Tuesday evening in Philadelphia wasn’t exactly ideal baseball weather, but Bryce Harper etched his name into Major League Baseball history, guiding the Phillies to a 9-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Despite contending with a persistent drizzle and chilly temperatures in the 40s, Harper delivered an extraordinary performance at Citizens Bank Park. After starting the season with an 0-for-11 slump accompanied by five strikeouts, Harper made a remarkable turnaround by blasting three home runs. He opened the scoring with solo homers in his first two at-bats against Reds pitcher Graham Ashcraft before capping off his stellar night with a grand slam against left-handed reliever Brent Suter in the eighth inning. This marked Harper’s second career three-homer game and his 26th multi-homer game overall, setting a career-high of six RBIs in the process.
Harper’s first home run also marked a personal milestone, as it represented his 1,000th career run scored. Moreover, he became the 20th player in Phillies history and the first ever to hit three home runs in a game after starting the season hitless. Reflecting on his achievement, Harper expressed satisfaction, stating, “It felt good going up there and hitting three homers. It was really cool.”
Although Harper had never previously endured a season-opening slump, he remained confident in his abilities, emphasizing that he felt good despite the lack of results. Reminiscing about Harper’s previous three-homer game, his former teammate J.T. Realmuto vividly recalled the circumstances, indicating that it bodes well for Harper’s performance this season.
Manager Rob Thomson echoed this sentiment, expressing unwavering confidence in Harper’s abilities and predicting that it was only a matter of time before he produced a standout performance. Looking ahead, Harper expressed optimism that his remarkable performance could serve as a catalyst for the team’s success moving forward, stating, “Definitely happy the way the night went, but just want to keep going, turn the page. Hopefully this was the start of us winning a World Series, you know? That’d be cool.”