How quickly can momentum change? In the case of the Philadelphia Phillies, very.
Thursday’s contest at Citizens Bank Park began on a similar downward trajectory from their previous few days. Aaron Nola struggled in the first inning, allowing three runs to score and needing 37 pitches to get through the inning. After a five-pitch fly-out from Trea Turner to start the bottom of the first, things changed. Kyle Schwarber stepped up to the plate. The rest, as the saying goes, was history.
And a lot of history was made.
For Schwarber, he became the 21st player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a single contest, and the fourth Phillies batter to do so. Schwarber is now one home run shy of 50 on the season and is beginning to make his run at the Phillies’ all-time single-season home run record of 58 set in 2006.
Aaron Nola, meanwhile, moved up the list to third in team history with 1,845 career strikeouts, surpassing Cole Hamels.
As a team, the Phillies also tied the franchise record for most home runs in a single game with seven, originally set in 1998 and tied in 2018 and 2021.
Now, as the dust settles and the powder blue jerseys are sent to the wash for another day, the Phillies will look to build upon last night’s offensive explosion in game two of their series against the Atlanta Braves.
“They just keep moving forward,” Rob Thomson said following their victory Thursday night. “And that’s what you got to do.”
Respecting your Elders
As the Phillies look to move forward, they will seek to get to Bryce Elder all the same under the Friday Night lights on Apple TV+. Elder, 26, has struggled in his fourth season with the Braves, pitching a 6.12 ERA over 22 starts. The last time the Phillies faced Elder was on June 27, when Elder couldn’t record an out in the third inning, allowing 10 runs.
Though he watched Thursday night’s extracurriculars from the dugout, Nick Castellanos will be in the lineup today per Rob Thomson. Castellanos slugged a three-run home run off Elder in June and owns a .429 career average against him.
Trea Turner also slugged a home run off Elder in June. The Phillies’ leadoff hitter went 2-for-4 with two runs scored last night and will look to build upon his success against Elder. Additionally, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm will both look to extend their current hitting streaks to 12 games each.
The Citizens Bank Park Ranger checks in
Ranger Suárez, the reigning National League Player of the Week, will take the mound for the Phillies against Elder. Suárez reached double-digit strikeouts in each of his last two starts, signaling a turning point in what had been a suboptimal second half. Suárez holds a 3.07 ERA on the year and is 29.1 innings away from reaching his career-high in innings pitched at 155.1.
Suárez has pitched well against the Braves on his career, keeping top performers like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson in check. Jurickson Profar is the main problem child historically for Suárez, owning a .357 average against him.
It’s streaming time for the Phillies
Fans will be able to watch tonight’s 6:45 p.m. start on Apple TV+. For any fans that do not currently have an Apple TV+ subscription, you can sign up for a free seven-day trial here. Keep in mind that the monthly subscription rate is $12.99 per month after those seven days. This is the Phillies’ last scheduled app-exclusive (Apple TV+, Roku, etc.) broadcast this season.
