Washington (AFP) – Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber blasted a record-tying four home runs in a single Major League Baseball game but regretted missing out on a rare chance to smash a fifth homer. The 32-year-old American became only the 21st player in MLB history to hit four homers in one game in Wednesday’s 19-4 home rout of Atlanta, becoming the fourth player in Phillies history to manage the feat as well as the third overall from this season.
Schwarber tagged a solo homer to the second deck of seats in right field in the first inning, followed with a two-run homer down the right-field line in the third, crushed a three-run homer to left field in the fifth, and smashed a three-run blast off reliever Wander Suero in the seventh inning. “It was pretty cool to go out there and do that,” Schwarber said. “And you get the opportunity for a fifth one.” However, Schwarber, batting as a designated hitter, was a bit down after squandering that rare chance at smashing an unprecedented fifth homer in an MLB contest.
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“I shouldn’t have even asked the question, but I was in the (indoor batting) cage and I was like, ‘How many guys have hit five?'” Schwarber said in a posting on the MLB website. “And nobody said anything, so I was like, ‘Oh, OK, well that answers the question.'” According to Elias Sports Bureau, only three other players in MLB history had come to the plate with a chance for a fifth homer in one game — Bobby Lowe in 1894, Lou Gehrig in 1932, and Mike Cameron in 2002.
Schwarber had the chance to be the first to hit a fifth homer in one game when he went back to the plate in the eighth inning to face Atlanta shortstop Vidal Bruján, a 27-year-old Dominican right-hander who had been pressed into pitching duty in the seventh inning of a blowout loss. But Schwarber wasn’t so confident. “I stink against position players,” said Schwarber, whose 14 prior times at bat against a fill-in pitcher saw him go 2-for-9 with only a double, an infield single plus two walks, twice being hit, and a sacrifice fly. Extending his frustrations, Schwarber popped up against Bruján for a fly out. “I’ve got a mental block somewhere in my head that I’m not very good against position players,” Schwarber said.
Winning pitcher Aaron Nola wasn’t as frustrated by his teammate missing out on number five. “I mean, whether he hits the fifth or not, what an unbelievable night that guy had,” Nola said. “I’ve never seen a four-home run game in person, so that was amazing. That guy is awesome. I don’t know what else to say. The guy is having a year for the ages.”
Schwarber’s homer total reached a career-high 49 for the season, nine shy of the Phillies team record for homers in a season set by Ryan Howard in 2006. Schwarber is on pace to smack 59 homers this season to beat Howard’s mark. “If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, great,” Schwarber said of the team record. “I’m more focused on us as a group and on trying to get to where we want to be.”
At 77-57, the Phillies lead the National League East division by five games over the New York Mets and are level with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL’s second-best record. Schwarber matched the Phillies club record for homers in a game set by Ed Delahanty in 1896 and tied by Chuck Klein in 1936 and Mike Schmidt in 1976. “There’s 21 people to do it now and four are Phillies, so that’s pretty cool,” Schwarber said. Two other MLB players have smacked four homers in a game this season, Eugenio Suárez in April and Nick Kurtz in July.
© 2024 AFP
