Slugger hits leadoff HR in 1st and go-ahead shot in 9th vs. Blue Jays
4:26 AM UTC
Todd Zolecki
@ToddZoleckiTORONTO -- Kyle Schwarber gave his teammates a thumbs-up and a smile as he trotted to first base in the ninth inning on Tuesday night.
It was an understated reaction to a historic performance in a wild 10-9 comeback victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. The Phillies fell into a 6-1 hole in the first inning, but chipped away at Toronto’s lead throughout the night. Schwarber homered in the first, doubled in the third, homered in the fourth and singled in the seventh before he crushed a go-ahead three-run home run to right field in the ninth.
“The biggest thing was not trying to speed up,” Schwarber said. “If I stay level-headed throughout -- don’t let the moment get too big. Right?”
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Schwarber joined Mike Schmidt as the only players in franchise history to have five hits and three homers in a game. Schmidt did it as part of his record-tying four-homer game on April 17, 1976.
Schwarber had not homered since Aug. 14, when he hit a big grand slam against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. He batted .145 with three doubles, four RBIs, eight walks, 27 strikeouts and a .432 OPS in 17 games since.
He was frustrated with his at-bats. After an 0-for-3 performance on Saturday night against the Braves, Schwarber went to the batting cage inside the Phillies' clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park to talk hitting with his coaches, including hitting coach Kevin Long.
“Just sat in the cage and tried to talk things out and worked on a couple things,” Schwarber said.
Schwarber said he felt better when he left. He ended Sunday night’s game with a lineout to center field. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said on Tuesday afternoon that was a good sign.
Schwarber thought so, too. He said he felt confident leaving the ballpark on Sunday. Then, he cleared his mind. He spent Monday’s off-day playing golf and drafting his fantasy football team. (He took Tyreek Hill with the fourth overall pick.)
“It’s just putting yourself in a good position to make a good decision, swinging or not swinging at it,” Schwarber said.
A lot of Phillies made good decisions at the plate on Tuesday, even though they entered the ninth inning just 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position. They scored three runs in the seventh to cut their deficit to 8-7, including Kody Clemens' 11-pitch at-bat that ended with a cue shot up the third-base line to bring a run home.
Two innings later, Edmundo Sosa singled and Clemens doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs in the top of the ninth.
Schwarber fouled off the first four pitches he saw. He fouled the sixth pitch off the inside of his right ankle. He dropped to the dirt.
“Another grinder at-bat,” Clemens said.
Schwarber eventually got up and got back into the batter’s box. He fouled off two more pitches. Then, Toronto closer Chad Green threw Schwarber a 96.7 mph fastball down the middle of the plate that he crushed. At 114.4 mph, the exit velocity tied the eighth-hardest-hit homer of his career, including the postseason.
“Happy to put it in play,” Schwarber said.
Sosa and Clemens raised their arms almost simultaneously as the ball left Schwarber’s bat.
Clemens clapped his hands. Sosa gave a big fist pump.
Schwarber’s teammates in the dugout lost it.
“When he’s hot, he might be the best hot hitter in all of baseball,” Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt said. “He can hit a ball at his eyes or hit a ball at his ankles.
" ... I think they’re one of the most talented lineups in all of baseball and I think their hitting coach is one of the best hitting coaches in all of baseball. That combination is pretty deadly.”
Schwarber’s blast capped an improbable win. Improbable because Phillies rookie Tyler Phillips allowed six runs in two-thirds of an inning in his first start as Taijuan Walker’s replacement as the No. 5 starter. Phillips is the first Phillies pitcher to post a 17.74 ERA over a four-start span since Tyler Green had a 23.14 ERA (18 earned runs in seven innings) from Aug. 18-Sept. 8, 1995.
Thomson said they will discuss what will happen on Sunday, when Phillips is scheduled to make his next start.
But the offense picked up Phillips. So did the bullpen, which included three innings of two-run ball from Walker. The Phils have won eight of their past 10 to maintain a seven-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East with 24 games to play.
“They kept battling,” Thomson said. “Just kept grinding away and chipping away. You could feel the momentum a little bit. Finally, we got the big hit.”
