Schwarber’s go-ahead slam snaps skid as Phils get much-needed win

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PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies followed what they hoped would be their lowest point of the season on Tuesday night with a team meeting Wednesday afternoon and a three-run deficit four batters into Wednesday night’s game.

It could’ve gotten worse. It didn’t.

Kyle Schwarber saved the day with a swing they hope will put an end to their losing ways. The Phillies loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Schwarber hit a go-ahead grand slam to left field in a 9-5 victory over the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park, snapping a four-game losing streak.

“It felt good to be in a situation where I could come through,” Schwarber said. “I feel like our guys are doing a really good job of weathering whatever has happened the last couple weeks, when we haven’t been playing our best baseball. We have a really good group of guys in this clubhouse. We’ve got the right guys to get through this and come out better for it.”

Few teams in baseball have played worse the past two months than the Phillies. They entered Wednesday with the second-worst record in baseball (8-18) since July 11, and the fourth-worst record in baseball (24-32) since June 8.

Essentially, they owned one of the league’s worst records (56 games) nearly as long as they owned the best record (64 games). Their recent play sparked a team meeting Wednesday, according to sources, although nobody acknowledged it publicly.

“Well, just so you know my policy, I don’t announce meetings,” manager Rob Thomson said. “What happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse and that’s between us.”

But only eight minutes before the home clubhouse had been scheduled to open to the media at 3:10 p.m., and just a few minutes before the 2024 team photoshoot ended in center field, the Phils announced the clubhouse would not open until 4:20 p.m.

The first players returned to the field a little more than 20 minutes after everybody ducked into the clubhouse.

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“No, I mean, everybody in here knows what to do and how to do their job,” Bryce Harper said when asked if the team met. “If you don’t walk through that door ready to do your job each day, then you probably shouldn’t be here. So I think we’ve just got to continue to go out there and worry about the things we can control and that’s playing the game the right way and winning ballgames.”

Internally, nobody is worried about the team’s ability to right the ship in the coming weeks. They believe the players are too talented, work too hard and care too much.

It’s why Schwarber said Tuesday that the team doesn’t need a shakeup. Harper and Nick Castellanos agreed.

“What kind of shakeup?” Harper said.

Call a player up, send a player down, bench somebody.

“I don’t know who we’re going to call up or send down,” Harper said.

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Trea Turner did not start Wednesday, although Thomson said he would play Thursday against the Nationals. Turner has hit .168 with a .463 OPS since the All-Star break while struggling defensively and not running at full speed.

Edmundo Sosa started in Turner’s place at shortstop -- he was the only starter without a hit -- but Thomson was encouraged to see struggling Phillies like Bryson Stott, J.T. Realmuto and Brandon Marsh each collect multiple hits.

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After rookie Tyler Phillips allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings and José Ruiz pitched two-thirds of a scoreless inning, Thomson turned to his four most-trusted relievers in Matt Strahm, Jeff Hoffman, José Alvarado and Carlos Estévez.

They pitched a combined four scoreless innings, the first time they’ve done that in a game since the Phillies acquired Estévez from the Angels before the July 30 Trade Deadline.

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“It’s what it looks like when you draw it up,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman spoke through a lingering fog in the clubhouse. Aaron Nola upgraded the team’s fog machine last month. It hasn’t gotten much use since. In fact, Wednesday was just the second game they had won at home since July 13.

“We’ve got it on high power now,” Hoffman said. “We’re really celebrating our wins.”

The Phillies pulled through Wednesday. Now, they just need to keep it up.

“I believe in the guys in this clubhouse,” Castellanos said. “Everybody is a professional. Even though we haven’t been winning a bunch of games, it’s not because all of a sudden we’re not working or we don’t care. Everybody cares. At the end of the day, that’s all you can ask for. Because I’ve been in clubhouses that don’t care.”

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