The Phillies did not just beat the Mets on Saturday night; they carved out a slice of baseball history in the process.
Bryce Harper hit for the cycle.
Kyle Schwarber homered three times, and together they matched a feat only the 1932 Yankees could understand.
Phillies scoring feat puts Schwarber and Harper beside Yankees lore
According to Opta, the Phillies became just the second team ever to have one player hit for the cycle and another hit three homers in the same game.
The Phillies are the second team in MLB history to have a player hit for the cycle (Bryce Harper) and a player hit 3 homers (Kyle Schwarber) in the same game. The other was the Yankees on June 3, 1932 (Tony Lazzeri cycle, Lou Gehrig 4 homers).
That is rare air. Harper finished the first cycle of his career by the fifth inning, while Schwarber’s three homers powered Philadelphia to a 15-3 rout of New York.
Schwarber hit two home runs during the Phillies’ eight-run third inning, then added another in the seventh to bring his MLB-leading total to 28.
Baseball has seen plenty of modern offensive explosions, from teammates both going deep multiple times to individual cycles becoming instant highlights. What set this apart was the collision of two separate box-score miracles in the same lineup, on the same night.
Kyle Schwarber’s power surge raises the Phillies’ ceiling
It was a timely reminder of what this team can still become.
The Phillies entered Sunday at 41-35, second in the NL East and still chasing Atlanta. That makes them a real contender with clear work left, rather than a finished October machine.
The pieces are strong enough to believe. Harper, Schwarber, Trea Turner, and J.T. Realmuto can punish mistakes, while Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sanchez give them the kind of top-end pitching that plays in a short series.
Schwarber’s season is starting to demand even more attention. With 28 homers, 49 RBI, and a slugging percentage near .595, he is firmly in the mix for the home run title, a 50-homer season, another Silver Slugger push, and serious MVP-ballot attention.
Sixty home runs is a brutal pace to maintain, but Schwarber has made it a real topic before July. If the Phillies are going to climb from good to frightening, this is the version of Schwarber that changes their entire summer.
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