Philadelphia – Kyle Schwarber scored his 50th home run this season, with Ranger Suarez making a career-high 12 in six closed innings, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to beat the New York Mets 9-3 Tuesday night.
The Phillies won the first two games of the four-game series and led the NL by nine games in the Mets, thanks to Schwarber's heroism, the first national league player to reach 50 this season.
It seems like a long time for Schwarber, who hit four home runs in a game last month, making the Phillies' 50 home runs this season a cliff for 50 home runs. Then he waited. And wait for more.
Ultimately, Schwarber's home run drought – although the designated hitters can indeed have a game this year – spanning 10 games and 49 sets in pursuit of milestones. But he finally gave everyone a 437-foot reminder, with the roaring ode of “MVP! MVP”, what it sounds like! That dragged him to the base.
It was a career to reach 50 home runs in a season, a feat that beat Justin Hagenman with a three-point shooting percentage in the seventh inning. Now he is three away from Major League Baseball's lead, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is 53 years old.
“I don't know how to say why you hit so many home runs, or what,” Schwarber said. “It's just the way it happens. It's not like I went there and tried to do that. It just found the way. It's a cool thing.”
Schwarber joined 2008 World Series champion Ryan Howard, the only player in a season to reach 50 home runs. Howard reached 58 in 2006.
Consider it, Mike Schmidt ranked No. 48 on his 1980 home run with 548 home runs in his Hall of Fame career.
Schwarber is the first player in major league history to have four games and 50 home runs. His strength stagnated after he became the 21st Major League and the fourth Phillies player in the game against Atlanta on August 28.
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“I've been through some rough places,” Schwarber said. “I think over the past four to five days, my bat sticks have been very good, baseball. Play some balls. There's nothing you can do.”
Schwarber's home run hit on the straight-up midfield court, giving the Phillies a 7-1 lead. After that, the fan favorite came out and cried from the curtains, calling on the crowd to roar “MVP! MVP!” as “50 Schwarbombs” flashed on the big screen.
“I think you can say, quote, Unnamed, take a deep breath,” Schwarber said. “But that's not what I'm worried about.”
Thanks to his Mammoth home run, the 32-year-old Schwarber is arguably the most popular Philadelphian star since he signed a four-year, $79 million free agent contract before the 2022 season. Schwarber set his previous 47 home run career highs in 2023, better than the 46 home runs he hit in 2022.
The Phillies have entered the playoffs for three years since Schwarber joined the team and are struggling to win their second straight NL East title, leading the Mets with 17 shots in the Mets.
“I feel like we've been playing great baseball all the time, and that's what we have to keep doing until October,” Schwarber said.
Schwarber won All-Star MVP honors after winning three home runs after the season, and he could be a free agent again, while Phillies executive partner John Middleton still has a firm commitment to hope Schwarber retreats.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.