Schwarber Sets MLB Record with 20th HR in Phillies' 11-9 Win
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Kyle Schwarber crushed two two-run homers and drew a bases-loaded walk in a ninth-inning rally, lifting the Phillies to an 11-9, 10-inning win over the Pirates and erasing a six-run deficit.
- Schwarber reached 20 home runs on the earliest date in MLB history, surpassing Luis Gonzalez (May 17, 2001), and tied Cy Williams' 1923 club mark of 20 HRs in the team's first 45 games.
- Schwarber has now hit nine homers in his past eight games — the second time in his career he's done it, joining Albert Belle as the only players in major league history with two such stretches.
- Don Mattingly has gone 13-4 since replacing Rob Thomson as manager, pulling the Phillies within a game of .500 at 22-23 after an April 10-game slide cost Thomson his job.
- Bryce Harper delivered four hits, including a game-tying single off the right-center wall right after Schwarber's intentional walk, while backup catcher Rafael Marchan drove in the go-ahead runs with a two-run single in the 10th.
- Orion Kerkering notched his first save of the season — just the fifth of his career — to seal Philadelphia's fifth straight win.
Why it matters: Schwarber's record-early power surge has dovetailed with a 13-4 Phillies turnaround under new manager Don Mattingly, pulling Philadelphia within a game of .500 after an April collapse that cost Rob Thomson his job. With a postseason core still in place, the Phillies appear to be regaining the form that made them an NL East fixture, though they still trail front-running Atlanta.
