PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper knows everyone in the dugout and ballpark expects him to get clutch hits in moments just like this.

Boy, he crushed it.

Harper blasted a grand slam with one out in the ninth inning, capping a six-run rally that sent the Philadelphia Phillies over the Chicago Cubs 7-5 Thursday night for a three-game sweep.

Harper delivered his biggest hit yet in his first season after signing a $330 million, 13-year contract with the Phillies, celebrating while running around the bases and then getting mobbed by teammates at the plate.

“Before I went to the plate, I touched my heart and I was thinking to myself: Why am I not jittery? Why am I not excited? But that’s just how I am,” Harper said. “I go up there and each at-bat is the same. I don’t think about bases loaded. I try to get a pitch I can drive and hopefully good things happen. I love those moments. I love those opportunities. I think it helped me a lot from a young age going through those emotions and having those opportunities at 8, 9, 10 years old in big-time games going to different states and cities playing for a lot of teams.”

“I just love it. It’s a lot of fun. These fans do expect that and I expect to do that for them on a nightly basis and if I don’t, they’ll let me know and I like that, too,” he said.

Cubs starter Yu Darvish struck out 10, silencing Philadelphia’s bats for seven innings a night after the Phillies scored 11 runs in former manager Charlie Manuel’s debut as hitting coach.

But the Phillies rallied against Chicago’s bullpen and moved within one game of the Cubs for the second wild-card spot in the NL.

Pinch-hitter Brad Miller chased Rowan Wick with an RBI single in the ninth that cut it to 5-2 and Roman Quinn greeted Pedro Strop with an RBI single to make it a two-run game. Strop (2-5) hit Rhys Hoskins to load the bases with one out.

Derek Holland entered to face Harper and got ahead 0-2 in the count. Harper fouled off a 2-2 pitch before launching his 25th homer way out to right.

“I think everyone who watches baseball expects him to do that every time he’s up,” Phillies starter Drew Smyly said. “He’s fun to watch.”

Harper has seven homers and 15 RBIs in the last 12 games.

Ranger Suarez (4-1) tossed two scoreless innings to earn the win.

Anthony Rizzo, batting leadoff after the original lineup had him in his usual cleanup spot, gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the third when he hit his 22nd homer.

Ian Happ led off the fourth with a triple and scored on David Bote’s double. Albert Almora Jr. hit an RBI single with two outs, went to second on the throw home and advanced to third on shortstop Jean Segura’s fielding error. Rizzo’s single made it 4-0.

Kyle Schwarber slammed his 100th career homer and team-high 28th this season into the bushes in center field to put the Cubs ahead 5-0 in the fifth.

Corey Dickerson hit an RBI single with two outs in the eighth off Wick, but right fielder Nicholas Castellanos threw out Hoskins trying to score from second on the play to end the inning.

“Darvish was outstanding but he was done,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of lifting his starter.

SMYLY’S STRUGGLES

Smyly gave up five runs in five innings. He has an 8.04 ERA in his last three starts after allowing one run in 13 innings in his first two starts for the team.

ROSTER MOVE

The Phillies claimed righty Jared Hughes off waivers from the Reds. Hughes will join the bullpen this weekend. He was 3-4 with one save and a 4.10 ERA for Cincinnati.

TRAINER’S ROOM

CUBS: SS Javier Baez was scratched from the lineup because of an illness. … RHP Craig Kimbrel (right knee inflammation) felt fine after another bullpen session and is closer to returning. … RHP Brandon Kintzler (right pectoral inflammation) is expected to return on Friday. … OF Jason Heyward (left knee inflammation) wasn’t in the lineup for the second straight game but entered the game in the ninth as a defensive replacement.

PHILLIES: RHP Edubray Ramos (shoulder) was moved to the 60-day injury list to make room on the 40-man roster for Hughes.

UP NEXT

Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (8-9, 4.38 ERA) faces the Pirates in the start of a three game series that will conclude a 10-game road trip.

