Kyle Schwarber is serenaded with 'MVP' chants in Phillies' 13-3 rout of Orioles

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 4, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — As Kyle Schwarber lifted the bat off his shoulder, “M-V-P” chants rained down from the Citizens Bank Park crowd.

The Baltimore Orioles bullpen had been stripped down to the studs last week at the trade deadline, and right-hander Yaramil Hiraldo, recalled just four days before, had the unenviable task of facing Schwarber with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning.

Hiraldo tried to sneak a fastball by him, even though Schwarber had just sent one 427 feet in the third inning for a two-run shot. And so he answered the chants with a grand slam, his 40th home run of the season. It capped a eight-run sixth inning that powered the Phillies to a 13-3 win over the Orioles.

Schwarber is currently on pace for 57 home runs this season. The single-season Phillies record is 58, held by Ryan Howard.

The big sixth inning came inches away from never happening. With two outs, J.T. Realmuto narrowly beat out Gunnar Henderson’s throw on an infield single. Another single from Nick Castellanos set the stage for a three-run home run from Harrison Bader for his first hit in a Phillies uniform, breaking what was then a 3-3 tie.

Rob Thomson opted not to pinch-hit for Bader once the Orioles brought in right-handed reliever Corbin Martin, and the decision paid off when he got a four-seam over the middle of the plate.

The Phillies weren’t done there. Three consecutive singles from Otto Kemp, Edmundo Sosa and Weston Wilson scored another run. Trea Turner drew a walk to load them up, bringing Schwarber — who had started the inning with a lineout — back up to the plate.

It was a homer-heavy game, as the Phillies and Orioles traded blasts early. All three runs starter Jesús Luzardo allowed came off home runs: a two-run shot from Tyler O’Neill in the second and a solo homer from Jordan Westburg in the third. But Luzardo silenced the Orioles after that, retiring the final 11 batters he faced.

Bryce Harper hit a solo home run in the first inning, and Schwarber tied the game up in the third with his first of the game. Sosa and Wilson later joined the party by going deep back-to-back in the eighth.