The game got started early today— much to the relief of us East Coasters— and so did the Phillies—much to the relief of all of us. Kyle Schwarber doubled to begin the game, and Bryce Harper ensured he wouldn’t have to wait around on base for long, scoring the both of them with a gopher ball over the fence in left-center. Not content to simply have a homer, Harper decided to take one away, too, leaping to snatch a Julio Rodríguez ball out of the air to end the Seattle 1st. The seas remained treacherous in the second for Seattle and their starter, Bryan Woo, as the Phillies once more led off an inning with a double, this one courtesy of Bryson Stott; he was soon joined by Brandon Marsh via walk. Justin Crawford bedeviled Woo across nine pitches, four of them with two strikes, then singled to right to score Stott. Woo made the mistake of offering a fastball right down the middle to Schwarber, an event that can only have one conclusion; the only question was which fan would take home the souvenir. The score was 6-0, and Schwarber had become the first player to hit 40 homers in the 2026 campaign.
While Woo wondered if someone in the Seattle lineup might’ve shot an albatross (bad luck for sailors), Jesús Luzardo had sunny skies and fair winds, navigating the first four innings without allowing a hit. He walked Randy Arozarena to open the fourth, then struck out the next two Mariners and induced a fly out from the third. It looked, for a moment, like his first surrendered hit would come on an infield single in the 5th, as J.P. Crawford chopped one to Trea Turner such that only a heroic throw would beat him. But Turner did indeed make such a throw. Alec Bohm was pulled far enough off the bag that the Mariners thought they might be able to get it overturned; review upheld the call. In the end, the ball that finally beat Luzardo wasn’t a homer or an infield single, but just an ordinary line drive hit, in this case at the hands of Jhonny Pereda.
The Phillies put their first two batters of the sixth aboard (Bohm and Stott, both via single). The inning ought to have ended on a double play, but a high throw from keystone man Brock Rodden on the relay instead put the Phillies in a two-out, runners at the corners situation. Seattle didn’t pay a price for the mistake, ending the inning on a ground out soon after.
Luzardo’s day ended after the 7th, with his final line being one hit, three walks, nine Ks, and no runs. Tim Mayza took the 8th, and the Mariners fared no better against him than they did against Luzardo. They fared slightly better against Jhoan Duran in the 9th, in that they did get a hit against him. But they didn’t get anything else.
The Phillies are 74-60. They’ll return to action Friday night against the Angels.
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