bryce harper

PHILADELPHIA — Jordan Walker silenced Philadelphia’s boo birds by homering on his last six swings, chasing down Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber in the final round and becoming the first St. Louis Cardinal to win the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night.

Schwarber hit 11 homers during his 15-swing turn in the final round. Philadelphia, fans, who loudly booed everyone but Schwarber and Bryce Harper throughout the night, quietly headed to the exits when Walker’s winning shot soared over the left field wall.

“I was once told you don’t boo nobodies,” Walker said. “So it feels pretty good.”

Schwarber advanced out of the first round and then beat Boston’s Willson Contreras in a head-to-head matchup in the second round to face off against Walker, a 24-year-old who beat Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero in Round 2.

Schwarber, the major league home run leader, had fans roaring on every swing.

Swinging away with the top button on his Cardinals jersey undone, the 24-year-old Walker seemed nonplussed by the jeers and the massive stage during All-Star festivities.

“He earned it,” Schwarber said.

Walker chewed a big wad of bubble gum and wore his cap backward just like Hall of Famer and derby great Ken Griffey Jr. He celebrated with his family immediately on the field, while his father rejoiced in recalling how Walker started hitting long home runs when he was 6 years old.

He fulfilled this childhood dream in dramatic fashion. Walker hit his seventh homer with two swings remaining and his eighth on the next swing to earn bonus swings. Needing to hit four straight homers to win, the right-handed-hitting Jordan knocked one off the top of the center field fence 401 feet away. He reached 10 homers, and Philadelphia fans booed with all their might, only for Jordan to finish the sensational surge and celebrate as fireworks shot off around him.

“That was impressive,” said Schwarber, a runner-up for the second time.

Walker is a first-time All-Star for the Cardinals having a breakout season. He has a career high 22 homers after struggling with a combined 11 over the previous two years.

Those final six in Philadelphia are now stamped on the derby highlight reel.

Revamped Derby format delivers drama

MLB ditched its timed clock and returned to a swing format, with each hitter continuing to swing if he went deep on his final one.

The extra time between swings gave hitters time to track their home runs — and Philadelphia a smidge more time to unleash those throaty boos at Contreras and Walker.

Each player had 20 swings in the first round and the top four advanced. Hitters were seeded for the second round, where No. 1 faces 4 and 2 meets 3.

Each player got 15 swings in the second round, with batters homering on their final swings continuing until they fell short.

Gelston writes for the Associated Press.

PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber launched two long home runs in Philadelphia’s eight-run third inning and Bryce Harper became the 11th player in franchise history to hit for the cycle, leading the Phillies to a 15-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night.

Schwarber led off the Phillies’ huge inning with a solo homer off Mets starter Freddy Peralta, sending the ball 456 feet into the second deck in right field.

Later in the inning, Schwarber hit a three-run shot off Cionel Perez into nearly the same spot, 457 feet away.

Schwarber is the 67th player in major league history to hit two home runs in an inning and the second this season, joining Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who accomplished the feat on June 12. He’s the fourth Phillies player to do so, along with Trea Turner (Aug. 19, 2023), Von Hayes (June 11, 1985) and Andy Seminick (June 2, 1949).

Schwarber hit his third homer of the game — giving him a major league-leading 28 — in the seventh, a two-run shot off Tobias Myers. He finished four for five with six RBIs and scored four runs.

Harper completed his first career cycle by the fifth inning. He hit a solo home run in the first, his 16th of the season. He doubled and scored on an error in the third, then singled after Schwarber’s second home run.

In the fifth, Harper lined a ball into the gap in left-center field and motored around to third base for a two-run triple. He’s the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since Weston Wilson on Aug. 15, 2024. Harper finished four for five with three RBIs and two runs.

Harper is the second player this season — and this week — to hit for the cycle, joining the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, who accomplished the feat Monday night in a 5-4 win over Colorado.