Cardinals’ Jordan Walker hits home run to win Home Run Derby

St. Louis Cardinals budding star Jordan Walker broke the hearts of the Philadelphia Phillies faithful on Monday night, defeating Kyle Schwarber with a blast to win the 2026 Home Run Derby.

Walker hit 12 home runs in his final round, surpassing Schwarber’s 11 in a new MLB format. With his parents watching, Walker’s final home run hit the left field seats and he celebrated in the only way you do when you win the Home Run Derby to be crowned the league’s top slugger during All-Star weekend.

Once again, MLB introduced a new format for the Home Run Derby, this time giving the eight contestants 20 swings to hit as many home runs as possible. A word of caution: If your final swing results in a home run, you continue swinging it until it leaves the yard.

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In this format, players didn’t have to fight a clock or focus on how far they hit the balls to enter a bonus round. They could lock themselves in and take their time if necessary.

Boston Red Sox star Willson Contreras, who has been instrumental in the team’s turnaround this season heading into the All-Star break, set the tone with 13 home runs in his 20 swings. But Walker equaled it, as both were the bar to reach to reach the semifinals.

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Jac Caglianone of the Kansas City Royals hit the third deck from right field, but his eight home runs were not enough to propel him to the next round. And new Chicago White Sox fan favorite Munetaka Murakami scored nine to at least give himself a chance.

But Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays hit 12 home runs after a seven-homer showing by Ben Rice of the New York Yankees. With three double-digit hitters, home favorites Schwarber and Bryce Harper knew they could punch their own tickets to the next round.

Schwarber went first, hitting 10 home runs, which put some pressure on Harper. His Phillies teammate could hit over 10 to move on or go down himself.

Harper could only hit eight home runs, leaving Schwarber as the final semifinalist. But it didn’t disappoint.

In the semifinals, the limit was 15 swings and Schwarber began to find his rhythm. The left-handed slugger was launching balls into the stratosphere, hitting nine to set the tone against Contreras. The Red Sox star came close with eight home runs, but it wasn’t enough as the Phillies star entered the finals to the delight of the Citizens Bank Park crowd.

Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals competes during the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

In the other matchup, Walker continued his streak, beating Caminero 6-5 to put him in contention for the Home Run Derby trophy.

But once again, Schwarber, taking advantage of the applause of his audience in Philadelphia, was unstoppable. He made 11 of his 15 swings over the fence, putting immense pressure on Walker, who swung second.

Walker rose to the challenge when it came time to bat, hitting four home runs to start. But with only seven left, Walker knew he needed to be perfect to catch Schwarber.

With just one swing left and seven home runs left, Walker had to run. The suspense was deadly for all spectators, as Walker managed to reach 10 home runs.

Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies competes during the Home Run Derby semifinals at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 13, 2026. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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While throwing a couple of pitches, Walker found every stitch of the shot that tied him with Schwarber, as the packed Phillies crowd murmured. Then, Walker, patient again, hit a moonshot to left field to ice his victory.

Walker is tied for 10th in the MLB this season with 22 home runs, while hitting .294 for the Cardinals with 74 RBI.