Kyle Schwarber belted another home run as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their Major League Baseball playoff series on Friday.
After being outgunned by San Diego in an 8-5 game two loss in California on Wednesday, Philadelphia bounced back superbly in front of their home fans at Citizens Bank Park.
Phillies starter Ranger Suarez gave up two runs through five innings before the Philadelphia bullpen took over to lock down the win.
Once again it was the big-hitting Schwarber who set the tone for the victory, crushing a leadoff homer off Padres starter Joe Musgrove to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Schwarber had also smashed a monstrous 488-foot leadoff home run in the Phillies’ game one victory at Petco Park on Tuesday.
“You want to get out in front, put a little pressure on people and put pressure on the club,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of his team’s fast start.
“Schwarber started that whole thing with the home run to lead off the game and got the crowd really into it.”
Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Juan Soto to make it 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning.
But Philadelphia responded immediately when Jean Segura smacked a line drive to right field to score Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott for a 3-1 lead.
Padres talisman Kim Ha-seong ground out to set up a run for Trent Grisham in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 3-2.
San Diego then looked poised to pile on in the top of the sixth after getting runners on third and first with only one out.
But a superb double play executed flawlessly by Segura, Bryson Stott and Rhys Hoskins got the Phillies out of the jam to leave their lead intact.
The Phillies then edged further clear when Bohm’s double in the bottom of the sixth scored Nick Castellanos to make it 4-2.
Phillies closer Seranthony Dominguez locked it down over two final scoreless innings, sealing the win after striking out a swinging Austin Nola.
Dominguez’s ruthless pitching performance in securing the final six Padres outs earned high praise from Phillies skipper Thomson.
“Incredible,” Thomson said of the 27-year-old Dominican.
“Ever since we started the playoffs, he’s been locked in. He’s pitched in the biggest parts of the game and done a great job. The moment doesn’t get to him.”
Game four in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series takes place in Philadelphia on Saturday.
The winner will face either the New York Yankees or Houston Astros in the World Series.
Source: rcw/mca
Image Credit: Tim Nwachukwu / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA
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