Phillies Rally Late, Clinch Sixth Straight Winning Season in 11-7 Thriller
Sep 9, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) watches his grand slam home run against the Houston Astros during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
In a back-and-forth contest, the Phillies kept fighting back until the knockout grand slam came in the sixth to give the Phillies a much-needed comeback 11-7 win.
After losing the first game of the series, the Phillies were in a position where they needed to win this game just to not lose a critical series. After the rough start from Andrew Painter in Game 1, they would send their ace up against Hunter Brown to try and take control of the series.
The big inning stung Cristopher Sanchez in the second inning when Yordan Alvarez doubled home Cam Smith for the first run of the game; then the next batter, Isaac Paredes, hit his 19th home run of the season to make the game 3-0, and Jose Altuve scored after collecting his 2,500th MLB hit, all with two outs; the Phillies had their work cut out for them early.
They would thunder back to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. Trea Turner singled home the first run, then Bryce Harper singled home two to pull within one run. Luis Arraez singled him home, and the game was tied at four.
The Astros came back to score two on a Smith two-run home run to make the game 6-4. The Phils got one back on a solo home run from Turner in the fifth. Edmundo Sosa got a hit through an open hole after Altuve had to cover second on a steal, with two runners on to tie the game at six.
After loading the bases and Bryan De La Cruz walked in a run with one out in the inning, Kyle Schwarber hit his first grand slam of the season to bust the game wide open 11-6. Paredes got one back in the seventh, singling home Jeremy Pena. The game ended 11-7.
A Grand Schwarbomb is the Difference
The sixth inning for the Phillies had a different feel than the rest of the game, and in games where the Phils come back as they did in this one, the frames that put them over the top start with getting runners on base and letting great things happen. In the sixth, Arraez got the rally started with a hustle double, then Justin Crawford legged out a single to load the bases. The swing by Schwarber will get the attention, and rightfully so, but those moments come up when good things start in front of them.
In the at-bat to Schwarber, AJ Blubaugh had trouble locating just about every pitch except his sweeper, and even that started to defy him. In the at-bat to Schwarber, Blubaugh went to the well too many times, and he didn’t throw a sweeper at the bottom of the zone, and with one hand, Schwarber hit a 408 ft home run which came off the bat at 105.7 MPH, proving just how much strength Schwarber has.
When you are going well, things like this happen.
The Sinker Sinks Sanchez
After Painter’s shaky performance in the first game of the series, and his tough luck in his last start, the Phils looked to their lefty ace to try and take control of the series. In the first inning, Sanchez pitched well, but he was having trouble establishing the breaking pitches and was leaning on his sinker, which he wasn’t too effective with, but he had some comfort with in the first. In the inning where he gave up the four runs, the sinker was the pitch that hurt him the most.
He just didn’t have it in-game, and his line will look worse than the outing truly was. He gave up six runs over six innings and gave up 10 hits, not a typical game for him. He gave up five of those hits, including the two home runs off of the sinker. To punctuate how rough those two innings were, Sanchez retired the last seven hitters to get through the six he did; he only had six swing-and-misses all game. Not a typical Sanchez outing, and not how you’d expect him to get his 17th win, but they count nonetheless.
The Earned Nickname, the Fighin’ Phils
This game was a perfect example of what the last six weeks of Phillies baseball have been. The one thing that has been a constant since the Field of Dreams game has been that the Phillies never give up. Wednesday night, they picked up their starter, who truly has picked them up all season, especially when they were having trouble scoring runs. In the games where the Phils are down big, they haven’t felt like they are out of any game.
While it helps having players like Schwarber and Harper at the top of the order, they have been winning with timely hitting. The Phils were 6-15 with runners in scoring position in this game, and in the games where the Phils come back, they get the big hits when they need them. While grand slams will always get the job done, playing small ball will always do wonderful things. With this win, the Phils got their 82nd win, clinching their sixth consecutive winning season, and they will go for the series win Thursday afternoon three games behind Atlanta.
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.
Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox:
