Kyle Schwarber joins Home Run Derby field

The ball was flying in Cincinnati tonight. Schwarber’s ninth inning home run was the seventh of this game and his league-leading 32nd of the season. It’s been a banner first half for the slugger with 58 RBI, a .254 batting average, and .945 OPS to go along with those 32 dingers.

Schwarber also added a single in the contest. The two-run shot off Andrew Abbott also gives the 33-year-old slugger 57 RBI in what has been another outstanding first half of baseball for Schwarber. The Phillies have played 91 games, so he’s just-above a 55-homer pace for the 2026 campaign. It’s entirely realistic he could reach that number.

Schwarber earned the automatic ejection from Monday’s frustrating one-sided affair following a sixth-inning strikeout. He finished 0-for-3 with three punchouts and also drew a walk. The 33-year-old slugger leads the majors with 30 first-half round-trippers and is one of five Phillies headed to next week’s All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park.

Schwarber also had a single in five at-bats and was responsible for three of the game’s four hardest balls in play. The homer came off Kodai Senga and accounted for the only runs the Phillies scored off him in his five-inning relief appearance. Schwarber is now five homers ahead of anyone else in the majors. It was his 370th career homer, moving him past Ralph Kiner and Todd Helton and into a tie with Gil Hodges for 87th place on the all-time list.

Schwarber missed each of the team’s previous two games due to tightness in his back, though he did draw a walk as a pinch-hitter on Wednesday. The 33-year-old slugger returns to a terrific .252/.367/.594 slash line to go with a league-leading 29 homers and 52 RBI through 338 plate appearances on the season.

Schwarber, who was held out of the lineup for the second straight game with back tightness, came off the bench to face Nationals reliever Orlando Ribalta with two outs in the ninth inning with the Phillies trailing by a run. He managed to foul off a couple pitches and eventually worked a 10-pitch walk before being lifted for a pinch-runner. It wound up being the turning point in the game for Philadelphia as Derek Hill followed with a go-ahead homer off lefty Richard Lovelady, lifting the Phillies to another comeback victory.

Schwarber receives additional time off to rest after his back locked up on him just prior to first pitch on Tuesday at Nationals Park. It sounds like the Phillies are merely proceeding with an abundance of caution given the nature of most back issues since interim manager Don Mattingly downplayed concern after the contest. The 33-year-old slugger is day-to-day heading into Thursday’s series finale. It’ll be Bryce Harper getting a turn at DH in his absence.

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly told reporters Schwarber’s back locked up on him roughly 10 minutes before first pitch and they didn’t want to take any chances. It doesn’t sound like a significant concern, but he’ll be reevaluated prior to Wednesday’s contest just to be safe.

Schwarber, who leads the majors with 29 round-trippers across 75 games this season, was a late scratch just prior to first pitch at Nationals Park. It’ll be Edmundo Sosa taking over at DH in his place. The power-hitting 33-year-old is presumably day-to-day, but it’s worth noting that back issues can be complex matters. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Not a bad encore after his three-homer display on Saturday night. Schwarber walked and scored a run in the first inning before hitting an absolute missile in the second. The ball traveled an estimated 418 feet, which really doesn’t do it justice. Similar to Saturday’s homers, it was a majestic blast which found a home in the second deck. Schwarber is up to 29 homers, four more than Yordan Alvarez for tops in MLB. He’s well on his way to another 50-homer season. If Schwarber manages to pull it off, which looks very likely right now, he’ll become the first player in Phillies history with two 50-homer seasons.