PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies needed a big home run like the one Max Kepler hit in the eighth inning on Saturday night.
Kepler may have needed it even more.
One day after making one of his best defensive plays of the season, Kepler delivered arguably his biggest hit yet as a Phillie in a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. With the game tied at 2 in the bottom of the eighth, Kepler teed off for a no-doubt go-ahead homer into the right-field seats.
It set off quite the celebration in the first-base dugout -- but that was nothing compared to the one that took place after Matt Strahm pitched a perfect ninth to seal the win. While the team’s victory fog machine has gotten plenty of work over the past couple years, nobody could recall a cloud of fog quite like the one that lingered in the clubhouse even more than a half hour after the final out.
“It was like a nightclub for a minute in here,” Kepler said after the fog finally lifted enough to conduct postgame interviews. “It was a blast.”
That hasn’t been the case for Kepler for the majority of this season.
Signed to a one-year, $10 million deal this offseason, Kepler was expected to be the Phillies’ everyday left fielder. An impressive Spring Training in which he hit .375 with a .500 on-base percentage and a 1.175 OPS over 50 plate appearances only heightened the expectations.
By late April, though, Kepler had struggled to the point where he found himself in a platoon with Weston Wilson. Things didn't get any better in May, when Kepler slashed .188/.275/.375 (.650 OPS) with 22 strikeouts in 91 plate appearances.
“Baseball comes with a lot of doubt; it's a mental game,” Kepler said. “You fail, as you know, a majority of the time. So if you tend to overthink, like me, it can sometimes spiral a little bit, and you can find a dark place.”
Kepler said he has relied heavily on countless members of the Phillies’ organization while battling his way out of that place.
“It'd take me a while to name them all,” he said. “There's a lot.”
It’s a list that includes everyone from teammates, to coaches, to members of the training staff, to even folks working in the kitchen inside the clubhouse.
“As of right now, I'm leaning on my guys on this team that really uplift me,” Kepler said. “From the staff, to the players, to everyone around [the team]. Everyone's been great.”
Through it all, Kepler has started to come around during the Phillies’ current homestand. His go-ahead shot on Saturday was his second homer in the past four games, matching his total from his previous 31. He also has at least one extra-base hit in each of his past four games after beginning the month of June just 1-for-18 (.056).
“I think I'm starting to see the ball better and just be patient,” Kepler said. “And continue to believe in my swing.”
The Phillies could certainly use a sustained resurgence. It’s no secret that their offense could use a boost at the Trade Deadline and -- given the struggles of Kepler and Wilson -- left field has seemed like the most likely spot to seek an upgrade.
“Hopefully he's turned the corner here a little bit,” manager Rob Thomson said. “And he's going to be getting some consistent at-bats, because we're going to face a lot of righties here coming up. He looks good right now.”
Though Kepler has struggled overall, he’s provided glimpses of his potential game-changing power.
Along with Saturday’s decisive homer, Kepler hit a game-tying shot in the ninth inning off A’s fireball closer Mason Miller on May 24 en route to a comeback win. He also hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning on May 2 that proved to be the difference in a 3-2 win over the D-backs.
Three of Kepler’s eight home runs this season have either tied the game or given the Phillies the lead in the seventh inning or later. Only two players -- Cal Raleigh and Manny Machado -- have more such homers this year. Kepler's three are the same number as Aaron Judge.
“He can hit velocity, and usually you're going to get velocity at the end of games,” Thomson said. “So that's what he's doing.”
Moments like that are obviously big for the Phillies, but they’re even more important for Kepler as he works his way back to a better place -- both mentally and at the plate.
‘It's definitely a high,” he said. “But I kind of have to put it behind me and just be ready for tomorrow. The highs and lows are going to come, so it's about finding that balance, that even-keel wave, and hopefully, riding it as long as you can.”