After dropping their first matchup of the season last night, the Philadelphia Phillies (41-35) made some history in the second meeting with a 15-3 dismantling of the New York Mets (34-42) on Saturday night.
Bryce Harper notched his first career cycle, Kyle Schwarber hit three home runs and Cristopher Sanchez picked up his ninth win.
Harper got the Phillies on the board first with a solo homer in the first inning then doubled and singled in the third to put the cycle within reach. He completed the feat in the fifth with a hard hit ball in the left field gap that would have been a double in most other situations, if not for Trea Turner running for home and Harper’s aggressive chase of the accomplishment.
The Phillies sent 12 batters to the plate in the third as they scored eight runs, their highest scoring frame of the season. The other Phils’ batter with two hits in the inning was Kyle Schwarber, who started things off with a solo home run followed by a three-run bomb in his second go-round.
Schwarber capped off the huge night by the team’s two biggest offensive contributors with a two-run home run in the seventh inning, his third of the game and 28th of the season, extending his major league lead.
Schwarber and Harper were two of the five starters to record multiple hits, joined by Turner, Justin Crawford and JT Realmuto, whose pair of doubles were part of the offense’s 10 extra base hits. The Phils’ 17 hits equalled their season high mark, which they set a week ago in Milwaukee.
The Mets scored all three of their runs via the long ball, with Mark Vientos tagging Cristopher Sanchez for a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run blast by rookie, Carson Benge, off of Max Lazar in the seventh.
Harper is the first Phillie to hit for the cycle since Weston Wilson on August 15, 2024.
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Schwarber is the first Phillie to hit two home runs in the same inning since Turner did it on August 19, 2023 against the Washington Nationals, and is the first MLB player with two in an inning and three or more in the same game since Mike Cameron on May 2, 2002.
Harper and Schwarber are the second pair of teammates to hit for the cycle and hit three home runs in the same game in MLB history after New York Yankees’ legends Tony Lazzeri and Lou Gehrig on June 3, 1932.
The 15 runs are the most the Phillies have scored against the Mets since June 27, 2023 and the 12-run margin of victory is their largest against them since September 20, 2005.
Zack Wheeler will face off against Mets’ lefty, David Peterson, tomorrow on Sunday Night Baseball.
