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The Phillies were able to force a Game 4 of the NLDS in Dodger Stadium with an 8-2 win in Game 3 on Wednesday night. It was a team effort, but hulking designated hitter Kyle Schwarber had a huge hand in it. 

More often than not, when Schwarber plays in the playoffs, he makes an impact. 

It started at the beginning of his career. Though Schwarber had only played in 69 career games at the MLB level with 273 plate appearances, he was slotted in the two-hole in the lineup for the 97-win Cubs in the 2015 NL Wild Card game. Dexter Fowler led off the game with a single, stole second and then Schwarber drove him home. Just like that, Schwarber was 1 for 1 with an RBI in his playoff career. He was just getting started.

In his next at-bat, he sent a Gerrit Cole pitch into the Allegheny River. 

That was three RBI for the rookie in two career postseason at-bats. The Cubs would win 4-0. Schwarber went on to hit five home runs that postseason, including this legendary blast: 

As many will recall, Schwarber tore his ACL in the first inning of the Cubs' third game of the 2016 season. He rehabbed quickly enough to return and serve as the DH in the World Series. He didn't have his power stroke back yet, but he was 7 for 17 (.412) with two RBI and his leadoff single started the Cubs' game-winning rally in the 10th inning of Game 7. 

By 2021, Schwarber was with the Red Sox. He homered in the AL Wild Card game. He homered in Game 3 of the ALDS. And he hit a grand slam in Game 3 of the ALCS.

He signed with the Phillies that following offseason and with them he's continuing to forge his legacy as one of the greatest power hitters the postseason has ever seen. 

Though he badly struggled through the first two rounds of the 2022 playoffs, Schwarber would hit three home runs in the NLCS and three more in the World Series. In 2023, again, he didn't get going until the NLCS, but he hit five home runs in that NLCS against Arizona. The Phillies were bounced in the NLDS last season, but Schwarber still managed a leadoff home run in Game 1.

And that brought us to Game 3 in Dodger Stadium Wednesday night. 

Schwarber hit a colossal bomb to right field. 

He later added another, now giving him 23 in his postseason career. Not only is he third all-time in playoff home runs, but look at the number of plate appearances here to give a good glimpse at how much more prolific he's been on a per-PA basis. 

1. Manny Ramirez, 29 HR, 493 PA (17 PA/HR)
2. Jose Altuve, 27 HR, 484 PA (17.9 PA/HR)
3. Kyle Schwarber, 23 HR, 291 PA (12.7 PA/HR)
4. Bernie Williams, 22 HR, 545 PA (24.8 PA/HR)
t5. Derek Jeter, 20 HR, 734 PA (36.7 PA/HR)
t5. George Springer, 20 HR, 328 PA (16.4 PA/HR)

Further, Schwarber is the only player to ever homer in every single round of the playoffs, as long as we split up the rounds into leagues. 

  • AL Wild Card: 1 HR
  • NL Wild Card: 1 HR
  • ALDS: 1 HR
  • NLDS: 5 HR
  • ALCS: 1 HR
  • NLCS: 11 HR
  • World Series: 3 HR

It's just as much a testament to the era in which Schwarber plays and being in the right place as it is his prodigious power, but it's a fun, anomalous stat nonetheless.

Oh, and if that NLCS number jumps out at you, it should. Schwarber is the all-time record-holder for NLCS home runs. Future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols is second with 10. If we just went with LCS home runs, Schwarber trails Manny Ramirez's 13 by one.

When I spoke with Schwarber during the All-Star break, he wanted to stress that what he cares about the most is winning. 

"The best words of advice I've ever gotten came from Jon Lester," he said. "'To get paid or to be remembered, the best way to be known is to win.' That's stuck with me in my head since 2015 and I try to focus on doing that. If you're associated with winning that means you're probably doing something good."   

He definitely should be associated with winning. Schwarber has been in the majors for 11 seasons and has been to the playoffs 10 times despite having played for four different teams. He's advanced to the World Series twice, winning a ring in 2016. His teams are now 38-34 in playoff games and he's been integral in an awful lot of those wins. Game 3 of the 2025 NLDS was one of them.

Along the way, he continues to make history as an individual. 

The two-homer game for him Wednesday night was just another installment in The Postseason Legend of Kyle Schwarber.