10 wild facts from Phillies' latest power surge

October 22nd, 2023

The Phillies’ offense showed up in a big way in the club's 6-1 win over the D-backs in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday night at Chase Field -- just as it has done so many times this postseason. And after being held to just one home run in Games 3 and 4 in Phoenix, the Phils returned to their powerful ways by hitting three in Game 5.

Philadelphia has hit 23 homers overall, the second most by any team in its first 11 games of a single postseason, behind only the Astros’ 24 in 2004. With this kind of outpouring of offense, there is a ton of fun context to sort through.

Here’s a look at 10 stats and facts on the Phillies' latest offensive surge:

started the latest home run barrage in the sixth, hitting the 20th of his postseason career. He needed just 63 games to reach 20 homers, the fewest among any of the five players who have hit at least 20. The previous fastest to reach the 20-homer milestone was Houston's Jose Altuve, who got there in 68 games.

• And it wasn’t just any home run, it was a classic Schwarbomb -- 114.1 mph exit velocity and a Statcast-projected 461 feet. Schwarber has five postseason homers with an exit velocity of at least 114 mph, passing Giancarlo Stanton for most in the playoffs since Statcast began tracking in 2015. Schwarber's shot was also the fifth-longest postseason home run measured by Statcast. Along with his 488-foot homer in Game 1 of the 2022 NLCS, which ranks second on the list, Schwarber is the only player with two of the top five.

• Schwarber has five homers in this NLCS, tied for the second most in a single postseason series. He trails only Nelson Cruz, who hit six in the 2011 American League Championship Series. Schwarber is the second Phillie with five in a series, joining Chase Utley, who hit five in the 2009 World Series.

• Two batters after Schwarber's solo homer, Bryce Harper teed off for a Statcast-projected 444-foot home run. The Phillies became the fourth team with two homers of at least 440 feet in a postseason game since 2015, joining the Astros (2023 AL Division Series Game 3), Braves (2019 NLDS Game 1) and Yankees (2018 ALDS Game 2). Only Philadelphia and Atlanta hit them both in the same inning.

• Both Harper and Schwarber have five home runs this postseason following their solo shots in Game 5. Along with Nick Castellanos, who also has five, the Phillies became just the third team to have three players with at least five home runs in a single postseason. The 2022 Phils did this, too, with Harper, Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins pulling it off. The only other team to do so was the 2017 Astros, with Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer each reaching the mark.

• The common thread in the note above? Harper and Schwarber. The two have combined for 22 homers over the past two postseasons, with 11 each. That’s the most combined home runs by a duo over a two-year span in the playoffs, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

• Oh, and with those 11 homers apiece, Harper and Schwarber moved into a tie with Jayson Werth atop the franchise's all-time postseason home run leaderboard.

• Let’s back up for a moment. In the first inning, on a double steal, Harper notched the 22nd steal of home in postseason history and the first by a Phillies player. In doing so, he also became just the second player with a home run and a steal of home in the same postseason game, joining Tampa Bay's Randy Arozarena (2021 ALDS Game 1).

• Saturday's game seemed to be going the Phillies' way from the start, but for some, it probably felt the game was in hand once Harper went yard. After all, his teams have now won 11 straight postseason games in which he’s homered, the longest such streak for any player all-time, per Elias. That includes all 10 of the games he’s homered in for the Phils in the playoffs (and his final home run for the Nationals).

• J.T Realmuto added the Phillies’ third homer of the game in the eighth. It was Philadelphia's fifth game this postseason with at least three home runs, tying the 2002 Giants for the most in a single postseason. Realmuto’s two-run home run snapped a streak of 16 consecutive solo shots for the Phils, which was the longest by a team within a single postseason.