The Philadelphia Phillies were staring down a broken eight-game winning streak on Sunday, trailing the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 deep into the bottom of the ninth. Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien, with his 33 saves, was on the mound, and it looked grim. Seriously, who thought they’d pull this off? But someone in that dugout must have been channeling Crash Davis, because they absolutely refused to mess with a winning streak. Kyle Schwarber then stepped up and crushed a 2-run bomb off O’Brien with two outs, rocketing the Phillies to an absolutely wild 6-4 walk-off win, their ninth straight victory!
That Ninth Inning Was Pure Chaos
Before Schwarber’s blast into Citizens Bank Park’s center field trees, this comeback looked impossible. Bryce Harper tried to spark things off, leading the ninth with a double. But O’Brien settled down, getting Luis Arraez and Brandon Marsh to fly out to left. Two outs, bases empty, down by four. It felt like that streak was *done*. Then, J.T. Realmuto ripped a single. Justin Crawford followed, getting walked on five pitches, four of them way outside the zone, loading the bases. Suddenly, there was a glimmer! Edmundo Sosa then delivered a clutch hit, pulling an 83 mph pitch into left field, clearing the bases and bringing the Phillies within one run at 4-3. Are you kidding me right now?!
Schwarbomb! You Saw It Coming, Right?
Next up was Bryan De La Cruz, who dug himself into a 0-2 hole. Down to his very last strike, De La Cruz battled, fouling off a high sinker, then laying off two pitches outside. O’Brien threw another low sweeper, but over the plate, and BAM! De La Cruz pulled it into left field past a diving JJ Wetherholt, driving in Sosa for the game-tying run. This whole stadium was going nuts! By the time Schwarber came back up, O’Brien had thrown 33 pitches and was probably running on fumes. But the closer still managed to get ahead 0-2 on Schwarber. Kyle stayed alive, fouling off a 97 mph inside sinker. After missing with a sweeper, O’Brien left a 98 mph sinker hanging out over the plate. Big mistake.
That 3-Year Walk-Off Curse Is GONE!
Schwarber didn’t miss. He sent that pitch the other way at 108.5 mph, and it landed 459 feet away in straight-away center field. What a shot! Twice down to their final strike, the Phillies somehow pulled off their ninth straight win, extending their longest run of consecutive victories this season. And get this: according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, this walk-off homer was the *first* from a Phillies batter in three years! Three years! That’s insane! It was the longest span between walk-off dingers in all of MLB. Think about it, every other team had smashed at least two walk-off homers in that time, and four teams even had ten or more! Schwarber actually hit the last one too, a 5-4 game-winner against Caleb Ferguson of the Dodgers back on June 9, 2023, also with two outs. At 73-58, this Phillies team is absolutely electric and riding an unbelievable wave.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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