The Toronto Blue Jays can't wait for Kyle Schwarber to leave town. On Tuesday night, Schwarber slugged three home runs, including a go-ahead blast in the ninth inning, as the Philadelphia Phillies erased a five-run deficit (PHI 10, TOR 9). It was Schwarber's second three-homer of game of the season. He had a single and a double as well.
"The biggest thing was not trying to speed up," Schwarber said following Tuesday's ninth inning go-ahead homer (via MLB.com). "If I stay level-headed throughout -- don't let the moment get too big. Right?"
Schwarber wasted no time getting on the board Wednesday (GameTracker). He clubbed Bowden Francis' second pitch of the afternoon into the right field second deck for a leadoff home run. It was Schwarber's fourth home run in seven at-bats, and the second straight game he started with a leadoff homer.
Wednesday's homer was Schwarber's 13th leadoff home run of 2024, tying Alfonso Soriano's single-season record. Soriano hit 13 leadoff homers with the 2003 New York Yankees. Six others have hit 12 leadoff home runs in a season, including Mookie Betts last year and Jose Altuve in 2022.
Furthermore, Wednesday's homer was Schwarber's 44th career leadoff home run, tying Brady Anderson for ninth most all-time. The all-time leader is, of course, Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson. He had 81 career leadoff homers. George Springer, who led off Wednesday's game with a fly out to right, is second all-time with 60 leadoff homers.
Schwarber, 31, entered play Wednesday with a .245/.369/.474 batting line and 31 home runs. He also leads the National League with 94 walks. Schwarber is the prototypical new age power leadoff hitter. Teams are moving away from speedy leadoff types in favor of players who can give them a quick 1-0 lead, like Schwarber did Tuesday and Wednesday.