Phillies: RHP Vince Velasquez (4-7, 4.30 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It’s the New York Mets (62-59, fourth in the NL East) vs. Kansas City Royals (43-78, fourth in the NL Central) Kansas City, Kansas; Friday, 7:15 p.m. CDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Noah Syndergaard (8-5, 3.89 ERA) Royals: Mike Montgomery (2-5, 5.19 ERA)

BOTTOM LINE: Wilson Ramos is riding a 10-game hitting streak as New York readies to play Kansas City.

The Royals are 23-37 on their home turf. Kansas City hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .306 this season, led by Hunter Dozier with a mark of .360.

The Mets are 28-38 in road games. New York has a collective on-base percentage of .324, led by J.D. Davis with a mark of .370.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jorge Soler leads the Royals with 35 home runs and is batting .257. Dozier is 11-for-40 with two doubles, two triples, four home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.

Amed Rosario leads the Mets with 131 hits and has 50 RBIs. Pete Alonso is 13-for-37 with five home runs and 13 RBIs over the last 10 games for New York.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .193 batting average, 4.54 ERA, outscored by seven runs

Mets: 7-3, .296 batting average, 3.99 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs

Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: (hip), Jesse Hahn: (elbow), Danny Duffy: (hamstring), Adalberto Mondesi: (shoulder), Salvador Perez: (elbow), Cam Gallagher: (oblique).

Mets Injuries: Drew Smith: (elbow), Jacob Rhame: (elbow), Dominic Smith: (foot), Brandon Nimmo: (neck), Yoenis Cespedes: (heels), Jeff McNeil: (hamstring), Jed Lowrie: (knee), Robinson Cano: (hamstring).

MASON, Ohio (AP) — Nick Kyrgios was fined $113,000 by the ATP for expletive-filled outburstsin which he smashed rackets, insulted a chair umpire and refused to get ready to return serve during a second-round match at the Western & Southern Open.

The tour announced the penalties Thursday, a day after Kyrgios berated chair umpire Fergus Murphy and left the court to break two rackets during a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss to Karen Khachanov.

The ATP listed a breakdown of eight fines ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 each for violations such as unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse and audible obscenity.

The tour also said it is “looking further into what happened during and immediately after the match” to determine whether additional fines or a suspension is warranted.

Kyrgios is a 24-year-old Australian who is ranked 27th this week. He is a volatile sort who repeatedly has gotten in trouble for on-court actions. He was kicked out of the Italian Open in May after throwing a chair and being suspended by the ATP in 2016 for not trying to win and insulted fans during the Shanghai Masters.

This month, Kyrgios won the Citi Open title in Washington and said he had turned a page in his professional and personal lives.

In the last match on center court Wednesday night, he was back to his old form. During a change-over in the second set, he yelled from his chair: “The worst ref in the game, hands down. He then vulgarly insisted the umpire does something “stupid” every time he plays.

Early in the third set, he took two rackets to the tunnel that leads to the locker room, smashed them on the ground and returned to the court. Warned that he needed to get ready to return Khachanov’s serve, he took a new racket to the baseline and stood taping the handle instead of getting in position to play.

“He can serve the ball,” Kyrgios said as he casually wrapped the handle. “I’m ready. I’m here. Serve it.”

Unsure what to do, Khachanov held off until Kyrgios was ready. Then he finished off the third set, and Kyrgios offered another expletive as he left the court.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. —

The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up the St. Joseph portion of training camp Thursday at Missouri Western State University. The Chiefs will travel to Pittsburgh and play the Steelers Saturday in their second preseason game. They’ll come back to Kansas City and continue training camp Monday at their practice facility.

