Kyle Schwarber's walk-off HR caps Phillies' comeback vs. Cards - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — All Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber could do was smile as he surveyed the situation while heading to the plate Sunday in the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Phillies had pieced together an unlikely rally from a four-run deficit in the home half of the ninth, and Schwarber was stepping in against Cardinals closer Riley O'Brien.

It was at that point that Schwarber shot a grinning glance at teammate Trea Turner.

«I'm just there chuckling, laughing and smiling with Trea [about] how we got to that point,» Schwarber said.

Schwarber then did his part.

«Then when the ball came off the bat, I stood there and watched. It was a little bit of a shock that we were able to do that in that fashion,» Schwarber said of his major-league-leading 39th homer that gave the Phillies a 6-4 win. «But that's why you keep playing. That's why you play all the outs. Never give up, and keep fighting until the end.»

The slugger fought to a 2-2 count, then took a swing that even he couldn't downplay.

«It was awesome,» he said with a shrug. «Just a little bit of disbelief.»

His homer traveled an estimated 459 feet over the Citizens Bank Park batter's eye as the Phillies won their ninth straight.

It was the Phillies' first walk-off win by home run since Schwarber accomplished the feat on July 9, 2023, against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

And, it was the most resounding blow during an August rebirth. In a few weeks' time they've gone from falling behind in the wild-card race to erasing much of what seemed like an insurmountable Atlanta lead in the NL East. Pending the Braves' game with Milwaukee Sunday night, the Phillies were 2½ games back in the division.

To that end, there is no disbelief