Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning, and Bryce Harper added a two-run home run in the eighth as the Philadelphia Phillies secured a 9-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. The result evened the weekend series ahead of Sunday’s finale.
Schwarber’s pivotal swing came with the Phillies trailing by two runs. Facing Angels reliever José Fermin with the bases loaded and one out, Schwarber drove the ball to right field for his 32nd home run of the season and eighth career grand slam. The blast shifted the momentum in favor of Philadelphia, giving the home team a 6-4 lead. Harper later extended that advantage in the eighth inning with a two-run shot, his 19th of the season, providing additional insurance after the Angels had trimmed the deficit to one.
The game began with an early lead for the Phillies, but an unusual baserunning sequence cost them a bigger inning. In the first inning, Harper tagged both Schwarber and Trea Turner out in a rundown on the same ground ball. Despite the miscue, Nick Castellanos followed with a two-out RBI single to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead.
The Angels responded in the fourth inning with a three-run surge. Taylor Ward and Jo Adell hit consecutive home runs to open the frame, erasing the Phillies’ early advantage. Zach Neto later added an RBI single, but Los Angeles left the bases loaded and missed an opportunity to take full control.
Philadelphia cut into the deficit in the fifth when Turner drove in a run with a single. However, the Angels briefly regained a two-run cushion in the top of the sixth on a solo homer by Yoan Moncada, setting the stage for Schwarber’s game-changing at-bat in the bottom half of the inning.
Seth Johnson earned his first major league win after pitching a scoreless sixth inning with two strikeouts. Sam Bachman took the loss for Los Angeles, falling to 2-3 after surrendering the lead during the Phillies’ rally.
Schwarber’s 32 home runs currently place him third in the National League, trailing only Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Eugenio Suárez of the Diamondbacks, who entered Saturday tied at 33. Harper, meanwhile, continues a productive stretch, having gone 12-for-24 over his past six games with seven doubles and four home runs.
The betting odds ahead of Saturday’s contest had the Phillies as -135 favorites on the moneyline, with the Angels listed at +115. The over/under for total runs was set at 9.5, a figure surpassed in the eighth inning with Harper’s home run.
The two teams are scheduled to conclude their three-game series on Sunday. Philadelphia will send left-hander Ranger Suárez (7-3, 2.15 ERA) to the mound, while Los Angeles counters with right-hander José Soriano (6-7, 3.90 ERA).
