TBS changed its routine ahead of Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber’s at-bat, and it paid off

There have been a lot of surprises so far in the National League Championship Series between the Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks, including Nick Castellanos becoming a power-hitting machine and Alex Bohm’s snapping-good defense.

But one thing that didn’t surprise TBS was Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff home run in Game 1 on Monday.

Speaking on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast, TBS play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson said he and his colleagues had a hunch Schwarber would ambush D’backs starting pitcher Zach Gallen, who throws a lot of first-pitch fastballs.

“If you go back and watch the bottom of the first in Game 1 of the NLCS, you’ll notice we didn’t do the traditional come back from break, here’s the lineup, here’s the pitcher, here’s the leadoff hitter,” Anderson said. “We only did the pitcher quickly, then we did Schwarber stepping into the box because we knew he may swing at the first pitch. So then we were on time.”

Anderson said the decision to delay the lineups was made during the network’s preproduction meetings. It’s something Anderson said they did with Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. all year, who is also known to go after the first pitch.

“It’s OK if we don’t get the lineups in before the first batter because after the fourth batter I can say ‘Well you’ve seen the first four, let’s meet the rest,’” Anderson said.

Schwarber has now hit four leadoff home runs during the playoffs, moving him past Hall of Famer Derek Jeter and former Phillies great Jimmy Rollins for the most in MLB history.

“You know, that’s what he does at the start of the game, is he can put the other team on their heels a little bit and get the lead,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters following the game.

Anderson and his crew will be ready Thursday. During Game 3 of last year’s NLCS against the San Diego Padres, Schwarber again hit a leadoff home run, one of two blasts he had to help push the Phillies to a 4-2 win.

Tickets to Game 3 of Phillies-Diamondbacks at Chase Field Thursday are not only available, but they’re ridiculously cheap. Across resale sites, tickets for seats are selling for as low as $15, before fees.

Tickets are so cheap some Phillies fans are claiming they’ve purchased blocks of seats, just to keep them empty during Thursday’s game.

That has Arizona sports talker Dave Burns worried about low attendance to the game, which starts at 2:07 p.m. local time (5:07 p.m. Eastern).

“I’m worried about this one because it’s a day game,” Burns said during an interview on 94.1 WIP. “People are going to have to take off work to go. ... I just don’t know how into it the crowd is going to be when they’re down 0-2. I’ve seen the ticket prices on the secondary market, I know they’re not very expensive.”

“I foresee a lot of Phillies fans being there,” Burns added. “I just think it’s going to be a weird vibe.”

Burns, who cohosts the afternoon show on KMVP-FM in Phoenix, isn’t optimistic about the D’backs being able to come back against the Phillies, which would take them winning four of the final five games of the NLCS. Especially not after being blown out in Game 2 at Citizens Bank Park, 10-0.

“It feels like it’s over,” Burns said. “There is a feeling here that the Diamondbacks have completely lost their identity, and this thing is just a matter of time until it’s over.”

Contrast that with Tuesday in Philadelphia, when local Phoenix affiliate Fox 10 couldn’t even find a single D’backs fan ahead of Game 2.

Eagles players seem to be enjoying the Phillies’ playoff run this year nearly as much as the average fans. Jason Kelce and his brother Travis took in the action Monday. Fletcher Cox was seen on the Jumbotron mimicking the Phillies’ unusual celebration gesture.

During Game 2 on Tuesday, Bleacher Report mic’d up two Eagles players — running back D’Andre Swift and safety Terrell Edmunds — as they took in their first baseball game at Citizens Bank Park.

The results didn’t disappoint. Predictably, both were fans of Bryson Stott’s catchy walkup song, “A-O-K” by Tai Verdes.

“He got a good song. He’s got everybody singing with him,” Edmunds said. “That song’s probably going to be in my head all night.”

Chris Wheeler has been to plenty of games at Citizens Bank Park. The longtime broadcaster called Phillies games from 1977 to 2014, which included the team’s World Series runs in 2008 and 2009. But he’s never heard fans louder than they’ve been the past two seasons.

“I was down there the other night and a couple other games and it’s louder than it was before,” Wheeler said on 94.1 WIP’s morning show Thursday. “And I never could have believed it could have been louder than it was in ‘08 and ‘09 and those years.”

Wheeler, known to fans as “Wheels,” said he thinks part of the reason fans are so into this Phillies team is because of their embrace of the city, whether it’s Bryce Harper listening to WIP or the team partying with fans at Xfinity Live!.

“I think one of the greatest things about [this team] — and I’ve been around all kinds of teams, and I understand this city and a lot of those team didn’t for a variety of reasons — but this team totally gets it here,” Wheeler said. “So I think they really get it and they understand, and the fans feel it and they give it back.”