Kyle Schwarber is not known for his speed.
He’s more known for what he did in the first inning on Saturday: blast a towering, 399-foot home run that gave his team an early 2-0 lead over the Mets.
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But he also stepped on the gas on Saturday, helping the Phillies manufacture some insurance runs for the 6-1 win in a rain-interrupted game. In the fifth inning, Schwarber advanced from first to third on a throwing error from Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, and scored easily when Alec Bohm punched a single to left.
The Phillies capitalized on a sloppy Mets team that committed three errors on Saturday, but it was also a positive sign for their bats. They racked up 12 total hits in a game that was delayed for just over 45 minutes due to heavy rain during the bottom of the seventh.
Starter Jesús Luzardo held the Mets to one run over five innings. He cost himself a few pitches in the first when he issued back-to-back two-out walks, but he induced a groundout to end the inning.
A solo homer from Tyrone Taylor was just one of two hits the Mets managed against him, as Luzardo struck out seven. Two of those were Juan Soto, who is one of the most disciplined hitters in the game with just a 12.7% strikeout rate.
After Schwarber’s first-inning homer, the Phillies offense had multiple opportunities to tack on before finally breaking through. In the second and fourth innings, they advanced a runner to third base but failed to cash in.
They finally made something happen in the fifth inning, after Trea Turner started things off with a solo homer. After Bohm drove in Schwarber, a single from Edmundo Sosa and a J.T. Realmito walk kept the line moving. But the rally ended when Derek Hill struck out to strand the bases loaded.
The Phillies loaded the bases again in the sixth, and this time they capitalized. Bryson Stott tripled and Turner and Schwarber drew back-to-back walks against Mets right-hander Kodai Senga to put three on for Bryce Harper.
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He got ahold of Senga’s signature forkball for a two-run single that gave the Phillies’ bullpen a comfortable cushion.
Not that they needed much. Orion Kerkering pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, striking out Carson Benge with a 97.8 mph fastball. José Alvarado sidestepped an infield single for a scoreless seventh.
Following the brief rain delay in the bottom of the seventh, Chase Shugart retired six consecutive Mets in the eighth and ninth to seal it.
Phillies owner John Middleton spent months planning to host the city’s first All-Star Game in 30 years. Now that it’s over, he joined Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to recap his most memorable moments from the week. He also discussed the upcoming trade deadline and Field of Dreams Game in Iowa, and the future of the top of the Phillies organizational masthead. Watch here. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Ryan Howard | Dan Baker | Ricky Bottalico | Preston Mattingly | Caleb Cotham | Larry Bowa | Joe Maddon | Rhys Hoskins | Terry Francona
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