Categories: 2023 Postgame Recaps

Home run barrage, Suárez lead Phillies to series win over Nationals

June Schwarber was one of two Phillies with two homers on Sunday. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire),

Final Score: Phillies 11, Nationals 3

The difference in predictability between a Kyle Schwarber multi-homer game in the month of June and a Drew Ellis multi-homer game is about as vast as one can imagine.

The Phillies got both on Sunday. Those extremely likely and extremely unlikely contributions, plus a J.T. Realmuto homer for the second straight game and a strong Ranger Suárez showing for the second start start, were plenty to carry the Phillies to a series victory over the Washington Nationals.

Home runs were the story of the day for Phillies. Realmuto got it started with a solo shot to right center field, his second homer and third extra-base hit in two days.

Realmuto later singled for his fourth hit in the past two games, notable especially in the wake of his 3-for-43 stretch that preceded the big weekend.

Drew Ellis — of all people — then broke a 1-1 tie with a solo homer of his own in the fifth. It was his first homer as a Phillie, and his first big fly in the Majors since August 2021.

Ellis wasn’t done. Two at bats later, Ellis lifted his second homer of the ballgame just over the fence in left-center field.

But it was a different Ellis base hit which set up the homer that really blew things open. His second of three knocks on the day was a two-out single in the sixth, and Kyle Schwarber — as he does in June — broke it open with a three-run blast.

The June vibes continued in the ninth. Schwarber hit yet another three-run homer, turning a decisive victory into a blowout.

Meanwhile, Ranger Suárez turned in his best start of the season, allowing just one run in seven innings.

Jeff Hoffman and Connor Brogdon handled the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to finish off the eight-run win.

It feels like the Nationals are always there for the Phillies when they need them. (Think September 2022.) The Phillies’ back-to-back wins and series victory comes on the heels of a five-game losing skid. It also helped them stay two games clear of the NL East cellar.

They went 4-6 on their road trip to Atlanta, New York and Washington D.C. They’re 27-32.

Shibe Vintage Sports Notes

Sunday was Suárez’s deepest start of the season since returning from the injured list on May 13. He’s now combined for 13 2/3 innings and three runs in his last two outings.