Head Coach Andy Reid, Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Safety Tyrann Mathieu talked to the media after practice on Thursday.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Sonny Gray struck out 10 while pitching five scoreless innings, and the Cincinnati Reds held off the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1. Gray, Robert Stephenson, Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias combined for a two-hitter. Iglesias surrendered Kolten Wong’s check-swing RBI double in the ninth before retiring pinch-hitter Matt Wieters on a fly ball to center to finish his 24th save.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Of all the things the Kansas City Chiefs wanted to accomplish during their three-week getaway to training camp at Missouri Western, returning home with everyone healthy probably topped the list. Not only did they accomplish that, they actually improved their roster depth. Now the trick is to remain healthy while preparing for the regular season back in Kansas City, where the Chiefs will resume their camp next week.

UNDATED (AP) — USA Football is piloting the game’s first long-term development program in the hopes of growing the game and catching up to other sports around the world. The sport’s governing body has launched its Football Development Model. Six youth leagues will team up with USA Football in the hopes of attracting more young players and improving skills. The leagues will experiment with new ways to coach fundamentals in practice and different ways to play the game.

National Headlines

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ Luis Arraez hit the first of three more homers by the Minnesota Twins in a 13-6 rout of the Texas Rangers. Miguel Sanó and Eddie Rosario also went deep for the Twins, whose 236 home runs are 31 off the record set by the Yankees last season. Marwin Gonzalez had a pair of RBI singles among his four hits.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana each hit two of the Indians’ seven home runs in a 19-5 thrashing of the Yankees. Ramirez belted his first career grand slam in a seven-run first, and Greg Allen and Santana went back-to-back in a five-run eighth against rookie designated hitter Mike Ford. Every Cleveland starter had at least two of the team’s 24 hits as the Indians cut the Yankees’ lead in the AL East to 9 ½ games over Tampa Bay.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) _ Matt Chapman hit two home runs for the second straight day and Matt Olson added a pair of round-trippers as the Athletics powered past the Astros, 7-6. Chapman broke a 6-6 deadlock with an eighth inning blast, one of 10 homers hit by the two teams. Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa connected for the Astros, who pace the AL West by 8 ½ games over Oakland.

UNDATED (AP) _ The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals remain tied for the NL Central lead after both teams lost on Thursday. Bryce Harper blasted a grand slam with one out in the ninth inning to cap a six-run rally that sent the Philadelphia Phillies past the Cubs, 7-5. The Cardinals were 2-1 losers to the Reds as Sonny Gray and three Cincinnati relievers combined on a two-hitter.

ATLANTA (AP) _ The New York Mets avoided a three-game sweep as rookie Pete Alonso had five hits and six RBIs, including a three-run homer in a 10-8 victory in Atlanta. Amed Rosario’s career-high five hits included two doubles, two singles and a triple as the Mets cut the Braves’ lead in the NL East to 5 ½ games over Washington. Wilson Ramos had four of New York’s season-high 23 hits.

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) _ Former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is safe and being evaluated in a hospital after his plane crashed in east Tennessee, according to his sister. Kelley Earnhardt Miller tweeted that Earnhardt’swife and 15-month-old daughter, also were on the plane along with two pilots, and that all are safe. Federal Aviation Administration officials said a Cessna Citation rolled off the end of a runway and caught fire after landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport this afternoon.

MASON, Ohio (AP) _ Roger Federer suffered his quickest loss on the ATP Tour since 2003. Federer made numerous mistakes during the 62-minute match, a 6-3, 6-4 loss to 21-year-old qualifier Andre Rublev at the Western & Southern Open near Cincinnati. Federer has won the tournament a record seven times, but he fell to an opponent who has just one other victory against a top-five opponent.

MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) _ Justin Thomas and Jason Kokrak tied the course record while grabbing a share of the first-round lead at the PGA’s BMW Championship in Medinah, Illinois. Thomas and Kokrak opened with 7-under 65s for a one-shot advantage over Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker, Lucas Glover, Patrick Cantlay and Joel Dahmen. Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau and Adam Scott are among a group at minus-5.

