Sosa and Schwarber homer back-to-back after earthquake felt in Phillies' 6-2 win over Dodgers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cristopher Sánchez pitched six strong innings, Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber homered back-to-back in the ninth and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the National League’s top two teams.

A preliminary magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in the middle of the seventh inning. It was centered near Mettler, California, about 89 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The Phillies announcers said they didn't feel it in their booth, but it was noticed in the control truck and in the Dodger Stadium press box. There was no discernible reaction from the crowd of 47,150. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he felt it in the dugout.

Philadelphia clinched the season series over the Dodgers, 4-1, going into the finale Wednesday.

“That can be huge coming down the stretch,” Thomson said.

Sánchez (8-7) allowed one run and five hits, struck out two and walked one to help end the Dodgers' three-game winning streak.

“I was attacking the hitters early and I was throwing a lot of strikes,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “They have a lot of good hitters, but all good hitters have their weak spot.”

Schwarber’s two-out RBI single knocked Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (0-2) out of the game in the fifth and gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. After Austin Hays’ double, Kershaw had an 0-2 count on Brandon Marsh before hitting him to set up Schwarber.

Making his third start of the season, Kershaw gave up one run and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five against no walks.

“Just made some dumb mistakes. A couple guys got on base which shouldn't happen," Kershaw said. ”Health-wise, I'm fine. It's just a matter of trying to pitch good."

Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol sustained a strained right hamstring that forced him out in the sixth, a day after he came off the 60-day injured list.

“It's super sad,” Kershaw said. “Definitely a tough night.”

The Phillies battered Graterol's replacement, Brent Honeywell.

They tacked on three runs in the sixth. Nick Castellanos had an RBI single and Sosa added a two-run single that made it 4-0.

The Dodgers got their first run in the sixth on Will Smith's RBI groundout.

Trailing 4-1 in the seventh, Shohei Ohtani came to the plate as the potential tying run with runners on first and second, but All-Star reliever Matt Strahm induced a flyout to right to end the inning. Ohtani went 0 for 4. Strahm struck out Ohtani in the same inning last month during the Phillies' three-game sweep of the Dodgers.

“You can just kind of feel a sense that he's looking for my fastball up. I mean, that is my bread and butter and he's very good at hitting those,” Strahm said. “I kind of went to my 1-B and tried to stick one down and away.”

Teoscar Hernández, the Home Run Derby champion last month, pulled the Dodgers to 4-2 with his 25th homer off Jeff Hoffman in the eighth.

But Sosa went deep leading off the ninth on an 0-2 pitch from Honeywell that landed in the lower right-field seats. Schwarber's 24th homer dinged off the right field foul pole to extend the lead to 6-2.

“It was a complete win,” Thomson said. “Everyone in the lineup got on base. We played well defensively.”

Dodgers right fielder Andy Pages made the defensive play of the game in the seventh. He caught J.T. Realmuto's fly and fired to third, where Kiké Hernández tagged out a sliding Bryce Harper to complete the inning-ending double play. The Phillies lost their challenge of the call.

Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman hit his 500th career double in the first.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Phillies: LHP Ranger Suárez (lower back soreness) is set to throw a two-inning simulated game Thursday in Arizona. ... RHP Taijuan Walker (right index finger inflammation) will make a second rehab start before rejoining the rotation next week at home.

Dodgers: RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (shoulder) had a 30-pitch bullpen session and will have another this week before pitching to hitters ahead of a game in Milwaukee next week.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Tyler Phillips (3-1, 4.39 ERA) makes his first career start against the Dodgers in the series finale Wednesday.

Dodgers: RHP Gavin Stone (9-5, 3.63) tries to rebound from a loss at Oakland in which he got rocked for five runs and eight hits over four innings.

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

Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm celebrates in the dugout after scoring a run on an RBI single by Nick Castellanos during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Philadelphia Phillies' Nick Castellanos, right, gestures after hitting an RBI single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol (48) is helped getting out of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies due to an apparent injury in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández watches his solo home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Philadelphia Phillies' Austin Hays celebrates in the dugout after scoring a run on an RBI single by Kyle Schwarber during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber hits an RBI single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani bats during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sunday was to be a day of relative rest for Donald Trump, a rare breather this deep into a presidential campaign. Aside from sounding off on social media, golf was on the agenda.

