Philly Leader

LOS ANGELES -- This is the season Kyle Schwarber envisioned for himself, but it might be better. He went 4-for-4 with three home runs and seven RBIs in Wednesday night’s 9-4 victory over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. He hit his 42nd career leadoff home run in the first inning, a two-run double in the fifth, a three-run homer in the sixth, and a solo homer in the ninth. Schwarber’s career-best night helped the Phillies win their first series since they swept Los Angeles at Citizens Bank Park on July 9-11.

The Phillies have won three of their last four games, an encouraging sign that they might be reaching the other side following a 3-14 stretch that ran through Saturday.

"I’m sure it’ll be in the memory, but I think the biggest thing is getting a series win against a quality opponent, heading into another big series in Arizona,” Schwarber said about his monster night. “Keeping the momentum on our side is going to be big."

Schwarber’s three homers and seven RBIs on Wednesday both tied career highs. He hit three homers for the Nationals in a game against the Mets on June 20, 2021. He had seven RBIs for the Cubs in a game against the Brewers on July 28, 2019. They are the most RBIs by a Phillies player since Carlos Ruiz had seven against the Braves in an 11-inning game on May 2, 2012. They are also the most RBIs by a Phillies player in a nine-inning game since Jayson Werth had eight against the Blue Jays on May 16, 2008.

"He was a one-man wrecking crew,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

"Really, really special,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “This guy can really hit.”

The Dodgers took a 4-1 lead in the second inning after several balls eluded Phillies defenders. However, rookie Tyler Phillips settled; Johan Rojas made his presence felt offensively and defensively after replacing Austin Hays, who left the game with left hamstring tightness while the bullpen tossed four scoreless innings.

There was a controversial obstruction call at third base in the sixth inning that benefitted the Phillies, who won three replay challenges on the night. Roberts was ejected after arguing about this call before more runs were added to expand their lead.

Nick Castellanos got upset at a 97.3 mph fastball that almost hit him in the face during the eighth inning. It struck his right hand instead and was wrapped up postgame.

"That’s a big miss,” Castellanos shouted at Dodgers reliever Michael Grove.

Matt Strahm hit Gavin Lux with a pitch later that inning but nothing developed from that point -- just some extra tension between teams that could meet again in postseason play.

"You’ve just got to remember your at-bats and how they attack you," Schwarber said. "Put it away if we face them again down the road.”

Schwarber is batting .261 with 27 home runs, 73 RBIs and an .894 OPS this season. Before Wednesday's game, Thomson discussed Schwarber's campaign.

He hit 47 homers last year but batted .197 and struck out 215 times -- his highest strikeout total ever.

The batting average and strikeouts bothered Schwarber so he worked on them.

"Just wanting to cut down on his strikeouts this year cleared up all of that,” Thomson said. "Now he’s staying on ball more consistently with two strikes which helps raise his average because he puts more balls into play."

Schwarber mentioned several goals during Spring Training including pulling fewer balls and being more aggressive early in counts compared to last season when he pulled balls at career-high rates (52%). This year he's reduced it slightly (49%).

Last year Schwarber led MLB hitting with two strikes (.104/.503 OPS) while without two strikes he batted significantly better (.352/1+OPS). This year despite being tied for twentieth overall plate appearances under such conditions (.157/.557 OPS), without those constraints he's performing well (.394/1+OPS).

"There are things you want accomplish," Schwarber said."But doing so requires work—that's name of game."