Kyle Schwarber’s grand slam lifts slumping Philadelphia Phillies to much-needed win over Miami Marlins
Kyle Schwarber quieted the boo birds with his seventh career grand slam, shaking the Philadelphia Phillies out of their mid-summer malaise and leading them to a 9-5 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night.
Trying to fight their way out of a rut, the Phillies got a needed win, a night after they suffered a four-hit shutout loss to one of the worst teams in baseball. Once the winningest team in baseball, the Phillies needed Schwarber’s go-ahead slam to help snap a four-game losing streak and they won for just the eighth time in 24 games since the All-Star break.
Hours after manager Rob Thomson hinted that a team meeting could be on deck, the Phillies delayed the opening of the clubhouse to reporters by 70 minutes ahead of the game. Thomson demurred when asked about the meeting, saying only “what happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse.”
The lineup, though, is very much public and Thomson rattled his high-priced crew of slumping sluggers when he benched All-Star shortstop Trea Turner. Turner, in the second season of a $300 million, 11-year contract, was batting just .168 with 20 strikeouts since the break and had just three hits over his last five games.
