Schwarber's 20th homer propels Phillies to 3-2 victory over the A's, series sweep
Kyle Schwarber hits a lead-off solo home run against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the first inning at RingCentral Coliseum on June 18, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) ((Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images))
OAKLAND, Calif. - Kyle Schwarber opened the game with his 20th home run and added an RBI single to lead the sizzling Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
The Phillies swept the three-game series and have won six in a row. The A's lost their fifth in a row after a six-game win streak and were swept in a series for the 10th time this year.
Former Athletic Cristian Pache doubled twice and scored two runs for the Phillies. Aledmys Diaz homered for the A's against reliever Matt Strahm. Oakland scored another run in the eighth off Jose Alvarado before Yunior Marte struck out the side in the ninth and recorded his first save.
Zack Wheeler (6-4) pitched six shutout innings to continue a dominating run by the rotation that has fueled the team's run of 13 wins in the past 15 games. In that span the starters have a 1.74 ERA with three homers, all allowed by Aaron Nola.
The run also began a day after Phillies manager Rob Thomson moved Schwarber from the third spot in the order to leadoff hoping the designated hitter could spark the team as he did last season from that spot.
Schwarber entered Sunday's game with a .985 OPS and six homers since the change. He made it seven homers when he blasted the game's fourth pitch to left for a 409-footer the opposite way.
Rookie left-hander Hogan Harris buckled down after allowing the homer, keeping the Phillies off the board again until the fifth, when Pache hit a two-out double. Schwarber dropped a well-placed single down the right-field line to score Pache. Harris (2-1) took his first big-league loss.
Pache hit another double in the eighth inning, against Shintaro Fujinami, and scored on a Trea Turner single that gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead. The A's trimmed it to 3-2 in the bottom half when pinch-hitter Esteury Ruiz doubled and Carlos Perez also came off the bench and hit an RBI single.
BIG DRAW
Father's Day and an aloha shirt giveaway helped the A's draw 24,326 fans to the Coliseum, their third-largest home crowd this season. They have averaged just under 10,000 per game.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: Left-hander Cristopher Sanchez had some residual swelling in his left wrist a day after being hit by a Ruiz comebacker in the fourth inning of Saturday's 4-2, 12-inning victory. Thomson said X-rays were negative and he expects Sanchez to take his next turn Friday night against the Mets.
UP NEXT
Phillies starter Ranger Suarez (1-2), who has a 0.90 ERA in three June starts, faces the visiting Braves in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night. Also Tuesday, the A's open a three-game series in Cleveland behind right-hander Luis Medina (1-6).