Washington Nationals slugger Kyle Schwarber kept up his ridiculous home run tear on Tuesday, knocking in his 25th of the season in a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays with a first-pitch, leadoff bomb to right field off of Rich Hill.
It was his 12th home run in 10 games tying him with Albert Belle (’95) for the most ever in that time frame, per MLB. Likewise his 16th in 18 games is an all-time best mark alongside Barry Bonds (’01) and Sammy Sosa (’98).
It’s a pace that has some MLB fans hoping for a Coors Field home-run derby appearance across Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani. Those fans will likely be disappointed.
No derby for Schwarber?
Schwarber said after Tuesday’s game that he hasn’t been invited. But if and when he is, he said he’ll likely sit it out, calling the derby “taxing on the body.”
“It’s four minutes of just straight hacking as hard as you can,” Schwarber told reporters after Tuesday’s win. … “I just think that the best thing to do is probably let it pass and rest up and look forward to the second half.’