Then the Secret Service spotted the muzzle of a rifle sticking out of a fence in bushes at Trump's West Palm Beach golf club, and everything changed.

For the second time in just over two months, someone apparently tried to shoot Trump and came dangerously close to the former president in that effort — within 500 yards Sunday, law enforcement officials said. This time, the gunfire came from the Secret Service, before the suspect could get any shots off at his target.

The episode raised sharp questions about how to keep the former president safe -- not only while he is campaigning across the country, but while he spends time at his own clubs and properties.

Trump has had stepped-up security since the assassination attempt on him in July, when he was wounded in the ear during an attack that laid bare a series of Secret Service failures. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks have formed a wall outside the building. And at outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind bulletproof glass.

But unlike typical VIPs, who live in private residences with tall fences, Trump, while in Florida, resides at a club open to dues-paying members, and often spends his down time at his golf courses. And this a toxic era in the nation's politics.

“The threat level is high," Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami field office, told reporters Sunday. “We live in danger times."

Sunday in the political world opened with Trump assailing a pop star on social media who had endorsed Kamala Harris — “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” — complaining about the post office and hitting the links. Running mate JD Vance riffed on TV about that thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory concerning immigrants and pets, refusing to disown it. Democrats were apoplectic.

All that was standard fare for the most tumultuous presidential campaign in anyone’s memory. But shortly before 2 p.m., the subject abruptly changed and this election was thrust ever deeper into unprecedented territory.

Trump and golf partner Steve Witkoff were on the fifth hole of the course and about to putt when they heard the “pop, pop, pop, pop," said Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close friend of the former president who spoke with him several times afterward as well as with Witkoff.

Moments later, Hannity said, a "fast cart” with steel reinforcement and other protection whisked Trump away.

After the Secret Service noticed the rifle and then the suspect, an agent fired on him but apparently missed.

Secret Service agents immediately used their bodies to shield Trump and moved him to the golf course’s clubhouse, where he remained until he went back to Mar-a-Lago about 15 minutes away, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and described it on condition of anonymity.

About an hour later, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office were investigating an unspecified “protective incident involving former President Donald Trump," adding he was safe.

The meaning was highly unclear. It could have been an unrelated shooting or disturbance near Trump, for all the country knew at first. "There were about 20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets,” said Max Egusquiza, of Palm Beach, describing the emergency response he witnessed.

The Trump campaign issued a statement saying “President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity." Again, no word whether he was the intended target.

But it soon became known that the Secret Service had fired shots. And about an hour after that happened, Donald J. Trump Jr. posted on X that an AK-style rifle was discovered in the bushes, “per local law enforcement."

All of that was finally followed by an FBI statement saying it is investigating "what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”

The suspect quickly vanished but law enforcement had managed to identify his vehicle.

Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” northbound I-95, deploying to every exit between the Palm Beach County line to the south and St. Lucie County line to the north.

The suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office putting out a “very urgent BOLO” — or be-on-the-lookout alert — detailing the specific vehicle sought, license plate number and description of the driver.

“One of my road patrol units saw the vehicle, matched the tag and we set up on the vehicle,” Snyder said, “We pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in custody."

Snyder added: "He never asked, ‘What is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights — a lot going on. He never questioned it.”

With that, police arrested Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Kaaawa, Hawaii, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials identified the suspect to AP but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

The suspect had left behind an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging on a fence with ceramic tile inside and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

The sheriff said the suspect was 400 to 500 yards away from Trump hidden in shrubbery, while the former president played golf on a nearby hole.

“It was certainly an interesting day! ” Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday night. He effusively thanked law enforcement for keeping him “SAFE.”

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Colleen Long, Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report.

Police crime scene vehicles are seen at Trump International Golf Club after police closed off the area following the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Laura Loomer uses her cell phone near Trump International Golf Club after police closed off the area following the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Trump was on the links taking a breather from the campaign. Then the Secret Service saw a rifle

Trump was on the links taking a breather from the campaign. Then the Secret Service saw a rifle

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Harry Reid International Airport to board a plane after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)