PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper started 212 of 222 games in his first two years with the Phillies and the first 13 games of this season. He swings hard and plays even harder. Dialing down the intensity isn’t in his DNA.
But this weekend offered an important lesson, one that might even keep Harper at peak performance as he ages: Taking an occasional day off can be for the best.
After waking up Saturday with a stiff back and sitting out the Phillies’ loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, Harper returned to the lineup Sunday and cracked three hits, including a tone-setting solo home run in the first inning to back a sparkling complete-game gem by Aaron Nola in a 2-0 victory at Citizens Bank Park.
In winning the three-game series and climbing back above the .500 mark, the Phillies (8-7) reaffirmed what has been evident for a few years: When the best players on their top-heavy roster are at their best, they usually win.
And Harper and Nola were the best players on the field against the Cardinals.
Nola bounced back from consecutive rocky starts against the New York Mets by holding the Cardinals to two hits — leadoff singles by Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong in the second and eighth innings, respectively. In between, he dominated. He racked up 10 strikeouts without issuing a walk and didn’t allow a runner to reach second base.
It marked the first time in Nola’s 143 career starts that he threw a pitch in the ninth inning of a game. Complete games have been elusive for the Phillies’ ace, who has done almost everything else of note in the last four seasons, including making more starts than any pitcher in baseball. But he nailed it down with a seven-pitch ninth to finish at a tidy 109 pitches.
It also marked Nola’s first start against a team from neither the NL East or AL East since Sept. 4, 2019, when he faced the Cincinnati Reds. Clearly, seeing a team other than the Mets, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, and Miami Marlins agreed with him.
A day off agreed with Harper. After smoking three balls at 109, 103.1, and 108 mph Friday night, Harper awoke Saturday with a stiff back. He told the training staff, and manager Joe Girardi didn’t put him in the lineup, giving him a chance to recover.
It likely will happen more over the next several years. Harper played through a painful back injury late last season, then spent the offseason rehabbing near his Las Vegas home. But back problems usually don’t disappear. They come and go. They require treatment, sometimes even rest.
Harper got back into the lineup Sunday and launched a John Gant pitch into the second deck in right field to open a 1-0 lead in the first inning. He walked in the third inning, lined a double to left field in the fifth, and singled in the seventh.
The Phillies stretched the lead to 2-0 with a fifth-inning rally that began with a Rhys Hoskins walk. Harper’s double sent Hoskins to third base, and after the Cardinals intentionally walked J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm lifted a sacrifice fly to left field.
