While the Philadelphia Phillies may have to face future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer Friday night without their top power hitter, Kyle Schwarber appears to have avoided a major injury.
When Brandon Marsh pinch ran for Schwarber in the bottom of the fifth inning of Thursday’s loss to the Miami Marlins, some speculated that the leading home run hitter in the National League may have excited the game because of an oblique injury.
Fortunately for the Phillies, that didn’t prove to be the case, as Schwarber instead has a mild strain of his right calf muscle. Interim manager Rob Thomson was non-committal about what Schwarber’s role will be when the Phillies open a three-game set with the New York Mets at Citi Field Friday, but didn’t sound overly concerned. Now a two-time All-Star, Schwarber will be re-evaluated Friday.
Schwarber conceded that there’s a good chance he won’t be hitting leadoff Friday night in Flushing.
“I probably won’t play [Friday],” Schwarber said to the collective media, including Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I’ll do as much work as I can and try to get back as soon as I can.”
It is a particularly frustrating series to lose Schwarber for given that prior to Thursday’s loss, the Phillies had won seven in a row and there was a feeling emerging that they could be a dangerous team in the postseason. Having your lineup intact — minus Bryce Harper — against Scherzer and Jacob deGrom would have been a pretty good way to test just how serious of a contender you are.
Additionally, Schwarber has had a ton of success in 19 career games at Citi Field, homering six times and driving in 16 runs. Even though they’ve have had excellent pitching for much of Schwarber’s time in the league, the 29-year-old has a 1.053 OPS in 42 career games against the Mets.
In the absence of Schwarber, Matt Vierling will likely get the bulk of the work in left field.
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