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Philadelphia Phillies star Kyle Schwarber became the 21st player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a game in the team’s 19-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.
Schwarber, 32, set the Phillies franchise record with nine RBI and took over the National League home run lead with a career-high 49. His nine RBI gave him 119 on the season, leading Major League Baseball.
Schwarber’s first blast came in the first inning with the Phillies trailing 3-0. Braves starter Cal Quantrill hung a 2-1 curveball that Schwarber hammered 450 feet into the second deck to cut the lead to 3-1.
The three-time All-Star’s second homer was in the fourth inning with the Phillies up 8-3. Braves left-handed reliever Austin Cox hung an 80-mph curveball in a 3-2 count, and Schwarber hooked it 386 feet around the foul pole for a two-run shot to make it 10-3.
Schwarber’s third home run also came off Cox. With the Phillies up 12-3 in the fifth inning, Schwarber swatted a 93-mph fastball on the outside part of the plate 378 feet over the left-field wall to make it 15-3.
The Silver Slugger stepped up in the seventh inning with a 15-4 lead and two runners on. Schwarber ripped Braves reliever Wander Suero’s 85-mph changeup 407 feet for a three-run homer, putting his name in the history books.
“It’s pretty cool,” Schwarber said. “It was a fun night, great atmosphere. Wouldn’t want to do it with a better group of guys than we have here.”
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Mike Schmidt was the last Phillies player to hit four homers in a game, doing it against the Chicago Cubs in April 1976. Schwarber recorded the third four-homer game of the season, following Eugenio Suárez and Nick Kurtz.
“It just cooperated,” Schwarber said. “You can do everything right and get out, and you can do everything wrong and get a hit. Got some pitches and put some good swings on it.”
Schwarber had a chance for a fifth home run against a position player, but popped up against Braves third baseman Vidal Brujan.
“I stink against position players,” Schwarber joked. “All you’re trying to do is get a good pitch. I got the pitch. Just popped it up.”
Schwarber has 333 homers in 11 seasons with the Cubs, Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox and Phillies. His previous career high was 47 in 2023 with Philadelphia.
The Phillies (77-57) will face the Braves (61-73) in the second game of their four-game series Friday at 6:45 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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