Phillies' 6 HRs set new club record, tie MLB mark

PHILADELPHIA -- Kyle Schwarber's neighbor had a good feeling he'd see some home runs on Wednesday night -- but it's hard to imagine anyone could have predicted the Phillies would do what they did against the Braves in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

Philadelphia teed off for a postseason franchise-record six home runs in its 10-2 rout of Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park. The half-dozen homers also matched the most by any team in MLB postseason history, tying a mark set by the Cubs against the Cardinals in Game 3 of the 2015 NLDS at Wrigley Field.

"I was outside yesterday in my backyard playing with my kid, and I heard the people across the fence -- I don't know if they know that I live there, or maybe they do -- the guy comes out to his kids and goes, 'Do you want to go to the Phillies game tomorrow? It's loud, guys hit home runs and there's great food,'" Schwarber said. "And I just hear the kids go, 'Yeah, that would be great!' I'm just sitting there smiling.

"Man, they got a great game to watch today."

While that family had a front-row seat to Phillies history on Wednesday, Schwarber was in the dugout for both six-homer games in the MLB postseason.

"We hit six off the Cardinals in 2015," Schwarber said of his time with the Cubs. "I think it was Game 3 of [the] NLDS. Michael Wacha started that game."

Check, check and check.

Schwarber hit one of the Cubs' six home runs on that windy night in Chicago, though he was not part of the Phillies' barrage this time around.

Nick Castellanos got things started with a solo shot in the third. Bryce Harper added a towering three-run homer later in the frame, then hit his second -- of the solo variety -- two innings later.

Trea Turner added a solo home run in the sixth, then Castellanos and Brandon Marsh went back to back in the eighth to etch the Phillies into the record book.

Castellanos' two home runs were his first postseason homers with the Phillies after he hit just .185 with four extra-base hits (all doubles) last postseason.

Perhaps uncoincidentally, they also came with his son, Liam, in attendance for the first time this postseason.

Though the father-son duo has shared some special moments together at the ballpark, including celebrating plenty of home runs through the netting behind home plate, Wednesday's two-homer game might be hard to top.

"I mean, it's pretty high up there," Castellanos said. "I hadn't seen him in over a month, so for him to be here now and to be able to witness postseason baseball, and just for him to be close enough to where he can feel it, you know, it's so important for me.

"And just to see him thrive and enjoy it and be a part of something magical -- I mean as a father, I can't ask for more."

Given how much Castellanos has credited feeling comfortable in his surroundings for his turnaround this season, it's fair to wonder if Liam's presence helped his dad contribute to the Phillies' record-setting night.

"I know that I perform the best when my mind and my body are in the same exact place," Castellanos said. "I think when Liam is here, I'm extremely present, because I'm not worried about anything else [other] than what I'm taking care of at that moment."

As for Castellanos and Harper hitting two apiece, they became just the fourth set of teammates in postseason history to notch a multihomer effort in the same game. The others: AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor (2021 Dodgers vs. Braves in Game 5 of NL Championship Series); Wil Myers and Fernando Tatis Jr. (2020 Padres vs. Cardinals in Game 2 of NL Wild Card Series); and Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth (1932 Yankees vs. Cubs in Game 3 of World Series).

"Any time you're on that list of those guys, that's pretty cool," Harper said of Gehrig and Ruth. "But we've got a long way to go before we're those guys. I've got a lot of respect for the history of the game. And without those guys playing before us, we wouldn't be here."

But with the Phillies still needing one more win to close out the NLDS, one of the other guys who contributed to the historic six-homer night has his sights set even higher for Game 4.

“That's incredible,” Marsh said of the franchise record. “I think tomorrow we've got to try to get one more than we did today.”