In grand fashion, the Philadelphia Phillies found a way to even their series with the Los Angeles Angels.
Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper went deep as the Phillies defeated the Angels 9-5 Saturday evening. Schwarber hit the eighth grand slam of his career while reliever Seth Johnson picked up the win for the Phillies. After trailing early, the Phillies’ offense proved to have the spark everyone was looking for.
Double plays all around
In the first inning, each team ended up in double-play scenarios. First, after a leadoff single from Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel hit a grounder directly to Bryce Harper, who was playing the first baseline. Harper immediately tagged first and threw to Trea Turner, who was covering second base. The resulting 3-6-3 rundown ended up with Neto getting tagged out at first, shutting down a potential offensive inning for the Angels.
Trea Turner worked a leadoff walk before advancing to third on a double from Kyle Schwarber in the bottom half of the inning. Bryce Harper then hit a full-count slider from Kikuchi up the middle to Angels’ second baseman Luis Rengifo. Rengifo popped up and fired to home immediately, stopping Turner, who had broken for home, dead in his tracks halfway down the third base line. Turner retreated to third, giving Harper time to reach first safely. Schwarber, however, had already nearly been to third base and began running back to second. Catcher Travis d’Arnaudo threw to Neto, the shortstop, who proceeded to tag Schwarber.
But that wasn’t the end of the play as Turner then decided to break away for home. Neto charged Turner as d’Arnaud returned to the plate. The ensuing rundown to get Turner went 6-2-5, closing out a 4-2-6-5 double play.
Harper, who ended up at second base on the play, later scored on an RBI single from Nick Castellanos. The RBI was the 900th of Castellanos’ career and the 306th in a Phillies’ uniform.
Walker allowed the first two runners on base to start the second inning as well. D’Arnaud found himself on the receiving end of a double play as he hit into the more conventional 6-4-3 double play to get himself and Yoan Moncada out.
Back-to-back shots give Angels the lead
Picking up in the fourth inning, Walker struck out Mike Trout to start the inning. Then, Taylor Ward and Jo Adell hit back-to-back solo home runs off Walker to steal the lead from the Phillies. Ward’s home run was the 100th of his Major League career, while Adell’s was his second in as many days.
The Angels were not done that inning, however, as Moncada singled in the next at-bat. After d’Arnaud struck out, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Rengifo hit back-to-back singles, loading the bases for the Angels. Had it not been for a strong throw from Rojas on Rengifo’s single, Moncada likely would have scored from third on the play, instead retreating to third. Four pitches later, Rengifo scored on a single from Neto.
With the bases loaded, Nolan Schanuel took a slider from Walker into right field. Castellanos made a sliding catch on the play to stop the bleeding as the Angels took a 3-1 lead on the Phillies.
Walker’s day ended after four innings, having allowed three runs on nine hits. He struck out four Angels batters, pitching 70 pitches on the night. His ERA elevated from 3.55 to 3.75 following the outing.
“It’s funny because kind of the same thing happened to Luzardo last night,” manager Rob Thomson said post-game regarding Walker’s performance. “And it was right around the fourth or fifth inning. I thought Tai executed, you know, he was ahead in the count. Strike-to-ball ratio was really good. And he executes some pitches and, you know, Adell hits that ball out the ballpark and it’s well below the zone. I guess they make good adjustments.”
Exchanging blows
Rojas worked a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth as the Phillies attempted to get back into the game. After a pitch got lodged in the gear of catcher d’Arnaud, Rojas was awarded second base on what was ruled a wild pitch from Kikuchi. With a runner in scoring position, Turner slung a single up the middle, scoring Rojas to cut into the Angels’ lead.
The Angels, however, would regain the run very quickly as Moncada hit a solo home run, the Angels’ third of the day. Seth Johnson, who entered for Daniel Robert in the sixth, hung a curveball high and inside against Moncada.
Schwarberfest continues
Angels’ reliever Sam Bachman allowed a leadoff single to J.T. Realmuto to kick off the bottom of the sixth. He then hit Otto Kemp, putting two runners on base for the Phillies. After a strikeout from Sosa, Brandon Marsh worked a walk to load the bases with one out.
José Fermin then came on to pitch for the Angels. On the first pitch, Rojas lined a ball into left field for a sacrifice fly, scoring Realmuto. With a full count and two runners on, Turner worked a walk to reload the bases.
Enter Kyle Schwarber. In true Red October style, Schwarber smacked a fastball 390 feet into center field for a grand slam, the eighth of his career, bursting open the game for the Phillies.
Schwarber, the 2025 All-Star Game MVP, has now hit a home run in both games since slugging three home runs in the swing-off Tuesday night. He has now hit 32 home runs on the season with 74 runs batted in.
Bryce Harper checks in
Schwarber then worked a two-out walk in the bottom of the eighth to put a spare runner on for the Phillies.
Not wanting to be outdone by his teammate, Bryce Harper stepped up to the plate and slugged a home run of his own into center field, increasing the Phillies’ lead to 9-5.
Schwarber had tied with Harper for the 14th-most home runs in Phillies’ history at 163, but Harper’s 164th regains the lead for him. Willie Jones is 13th in Phillies’ history with 180 home runs.
“Harp does energize the group when he’s rolling,” said Thomson. “So does Schwarber.”
The Bullpen takes it home
Over the past two days, the Phillies have relied heavily on their bullpen. Today, they came through. Seth Johnson and Orion Kerkering allowed one run apiece while Daniel Robert, Tanner Banks, and Matt Strahm each pitched scoreless innings.
Overall on the night, Phillies’ relievers combined to pitch 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out eight Angels’ batters. Seth Johnson earned the win for the Phillies, the first of his career, allowing one run on a solo home run and striking out two in the sixth.
Production all around the lineup
On a night where the Phillies lost a key piece to their lineup in Alec Bohm, the Phillies put together a nine-run day with Schwarber, Harper, and Castellanos each getting two hits on the day.
After the game, Thomson described that the whole team will need to step up in light of Bohm’s injury, and that great steps were made in that direction on the night.
“Even though our bottom three hitters didn’t get any hits tonight, they did a lot of good things,” described Thomson. “They walked. Marsh hit the ball right on the nose. Rojas gets the sac fly. But other guys got to pick it up. And that’s usually what this team does.”
Closing it out on Sunday
The Phillies return to action on Sunday for a 1:35 p.m. matinee. Ranger Suárez will face off against Jose Soriano with the first series of the second half on the line.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
