Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber hit a walk-off home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night (box score), extending both his hot start to June and Philadelphia's winning streak to six games in a row.
Schwarber, 30, entered Friday hitting .171/.321/.419 (103 OPS+) with 16 home runs and 34 runs batted in on the season. His play has markedly ticked up since the calendar flipped to June, however. In his first seven games this month, he had batted .222/.344/.593 with three home runs and seven runs batted in. Schwarber is now up to four home runs and eight runs batted in.
Here's a look at Schwarber's home run on Friday night:
According to Statcast's measurements, Schwarber's blast boasted a 101 mph exit velocity and carried 389 feet. Prior to the home run, Schwarber had walked twice and recorded another hit, a triple to lead of the bottom of the third.
As CBS Sports recently noted, June has historically been Schwarber's best month, for whatever reason. That's been especially true the past two summers, when he's combined to hit 28 home runs.
The Phillies entered Friday with a 30-32 record on the year, placing them in third in the National League East. It appears that the reigning NL champions are heating up, with Friday's victory again marking their sixth consecutive. The Phillies have now outscored their opponents by 15 runs over the course of their first eight games in June.
The Phillies and Dodgers will reconvene on Saturday afternoon to play their second of a three-game set. Aaron Nola, fresh off nearly no-hitting the Detroit Tigers, will take the mound for Philadelphia. The Dodgers are expected to counter with hard-throwing rookie Bobby Miller.
