Major League Baseball

2022 MLB Playoffs: Phillies power their way to resounding Game 4 victory

Updated Oct. 23, 2022 4:08 p.m. ET

By Pedro Moura
FOX Sports MLB Writer

PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber trained his eyes across the diamond as he slowed from a sprint to a jog around the Citizens Bank Park bases. Twice Saturday, he fought his way to first base in hopes of sparking a necessary rally, and Rhys Hoskins drove him in with a home run.

As Hoskins approached first the second time, Schwarber studied the jubilation in his teammate’s face. More than home runs, more than starting pitching, more than destiny, this Phillies playoff run has been fueled by emotion. Schwarber saw enough of it in Hoskins’ gaze to carry him home.

"Those are the moments that you want to capture, remember," Schwarber said afterward. "We want to keep those same emotions going."

Twice during the Phillies’ 10-6 win in Game 4 of the NLCS, Hoskins clobbered home runs that reenergized the crowd and his dugout. Several of his teammates supplied copious amounts of additional offense, but it was Hoskins who halted the San Diego Padres’ furious efforts to take back control of this round.

Instead of a tied series guaranteed to return to California, the Phillies can win the pennant at home Sunday afternoon.

Rhys Hoskins crushes his second two-run home run to tie the game

Rhys Hoskins hits his second two-run home run of Game 4 and ties it 6-6.

Desperate for a winner for more than a decade, Philadelphia fans are responding to this team like no other city in this country could. They are booing the Phillies’ mistakes, yes, as is their custom. But they are cheering their successes at deafening volumes, and this October, the Phillies are succeeding every time they play here.

"I need some more. I need some more of it," Hoskins said. "I can't imagine what tomorrow is going to be like."

Considering how the night started, the Phillies completed quite a feat to set up tomorrow. Like the Padres, the Phillies possess three quality starting pitchers — but only three. Therefore, Game 4 presented problems.

Pitching the biggest situation of his life, left-hander Bailey Falter, yes, faltered. He could not secure one last strike to finish the first inning. With three runs on his ledger and another man on base, he exited in favor of the first of six Phillies relievers.

Over their first nine postseason games, the Phillies had not permitted a single first-inning run. On Saturday, Falter was charged with four because Connor Brogdon surrendered one last hit before containing the damage.

Machado, Drury and Kim help Padres get ahead early

The Padres jump to a 4-0 lead in the first on Manny Machado's home run, Brandon Drury's double and Ha-Seong Kim's single.

Falter's saving grace: San Diego starter Mike Clevinger fared no better. Clevinger became the second person this century to start a postseason game and not record an out. The other, Wade Miley, started only as a ruse. Until Saturday, it had been 90 years since both starters in a postseason game failed to finish at least an inning.

Schwarber started the bottom of the first inning with a single, Hoskins whacked his first two-run homer, and J.T. Realmuto worked a four-pitch walk. As Nick Martinez began to warm in the Padres' bullpen, Clevinger tussled with Bryce Harper. Clevinger threw two eager pickoff attempts and two hesitant pitches. Harper smashed the second to the right-field wall for a run-scoring double. At that, Padres manager Bob Melvin pulled Clevinger for Martinez, who retired three consecutive Phillies to keep his team tenuously ahead.

Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper help the Phillies narrow deficit to 4-3

Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper help the Phillies make up three runs in the first inning against the San Diego Padres.

In all, the first inning featured 63 pitches and required 48 minutes to complete — about three times as long as the scoreless second inning.

Only after Martinez departed for the fourth did the Phillies tie the game. Facing left-hander Sean Manaea, Nick Castellanos doubled, and Bryson Stott singled him in.

Bryson Stott drives in the tying run for the Phillies

Bryson Stott drives in a run for the Phillies, making it 4-4 against the San Diego Padres.

The Padres surged back in the fifth, when Juan Soto smashed a two-run homer off of Brad Hand. After Hand followed that strike with three consecutive balls to Manny Machado, he earned boos from an anxious crowd.

Machado bailed him out by popping up the next pitch into foul territory.

Juan Soto cranks a two-run home run to put the Padres ahead

Juan Soto puts the San Diego Padres back on top 6-4 with a two-run homer.

Hoskins soon provided more relief. After Schwarber walked, Hoskins pounced on a Manaea sinker over the middle. The resulting drive landed in about the fifth row of left-center seats, but it was difficult to tell because every fan in the vicinity was jumping, hands in the air.

As he had in the first, Realmuto followed Hoskins by walking. He then sprinted all the way home — for the go-ahead run — when Harper again doubled, this time to the opposite wall.

The Phillies’ next run was more the product of good fortune. Castellanos grounded one up the middle, where it bounced off second base as if specifically to evade second baseman Jake Cronenworth's glove. Harper scored, and the rapturous cheers continued from the Philadelphians — 45,467 of them in the stands and 26 in the dugout.

The Phillies screamed and raved and screamed some more.

Hoskins, Harper, Castellanos help the Phillies take 8-6 lead

Rhys Hoskins crushes his second home run, Bryce Harper hits his second RBI double, and Nick Castellanos drives in Harper to put the Phillies up 8-6.

"Your head kinda hurts after it," Schwarber said. "It’s worth it."

From there, Phillies manager Rob Thomson called on Noah Syndergaard. He, David Robertson and Zach Eflin pieced together the final four frames, as Thomson avoided calling on his top two relievers.

Schwarber and Realmuto lent them a hand with sixth- and seventh-inning solo shots.

Hoskins’ homers will be the ones remembered here, no matter how long this run lasts. One of the longest-tenured Phillies, he was once the cheery face of this franchise’s miserable, protracted rebuild. This season, he became more of a supporting actor in their rise.

In October, though, he has been responsible for many of the team’s biggest moments. After his defensive miscue cost them Game 2 of the NLDS, he slammed a three-run homer in Game 3 and spiked his bat. After another misplay in Game 3 of the NLCS, Hoskins was, in Thomson’s words, "real upset." He responded with two sizable shots that represented their margin of victory in Game 4.

"He has probably taken the three biggest swings of this playoffs so far," Realmuto said. "That’s who Rhys is. Any time he makes a mistake, he seems to bounce back."

'This team is on fire' — 'MLB on FOX' crew reacts to the Phillies' win

Kevin Burkhardt, Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz react to the Philadelphia Phillies' comeback win against the San Diego Padres in Game 4 of the NLCS.

As do the Phillies. Their fans, it seems, especially identify with that element of this team.

At 11:53 p.m. ET Saturday, Harper walked through his clubhouse, dressed and itching to follow several teammates out the door. The superstar expressed surprise, to no one in particular, about the late hour. With a 2:30 p.m. local start scheduled for Sunday, a quick turnaround is required.

Worryingly, some rain is in the forecast. But if the sky cooperates, a celebration could await the Phillies and this city before the sun sets.

As Harper strolled, he started to sing the song that has become this team’s anthem: Robyn’s 2010 hit "Dancing On My Own," covered by a Brit.

If the Phillies win Sunday, much of Philadelphia will be singing with him.

Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the Dodgers for The Athletic, the Angels and Dodgers for the Orange County Register and L.A. Times, and his alma mater, USC, for ESPN Los Angeles. He is the author of "How to Beat a Broken Game." Follow him on Twitter @pedromoura.