Philadelphia Phillies player Kyle Schwarber set a new MLB record on Tuesday night by hitting his 14th leadoff home run of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays. He achieved this milestone before leaving the game in the fourth inning due to a hyperextended left elbow.
In the first inning, Schwarber hit a 1-0 fastball from Rays pitcher Taj Bradley 437 feet into center field. This home run gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead and put Schwarber ahead of Alfonso Soriano, who had 13 leadoff homers in 2003 with the New York Yankees. The Phillies eventually won the game 9-4.
This home run was Schwarber’s 35th of the season and his 45th leadoff homer of his career, with 32 of those coming since he joined the Phillies in 2022.
“It’s a cool thing,” Schwarber said. “When you’re all said and done, whenever it’s over with, you can look back at all the cool things that happened in your career. It’ll probably be a little more enjoyable whenever I play my last game.”
Schwarber walked to lead off the bottom of the third inning and seemed to hurt his elbow while diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt by Rays catcher Logan Driscoll.
He was replaced by Buddy Kennedy as the designated hitter in the fourth inning.
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s day-to-day,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I’m going to put him in (tomorrow’s) lineup tonight and then we’ll see where he’s at tomorrow.”
Schwarber mentioned that he received treatment during the game and had a bit of swelling. He said there’s no structural damage to his elbow, so if he can handle the feeling of swinging a bat, he plans to play in Wednesday’s series finale as the Phillies aim for a three-game sweep.
After a period of 17 games without a home run and only one homer in 23 games, Schwarber has been hitting well recently, with seven home runs in his last eight games, including three in his first at-bat of a game.
