PHILADELPHIA -- Kyle Schwarber grabbed a microphone early Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park and addressed Phillies fans before the final game of the regular season.
He knew how to butter up the crowd.
“Are the Birds winning?” Schwarber said, fully knowing the Eagles were beating the Bucs in Tampa Bay.
Schwarber started his 162nd game in Sunday’s 2-1 10-inning victory over the Twins, becoming the second Phillies player to start 162 games in a season since Jimmy Rollins in 2007. He finished the year with 56 home runs, the second-most in a season in franchise history behind Ryan Howard’s 58 in 2006. Schwarber led the NL in both home runs and RBIs (132).
Schwarber should finish in the top five for the NL MVP Award, at least. He will be a highly coveted bat on the free agent market this winter.
But first …
“We’re going into Red October again,” Schwarber told the crowd. “Now, we feed off all you guys here. You know that. The Bank’s a hard place to play. So, we come here, we start this thing off here, we need to hear all you guys, buying into us, everything against the other team. And we’re going to ride with you guys, all right?
"We put in the work every single day. We’ve got a dream. That’s to hold up a trophy, and it starts here with you guys and all of us here. So, thank you guys again for all the support throughout this whole year, and let’s see where this takes us, all right?”
A few happenings from Sunday:
Trea Turner returns, wins NL batting title
Easily the best thing to happen Sunday was Turner playing for the first time since he strained his right hamstring on Sept. 7 in Miami.
Turner wanted to test the hamstring before the postseason, which he did. He wanted to see pitching in a real game before the postseason, which he did. He went 0-for-2 before exiting in the top of the sixth inning.
Don’t worry, his early exit was planned.
“Just being smart,” Turner said. “Today, I felt like today I could’ve run harder than I did, because I feel really good. The body feels good. The five innings felt good. The swing feels good. So, just more of getting back out there and being smart and being ready for Saturday.”
Turner batted .304 this season to win the Phillies’ first batting title since Richie Ashburn in 1958.
Sánchez dazzles, gets a standing ovation
What an afternoon for Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, who will likely finish second for the NL Cy Young Award behind Pirates ace Paul Skenes. Sánchez struck out eight in 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
Thomson hinted that he would pull Sánchez during an inning to give fans an opportunity to recognize his fantastic season.
“I told him that about 44,000 people think I’m an idiot right now for taking you out,” Thomson said he told Sánchez on the mound. “But we want to take care of him.”
Sánchez raised his cap to the crowd as he walked off the field.
“It’s special, truly special, for me,” Sánchez said through the team’s interpreter. “I try to give back what I receive from them, which is a lot of love.”
Sánchez went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 32 starts this season. He set career bests in wins, ERA, innings (202), strikeouts (212) and more. He will make his next start in Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday against either the Dodgers or the Reds.
Castellanos delivers
Nick Castellanos’ sacrifice fly to center field in the 10th scored Harrison Bader from third base to win it. It was the fifth walk-off plate appearance for Castellanos over the past two seasons. That's tied with San Francisco's Patrick Bailey for the most in MLB during that span.
Castellanos has been through the Phillies’ last three postseason runs. He was asked why he thinks this group might be better suited to win the World Series.
“We’re more experienced as a group, that’s for sure, which I think really helps,” Castellanos said. “We know what it feels like. We know what it sounds like. Experience is always going to be on our side.”
Max effort
Max Kepler can enter the postseason with a good feeling in his mind. He hit a game-tying home run to right field in the eighth inning. The last couple of weeks had been a grind.
After he went 2-for-4 on Sept. 12 against the Royals, he was batting .069 (2-for-29) in nine games before homering on Sunday.
Orion looks good
Orion Kerkering struck out the side in the 10th inning to earn the win. He recorded an out on Saturday, too.
Kerkering had allowed at least one run in each of his previous four appearances prior to Saturday. He had a 7.36 ERA in 14 appearances from Aug. 19-Sept. 23, so Kerkering’s last two appearances were important because the Phillies really need him to step up in the postseason.
“Really encouraged by what he’s done,” Thomson said.
They love Stubbs
Garrett Stubbs must be the most popular backup catcher in Phillies history, right? He had played only four games this month following his Sept. 1 callup from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He got a standing ovation when he stepped to the plate for the first time this season in the eighth inning.
He grounded out to first base.
"He's a legend," Thomson said.