Kyle Schwarber’s 3 HRs, controversial obstruction call power Phillies to again show Dodgers who’s boss in NL

LOS ANGELES — Not one, not two, but three.

The Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber took personally the challenge to not only win a series for the first time since early July but also assert dominance against a National League rival in the Los Angeles Dodgers, smashing three home runs in Philadelphia’s 9-4 rubber-match victory on Wednesday.

It was the second time in Schwarber’s career that he hit three homers in a game. The other came on June 20, 2021, when he was on the Washington Nationals in a contest against the New York Mets.

“I think that the biggest thing is just being able to come through for the team,” Schwarber said postgame. “You’re not going out there trying to do too much in spots, and it just happens to go right. It’s just a weird thing. But, you know, I always say the biggest thing is just being able to trust the work in the cage. And when I got in there, you make adjustments, make tweaks, whatever it is, and then you just go out there and compete in the game and take what you got.”

Despite the career night in which he tallied seven RBI, Schwarber wasn’t losing focus on what the win meant for a Phillies team (68-46) that had been a shell of itself post-All-Star break.

“I mean, I’m sure it’ll be in the memory, but I think that the biggest thing is getting us a series win there against a really quality opponent and heading into another big series there in Arizona,” he said. “So keeping the momentum on our side is going to be big.”

Schwarber led off the game with a homer. The second was a three-run, 444-foot blast that came in the top of the sixth. That proved to be a pivotal stretch for the Phillies, who scored five runs in the inning after rallying from a 4-1 deficit to take an 8-4 advantage. To top it off, in the top of the ninth, Schwarber hit another solo homer, this one to center field to cap what Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson called a “special” night.

“This guy, he can really hit,” Thomson said of Schwarber, who also had a two-run double in the fifth inning. “As I said prior to the game, he’s smart. He comes in, he does his work, he does his prep work. It’s a big night.”

Elaborately on Schwarber’s impact on the lineup, Thomson continued: “It seems like, you know, there are times when we’re in a bit of a slump, and he’ll inject some energy into the club with a leadoff home run or a big home run somewhere. He’s a lot like [Bryce Harper] that way.”

With the win, Philadelphia took the season series against the Dodgers, who are now 66-49. The series in July was a three-game Phillies sweep in Philly, and the home team looked dominant with 10-1 and 5-1 victories. That series win was also the last time Philadelphia had won a series prior to Wednesday. Before this victory, they had lost five straight series.

Dodgers take issue with obstruction call

For the Dodgers, a controversial umpiring call and ejection in that momentum-shifting sixth inning are what they will remember from this game.

In a sequence in which Alex Bohm was thought to be tagged out at third by Miguel Rojas, third-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt called Bohm safe via obstruction. Rojas was looking for an explanation from Wendelstedt before Dodgers manager Dave Roberts began to plead his case.

Wendelstedt warned Roberts to stay back, but Roberts continued to move toward him. The animated conversation ultimately earned Roberts an ejection, his first of the season and the 12th of his career.

Roberts was furious at the call because the play ended up setting up Schwarber’s three-run home run.

“[Wendelstedt] missed the call. This might be the first time I’ve ever said that,” Roberts said postgame. “It was an egregious miscall. Their job is hard. That changed the game.”

The play was not reviewable, something Roberts would like to see changed by MLB.

“It needs to be reviewable,” he said. “That play changed the complexion of the game. He got it wrong. That’s just a fact. Again, like I said, umpiring is hard, they do a great job, [but] tonight that play affected the game.”

Rojas believes that the way the umpire responded to his attempt to get an explanation was wrong, too.

“What was a little more disappointing is when I’m trying to get an explanation, the guy started screaming at me,” Rojas told reporters postgame.

The call will no doubt be a topic of discussion going forward. Without the ability to review the call, something like that happening in a postseason game could shift the tide of a series or even decide it.

Another hot topic: the Dodgers’ stumbling. Their lead in the NL West has shrunk to three games against the hard-charging Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.