Kyle Schwarber’s two home runs powered the Phillies to a 13-7 victory against the Cubs. Schwarber’s calm approach and readiness to hit the fastball proved decisive in the game at Citizens Bank Park.
Schwarber’s First Homer Ignites Phillies’ Offence
Schwarber’s first-inning homer jolted the Phillies’ offence. The team had struggled to score runs in consecutive innings since April 3. Schwarber took a first-pitch fastball for a strike before hitting a changeup 414 feet into centre field, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
“If you’re ready for a fastball, you’ve got a chance at the breaking ball and offspeed,” he said.
Phillies’ Offence Explodes After Slow Start
The Phillies had lost two consecutive series and fallen below .500. They squandered scoring opportunities. Bryce Harper critiqued the effort by saying, “Yeah, just bad baseball.”
Schwarber’s first-inning homer changed the momentum. The Phillies scored in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead. Schwarber then hit a two-run home run in the third to make it 4-0.
The Phillies continued to score, adding five runs in the fifth inning, three in the sixth, and one in the seventh. An offense that had scored runs in just six of their previous 62 innings had scored runs in six of the first seven against the Cubs.
“It’s awesome,” Schwarber said. “It’s fun. We love scoring runs. We love going out there. We love getting the job done. That’s why we show up. That’s why we play.”
Schwarber’s Mindset and Approach
Schwarber spoke about not wanting hitters to feel like they “badly need” a big inning or a big game. He believes this can push them to try to do something more than they can. Schwarber prefers to stay even keeled and maintain a routine. He believes this approach has worked in the past and will work in the future.
“The context of that,” Schwarber said, “is we always want to do it. We want to get that big hit. We always want to get the inning going, whatever it is. The meaning of that is, the more you really try to go out there and do that, the more that you might just expand, the more you might try to go out there and do too
Schwarber was ready to hit the fastball. “Just tried to ride it out for as long as I could,” Schwarber said, describing his approach to his first home run.
Schwarber’s pregame work paid off as he stepped into the batter’s box ready to hit. His first home run left his bat at 103.5 mph and sailed 414 feet.
The Phillies will hope to carry this offensive momentum forward after a slow start to the season.