LOS ANGELES — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber swung the bat, turned around, and looked into his own dugout.
The ball sailed over the head of Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernandez, but he never bothered to look up.
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu peeked as it soared, and then immediately spun around, not wanting to see where it landed.
“I’ve never seen a ball go up like that,’ Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said, “especially in LA at night.’
The sound of the ball leaving the bat at 117.2 mph could be heard all the way in Philadelphia, traveling 455 feet into the night halfway up the right-field pavilion – and perhaps dramatically altering this National League Division Series.
“When I hit it,’ said Schwarber, who homered again in the eighth inning, “I know it’s a home run. I didn’t even see where it landed. I was looking in the dugout trying to get the guys going, get back in the dugout, everyone is high-fiving. And I knew I hit it good. I didn’t know where it went. Eventually somebody tells me. You watch it on video where it goes. I was just more focused on our guys there. …
“But yeah, it was a cool moment.’
The home run was only in the fourth inning, tying the game at 1-apiece, but it was so loud and so epic, it singlehandedly brought the Phillies back from the dead with an 8-2 victory.
The Phillies still trail 2-1 in this best-of-five series, and will pitch ace Cristopher Sanchez against No. 4 Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow in Game 4 on Thursday, but they are alive.
And energized with the belief they could force a deciding Game 5 in Philadelphia, and perhaps even pull of the miracle and win the series.
Yes, the home run meant just that much to a team that had not hit a homer in the first two games, with their three biggest stars shut down.
“One-hundred percent,’ said shortstop Trea Tuner, who had a three-hit game. “It’s ridiculous how far that ball went. I just think like the vibes, the energy, it’s something to build off. Sometimes it’s hard to create your own momentum. You’ve got to build off things like that.
“No better way than leaving the ball leaving the stadium.’
This is a team that looked like a long, cold winter was just around the corner. They lost both games in Philadelphia. They complained about bad luck. Complained about pressure of playing in Philadelphia. Complained that sometimes the baseball gods just get in the way.
The Phillies’ $700 million trio of Harper, Turner and Schwarber went 2-for-21 in the first two games, struck out 11 times, and didn’t produce a single extra-base hit.
This night was a different story. They went 7-for-13 with two homers, one double, five RBIs, four runs, two walks and two stolen bases.
“Anytime we have Kyle going or Trea going or myself,’ Harper said, “we’re going to win games. I think we all know that. When we’re not doing our job, we’re probably not going to win many games. That’s something we need to do (Thursday), come in, do our job, have fun and enjoy it.
“Obviously, it’s a great opportunity.’
And made possible simply by one swing of the man who hit 56 homers during the regular season, but was hitless in his last 22 at-bats when he stepped to the plate.
“I think the Schwarber home run just sort of woke everybody up,’ Phillies manager Rob Thomson said, “and got a lot of energy going in the dugout.’
Just like that, they’re believing that when they fly back to Philadelphia after Thursday’s game, they’ll have the Dodgers in tow on their own chartered flights.
“I don’t think anybody’s feeling like it’s our time to go home,’ Turner said. “We want to keep playing. So we’re going to do it again. And today was a good start.’’
Harper, who grew up in nearby Las Vegas, kept saying how much everyone looked forward to playing at Dodger Stadium. They love the weather. Appreciate the vibe. And even a homecoming for a few of the players who grew up in the area and went to Dodger games.
“I think a lot of us love playing in LA,’ Harper said. “Fans are always great. It’s always a great atmosphere. A lot of us love the weather on the West Coast as well.’
The Phillies were reminded of all that, and the need to simply exhale, in a brief team meeting before the game. They had just beaten the Dodgers in two of three games at Dodger Stadium three weeks ago, so they certainly were capable of doing it again.
“I feel we match up with anybody really well,’ Turner said. “And it’s just a matter of doing enough to win the game. We didn’t do that the first two days, and now we’re kind of in the hole. But we have the group of guys to pull ourselves out.
“It’s not going to be easy. It’s a great team over there. They’ve got plenty of superstars, good players, great pitching. And we’ll have to play our best to do it, but it starts [Thursday], and today was a good start.’
The Phillies, who used right-hander Aaron Nola to start the game and pitch two shutout innings, and then turned to left-hander Ranger Suarez for the next five innings, feel confident with Sanchez taking the mound. He went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA during the regular season, striking out 212 batters, and gave up just four hits and two runs in 5 ⅔ innings in Game 1.
“I’m ready, I’m going to give us the best chance I can,’’ Sanchez said. “I’m going to prepare myself like I always do.’’
Yet, if not for Schwarber’s blast, Sanchez’s next start may have been in Clearwater, Fla., next February when they report to spring training.
“It’s been a heavyweight battle of two starting pitching staffs out there,’ Schwarber said. “We know what the battle is going to be. We know it’s not going to be easy.
“But like Trea said, we have the guys to do this, and we’re going to keep fighting and scratching and clawing for anything that we can get.’
The Phillies are still in the hole, but the last thing the Dodgers want is another cross-country flight to Philadelphia.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure on us,’ Dodgers shortstop Mookie Bets said. “Pressure is a privilege.’
So, no stress trying to find a way to silence the Phillies’ top guns?
“I don’t have to pitch to them,’ Betts said, smiling as he left his locker, “so I don’t have to worry about that.’
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