For Max Kepler, that swing came in the eighth inning of a tie game, on a 2-0 fastball that didn’t quite get high enough — and the result was a no-doubt blast into the right-field seats that gave the Phillies a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays on a afternoon when offense was a rumor and baserunners came mostly by accident.
The homer was Kepler’s seventh of the year and the difference in a game that saw the Phillies manage just four hits — none bigger than that one.
Cristopher Sánchez gave them seven strong innings, navigating traffic and keeping the game within reach. He struck out five, walked none, and let the bullpen take it from there. Orion Kerkering got the win with a clean eighth. Matt Strahm slammed the door in the ninth for his third save.
The win was Philadelphia’s fourth in its last five, and they’ll go for the sweep Sunday behind Zack Wheeler, who’s quietly building a case for yet another All-Star nod.
Toronto, meanwhile, came in having won 12 of its last 14 — but they’ve now dropped two straight in South Philly, and Saturday’s loss had to sting a bit more because of what could have been.
The Jays took an early 1-0 lead behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s RBI double in the fourth. They looked poised for more, until the bottom half of that inning happened.
That’s when Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis hit a wall, or maybe more accurately, hit a couple Phillies.
He walked Nick Castellanos and Kepler, then plunked J.T. Realmuto to load the bases. A walk to Bryson Stott tied the game, and another HBP, this one on Otto Kemp, handed the Phillies a 2-1 lead without the benefit of a single base hit.
It was that kind of afternoon.
Toronto tied it in the sixth, but Kepler’s blast off Chad Green (2-2) in the eighth made it all academic.
Now the Phillies turn to Zack Wheeler in the finale, with a chance to sweep and keep momentum going.
