PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber set the MLB single-season record with his 14th leadoff home run Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Schwarber sent a 1-0 fastball from Rays starter Taj Bradley 437 feet to center field, moving ahead of Alfonso Soriano, who had 13 leadoff homers in 2003 with the New York Yankees.
Schwarber’s 35th homer of the season was the 45th leadoff homer of his career, with 32 coming since joining the Phillies in 2022.
After enduring a 17-game homer drought and then hitting just one homer in 23 games, Schwarber has gone on a tear with seven home runs in his last eight games, including three in his first at-bat of a game.
The 31-year-old designated hitter leads the Phillies in home runs and RBIs (95).
Schwarber has led off for the Phillies in all 133 games he has started this season. He missed 10 days with a groin strain in early July.
