PHILADELPHIA -- Kyle Schwarber hit his 50th home run of the season and Ranger Suarez struck out a career-high 12 over six shutout innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-3 win over the New York Mets on Tuesday night.

The Phillies have won the first two games of a four-game series and lead the NL East by nine games over the Mets, thanks to the heroics of Schwarber, the first National League player to reach 50 this season.

It seemed like a long time coming for Schwarber, who hit four homers in one game last month that put the Phillies slugger on the precipice of 50 homers this season. Then he waited. And waited some more.

Ultimately, Schwarber's home run drought -- as much as the designated hitter could really have one this year -- spanned 10 games and 49 plate appearan

See Full Page