Promising signs aplenty as Phillies throw up 11 runs in win

Promising signs aplenty as Phillies throw up 11 runs in win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

WASHINGTON — Could this be a sign of what’s to come for a healthy Bryson Stott?

A glimpse of contract year Kyle Schwarber?

A foundation for newcomer Jesus Luzardo?

The Phillies came back to beat the Nationals on Saturday for the second straight game to begin their season, surging in the middle innings after Keibert Ruiz gave Washington another early lead with a home run.

Stott, who dealt with a balky elbow for two-thirds of the 2024 season, tied the game in the fourth inning when he kept a two-run homer just inside the right-field line. He also doubled, walked twice and scored three runs. Not once last season did Stott double and homer in the same game. Both extra-base hits came with two strikes, which was a theme all throughout 2023 when he was neck-and-neck with Freddie Freeman for the most two-strike hits in the National League.

Schwarber and Brandon Marsh broke the 11-6 win wide-open with three-run homers in the top of the sixth and seventh. Both were patient frames for the Phils and examples of what can happen when the bottom of the order does its job. Nick Castellanos and Stott drew one-out walks and Marsh singled ahead of Schwarber’s three-run bomb. Castellanos and Stott walked again in the seventh ahead of Marsh’s longball.

The Phillies have derived tremendous value from the four-year, $79 million contract they signed Schwarber to before the 2022 season. Between the regular season and playoffs, he’s homered 145 times in 501 games as a Phillie while also becoming the leader of a team filled with big names.

Marsh singled twice before the homer. He and Stott are both coming off down years entering their age-27 season and their improvement will go a long way in determining how far the Phillies advance. Without much turnover in the lineup, the Phillies are relying on that sort of internal improvement.

The big sixth inning made a winner out of Luzardo, who struck out 11, tied with Jim Bunning for the second-most ever for a debuting Phillie behind only Garrett Stephenson in 1997.

Luzardo was animated walking off the mound at the end of his final inning, pumping his fist after striking out the side and stranding a runner on second base.

The Nationals whiffed on 12 of the 16 sweepers/sliders Luzardo threw and 19 of the 43 pitches they swung at overall. His velocity was up nearly two mph from last season. Luzardo averaged 97 mph with his four-seam fastball and 96 with his sinker, hitting 98 mph 11 times with 30 different fastballs of at least 97.

This was an encouraging introduction for the Phillies’ most important offseason acquisition. They acquired Luzardo from the Miami Marlins for their No. 4 prospect at the time, shortstop Starlyn Caba. Luzardo has this year and next under contract with the upside of a No. 2 starter. He was one in 2022-23 before missing ample time with a back injury in 2024.

The 2-0 Phillies look to finish off a sweep on Sunday afternoon behind Aaron Nola. It remains to be seen whether Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto will be in the lineup. Turner was scratched an hour before Saturday’s game with a low back spasm, and Realmuto was removed for precautionary reasons with a left foot contusion in the seventh inning of a seven-run game after fouling a ball off his foot.

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Promising signs aplenty as Phillies throw up 11 runs in win

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