Kyle Schwarber smacked two home runs in the same inning, while Bryce Harper completed his first career cycle as the Philadelphia Phillies routed the New York Mets, 15-3, on Saturday night at the ballpark in South Philadelphia.
Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez enjoyed plenty of early run support to cruise to his ninth victory of the season after Philadelphia scored 11 runs in the first few innings, including adding a snowman on the scoreboard with an 8-spot in the third frame.
Harper kick-started the Phillies' offense with a solo home run in the first inning to get the Citizens Bank Park crowd fired up early. Meanwhile, doubles from J.T. Realmuto and Justin Crawford extended the Phillies' advantage to 3-0 after two innings of play. As fired up as the home crowd was with a three-run lead, the 43,402 people in attendance had little clue what was about to unfold over the next twenty minutes.
Philadelphia brought twelve batters to the plate in the bottom of the third inning, but none were more impactful than the MLB’s leader in home runs (Schwarber).
The Schwarbarian launched a 456-foot rocket to the second deck in right field to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead. He would step back to the plate with an 8-0 advantage before one more powerful swing drove a ball into the warm Philly night for a 3-run HR to make the score 11-0.
Schwarber becomes only the fourth Phillies hitter to hit two home runs in the same inning and the first player since Trea Turner accomplished the feat in August 2023 against Washington. He wasn’t done as Schwarber powered a ball down the right field line for his third round-tripper of the contest (and 28th of the season) to extend the Phillies' lead to 15-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Harper stepped into the batter’s box in the fifth inning, needing a triple to secure his first career cycle.
The showman slapped a ball into the left-centerfield gap before hustling 270 feet around the base paths, sliding into third base with his hands to the sky to celebrate the achievement. Harper accomplished the feat in four at-bats: his first-inning home run, a double in the second, a single in the third inning, and his triple in the fifth frame.
Harper becomes the 10th Phillies player to hit for the cycle and the first Phillies player since Weston Wilson in August 2024.
As impressive as Saturday night’s dominant outing was against the Mets, it is still just one game in a 162-game MLB schedule. Philadelphia and New York renew the battle in the series finale in another primetime contest starting at 7:20 PM ET.
Zack Wheeler battles David Peterson in the rubber match of the first series between these N.L. East rivals this season.
