HOUSTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber went from big bopper to bad bunter.
One of the most fearsome sluggers of the Philadelphia Phillies committed an error after attempting a two-strikeout bunt with his team one inning of the World Series elimination. That bizarre strikeout spoke louder than Schwarber’s third Series homerun, which gave Philadelphia a short lead.
After taking a 2-1 lead in the Fall Classic, the Phillies lost three in a row – the last being a 4-1 loss Saturday night that gave the Houston Astros the World Series title in six games.
After becoming the first team in third place to reach the Series, the Phillies failed to win their first crown since 2008.
“We went through a dry spell at the wrong time,” said Rob Thomson, who was unable to join Bob Lemon and Jack McKeon as the only managers to take over mid-season and lead a team to the title. “You have to give credit to their pitching.”
Philadelphia batted .101 (9 for 89) with 38 strikeouts and three extra-base hits in three consecutive losses, including a combined no-hitter by the Astros in Game 4 and a three-hitter in Game 6. Philadelphia batted in .163 the series in general.
Rhys Hoskins batted .120 (3 for 25) with one RBI, JT Realmuto .167 (4 for 24) with three RBI’s and Bryce Harper .200 (4 for 20) with two RBI’s. Nick Castellanos fell to .125 (3 for 24) with one RBI when he made a mistake to end it.
Schwarber was the best of the bunch with 0.250 (5 for 20) with four RBI’s.
Philadelphia’s 71 strikeouts over the six games was a Series-record, breaking the record that Arizona had set in a seven-game Series against the New York Yankees in 2001 and matched two years ago by Tampa Bay against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Reaching the World Series came as a surprise to the Phillies, who were 22-29 when Thomson replaced fired manager Joe Girardi on June 3. watch at home under the previous postseason format.
After finishing 87-75 during the regular season, Philadelphia sweeps two games from NL Central champion St. Louis in the new wildcard series, beating the NL East Atlanta champion, a 101-game winner, over four games in the Division Series. Then the Phillies defeated San Diego in five games in an all-wildcard NLCS.
“This is sustainable, this kind of winning atmosphere and winning team,” Thomson said. “They have achieved a lot. Yet it remains disappointing. And I told them after the game, I said, ‘You have nothing to be ashamed of. You don’t have to hang your head for anyone.’”
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