Kyle Schwarber has a knack for stepping up when the Philadelphia Phillies need him most.
Following a historic performance on Thursday, Schwarber will aim for an encore on Friday when the Phillies continue their series against the visiting Atlanta Braves.
Schwarber hit four home runs on Thursday, becoming the 21st player in major league history to do so, as Philadelphia cruised to a 19-4 victory. The designated hitter, who drove in a franchise-record nine runs, leads the National League in homers (49) and RBIs (119).
“It’s fun. It’s exciting,” said Schwarber, who became the fourth Phillie with a four-homer game — and the first since Mike Schmidt in 1976. “You can’t expect that you’re going to go up there and hit a home run every time. …
“Got another game tomorrow. Just got to stay with your same approach. If you get a hit, you do. If you don’t, you don’t.”
After an ugly series in New York to begin the week, the Phillies needed the performance they got from Schwarber. Philadelphia lost all three games to the Mets, then came home and tied a franchise record with seven home runs.
“It was a big win for us coming off the series against the Mets,” said Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson, who added, “I thought it was a big character victory for our club.”
Meanwhile, Atlanta was unable to generate any momentum from its previous two games — wins over the Miami Marlins by scores of 11-2 and 12-1. The Braves managed only six hits, only one of which was an extra-base hit — a homer by Matt Olson with the outcome already determined.
The Phillies will look to keep the Braves’ bats quiet behind Ranger Suarez (10-6, 3.07 ERA), who has authored two straight impressive outings following a pair of rough starts earlier this month. In his past two appearances, the lefty has allowed two runs over 13 2/3 innings while striking out 21 and issuing no walks.
“Lately, I’ve been watching videos from the past starts, before the last two that I’ve had, and I saw myself, and I didn’t think that I was myself on the mound,” Suarez said through an interpreter. “It looked like I was kind of battling myself on the mound as I was pitching. I think it’s just relaxing a little more and enjoying the game a little more is what’s helped in that.”
Suarez has been terrific in two starts against the Braves this season, allowing a total of one run in 13 innings and winning each time. For his career, Suarez is 4-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 21 games (12 starts) against Atlanta.
The Braves will call upon Bryce Elder (5-9, 6.12), who has terrible career numbers against Philadelphia. He has faced the Phillies three times, posting an 0-1 record with a 9.23 ERA and more walks (11) than strikeouts (eight) in 12 2/3 innings.
That said, Elder is coming off a productive outing against the Mets, whom he held to two runs and three hits over six innings on Sunday.
“It feels good,” said Elder, who had given up eight runs in 4 2/3 innings during his previous start. “It’s been awhile. It’s been a grind. So, hopefully, we keep it up. … We’ve got a lot of good baseball to play and a long way to go.”
Schwarber is hitless in four career at-bats vs. Elder as he looks to join Ryan Howard (58 home runs in 2006) as the only players in Philadelphia history to have a 50-homer season.
The Phillies have won six of their 10 matchups with the Braves this season.
–Field Level Media
