Final Score: Phillies 9, Rays 4
There’s just something about a Kyle Schwarber bomb that’s out off the bat.
The crowd, mostly settled in, was in awe. A collective “Oh,” rang over Citizens Bank Park as Schwarber’s first inning leadoff home run traveled in the air and over the fence. It’s the kind of thrill you pay for when you buy a ticket to a Phillies game.
So when Buddy Kennedy came up to bat for Schwarber in the bottom of the fourth, an abrupt silence ran over the 40,088 fans in attendance. Some chanted “Buddy” as a callback to Monday night’s walk-off win, but it was mostly quiet.
Schwarber, after breaking the MLB record for most leadoff home runs in a single season in the bottom of the first, was lifted from the game in the fourth. The Phillies announced during the game that Schwarber was dealing with “left elbow discomfort.”
After the game, Rob Thomson provided a relatively positive update. He called the injury “a bit of a hyperextension.” It occurred when Schwarber retreated back to first base on a throw from the catcher in the third inning. Schwarber reported discomfort when he took a swing in the batting cages after his second plate appearance.
Thomson said he is day-to-day. Schwarber does not sound too concerned.
“There’s nothing structurally wrong, so pretty much tomorrow, if [I] can stand it, [I’ll] play,” Schwarber said.
On the other side lies another concern. Ranger Suárez had another bend-don’t-break kind of start, allowing a career-high 12 hits and four earned runs over 5 1/3 innings. His velocity, however, was down again. In his last start against Miami, he threw 14 sinkers and four seamers at 89 mph or below. He threw only seven today, but considering he threw no more than three in all of his other starts, it’s still an issue the Phillies will need to monitor.
The Phillies did eventually break the game open in a crazy bottom half of the eighth. They scored five runs, including two apiece on a go-ahead double by pinch hitter Cal Stevenson and Trea Turner’s second two-run home run of the game.
Things got heated a little later when Rays reliever Edwin Uceta hit Nick Castellanos in the hip with a pitch. Castellanos approached the mound and an angry Bryce Harper yelled at Uceta from second base. Both benches cleared as Rays and Phillies players tried to hold back Harper and Castellanos.
Uceta was ejected by crew chief James Hoye.
The Phillies are now 87-58 and have an eight-game lead over the Braves and Mets in the NL East. The magic number to clinch the division is 10.
Highlights
- Schwarber broke the single-season record for most leadoff homers in a season with 14 with a bomb to right-center to make it 1-0.
- After the Rays tied it up in the top half of the second, Johan Rojas took the lead back with a double to right field on a crazy play. The runner on base Brandon Marsh was held at third, but a wild throw from right fielder Josh Lowe that got past both the cutoff man and the first baseman allowed him to score. The ball went to the third baseman Junior Caminero, who tried to get Marsh at home. At the same time, Rojas was able to take third.
- Turner gave the Phillies their third lead of the game with a two-run home run.
- Harper had a home run taken away thanks to a clear cut case of fan interference. His homerless streak is now at 28 games.
- Tampa Bay tied the game at four in the sixth on a triple off Monty’s Angle in left-center field.
- With runners on the corner with one out in the sixth, Orion Kerkering saved the day with a strikeout of pinch hitter Brandon Lowe and a groundout against Yandy Díaz. Kerkering has not allowed an earned run since Aug. 15.
- In the top of the eighth, Turner made an incredible running catch to rob Logan Driscoll of a bloop hit.
- First-base umpire John Bacon infuriated Phillies fans and Bryson Stott in the bottom of the eighth. Stott would have had a double, but the ball deflected off Bacon’s leg and into the glove of the first baseman for the easy out. All was well in the end as Stevenson’s double — probably — got him off the hook.
- With the fans chanting his first name again, Kennedy expanded the lead to three with an RBI single, his first hit as a Phillie.
- Turner put the game away with his second two-run home run of the game to make it 9-4.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Wednesday, Sept. 11 vs. Tampa Bay Rays
- 6:40 p.m. EST
- NBC Sports Philadelphia
- 94 WIP
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