PHILADELPHIA – Kyle Schwarber needed a swing like the one he took in the third inning on Sunday afternoon -- and the one he unleashed in the fifth was even better.
But the Phillies really needed the one Derek Hill delivered in the 12th inning.
Hill once again played the hero, coming through with a walk-off single in the 12th inning to help the Phillies avoid a sweep with a 7-6 win over the Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. Hill’s clutch knock past a drawn-in infield came after the team was unable to push across the automatic runner in both the 10th and 11th innings.
That all came long after Schwarber hit a pair of homers after entering the day having not gone deep since July 18. His first of the day was a three-run shot in the third inning that snapped a 17-game drought, tied for his longest as a Phillie and the third-longest of his career overall.
Schwarber didn't need to wait nearly as long for his next one.
In his very next at-bat, Schwarber smashed a no-doubter into the second deck in right field. The ball traveled a Statcast-projected 448 feet -- a perfect ode to Ryan Howard, who was one of more than 60 former players honored pregame on Phillies Alumni Day.
It seemed as if Schwarber's offense would be more than enough on a day when Jesús Luzardo struck out 12 over seven innings of two-run ball, but he was saddled with a no-decision following another bullpen meltdown. Orion Kerkering allowed three runs in the eighth inning, marking the second time in as many days the Phillies let a multi-run lead slip away in the eighth inning.
Unlike Saturday, however, the Phillies managed to overcome it. Tim Mayza pitched a scoreless top of the 10th and Brooks Raley did the same in the 11th – but the Phillies couldn’t scratch across a run to win it.
After the Blue Jays finally broke the stalemate with a run in the top of the 12th, the Phillies rallied for a pair in the bottom half. Bryson Stott roped a game-tying single to right field, setting the stage for Hill’s second career walk-off hit. The other came on Sept. 14, 2021, with the Tigers.