PHILADELPHIA _ Bryce Harper looked back Tuesday night to the Phillies dugout as he neared second base just as he realized that the most unlikely Phillies win of the season would be a win.
His line-drive to center field bounced off the glove of the Dodgers outfielder and skipped away. One run scored. And then another. Harper ditched his helmet, raised his hand to the sky, and hollered. The Phillies, somehow, had a 9-8 win.
They rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth after Hector Neris allowed three runs in the ninth to cough up a one-run lead. The top of the ninth was almost a predictable way to lose. The bottom of the ninth? Not so much. But it happened.
The way the Phillies won Tuesday is not sustainable, but the Phillies are so desperate for a win that they will take it. They did not have a hit or run between the second and ninth innings. Their starter pitcher was roughed up and their shorthanded bullpen was stretched to the limit. But it was a win.
Neris was ejected in the ninth after hitting David Freese with a 95 mph fastball. Gabe Kapler was tossed for arguing Neris' case. The Phillies ended the inning in disarray, it was hard to remember that they were just three outs from a win.
The Phillies did not have to score after the second inning, but their bullpen kept them alive until the rain came. Vince Velasquez was bailed out after giving up four homers because the bullpen did not allow a hit until Neris entered. They held their breath against the Dodgers for most of Tuesday night and somehow did not drown until the top of the ninth.
The Phillies, Kapler said, were frustrated Tuesday afternoon when they arrived to Citizens Bank Park. They had been humbled a night earlier by the National League leaders, jeered by visiting fans in their own park, and watched outfielder Roman Quinn pitch the final four outs.
The Phillies, mired in a miserable stretch, would be challenged to respond. And they did. But the real response will come Wednesday against Kenta Maeda and Thursday with Aaron Nola on the mound. It will come Friday when the team opens up a three-game series in Pittsburgh and next week when the host the Braves. A win on Tuesday felt good, but it will be empty if it is sandwiched between defeats.
Perhaps it was that frustration that pushed them to jump Walker Buehler for six runs in the first two innings. Scott Kingery, Brad Miller, and Bryce Harper homered to drive in each of the six runs. Three of their first four hits were home runs. The Phillies, after an embarrassing night, rallied for an early five-run lead and seemed prime to deliver a thumping.
They played Tuesday without Jean Segura, who was held out with a bruised heel. Maikel Franco was kept out of the lineup after not hustling on Monday and then Jay Bruce left Tuesday's game with a strained oblique. The Phillies played the majority of Tuesday night without three pieces of their everyday lineup yet still won.
They just needed Vince Velasquez to keep them in it. But he allowed five hits, four of which were homers and the lead was trimmed to just one. Velasquez did not give the Phillies the length they hoped he would. The bullpen would not have a chance to rest. Kapler went to the mound in the fifth inning, lifted his starter after just 42/3 innings, and trusted his bullpen to do the rest.
They did just that until Neris arrived. But then Harper delivered to bail him out.
