Phillies power hitter Kyle Schwarber set a new playoff record by hitting his fifth career leadoff homer, sending the third pitch of Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Mets into the second deck at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday.
Schwarber recorded two hits, but the rest of the Phillies only managed three, leading to a 6-2 loss against the New York Mets in the first game of the series.
Schwarber’s homer was hit off Kodai Senga, who unexpectedly started for New York after only pitching 5 1/3 innings in the major leagues all season.
“It was hard to map out because we didn’t know what we were getting out of Senga, to begin with,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. “He was really good, by the way. Other than that pitch that Schwarber took him deep, he was really good.”
During the regular season, Schwarber hit 38 home runs, with 15 coming from the leadoff spot. He has a total of 21 career playoff homers in 66 games, placing him fourth behind Manny Ramirez (29), Jose Altuve (27), and Bernie Williams (22).
Jimmy Rollins and Derek Jeter both had three career leadoff home runs in the playoffs.