Thursday Scores

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Seattle 7 Detroit 2
Final Cleveland 19 N-Y Yankees 5
Final Minnesota 13 Texas 6
Final Oakland 7 Houston 6
Final L-A Angels 8 Chi White Sox 7

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 13 L-A Dodgers 7
Final Cincinnati 2 St. Louis 1
Final Philadelphia 7 Chi Cubs 5
Final N-Y Mets 10 Atlanta 8
Final San Francisco 7 Arizona 0

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A pair of handmade Nike track shoes from the 1972 Olympic trials has sold for $50,000.

Dave Russell, of Sacramento, sold the rare kicks last month to the Graduate Eugene hotel, a Nike-themed property in Eugene, Oregon.

“They wanted something that would say, ‘This is Nike town,’ ” Russell said. “And here are these shoes that were a prototype before Nike was even a public shoe.”

Russell was 25 when he qualified for the trials in the marathon in Eugene, where the shoe and the Nike brand debuted that year, he told KTXL-TV.

Known as “moon shoes” for their waffle-like bottom, the shoes were the first prototype designed by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman.

“They were very unorthodox shoes. They were very exotic because the sole was completely different. It was made on a waffle iron. It was glued to the bottom of the shoe. The shoe was completely handmade,” Russell said.

“Oh, I loved them, they fit like a glove.”

The Oregon-based shoe company made only 12 pairs.

In 2016, a Malaysia collector paid $11,200 to a Minnesota man for a pair of the “moon shoes” that were stained and missing their laces.

Last month, an unworn pair fetched $437,500 in a Sotheby’s online sale. Canadian investor Miles Nadal won the public auction for the pristine shoes, the only pair known to exist in unworn condition, according to Sotheby’s.

Letsrun.com says Russell finished 55th in the trials, which were won by Frank Shorter, who went on to win the gold medal at the Olympics in Munich.

MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — On the range, Justin Thomas had no idea where the ball was going. Some five hours later, he had a share of the course record at Medinah.

Ultimately, all that mattered Thursday in the BMW Championship was taking a good step toward an important goal. Thomas already is set for the Tour Championship next week and the chase for FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize. That’s not what interests him.

“I don’t give a crap about the money,” he said. “It’s about winning tournaments.”

He made his first birdie after hitting a tree on the fourth hole, leaving him a 5-iron he hit to 2 feet. His last birdie was a putt from about 60 feet on the fringe from the back of the 16th green. He did enough right in between for a 7-under 65 and a share of the lead with Jason Kokrak.

The others to post 65 at Medinah were Tiger Woods, Mike Weir and Skip Kendall at the PGA Championship in 1999 and 2006.

Woods won both those majors. Winning the second FedEx Cup playoff event might be a lot tougher.

One week after he withdrew with a mild oblique strain at Liberty National, Woods could only manage a 71 that felt feeble compared with everyone else. All but two players in the 69-man field were at par or better on a Medinah course that was soft from bursts of rain earlier in the week.

Woods is projected to need a top 10 this week to advance to East Lake, where he is defending champion. After one round, he was tied for 50th.

“It’s just not sharp,” Woods said. “I’m trying to make changes in my swing, and it’s just not quite there yet.”

The good news for Woods? He says he didn’t feel any tightness in his oblique.

“I just need to clean up my rounds and get going,” he said. “Seems like the whole field is under par.”

That starts with Thomas, who has not won since the World Golf Championship at Firestone a year ago. He wouldn’t have thought such an opportunity might exist the way he warmed up on the range Thursday morning.

“I probably would say that I had the worst warmup I’ve ever had in my life this morning,” he said.

The goal heading to the first tee was to find something that would allow him to get around without doing too much damage.

“I’ve had that happen plenty of times, just not quite that extreme,” Thomas said. “I’m usually pretty good at finding my way around a golf course and finding something, but definitely didn’t expect that today.”

