

Healey underlined that “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. That is a process that will take some time.”

He also announced that Britain would provide Ukraine with a fresh $187 million “firepower package,” including drones, tanks and air-defense systems.

Over nearly three years, those 50 countries have collectively provided Ukraine with more than $126 billion in weapons and military assistance, including more than $66.5 billion from the U.S., which has served as the chair of the group since its creation.

Hegseth's trip comes less than two weeks before the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Most U.S. allies fear that Putin won’t stop at Ukraine’s borders if he wins, and that Europe’s biggest land war in decades poses an existential threat to their security.

Trump has promised to end the war quickly. He’s complained that it’s costing American taxpayers too much money and suggested that Ukraine should pay for U.S. support with access to its rare earth minerals, energy and other resources.

Hegseth in his remarks said that NATO member nations also need to significantly increase defense spending to 5% of their budgets — a high mark that the U.S. does not presently meet either.

“The United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependence. Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security," Hegseth said.

European allies have hiked their military budgets since Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, and 23 of them are estimated to have reached or exceeded last year's target of spending 2% of gross domestic product, but a third still fall short.

Some U.S. allies worry that a hasty deal might be clinched on terms that aren’t favorable to Ukraine.

Before Hegseth spoke, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told The Associated Press that Putin will only negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine if its backers continue to provide enough weapons and ammunition.

“We have to make sure that he has no other option, and that means to force him to the table,” Rutte said. “He needs to understand that we will not give up on Ukraine. We have to make sure that we have maximum economic impact on Russia.”

Hegseth's remarks come a day after American history teacher Marc Vogel returned safely to the U.S. after three years in a Russian prison. The White House suggested that his release could help to advance negotiations on ending the war.

Trump said another American, someone “very special,” would be released Wednesday, though he declined to name the person or say from what country.

Copp reported from Washington. Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, left, United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, second left, Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey, center, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, fourth right, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, third right, attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, left, United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, second left, Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey, center, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, fourth right, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, third right, attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey, left, and Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey, left, and Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, right, is greeted by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, right, is greeted by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

From left, Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius,United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Britian's Chief of Defense Admiral Sir Tony Radakin attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

From left, Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius,United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Britian's Chief of Defense Admiral Sir Tony Radakin attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, center, walks with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, center, walks with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, shakes hands with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, shakes hands with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, shakes hands with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, shakes hands with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, walks with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP)

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, walks with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP)

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