Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber launch Phillies to 3-2 NLCS lead

PHOENIX – Playing their way to a victory away from a return trip to the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1 Saturday night in Game 5 of the League Championship Series national team to win a 3-2 series. lead.

Game 6 is scheduled for Monday night in Philadelphia, where the Phillies are 6-0 in the postseason.

“I think we’ll be in a good position,” Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, Saturday’s winning pitcher, said after the game. “But we can’t anticipate too much. We have to play Monday’s game and return to Philadelphia, where we love to play.”

Philadelphia slugger Bryce Harper set the tone for Game 5, stealing a base in the first inning, then hitting a 444-foot home run in the sixth. He joined Randy Arozarena as the only players in postseason history to steal home and hit a home run in the same game.

“We’re going to be aggressive here,” Harper said. “Bryson [Stott] got the green light. He went for it, and I just tried to make the best decision to get there and get that point. »

This happened after Kyle Schwarber had already crossed home plate with the first run of the game. Arizona starter Zac Gallen was more cautious in the first inning Saturday than in Game 1, when Schwarber and Harper hit him. This time, Schwarber got to first on an infield single before Harper got him to second and Stott’s single brought Schwarber home. That put runners on first and third with JT Realmuto at the plate.

That’s when Harper took off.

“I knew he was going to go,” Stott said of Harper. “It’s the playoffs, and Gallen is really good there, and you don’t know how many chances you’re going to get.”

Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno took second as Harper headed home. Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo made a short jump to Moreno, who was hit by Harper at the plate.

“I play baseball,” Harper said. “Big collision at home plate. I was making sure he was OK. Kind of like he fell, I was making sure he was good and stable. I never wanted those moments or anyone to get hurt. But just a good position to put ourselves in and be able to pick ourselves up in that situation.

Moreno remained in the game after being dealt with by the Diamondbacks training staff.

With the finesse portion of their game over, the Phillies got to work on hitting. Gallen kept them in the park until the sixth, when Schwarber destroyed a baseball, sending it 461 feet into the right-field stands. Two batters later, Harper’s shot also left the field, as he belted it 444 feet from home plate. The rout was underway when Realmuto added a home run an inning later.

The tours helped spark many milestones:

• The Phillies are the sixth team all time with at least 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases in a single postseason.

• With three home runs in Game 5, the Phillies have hit 23 home runs in the postseason, the second most all-time in 11 postseason games (24 by the Houston Astros in 2004).

• Schwarber is only the fifth player to reach 20 career home runs in the postseason. He got there in 63 games, the fastest in history.

• Harper and Schwarber have combined for 22 home runs over the past two postseasons (11 each), the most by a duo over a two-year span in postseason history.

Philadelphia’s offense supported Wheeler, who once again dominated his opposition in the postseason. On a night when the Phillies bullpen wasn’t fully available, Wheeler pitched seven innings, allowing six hits while striking out eight and giving up one run (a solo shot by Alek Thomas).

Wheeler helped reduce his team’s starting ERA in the postseason to 1.48, the lowest ever in a rotation through the first 11 games of the postseason.

“I told him after the game, ‘You’re one of the best pitchers I’ve ever played with,’” Harper said of Wheeler. “I’ve played with a lot of good players, and he’s easily in the top three.”

Wheeler appreciated the sentiment as well as the offensive support.

Meanwhile, Schwarber downplayed his accomplishments, saying he’ll “appreciate it” when he’s done playing baseball. That doesn’t mean his teammates can’t take advantage of his superhuman strength.

“This is a strong country,” Harper said of Schwarber. “It’s amazing. Just the way he goes and the way he swings. He uses that lower half so well. He goes through the floor. Any time you’re able to put your feet in the floor and stay in the ground. ground, it’s incredible.”

Gallen wondered how exactly to stop these Phillies. He challenged them early in the first game, and it didn’t work. On Saturday, Gallen picked up more speed in the first inning – and they still scored two runs. He later returned to the fastball, and two of them were propelled into the Chase Field crowd, which was subdued after two nights of exhilarating victories by the home team.

“The thing about Harper and Schwarber is that those guys are so smart,” Gallen said. “They exist. You have to hope to be one step ahead of them. It’s difficult. And the fact that they can leave the site at any time is what makes it even more difficult.

“It’s wild. Solo homers don’t beat you, but a team that hits a lot of solo homers, they tend to add up after a while.”

The Phillies have hit 10 homers in this series alone, and they go home with a one-game advantage. After losing in Games 3 and 4, Philadelphia got everything it wanted in a Game 5 win. There is only one game left before the Fall Classic.

“It was a great response,” Schwarber said.