Nationals' Kyle Schwarber's Hamstring Injury Diagnosed as 'Significant Strain'

Washington Nationals slugger Kyle Schwarber suffered a "significant" right hamstring strain and is likely to miss an extended period of time, manager Dave Martinez announced Saturday.

Schwarber, who was pulled from Friday night's contest against the Los Angeles Dodgers after a second-inning single, was placed on the injured list Saturday and is expected to require more than the minimum 10 days before returning.

It's a crushing blow to the Nats, who rode the left fielder's bat back into contention for the National League East title over the last month. The 28-year-old set a franchise record with 16 home runs in June—including seven leadoff homers—to earn National League Player of the Month honors.

Through 72 games, Schwarber is slashing .253/.340/.570 with 25 home runs—the fourth-most in baseball behind Shohei Ohtani (30), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (26).

That power helped Washington overcome a 21-29 start and compile a 19-9 record in June. Entering Saturday, the Nats were 2.5 games behind the New York Mets for first in the NL East. 

Schwarber is far from the only player to suffer a strained hamstring this season, as Gabe Lacques of USA Today noted June 3:

"Through May, there were 104 soft tissue injuries that resulted in stints on the IL, a 160% increase over the 48 after two months in 2019, according to Stan Conte, the former trainer for the Dodgers and Giants who now operates Conte Sport Performance Therapy in Arizona and consults for multiple MLB franchises and the league office.
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"Hamstrings are going haywire – already the most common injury in baseball, they are up 193% since 2019, with 47 IL stints compared to 16 through May 2021."

With Schwarber out, the Nats will rely on Gerardo Parra and may try to find additional help elsewhere.

There just may not be any replacement for the power Schwarber adds to the lineup. His historic June proved his presence is vital to the team's success.