Schwarber’s 459-Foot Blast Caps Phillies’ Improbable Ninth-Inning Comeback

PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber could only smile as he surveyed the situation while heading to the plate Sunday in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tied game with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies had pieced together an unlikely rally from a four-run deficit in the home half of the ninth, and Schwarber was stepping in against Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien.

It was at that point that Schwarber shot a grinning glance at teammate Trea Turner.

“I’m just there chuckling, laughing and smiling with Trea (about) how we got to that point,” Schwarber said.

Schwarber then did his part. The slugger fought to a 2-2 count, then took a swing that even he couldn’t downplay. The shot over the Citizens Bank Park “batter’s eye” traveled an estimated 459 feet, good for his major league-leading 39th home run, and a rather incredible 6-4 Phillies victory, their ninth straight.

“Then when the ball came off the bat, I stood there and watched. It was a little bit of a shock that we were able to do that in that fashion,” Schwarber said. “But that’s why you keep playing. That’s why you play all the outs. Never give up, and keep fighting until the end.”

“It was awesome,” he said with a shrug. “Just a little bit of disbelief.”

The Comeback

The Phillies trailed 4-0 entering the bottom of the ninth, and the rally began with two outs. Bryce Harper led off the inning with a double and has now reached base safely in 25 straight games. Luis Arraez flied out to left field, and Brandon Marsh also flew out to left, leaving Harper at second with two outs.

J.T. Realmuto singled, putting runners on the corners. Justin Crawford walked to load the bases. Edmundo Sosa then delivered a bases-clearing triple, cutting the deficit to one. Bryan De La Cruz followed with a single to tie the game at 4-4, setting the stage for Schwarber.

Schwarber had joked to Turner before Sosa’s at-bat that Sosa would hit a grand slam. As Sosa’s triple cleared the bases, Schwarber felt the energy of the remaining 42,610 fans at Citizens Bank Park.

“You go on deck, and you can feel the energy, you can feel it all,” Schwarber said. “You see the fans getting into it. You see the tape from the two-strike slider from De La (Cruz) and they’re all (the dugout) is into it. And then bang, big hit, and the energy just kept going from there.”

The Walk-Off

Schwarber’s home run was the Phillies’ first walk-off win by home run since he accomplished the feat on July 9, 2023, against the Dodgers. (One version of the account says June 9, 2023, but the July 9 date appears in the main report.) The blast came on a 98-mph sinker from O’Brien, who remained in the game after a mound visit by manager Oli Marmol.

Schwarber said he and four teammates all had two strikes during their two-out at-bats in the ninth. The Phillies were down to their final strike nine times in the inning, according to one account.

“I’m just thinking of trying to move it on to the next guy,” Schwarber said. “Trying to get it to Trea somehow and just try to shrink the zone. I got a sinker up.”

The comeback was described as one of the greatest in the ballpark’s 22-year history.

Streak and Division Race

The victory was the Phillies’ ninth straight, a season-high winning streak. The team is 16-5 in August with the best win percentage in baseball at .762.

In the NL East, the Phillies were 2 1/2 games back of the Braves before Sunday night’s game, pending Atlanta’s matchup with Milwaukee. They were eight games back on August 1, according to one account, though another account said three games back entering the day. The discrepancy may reflect different points of reference.

“I feel like it’s a lot of really good baseball, complete baseball,” Schwarber said. “It’s not like we’re out there just ju— (swinging for the fences).”

Quotes and Reactions

Sosa said: “We’re a winning team, we’re the Phillies, and when we’re late in the game we never stop fighting.”

Manager Don Mattingly commented that the team has good at-bats and a fighting spirit.

Schwarber’s final words captured the mood: “Full of jubilation, full of joy, all Schwarber could do was…” (the quote was cut off in the original report).

The Phillies will look to extend their streak as they continue their push toward the postseason.