Kyle Schwarber (back) returns to lineup Thursday

Schwarber, who was held out of the lineup for the second straight game with back tightness, came off the bench to face Nationals reliever Orlando Ribalta with two outs in the ninth inning with the Phillies trailing by a run. He managed to foul off a couple pitches and eventually worked a 10-pitch walk before being lifted for a pinch-runner. It wound up being the turning point in the game for Philadelphia as Derek Hill followed with a go-ahead homer off lefty Richard Lovelady, lifting the Phillies to another comeback victory.

Schwarber receives additional time off to rest after his back locked up on him just prior to first pitch on Tuesday at Nationals Park. It sounds like the Phillies are merely proceeding with an abundance of caution given the nature of most back issues since interim manager Don Mattingly downplayed concern after the contest. The 33-year-old slugger is day-to-day heading into Thursday’s series finale. It’ll be Bryce Harper getting a turn at DH in his absence.

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly told reporters Schwarber’s back locked up on him roughly 10 minutes before first pitch and they didn’t want to take any chances. It doesn’t sound like a significant concern, but he’ll be reevaluated prior to Wednesday’s contest just to be safe.

Schwarber, who leads the majors with 29 round-trippers across 75 games this season, was a late scratch just prior to first pitch at Nationals Park. It’ll be Edmundo Sosa taking over at DH in his place. The power-hitting 33-year-old is presumably day-to-day, but it’s worth noting that back issues can be complex matters. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Not a bad encore after his three-homer display on Saturday night. Schwarber walked and scored a run in the first inning before hitting an absolute missile in the second. The ball traveled an estimated 418 feet, which really doesn’t do it justice. Similar to Saturday’s homers, it was a majestic blast which found a home in the second deck. Schwarber is up to 29 homers, four more than Yordan Alvarez for tops in MLB. He’s well on his way to another 50-homer season. If Schwarber manages to pull it off, which looks very likely right now, he’ll become the first player in Phillies history with two 50-homer seasons.

Schwarber now leads the league with 28 home runs. He hit two home runs in the third inning, becoming the first player in the Statcast era to have two home runs that each traveled at least 450 feet in the same inning. Then he hit another home run off Tobias Myers in the seventh inning, giving Schwarber the fifth three-homer game of his career. Schwarber is tied with Dave Kingman for most games with at least three home runs and at least six RBI with four. With Bryce Harper hitting for the cycle, it was the second time teammates had hit for the cycle and at least three home runs in the same game (Tony Lazzeri cycle, Lou Gehrig four home runs for the Yankees in 1932).

Schwarber ripped a line-drive into the right-field seats off Marlins starter Tyler Phillips in the fourth inning while making his first appearance at the cold corner since October 20, 2021. Amazingly he didn’t have a single ball hit in his direction during the contest. The 33-year-old power-hitter has just three round-trippers since the calendar flipped to June, but he’s hitting over .300 during that 14-game span. That’ll do.

According to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, Schwarber is making his first appearance at the cold corner since October 20, 2021. It’ll be Brandon Marsh moving up to the leadoff spot with Trea Turner (wrist) out of the lineup after being hit by a pitch during Monday’s series opener. The 33-year-old slugger’s 24 round-trippers are tied with Astros star Yordan Alvarez for the major-league lead this season.

Oftentimes, a player going 1-for-3 with a single is not notable enough to make it into these recaps. Yet, this was a special occasion because Schwarber’s fourth inning single was the only thing that wound up standing between Jacob Misiorowski and a perfect game here. Funny enough, he was immediately erased by a double play. He now has a .240 batting average and .930 OPS in another standout season.

The Phillies’ lineup jumped all over Max Scherzer in this one for six quick runs. A 423 foot, two-run shot from Schwarber was right in the middle of the party. That was his 24th home run of the season, two ahead of Yordan Alvarez for most in the league. His .239 batting average is also nearly identical to where it wound up last year. That’s just fine with him on a 50-homer pace for the second straight season.