David SchoenfieldESPN Senior Writer Oct 18, 2023, 1:08am ET5 minutes read
Kyle Schwarber takes Merrill Kelly deep twice
Kyle Schwarber hits two home runs against Merrill Kelly, extending the Phillies’ lead over the Diamondbacks.
PHILADELPHIA – In Philadelphia, everyone calls this month Red October.
The exact definition is a bit unclear, but let’s stick with one: It means home runs – lots of home runs. Lots of loud home runs, the decibel level rising when the home fans notice the ball flying over the outfield fence.
Kyle Schwarber scored two of those blasts in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 10-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Trea Turner added a third and the Phillies scored a string of runs late in the game to stay two wins away from returning to the World Series to have removed series. Schwarber’s first multihomer game of his postseason career gave him 18 postseason home runs – as many as Reggie Jackson has ever had for a left-handed batter.
For the Phillies, Red October’s momentum continued as they hit 15 home runs in four games, the most in a four-game span in postseason history.
Once again, they enjoyed four-seam fastballs. After the Phillies hit three home runs on fastballs from Zac Gallen in Game 1, Turner’s first-inning blast against Merrill Kelly was a four-seamer, as was Schwarber’s shot in the third inning, which landed in the first row of seats above the scoreboard in right field. His second home run, after a Kelly changeup, was a more conventional swarm bomb: 427 feet to right-center with an exit velocity of 108.5 mph.
Schwarber is one of the most unusual leadoff hitters in major league history. He hit .197 that season. He led the majors in strikeouts. He didn’t steal a base. But he hits home runs — 47 of them in the regular season — and draws walks, and the Phillies have thrived since he took over as manager in early June. The Phillies were 25-31 on June 2 when manager Rob Thomson Schwarber started at the helm, hitting .160 – as he did in every game he played the rest of the season. The Phillies, who were 24th in the majors in scoring through June 1, climbed to fifth place after the move. Including the postseason, the Phillies are 70-42 since June 2 with Schwarber leading the way.
“As a catcher, I know what the opposing pitcher and catcher are thinking about all day before a game, even the night before,” Phillies backstop JT Realmuto said. “They worry about the first strike, they worry about the first pitch. You are scared. I know when we will compete against each other.” [Ronald Acuna Jr.] or [Corbin] Carroll over there, if they can do damage from the first pitch, that’s a very uncomfortable feeling, and Schwarbs is the best at making the opposing pitcher uncomfortable before the game starts. As a pitcher, that’s no fun. He is the best in the game and sets the tone for our offense.
Thomson’s move marked a return for the Phillies to last October, when Schwarber batted leadoff in every game and hit six home runs – three in the NLCS and three in the World Series. It may be unconventional, but it works.
“Well, that was June-Schwarber, as they say around here,” Thomson said. “I think we were struggling at the time and it was time to make a little change. And that was a recipe last year with Schwarber at the helm, and it just clicked and we started winning. We started scoring runs and Schwarb got hot.”
“I had a lot of attacks there,” Schwarber said. “Don’t get me wrong, I did it badly. I’ve tried a lot. It’s more about making it your own. You have this idea. I’ve always said I had one of the best.” Dexter Fowler is the leadoff hitter, and I was able to see that for a long time when I was in Chicago.
Schwarber learned that he had to play his game.
“I have one eye, I can run, speed is definitely required,” he joked. “I take that idea away and just make it my own. I’ve felt pretty comfortable there the last three years and it suits our lineup.”
By equaling Jackson’s mark, Schwarber had an advantage with an additional playoff round. But he got his 18 points in 60 games; Jackson needed 77.
The Phillies are now hitting .284/.366/.575 as a team in the postseason – and they’re not throwing in a lot of cheap home runs, either. Turner’s first-inning shot was 421 feet and 13 of his 19 home runs were over 400 feet. They only missed three others in Tuesday’s game, as Alec Bohm flew to the wall in deep center field, Bryce Harper flew to the wall in left and Jake Cave hit a double off the wall in center as a pinch hitter in the eighth. In total, the Phillies hit 14 balls in the game at speeds over 95 mph and nine at speeds over 100 mph, among their highest totals of 2023.
Teams that outscore their opponents are now 17-2 this postseason. The Diamondbacks need to find a way to discover their slug like they did against the Los Angeles Dodgers when they hit nine home runs in three games.
“It’s like having a team full of threes against someone who can only shoot twos,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It happens quickly and it builds up quickly. But we are designed to beat you in many different ways. We are designed to compete in many different ways every night. Whatever recipe we can order, we’ll try to find a way.