August 7, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) hits a solo home run in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium beat. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports Kyle Schwarber is heating up his power bat at the perfect time for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Schwarber has gone deep five times in his last four games, including the second three-homer game of his career, and the Phillies face the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Thursday in the first game of a four-game series.
The game was a rematch of last season’s National League Championship Series, where the Diamondbacks pulled off a major upset by winning the final two games of the seven-game series on the road.
Philadelphia’s playoff debacle certainly can’t be blamed on Schwarber. He hit five home runs, all solo hits.
He was at his best on Wednesday, tying his career highs with three homers and seven RBIs in a 9-4 road win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Schwarber hit a home run in the first inning, a two-run double in the fifth, a three-run homer in the sixth and a single in the ninth.
“The most important thing is being able to help the team get through this,” said Schwarber, who increased his season home runs to 27.
The NL East-leading Phillies have won three of their past four games after losing 12 of their past 15 games.
The two teams met in Philadelphia in June, when the Phillies took two of the three teams away from the Diamondbacks.
Arizona extended its winning streak to four games on Wednesday with a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in two games on the road and improved to 14-4 since the All-Star break.
The impressive run goes beyond that. Arizona is 10-0-1 in its last 11 series and has won 24 of its last 33 games.
The Diamondbacks didn’t finish above .500 in more than three months before breaking that barrier on July 12. seats.
Josh Bell hit two home runs in Game 2 of Arizona’s 5-3 win on Wednesday. He’s gone deep four times in six games since being acquired from the Miami Marlins.
Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll each hit home runs, and the Diamondbacks won Wednesday’s opener 7-3. Carroll has hit six home runs in his last 19 games, compared with just three in 92 games before this season.
“We centered around him,” Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfeat said of Carroll. “He had his struggles, but no matter what – we played around him. The fact that he was able to do that on both sides of the glass speaks volumes about the type of player he is.”
Struggling left-hander Jordan Montgomery (7-5, 6.37 ERA) will start the series opener for Arizona.
Montgomery, 31, beat the Phillies on June 21 when he allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. Overall, he is 1-1 with a 6.30 ERA in two career starts against Philadelphia.
Bryce Harper went 2-for-5 against Montgomery in the regular season.
Despite Montgomery’s poor campaign, he has won four of his last five decisions.
Left-hander Colby Allard (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will start for the Phillies. This will be his third major league appearance and second start of the season.
Allard, the second pitcher in Saturday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, gave up one run and two hits in four innings.
Allard, who turns 27 on Tuesday, has faced Arizona just once in his career. In 2020, he gave up one hit in two scoreless innings.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 2-for-2 against Allard.
Phillies outfielder Austin Hayes (left hamstring tightness) left the game in the third inning of Wednesday’s game against the Dodgers.
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