Schwarber's walkoff HR sends Phillies past Dodgers for sixth straight win
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a tiebreaking home run with two outs in the ninth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 on Friday night for their season-high sixth straight win.
Nick Castellanos, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner also drove in runs for the defending NL champion Phillies, who pulled within a game of .500.
Schwarber drove an 87-mph cutter on a 1-1 pitch from Caleb Ferguson (3-2) into the seats in right field to end the game. It was his 17th home run of the season.
“Obviously, a very good feeling when you put a swing that wins a game,” Schwarber said. “You want to be in those spots. It brings you back to when you were a kid. When you round the bases in a full stadium, that’s what you live for.”
Ferguson said: “Big moment, really good hitter -- one bad pitch and he didn’t miss it.”
The Phillies doused Schwarber with water during a raucous celebration at home plate, and Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh dumped a large ice water jug over his head during a postgame interview. It’s starting to feel like 2022 all over again for the Phillies, who struggled during the first two months of the season.
“We’re certainly playing better baseball right now than we were early in the season,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said. “Just have to stay consistent and get after it.”
Schwarber just needed the calendar to flip to June. The slugger had 12 homers in 27 games last June and now has four in eight games this month.
“To watch him hit is incredible,” Phillies starter Ranger Suárez said through an interpreter.
Gregory Soto (2-4) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, retiring Mookie Betts and striking out Freddie Freeman for the final two outs.
Betts and Freeman each went deep for the Dodgers, who have dropped five of six.
“It’s tough," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "It stings. A loss is a loss, but when you feel like you’re in it and you get walked off, that never feels good. This is a resilient team. We’ve got to keep going. Right now, you can kind of poke holes in what we could have done different tonight, but the fact remains that we lost tonight, we got walked off. We’ve got to flush it and try to win a ballgame tomorrow.”
The Dodgers took advantage of Suárez’s departure by scoring three runs in the seventh off Matt Strahm to tie it at 4. Betts crushed a two-out, two-run shot to left, his 17th of the season, on an 82-mph slider. Freeman followed with a drive over the wall in left-center.
The power-hitting Dodgers entered leading the NL in runs, homers and extra-base hits.
Suárez retired his final nine batters, striking out five. The lefty departed after allowing one run and four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in six innings.
“He was really sharp,” Thomson said.
After Dodgers lefty reliever Victor González faced the first three Phillies, Michael Grove came on and pitched four innings and gave up four runs and seven hits.
Harper’s RBI single in the third tied it at 1. The Phillies scored three in the fifth, on Castellanos’ RBI double to left-center, a wild pitch that brought home Schwarber and Turner’s RBI single to left-center.
ROCKET RETURN?
Roger Clemens threw batting practice to some Phillies hitters prior to the contest. The seven-time Cy Young winner is in town this week to watch his son, Kody, play. Kody Clemens hit a walkoff single in Philadelphia’s 3-2 victory over Detroit on Thursday night and made a stellar grab of Max Muncy’s liner to first in the sixth inning on Friday.
Schwarber was among those who batted against Clemens. He twice went deep against Clemens, who also got a swing and miss on a splitter.
“It’s the Rocket,” Schwarber said. “One of the greats of the game. Little competition, little smack talk, but also respect.”
Schwarber told Kody Clemens to relay a message to Roger Clemens to ice his arm and be ready to throw B.P. prior to Saturday’s game.
HONORING ALLEN
The Phillies honored Dick Allen during a pregame ceremony. A seven-time All-Star, Allen played nine of his 15 seasons in Philadelphia, where he won the Rookie of the Year award in 1964.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: SS Miguel Rojas (neck) was back in the lineup after sitting out Thursday’s 6-0 win over the Reds.
Phillies: LHP José Alvarado (left elbow inflammation) was activated before Friday’s game. Alvarado had been out since May 8. To make room for Alvarado on the 26-man roster, right-handed pitcher Connor Brogdon was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The lefty pitched a scoreless eighth inning. … RHP Nick Nelson (left hamstring strain) gave up two runs in three innings during a rehab start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday.
UP NEXT
Dodgers RHP Bobby Miller (2-0, 1.06) opposes Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (5-4, 4.30) in the second contest of the three-game series on Saturday.
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