Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper lead Phillies' 17-hit, 15-run assault on Mets originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
In his four-plus seasons with the Phillies, Kyle Schwarber has been a giant on the field and in the community.
He was all that on Saturday.
Several hours before the Phils played the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park, Schwarber met with the family of Timothy J. O’Connor, the Pennsylvania state trooper who was killed in the line of duty during a traffic stop in Chester County in March.
Schwarber’s father, Greg, is a former police officer back home in Ohio. Schwarber’s Neighborhood Heroes, the slugger’s charitable foundation, supports first responders, military personnel and their families.
Moments before the game, as Corporal O’Connor’s picture appeared on the PhanaVision scoreboard, Schwarber caught a ceremonial first pitch from the officer’s brother, Christopher.
And soon after that, Schwarber joined Bryce Harper in leading the Phillies to a 15-3 thrashing of the Mets.
Schwarber belted three home runs – raising his majors-leading total to 28 – and finished the night with six RBIs.
His first two homers came in the Phils’ eight-run third inning. Both were mammoth blasts, traveling 456 and 457 feet, respectively. That’s a total of 913 feet. In one inning.
His third homer was a bullet inside the right-field foul pole in the seventh.
It’s difficult to top a night like that, but Harper gave it a run.
In his first four at-bats of the game, he hit for the 11th cycle in Phillies history. He homered in the first inning, doubled and singled in the third, and tripled in the fifth. He finished with three RBIs.
It was his first cycle as a pro.
And where does the accomplishment rank on his personal highlight reel?
“It’s up there,” Harper said. “Obviously, doing it at the big-league level is really cool. I got close a couple times. Being able to do it and have that moment is really cool.”
Harper recalled his only other cycle. It came when he was at the College of Southern Nevada.
“Super regionals, seven for seven, four homers and a cycle,” he said. “Pretty cool.”
Harper’s big night came after he took extra batting practice on the field before the game. He usually hits in the indoor cages, but a recent slump – 1 for 22 in his previous seven games and just one homer in his previous 15 – led him to freshen things up.
“I was just trying to hit homers,” he said. “I haven’t hit many balls over the fence in a while. I was just trying to hit some balls in the third deck. Sometimes that helps. I was able to do that tonight. I felt good.
“I feel like my at-bats have been good lately. But sometimes it feels like there’s a big ol’ glove out there. The last couple of weeks felt that way.”
Harper used a bigger bat for all his at-bats in the game. Usually he swings a 34-inch, 31 ½-ounce piece of lumber. He switched to his “heavy” bat, a 34-inch, 35-ounce model that he uses in the batting cage. He will use it again in Sunday night’s game.
After a homer, a double and a single in his first three at-bats, Harper was gunning for the triple. He reached third on a daring baserunning play on a ball to the left-center gap.
“(Manager Don Mattingly) and all the coaches came up to me and said if you get a chance just go do it,” he said. “I had their blessing to just go on any ball.”
Schwarber was on first base. When he saw the ball go to the gap, there was no way he was stopping at third. He wanted to clear the way for Harper.
“We were all focused on making sure he got to third,” said Schwarber, who now has four three-homer games and a four-homer game in his career.
This wasn’t the first time two teammates combined for three (or more) homers and a cycle. Lou Gehrig (four homers) and Tony Lazzeri (cycle) pulled off the feat for the Yankees on June 3, 1932.
After completing his cycle, Harper stood on third base and raised his arms in triumph. He received a standing ovation as he walked back to the dugout at the completion of the inning. He removed his batting helmet and saluted the sellout crowd of 43,402 in return.
“The fans are why I came here,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun playing here and sharing these moments with them.”
Fifteen runs – 10 against Mets starter Freddy Peralta in 2 2/3 innings — was more than enough for one of the best pitchers in baseball to work with. Cristopher Sanchez cruised through six innings on five hits and a run. He walked one and struck out five as he bounced back from a loss at Milwaukee in his previous outing. Sanchez is 8-4 with a 1.80 ERA. The Phillies are 11-5 in his 16 starts.
Sanchez has put on a show this season. But Saturday night, he was a side act.
“They stole the show from me tonight,” he said of Harper and Schwarber. “I’ll take it. It was perfect.”
The win improved the Phillies to 41-35. They will look to win the series against the Mets (34-42) behind Zack Wheeler on Sunday night.
