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MLB Hoosiers (Aug. 30): Schwarber, Cubs Make History With Barrage of Home Runs

Kyle Schwarber was part of Major League Baseball history when he hit two home runs, and fellow outfielders Ian Happ and Jason Heyward did the same thing. It's the first time in MLB history that three outfielders all hit multple homers on the same day.
Tom Brew|
MLB Hoosiers (Aug. 30): Schwarber, Cubs Make History With Barrage of Home Runs
MLB Hoosiers (Aug. 30): Schwarber, Cubs Make History With Barrage of Home Runs

They've been playing professional baseball for a long, long time, but Kyle Schwarber and two of his Chicago Cubs teammates did something Sunday that has never happened before.

Never.

Schwarber, the former Indiana baseball star, plays left field for the Cubs. He hit two home runs on Sunday, including a grand slam in the ninth inning of the Cubs' 10-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Cubs' center fielder Ian Happ and right fielder Jason Heyward each did the same thing, hitting two home runs.

It's the first time in Major League Baseball history that all three outfielders on the same team hit multiple homers in the same game. First time — ever.

“Whenever you have a piece of history, you always keep that with you,” said Schwarber, who is an Ohio native. Happ went to school in Cincinnati, so there was a good local connection to the historical event, even though there were no fans in the stands because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The fact that Happ went to school at (the University of) Cincinnati, Schwarber is from here (Middletown, Ohio, about 35 miles north of Cincinnati), there’s some cool irony in that,” Heyward said.

The Cubs, who are in first place in the National League Central, hit 14 home runs in the four-game series and scored all 10 runs Sunday on homers

Reds starter Luis Castillo gave up the first three home runs, which was something of a surprise because he had allowed only one home run all season over 32⅓ innings.

Schwarber, who hit a solo home run off Castillo in the fourth inning, is 6-for-20 with four home runs during his career against Castillo.

“For us lefties, we lock in to making sure we’re not going to chase that changeup down and go from there,” Schwarber said. “I know he’s got the heater up and you stay off the heater up as well and try to keep your eyes in the middle of the zone.

“I know it sounds simple, but that’s what we’re trying to do, wait for a mistake off this guy because you don’t want to chase 98 (mph) in the strike zone or swing at the changeup under.”

Week in Review: Hoosiers in the Pros

  • Kyle Schwarber, Chicago Cubs:  Schwarber had a big week. He played in seven games and went 6-for-27 (a .222 average) with four home runs and seven RBIs. The Cubs are in first place in the National League Central, and lead the St. Louis Cardinals by 3.5 games.
  • Josh Phegley, Chicago Cubs: Phegley, the Cubs' third catcher, got only one at-bat this week, and grounded out. He's just 1-for-12 on the season (.083 average)
  • Alex Dickerson, San Francisco Giants: Dickerson was 2-for-4 on Sunday, with a single and a home run, his fourth of the year, in the Giants' 4-1 win over Arizona. This week, he played in five games and was 4-for-15 (.267 average), and had back-to-back multiple hit games this weekend. For the year, he is hitting .221 with four homers and 14 RBIs. He's now pitched six solid innings in row, not allowing a run and giving up only one hit. He has a 3-1 record, and his three wins lead the Giants.
  • Caleb Baragar, San Francisco Giants: Baragar made two appearances this week, pitching two scoreless innings. He only allowed one batter to reach base, and that was on a walk. 
  • Kyle Hart, Boston Red Sox:  Hart started Wednesday's game for Boston, but got roughed and lasted only 3 1/3 innings, allowing six runs and eight hits. He is still struggled with control, and walked three more batters. In his nine innings with the Red Sox, he has allowed 17 hits and given up 10 walks.
  • Aaron Slegers, Tampa Bay Rays: Slegers made only one appearance this week, but it was a good one. He pitched two perfect innings on Sunday in the Rays' 12-7 victory over the Miami Marlins. For the season, he's now pitched 10 innings for the red-hot Rays, and nine of them have been scoreless.

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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew has been the publisher of “Indiana Hoosiers on SI’’ since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as an award-winning reporter and editor for more than four decades, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He operates seven sites on the “On SI’’ network. Follow Tom on Twitter @tombrewsports.

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