What’s the best way to start a baseball game? Hitting a home run on the 2nd pitch is pretty great. Do you know what’s better? Hitting your 14th leadoff homer of the season and setting a new MLB record has to be the best. The Phillies’ leadoff hitter accomplished that very feat to start tonight’s ballgame.
Kyle Schwarber‘s 1st inning 437-foot blast passed Alfonso Soriano for the most leadoff home runs in a single season.
Short-Lived Celebration
With 2 outs in the bottom of the 4th, Kyle Schwarber was pinch hit for by Buddy Kennedy. The Phillies later announced he was removed with left elbow discomfort and would be further evaluated.
“We’re calling it a left elbow contusion,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson postgame. “It’s kind of a little bit of a hyperextension when he went back to the base on the backpick.” He’s day-to-day, but I’m going to put him in the lineup tonight and see where he’s at tomorrow.”
Thomson said that Schwarber’s swing didn’t look right in the cage, and that’s why he was removed.
The Rest of the Game
The Tampa Bay Rays quickly responded in the 2nd. Three singles gave the Rays a single run to tie the game. Jose Caballero‘s single drove the run-in.
The Phillies answered back in the bottom of the inning. After a Brandon Marsh 1-out single, Johan Rojas launched a double to right field. A Josh Lowe error allowed Marsh to score and Rojas to get to 3B. 2-1 Phillies.
Again, the Rays tied it up almost immediately. Yandy Diaz drove in Jonathan Aranda after a leadoff double. The Rays had another single in the inning, but Ranger Suarez stopped the bleeding there.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Kyle Schwarber worked out a walk to bring up Trea Turner. Turner responded by hitting his 17th homer of the season, making the score 4-2. Bryce Harper added a hustle double, but he was stranded at 2B.
Another three singles in the 5th led to another run for the Rays. Junior Caminero‘s single moved the score to 4-3. Ranger had given up 10 hits by the end of the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, Bryce Harper looked as if he finally hit a home run again. Alas, it was ruled fan interference, and he was placed on 2B. Coming into the game, Harper hadn’t hit a homer in his last 27 games. He was again stranded at 2nd.
Ranger stayed in the game for the 6th but gave up 2 more hits and the lead. A Christopher Morel triple-tied the game at 4 all. With 1 out and runners at 1st and 3rd, Orion Kerkering was called upon to put out the fire. He did it by striking out Diaz and inducing a soft grounder that Garrett Stubbs rocketed to 1B.
Ranger’s 12 hits allowed were the most in his career. All four of the runs were earned.
Phillies Fight in 8th
The bottom of the 8th started off with some of the worst luck possible. Bryson Stott smoked a ball 100.7 MPH down the first base line. It should’ve gone for extra bases, but 1B umpire John Bacon inadvertently kicked the ball back to Jonathan Aranda for the out.
While the inning began badly, by the end the Phillies had a 5-run lead. After a Marsh walk (against a lefty), Kody Clemens hit a double to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Once the lefty Richard Lovelady exited the game, Rob Thomson called on Cal Stevenson to pinch hit for Rojas. He hit a double on a liner to right field, clearing the bases.
Fan favorite Buddy Kennedy singled to drive home Stevenson. The Phillies faithful went bananas for the RBI single. Speaking of bananas, the crowd didn’t have much time to calm down as Trea Turner blasted his 2nd homer of the night. After Harper’s 3rd double, Edwin Uceta hit Nick Castellanos in the hip, leading to a bench-clearing event.
After some jabber jawing and posturing, Uceta was tossed from the game, and the benches were warned. Stott struck out to end the inning he started.
Tanner Banks was called upon for mop-up duty. He did make things interesting as he loaded the bases with 2 outs on 2 walks and a single. He got Dylan Carlson to fly out to end the game.
Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
