CLEVELAND – There wasn’t drama around whether Kyle Schwarber would extend his on-base streak to 46 games on Sunday.
In fact, it took him all of three pitches.
After seeing a ball and a strike from Guardians starter Luis L. Ortiz in the second inning of the Phillies’ matchup against the Guardians, Schwarber mashed a changeup over the heart of the plate to the right-field seats for a solo home run to give the Phillies their first run in a 3-0 win.
It was the classic Schwarber home run. It left his bat fast (112.5 mph exit velocity) and went far (392 feet), and, most importantly, staked the Phillies to a lead.
And somehow it wasn’t his most impressive home run of the day.
In the eighth inning, Schwarber blasted a 397-foot home run off Guardians reliever Tim Herrin to give the Phillies two important insurance runs.
Prior to the game, Phillies manager Rob Thomson compared Schwarber’s ascent into a complete player to Curtis Granderson’s adjustment in New York under current Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long.
Long worked with Thomson with the Yankees under former Phillies manager Joe Girardi.
During Granderson’s six years in Detroit from 2004-09, he hit .210 with 16 home runs off of left-handed pitching, before hitting .241 with 36 home runs in four seasons in New York against southpaws.
“That was one of Long’s No. 1 projects,” Thomson said of Granderson.
Schwarber hit .214 with 18 home runs against lefties in his career prior to joining the Phillies, but entered Sunday hitting .234 with 43 home runs in 663 at-bats against left-handed pitchers during his tenure in Philadelphia.
He entered Sunday slashing .306/.443/.735 against southpaws on the season.
“I think you see it a little bit, but not a lot,” Thomson said when asked about Schwarber’s mid-career shift to be able to hit lefties. “I think most guys exit the league as the same guy they were when they entered it.”
Schwarber’s streak started on Sept. 23, 2024 with a solo home run on the same day the Phillies clinched the National League East. It continued on Sunday with two big home runs.
“It’s so impressive because he takes what the other pitcher gives him,” Thomson said. “If they want to pitch around him and try to nibble, he'll take his walks, and he’ll take his base hits. But when they pitch to him he’ll put the ball in the seats.”
Although Thomson said that Long likely used some of the same tactics with Schwarber that he did with Granderson, he also acknowledged that Long’s likely added some things in the time since.
“He’s probably got more arrows in his quiver now,” Thomson joked.
After his 2-for-4 showing on Sunday, he’s now hitting .262 across his streak with 16 home runs, 37 RBIs, 33 walks and 43 strikeouts. He entered the game in the 97th percentile or better in bat speed, xwOBA, walk rate and hard-hit rate on the season.
Schwarber’s home run backed a strong start from Zack Wheeler, who tossed seven scoreless innings in the win. He allowed just five baserunners (three hits and two walks) and had eight strikeouts.
It marked the 51st time that he’s gone seven-plus innings in a start over the past five seasons, which is tied with Framber Valdez and Logan Webb for the most in MLB over that span.
And he was able to do it when he wasn’t at his best.
After the start, Wheeler said that he was a “tick off” in the start due to him flying open during the leg kick in his windup, but that it didn’t impact his stuff too much.
“His velocity was down but the spin rate and carry was really good, and he got above barrels,” Thomson said.
The Phillies have now won five consecutive series since they were swept by the Mets at the end of April. While there’s still a lot of baseball left, there’s no denying that the past 2 1/2 weeks have shown how dangerous the Phillies can be.
“We’re doing a really good job of staying within ourselves and … getting the big hit,” Schwarber said. “That’s something we’ve got to keep building on.”