Kyle Schwarber significantly enhanced his Most Valuable Player candidacy with an exceptional achievement in Major League Baseball on Thursday.
The Philadelphia Phillies’ powerful hitter achieved Major League Baseball’s 21st instance of a player hitting four home runs in a single game during a decisive 19-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves. He now shares this distinction with Eugenio Suarez and Nick Kurtz, who both accomplished this feat earlier in 2025, marking the first occasion in league history where three players have hit four home runs in the same season.
It’s also the fourth occasion in Phillies’ franchise history of a player achieving a four-homer game, granting them the lead among all Major League Baseball teams. The previous three were Ed Delahanty in 1896, Chuck Klein in 1936, and Mike Schmidt in 1976.
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Schwarber initiated his performance with a massive 450-foot home run in the first inning off Atlanta Braves’ starting pitcher, Cal Quantrill. He then added two more home runs against relief pitcher Austin Cox in the fourth and fifth innings. The historically significant home run occurred in the seventh inning off pitcher Wander Suero.
In total, Schwarber’s home runs accumulated a distance of 1,618 feet. He also had an opportunity to become the first player ever to hit five home runs in a single game during the eighth inning, but he hit a pop-out against Atlanta Braves’ position-player pitcher, Vidal Bruján.
This remarkable performance elevates Schwarber to a career-high of 49 home runs for the season, placing him at the top of the National League and only one behind Seattle Mariners’ catcher, Cal Raleigh, for the Major League Baseball lead. The impact on Schwarber’s position in the Most Valuable Player race remains to be seen.
How is the Shohei Ohtani-Kyle Schwarber MVP race shaping up?
Despite some consideration for Schwarber, Los Angeles Dodgers’ star Shohei Ohtani began Thursday as a significant favorite at -5000 to win the National League MVP award. Schwarber currently holds a statistical advantage over Ohtani in home runs and runs batted in, but this is almost the extent of his lead in offensive statistics.
Additionally, Ohtani has pitched 32 1/3 innings compared to Schwarber’s zero. Schwarber has participated in eight games as a left fielder this season and has served as the designated hitter for the remainder.
Of course, it is important to remember that MVP discussions are still ongoing with a month remaining in the season. Strong performance by Schwarber (or a weaker performance by Ohtani) could substantially alter the calculations, and such power display is certainly an indicator of greater achievements in store for him.
