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Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber Power Phillies Offense to Saturday Matinee Win
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
The Phillies needed a win after Friday night’s 16-strikeout performance at the plate. What better day to do it than Taijuan Walker on the mound vs. Brandon Pfaadt, a pitcher the Phillies haven never been able to hit?
Taijuan Walker walked out to the mound at 1:05 PM, threw his first pitch at 1:06 PM, and heard his first boos at 1:06 PM. Ketel Marte lead off the game with a solo shot to give the Diamondbacks an early 1-0 lead, and Phillies fans were already pushed over the top. It’s been a pretty bad start for the Phillies, especially the offense. Luckily, a lot of good teams across baseball are struggling. But that’s the farthest thing from any sort of excuse. They were playing bad baseball coming into today and were looking to change that.
The offense picked up right where they left off on Friday night in the first inning of Saturday’s game, going down 1-2-3 to start the day. Luckily, Walker settled in on the mound. He would retire 12 of the next 14 batters, and what started off as a nightmare filled with boos ended with applause as the veteran walked off of the mound. He turned in a 5 inning, 2 run, 6 strikeout day on 85 pitches, his best start of 2026 by far.
“I thought his stuff was pretty good. He got a lot of soft contact. I mean, there was only two balls hit hard. The Marte home run, and the Thomas double,” Rob Thomson said postgame about Taijuan Walker. “He competes, he gives you everything he’s got”
Citizens Bank Park was tense, especially for an April baseball game. Fans aren’t happy with how the Phillies are playing. They never are! What we’ve learned over the years, is when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper go at the plate, the whole team goes. That statement rung true on Saturday afternoon.
I don’t want to say I called it, but I may or may not have called the 3rd-inning Schwarbomb that this team desperately needed.
A no-doubter on a windy day. Bryce Harper stepped up after Schwarber and cracked one 411 feet at 111 mph off of the bat, and Citizens Bank Park went from slightly hostile to one of the loudest they’ve been all season. Harper is now up to .250 on the year with an .850 OPS and three home runs. He’s hitting over .375 since his home run last Wednesday vs. Washington. “He’s driving the ball in the middle of the diamond, and when he does that, he’s in pretty good shape,” Rob Thomson said postgame.
I just continue to be impressed by Justin Crawford. He was on base three times again on Saturday with a single, walk, and a double. He’s up to a .350 average on the year with an .897 OPS. All we heard about last year was his ground ball rate. Yes, the rate is true. But it’s incredible how much it just doesn’t matter. He just finds ways on base. It’s not always pretty with Crawford, in fact, a good portion of his hits aren’t. But it’s not about how they look, it’s about the box score. Crawford continues to play winning baseball for the Phillies in the 9-hole and out in centerfield.
Another good day for the Phillies bullpen. Tim Mayza, Orion Kettering, José Alvarado, Brad Keller, and Jhoan Duran combined for four innings of 1-run ball with 4 strikeouts. Keller was the only pitcher to allow a run, which came in the 8th inning after 3-straight singles from the Diamondbacks, but limited the damage and ended the inning on a nasty slider to sit down Nolan Arenado. Jhoan Duran shut the door in the 9th, and the Phillies went on to win 5-4 on a sunny, but chilly, day at Citizens Bank Park.
“Mayza’s been great. Pop’s done the job. Bowlan’s been fantastic. Knock on wood, we gotta keep those guys healthy,” Thomson said to me after the game. “But the bullpen as a whole has been throwing the ball really well right now.”
The Phillies will go for the series win against the Diamondbacks on Sunday at 1:05 PM. Andrew Painter will make the third start of his career, going up against South Jersey native Zac Gallen.
Luke Arcaini covers the Phillies for Crossing Broad. The wave is the worst thing is sports. Follow him on Twitter @ArcainiLuke