Kyle Schwarber

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber's late-season MVP run took a major step on Thursday against the Atlanta Braves.

And he did it in front of a star-studded audience.

The hard-hitting DH became just the 21st player in Major League history to smash four home runs in a single game in the Phillies' 19-4 rout of the hapless Braves, who continue to flounder during a lost season. 

Schwarber wasted no time on his historic quest.

The 32-year-old got his barrage started in the first inning — with his team down 3-0 in the opening frame — with a solo homer that was launched 450 feet, according to reports.

He followed it up with a two-run shot in the fourth inning, followed by three-run homers in the fourth and seventh innings, good for a Philadelphia record 9 RBI.

Ironically, Schwarber had a chance at a record-setting five home runs, but flew out to Braves infielder Vidal Bruján in the eighth inning as Atlanta sought to rest its beleaguered bullpen. 

Schwarber is the fourth Phillie to accomplish the feat, joining Mike Schmidt, Chuck Klein, and Ed Delahanty. Schmidt was the last to do it in 1976.

The icing on the cake? 

The cast of ABC's hit "Abbott Elementary" were also on hand to film some scenes for an episode during the historic night, and Schwarber reportedly made a post-game cameo.

The slugger took one step closer to his 50th home run (49 on the season), and his 119 RBI are 11 more than the next-closest player in the League.

His helmet from the four-home run game will join his bat from the MLB All-Star Game, when he won it for the National League by hitting three balls out during the first-ever swing-off.

“I mean, it is pretty cool,” Schwarber said to The Athletic. “It just cooperated, right? I’ve been saying you can do everything right and get out, and you can do everything wrong and get a hit. It just happened to cooperate. Got some pitches, put some good swings on it, and that was the result.

“It’s exciting. You can’t expect that you’re going to go up there and hit a home run every time, right? It’s just not the game.”