Kokrak does have the Tour Championship on his mind. Along with a chase for the $15 million, just getting to East Lake includes an invitation to the Masters, and he’s never been. He played the par 5s in 5 under — including an eagle on No. 10 when he holed a 30-yard shot from the rough — and made only one bogey.

Kokrak, who has never won in 207 starts as a pro on the PGA Tour, is No. 32 in the FedEx Cup. The top 30 after this week advance to the Tour Championship, where there will be a staggered start based on par for the final event.

The leader will start at 10 under. The 30th player will start at even par.

The goal for Kokrak is to get there.

“I thought about doing some number-crunching and seeing what I had to finish, but I think putting myself in a good position to win a golf tournament is going to get the job done,” he said. “I don’t think I need to worry about where I need to finish in the tournament. I’d rather go out and try to win.”

They had a one-shot lead over 49-year-old Jim Furyk, a former FedEx Cup champion who hasn’t been back to East Lake in five years. Patrick Cantlay, Joel Dahmen, Lucas Glover and Brandt Snedeker also were at 66, while the large group at 67 included Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa.

Dahmen and Morikawa have a different outlook.

Morikawa was finishing up at Cal just over two months ago and had limited time just to try to secure a PGA Tour card. He did that with a victory at the Barracuda Championship, and along with his runner-up finish in Minnesota, he comes into this week at No. 57 with an outside shot at the Tour Championship.

“It’s definitely a goal of mine now,” Morikawa said. “Just because I reached those goals for this summer doesn’t mean I’m going to stop here. I’m not satisfied with just ending my season here. Obviously, it’s very fun and I’m grateful to be here after the win. But it doesn’t stop here.”

Dahmen, a cancer survivor who reached the BMW Championship for the first time in his career, is No. 63 in the FedEx Cup and felt free.

“I am so far out of East Lake,” he said. “Actually, my wife asked me that earlier this week. I think it would be way harder if you’re in a spot where you have to finish like 30th to get into East Lake. You still have to grind it out every day to sneak into that number, and then you’re kind of looking at the number. Where for me to get in position to be at East Lake, I basically try to win the golf tournament.

“East Lake is obviously a goal, but I’m going to be so into the golf tournament and trying to win a golf tournament that East Lake would be a product of that for me.”

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. will take the weekend off from broadcasting to be with his wife and daughter after the three were in a plane crash landing Thursday near Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 44-year-old television analyst and retired driver was taken to a hospital for evaluation after the crash in east Tennessee. Earnhardt was with wife Amy, 15-month-old daughter Isla, a dog and two pilots.

“We’re incredibly grateful that Dale, his wife Amy, daughter Isla, and the two pilots are safe following today’s accident,” NBC Sports said in a statement. “After being discharged from the hospital, we communicated with Dale and his team, and we’re all in agreement that he should take this weekend off to be with his family.

“We look forward to having him back in the booth next month at Darlington.”

Federal Aviation Administration officials said a Cessna Citation rolled off the end of a runway and caught fire after landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport at 3:40 p.m. Thursday. FAA officials said the preliminary indication is that two pilots and three passengers were aboard the jet.

The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted that it’s sending two representatives to Elizabethton to begin investigating the crash.

Carter County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Thomas Gray confirmed Earnhardt was aboard but said he wasn’t one of the pilots.

Earnhardt retired as a full-time driver in 2017 and has been working as an analyst for NBC. He is part of the scheduled broadcast team for Saturday night’s Cup Series event in Bristol, Tennessee.

This incident comes 26 years after former driver and 1992 Cup champion Alan Kulwicki died in a plane crash while on his way to the spring race at Bristol from a promotional appearance in Knoxville, Tennessee. That crash at Tri-City Regional Airport in Blountville, Tennessee, killed a total of four people.

