Schwarber sets MLB leadoff HR mark, Stevenson delivers tiebreaking hit as Phillies top Rays 9-4
Kyle Schwarber set an MLB record with his 14th leadoff homer of the season before leaving due to injury, and pinch-hitter Cal Stevenson hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-4 on Tuesday night
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber set an MLB record with his 14th leadoff homer of the season before leaving due to injury, and pinch-hitter Cal Stevenson hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-4 on Tuesday night.
Trea Turner hit two, two-run homers and Bryce Harper added four hits as the Phillies (87-58) moved 29 games over .500, matching a season high.
Schwarber set the single-season leadoff homer record on the second pitch he saw from Taj Bradley, sending the ball 437 feet to center field for a 1-0 lead and moving past Alfonso Soriano, who had 13 leadoff homers with the New York Yankees in 2003. The Phillies' designated hitter left the game in the fourth inning due to a hyperextended left elbow after reaching on a walk in the third and appearing to get hurt diving back into first base on a pickoff try.
“I didn’t feel pain or nothing,” Schwarber said. “I kind of extended it and it was weird. I went down (to the batting cage) and took a swing and it didn’t feel good.”
