Kyle Schwarber ended the Phillies’ unlikely three-year drought
Kyle Schwarber’s walkoff home run against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, Aug. 23 wasn’t just his first since June 9, 2023. It was the first by any Phillies player over that span.
Schwarber’s two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth inning against Cardinals pitcher Riley O’Brien lifted the Phillies to a 6-4 win over the Cardinals. It also ended a nearly unfathomable drought for a team with no shortage of home run hitters.
Only four teams — the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, and New York Mets — have hit more home runs than the Phillies since Schwarber’s last walkoff. Somehow, none of of them ended a game. The other 29 teams at least had one, and four teams had at least 10, according to researcher Paul Casella.
Schwarber picked an even less likely time to break the drought.
The Phillies had a 0.4 percent chance to win according to ESPN, when they trailed the Cardinals 4-0 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and a closer, Riley O’Brien, on the mound.
More news: Former Yankees Shortstop, 11-Year MLB Veteran Announces Retirement
Philadelphia had only four hits entering the ninth inning. Bryce Harper doubled to lead off the frame. Then with two outs, the Phillies rattled off four straight hits and a walk.
Edmundo Sosa drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double. Bryan De La Cruz’s single tied the game 4-4 before Schwarber won it with his MLB-leading 39th home run of 2026.
More news: Former Yankees Pitcher Who Became Famous for Surgery Success Dies
The Phillies had not beaten the Cardinals with a home run in their final at-bat since Carlos Ruiz did so on May 4, 2010.
Coincidentally, the Phillies kicked off their 2022 postseason run to the World Series by scoring six runs in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals to win a National League wild card game at Busch Stadium.
More news: Former Mets Outfielder Dies
“It’s awesome,” Schwarber said after the game. “Think about (Harper) starts off the inning, and from that point on we got to two outs and I think J.T. (Realmuto) got to two strikes, Sosa … two strikes, and De La (Cruz) … two strikes.
“That’s why you play all the outs, right? You’re in it ’til you’re not.”
For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports
