HOUSTON -- Kyle Schwarber crushed a majestic tiebreaking home run against Great Britain on Saturday, far back into the second deck in right field at Daikin Park -- the biggest swing of the World Baseball Classic so far for the United States.
Schwarber's home run carried the U.S. past Great Britain, 9-1. Team USA has won its first two games of the tournament entering a heavyweight clash against Mexico on Monday, the most hyped matchup of Pool B.
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The powerhouse U.S. offense had been stymied all game when Schwarber stepped up to the plate in the fifth inning. And the Phillies' superstar slugger delivered once again on the international stage.
Schwarber brought the crowd of 34,368 in Houston roaring to life as he sent an Andre Scrubb cutter 427 feet deep into the night. His blast sparked a huge, five-run inning for Team USA, which also got a clutch two-out, two-run double from Gunnar Henderson.
Schwarber was moved into the leadoff spot for the game against the Brits -- where he's done so much damage for the Phillies -- as manager Mark DeRosa juggled the U.S. lineup around following the team's WBC opener against Brazil, when Schwarber hit cleanup.
The move brought him up at the perfect time.
"I had talked multiple times with Schwarbs during the season about where he wanted to hit in this lineup," DeRosa said before the game. "He said, 'I'm not going to change my approach whether you lead me off or bat me fourth.'"
That approach: crush baseballs.
It must have felt like deja vu for Great Britain, who also saw Schwarber crush a game-breaking home run against them in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Schwarber has been a monster for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He also hit a massive upper-deck home run against Japan in the 2023 championship game. And he now has a .727 slugging percentage and 1.243 OPS in his seven career WBC games.
Both Schwarber, the reigning National League home run king after 56 long balls last season, and team captain Aaron Judge, who hit 53 for the Bronx Bombers, have now homered for the United States in the 2026 Classic. Judge went deep in his first career WBC at-bat on Friday against Brazil.