Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
LOS ANGELES — Thanks to a pair of Kyle Schwarber home runs and gutsy pitching performances from Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez, the 2025 Phillies are still alive.
They defeated the Dodgers 8-2 in NLDS Game 3 Wednesday. They now trail the Dodgers 2-1 in the best-of-five NLDS. They've earned the right to play again at 6 p.m. ET Thursday with their season again on the line.
Nola overcame a Mookie Betts ball that Brandon Marsh played from a single into a triple to pitch two scoreless innings. Granted, he had to strand Betts on third base to escape the first inning unscathed, but the longest-tenured Phillie struck out three and allowed just the one hit over two frames. He did his job as the opener.
Unfortunately for the Phillies, Suárez was greeted with a solo home run off the bat of Tommy Edman to begin the the bottom of the third inning:
TOMMY EDMAN! The @Dodgers take a #NLDS Game 3 lead! pic.twitter.com/ibF29X6Z2V
The Phillies, though, woke up in the top of the fourth inning, with Kyle Schwarber hitting one of the most titanic home runs in franchise history to lead off against Yoshinobu Yamamoto:
Kyle Schwarber rips one deep into the night! 💣
pic.twitter.com/xCVb8BHeMD
Schwarber's home run traveled 455 feet, which actually undersells how much of a shot it felt like.
Harper and Bohm then followed with singles. On Bohm's single, Harper got aggressive in trying to go first to third base. Center fielder Andy Pages' throw got by Max Muncy at third base and went into the Dodger dugout, allowing Harper to score:
Andy Pages’ errant throw gifts the Phillies with the go-ahead run
(Via @TalkinBaseball_)
pic.twitter.com/R9AjISpBeJ
Before the inning was out, Marsh plated Bohm with a sacrifice fly, giving the Phillies a 3-1 lead.
Suárez then settled in, ultimately taking down five innings in relief and holding a potent Dodgers lineup to five hits and one run, while striking out five. Granted, Shohei Ohtani skied a ball to the left-field warning track on the final pitch that Suárez threw of the night, but Max Kepler was there to put it away. That ended the night for Suárez. Though the Phillies hope he's needed again, Suárez is set to become a free agent and the Phillies still need to win out in the NLDS to save their season. If this was it for Suárez as a Phillie, it was a remarkable final outing.
After stranding the bases loaded to end the top of the fifth, and then leaving runners on the corners in the top of the seventh, the Phillies finally exploded offensively in the eighth in Clayton Kershaw's second inning of work.
It started with a leadoff home run by J.T. Realmuto:
J.T. Realmuto gives the Phillies an insurance run with a bomb 💣
pic.twitter.com/tbM7WqTgsH
Trea Turner extended the lead with a two-run single into shallow right field that scored Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos:
🎶🎶It’s still Trea Day 🎶🎶
(Via @aokstott)
pic.twitter.com/pgLg0LoNQH
And then Schwarber launched his second home run of the night, a two-run shot that gave the Phillies an 8-1 lead:
Kyle Schwarber has his second career multi-home run postseason game 💣
pic.twitter.com/E49eFU4bS3
Schwarber's second home run moved him up two all-time postseason leaderboards. Schwarber has temporarily taken the lead for the most playoff home runs in Phillies history at 14, now two more than Bryce Harper's 12. He's also passed Bernie Williams for third in MLB history with 23 career postseason home runs. Schwarber trails only Manny Ramirez (29) and Jose Altuve (27).
The massive eighth inning allowed the Phillies to completely change course in the bullpen over the final two innings. Suárez, it appeared, was going to be finished regardless of what happened in the away half of the eighth. Jhoan Duran was warming in the bullpen, presumably preparing to go for a six-out save. Instead, he was able to sit down, with Orion Kerkering, Taijuan Walker and Tanner Banks combining to finish the game out. That's a major development with Game 4 in less than 24 hours.
Don't get it twisted, the Phillies' backs are still up against the wall. They need to win two more in a row against the defending World Series Champions. The odds are stacked against them. But they avoided being swept, and will presumably have their ace, Cristopher Sánchez, on the mound in Game 4. It now feels like there's at least a chance they can pull off a miracle comeback.
