And No. 2 Penn State starts its season on Saturday. Temple does, too.
The Phillies had just the remedy Thursday after getting swept out of Citi Field: a date with the fourth-place Braves. Rob Thomson says his veteran players have "short memories," so it did not take long to put those beatings by the Mets out of their minds.
Kyle Schwarber made sure of that. Schwarber smacked four home runs and had nine RBIs as the Phillies torched Atlanta, 19-4. He now has 49 homers.
Schwarber became the 21st player in baseball history and the first Phillie since Mike Schmidt in 1976 to hit four home runs in one game. Lochlahn March has the details.
"It just cooperated," Schwarber said. "I've been saying, you can do everything right and get out, and you can do everything wrong and get a hit. It just happened to cooperate and I got some pitches, put some good swings on it, and that was the result."
Social media had plenty to say about Schwarber's performance, including Schmidt, who talked with NBC10 after the game. "If I could pick any swing, anywhere, anytime that I would like to have, it would be Kyle's. Totally relaxed, short stride, quick hands, good eye. On his way to an MVP for sure," he said.
Next: Ranger Suárez (10-6, 3.07 ERA) is scheduled to start tonight (6:45, Apple TV+) against Braves right-hander Bryce Elder (5-9, 6.12).
Penn State and Temple will kick off their football seasons on Saturday and expectations are high for two entirely different reasons.
The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 2 in the nation as they prepare to devour the cupcake that is Nevada, which finished 3-10 last season. With a loaded offense featuring Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, and Drew Allar, a veteran Penn State team is poised to make a run at the national title. Among the threats is wide receiver Tyseer Denmark, who starred at Imhotep Charter.
The Lions are trying to mute the hype and finish the job after a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season. They are confident.
"It's no longer the idea of proving other people wrong," center Nick Dawkins says. "It's the idea of proving ourselves right. ... We have the most cohesive group in the country. I will take that to the bank and run with it."
At Temple, meanwhile, the goal is simply to make the football team relevant again. New coach K.C. Keeler has a winning track record and his players believe in him. "We're bought in," says defensive lineman Sekou Kromah. "All of us. It's great having seniors come back. I'm one of them because we all believe that we can be a part of something special here."
The Owls will open Saturday at Massachusetts. Here's a look at their rebuilt roster.
Willie Lampkin is listed at 5-foot-11 and 290 pounds, which will make him a hit with fans at the Linc if he makes it as an offensive lineman with the Eagles. The team claimed the rookie after the Los Angeles Rams waived him with an injury designation. The Eagles have not had an offensive lineman shorter than 6 feet in the last 50 years, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. Says Lampkin: "Shout out to my short kings out there."
Also on the Eagles beat with the opener against the Dallas Cowboys approaching on Thursday:
The Athletic released its NHL pipeline rankings of the prospects on each team and the Flyers made a leap from 13th last year to seventh. Young stars Matvei Michkov, Oliver Bonk, Jett Luchanko, Jack Nesbitt, and Porter Martone helped them climb.
Each Friday, Inquirer photo editors pick the best Philly sports images from the last seven days. This week, they feature the first-place Union, a trio of Eagles quarterbacks, including a new face, and the Phillies -- before they went to New York and got swept by the Mets.
We asked: What will it take for the Phillies to bounce back from this slump? Among your most interesting responses:
They have to believe they are going to win. They got punched in the nose on Monday night again on Tuesday late. They went down without a fight on Wednesday night. Tough break losing Zack but the impetus to step up has to come as a team collectively. They must find a way to bounce back prior to squandering which was once a 7-game lead. The starting pitching had been more than adequate, the bullpen very sketchy and the offensive output very inconsistent as well. Time to right the ship and save the season! -- Bill B.
Stop choking. It is an old term from the 1950s. -- Carl C.
They have to want it! Right now they look like they don't care. As Bob A put it, the platooning thing that Thomson insists on doing doesn't work. He relies too much on analytics and needs to stop doing that. Put your best players in. If they need a day off, they will let you know. Stott should be playing every day. Sosa needs to play more. Kepler, who has been subpar this season had a great BA against a pitcher the other day and he didn't put him in. That's just sheer stupidity. They are heading for an epic collapse if they don't rectify this season soon. -- Kathy T.
The Phillies clearly need to get more consistent offense, defense, pitching and game management from Topper to be a threat in the playoffs. The recent history of this season indicates to me that it likely won't happen. I hope I'm wrong! -- Jim V.
Take the 7 subway from Willets Point/Citi Field to Manhattan, then take Amtrak back to Philly. -- Richard V.
Thanks to John B., Everett S., Vince O., D.W.S, and J.S. for weighing in, too.
We compiled today's newsletter using reporting from Kerith Gabriel, Greg Finberg, Ryan Mack, Lochlahn March, Devin Jackson, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Inquirer Staff Photographers, Ariel Simpson, Gustav Elvin, and Rob Maaddi.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer's Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Cannot BELIEVE that the Cowboys traded away Micah Parsons. Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend. I'll see you in Monday's newsletter. -- Jim