Kyle Schwarber blasts 33rd home run in win

Schwarber’s defining characteristic is an uncanny ability to thrive under pressure, somehow always finding his swing and locking in on the biggest stages in baseball. The 33-year-old entered as the overwhelming favorite in his home ballpark and managed to overcome a frosty start to narrowly advance to the semifinals before outlasting former teammate Willson Contreras to reach the final round. He homered on seven of his first 10 swings in the finals and finished with a whopping 11 on 15 swings. It took a herculean effort from Cardinals emerging star Jordan Walker, who homered on each of his final six swings to pull off an incredible comeback.

He’s the second Phillies player to join the field in the last two days, as he and Bryce Harper are joining Willson Contreras, Jac Caglianone, Junior Caminero, and Ben Rice. There’s room for one more player. Schwarber led the league in homers last year (56) and currently is leading MLB again this year with 32 while hitting .254/.369/.571. The 33-year-old star will undoubtedly be one the favorites to win the derby.

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.