Phillies' Kyle Schwarber: Homers off Darvish in WBC loss
Rotowire
Schwarber homered and walked for Team USA in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic final.
Schwarber absolutely blistered a solo homer off Yu Darvish in the eighth inning to bring USA to within a run at 3-2. They would get no closer. Schwarber homered twice in the event while driving in four runs with a slash line of .214/.450/.643 over seven games.
Schwarber is expected to hit second for the Phillies this season, with offseason acquisition Trea Turner leading off, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Schwarber led off 123 times last season. He doesn't have the traditional speed for a leadoff man, and the role may have turned a few too many of his career-high 46 homers into solo shots, but his typically excellent walk rates make him a decent fit nonetheless. Turner owns a .355 career on-base percentage and also has far more speed, however, making him the obvious choice for manager Rob Thomson. Expect slightly fewer plate appearances for Schwarber this season as a result, but his overall value shouldn't change much with the move, as he'll get back in the RBI category whatever he loses in runs.
