Phillies superstar avoids injury scare, back in lineup after record-breaking night

09-11-2024
3 min read
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Tuesday night was pure chaos at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

In the hometown Philadelphia Phillies' 9-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, a little bit of everything seemed to unfold.

There were controversial replay reviews. Late-inning rallies. And, most outwardly obvious, there was a big scuffle after Rays pitcher Edwin Uceta plunked Nick Castellanos in the eighth inning. 

Amid all that, however, there was a subplot regarding the Phillies' hottest slugger. Leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber hit a record-breaking home run in the bottom of the first inning. Then, he left the game early with elbow discomfort.

Schwarber was the last hitter the Phillies could afford to lose. He's the reigning National League Player of the Week, and he's been on an absolute home run binge of late. Fortunately, Philadelphia appears to have dodged a crucial bullet.

The Phillies announced their starting lineup for Wednesday night's series finale against the Rays, and Schwarber was right back in his familiar leadoff spot, allowing Phillies fans to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Before suffering the injury, Schwarber hit his 14th leadoff home run of the season, setting a new single-season Major League Baseball record. The previous record of 13 was set by the New York Yankees' Alfonso Soriano in 2003.

Schwarber then hurt himself on a dive back into first base on a pickoff move in the third inning, experiencing what manager Rob Thomson called "a little bit of a hyperextension," per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki

The Phillies will surely monitor Schwarber moving forward, but his immediate return to the lineup is a great sign. They'll need their home run hitter setting the tone at the top of their order all through what they hope is a deep postseason run.

Update: Schwarber has been scratched from Wednesday's lineup. According to Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Thomson expects Schwarber to be back in the lineup by Friday.

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