Kyle Schwarber heating up right on schedule as the Phillies make another push for the World Series
Schwarber followed up his homer in Game 1 with two more in Game 2. “He just sets the tone for our offense,” says J.T. Realmuto.
There is a reason no one worries about Kyle Schwarber when he hits below .200, or starts his postseason on a 5-for-29 skid. Schwarber always finds his way out of it. And when he does, he usually goes on a tear.
This is especially true in the postseason. Last year, the Phillies DH batted and slugged .050 through the wild-card series and National League Division Series, only to become one of the best postseason hitters in baseball over the next 11 games. From the NLCS through the World Series, he hit .314/.489/.829 with a 1.318 OPS, six home runs, and 12 walks.
He appears to be trending in a similar direction in 2023. Schwarber hit his first home run of the postseason on Monday night, and followed that up with two home runs off Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly on Tuesday in the Phillies’ 10-0 victory in Game 2 of the NLCS. His second home run of the night, which came in the sixth, traveled 427 feet.
Schwarber now has 18 career postseason home runs, which ties Reggie Jackson for the most home runs by a left-handed hitter in playoff history. The fact that he isn’t the first Phillie to tie a postseason record set by Jackson this week speaks to how potent their lineup is right now. But like Nick Castellanos, Schwarber didn’t want to focus on his personal accolades.
“At the end of the day, it’s about getting a win,” he said. “I really don’t care. I’ve always said I will go 0-for-4 if we win the baseball game. I don’t care. This isn’t about personal stats. This is about trying to find a way to win a baseball game. It doesn’t need to be sexy or anything like that. It can be ugly. I don’t care.
“I feel like that’s the mindset of our whole team right now. It doesn’t matter. We’re all going to be selfless. We’re going to try to pass the baton to the next guy, try to get guys over to third base when we can, try to be great at situational hitting.
“That’s the story of the postseason, and if we all embrace that like we are right now, good things can happen for us.”
That may be true, but it is also true that if Schwarber keeps hitting the way he is, the Phillies have a better chance to win. They went 61-41 with him in the leadoff spot this season. Going off wins and losses can seem fluky, but there is no doubt that Schwarber sets a tone at the top of the lineup.
He certainly did on Tuesday night, en route to a 10-0 shellacking of the Diamondbacks. J.T. Realmuto watched from the dugout as Schwarber took his at-bats. As a catcher, Realmuto picks up on some things other players might not, like how uncomfortable a pitcher is in a certain moment.
According to Realmuto, Schwarber is one of the best in the game at making opposing pitchers uncomfortable — which can have an impact on the rest of the lineup.
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“There’s never a moment where they feel like ‘Oh, we can just ease into this game,’” Realmuto said. “They have to be on their top game the first pitch of the game. And that’s not fun as a pitcher. Like I said, he’s the best in the game at that, and he just sets the tone for our offense.
“You can see almost a weight getting lifted off of our shoulders when he has a good at-bat. It’s not only the home runs. He has really good at-bats every time. The first at-bat of the game is so important, and he’s one of the best in the game at just making the pitcher work. Even when he doesn’t hit a home run, he gets a ton of walks. He is never an easy out. That’s what you are looking for out of your lead-off hitter.”