Kyle Schwarber’s back tightened up on him before Tuesday’s game, and the Phillies are taking the cautious route. He missed that 14-9 win over the Nationals, and he’s sitting again for Wednesday’s matchup in Washington.
The team is calling it lower back tightness. Nothing structural, they say. But when a guy who leads the league in home runs — 29 of them so far — can’t go, you pay attention. Schwarber is 33 and having an MVP-type year, slashing .252/.365/.594 across 75 games. The Phillies aren’t messing around with this.
It’s not clear yet if he’s available off the bench Wednesday night. The team hasn’t said much beyond the initial concern being minor. But minor or not, they’re not rushing him back. You can read between the lines there: Philadelphia is thinking about October, not June.
How the lineup shakes out without Schwarber
Bryce Harper is at DH. Alec Bohm moves over to first base. That’s the short-term fix. It works for a game or two, but the Phillies need Schwarber swinging that bat if they want to keep climbing in the NL East.
And they are climbing. At 43-36, Philadelphia is 5.5 games back of Atlanta. That gap used to look a lot bigger. The Braves have hit a rough patch, and the Phillies have won six of their last 10. This series in D.C. is a chance to keep the momentum going.
Wednesday night is Game 3 of four. Washington won the opener 4-1 on Monday, but Philly bounced back Tuesday with that 14-9 slugfest. First pitch is at 6:45 PM EST at Nationals Park.
Nobody’s panicking about Schwarber’s back yet. But the Phillies are clearly playing it safe, and that’s probably the smart play. A day or two off now beats losing him for a week later.
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