PHILADELPHIA − If one of the Philadelphia Phillies’ frontline stars doesn’t get you, another one probably will.
That depth of star power can spoil plenty of good pitching, too.
On a day when Bryce Harper went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds, Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber provided plenty of offense for the Phillies. Bohm took the decisive swing − a two-run homer in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie − in Saturday’s 5-1 Phillies win over the Reds at Citizens Bank Park before a crowd of 42,045.
Schwarber, who was on-base for Bohm’s homer, piled on with a two-run shot of his own in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach.
Bohm’s homer came off Reds starter Nick Lodolo, and spoiled one of the finer starts of the Cincinnati pitcher’s 2025 campaign.
The 400-foot blast to left-center field cleared the highest stretches of wall in one of the deepest corners of the yard.
Lodolo bent at the waist and stayed down for several seconds after Bohm’s go-ahead blast. Through 5 1/3 innings, he’d only allowed three hits, struck out two-time MVP Harper three times and was in control.
“One of the few pitches I didn’t execute,” Lodolo said. “So, made me pay for it. Just trying to get the ball up. Obviously, didn’t get it up.”
Lodolo allowed three runs versus the Phillies, and all via the long ball. Edmundo Sosa also homered in the fifth inning to knot the game at one and cancel out Will Benson’s go-ahead homer (his 7th) in the top of the fifth.
Schwarber, the Middletown native, punctuated the Phillies’ victory with a towering, two-run, opposite-field shot (his 27th) to left field in the eighth. That made it 5-1, and the homer came off fellow Greater Cincinnati native, Brent Suter.
“Some of that’s that lineup,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “They’re pretty good, man. That kid (Schwarber) has a way of being in everything.”
Prior to Bohm’s blast, a pitching duel had broken out in South Philadelphia between Lodolo, who took the loss (5-6), and Phillies starter Ranger Suarez, who entered the game 6-2 with a 2.08 ERA but didn’t factor in the decision for his five innings of work.
Lodolo went six innings in the Reds loss as they dropped to 46-43. The NL East-leading Phillies improved to 52-37.
“I thought (Lodolo’s) changeup was probably the best we’ve seen all year,” Francona said. “All their runs were on home runs, and all (Lodolo’s) hits were on fastballs that just weren’t located, probably, as well as they should have been.”
Suarez allowed seven base runners but just the one run. He was then relieved by Jordan Romano (1-3), who earned the win, followed by Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering and 2024 All-Star Matt Strahm.
The Reds had their chances, but went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position after having gone 6-for-12 in Friday’s 9-6 victory.
The teams will decide their three-game series Sunday at Citizens Bank Park (1:35 p.m.) with probable pitchers Chase Burns (0-1, 13.50 ERA) and Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (8-3, 2.27 ERA) scheduled to throw.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Alec Bohm, Kyle Schwarber homers power Phillies past Cincinnati Reds
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
