Phillies Crush Mets 15-3 Behind Schwarber’s Monster Night and Harper’s First Career Cycle
Jun 20, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) reacts with infielder Bryce Harper (3) after hitting a home run against the New York Mets in the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
The Phillies scored their season-high 15 runs, with eight coming in one inning, making easy work of the Mets in a 15-3 throttling in front of the national TV audience.
After a day off to accommodate the World Cup match, the Phillies looked to take the series at home from their division rivals, the New York Mets. The Phils would send their ace, Cristopher Sanchez, taking on Freddy Peralta.
The Phils got the scoring started early with Bryce Harper hitting a solo shot in the first inning. In the next inning, the Phils got another run when J.T. Realmuto doubled home Alec Bohm, and Justin Crawford doubled home Realmuto, making the game 3-0.
In the third, the Phillies had their best inning so far this season. They scored eight runs, which was punctuated by two 450-foot home runs by Kyle Schwarber in the inning, accounting for four of those runs.
Mark Vientos hit a solo home run off of Sanchez in the fourth to make the game 11-1. In the fifth inning, Harper hit a two-run triple, making the game 13-1 and recording his first career cycle.
Rookie Carson Benge hit a long two-run home run in the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, Schwarber hit his Major League-leading 28th home run, getting those two runs back, making the game 15-3, which was where the game ended.
Phillies Offense Explodes For 15 Runs
The Phils’ offense showed up in this game, and not just in the eight-run fourth inning either. In the first two innings, they were doing the little things to keep the line moving, which is when they are at their best. The fourth inning was a glimpse at what makes the Phillies a dangerous team as the season goes on. The two home runs from Schwarber in the inning will get the attention, as they should, but the other four runs were manufactured. Just to add to the lore of this incredible game by Schwarber, he hit a two-run home run in the seventh.
The home runs by Schwarber were not only clutch and a devastating blow to the Mets, but they were also the first time in the Statcast era that one player has had two home runs that traveled over 900 feet in distance. Not to be outdone, Harper hit for the cycle for the first time in his career with his two-run triple in the fifth inning. Harper and Schwarber put on a show for the national TV audience in this game.
Sanchez Bounces Back In a Huge Win
Sanchez made his case on this nationally televised game that his last start in Milwaukee was an anomaly, with him throwing six innings, with the only blemish being the home run to Vientos in the fourth, striking out five. What made him electric in this game was how he was well he kept the ball low in the zone, which trains the batters to look low, and he used the pitches up in the zone to keep the Mets hitters off balance, and that led to him having six stress-free innings.
While the strikeout numbers were a little lower than what we’ve become accustomed to when Sanchez is dealing like he was in this game. He made his case, as he has all season so far, to start the All-Star Game in his home park.
Middle Relief Remains a Concern For the Phillies
When Sanchez came out of the game in the sixth, Don Mattingly handed the ball to Max Lazar, who struggled early to find control. He was missing up in the zone, which is never a good thing for any pitcher, but the home run he gave up was an inside fastball at 94 MPH, which is right into Benge’s hot zone. He did bounce back in the eighth, which was a great sign, and it’s hard to be critical of him. This is only his third game of the season; it’s more about pattern recognition.
While in this game it wasn’t as much of a concern, due to the huge lead the Phils had going into the seventh inning, the drop-off in the middle relief for the Phils is something that needs to be addressed before the trade deadline. This isn’t a unique issue to the Phils, so trading for high-leverage innings arms will be difficult. While the team has other needs, such as a right-handed outfield bat and a fifth starter, the team needs to really look at shoring up the bullpen before getting the ball in the hands of Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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