Kyle Schwarber has unbelievable day at the plate in doubleheader sweep against Giants

With the Phillies down to their last strike in the bottom of the ninth against the Giants, Kyle Schwarber went down and got it.

He fell to a knee trying to put the barrel on a low splitter. When all hope is lost, you can almost always count on Schwarber to go on a tear.

The ball landed in the right field corner, easily scoring Brandon Marsh from third base to tie the game at 5-5. The swing was reminiscent of one he took in the ninth inning on April 18 against the Atlanta Braves. Schwarber pulled a potential game-tying double to right field, but the ball landed in Ronald Acuña Jr.’s glove.

It’s fair to wonder why San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello even bothered pitching to the red-hot Schwarber in that final at-bat with the tying run in scoring position.

“Not easy decisions when that guy is up to bat,” Vitello told San Francisco reporters in his postgame interview.

After entering the day with two hits in his last 22 at-bats, Schwarber went 5-for-6 with two home runs, two doubles and three walks in both games of the doubleheader. In game two, Schwarber went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a home run.

It’s only three games, but things are starting to turn around for the Phillies. Maybe it’s just because they’re playing the Giants, a team that has looked sloppy at times in the early going.

Things broke the Phillies’ way in this game. They somehow survived a bullpen game with a rain delay and extra innings. Reliever Chase Shugart pitched — and won — both games of the doubleheader. The Giants could have thrown out Marsh between second and third in the ninth, but the cutoff man Willy Adames did not throw behind him. The Giants should have easily scored a run in the top of the tenth, but third base coach Héctor Borg inexplicably put a stop sign on after a hit deflected off the glove of Bryson Stott and into center fielder. The runner, Drew Gilbert, would have easily scored.

Alec Bohm made an excellent diving catch with the infield in to keep Gilbert from scoring later in that inning. In the bottom half of the tenth, Bohm drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly to score Adolis García.

It’s the first time the Phillies have swept a doubleheader since July 15, 2023, when they beat the San Diego Padres in a scheduled doubleheader after the All-Star break. The Phillies have won two games in walk-off fashion on the same day for the first time since July 24, 1998.

The Phillies will go back on the road for a wraparound series with the Marlins in Miami beginning Friday. Don Mattingly told reporters postgame that Zack Wheeler, not Andrew Painter, will pitch the opener. Andrew Painter will get his start pushed back another day. He’ll get the ball on Saturday.