Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Watch: Philadelphia Phillies Slugger Snaps Homerless Streak
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Bryce Harper finally put an end to the longest homerless streak of his career on Saturday night against the San Diego Padres.
Harper hit his first home runs since May 25 when he slammed a solo home run in the fourth inning of the second game of a doubleheader. It was his fourth home run of this season.
It tied the game at 1-1 and went 425 feet into the Phillies’ bullpen.
That snapped a streak of 166 plate appearances without a home run.
Harper started the season on the injured list after he had Tommy John surgery in the offseason for a partially torn UCL ligament, one he played with for the majority of last season as the Phillies made a run to the World Series.
Harper was the designated hitter for Saturday’s doubleheader, but before the Padres series started manager Rob Thomson said there was a chance that Harper could start playing first base this weekend.
The plan is for Harper to, at some point, make starts at first base as he continues to work back from the surgery.
Harper’s home run helped the Phillies take the lead in Game 2 of the doubleheader. They won the first game, one marked by the highlight-reel catch and double-play by rookie outfielder Johan Rojas, who made his Major League debut on Saturday.
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