The Phillies snagged a tight win Friday night to open their series with the Diamondbacks and Kyle Schwarber starred.
In a 3-2 victory at Citizens Bank Park, Schwarber went 2 for 3 with a game-tying home run and two RBIs. He’s now at 10 homers on the season and three of those have come in the last four days.
With a no-decision, starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo stayed at 3-0 as a Phillie. Luzardo pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed nine hits and two runs. He finished with six strikeouts and one walk.
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SIGN UP HERE The southpaw was unbothered by two Diamondbacks singles in the first inning, responding with three swinging strikeouts. Schwarber lined an RBI double off the base of the right-field wall in the bottom of the first, putting the Phillies on top and growing his on-base streak to 38 games.
Arizona had good, lengthy at-bats against Luzardo, but the D-Backs were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position over the first three innings. His pitch count soared, though.
Luzardo leaned on his sweeper vs. Arizona’s lefties and threw it 36.8 percent of the time overall. His season strikeout-to-walk numbers against left-handers remain highly impressive. Across seven starts, Luzardo has struck out 20 lefties and walked zero.
The D-Backs tied it up in the fourth inning. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a leadoff double and reached third base on an Alek Thomas ground out. Luzardo then jammed Geraldo Perdomo, but the ball drifted just over Trea Turner at shortstop.
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Luzardo couldn’t make it out of the sixth. Gabriel Moreno lifted a deep fly ball to center field with one out that Cal Stevenson tracked awkwardly and failed to catch at the wall. A Gurriel single gave Arizona a 2-1 lead.
While not at his peak form, Luzardo took pride in gritting out difficult innings Friday.
“I feel like that’s key for me, just maturing throughout my career,” he said. “I feel like a couple years back, I would’ve probably just gone three, four (innings) max and given up a lot more runs. Throughout this season, even when I’m not my best, we’re able to weather the storm, make it work and try to save the bullpen as much as possible.”
Schwarber has been struck by “the way he competes.”
“There’s not many things that faze the kid,” he said of Luzardo. “When he’s on the mound, it’s just him, the catcher and the hitter. There’s nobody else in his world, it looks like. It’s just laser focus. He comes off the mound and sometimes I’m walking out of the cage … and it’s just like he’s staring a hole right through me. And I’m like, ’Nice, I like that.’
“You get (perceptions) of guys when you play against them, but when you have them on your team, you really see the way that they work and the way they go about their business. It’s cool.”
Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly pitched five solid innings and Arizona turned to its bullpen for the last four. The Phillies feasted against Jose Castillo in the bottom of the seventh.
Schwarber started the frame by cracking a first-pitch Castillo fastball over the fence. Two batters later, Max Kepler smoked a 1-1 slider 422 feet, very comfortably over the right-center wall.
Matt Strahm, Tanner Banks, Jordan Romano and Jose Alvarado all did scoreless work out of the Phillies' bullpen. Johan Rojas was very helpful for Alvarado, making a speedy, gutsy play to begin the ninth.
He sprinted to left-center, nabbed a Gurriel liner and hung on to the ball after crashing hard into the wall. Rojas was slow to rise to his feet but stayed in the game.
He said postgame he felt “fine” physically.
“I’m feeling the best because we won,” Rojas said.
Alvarado retired the next two batters without any issue to cement the win and bring the Phillies to 18-14 on the season.
The center-field picture
Stevenson started his first game of the year in center field and was 1 for 2. He got picked off first base in the fifth inning after an opposite-field knock.
Rojas was on the bench until he replaced Stevenson in the eighth inning. Thomson said the decision was unrelated to Rojas’ risky triple in the ninth inning of Thursday’s loss to the Nationals, though he talked with him about the play.
“Just a day off,” Thomson said. “Might give him another one. He’s played every day and he’s got some body soreness — just general — but he’s fine.”
Brandon Marsh appears on the verge of rejoining the Phillies after playing rehab games Thursday and Friday with Triple A Lehigh Valley. Marsh “could be” active Saturday vs. the Diamondbacks, per Thomson.
Rojas’ bat has been a bright spot at the bottom of the Phillies’ lineup — the 24-year-old is hitting .300 with a 113 OPS+ — but he’s made some prominent defensive mistakes. What will Marsh’s return mean for him?
“Don’t really know, but Rojas has played very well,” Thomson said. “I like where his swing is at right now. We just have to play it by ear.”
Painter moving up
Andrew Painter’s stint with Single A Clearwater is over.
The Phillies’ top prospect is scheduled to start for Lehigh Valley next Thursday and throw approximately 60-65 pitches, Thomson said.
Painter started four times with Clearwater, totaling 11 1/3 innings. He had a 3.97 ERA, 12 strikeouts and one walk.
“Very good,” Thomson said. “Healthy and the stuff has been good. Even though he gave up a couple home runs last night, I think we ramp up the competition now a little bit.”
On deck
While Thomson has yet to announce Taijuan Walker’s role with Ranger Suarez back in the fold, he said Cristopher Sanchez will start Wednesday against the Rays.
These are the Phillies’ starters through that game:
- Aaron Nola on Saturday vs. Arizona
- Suarez on Sunday vs. Arizona
- Zack Wheeler on Tuesday at Tampa Bay
- Sanchez on Wednesday at Tampa Bay