Inside The Red Sox

Ex-Red Sox Fan Favorite Punches Postseason Ticket With Two-Home Run Game

This former Red Sox slugger is on a tear

Scott Neville

Ex-Red Sox Fan Favorite Punches Postseason Ticket With Two-Home Run Game
Ex-Red Sox Fan Favorite Punches Postseason Ticket With Two-Home Run Game /
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One of the best power hitters in Major League Baseball just showcased his value when it mattered most, clinching a postseason spot behind his big bat. 

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder/designated hitter Kyle Schwarber belted two home runs against the Houston Astros on Monday to secure a 3-0 win and a National League Wild Card spot. 

Schwarber proved to be as clutch as he was a year ago, when he came over to the Boston Red Sox at the MLB trade deadline and hit .291/.435/.522 with 17 extra-base hits including seven home runs, 18 RBIs and the best plate discipline of his career with a 39-to-33 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 41 games.

Since then, Schwarber has been mashing the cover off the ball for the Phillies, with an NL-leading 46 home runs. The season has not been quite as fruitful outside of pure power numbers, but he's still showing a prowess for stepping up when it matters most. 

Overall, the 29-year-old is hitting .219 with 70 extra-base hits, 94 RBIs and a much less impressive 199-to-86 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His 199 strikeouts are the most in the league.

While Boston did not get the most out of their first basemen, corner outfielders or designated hitter -- all positions Schwarber played for the Red Sox -- his massive four-year, $79 million contract would not have been a great use of payroll when factoring in his limitations defensively and inability to make consistent contact.

Still, he was awesome for the Red Sox down the stretch as a spark plug for a 2021 roster that went on an unexpected deep run after limping into the postseason. Red Sox nation should have no issue rooting for his success as the Phillies enter the playoffs.

More MLB: Should Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story Swap Positions Next Year?

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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