Kyle Schwarber homered in the top of the first inning against Boston opener Jovani Morán on May 9, 2026, extending his home run streak to five games and helping the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Red Sox 2-1.
The blast was Schwarber’s 17th home run of the season, a swing that broke a tie with Aaron Judge for the major league lead and kept him on a pace that would put him near 66 homers over 40 games. It also carried extra weight at Fenway Park, where he has now hit seven home runs in 27 career games and six in 13 career games against Boston.
For Boston, the loss dropped the Red Sox to 17-24, their third defeat in their last four games. Through 40 games, the club has 17 wins, a match for Schwarber’s home run total, and the gap between where the two teams stand is beginning to tell.
Schwarber’s night was another reminder of how thoroughly he has settled in with Philadelphia after the Red Sox let him go after their 2021 playoff run and did not make him an offer when he reached free agency last offseason. He later returned to the Phillies on a five-year, $150 million contract extension, a deal that has only sharpened the contrast between his production and Boston’s decision to move on.
The tension for the Red Sox is not just that Schwarber keeps hitting. It is that he keeps doing it against them, in their ballpark, while Boston struggles to turn a thin margin into wins. For one night, the scoreboard was only 2-1. The larger number was the one Schwarber changed again.
