Kyle Schwarber moves into tie for NL lead with 16th home run in June

Kyle Schwarber’s record-setting June continued when he hit a home run in his first at-bat Tuesday.

The Middletown High School graduate Schwarber went 1-for-4 as his Washington Nationals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in Washington, D.C. It was the seventh time this month Schwarber has led off the first inning with a home run. He didn’t start hitting in the lead-off spot until June 8.

“I think that’s kind of the biggest thing is keying in on your pitch and not trying to hit a home run,” Schwarber told reporters. “I’ve caught myself trying to do that where I’ve swung and missed at a first-pitch fastball that could’ve been a hit, and you find yourself trying to do too much with the pitch.”

» EARLIER COVERAGE: Schwarber making baseball history in June

Schwarber has 16 home runs in June, all since June 12. That’s more than the totals of 10 big-league teams.

Schwarber joined Barry Bonds (2001) and Sammy Sosa (1998) as the third big leaguer to hit 16 home runs in an 18-game stretch, and he became the second player in baseball history to hit 10 home runs in 12 games, following Albert Belle (1995).

Schwarber has 25 home runs this season. He moved into a tie with Fernando Tatis Jr., of the San Diego Padres, for the National League lead.

Here's your daily Kyle Schwarber June HR tally update:

6/12 - SCHWAR💣
6/13 - 2 SCHWAR💣s
6/14 - SCHWAR💣
6/19 - 2 SCHWAR💣s
6/20 - 3 SCHWAR💣s
6/23 - SCHWAR💣
6/24 - 2 SCHWAR💣s
6/25 - SCHWAR💣
6/28 - 2 SCHWAR💣s
6/29 - SCHWAR💣@kschwarb12 // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/8MzZMA7UVO
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 29, 2021