PHOENIX — Kyle Schwarber set the tone early in the Phillies’ 15-3 win on Tuesday night. Less than 24 hours after Kody Clemens hit a long shot that landed just foul, Schwarber hit a ball towards that same foul pole, that landed fair. It traveled 450 feet, marking the longest home run of the year for any Phillies player to date.
It was Schwarber’s 18th home run of the year. The Phillies didn’t stop piling on there. Trea Turner walked, stole second base, and scored on a Nick Castellanos double. Bryce Harper flied out, and J.T. Realmuto reached base on a throwing error by third baseman Emmanuel Rivera to score Castellanos. Bryson Stott reached base with a single, and Alec Bohm hit an RBI ground out to score Realmuto.
By the end of the first inning, the Phillies had four runs on just three hits. By the end of the third inning, they had six runs. By the end of the fifth, they had seven runs, and by the end of the night, they had scored 15 runs on 20 hits with five walks. Their run total tied their highest for the season (they also scored 15 on April 10 at home against Miami). It was their fifth double-digit win of the season. They’ve scored 25 runs over their last three games.
Every Phillie — except Garrett Stubbs — had at least one hit on Tuesday night. Seven of their starting nine had multiple hits. It was an encouraging showing from a team that was built to slug but has looked dormant at times.
Also encouraging was the fact that Phillies were capitalizing on the Diamondbacks’ mistakes. This isn’t a defensively sloppy team. Entering Tuesday night, they had committed only 23 errors this season, the fewest in baseball. But they committed another on Tuesday, when Rivera’s throw sailed over first baseman Christian Walker’s head.
They committed another mistake when Clemens hit a fly ball with one out in the third inning that was caught by Corbin Carroll, who jogged forward for it as his cap fell off. Carroll thought there were already two outs and he’d just made the third, so he turned back to grab his cap. Realmuto, who was on third base, took off running and scored. It was ruled a sacrifice fly, and Diamondbacks starter Zach Davies was charged with a hit.
The Phillies, conversely, played clean baseball. They committed no errors. Starter Zack Wheeler gave them six innings of four hit, one run, one walk ball with seven strikeouts against a tough opponent. The Diamondbacks rank fifth in baseball in OPS (.767) and slugging percentage (.440) and third in batting average (.265).
Manager Rob Thomson had to use only one reliever after him: Luis Ortiz, who pitched a three-inning save, allowing four hits, two earned run and one home run. By the end of the night, the Diamondbacks had a position player pitching — which is how the Phillies prefer it.
