Clemens leads Phillies past Blue Jays 4-2

Kody Clemens’s two-run homer lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday for a two-game sweep.

Kyle Schwarber led off the first inning for Philadelphia (83-56) with a solo home run, hitting the long ball at Rogers Centre for a second consecutive day. J.T. Realmuto added a home run in the ninth that helped seal the Phillies’ fourth consecutive win.

Cristopher Sanchez (10-9) struck out seven and allowed just two runs on six hits over seven innings of work.

Relievers Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez preserved Sanchez’s win.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk had back-to-back RBI doubles in the first inning for a brief Toronto (67-74) lead.

Bowden Francis (8-4) allowed three runs on six hits but struck out six over six innings.

The rare loss came a day after Francis was named the American League’s pitcher of the month for August. Francis had a 4-1 record across five starts and a relief appearance in August with a 1.05 earned-run average and 39 strikeouts.

Brendon Little, Tommy Nance and Ryan Burr came on in relief of Francis.

Schwarber picked up where he left off on Wednesday, launching a 92.9 m.p.h. four-seam fastball — the second pitch of the game — to the second deck in right field at Rogers Centre. The 32nd home run of Schwarber’s season came a day after he hit three homers and drove in six runs in Philadelphia’s 10-9 come-from-behind victory over the Blue Jays.

Three consecutive doubles gave Toronto the lead in the bottom of the first.

Guerrero doubled down the third-base line with one out, giving speedy Daulton Varsho more than enough time to sprint home from second. Kirk followed that up with a double of his own to centre to bring Guerrero home for a 2-1 lead.

Clemens re-took Philadelphia’s lead in the second, hitting his fourth homer of the season to deep right field. Clemens, whose father Roger Clemens played for the Blue Jays in 1997 and 1998, drove in Brandon Marsh with the blast to make it 3-2 for the visitors.

It came on a 92.9 m.p.h. four-seam fastball from Francis and travelled 368 feet to right field.

Realmuto tacked on another run in the ninth. His 12th homer of the year came on an 84.3 m.p.h. slider from Burr. He launched it 394 feet to left-centre field for a 4-2 Philadelphia lead.

HARPER OUT — Two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper left the game after the first inning with a left elbow contusion after being hit by a pitch. He was replaced at first by Edmundo Sosa.

ON DECK — The Blue Jays have Thursday off before heading to Atlanta for a weekend series against the Braves.

Ranger Suarez (11-6) will take the mound for the Phillies on Thursday when they continue their road trip with a stop against the Miami Marlins. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2024.