Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper power Phillies to an 11-9 comeback victory over Pirates in extras

PITTSBURGH — With the Phillies facing a steep deficit to the Pirates, interim manager Don Mattingly came out to the mound to make a pitching change.

As he took the ball, he told the gathered players they were going to come back.

“I believed him,” Bryce Harper said. “I had that notion too. I feel like, as a team, that’s who we are.”

Having someone on your team hitting the ball the way Kyle Schwarber has sure helps that belief. Schwarber hit two homers on Friday to keep the game within reach after a third-inning blowup from starter Aaron Nola.

» READ MORE: Phillies closer Jhoan Duran’s new pitch, a split-changeup, is ‘something new for the league’

Then, he drew a key bases-loaded walk in the ninth as the Phillies closed in on the Pirates, who had led by six in the third inning.

Harper came through with a game-tying single that was just inches away from clearing the center field railing and becoming a go-ahead grand slam. In the 10th, when Brandon Marsh hit an RBI double that put the Phillies in front for the 11-9 win, Mattingly had officially been proven right.

“As a club, when you get confident, I mean, anything can happen. Good things can happen,” said Harper, who finished with four hits.

Rafael Marchán snapped an 0-for-17 skid with a two-run single in the 10th that added some crucial insurance for the Phillies. As he walked into the visitor’s clubhouse after the game, he was met with a boisterous cheer from his teammates.

With the Phillies carrying three catchers on their roster and J.T. Realmuto taking the bulk of the workload, Marchán has had inconsistent at-bats this season and has struggled.

“He’s such a worker, and you don’t want him to lose confidence that you believe in him, and things like that,” Mattingly said. “So it really felt good for him to get that hit.”

The comeback became necessary after the Pirates scored six runs on Nola in the third. He gave up two homers on middle-middle fastballs, which has been an issue all season.

“They did what they’re supposed to do with those pitches right down the middle,” Nola said.

Nola’s four-seam and sinker didn’t generate a single whiff on 16 total swings. His fastball has a minus-11 run value according to StatCast metrics, which puts it in the bottom 1% of MLB. On Friday, Nola turned in just 3⅔ innings.

» READ MORE: Andrew Painter is learning through experience and working to sharpen his fastball command

Mattingly said he’s not concerned about Nola, whose ERA has risen to 5.91.

“He knows how he needs to pitch, but he’s not getting the breaking ball over, being able to use his changeup, and then missed some spots,” Mattingly said. “It’s probably the least command he’s had this year. I don’t expect that to be like that. He’s a guy that we trust. He’s going to be fine.”

But Schwarber stayed hot. His two homers brought his total to nine in the last eight games.

He hit a two-run shot on a four-seam from starter Braxton Ashcraft in the fifth. The Pirates brought in lefty reliever Mason Montgomery to face Schwarber in the seventh inning, but he ambushed a first-pitch fastball and sent it into the Phillies’ bullpen.

“He’s a different cat from the standpoint of how he does it,” Mattingly said. “He’s just dangerous all the time. Doesn’t matter, really, lefties or righties, either one. If they make mistakes, and what he’s looking for, then he makes you pay.”

Then, Schwarber stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the ninth, trailing by three, against former Phillie Gregory Soto. But rather than expanding the zone and swinging for the fences, Schwarber remained within his approach and drew the walk to bring up Harper.

“Once I got 2-0 there, it’s kind of just really shrinking the zone,” Schwarber said. “Obviously Greg, he’s got great stuff, and he’s got a really nasty sinker and the bigger slider, so it’s just kind of really keying in on what you want. And once I get 3-0 there, I was happy with the take.”

Brandon Lowe also had two homers for the Pirates, one off Nola and another off Tim Mayza in the fifth. The Phillies committed two errors in the sixth — a throwing error from Garrett Stubbs and a fielding error from Alec Bohm — which allowed another run to score.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper is off to a strong start. And ‘protecting himself’ has played a key role.

But the Phillies bullpen stepped up in some big spots. Chase Shugart turned in two scoreless innings, José Alvarado pitched a scoreless ninth to force extras, and Orion Kerkering slammed the door with a strikeout in the 10th to seal the win. Bohm helped Kerkering out with a pair of clutch plays at third.

“There’s a so much good that went on today, and that we were able to respond and fight back,” Schwarber said. “That’s a really positive thing for us.”

A month ago, the Phillies were in a 10-game losing streak. Following Friday’s win, they have pulled back to within one game of a .500 record.

“We’ve been a very resilient group,” Harper said. “Never feel like we’re out of it or down.”

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Previous episodes: Joe Maddon | Rhys Hoskins | Terry Francona | Aaron Rowand | Hunter Pence | Paco Figueroa | Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola