Bryce Harper finally homers, Cal Stevenson comes up clutch in Phillies’ win over Mets
Final Score: Phillies 6, Mets 4
It lasted 30 games, or 127 plate appearances, but he finally did it. Bryce Harper hit a home run on Saturday. Then, he hit another. The first snapped the second-longest homer-less streak of his career. The second was his 150th as a member of the Phillies and put his club back into the ball game.
Mets starter Luis Severino was more than effective for most of the afternoon. The right-hander retired the first eight Phillies hitters he faced. After getting Trea Turner to ground out to start the bottom of the fourth, Severino faced Harper for the second time.
Severino struck Harper out in the first inning by getting the two-time NL MVP to chase a sweeper down and out of the strike zone. The at-bat lasted seven pitches. Three innings later, Harper wasted no time, swinging at a first-pitch changeup that he sent out to left-center field for a home run. 4-1 Mets.
Two innings later, after a two-out walk by Turner, Harper stepped back up to the plate. The game remained 4-1 and Harper worked another long at-bat. This time around, just like in the first inning, Severino delivered a sweeper on the seventh pitch. This time around, it didn’t end up down and out of the strike zone. The pitch stayed up just enough for Harper to do something with it. And he did. The ball landed 386 feet from home plate. 4-3 Mets.
Harper’s efforts didn’t go to waste. His club started the seventh inning with back-to-back singles. A successful sacrifice bunt by Brandon Marsh put runners on second and third with one out for the bottom of the lineup. After pinch hitter Weston Wilson struck out, Cal Stevenson came up to hit with two outs.
In the spotlight again — he hit a go-ahead double late in Tuesday’s game — Stevenson delivered again. After working a full count, Stevenson pulled a ball into right field for a two-out, two-run double. 5-4 Phillies.
Jeff Hoffman worked a clean eighth, thanks to a great home-run-robbing catch by Stevenson in center, and Carlos Estévez pitched a scoreless ninth, picking up his sixth save as a Phillie, to finish off the come-from-behind victory.
Highlights
- After allowing a leadoff single, Kolby Allard walked three straight batters with two outs, plating the Mets a run in the top of the first.
- On a play that was originally ruled a double, Jose Iglesias was called out after a Phillies challenge. As Iglesias reached second, he didn’t slide and Turner kept his tag on as Iglesias’ foot barely came off the bag. The play ended the top half of the second inning.
- The Mets scored three runs in the top of the third. After leading off the inning with a double, Mark Vientos scored on a throwing error by Kody Clemens. Two batters later, Starling Marte tripled on a ball that kept rolling into the right-center field gap, driving in two more runs for New York.
- Harper’s first homer was his first since Aug. 9.
- Harper’s second home run was a no-doubter.
- Stevenson’s double drove in Bryson Stott and J.T. Realmuto.
- Stevenson’s catch in the eighth inning robbed J.D. Martinez of a leadoff home run.
- A Realmuto double allowed Nick Castellanos to score from first in the bottom of the eighth, giving the Phillies an insurance run.
Notes
- To make room for Kolby Allard on the active roster, the Phillies optioned Max Lazar to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
- Pre-game, Rob Thomson provided updates on Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa, both of whom started a rehab assignment in Lehigh Valley on Saturday. Thomson also provided an update on Austin Hays, who is still battling a kidney infection.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Sunday, September 15 vs. New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park
- 1:35 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
- Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680
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