Kyle Schwarber wasted no time getting things started on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park, and he set a new Major League Baseball record in the process.
The Philadelphia Phillies star drilled a leadoff home run to start their 9-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. He hit a deep shot off Rays pitcher Taj Bradley on just the second pitch of the night, and it went more than 430 feet out into right-center field, putting the Phillies up 1-0.
The home run was Schwarber’s 14th leadoff homer of the season, which set a single-season MLB record.
Schwarber was tied with former New York Yankees star Alfonso Soriano for the record entering Tuesday. Soriano hit 38 home runs during the 2003 campaign, 13 of which were leadoffs. Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts came close to that mark last season, but he finished with 12.
Schwarber was also tied for eighth on the all-time list after he hit 11 leadoff home runs last season with the Phillies. The 31-year-old hit a career-high 47 home runs during that campaign.
The home run Tuesday was Schwarber’s 35th of the season, which is tied for seventh in the league. Schwarber entered Tuesday’s game with a .250 batting average and 94 RBI this season, his third with the Phillies.
Kyle Schwarber leaves early due to elbow injury
After he set the record in the first inning, Schwarber left the game early Tuesday due to a left elbow injury.
In the third inning, Schwarber slid back into first base to try to avoid a pickoff attempt by the Rays catcher. He beat the tag and was safe at the base, but he landed awkwardly on his left arm in the process.
He stayed in the game and scored on a Trea Turner home run shortly after, but he was pulled in the fourth inning due to “left elbow discomfort.”
Specifics of his injury are not yet known.
Though the Phillies entered the eighth inning tied up with the Rays, they put up five runs in that inning — including a two-run shot from Turner — to push ahead and grab the five-run win. Benches cleared briefly in the bottom of the eighth inning, too, after Nick Castellanos was hit by a pitch.
Philadelphia now holds an 87-58 record on the season. The win on Tuesday marked the Phillies’ eighth in their last 10 games, too. They hold a commanding lead in the NL East standings, and they are in line with the Dodgers for the best record in the league with fewer than 20 games left in the regular season.