Thursday, September 7, 2023

Game 139 - Schwarber's Homer Supports Wheeler's Win

2023 Topps Home Run
Challenge #HRC-19
Phillies 5
, Padres 1
Game 139 - Thursday Afternoon, September 6th in San Diego
Record - 77-62, 2nd Place, 13 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Another lead-off home run from Kyle Schwarber and a solid pitching performance from Zack Wheeler led to this 5-1 win over the Padres.

What It Means:  The Phillies took the series in San Diego, and following a Thursday off day will open a weekend series against the surging Marlins back at home.  Miami has won six in a row through Wednesday.

What Happened:  Wheeler won his 11th game, allowing just a single in six innings of work while striking out seven.  Schwarber's 41st home run of the year set the tone for the game, and gave the Phillies a quick 1-0 lead.  The newly clean-shaven Bryce Harper added an RBI-double in the fourth and J.T. Realmuto hit a solo home run in the fifth.  Jake Cave capped the scoring for the day with an RBI single, also in the fifth, putting the Phillies up, 5-0.  Seranthony Dominguez and Jeff Hoffman both pitched two scoreless innings of relief, and Matt Strahm allowed a ninth-inning run before closing out the game.

Featured Card:  Schwarber's home run to lead off the game was his 10th leadoff home run of the season, breaking the Phillies single-season record of nine set by Jimmy Rollins in 2007.  The card shown here entered my collection as part of a 2023 Topps Series Two master team set I purchased on eBay, and perhaps if I reveal the code on the back, and win, I could retire to my own personal island.

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