Bryce Harper's RBI single in 10th off Josh Hader lifts Phillies past Astros 3-2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper hit a game-ending RBI single in the 10th inning off Houston closer Josh Hader, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Astros 3-2 in a matchup of division leaders on Monday night.

Brandon Marsh homered for Philadelphia, which won its third straight. The Phillies entered leading the NL East by six games over Atlanta, while Houston began play 4 1/2 games ahead of Seattle in the AL West.

“I thought we fought and kept after it,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

Shay Whitcomb had a pair of RBIs for Houston, which defeated Philadelphia in the 2022 World Series.

With runners on first and second and no outs, Harper lined the first pitch he saw from Hader (6-7), a 96 mph sinker, to right field to score automatic runner Kyle Schwarber. Hader struck out the side in order in the ninth, finishing the inning by getting Schwarber looking on a sinker.

“Happy it got through and happy to win the game,” Harper said.

Matt Strahm (6-2) worked a scoreless 10th for Philadelphia. He got help on the final out from center fielder Johan Rojas, who made a diving catch to rob Yainer Diaz of a base hit that would have scored the automatic runner.

“He got a pretty good jump, and he closes on it as good as anybody,” Thomson said. “A lot of guys don't make that catch.”

Philadelphia scored 22 runs while winning a pair of games over the weekend at Kansas City. But the Astros limited the Phillies to Marsh’s fifth-inning, opposite-field drive off Ronel Blanco and Nick Castellanos’ RBI single in the sixth before Harper came through in extra innings.

Phillies players mobbed Harper after he rounded first base, celebrating a victory to start a seven-game homestand against the Astros and the Braves.

“Big at-bats by everybody and the bullpen did their job,” Harper said.

Whitcomb put Houston in front with a two-run, two-out single in the fourth off Zack Wheeler.

“Just one hit away, but our at-bats were really good,” Houston manager Joe Espada said.

Wheeler gave up six hits in six innings with six strikeouts and two walks.

“It's fun,” Wheeler said. “Two good teams going at it.”

Blanco lasted 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: Placed left-handed reliever José Alvarado on the restricted list for a personal matter. The 29-year-old Alvarado has a 4.30 ERA in 56 appearances this season. He has converted 13 of 16 save opportunities. Philadelphia recalled right-hander Michael Mercado from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

UP NEXT

Astros RHP Justin Verlander (3-3, 3.92 ERA) opposes Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (11-6, 3.45) as the series continues Tuesday night.

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

Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Houston Astros' Ronel Blanco pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Houston Astros' Jake Meyers, right, scores against Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto on a two-run double by Shay Whitcomb during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm reacts after outfielder Johan Rojas caught a line out by Houston Astros' Yainer Diaz during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber, left, scores the game-winning run past Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz on an RBI-single by Bryce Harper during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper, right, and Brandon Marsh celebrate after Harper hit a game-winning RBI-single against Houston Astros pitcher Josh Hader during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper, center, is doused by Bryson Stott, left, and Brandon Marsh after hitting the game-winning RBI-single against Houston Astros pitcher Josh Hader during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Texas Kadiri Moro stood in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Accra on Thursday, dressed in short pink Speedos and a pink polo shirt. Accompanied by trumpet players, carrying a banner with slogans including, “Why should a society of evildoers judge others?” and “Justice begins where inequality ends!” he marched across the Ghanaian capital in a one-man protest against a highly controversial bill which targets members of the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters.

Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation.

He is heterosexual, married to a woman, and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practicing Muslim. Yet for months he has been conducting solo demonstrations against the bill, which criminalizes members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as its supporters, including promotion and funding of related activities and public displays of affection. It could send some people to prison for more than a decade.

The bill was passed by Ghana ’s parliament earlier this year but has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

It has not yet been signed into law by President Nana Akufo-Addo, who cited ongoing proceedings. But he refused to reject it either.

“There are so many issues about rights" when it comes to the bill, Moro told The Associated Press.

“Homosexuality does not affect anyone," Moro said. “We have activities that people are doing in the country that are worse than homosexual activities,” he added, citing adultery as an example. The parliament, he said, should be more concerned with “other crimes and pollution.”

The bill has sparked condemnation from rights groups and some in the international community who have been concerned about similar efforts by other African governments.

Sponsors of the bill have said it seeks to protect children and people who are victims of abuse.

Gay sex is already illegal in Ghana, carrying a three-year prison sentence, but the new bill could imprison people for more than a decade for activities including public displays of affection and promotion and funding of LGBTQ+ activities.

Since he began his protests, Moro has lost his job, has not received any assistance from the LGBTQ+ community, and has become a target of “very hostile attacks from the Muslim community," he says.

But he is determined to continue. For him, it is about battling injustice.

“I know I'm doing something that God is asking me to do,” he said.

To point out the hypocrisy of the bill, Moro carried a petition to the Parliament asking the government to withdraw foreign missions from countries where homosexuality is legal, if they find it “filthy,” he said.

At the entrance to Parliament House, Kate Addo, Parliament's director of communications, received Moro's petition on behalf of the speaker. She said she was pleased with his initiative.

“We live in a democratic country where what people do in their bedrooms is not to be anyone’s concern,” Addo said. "However, we are also regulated by law.”

Even though Ghana's president delayed signing the bill into law, activists said that the debate by itself triggered an increase in physical and psychological violence against LGBTQ+ people.

Joseph Kobla Wemakor, the executive director of Human Rights Reporters Ghana, said that "abuse, both psychologically and physically against members of the community has skyrocketed" since the bill has been introduced.

“The moment people hear that you are part of this, the LGBTQ+, you are an enemy," Wekamor said. “They are looking forward to hurting you, even lynching you, killing you.”

They are "forgetting that we are all humans,” he added.

“It takes one man to change the world," he said. “And if he has started something like that, other people will follow, because it (the bill) is a wrongdoing.”

For more news on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)