The Philadelphia Phillies lost their second straight game in disappointing fashion on Friday night as the bullpen failed to hold another lead. The NLCS is now even 2-2 as the Phillies and Diamondbacks will play one more game in Arizona before heading to Philadelphia for Game 6.
While the loss may have been brutal for Phillies fans to watch, one bright spot shined through the mess. Kyle Schwarber hit his fourth home run of the postseason. The slugger's home run was not just a spark to get the Phillies' offense going in Game 4, it was also a record breaker.
Kyle Schwarber just hit the 19th home run of his postseason career. That's the most from any left-handed hitter in baseball history, passing Reggie Jackson.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 21, 2023
Schwarber's fourth-inning home run was his 19th career postseason long ball. With that swing, the Phillies' designated hitter overtook Reggie Jackson's record for the most postseason home runs hit by a left-handed batter. Jackson held the previous record of 18 postseason shots. What makes Schwarber's accomplishment even more impressive is that he reached the milestone in a fraction of the plate appearances.
Jackson hit his 18 home runs in 318 plate appearances, while Schwarber broke the record in just 243 trips to the dish. Ten of Schwarber's postseason home runs have come with the Phillies. Astonishingly, he has played just 27 playoff games with the club. Given the fact that the Phillies still have at least two more games to play this postseason, there is a chance that he can build on the newly set record.
Where does Schwarber stand in Phillies' postseason home run totals?
With his home run on Friday night, Schwarber climbed to second place on the Phillies' franchise postseason home runs list — one shy of Jayson Werth. It would seem likely that he has a chance to tie or break Werth's record this postseason. The former Phillies' right fielder hit 11 home runs in 40 playoff games — a significantly higher number of games than Schwarber has played.
The updated Phillies career postseason HR leaders following Kyle Schwarber’s solo HR in the 4th inning. Schwarber ties Bryce Harper and Chase Utley for second place on the all-time list. pic.twitter.com/lcwJvrWRzi
— Sean Kane (@SKaneNBCS) October 21, 2023
Schwarber is not alone in chasing the franchise record. Teammate Bryce Harper is also just one long ball shy of making Phillies' postseason history. Given the length of Harper's contract, it would seem inevitable that he will claim the top spot at some point and make it difficult for another player to break his record.
The Phillies' offense has proven to be dangerous when it comes to hitting the ball out of the yard. Players like Schwarber, Harper, Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos will all need to continue hitting for power if the club wishes to advance to the World Series for the second consecutive season.