Kyle Schwarber gave the Phillies an immediate lift Sunday night, following a Trea Turner single with a two-run homer to right-center field against Grant Holmes at Citizens Bank Park. The shot, his seventh of the season, traveled 381 feet and put Philadelphia ahead by two runs in a nationally featured Sunday Night Baseball game against the Braves.
The homer arrived with Andrew Painter on the mound at the other end of the game, a reminder that the Phillies are trying to piece together more than one area at once. Schwarber came in hitting.211 with 12 RBIs and a.871 OPS, but the bat still plays, and on this night it helped steady a club that has spent much of the early season searching for answers in the outfield.
That search is why the Phillies called up Felix Reyes, whose Triple-A numbers suggest a hitter on the rise. Reyes was batting.333 with a.345 on-base percentage and a 1.000 OPS in 18 Triple-A games this season, but manager Rob Thompson said he will need “some reps” before the club can trust him defensively. Until that happens, the source said Schwarber could be asked to start occasionally in left field to help cover the gap.
The outfield has been a major problem behind Philadelphia’s dismal start, and the burden has not been spread evenly. Outside of Brandon Marsh, no Phillies outfielder has provided significant production, according to the source, which makes every lineup card feel like part performance, part patchwork. Schwarber’s home run offered the loud part. The roster math around him is still unsettled.
For now, the Phillies have one obvious comfort: Schwarber still changes the game with one swing. The harder question is how long they can keep asking him to do that while also helping hold together an outfield that has not given them enough back.
