Kyle Schwarber is pounding post-season homers at such a rate that he fits right in with Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson.
The tattooed slugger is doing it all while powering the Philadelphia Phillies toward a chance for the franchise’s first World Series championship since 2008.
“If you want to get paid, win baseball games,” he said on Tuesday. “That goes a long way.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
So do his “Schwarbombs” — especially in October.
Schwarber hit two of Philadelphia’s three solo homers off Merrill Kelly, and the sweet-swinging Phillies pounded the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-0 on Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).
Trea Turner also connected and J.T. Realmuto had two hits and three RBIs as Philadelphia improved to 7-1 in the playoffs, moving closer to a second straight World Series appearance. Aaron Nola tossed three-hit ball and struck out seven in six innings.
Game 3 is today at Chase Field. The Texas Rangers also held a 2-0 lead over the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series headed into yesterday’s game.
“I think this is kind of the lineup that we envisioned ourselves having all season long,” Realmuto said. “I just think that we’re clicking at the right time right now.”
It was another noisy night in Philly as Kelly was roasted after saying fans at Citizens Bank Park could not possibly be any louder than the ones he heard cheering for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
Not just any Classic game — the one in May when Turner hit a grand slam for the US that lifted them into the tournament’s semi-finals.
“I haven’t obviously heard this place on the field, but I would be very surprised if it trumped that [World Baseball Classic] game down in Miami,” Kelly said ahead of Game 1.
As the kids say, challenge accepted.
Kelly, a 12-game winner this season, was voraciously booed from pregame introductions to his walk to the mound, a sort of we-will-show-you vibe from 45,412 Phillies diehards determined to shake the ballpark.
It was “AC/DC concert level” loud, Turner said of the crowd before Game 2.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said a rival coach told him last season that a playoff game in Philly was “four hours of hell,” and Turner sent a charge through the delirious crowd when he clocked a four-seam fastball to left-center field for a 1-0 lead in the first.
“It was definitely loud,” Turner said.
Kelly said his comments were taken out of context and “made into something more than it should have been.”
“I knew it from the start that the energy was going to be loud,” he said. “I knew these fans bring a ton of energy.”
Boisterous fans are great. So is the long ball. Schwarber’s homers in the third and sixth were Philadelphia’s 14th and 15th homers in its past four games as the Phillies continue to mash their way through October.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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