Kyle Schwarber jump-starts Phillies’ offense in win over Nationals
PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber, down in the count 0-2, was a bit out in front of Jake Irvin’s curveball, but it didn’t matter as the pitch landed 394 feet from home plate, giving the Phillies an early three-run lead in their eventual 7-2 victory over the Nationals on Wednesday night.
Schwarber’s first-inning jack was his second in as many nights; it was his ninth homer of the year.
Since joining the Phillies, Schwarber has become a Nationals killer. His home run on Wednesday was his 21st against Washington as a member of the Phillies. So far this year, Schwarber is 7-for-20 with four home runs and nine RBIs in five games versus the Nats.
The Phillies’ designated hitter jump-started his club’s offense. The Phillies scored their seven runs on 10 hits.
Bryson Stott, who finished the night 2-for-5 with a run and a stolen base, singled home a run in the fourth inning. Nick Castellanos chopped a single through the middle with Washington’s infield playing in an inning later, giving the Phillies a 5-2 lead; Bryce Harper scored on the play after advancing to third an at-bat earlier on a Schwarber groundout to first base.
The Phillies weren’t done there. Schwarber’s was just one of three home runs on the night for Rob Thomson’s club.
Max Kepler stepped to the plate to begin the top of the sixth with Irvin still pitching. The Nationals starter left a high-80s fastball center-cut. Kepler didn’t miss. He pulled the ball into the right-field seats, expanding the Phillies’ cushion to four runs.
Two innings later, J.T. Realmuto hit his own leadoff home run. After working a 2-2 count, Realmuto sent an Eduardo Salazar slider into the seats for his second home run of the year.
On the mound, Cristopher Sánchez looked healthy, tossing five innings of two-run ball, with his velocity sitting where it has so far this year.
The Phillies (17-13) have now won four straight games. They’ll look to go for the sweep of the Nationals on Thursday.