Kyle Schwarber hit a home run off Joe Musgrove’s fourth pitch, and Bryce Harper also hit one of the Philadelphia Phillies’ five home runs in a 9-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
Musgrove (3-3) gave up a career-high four homers and didn’t make it out of the fourth inning. Aaron Nola (4-1) pitched eight brilliant innings for the second game in a row. He struck out 10 batters for the first time this season and the 31st time in his career. He allowed three runs and seven hits to San Diego, with just one walk.
His only big mistake was giving up a two-run homer to rookie Graham Pauley in the seventh inning, Pauley’s second of the night.
There was a scary moment in the second inning when Harper and Jurickson Profar were both shaken up after a tag play at first base. Nola fielded Profar’s dribbler, threw to Harper, and tagged Profar. Harper spun around from the impact, and Profar fell to the ground.
Harper tweaked his wrist and held it against his lower back while jogging around on the grass. Both players were checked by trainers but stayed in the game.
Schwarber’s home run was his 100th in a Phillies uniform, and he became the second-fastest player to reach that milestone, doing so in 342 games. Ryan Howard did it in 325 games.
His seventh home run this season traveled 379 feet, which is much shorter compared to his previous three homers at Petco Park.
In Game 1 of the 2022 NL Championship Series, he hit an impressive 488-foot drive into the second deck in right field, helping the Phillies win the series in five games. Last season, he hit homers of 465 and 440 feet in a series in early September.
After getting a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Nola quickly retired the side in the bottom of the inning, using only seven pitches.
“We have a really strong offense, and everyone knows that,” Nola said. “Not just in terms of batting average; also, the power hitters contribute. I think what makes our offense challenging for pitchers is that our batters take quality at-bats. They battle until the end, which makes it tough on pitchers.”
The Phillies extended their lead to 6-0 after Harper, Brandon Marsh, and Nick Castellanos hit home runs in the third inning.
Harper started the inning with a 396-foot home run to right field, his sixth of the season. Marsh followed with a two-run homer over the right field wall, driving in J.T. Realmuto, who doubled. Castellanos then hit a homer to left-center that barely cleared the fence, above the outstretched glove of center fielder Oscar Azocar.
It was Marsh’s sixth homer and Castellanos’ first with the Phillies.
Realmuto added a two-run homer off Tom Cosgrove in the seventh inning, his fourth of the season. Marsh also contributed with an RBI double in the first inning.
Marsh explained that their success against Musgrove was due to their determined approach. They stuck to their plan, not deviating from it, aiming to hit the pitches that Musgrove didn’t want them to hit. Marsh felt they executed this strategy well throughout the game.
During the sixth inning, Marsh, who plays left field, prevented Jake Cronenworth from hitting a home run to the opposite field.
Musgrove had a strong performance in his previous game against Toronto, pitching seven innings. However, he struggled on Friday night, lasting only 3 2/3 innings. Along with giving up a career-high four home runs, he also allowed six earned runs, which equaled the most he’s ever given up in a start at Petco Park.
Musgrove, a San Diego native, joined the Padres via a trade with Pittsburgh before the 2021 season. He made Padres history by pitching the team’s first-ever no-hitter in just his second start, which was against Texas.
Musgrove conceded eight hits, striking out four batters and walking two.
Manny Machado returned to the Padres’ lineup after being on the paternity list. This was his first time playing third base since August 31.
He had been dealing with a tennis elbow, which led to surgery and limited him to being a designated hitter (DH) for the remainder of the previous season. He started this season as a DH due to his recovery.
