The Philadelphia Phillies pulled off their ninth straight win Sunday, taking down the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4, but trust me, that score barely tells the story. Imagine being down 4-0 in the ninth inning, two outs, two strikes on J.T. Realmuto, staring defeat right in the face. What happened next wasn’t normal: Realmuto smacked a single up the middle, sparking a wild rally that mostly featured two outs, besides Bryce Harper’s leadoff double. The whole thing ended with a Kyle Schwarber walk-off homer, sealing one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history.
An MLB Record No One Saw Coming
This wasn’t just some fluke, folks. This was the fifth time this season the Phillies stared down their final strike and somehow walked away with a win. According to OptaSTATS, that’s an MLB record since pitches started getting tracked in 1988. Five times! One of these wins on its own is insane, but five? It screams clutch. The team has pulled this off on April 1, April 30, June 23, June 24, and now again on Sunday. Names like Schwarber, Realmuto, Justin Crawford, Bryan De La Cruz, Edmundo Sosa, and Alec Bohm have been right in the middle of this ridiculous history.
Reliving The Improbable Comebacks
Let’s rewind, because these earlier heroics are just as wild. Back in June, they did it on back-to-back days against the Washington Nationals. On June 23, down 8-6 in the ninth, two strikes, two outs, Trea Turner singled. Two pitches later, Brandon Marsh launched a game-tying two-run homer. Then, Bryson Stott hit a three-run homer three batters after that for a massive 14-9 victory. The very next day, Schwarber walked with two outs and two strikes, setting up Derek Hill, who pinch-hit for Justin Crawford and blasted a game-winning two-run homer for a 5-4 finish.
April gave us two more. On April 1, against the Nationals again, they were down 5-3 in the ninth, two outs, two strikes. Alec Bohm walked, and Edmundo Sosa followed with a game-tying two-run single. They took that to extras, where Crawford walked it off for a 6-5 win. Then on April 30, in a wild doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants, game two saw Schwarber tie it with a double in the ninth with two outs and two strikes. Bohm snagged the 6-5 win in extra innings with a sacrifice fly. These guys just refuse to quit, period.
The Phillies are on a tear, showing a resilience that’s straight up historic early this season. It’s one thing to come back, but to do it five times when you’re literally on your final strike? That’s just wild, and it set some serious MLB history. Meanwhile, here in the Emerald City, our guy Cal Raleigh, the Mariners’ catcher, is also making some noise, though it’s a stat we aren’t loving. He’s reportedly on track to hit the fewest home runs after a 60+ homer season in MLB history. Talk about a stark contrast in early season trends! You gotta wonder what kind of history will be made next across the league.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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