Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run walk-off home run to highlight a six-run, ninth-inning rally as the Philadelphia Phillies extended their winning streak to nine with a thrilling 6-4 victory over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Philadelphia did not score until Edmundo Sosa’s three-run double with two outs in the ninth. Bryan De La Cruz tied it with a single through the left side, and then Schwarber followed by launching a mammoth homer off the batter’s eye in center field, delivering the Phillies’ first walk-off homer in more than three years.
Phillies star left-hander Cristopher Sanchez gave up four runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven without a walk. He was on the hook for the loss before Schwarber’s blast stunned Riley O’Brien (3-5) and the Cardinals, who concluded their season-long road trip with a 5-6 record.
Alec Burleson knocked in a pair of runs and Jose Fermin homered for St. Louis, while J.J. Wetherholt chipped in with two hits and an RBI for the visitors. Kyle Leahy and four Cardinals relievers combined to blank the Phillies over the first eight innings before things fell apart in the final frame.
The Phillies trailed 4-0 in the ninth, when Bryce Harper doubled against O’Brien to open the frame. After two flyouts, J.T. Realmuto singled and Justin Crawford walked to load the bases.
Sosa then grounded a double inside the third-base line, clearing the bases. That set the stage for Schwarber launching his major league-leading 39th homer on a 2-2 sinker.
St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead as Burleson delivered RBI singles against Sanchez in the first and fourth innings. Fermin opened the fourth inning with a home run to left-center — his sixth of the year — to extend the lead to 3-0.
In the sixth, the Cardinals strung together three straight singles against Sanchez, capped by Wetherholt’s base hit to make it 4-0.
Ryan Stanek logged a 1-2-3 seventh inning for St. Louis and George Soriano followed suit in the eighth.
Alex McFarlane (3-1) held the Cardinals scoreless in the ninth to earn the victory.