Kyle Schwarber’s four-homer game stood as a landmark, with a potential fifth off a position-player pitcher looming as a controversy blocker. He pushed to five in the eighth, but a 57.4 mph lob from Vidal Bruján produced an infield fly instead, muting debate about tainting the feat. Schwarber’s 49 homers on the year remain league-leading, and the moment underscored the surreal edge of MLB power numbers when a mop-up appearance by a position player is even considered in the record books.

The broader arc centers on the growing use of position players on the mound and MLB’s response: a rule restricting such appearances, and ongoing debates about the impact on statistics and fantasy-value. Dodgers standouts Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Miguel Rojas, Kiké Hernández and Clayton Kershaw are cited to illustrate the era’s pitching depth and the strategic chess match managers navigate in late innings.