Apr 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber (12) reacts after hitting a three eRBI home run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
One day after playing in a ridiculous game of baseball, everything felt normal for the Phillies.
It felt like the proper order had been restored - home runs were being hit. The bullpen was good. And a superior team beat an inferior one by five runs.
The Phillies wrapped up a sometimes tumultuous month of April with a 7-2 win over the Nationals. They've now won four straight and finished the month with a record of 17-13, which isn't too shabby as only 10 teams in the sport have a record that good.
It hasn't been without it's sense of drama, of course. There was a five-game losing streak in there which included getting swept by the hated New York Mets. The bullpen was often lighting games on fire, the defense was incredibly suspect, especially up the middle, and the lineup was as inconsistent as cafeteria scrambled eggs.
But on Wednesday, there was normalcy.
There was Kyle Schwarber launching a three-run homer in the first inning:
Kyle Schwarber only needs one hand to crush baseballs 💥 pic.twitter.com/X3FAUSjlJ1
It was the second straight game he homered in the first inning and his ninth homer of the season, second-most in the National League behind only Eugenio Suarez, who hit four in one game last Friday.
It also extended Schwarber's on base streak to 36 consecutive games - a career-best for Schwarber and a run that goes back to last season.
"Obviously there's been some ups and downs," Schwarber said about the first month. "That's the great thing about baseball. Everything's always an opportunity to learn. ... No matter if we've started off hot or not too hot we've all kind of found our way to where we want to be (eventually). To be able to have that mindset, is good to have."
The Phillies didn't slug enough in April, but getting three homers in a game was a good sign - especially for guys down in the lineup who didn't slug enough in the first month.
Max Kepler gives the Phillies an insurance run! pic.twitter.com/LKTigwGjz1
Max Kepler has been O.K. to start the season, even though he can't hit lefties, but his batting average (.253), on base percentage (.343) and OPS (.753) are all above his career averages after 30 games.
Meanwhile, J.T. Realmuto has been a shell of himself at the plate so far this season, but two hits, including his second homer of the season had to feel good Wednesday.
J.T. REALMUTO RINGS THE BELL
pic.twitter.com/SxoW5enLl7
But, the thing that likely felt best was not having to use the four guys at the back of the bullpen for a night. Jose Alvarado has been sensational. Matt Strahm has been very good, but Orion Kerkering and Jordan Romano have been beleaguered.
Having a night where the four of them could just chill and watch their team cruise to a win was so very important.
"It's huge," Schwarber said. "If we can keep extending the lead there, we can give our back end guys a little bit of a blow. They were in the game (Tuesday) with a lot of high-stress pitches, so give them a breather."
The guys who did come in - Jose Ruiz, Tanner Banks and Carlos Hernandez - all had their best outings of the season.
The three combined to toss four perfect innings with six strikeouts.
They all know their back is up against the wall a bit. With Ranger Suarez slated to return Sunday, the Phillies will have to send a pitcher out to make room for him.
The Phillies were the only team in baseball to use the same 13 pitchers in every game through April. It's pretty amazing that they did that when the norm in the sport s burning through arms in the first month of the season.
Come Sunday, though, the Phillies will have to move somebody. Only Banks and Orion Kerkering have minor league options. Guys like Ruiz and Hernandez could be waived, so anything they can show that's positive before Sunday could be the difference between sticking around and being let go.
"Ruiz's stuff was really good," manager Rob Thomson said. "His fastball velocity was excellent. He threw strikes. All of them got ahead in the count and put people away and got some swings and misses. Banks was good and Hernandez, he's really come along. He's got a really good aptitude. I think our pitching coaches are doing a great job with him as far as understanding how to attack hitters and he's applying it, so it's good."
Not to be overlooked was the return of Cristopher Sanchez. He made his first start in nine days after leaving a game last Tuesday in New York after two innings with forearm tightness.
Sanchez looked a little rusty as far as command, but his stuff was there. He was throwing 97 MPH in his fifth and final inning. He allowed two runs on five hits and had three walks but struck out six on 87 pitches. The Phillies have to feel good about that considering forearm tightness is never a good sign.
"I went out and competed and did the best I can do and attacked the zone like I always do," Sanchez said, through a team interpreter. "I feel fine."
As do the Phillies, for the most part, after the last night of April made their world seem normal, again.
