Schwarber sets powerful tone with leadoff HR, but Phils unable to follow

PHILADELPHIA -- No player sets the tone in the postseason quite like Kyle Schwarber.

Unfortunately for the Phillies, his teammates couldn’t follow his lead in Saturday afternoon’s 6-2 loss to the Mets in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park.

Schwarber wasted no time making his mark, crushing his fifth career postseason leadoff homer – extending his own MLB all-time record. The slugger jumped all over a 1-1 pitch from Kodai Senga, sending it a Statcast-projected 425 feet with a 115.8 mph exit velocity. That exit velocity was higher than any ball hit by Schwarber -- not just on a home run -- in the entire regular season.

It was also the third-highest exit velocity for a home run in Schwarber's postseason career, behind only his 119.7 mph drive vs. the Padres in Game 3 of the 2022 NLCS and his 117.1 mph shot against the D-backs in the opener of last year's NLCS.

But the Phillies did not register another hard-hit ball (exit velocity of 95 mph or higher) until the eighth inning. In fact, their only other hit over the first seven innings was also off the bat of Schwarber: A 75.1 mph bloop single in the third that had just a 14 percent hit probability.

"They're going to bury stuff and try to get us to chase as much as possible,” said first baseman Bryce Harper. “Obviously, they've got really good pitching, but we've got really good hitters in here. We've just got to bear down and understand that we can do it."

Harper’s two-out eighth-inning double was the Phillies’ first hit by a player other than Schwarber. By that point, Philadelphia had seen its 1-0 lead turn into a 5-1 deficit after the Mets rallied for five runs against the Phillies’ bullpen in the top of the eighth.

Along with his double, Harper worked a pair of walks -- but he also struck out to end the fifth after chasing three straight pitches out of the zone. Trea Turner went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts, including one chasing a pitch out of the zone. Nick Castellanos went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts -- both finished off by swinging at pitches well off the plate in the dirt.

"There was some chase in there tonight, for sure,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “We've got to get back in the zone. We've got to start using the field. It's what we talk about all the time. And just put better at-bats together."

• Mets-Phillies NL Division Series Game 2 FAQ (Sun., 4 ET, FS1)

Added Mets manager Carlos Mendoza: “We did a good job today. In order for us to continue to move on, we're going to have to do that. Again, that's a really good team with a lot of really good hitters there.”

The Phillies’ offensive struggles were all the more surprising given the way the game started.

Schwarber setting the tone has become a familiar beginning to Phillies postseason games over the past couple of years. He also hit a leadoff home run in Game 1 of the 2023 NL Championship Series vs. the D-backs, Game 5 of the 2022 World Series vs. the Astros and Game 3 of the '22 NLCS vs. the Padres. Schwarber's other postseason leadoff homer came as a member of the Red Sox in Game 3 of the 2021 ALDS.

The latest blast was also Schwarber’s 21st playoff homer overall, moving him into sole possession of fourth on the all-time list. Only Manny Ramirez (29), Jose Altuve (27) and Bernie Williams (22) have more career postseason home runs.

Schwarber easily led the Majors with 15 leadoff homers during the regular season, five more than any other player. Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson was second with 10 -- and no other player had more than six.

The Phillies went 13-1 in the first 14 games this season in which Schwarber hit a leadoff shot. But they’ve now lost each of the past two -- both against the Mets (also Sept. 21 at Citi Field).

Harper said the Phils know the Mets’ approach is to get them to chase out of the zone. New York did exactly that in Game 1. How the Phillies respond in Game 2 could go a long way toward determining the outcome of the series.

They’d gladly take another Schwarber tone-setter – but they’ll need a lot more to follow it.

"The Mets threw the ball very well,” Thomson said. “So I think it's a combination of both -- again, we've got to be disciplined and get back in the zone."