The power showed up. The pitcher showed up. And — for the first time in what felt like weeks — the Phillies looked like themselves again.
Kyle Schwarber crushed his 21st homer of the season. Alec Bohm drove in four runs, including a solo blast in the eighth. And Jesús Luzardo, after two outings that bordered on unwatchable, found his rhythm and struck out 10 over six commanding innings in a 7-2 win over the Cubs on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park.
For a club that had dropped nine of 11, and stumbled through a 1-5 road trip, this wasn’t just another win. It was a breath. A reset. Maybe even a pivot.
The offense, mostly missing in action for the better part of June, snapped back to life. Five extra-base hits. A Nick Castellanos triple. Doubles from Trea Turner and Max Kepler. And Bohm punctuated the day with two more run-scoring swings, including a no-doubt shot in the eighth that gave the ballpark its first real jolt of energy in days.
But the story of the afternoon? Jesús Luzardo.
The lefty who looked like an ace in late May surprisingly had given up 21 earned runs in just 5 2/3 innings over his last two starts. His ERA ballooned. His fastball flattened. He looked lost.
On Wednesday, he looked anything but lost.
Luzardo didn’t walk a batter. Allowed just one run. And recorded his fourth double-digit strikeout performance in just 15 starts with the Phillies. The last Phillie to do that? Some guy named Steve Carlton. In 1972.
That’ll play.
The Phillies jumped on Cubs starter Ken Brown early, plating three in the first. Schwarber’s solo shot in the third made it 4-0. Bohm’s two-run single in the fourth gave Luzardo more cushion. And by the time Bohm launched his homer in the eighth, momentum had made its long-awaited return to South Philly.
Max Lazar bridged the seventh and eighth with two clean innings. Michael Mercado, recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley prior to contest. closed it out in the ninth.
But the most overlooked detail of the day may not be what was on the scoreboard — but what it could mean later. With the win, the Phillies took the season series from Chicago — a potentially crucial edge in the race for October seeding and home-field advantage.
"Could play big coming down the stretch or in the playoffs — but you’ve got to get there first," manager Rob Thomson said. "That’s a good club over there. To win the season series against them? That’s huge."
It’s just one game. But it might be the one that reminds this team who they still can be.
Roster Move
To make room for Mercado, the Phillies designated reliever Carlos Hernandez for assignment. Hernandez posted a 5.26 ERA in 25 2/3 innings.
To make room for Mercado, the Phillies designated reliever Carlos Hernandez for assignment. Hernandez posted a 5.26 ERA in 25 2/3 innings.
