Philadelphia Phillies Leadoff Man Kyle Schwarber Posts Historic Multi-Home Run Game

Kyle Schwarber crushed two home runs in the Phillies' tight loss to the Nationals on Friday, moving up in the all-time leaderboards as a result.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber has never been a traditional leadoff hitter, but the veteran continued to mash out of the top spot in the lineup Friday night.

Schwarber went 2-for-4 with two home runs in the Phillies' 8-7 loss to Washington Nationals, crushing a two-run bomb in the fourth and a solo shot in the ninth. The 30-year-old left fielder and designated hitter now has 32 home runs on the season.

Friday marked Schwarber's 15th career multi-home run game out of the leadoff spot. According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, that moves him into sole possession of fourth place on the league's all-time leaderboard for the stat.

Mookie Betts has the most with 24, while George Springer and Alfonso Soriano are tied for second at 19. Schwarber moved out of a tie for fourth with Brady Anderson, who had 14 multi-home run games as the Baltimore Orioles' leadoff hitter in the 1990s.

Joc Pederson and Barry Bonds are tied for sixth with 13 apiece.

most career multi-home run games out of leadoff spot:

Mookie Betts: 24
George Springer: 19
Alfonso Soriano: 19
Kyle Schwarber: 15
Brady Anderson: 14
Joc Pederson: 13
Bobby Bonds: 13 https://t.co/QmZ36JPOoE

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 19, 2023

Schwarber has been one of baseball's most dangerous power hitters over the past seven years, ranking third in MLB with 215 homers since 2017. Since he entered the league in 2015, 6.1% of Schwarber's plate appearances have ended in home runs, which comes in behind only Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo, Mike Trout and Pete Alonso.

However, Schwarber's production outside of home runs dropped off once he arrived in Philadelphia.

After hitting .230 across six seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Schwarber hit .266 with the Nationals and Boston Red Sox in 2021. The veteran joined the Phillies on a four-year, $79 million deal in 2022, and has proceeded to hit .203 with his new club.

Schwarber may lead the National League in home runs over the last two seasons, but he also has the most strikeouts with 360. This season, Schwarber is batting .182, despite ranking third among NL hitters in home runs, and he sports a career-worst -0.6 WAR through 121 games.

Still, Schwarber boasts a .325 on-base percentage as a result of his career-high 90 walks, which rank second in the NL. Schwarber has started in the leadoff spot 69 times in 2023, and he has only missed one of Philadelphia's 122 games all season.

Adding up his home runs, strikeouts and walks, 52.0% of Schwarber's plate appearances this year have ended without the ball ever entering the field of play.

The Phillies have yet to announce their lineup for Saturday afternoon's game against the Nationals, but Schwarber will presumably start at designated hitter and lead off once again.

First pitch from DC is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.

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