Kyle Schwarber hits monster home run for Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of NLCS

Middletown’s Kyle Schwarber hit the second-longest postseason home run in the Statcast tracking era Tuesday in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Petco Park in San Diego.

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres 2-0 in part because of Schwarber’s 488-foot home run in the sixth inning. Bryce Harper hit a home run in the fourth inning for the Phillies’ other run..

The only longer homer in the postseason since 2015 was hit by Wilson Conteras, of the Chicago Cubs, in 2017. It was 491 feet. Schwarber’s home run also was the hardest-hit postseason home run in the Statcast era. It measured 119.7 miles per hour.

“Well, first off, I would have taken it if it went in the first row,” Schwarber told reporters. “I really don’t care — a point is a point. It doesn’t feel like anything, I guess. That’s probably the good thing, is that your hands don’t hurt at the end of it. To be able to put up a run there and extend the lead, it was nice.”

Schwarber’s home run into the second deck was the longest hit at Petco Park in San Diego since Statcast started tracking home runs in 2015, and it was the longest home run by a Phillies player.

Schwarber, a 2011 Middletown High School graduate, hit .216 with a career-high 46 home runs in the regular season. In seven postseason games, he’s 3-for-23 with three RBIs. This was the first home run of the 2022 postseason for Schwarber and his 10th career postseason home run in 42 games.