The past week has been chaotic for the Philadelphia Phillies, beginning with the shocking dismissal of manager Rob Thomson. Don Mattingly stepped in as interim manager and has since witnessed some remarkable achievements from the team. The Phillies showed renewed energy during their series with the San Francisco Giants, which featured several historic moments.
One of the most outstanding performances came from designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. After a sluggish start to his five-year, $150 million free-agent contract signed over the winter, the left-handed power hitter reminded everyone of his game-changing ability.
On April 30, the Phillies played a split doubleheader against the Giants. Schwarber started both games as the No. 2 hitter and delivered a historic performance at the plate something not seen since Lou Gehrig—helping the Phillies secure two walk-off wins.
Kyle Schwarber made history against the Giants
In Game 1, he opened the scoring with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning, cutting a two-run deficit to one. That turned out to be his only hit of the game, as he also drew two walks.
In Game 2, he picked up right where he left off. In the bottom of the first, he hit back-to-back homers with shortstop Trea Turner to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. The Giants’ pitchers had no answer for him Schwarber finished with two doubles, a single, and another walk over five plate appearances.
It was one of the most dominant single-day performances by any MLB hitter. According to OptaSTATS on X, he became the first player since Lou Gehrig on August 26, 1935, to record five or more hits, three or more walks, two or more doubles, two or more home runs, and zero strikeouts in a single day while playing in a doubleheader.
That’s two more home runs than Babe Ruth had over the same number of games at that point, but Ruth was far from finished, ending his career with 714. Schwarber still has a long way to go to catch that mark, now sitting at 351 career home runs after hitting his 11th of the season in the second game of the doubleheader.
