Phillies’ Schwarber homers again at Petco
SAN DIEGO – Kyle Schwarber hit another long home run at Petco Park and Trea Turner and Edmundo Sosa also connected for the Philadelphia Phillies, who beat the Padres 9-7 on Monday in their first visit to San Diego since the NL Championship Series.
Schwarber connected for his 40th of the season leading off the fifth inning against rookie Matt Waldron, watching the ball for just a moment to make sure it stayed fair before beginning his trot as the drive sailed several rows deep for a 9-4 lead. Schwarber raised his right arm as his teammates celebrated in the dugout. This is his second straight 40-homer season. He led the NL with 46 last year.
“I’ve always been a guy who hit home runs,” Schwarber said. “I got to 30 a couple times before and last year had a chance to have pretty much a healthy full season and got to go out there and play every day and was able to get to 40. It’s a cool accomplishment to be able to do it again this year. I think the more important thing is to keep helping the team win. We’re in a pretty good position but we’ve got to keep pushing to the very end.”
Schwarber hit a jaw-dropping, 488foot homer into the second deck in right field in Game 1 of the NLCS last year, which the Phillies won 2-0. They won the series in five games and then took three of four from the Padres in Philadelphia right after the All-Star break.
“I don’t think many things will compare to postseason home runs,” Schwarber said.
The Phillies have homered in 17 straight games. Schwarber reached base five times, including three walks, and scored three times. Bryson Stott had four hits and Alec Bohm three, including a three-run double in the first.
Manager Rob Thomson said Schwarber’s consecutive 40-homer seasons are “really impressive, and then once you factor in all the walks he’s had in that leadoff spot to give us opportunities to score runs, it’s been really fun to watch for the last year and three-quarters.”
Philadelphia denied the Padres their first four-game winning streak this season. The wildly inconsistent Padres remain the only team in the majors without a winning streak longer than three games.