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Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber may have a March birthday, but by all appearances June is his favorite month. Schwarber launched two home runs and drove in six runs on Sunday afternoon as part of an 11-3 victory on the road (box score) over the Washington Nationals

Schwarber, who entered Sunday batting .167/.312/.387 (92 OPS+) on the season, had himself a blast against his former team. He delivered his first home run, a three-run blast, in the sixth inning to extend Philadelphia's lead to 5-1. Later, in the ninth, he hit another three-run home run. The two traveled a combined 793 feet, per Statcast. 

Here are both home runs in all their moving picture glory:

As noted in the introduction, Schwarber has a thing for the month of June. While monthly splits are seldom predictive of anything, it's hard to ignore that June has been the most productive month of his career. Take a look at his splits entering Sunday, courtesy of Baseball Reference:

  • March/April: .745 OPS
  • May: .734 OPS
  • June: .946 OPS
  • July: .784 OPS
  • August: .869 OPS
  • September/October: .864 OPS

Schwarber has been especially impressive in the last two Junes:

MonthAVGOPSHRs

June 2021

.280

1.122

16

June 2022

.272

1.065

12

The turn of the calendar is a welcome sign for Schwarber and the Phillies after the slugging outfielder mustered a .115/.300/.368 batting line with just 10 hits in 110 plate appearances in the month of May.

Schwarber wasn't the only Phillies batter to enjoy his Sunday afternoon in D.C. Drew Ellis, a 27-year-old recent callup getting the start at third base, notched three hits and two home runs of his own. He became the first Phillies batter since Ryan Howard in July 2007 to have multiple home runs and walks in the same game, according to Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philly.

The Phillies still own a disappointing 27-32 record on the season, placing them fourth in the National League East. Next on their docket: a six-game homestand featuring visits from the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Dodgers.