Rookie pitcher Tyler Phillips thanked Kyle Schwarber for keeping the Philadelphia Phillies in the game after Schwarber hit his second home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Schwarber hit three home runs and matched his career high with seven RBIs in a 9-4 win on Wednesday night. The Phillies won two of the three games in the series between the top two teams in the National League.
“He was telling me, ‘Aww, that was huge what you did. You kept us in the game,’” Phillips said. This was after the Dodgers had taken a 4-1 lead in the second inning, and Phillips managed to bounce back.
“I was like, ‘Dude, you just kind of gave us the lead. That was huge what you did,’” Phillips said.
Schwarber downplayed his own performance to the point where he and Phillips “were almost like getting in an argument,” according to Phillips. “It was really cool to be able to put a lot of faith in him.”
Schwarber started the game with a two-strike home run off Gavin Stone, marking his 10th leadoff homer of the season.
He then hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning, giving Philadelphia an 8-4 lead.
In the ninth inning, Schwarber hit his 27th home run of the season against Michael Grove. It was his second career game with three home runs, the first being in 2021.
“I always say the biggest thing is just being able to trust your work in the cage,” Schwarber said. “You make adjustments, make tweaks, whatever it is, and you just go out there and compete in the game. It was a good result.”
The seven RBIs were the most by a Phillies player since Carlos Ruiz had that many against Atlanta in 2012.
“It’s really special,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “It seems like there are times when we’re in a bit of a slump and he injects a bit of energy into the club with a leadoff home run or a big home run. He’s a lot like (Bryce) Harper that way.”
Schwarber also homered on Tuesday in a win, marking his fourth time this season hitting home runs in back-to-back games.
