Schwarber powers Phils past Dodgers

The Phillies couldn’t be happier that the June version of Kyle Schwarber has decided to come back for a visit in August.

Schwarber launched not one, not two, but three home runs into the Southern California night, and added a two-run double to match a career high with seven RBI as the Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-4 on Wednesday. 

It was the Phillies’ third win in four games, and they won a series for the first time since sweeping the Dodgers in Philadelphia the week prior to the All-Star break in July. 

They finished the season series 5-1 against the Dodgers and now lead them by 2 ½ games for the best record in the National League. 

And after a brutal stretch of games in which they lost 14-of-19, after winning the last two, the Phillies have climbed back ahead of the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees to reclaim the best record in baseball.

Funny how the momentum shifts in this sport sometimes. 

“It’s good to finally win a series because we’ve been looking to do that for a while,” manager Rob Thomson said.

Schwarber was the driving force for the Phillies though. He led off the game with an opposite field, solo home run. It was his 11th leadoff homer of the season, matching his own Phillies record that he set last year. He’s only two shy of the major league record for a season, set by Alfonso Soriano when he hit 13 for the New York Yankees in 2003.

After the Dodgers built a 4-1 lead off Phillies starter Tyler Phillips, Schwarber led the comeback with a two-run double down the right field in the fifth inning to trim the lead to 4-3. 

In the sixth inning, he clubbed a 426-foot bomb deep into the right-centerfield bleachers at Dodger Stadium, capping a five-run sixth inning for the Phillies. 

He finished off his night with a solo homer to dead centerfield off Los Angeles reliever Michae Grove. 

Schwarber became the first Phillie with at least four hits, three home runs and seven RBI in the same game since Mike Schmidt did it in a game in which he hit four home runs in 1976. 

It was only the 71st time it had ever happened in a major league game. The last time was Texas’ Adolis Garcia against Oakland in April 2023.

“He’s really special,” Thomson said. “He can really hit. He’s smart. He comes in and does his work. His prep work. He had a big night. … There are times when we’re in a bit of a slump and he’ll inject some energy into the club with a leadoff home run or a big home run somewhere.”

Schwarber is more than that though. He’s a true leader of this team. Rather than take the accolades for his big night, he instead wanted to focus on other players, specifically Phillips (4-1), who was able to get through five innings despite some struggles in the first two innings that were a combination of him getting behind hitters and some shaky defense behind him. 

“It was pretty cool,” Phillips said of Schwarber’s night. “I was telling him (that) after his second home run, and he was telling me how huge it was that I kept us in the game. … I’m sitting there like, ‘You know, you just kind of gave us the lead. That was huge.’ And he’s like, ‘Nah.’ I was like in an argument (with him). ‘Dude, you’re having an unbelievable game right now.’”

But that’s how Schwarber is. Always looking to lift up his teammates and shying away from the credit, even if it was well-deserved with a night like he had Wednesday. 

“I mean, you got to think of it like, that’s big for us because we’re heading in to a four-game set in Arizona and it helps you keep another arm available where you don’t have to use (a reliever) in that spot,” Schwarber said. “I’m sure he was fighting some things, but he was able to go out there, figure it out, grind it out and get us through five, which was huge.”

Schwarber is now hitting .261 with 27 homers and 73 RBI. His on base percentage is up to .390 and his OPS is now .894. 

He’s on pace for 39 homers and 106 RBI but also 115 runs and 119 walks. If he keeps up his slash line, it will be the highest on base percentage of his career and the second highest batting average and OPS behind his 2021 season which was split between two teams – Washington and Boston – but was also a season in which he only played 113 games. 

TRAINER’S TABLE

OF Austin Hays left the game in the third inning with left hamstring tightness. Thomson said he “felt it grab” as he was running down the first base line during a groundout. He will be re-evaluated tomorrow in Arizona. Johan Rojas replaced him in the game and would likely be the first option for the Phillies to get more regular at bats if Hays has to miss time. 

RHP Taijuan Walker (right index finger inflammation) made a rehab start at Double-A Reading on Wednesday. He threw five innings and allowed just one run on two hits while striking out three. Originally it was thought Walker could pitch the finale in Arizona on Sunday, but that seems like it’s going to be pushed back a couple of days. Assuming he feels well on Thursday he’ll probably return Tuesday when the Phillies return home to face Miami.

RHP Spencer Turnbull (right lat strain) is down in Clearwater, Fla. Where he is throwing off a mound this week. The Phillies are hoping to build him up enough to get him back as a multiple-inning reliever at this point, as it’s probably too late in the season to build him back up to be a starter. The hope is he could be ready as soon as the end of the month, but probably more likely in early September. 

ON DECK

The Phillies will try to make it three straight wins on Thursday when they kick off a four-game series with Arizona. LHP Kolby Allard (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will make the start for the Phillies while the Diamondbacks turn to LHP Jordan Montgomery (7-5, 6.37).