Kyle Schwarber broke out of his slump in historic fashion Wednesday night, blasting two home runs — including one that cleared Dodger Stadium’s right-field pavilion — as the Philadelphia Phillies avoided elimination with an 8-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
With the victory, the Phillies cut the Dodgers’ series lead to 2-1 and forced a Game 4 on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
Schwarber, the National League’s home run leader, had been 0-for-8 in the series before crushing a 96-mph fastball from Yoshinobu Yamamoto 455 feet for his first homer of the postseason. The mammoth blast, which ignited a three-run fourth inning, made Schwarber just the second player ever to hit a ball over the right-field pavilion — joining Pittsburgh Pirates legend Willie Stargell, who did it in 1969 and 1973.
Fans stood and pointed toward the sky as Schwarber’s towering drive disappeared, marking the first home run the Dodgers had allowed all postseason. Later, Schwarber added a two-run shot in the eighth inning off Clayton Kershaw to seal the win. His 23 career postseason home runs now rank third all-time and are the most by any left-handed hitter in MLB playoff history.
After Aaron Nola opened the game with two scoreless innings, Ranger Suárez took over and gave Philadelphia the steady pitching it needed. The left-hander went five innings, allowing one run on five hits, striking out four and walking one.
The Dodgers took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning when Tommy Edman homered on the first pitch he saw from Suárez. But the Phillies responded with a three-run rally in the fourth. Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm singled, and Harper scored on center fielder Andy Pages’ throwing error that sailed into the Dodgers dugout, allowing Bohm to advance to third. He scored on Brandon Marsh’s sacrifice fly, setting the stage for Schwarber’s tape-measure home run that made it 3-1.
Philadelphia added five more runs in the eighth inning, tagging Kershaw in what could be his final career appearance. Making his first postseason relief outing since 2019, the 36-year-old left-hander surrendered six hits and three home runs, including solo shots by J.T. Realmuto and Schwarber.
Kershaw’s appearance — and likely farewell to Dodger Stadium — drew a standing ovation, including applause from 89-year-old Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax, who stood and clapped as the future Hall of Famer jogged to the mound.
Yamamoto, who had retired nine of his first 10 batters, was chased in the fifth after consecutive singles by Bryson Stott and Trea Turner. Reliever Anthony Banda entered and escaped a bases-loaded jam, striking out Schwarber and Marsh to end the threat.
The Dodgers had a chance to close the gap in the sixth, putting two runners on with one out, but Max Muncy grounded into an inning-ending double play. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman went a combined 0-for-8 with three strikeouts, while Mookie Betts had a triple and a single in four at-bats.
With the Phillies staving off elimination, Game 4 of the best-of-five series will take place Thursday night in Los Angeles. Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, who started Game 1, will take the mound for Philadelphia against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief in the series opener.
Game 4: Thursday, Dodger Stadium — Phillies: Cristopher Sánchez (LHP) vs. Dodgers: Tyler Glasnow (RHP)
