Kyle Schwarber tied a franchise record by launching a home run for the fifth consecutive game, and Zack Wheeler delivered a strong outing into the eighth inning to lead the visiting Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Tuesday night’s series opener at Fenway Park.
Schwarber connected off Boston starter Javani Moran (0-1) in the top of the first inning, extending his remarkable streak. The slugger has now belted six homers over his last five games and leads the majors with 17 on the season. The feat matched the franchise mark set by shortstop Trea Turner, who homered in five straight games from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2, 2023.
Schwarber, who played for the Red Sox in 2021, hit a career-best 56 homers last season.
Wheeler (2-0) was pulled with one out in the eighth inning, allowing one run on six hits while striking out four. In the ninth, the Red Sox threatened with runners on first and second and one out, but reliever Jhoan Duran struck out Ceddanne Rafaela and induced a groundout from Marcelo Mayer to secure his sixth save.
The win extended Philadelphia’s winning streak to three games. The Phillies have gone 11-3 since Don Mattingly took over as interim manager on April 28.
After Moran departed following the first inning, Brayan Bello took over and held the Phillies to one run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking one.
Philadelphia doubled its lead in the second inning when Bryson Stott drove in Brandon Marsh with an RBI double. Stott finished with two of the Phillies’ five hits.
Boston cut the deficit to 2-1 in the seventh. Mickey Gasper singled, moved to second on a Trevor Story single, and scored on Rafaela’s two-out single to right field.
The Red Sox left the tying run on third in the eighth and finished 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, stranding six baserunners overall.
