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When the Phillies needed him the most, Kyle Schwarber delivered another legendary performance

Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

  • Phillies

LOS ANGELES — Kyle Schwarber doesn't like to talk about himself. After he hit 823 feet of home runs in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Dodgers to help keep the Phillies' season alive, plenty of teammates were willing to toot his horn for him.

When Ranger Suárez gave up a leadoff home run to Tommy Edman in the bottom of the third inning, it felt like the Phillies might be en route to getting swept. Instead, Schwarber delivered a hell of a counter punch in the top of the fourth inning, hitting a 455-foot home run that cleared the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium: 

J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper stressed the importance of Schwarber's home run — which sparked a three-run inning — in helping to live to see another day. 

"With that Schwarber home run, he can spark an offense quickly," Realmuto said. "I think once he hit that, there was just a weight lifted off our shoulders and we were able to just play our game from there on."

"I think it was a swing we needed obviously in that moment," Harper said. "He's been great for us, man, ever since he's been here, in the postseason. I mean, his whole career has been awesome in the postseason, and he's one of the leaders in this clubhouse. 

"And I thought obviously, everybody was waiting for the homer," Harper continued. "From you guys to our fans to ourselves, and whoever that was going to be, Trea or me or Schwarbs or J.T. or anybody. Obviously, Schwarber hit a big one, and kind of got us going." 

Aaron Nola — who pitched two scoreless innings as the opener — reflected on Schwarber's ability to deliver tape-measure home runs when the Phillies have needed them the most during this era. 

"It's Kyle, man," Nola said with a smile. "He's the best. He stays under control all the time ... never gets too high or too low. He comes up with big hits when we need it and that's what he did today." 

For one more second, though, let's reflect on the titanic Schwarber home run. 

According to The Dodgers Radio Network, the only other left-handed hitter who has hit a home run over the pavilion in right field was Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, who did it twice, once in 1969 and then again in 1973. No one else has done it. Mind you, this is a stadium that opened in 1962. Home Run King Barry Bonds played countless games here. But it's just "Pops" and Schwarber who have hit the ball out of that part of the stadium. 

"For him to hit a ball like that, that far ... it's a hard thing to do, man," Harper said. "And so, him being able to do it, obviously in that moment, I think even the whole fanbase here was kind of impressed with that. Just a great swing." 

Naturally, Schwarber wasn't done. 

During a top of the eighth inning where the Phillies put the game away, Schwarber delivered the knockout blow, following up a Realmuto home run and Trea Turner two-run single with a two-run shot off of future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw: 

With the second homer, Schwarber added onto his franchise record of 14 postseason home runs as a Phillie, two more than Harper. He also moved into sole possession of third place on the all-time postseason home run list with 23 in his career, which includes playoff bombs with the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. Schwarber passed Bernie Williams on the all-time list tonight, and is realistically in striking distance of Manny Ramirez (29) and Jose Altuve (27), the only two remaining players above him. 

That, though, is another conversation for another day. The takeaway here is that the Phillies have kept their season alive for at least another day. And while Nola and Suárez were at the forefront of that, so too was Schwarber, who has been as important as anyone in helping the Phillies to win 21 postseason games since he put on red pinstripes powder blues. 

Read More Phillies Content At On Pattison

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  3. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper tied atop Phillies' postseason HR leaderboard entering NLDS
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  5. What's it like being a visiting player at CBP in October? We asked 3 Phillies who have done it.
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author

Tim Kelly

Tim Kelly is the Managing Editor for On Pattison. He's been on the Phillies beat since 2020. Kelly is also on Bleacher Report's MLB staff. Previously, Kelly has worked for Phillies Nation, Audacy Sports, SportsRadio 94 WIP, Just Baseball, FanSided, Locked On and Sports Illustrated/FanNation. Kelly is a graduate of Bloomsburg University with a major in Mass Communications and minor in Political Science.

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