Thursday, October 1, 2026
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79 ° Clear
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Derek Hill has continued to showcase his clutch attribute since arriving at Citizens Bank Park in mid-June. His game-winning RBI single in the 12th inning of Sunday afternoon’s ballgame against the Toronto Blue Jays is just another highlight-reel-worthy moment in an impressive 35-game sample size in Philly. It provided the Phillies' first walk-off victory since April 30, a 6-5 win (10 innings) over the San Francisco Giants in Game 2 of a doubleheader in South Philadelphia.
Hill’s heroics saved the contest for the Phillies and stole the headlines away from Jesus Luzardo and Kyle Schwarber. The Phillies lefty starter scattered four hits across seven innings in a dominant outing against the Blue Jays. Meanwhile, the slugging designated hitter finally snapped a 17-game homerless drought to provide a multi-run advantage before blasting an insurance HR a few innings later. Those runs weren’t enough as both members helplessly watched the game roll into extra innings.
Luzardo was stellar through the first seven innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs against 27 Blue Jays hitters. The 28-year-old lefty had excellent command on the afternoon with 12 strikeouts compared to one walk and a 70% strike rate on 100 pitches.
The 28-year-old has been a dynamic option in Philadelphia’s rotation since mid-May. Over his last 16 starts, the 'Lizard King' has struck out 110 batters while allowing 32 walks across 100 innings. He owns a 2.25 earned run average (ERA) over that time period.
With a triple-digit pitch count heading into the eighth inning, interim manager Don Mattingly elected to turn to the bullpen. As you’ll soon read, that was an agonizing mistake on Sunday afternoon.
Before we reach the misery business portion of the article, Schwarber had to remove the monkey off his back and break a 17-game homerless streak dating back to July 18. The Phillies slugger smashed a 3-run home run to left field to open the scoring with an early bell swing in South Philly.
Toronto struck for one run against Luzardo in each of the fourth and fifth innings to trim Philadelphia's lead to 3-2. That brought the club's 33-year-old power hitter to the plate for a statement swing in the fifth frame. Schwarber unleashed all of his drought frustrations on a 448-foot, no-doubt-about-it home run to right field to swing the momentum back to Philadelphia’s side at 4-2.
After reaching the 35 HR benchmark this season, Schwarber becomes the first player in franchise history with five consecutive seasons of 35+ home run celebrations. Only the immortal Babe Ruth has hit more home runs for a team in his first five seasons with a club (235 HRs for the New York Yankees) than Schwarber (222) has during his time in Philadelphia, per MLB's Sarah Langs.
Alec Bohm's RBI single added to the Phillies' lead in the sixth inning for a 5-2 advantage. Philadelphia had the game in full control … or at least it seemed that way until the bullpen collapsed under the pressure once again on this homestand.
Mattingly turned to Orion Kerkering for three outs in the eighth inning as a bridge to closer Jhoan Duran. It looked like a good decision for a few minutes.
The fifth-round draft choice from the 2022 Draft recorded outs on the first two batters he faced. But things unraveled in a hurry with four straight hits, scoring three runs and leveling the ballgame at 5-5 in front of a stunned Philly crowd.
Alejandro Kirk laced a single to right field to start the rally, which was followed by a Kazuma Okamoto single to left field to put a runner in scoring position. Ernie Clement brought Kirk in to score on a double to left field to trim the lead to 5-3.
Pitching coach Caleb Cotham strolled to the mound to calm down the situation, but Andres Giminez's single to right field scored the Blue Jays duo on base for a 5-5 contest. It is the third blown save by the Phillies bullpen during this six-game homestand.
For the third time in five games, the game rolled past regulation. Tim Mayza and Brooks Raley pitched clean innings in the 10th and 11th, respectively, to keep the Blue Jays off the scoreboard. However, the Phillies offense was equally disrupted by Toronto’s bullpen, sending the afternoon ballgame deeper into the evening hours.
Philadelphia threatened to end the game in the 11th inning, but came up empty. Garrett Stubbs was thrown out at the plate attempting to score on Luis Arraez's fly ball in the 11th inning, but t an outstanding throw from Toronto's Nathan Lukes beat the pinch runner to the plate to end the inning.
Caleb Kilian allowed an inning-opening single to put runners on the corners in the 12th frame, and a double-play allowed the placed runner to score from third base to put Toronto ahead, 6-5. The 29-year-old reliever was able to avoid any additional damage to the scoreboard despite giving up the lead.
An already overworked bullpen gets a little thinner as Killian was seemingly hurt towards the end of his outing, with Mattingly saying, “It didn’t look good,” according to a social media post from 97.3 EPSN’s Jeff Kerr.
Philadelphia celebrated a walk-off victory in the bottom half of the 12th inning. Realmuto dropped a bunt single right on the third base line for a base hit, while Arraez dashed to a wide-open third base on the play. Bryson Stott promptly tied the game, 6-6, on a base hit line drive that dropped in right field. Toronto elected to intentionally walk Alec Bohm to load the bases and provided force outs around the diamond before Hill ended the contest with his base hit single to center field in a roller coaster of a 7-6 victory at The Bank.
The Phillies take the good vibes to the sky for an 800+-mile flight to St. Louis, Missouri, with a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals beginning tomorrow night at 7:05 pm. St. Louis sits in third place in the NL West with a 59-59 record, but the Cardinals are lurking just three games back of the final wild card spot in the National League.
This road trip is particularly noteworthy for an upcoming premier baseball event: the 2026 MLB at Field of Dreams Game against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, Aug. 13, in Dyersville, Iowa. The matchup will be carried as a special event on Netflix, similar to the 2026 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby and All-Star Game broadcasts from Citizens Bank Park last month.
It is only the third-ever MLB regular-season game contested in front of the cornstalks, and the first matchup since 2022, as the facility underwent renovations prior to the league’s return this season, featuring the Phillies and Twins.
