Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber sets a major league record with 14th leadoff homer, but leaves game with elbow pain

Kyle Schwarber didn’t think anything of it when he dove back into first base on a pickoff attempt in the third inning Tuesday night.

Before long, though, he knew something was wrong.

Schwarber jogged around the bases after the first of Trea Turner’s two homers in the Phillies’ drunk-with-action (including a benches- and bullpens-emptying skirmish) 9-4 thumping of the Rays. But upon returning to the dugout, he felt a twinge while bending his left elbow.

“It was like, ‘Huh, that was weird,’” Schwarber said. “Then, I went down and took a swing, and it didn’t feel good.”

» READ MORE: Don Money had to wait to applaud grandson Buddy Kennedy for his Phillies moment. But he knew he’d call.

Schwarber, who set a single-season major-league record with his 14th leadoff homer, left with what the Phillies described as a bruised and hyperextended left elbow. But it isn’t as ominous as it sounds, according to Schwarber and manager Rob Thomson, both of whom suggested the slugging designated hitter might be able to play Wednesday night.

“There’s nothing structurally wrong,” Schwarber said. “So, pretty much it’s, if I can stand it, then, play.”

Said Thomson: “I’m going to put him in the lineup tonight and see where he’s at [Wednesday].”

Schwarber joins an ever-growing list of banged-up Phillies players. J.T. Realmuto has missed four games with a bruised left knee, while Alec Bohm (strained left hand), Austin Hays (kidney infection), and Edmundo Sosa (back spasms) went on the injured list within the last week.

Oh, and Bryce Harper is playing through wrist and elbow pain.

But the Phillies do seem to have dodged long-term injuries. None of the aforementioned players is expected to miss much time, if any.

“To be at this time of the year and have some nicks and bruises, that’s expected,” Schwarber said. “But it’s nice to where it’s just a couple days and we’re getting everyone back on the field and pushing to where we want to get to. The biggest thing is health. Always.”

» READ MORE: Nick Castellanos’ chase for 162 games goes beyond endurance. It’s a testament to the Phillies’ faith in him.

If anything, once they deemed Schwarber’s injury to not be serious, the Phillies were more concerned with Nick Castellanos’ well-being in the eighth inning.

Castellanos got drilled in the hip by Rays reliever Edwin Uceta, who had allowed a go-ahead two-run double to Cal Stevenson, an RBI single by Buddy Kennedy, Turner’s second homer, and a double to Harper in a five-run eighth inning. Uceta told reporters he threw a changeup. Some changeup. It was clocked at 96.2 mph, the hardest pitch he’s thrown all season, according to Statcast.

“You’re frustrated and you’re going to throw at somebody?” Castellanos said. “That’s like my 2-year-old throwing a fit because I take away his dessert before he’s finished.”

Said Harper: “It’s not the game that we play, man. Guys throw too hard nowadays. It just fired me up, really upset me. It’s not something we should accept as Major League Baseball.”

Schwarber was in the trainer’s room when the maelstrom erupted.

“That just shouldn’t be in the game,” he said. “To take your frustrations out on a hitter just because, in my opinion, you’re getting hit, that’s [expletive].

“I wanted to go out there. But it probably wouldn’t have been the smartest thing.”

The Phillies’ offense literally starts with Schwarber, who eclipsed Alfonso Soriano’s mark of 13 leadoff homers for the Yankees in 2003 by hitting the second pitch of the game over the center-field fence. He has seven homers in his last eight games and a team-leading 35 overall.

Two innings later, after drawing a walk, he banged his elbow on first base while diving back to beat a pickoff throw by Rays catcher Logan Driscoll. He didn’t feel pain at the outset, but when he was unable to swing a bat, he alerted the training staff.

» READ MORE: Handicapping Zack Wheeler's Cy Young chances as the season comes down the stretch

Schwarber said his elbow felt better after treatment before swelling up.

“I tried to let [a swing] rip, and it wasn’t really cooperating,” he said. “Just kind of hit on the right spot, I guess.”

Schwarber isn’t viewed as a prototypical leadoff hitter because he lacks speed. But he sees a lot of pitches, draws walks, and reaches base, traits that are desirable in the leadoff spot.

The Cubs put Schwarber atop the order in 2019, and he didn’t have much success. He was more effective in 2021 with the Nationals and has batted leadoff for most of his three-year tenure with the Phillies. He has 45 career leadoff homers, ninth-most in major-league history and third among active players behind George Springer and Mookie Betts.

“Figuring out a little bit in Washington and in Boston, too, and being thrown in [the leadoff spot] here pretty much almost full-time, I feel really confident with the way that I kind of want to take my at-bats,” Schwarber said. “From seeing where I’ve started to where it’s come to now, I can definitely say you can feel good about the adjustments.

“It’s a cool thing, right? I’ve always said I think it’s going to be cool when you’re all said and done [playing] and you can look back at all the cool things that happened in a career. Right? It’s definitely a cool thing to be up there, but it’ll probably be a little more enjoyable whenever I play the last game and you can look back at your whole career.”