SAN DIEGO -- Kyle Schwarber has been the most prolific home run hitter in Major League Baseball this season.
But against the Padres, he becomes one of the most prolific home run hitters ever.
Schwarber was at it again in Monday's 3-0 series-opening win over the Padres at Petco Park. Though it paled in comparison to his majestic 488-foot blast in Game 1 of the 2022 NLCS, he ripped a first-inning homer that held up as the game's only run until the seventh, when Brandon Marsh provided some insurance with a two-run shot.
Schwarber's solo shot was his MLB-leading 21st home run of the season. It was also his 21st home run in 50 career games against the Padres, including the postseason.
That's an average of one home run every 2.38 games against San Diego, the second-best rate by any player against any team in MLB history (minimum 50 games). Here's the top five:
1. Giancarlo Stanton vs. Rockies: 2.33 games
2. Kyle Schwarber vs. Padres: 2.38 games
3. Aaron Judge vs. Orioles: 2.40 games
4. Mark McGwire vs. Tigers: 2.49 games
5. Sammy Sosa vs. Rockies: 2.51 games
That proved to be all the run support Jesús Luzardo needed, though it was more of a grind than he would have liked.
The Padres responded to Schwarber's early blast by loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first inning. Luzardo escaped unscathed by striking out Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill before getting former teammate Nick Castellanos to roll into an inning-ending groundout.
Luzardo faced more trouble in the third when he allowed the first two hitters to reach safely. He again navigated his way out of it, getting Xander Bogaerts to ground into a force out and Machado to hit into an inning-ending double play.
It was significant not just for preserving a 1-0 lead, but it was those types of innings that have spiraled on Luzardo at times this season.
Not on Monday.
Despite only two 1-2-3 innings, the left-hander turned in six scoreless frames. He struck out six and walked two while allowing four hits. Luzardo has now gone six innings in three consecutive outings, allowing just two earned runs in the process (1.00 ERA).
The Phillies needed every bit of it for much of the afternoon, with Luzardo throwing his final pitch while still clinging to a 1-0 lead. But Schwarber led off the top of the seventh with a single for the Phillies' first hit since his first-inning homer.
A few batters later, Marsh clubbed his fifth homer of the season to give the Phils some breathing room on a day when their offense again did next to nothing outside Schwarber and Marsh. The rest of the team went a combined 0-for-21.