Categories: 2024 Postgame Recaps

Kyle Schwarber’s 3-homer night leads Phillies to first series win since All-Star Break

Kyle Schwarber’s massive night helped the Phillies to a win over the Dodgers. (John Cordes/Icon Sportswire)

Final Score: Phillies 9, Dodgers 4

When Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman drove in three runs off of Tyler Phillips in the first two innings of Wednesday evening’s game, it looked like it would be the latest chapter in the former NL MVP’s career-long dominance of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Instead, the final contest of a three-game series between the two best teams in the senior circuit turned into the Kyle Schwarber show.

Schwarber took Dodgers’ starter Gavin Stone deep to lead the game off, tagged Stone for a two-run double in the top of the fifth inning and delivered the knockout punch with a three-run home run off of reliever Joe Kelly in the top of the sixth inning. For good measure, he added a shot to dead-center in the top of the ninth inning off of Michael Grove.

In total, Schwarber finished the night with three home runs and seven RBIs, which ties a career-high. Schwarber is the second Phillie this season to hit three home runs in a game, as Bryce Harper did it against the Cincinnati Reds on April 2.

Schwarber now has 27 home runs in 2024, and 120 in 418 games since joining the Phillies on a four-year/$79 million deal prior to the 2022 season, a deal that’s proven to be incredibly team friendly. For as associated as Schwarber is with the Cubs franchise, he hit 121 home runs in 551 games with Chicago, a mark he’s about to blow by in red pinstripes.

More importantly for the Phillies, Schwarber’s big night helped them to earn their first series win of the second half. In fact, it’s the first series win for the Phillies since they completed a three-game sweep of the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park on July 11. For as much as the Phillies have struggled over the last month, they’ve managed to go 5-1 against the team that’s their biggest competition for the top seed in the NL playoffs, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Highlights

Schwarber led off the game with a home run, his 11th leadoff blast of the season:

After Brandon Marsh whiffed trying to catch a Teoscar Hernández double against the wall, Freeman drove in the tying run in the bottom of the first inning. It was his 131st career RBI against the Phillies.

The Dodgers took the lead on a single to left field by another long-time Phillie killer, Miguel Rojas. However, it hit a sliding Austin Hays’ glove in left field, so it probably should have been caught:

Freeman added two more RBIs in the bottom of the second inning, flaring a ball over Trea Turner’s head into the outfield, extending Los Angeles’ lead to 4-1.

Johan Rojas came in to play center field in the bottom of the third inning, with Marsh shifting to left field after Hays departed the game with left hamstring tightness. Rojas quickly made his presence in the field felt with a tremendous catch to end the bottom of the fourth inning:

In the top of the fifth inning, Nick Castellanos recorded his second double of the game, with Rojas later joining him on the bases via an infield single. Schwarber brought both home on a two-run double:

The Phillies caught a break in the top of the sixth inning when Marsh bunted hard in an attempt to advance Bohm to third base. Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ruled that Rojas blocked the third base bag, so he called Bohm safe on the basis of violating that rule. Dodgers’ skipper Dave Roberts, probably justifiably, was incensed. He was ultimately thrown out for arguing with Wendelstedt about his ruling:

The Phillies capitalized on the questionable call, with J.T. Realmuto bringing home Bohm on an RBI groundout to tie the game.

After Johan Rojas worked a two-out walk to load the bases, Marsh scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Dodgers’ reliever Joe Kelly. And then Schwarber launched his second home run of the night, this one of the three-run variety: