Kyle Schwarber’s best night ever means the Phillies can reach .500 (or better) on the Road Trip From Hell

The last time the Phillies won a series, Joe Biden was a candidate for president.

By the time the Phillies finished a 9-4 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday night, they’d earned a share of the top spot in Major League Baseball with 68 wins and held alone the best winning percentage, .596. They’d evened their toughest road trip of the season at 3-3.

They’d won the season series over their host, which probably won’t matter as a tiebreaker as much as it matters as a morale boost, because the last time the Phillies won a series nobody had ever heard of Tim Walz or Imane Khelif.

“We’ve been looking to do that for a while,” said manager Rob Thomson.

They might be a few days from doing it again. The Phillies finish this 10-game road trip with a four-game stop in scorching Arizona, where the forecasted high from Thursday through Sunday averages 107 degrees, which is nearly as hot as the Diamondbacks have been, winning eight of their last nine, 12 of their last 14, and 18 of their last 23 games.

Good luck, fellas.

But then, what was this road trip all about? It was about returning to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday no worse than how they left it last Wednesday. It was about winning five games in 10 days. Anything more was gravy.

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They’ve got their ace righted again after his usual six-week glitch: Once every six weeks or so, Zack Wheeler pitches like Chris Wheeler. This, he did in a loss last week to the Yankees, but he returned to Hall of Fame form to avert a sweep Sunday in Seattle. He starts Friday in Arizona.

They’ve got a hot bat to ride, and no, it isn’t Bryce Harper’s. Kyle Schwarber is taking his turn.

Schwarber collected a career-high 14 total bases with three homers and a double against the Dodgers on Wednesday. He also tied his career high with seven RBIs, which is a hell of a thing to do as a leadoff hitter, but then, the other time he did it, he was hitting eighth ahead of a pitcher, so that’s a hell of a thing, too. Schwarber has five homers in his last four games, and has homered in each of the Phillies’ wins this trip.

If you’re a Harper fan or a Phillies fan then it’s a wonderful thing that the Phillies scored nine runs on getaway night against the No. 2 team in the National League when Harper went 0-for-5. Why? Because, if you’re paying him and four other guys more than $900 million to hit, then the other four guys need to take a turn carrying the club now and then.

Since Jeff Hoffman imploded Saturday in Seattle, they’ve gotten 13⅔ straight innings of outstanding relief pitching in five games, surrendering two earned runs in that span. Wheeler, Ranger Suárez, and Tuesday winner Cristopher Sánchez stole a lot of headlines before the swoon, but it was Matt Strahm, José Alvarado, Orion Kerkering, and Hoffman who were sealing wins for the first three months — and blowing them in the past few weeks.

This might be the best news of all: The ’pen is good again.

So what if Harper is hitting .163 in his last 19 games. His OPS is still .899, 12th best in baseball.

So what if Trea Turner is hitting .176 in his last 17 games. His average is still .308, which would be top 10 if he had enough at-bats (he was hurt), and besides, he’s finally playing the sort of defense they paid him $300 million to play.

» READ MORE: Keeping their starting pitchers healthy is key to a World Series run. Here’s how the Phillies plan to do it.

They’ve won three games against two teams that were in first place when the road trip began. If they can win two more in Phoenix, the trip is a success. Frankly, considering Aaron Nola, Saturday’s starter, has a career ERA of 7.67 against Arizona — his worst against any team he’s seen at least four times — anything but a sweep by the Snakes should be considered a coup of sorts.

When they return to Philly, they have six games at home, against the Marlins and Nationals. They’re playing better today. If they make the weekend respectable, they should play even better next week.

This sort of thing happens to the best. Literally.

The other teams with 68 wins are the Orioles and Yankees. The Orioles have had two five-game losing streaks this season and are three games under .500 since June 21. The Yankees lost 22 of 32 games between mid-June and late July.

The Phillies still have a better record than either of them.