San Diego’s tormentor strikes again: Kyle Schwarber leads the Phillies at Petco Park 
Kyle Schwarber is the undisputed king of home runs in Major League Baseball this season. But when he turns up in San Diego, he slips into another gear entirely. On Monday afternoon, in the opener of the series, the big lefty did it again, launching a moonshot in the first inning to push the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-0 shutout over the Padres. It was the kind of blast that set the tone for a tight, grinding game.
Schwarber joins the elite in MLB history
That early homer was Schwarber’s 21st of the season, putting him alone at the top of MLB. Even more eye-catching: it was his 21st long ball in just 50 career games against San Diego, including the playoffs. That works out to a ridiculous one homer every 2.38 games against the Padres, the second-best mark in MLB history for a player against a single franchise, just behind Giancarlo Stanton against the Rockies (2.33).
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Jesus Luzardo holds firm under pressure
That one-run lead in the opening inning was all starter Jesus Luzardo needed, even if he had to scrap for it. The Padres answered straight away by loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first. Luzardo kept his cool, escaped the jam, and struck out Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill to get out of trouble. The left-hander then blanked San Diego over six innings, allowing only four hits as he posted his third straight quality start.
Brandon Marsh adds some breathing room
While the rest of Philadelphia’s lineup had an ugly day at the plate (0 for 21 combined), Kyle Schwarber again sparked the offence in the seventh with a single. A few moments later, Brandon Marsh launched his fifth homer of the year to give the bullpen some much-needed cushion. Interim manager Don Mattingly praised the win and the way his team dug it out: “Runs are hard to come by right now, but as long as our pitching staff keeps doing this, we’ll stay in the mix.”
Credit: Mitchell Leff / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
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