John Kruk made Tom McCarthy’s call of Kyle Schwarber’s historic night; Mike Schmidt got profane

October is a month away, but Citizens Bank Park was rocking Thursday night as Kyle Schwarber made history.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Schwarber knocked out his fourth home run of the night, a bomb to right field that sent the hometown crowd into a frenzy. He actually had the rare chance for a fifth, but popped out in the eighth inning.

Schwarber became just the 21st player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game, but oddly the third to achieve the feat this year, joining Nick Kurtz of the Oakland A’s and Eugenio Suárez of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Everything about how Tom McCarthy and company handled Schwarber’s night was just about perfect, including showing one fan with his phone out filming Schwarber’s at bat. After Schwarber blasted his fourth home run, McCarthy laid out and let the crowd at The Bank tell the story, going silent for nearly 40 seconds.

But John Kruk’s quick reaction made the call. As soon as Schwarber made contact, Kruk knew he was about to witness a bit of history, blurting out “Oh my god.”

“It was awesome,” McCarthy told The Inquirer. “I am so enamored by our crowd and I just wanted to let them envelope Kyle and the rest of the players like a blanket.”

That patience was also on display as Schwarber approached the plate before hitting his historic home run.

“Let’s listen to the ovation he’s going to get coming up,” McCarthy said before a full 33 seconds of silence filled by cheers and applause from the crowd.

“It’s crazy,” Schwarber said following the game. “I wish I didn’t ask the question in the cage, ‘How many guys have hit five homers?’”

For the record, the number is zero.

Over on 94.1 WIP, the call was equally great, turning to longtime PA announcer Dan Bakers’s audio of Schwarber’s entrance. Scott Franzke, in his 20th season as the radio voice of the Phillies, didn’t disappoint.

“Everybody looking for history from Kyle Schwarber,” Franzke said just as the Phillies slugger made contact with the ball.

“Swung on. Hit deep, right field! And there’s history for Schwarber!” Franzke said.

Fans won’t get Kruk or McCarthy Friday, as the game is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+, the tech giant’s subscription streaming service. Saturday’s game will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia, while Sunday’s finale is on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.

Mike Schmidt’s profane reaction had Michael Barkann laughing

The last Phillies player to hit four home runs in a single game was Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, who accomplished the feat more than 50 years ago against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 7, 1976 (while also wearing the team’s powder blue uniform).

Schmidt, who broadcasts a handful of games each year on NBC Sports Philadelphia, called into Phillies Postgame Live to discuss Schwarber’s achievement. That’s when things got interesting.

“I hit a single, then in my third at bat I hit my first home run,” Schmidt recalled, letting out an expletive before continuing, “that was breaking out of it for me at the time, I was in a big slump. I would’ve basically taken anything in that game, let alone four home runs.”

The slip forced Michael Barkann and Ricky Bottalico to contain their laughter.

There was another funny moment during the call where Barkann congratulated Schmidt on become a grandfather. Just one problem there:

“Oh, I’m a grandfather. I’m a grandfather of three girls,” Schmidt said.

“There wasn’t another one?” Bottalico asked.

“Not that I know of,” Schmidt replied. “Squelch that rumor.”

» READ MORE: The Big Picture: Kyle Schwarber’s four-home run night among our best sports photos of the week.