The Philadelphia Phillies weren’t able to carry their momentum into Game 1 of their weekend series against the Cleveland Guardians.
After winning an extra innings thriller in the finale against the Tampa Bay Rays where the bats were on fire throughout that set, the offense was nowhere to be found in the opener on Friday.
They rectified that in Game 2, though, exploding for a massive six-run output in the top of the eighth frame that allowed the Phillies to cruise to a win and set up a series-deciding rubber match on Sunday.
Perhaps the most encouraging thing was that the spark came from Bryce Harper.
It’s not been a secret that the two-time NL MVP is struggling at the plate right now, and he doesn’t hide the fact that he’s frustrated with himself and the results he’s getting.
But with two outs and just a one-run lead on Friday, Harper turned on an inside fastball and sent it 421 feet over the fence in center field.
That two-run blast sparked the monster inning for Philadelphia, with Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos hitting singles in the subsequent at-bats before Max Kepler doubled them homer after that.
The Phillies weren’t done there.
J.T. Realmuto took a walk and Brandon Marsh had an RBI single that was followed by an RBI single from Edmundo Sosa.
This is the type of offense that people have become accustomed to from the Phillies where Harper is the sparkplug.
It’s too early to say that this is the definitive moment where the superstar slugger turns things around, but he did share his feelings about what has been taking place with himself and the team overall during his slump.
“I’ll tell you what, man, I’m so happy we’re winning,” he said after the game on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast. “Obviously, it’s been a grind. Day in and day out, I’m working, trying everything I can to have a better approach, see pitches in the zone and not chase the ones out of the zone. But all in all, I’m excited we’re winning, my team has my back. It’s been a grind. But it’s a long season, you play a season for a reason.”
That’s the benefit of having this star-studded lineup around him.
Harper doesn’t have to be the hero every single game.
While he’s been going through this slump, Trea Turner has become one of the best hitters in the game, Schwarber has continued to be a power-hitting monster and the rest of the players in the lineup like Castellanos and Bryson Stott are putting the ball in play at a high rate.
But for Philadelphia to be a true World Series contender, they need Harper to be Harper.
It will come eventually, and maybe this truly is the moment that gets him going.
