Kyle Schwarber hits 41st homer

Kyle Schwarber’s 41st home run came in the fourth inning on Saturday, September 5, and helped the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 at Citizens Bank Park. Zack Wheeler struck out nine over six innings, and Jhoan Duran closed out the ninth for his 30th save as Philadelphia improved to 80-62. The win cut Atlanta’s lead in the National League East to four games, according to ESPN’s game recap and MLB’s official coverage. The game in Philadelphia also clarified a detail that circulated incorrectly on social media. ESPN and Associated Press coverage dated the 4-2 Phillies win to Saturday night, Sept. 5, not Sunday, while MLB’s official game stories show Schwarber hit his 42nd homer in Sunday’s follow-up game, a 5-4 Braves win. ### How did Schwarber’s homer fit into the game? Schwarber’s solo shot to deep right field came in the fourth inning and pushed Philadelphia back to a three-run lead at 4-1. (espn.com) ESPN’s recap said Ronald Acuña Jr. had pulled Atlanta within 3-1 with a third-inning homer before Schwarber answered one inning later. Luis Arraez added two hits and an RBI for Philadelphia, and J.T. Realmuto drew a bases-loaded walk in a two-run first inning against Braves starter Martín Pérez. (espn.com) Pérez allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings in his first start of September, ESPN reported. ### What did Wheeler do besides protect the lead? Wheeler earned the win to move to 12-5 after escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first inning. (espn.com) ESPN’s recap said he then settled in and allowed one run on three hits across six innings after entering the outing off a shaky August in which he posted a 6.26 ERA. The loudest reaction from the sellout crowd of 43,241 came in the fifth inning, when Wheeler struck out Acuña after the Braves star had homered earlier in the game. (espn.com) Wheeler finished with nine strikeouts, and Duran followed with a 1-2-3 ninth inning for save No. 30. ### What did the Braves get from Acuña and Riley? Atlanta got its two runs on solo home runs from Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley. (espn.com) ESPN said the Braves had won nine of their previous 11 before the loss and fell to 84-58. Acuña also made a leaping catch in right-center field in the first inning that likely prevented three more Philadelphia runs, according to the recap. Even in defeat, Atlanta stayed atop the division entering the rest of the four-game set. (espn.com) ### Why does the date matter here? Sunday, September 6, brought a different result. MLB’s official game story for that date shows Schwarber homered again — his 42nd — but Atlanta rallied for a 5-4 win after Ronald Acuña Jr. tied the game with his 1,000th career hit and Austin Riley drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth. (espn.com) That sequence means the widely shared 4-2 score and Schwarber’s 41st homer belong to Saturday’s game, while Sunday’s contest was the next game in the series and ended with a different score and a different Schwarber total. (espn.com) ### Who was up next in the series? ESPN listed Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle, 5-10 with a 4.25 ERA, and Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola, 6-10 with a 4.93 ERA, as the scheduled starters for Sunday afternoon’s third game of the four-game set. (mlb.com) MLB’s game story shows that Sunday game was played on Sept. 6, with Atlanta winning 5-4. (espn.com)