Kyle Schwarber Becomes First Player to 40 Home Runs in 2026, Ties Phillies Franchise Record

Kyle Schwarber became the first player in the major leagues to reach 40 home runs this season, driving a three-run shot into the right-center field seats during the Philadelphia Phillies' 6-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Park. The homer, struck in the second inning off Mariners starter Bryan Woo, also tied a Philadelphia franchise record and extended a run of production the 33-year-old designated hitter has sustained for most of the past four seasons.

The Phillies confirmed the details of the at-bat and the milestone in a recap posted to MLB.com, and the box score from the game is available through ESPN. The homer came on a 98-mph fastball that Schwarber drove an estimated 425 feet, and it capped a night in which Philadelphia's pitching staff, and Jesús Luzardo in particular, dominated Seattle's lineup from the outset.

By the numbers

• 40 home runs this season for Schwarber, the most in the majors as of Wednesday night
• 380 home runs for his career, and his fourth season of at least 40 since joining the Phillies in 2022
• 7 innings, 9 strikeouts and one hit allowed for Luzardo, who improved to 12-5 and recorded his second consecutive 200-strikeout season
• 74-60 record for Philadelphia, 4½ games behind Atlanta in the National League East

Schwarber's homer was not the only one that mattered in the scoring: Bryce Harper had already put Philadelphia ahead with a two-run home run in the first inning, his 27th of the season, extending an on-base streak that is now a career best 29 games. Justin Crawford added an RBI single before Schwarber came to the plate in the second, and by the time his ball landed, the Phillies led 6-0. Woo, Seattle's 26-year-old right-hander, was pulled after four innings having allowed six runs on five hits, and fell to 9-9. Luzardo, for his part, retired his first 14 batters before a two-out single by Jhonny Pereda in the fourth spoiled the bid for something more historic than a shutout.

Four seasons, one record

The homer tied Schwarber with Ryan Howard for the most 40-home run seasons in Phillies history, at four apiece. Howard, the franchise's former first baseman, did it in four consecutive years from 2006 through 2009 en route to a National League MVP award and a World Series title. Schwarber's path has been less linear: he hit 46 and 47 home runs in his first two seasons after signing with Philadelphia as a free agent in 2022, then led the National League with 56 a year ago. Among players still active, his four 40-homer seasons now put him level with Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to figures cited in the Philadelphia Inquirer's reporting on the milestone.

The route to 40 this year was not smooth. Schwarber dealt with lower back soreness for stretches of the summer that slowed his production through the middle of August before a recent surge pushed him past the league. He is now the first player since Mark McGwire in 1999 to post back-to-back months of at least 12 home runs and 29 RBIs, having done it in July and again in August. Schwarber's profile and season totals are tracked on his official MLB.com player page.

A tightening race, on both ends

The result matters beyond the individual milestone. Philadelphia's win kept the Phillies 4½ games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings, with 28 games left to play and a wild-card cushion the team is trying to widen rather than rely on. Manager Rob Thomson's club has leaned heavily on its middle-of-the-order power this season, and Schwarber's homer total is now on pace to approach the best of his career.

For Seattle, the loss was the finale of a series the Mariners dropped, leaving them at 64-70 and 2½ games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West, a race that has narrowed as the schedule thins out. Woo's rough outing added to a difficult stretch for Seattle's rotation, which has had to absorb innings without some of its usual complementary pieces down the stretch.

Asked about the milestone afterward, Schwarber downplayed the significance of the round number, according to the Associated Press account of the game.

"Obviously, it's a good thing, because that means you're hopefully producing runs for your team. But it's not about going out there and trying to achieve a certain number," Schwarber said.

That framing is consistent with how Schwarber has discussed his power numbers in past seasons, crediting run production over personal milestones even as his home run totals have made him one of the most consistent sluggers in the sport since he arrived in Philadelphia. Since 2022, his home run total is tied with Judge's for the most in the majors over that span, a fact that has cemented his reputation as one of the few hitters whose power has not diminished with age, even as his batting average has stayed relatively modest.

What happens next

The Phillies leave Seattle for a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels beginning Friday, followed by a set against the Arizona Diamondbacks, as Philadelphia tries to close the gap on Atlanta before the calendar turns to September call-ups and the stretch run. Schwarber, who has not shown signs of slowing down since his midsummer back trouble eased, will carry a share of the league home run lead into that stretch, with Ohtani and Judge among those chasing him.

Whether Schwarber can pass Howard's mark of 58 home runs in a single season, still the Phillies' franchise record, remains an open question with just over a month left in the regular season. But Wednesday's homer secured him a piece of Phillies history regardless of what comes next, and gave Philadelphia's playoff push another data point in its favor as the National League East race heads into its final weeks.