PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber’s blast into the night in the eighth inning Sunday once would have been notably novel but has become commonplace.
The home run off Detroit reliever Tyler Holton, a 435-foot charge to left-center, was Schwarber’s 38th of the season, providing insurance in a 2-0 win over the Tigers.
His 39th bomb came in the third inning Monday night off another lefty, Orioles starter Cade Povich, this one a 427-foot no-doubt poke to right.
Those are homers 15 and 16 off left-handed pitchers this season, the most Schwarber has ever had in a season in his career. (Never mind his grand slam against Baltimore righty Yaramil Hiraldo in the sixth.)
“It’s just trying to put the ball in play, trying to extend it to get to Harp (Bryce Harper),” Schwarber said Sunday night. “Harp’s been swinging it great. And I was just able to kind of stick it out there and got enough of it, and it went out.”
Schwarber’s change against southpaws during his time in Philadelphia has been monstrous. Prior to signing here before the 2022 season, Schwarber had hit just 18 career homers off lefties, out of his career tally of 153. That’s just 11.8 percent.
He has hit double digits in homers off lefties in each of his four seasons with the Phillies: 10 in 2022, 15 in 2023, 12 in 2024 and 16 and counting this year. That means 53 of his 170 homers as a Phillie, or 31.2 percent, have come off lefties.
It’s part of the reason why he’s gone from non-tendered at age 27 to a shot at 500 career home runs at 32. It’s also why Schwarber has shed the label of the dreaded p-worth, which he brought up himself.
“It’s a cool thing that, especially early on in your career to where, sometimes you’re getting the platoon label,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s just trying to treat it as an at-bat. I’ve always said that I don’t really care if it’s left-left or right-left, I just want to be able to take my at-bat. Obviously, there’s work to do. Lefties have some different things than right-handed pitchers, and you have to work on that on a daily basis.”
Schwarber has a 1.032 OPS in 176 plate appearances against lefties this year. His 16 homers against lefties is more than any other Phillie save for Harper has against all pitchers this year.
Harper, like Schwarber, does damage against lefties and righties in nearly equal measure. Harper’s 17th homer of the season Monday came off Povich in the first inning. It’s his seventh of the year against southpaws, and Harper has an .805 OPS against lefties as opposed to .927 against righties.
Those skills upend how opponents, especially in the postseason, target the use of their bullpen lefties at the Phillies. It makes it easier for manager Rob Thomson to construct a lineup knowing that his two best lefties aren’t as vulnerable to a handedness matchup, and it punishes teams that don’t do their research.
“I think you’re seeing some managers now not necessarily use their lefties against him and Harp, because they do hit lefties,” manager Rob Thomson said. “But his approach for the last couple of years has been pretty good. I think it’s staying left-center-field-oriented, staying on the ball and just letting it travel.”
Schwarber credits Kevin Long, the Phillies hitting coach with whom Schwarber also worked in Washington in 2021, as helping him “fine tune things throughout my time here in Philly.”
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Alec Bohm (rib fracture) had his most intensive period of rehab as he continues to heal from a fastball to the ribs by San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish before the All-Star break. He took extra cage work Sunday and went through a full day’s work Monday.
“I talked to him after his workout yesterday,” Thomson said on Monday afternoon. “It’s the best day yet. He felt really good. In fact, he went in, got some treatment, went back down to the cage after I talked to him to do some more hitting, so that’s a good sign.”
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NOTES >> Reliever Joe Ross (back spasms) was back in Philadelphia on Monday after two rehab appearances in Lehigh Valley. If all goes well, he could be activated Tuesday. … The Phillies expect Jose Alvarado in town Tuesday. The left-handed reliever has been suspended since May 18 for a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. He is eligible to be reinstated Aug. 19 but can begin a 15-day minor league assignment prior to that date. As part of his penalty, he won’t be allowed to play in the postseason, if the Phillies make it that far.
Source: Berkshire mont