CHICAGO — Kyle Schwarber didn’t swing as hard as he could.
Actually, it looked like he was reacting to a 3-2 pitch he wasn’t expecting from Mets starter Jacob deGrom in the bottom of the first inning of Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. After a couple of changeups ran the count full, deGrom fired a 96-mph fastball off the outside edge of the plate.
MORE: Must-see photos from the NLCS | Greatest Cubs players of all time
Schwarber probably shouldn’t have offered. The pitch was off the plate. It would have been Ball 4, which would have sent Schwarber to first base with one out.
Instead, the Cubs’ burly rookie gave it a run, extending his arms and poking the ball to the opposite field. More accurately, he poked it over the fence in left field — on what was essentially a half-swing — for yet another home run in what’s becoming one of the best postseasons ever for a rookie.
That was Schwarber’s fifth home run of these playoffs, and it set a mind-boggling record. Schwarber is now alone atop the franchise’s list of career playoff home runs.
The franchise started in 1876.
Schwarber was born in 1993. This is his eighth playoff game.
That’s crazy.
#Cubs Kyle Schwarber is the youngest player in baseball history to hit 5 career #postseason HR.
— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) October 21, 2015 And, sure, the Cubs have had long playoff droughts. Still, that’s crazy.
Before Tuesday’s first-inning blast, Schwarber was tied with Aramis Ramirez (18 games) and Alex Gonzalez (12 games). Frank Demaree hit three in 11 games (he played in World Series for the Cubs in 1932, 1935 and 1938).
