Bryce Harper's Return Sparks Philadelphia Phillies Best Result Since 2011
Who knew that getting Bryce Harper back would break a curse that's plagued the Philadelphia Phillies all year long. What curse you ask?
Until Friday night, when Harper strode to the plate, the Phillies did not have a single hit with the bases loaded and no out.
It seemed like fate that the record would fall on Friday. With Harper batting fourth in his first game back, of course he would come to the plate with the bases loaded in the first inning. It was the perfect script.
After Kyle Schwarber reached on an error and Rhys Hoskins doubled him over to third, Alec Bohm chopped an easy groundball at Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman, but for some reason he didn't a play, despite having two easy outs.
Then Harper strode to the plate as the Citizens Bank Park fans rose to their feet. Chants of "M-V-P" broke out across the ballpark as Harper stood in. All of sudden, this was no longer a regular season game.
To that point, the Phillies were 0-for-12 in no-out bases loaded situations with seven strikeouts. No Major League team had fewer RBI in those situations than the Phillies, who had three.
With the infield in, Harper lined a single past Pirates first baseman Michael Chavis for a two-RBI. The Phillies, and Harper, served notice they were back.
Philadelphia scored four more runs over the following two innings, knocking Pirates starter Bryse Wilson out of the game after just one frame, taking a commanding 6-0 lead.
Now it was Bailey Falter's job to ensure the Pirates didn't tighten that deficit. The Phillies' starter did an adequate job against a poor team, allowing two home runs and three runs total across six innings of work, a solid job in making sure Philadelphia didn't burn too much of their bullpen.
With a 6-3 lead headed into the seventh, manager Rob Thomson called upon the arm of Connor Brogdon from the bullpen. Through August 20, Brogdon had been one of the most effective relievers in baseball, but since he surrendered a three-run home run to Mark Canha in the Phillies 10-9 loss to the New York Mets last weekend, things haven't been the same.
Brogdon got just one out that came on a sacrifice bunt. He faced four batters and allowed a home run, a single and a walk. José Alvarado came in and cleaned up the mess, inducing a double play on just one pitch, but Brogdon has gone three straight appearances allowing a least one run, his ERA 19.29 in those outings.
It will now be harder for Thomson to trust his number one right-handed setup man.
Nevertheless, the rest of the Phillies' bullpen kept the Pirates off the bases. After a double from Nick Castellanos and an RBI single from Bryson Stott, the Phillies had the insurance they needed and Brad Hand closed out the game without incident.
At 71-55, the Phillies are 16 games over .500 for the first time since 2011. They'll look for six straight wins Saturday evening at 6:05 EST as Kyle Gibson takes the mound facing Pittsburgh's Tyler Beede.
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