Blue Jays succumb to Kyle Schwarber’s sublime bat in wild loss to visiting Phillies

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Published Sep 03, 2024  •  4 minute read

Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies hits his 2nd home run of the game and 30th of the season in the fourth inning during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 03, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Vaughn Ridley /Getty Images

The Blue Jays reverted to their thumping ways in their return to Rogers Centre on a night when the team’s power bats came out to play.

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Too bad Kyle Schwarber had an even bigger impact when he turned into the big thumper, matching Toronto’s three home runs to record baseball’s version of a hat trick.

He went deep to begin the game and then went deep to end the game as the Philadelphia Phillies came back an early 6-1 deficit and later an 8-4 hole, ultimately prevailing in a wild 10-9 win.

No lead was ever safe given the lack of pitching, and no play was ever assured when so many odd bounces and weird sequences set up so many scoring opportunities.

It did add to the fireworks, but very few in the stands seemed to take notice or even bothered to care.

Other than the seven home runs, the game lacked buzz.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his team-leading 28th homer of the season, while Daulton Varsho and Addison Barger also went deep.

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Leo Jimenez wasn’t even in the starting lineup, but he entered the game for an injured Barger and made things quite interesting by hitting a home run in the ninth inning.

The crowd became fully engaged for the first time.

While the Phillies are a quality team capable of making a deep playoff run, only 23,796 fans were in attendance on Loonie Dogs Night, the second-lowest gathering of the season.

Granted, it was the first day of school for most kids and playoff tickets for the Jays aren’t exactly being printed knowing there will be no post-season appearance.

At the same time, the Jays have been playing some entertaining baseball with an emphasis on run production via the home run.

There’s also been a noticeable pep in the team’s play amid so many young faces competing for potential jobs.

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Tuesday also marked the first of 11 straight games pitting the Jays against National League opponents.

After scoring six runs in the first inning, the Jays seemed to be well on their way to a win.

Tyler Phillips started for Philly, but failed to make it out of the first inning, needing 36 pitches to record two outs.

Chris Bassitt has developed this nasty habit of giving up home runs in the first inning.

Against the Phillies, he failed to make it out of the sixth inning.

His 92-pitch outing featured 10 hits being yielded, four runs surrendered, including three earned, while recording seven strikeouts.

Luckily, Bassitt was bailed out by his offence.

Pitching became an afterthought on this night, a night dominated by hitting.

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After Philly scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning, some much-needed drama had arrived.

Additional drama arrived in the ninth when Chad Green gave up more runs (three) than outs (two).

He caught a break when Schwarber pulled a ball foul down the right-field line.

He then sent a no-doubter deep into the seats to give Schwarber a six-RBI night.

Daulton Varsho of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after hitting a 2 run home run in the first inning during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Rogers Centre on September 03, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

MATINEE MAGIC?

When he last appeared in front of home fans, Bowden Francis came within three outs of pitching the second no-hit game in Blue Jays history.

His bid ended in the top of the ninth inning when L.A. Angels leadoff hitter Taylor Ward went deep off Francis.

Francis was lifted and received a standing ovation.

A similar reception awaits when Francis is scheduled to make the start Wednesday.

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When he pitched against the Angels on Aug. 24, the big right-hander had been named American League player of the week.

This time, he’ll be making the start having earned pitcher of the month honors, a complete no-brainer given Francis’ dominance.

During August, Francis made six appearances, including five starts.

Of all the gaudy numbers he posted, the one that resonated involved Francis’ WHIP.

No pitcher making a minimum of four starts has ever produced a lower WHIP in MLB history than Francis, who checked in for August with a 0.41 WHIP.

In the case of the Phillies, Francis will face his toughest challenge as the two teams close out their two-game series.

His fastball command has only been matched by Francis’ ability to record plenty of swings and misses.

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In his past five starts, Francis recorded 39 strikeouts, including 12 against the Angels, while walking four, including three against the Angels.

Just before the Jays began their at-bats in the home half of the first inning Tuesday, a video highlight of Francis’ month was shown.

Once completed, a live shot of Francis in the dugout appeared, prompting fans to salute him.

Francis then responded by flashing a big smile.

Whether he sports a smile or a frown Wednesday will depend on how well Francis can navigate his way around a talented Philly lineup.

BO ON THE MEND

By the sounds of it, Bo Bichette is poised to return to the big-league team.

The precise date remains unknown, but at some point in September it’s expected Bichette will be in the lineup.

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A day running the basepaths, Bichette took batting practice and fielded groundballs with his teammates before Tuesday night’s first pitch.

Bichette has not played since July 19 and has been recovering from his calf injury at the club’s spring training complex in Dunedin, Fla.

“He’s going to come with us to Atlanta to kind of continue to do everything,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “If it works out that after that weekend, he’s ready to roll, that’d be great.”

Bichette’s replacement at shortstop, Jimenez, was last seen tumbling into the stands on a highlight-reel catch during Sunday’s loss to the host Minnesota Twins.

Jimenez was held out of Tuesday’s lineup with Ernie Clement filling in at short.

At least that was the plan.

With the Jays leading by four runs heading into the top of the seventh inning, Jimenez was at short in a shift that had Clement moving to third base.

When the game began, Barger started at the hot corner.

It was later revealed Barger was forced to leave the game because of left knee discomfort.

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