Kyle Schwarber walked through the 10-foot cornstalks in right field at Field of Dreams Ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa, before launching a pair of home runs that powered a 7-1 victory for the Philadelphia Phillies over the Minnesota Twins on a special evening for Major League Baseball.
Aaron Nola allowed five hits over five innings of work, with a solo homer in the second inning the only damage Minnesota recorded on the old-school, manually operated scoreboard Thursday night.
Schwarber smacked a 369-foot home run on the third pitch he saw from Minnesota starter Taj Bradley. The long bomb set the tone for the Phillies, giving them an early advantage in front of a rocking 7,100+ person crowd that was seated amongst the Midwest maize.
The rest of the lineup would follow his lead in the first inning. Bryce Harper walked and Luis Arraez singled, putting a runner in scoring position for Bryson Stott’s RBI single that put the Phillies ahead, 2-0. Alec Bohm walked to load the bases, but J.T. Realmuto flied out to right field to end the first inning.
With a slim one-run lead in the fourth frame, Philadelphia’s top slugger sent a 355-foot missile towards the cornstalks in right, which bounced off the glove of Twins’ outfielder Luke Keaschall before disappearing into the farmland for a 4-1 Phillies advantage.
Trea Turner doubled to right field before swiftly being brought around to score on a Harper single to center field to extend the lead to 5-1. From there, Philly's pitching staff secured win No. 65 of the season.
Nola was efficient in shutting down the Minnesota lineup across five frames, allowing five hits, one earned run and three walks while recording nine strikeouts. His punchout total matches a season-high in 2026, set at the Colorado Rockies on April 3.
His only mistake was allowing a solo home run to Keaschall, which trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the second inning. However, Nola's offense picked him up quickly and carried him to the win.
The 33-year-old starter had his curveball dancing against the Twins, resulting in the majority of his strikeouts. If he can continue to work that disappearing magic act in August and September, it will go a long way toward helping the Phillies hold off the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres (among others) in the National League Wild Card race.
This continued a recent stretch of success that has seen Nola lower his season ERA by more than half a run since the start of July.
Even with Nola's outing, interim manager Don Mattingly leaned on an already tired bullpen for four innings. While reliever decisions have backfired recently, things went according to plan for Brooks Raley, Jonathan Bowlan, Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran as each pitched an inning of relief in the win.
Raley appears to be settling in after allowing two runs in his first appearance for Philadelphia on August 5. He has recorded four consecutive scoreless appearances, with two coming against Toronto, one against St. Louis, and Thursday’s win against Minnesota. With José Alvarado struggling, the acquisition of Raley could go from good to massive down the stretch if he continues to post strong numbers.
Orion Kerkering picked up an important inning after recent struggles, including allowing three earned runs on four hits, blowing the save on August 9. Despite the game being well in control with a six-run lead, Duran entered and closed the ballgame after having a few days without action during the series in St. Louis.
Both teams leave the homestead and fly off to the city to finish the remaining two games of this three-game series. Philadelphia turns to Jesus Luzardo for the start on Saturday night, while rookie Andrew Painter takes the ball in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
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