July 17, 2023

Kyle Schwarber made the weekend series a total nightmare for the Padres

Schwarber's bat kept the Phillies firmly within the NL Wild Card race and may have very well buried San Diego in the process.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

This past weekend brought maybe the craziest 36 hours of the Phillies' season – or at least the craziest so far.

A comeback and then a thrashing for a doubleheader sweep, then one more rally that required extras after a lengthy rain delay left the Phillies standing nine games above .500 by the end of it all, and with the San Diego Padres not able to get out of Philadelphia fast enough.

Seriously, Citizens Bank Park has become a nightmare for them to visit now, and you can shine a spotlight on multiple Phillies as a reason why.

Bryce Harper hit .462 through the four-game set and finally snapped his homer-less streak on Saturday night, Bryson Stott continued on as one of the toughest outs in the lineup, and Johan Rojas marked his MLB debut with a spectacular double play out in center field on Saturday afternoon and then a three-hit game in the nightcap for his first show of offense.

But if anyone punished the Padres more, it was Kyle Schwarber, who tagged them for three home runs through the weekend and the walk-off sac fly in Sunday's series finale.

At this point, Schwarber's batting average (.189) is never going to impress anyone, but his swing can shift momentum in an instant, and oh man did he do that multiple times throughout this series.

Like on Saturday afternoon, in the first of the doubleheader, when he launched a ball into Ashburn Alley to tie the game up in the seventh:

a Schwarbomb ties it up #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/RjQ0tyh9Hw
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 15, 2023

Or when he lined a single into center the very next inning to score Brandon Marsh from third and give the Phils a 5-4 lead:

Kyle Schwarber RBI Single pic.twitter.com/WfsyuJagZA
— BuenDeportes (@BuenDeportes) July 15, 2023

His three-run bomb in the fifth Saturday night that broke Game 2 of the doubleheader open for a Phillies route:

and then a SCHWARBOMB#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/CxcUnAdNni
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 16, 2023

Another on Sunday (solo shot) to cut the Padres' lead to one in the sixth:

25th Schwarbomb of the szn #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/jGOy43FbHh
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 16, 2023

And then the walk-off sac fly in the 12th that carried plenty deep enough for Edmundo Sosa to easily run home:

THE KYLE SCHWARBER WEEKEND #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/TSBR2XM3gx
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 17, 2023

You get the point by now. Whenever Schwarber was at the plate, San Diego was sweating bullets, likely with that 488-foot moonshot from the NLCS still burnt into the back of their minds.

And he made them pay.

Schwarber may be the ultimate boom-or-bust hitter, but during critical series like this one, when he connects on a ball, his bat is game-changing.

It contributed to a wild 36 hours, kept the Phillies firmly within the NL Wild Card race, and may have very well just buried San Diego in the process.

So while there's an argument for a number of players, "Who won the week in Philly sports" honors ultimately go to him.

*Honorable mention to Rojas though. That putout and throwout two batters into his first game was an incredible "Welcome to the Show" moment.