Corn-Fed Crushing: Schwarber's Twin Blasts Power Phillies Past Twins at Field of Dreams

DYERSVILLE, Iowa — The corn in left field never saw it coming. Neither did the Twins.

Kyle Schwarber took a baseball bat to the middle of America's heartland and treated the iconic Field of Dreams cornrows like his own personal souvenir stand. He launched two towering home runs into the stalks — pushing his MLB-leading total to 37 — and the Philadelphia Phillies cruised to a 7-1 beatdown of the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night in the first Field of Dreams game since 2022.

Schwarber didn't need time to get comfortable. He pounced on the third pitch from Twins right-hander Taj Bradley, sending it deep into the cornfield that frames the old white farmhouse. Then, in the fourth, he added a two-run bomb that right fielder Luke Keaschall nearly roped back — but the ball caromed off his glove and settled into lore. Two swings, three RBIs, and the corn had no response.

Brandon Marsh decided he wanted a piece of the action too, smashing a two-run homer in the seventh to cap the night's fireworks. And lurking behind all that pop was Aaron Nola, who finally snapped a personal drought that had lingered since May 26. Nola matched his season high with nine strikeouts over five innings, notching his first win in 15 starts. The Phillies' rotation needed that. Badly.

On the Twins' side, Keaschall — the rookie still learning right field on the job — made his own memory with a solo shot in the second inning and reached base three times. But Minnesota's offense went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and Trevor Larnach and Ryan Jeffers collecting two hits apiece was about all the Twins could muster.

The win lifts Philadelphia to 65-58, putting them a half-game ahead of Arizona for the third NL wild card. Minnesota, meanwhile, slides to 60-63, sitting 3½ games behind the first-place White Sox in the AL Central — and watching their playoff hopes drift like a fly ball into that Iowa night.

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The scene shifts from cornfields to concrete when the Phillies and Twins renew hostilities at Target Field in Minneapolis on Saturday night. Lefty Jesús Luzardo takes the hill for Philly, while Minnesota counters with fellow southpaw Connor Prielipp.