Earnhardt was part of Rick Hendrick’s racing team in 2011 when Hendrick broke a rib and a collarbone while on a small jet that lost its brakes and crash landed in an airport at Key West, Florida. Hendrick’s son, brother and twin nieces were among 10 people killed in a 2004 crash of a plane traveling to a race in Virginia.

This isn’t the first fiery crash for Earnhardt. He still has a burn scar on his neck from a crash at Sonoma in 2004 during warmups for an American Le Mans Series race that left him with second-degree burns.

Earnhardt has a history of concussions that plagued him over his final years as a driver.

He won NASCAR’s most popular driver award a record 15 times with 26 career Cup victories.

MASON, Ohio (AP) — For Roger Federer, it was one big blur. The seven-time champion was ousted from one of his favorite tournaments in barely over an hour, falling in straight sets to a 21-year-old qualifier he’d never faced.

Andre Rublev — with only one career win over a top-five player to his credit — took advantages of Federer’s numerous mistakes for a 6-3, 6-4 victory Thursday that further depleted the top of the men’s bracket in the Western & Southern Open.

It was over shockingly fast — Federer’s quickest defeat on the tour since 2003.

“To be honest, it’s tough when it’s fast like this to tell you, well, I could have done this or that,” he said.

Federer has won the tournament more than anyone, using it as a springboard to the U.S. Open. He had 16 unforced errors against the 70th-ranked Rublev, who raised both fists and wiped a teary eye in celebration after Federer’s forehand sailed long to end it.

Struggling with his serve, Federer got broken twice in the first set.

“And there you have it. It set the tone for the match a little bit,” Federer said. “He was super clean — offense, defense, serving well. He didn’t give me anything.”

Federer, who lost a classic five-set match for the Wimbledon title to Novak Djokovic, thinks he’s in good shape heading into the U.S. Open despite the upset in Cincinnati.

“I played 45 matches this year, so I think I should be fine,” he said, smiling.

But oh, this last one.

And oh, what a wide-open tournament.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal withdrew before the start of the tournament because of fatigue after winning the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Sunday. Djokovic was the only one of the Top 3 left in Cincinnati, set to play later in the day.

Qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka followed his upset of sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori — a player he called his hero — by beating Alex De Minaur 7-5-6-4. It’s the first time in 10 years that two qualifiers have reached the quarterfinals of an ATP Masters 1000 event.

The day began with the ATP fining Nick Kyrgios $113,000 for expletive-filled outbursts that included smashing rackets, insulting a chair umpire and refusing to get ready to return serve during a second-round match the previous night.

In the women’s bracket, top-seeded Ashleigh Barty reached the quarterfinals, joined by a resurgent Venus Williams.

Barty beat Anett Kontaveit 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, raising her fist in triumph after fighting off one match point to take the 2-hour, 10-minute match. She was down a break in the second set before rallying on a day when she struggled to find consistency.

“The best thing is when my back was against the wall, the tennis was there,” Barty said. “It may not have been there the whole match, but we were able to find it when we needed it.”

Barty, the French Open champion and currently ranked No. 2, can move up to the top spot by reaching the final.

With the crowd cheering for her, Williams recovered from a rough first set and beat Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, her best stretch of tennis in since she won three straight matches in March at Miami.

After a first-round loss in Toronto last week, her ranking slipped to No. 65, her lowest in seven years. With sister Serena cheering courtside, Venus reached the semifinals.

“I mean, I’m pretty pumped,” Venus Williams said. “When you’re winning, it’s fun.”

Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament because of back spasms. She calmly watched her sister advance.

“I think she believed in me,” Venus Williams said. “She was rooting hard but didn’t seem panicked at all after I lost the first set.”

___

AP freelance writer Mark Schmetzer contributed to this report.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Listen to updates from Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp in St. Joseph, Mo. with the “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus. The reports originally air weeknights at 5:25 p.m. on KWBW Radio 1450 am/98.5 fm.  Brought to you locally by Egbert Liquor.