Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) hits a two-run home run during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Phillies' Kyle Schwarber inches closer to franchise history vs. Yankees

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 11:03 PM ET

Right now, it is Kyle Schwarber's league, and everybody else just happens to be playing in it. The Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter continued his white-hot month of July -- and incredible season at the plate -- on Friday night in a 12-5 win over the New York Yankees, going 3-for-5 with two more home runs and four runs batted in.

He is now up to 36 home runs on the season, and within striking distance of a Phillies franchise record.

His 36 home runs are tied for the most for a Phillies player through 103 games, and have him on a pace for around 56 home runs for the season. The team's single-season record is the 58 home runs hit by former first baseman Ryan Howard during the 2006 season.

Most home runs through first 103 games of season — #Phillies history

Mike Schmidt — 36 (1979)
Kyle Schwarber — 36 (2025)
Ryan Howard — 35 (2006)
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) July 26, 2025

This is a huge season for Schwarber because he is in the final year of his contract and is set to be eligible for free agency after this season. He wants to stay in Philadelphia, and the Phillies would love to keep him, but each home run is only making that price tag go higher and higher.

As of Friday, his 36 home runs are tied for second in the National League, just one behind Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.

While Schwarber has been a key cog in the Phillies lineup all season, his performance has reached an entirely new level of production in July.

With his two home runs on Friday, he has now hit 11 home runs in only 73 official at-bats for the month, and entered Friday's game with a staggering 1.044 OPS in July. It went up after Friday's performance.

The Phillies are in a back-and-forth fight with the New York Mets for the top spot in the National League East race, and it might be time to start talking about Schwarber as a potential MVP candidate, given how much of an impact he is making at the plate.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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