Phillies lose series to Guardians despite two-homer day from Kyle Schwarber
MLB.com
The Phillies on Sunday handed out ‘Schwarbomb’ beach towels to children 14 and under. There were plenty of towels and Schwarbombs to go around. But, it was not enough as the Phillies continued to struggle.
They fell 4-3 to the Guardians, losing their eighth game in their last 12, and lost their fourth straight series. The last series the Phillies won was when they swept the Dodgers before the All-Star break.
The Phils got off to a good start, though. 24-year-old left-hander Joey Cantillo made his Major League debut in front of a sold-out, 43,845, crowd at Citizens Bank Park. On his third pitch, Kyle Schwarber took him deep to left-center field.
But wait, there is more.
Schwarber went deep again off of Cantillo in his second at-bat. He left a 2-2 slider over the plate, and Schwarber smoked it 110.1 mph to right field for a two-run homer, making it 3-0 Phillies.
Schwarber entered Sunday’s game hitting .336/.450/.536 with a .985 OPS against left-handed pitching this season. Compare that to his career stats against southpaws — .222/.338/.403, .740 OPS — and this difference is astounding. He is in a groove right now. It feels like June.
The game got tied up on a three-run home run by Jhonkensy Noel to the last row in left-center field. Those were the only runs allowed by Kolby Allard, who made his Phillies debut filling in for Ranger Suarez who hit the 15-day injured list Saturday.
Allard went four innings allowing six hits, three earned runs, no walks, and a homer with one strikeout.
In the bottom of the fourth, Cade Smith entered the tied game with two runners on to face Schwarber and Trea Turner. It was a big opportunity for the Phils to retake the lead but were unable to do so as they both struck out to end the inning.
Then the Phillies’ offense went silent. They could not do anything against Cleveland’s bullpen, which is one of the best in baseball.
In the top of the seventh, Jose Alvarado entered the game and recorded the first two outs. Then the lineup flipped over, and Steven Kwan headed to the dish. Alvarado threw a 1-0 sinker inside, and Kwan turned on it, hitting over the right field fence to take a 4-3 lead. Kawn then flew around the bases, taking just 18 seconds to touch them all, and Alvarado continued to struggle.
The Phillies had another opportunity in the seventh with two runners on, but three measly pop-ups to right did not cut it, with Nick Castellanos ending the frame. They then went down in order in the eighth and ninth to end it.
Turner, Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Castellanos, and newly acquired Austin Hays went a combined 0-for-18. The last non-homer Phillies run came on Wednesday. Every run scored in this series was via the long ball. That is not going to cut it.
The Phils welcome in the Yankees for a three-game series beginning Monday in South Philadelphia.
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