The Phillies had a wild night on Tuesday in a 9-4 win over the Rays. They blew a couple small, early leads before exploding for five runs in the eighth. Ranger Suarez was not his best, but the bats bailed him out. Kyle Schwarber broke an MLB single-season record with his 14th leadoff home run, Trea Turner hit two home runs of his own, and Bryce Harper smacked four hits in five at-bats. Tempers flared late in the game after Castellanos was hit by a pitch.
Let's explore it all.
First, Schwarber. Here he is hitting his 35th Schwarbomb of the season.
WE RE-WRITING THE HISTORY BOOKS, BABY
KYLE SCHWARBER WITH HIS 14TH LEADOFF DINGER OF THE SEASON, AS CALLED BY SCOTT FRANZKE! pic.twitter.com/EnnJusMaYA
Schwarber left the game in the fourth inning with an elbow issue, but early indications are that the injury is not particularly serious. Tim has the details.
Not to be outdone by Schwarbs, Trea Turner hit a pair of two-run dingers.
Trea Turner rings the 🔔 pic.twitter.com/NSQcYzkTA7
Trea Turner goes yard for the second time tonight! pic.twitter.com/MaHHtenZXy
Trea Turner's 2nd HR of the game tonight reached a #Phillies milestone:
➡️ their 2,000th HR at Citizens Bank park
__@TheGoodPhight pic.twitter.com/nMstk4PtxH
Harper hasn't hit a home run since August 9, but it looks like his power is there. Check out the first of his four hits:
No home run for Bryce Harper and ruled fan interference pic.twitter.com/2fx7JhKDni
Ranger Suarez, on the other hand, still doesn't seem fully healthy. He allowed four runs (all earned) on 12 hits in 5.1 innings, walking two and striking out two.
Ranger Suarez’s velocity is down again and he’s allowing a lot of hard contact pic.twitter.com/fbj2bsvCS1
The Phillies really need Ranger to round into form before the postseason.
Ranger Suarez threw 17 curveballs tonight. 35% of them were in the 6th inning. Seems like it was the one pitch he trusted most to either locate or get a swing and miss in the inning. Just never happened. He shook off Stubbs a couple times to go back to the CB.
Ranger Suarez is in the midst of his typical post-IL "finding myself" phase and I really hope he finds himself by the time October rolls around.
Now to the really good stuff.
The benches and bullpens cleared after Rays reliever Edwin Uceta nailed Nick Castellanos with a 96 mph pitch:
Benches clear in Philadelphia between the Phillies and the Rays. pic.twitter.com/KkdmS9AmZS
Bryce Harper didn't hesitate to let his thoughts known.
— Baseball Paul (@paul_boye) September 11, 2024
Matt Strahm was possibly the star of the show.
Matt Strahm, leaving his evening yoga class without an instructor, ready to throw hands. pic.twitter.com/3YFpTJPDNR
Luckily, cooler heads prevailed before anyone got hurt. Some postgame reactions:
Nick Castellanos: “That’s like my two-year-old throwing a fit because I take away his desert before he’s finished.” @OnPattison @PhilliesNation https://t.co/XVExJku2Kl pic.twitter.com/Mc5alrLMTp
Phillies star Bryce Harper shares his thoughts on Edwin Uceta hitting Nick Castellanos. @KYWNewsradio #Phillies pic.twitter.com/SXwS5mptU8
Kyle Schwarber: “To take your frustrations out on a hitter just because, in my opinion, you’re getting hit, that’s bullshit.” @OnPattison @PhilliesNation https://t.co/XVExJktuUN pic.twitter.com/GddwOVEDQj
Anthony has a full story on the altercation here.
But whatever. The Rays can go to hell. The Phils picked up the win, improving to 87-58 on the season. By the end of the night, their magic number to clinch the NL East was down to ten. (Still right on track for September 20.)
The man of the hour pic.twitter.com/vGASpBzIxn
The Phillies continue their series against the Rays on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. Zack Wheeler gets the start.
