Kyle Schwarber wasted no time getting things started at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night, and he set a new Major League Baseball record in the process.
The Philadelphia Phillies star drilled a leadoff home run to start their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. He hit a deep shot off Rays pitcher Taj Bradley on just the second pitch of the night that went more than 430 feet out into right center field and put them up 1-0 immediately.
The home run was Schwarber’s 14th leadoff homer of the season, which set a new single-season MLB record.
Schwarber was tied with former New York Yankees star Alfonso Soriano for the record entering Tuesday’s game. Soriano hit 38 home runs during the 2003 campaign, 13 of which were leadoffs. Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts came close to that mark last season, but he finished with 12. Schwarber was also tied for eighth on the all-time list after he hit 11 leadoff home runs last season with the Phillies. The 31-year-old hit a career-high 47 home runs during that campaign.
The home run was Schwarber’s 35th of the season, which is tied for the seventh-most in the league. Schwarber entered Tuesday’s game with a .250 batting average and 94 RBI this season, his third with the Phillies.
The Phillies entered the night with a 86-58 record and have won seven of their last nine, including a 2-1 victory over the Rays on Monday. Schwarber hit a solo home run in the sixth inning of that game, too. Philadelphia holds a seven-game lead in the NL East standings, and it’s tied with the Dodgers for the best record in the league with less than 20 games left in the regular season.
