Kyle Schwarber has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. In the month of June, he hit a 16 home runs, including seven leadoff homers. Friday the Washington Nationals slugger was named National League Player of the Month.
However, his hitting surge came to a screeching halt Friday night in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Schwarber hit a single to center field, but he pulled up rounding first base and immediately grabbed his hamstring area.
His gimp drew manager Dave Martinez and trainer Paul Lessard out to check on him. Schwarber ultimately walked off to the clubhouse, exiting the game. Gerardo Parra ran for Schwarber and replaced him in left field.
Following the Nationals’ 10-5 loss, Martinez announced the severity of the injury is currently unknown. Schwarber will undergo an MRI Saturday morning, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.
If Schwarber is to miss any significant time, his absence will surely be a huge blow for the Nationals. The slugger was inserted in as the permanent leadoff hitter on June 12. Since, he has been on a historic tear.
Schwarber joined Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds as the only players in major-league history to hit 16 home runs in an 18-game span. Entering Friday, Schwarber was hitting .333/.414/.987 with 16 home runs, 27 RBIs and 22 runs scored in 20 games as a leadoff hitter this season.
Fingers will be crossed for a lot of Nationals faithful, hoping for the best from Saturday’s MRI.
