PHILADELPHIA _ Bryce Harper grabbed his glove Friday night off the bench in the Phillies dugout, tugged on his red Phillies cap, and made his way to right field. Minutes earlier, his three-run homer sliced to left field and made an 8-4 win over the Padres feel safe. And now the fans were waiting to greet him.
The tides of the season seemed to turn this week at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies dumped their hitting coach, brought Charlie Manuel into the dugout, and won four straight games. Their offense is hot and Harper _ the player expected to define this season _ is carrying them.
He reached right field on Friday night and the fans in the lower bowl stood and cheered. His sixth-inning homer was not as majestic as his walk-off grand slam a night earlier, but it was his fourth home run in three games. Harper looked to the crowd, touched his hat, and listened to them cheer some more. The ballpark this week has belonged to Harper.
Forget that the Phillies, according to FanGraphs, have a 13.7% chance of making the playoffs. Ignore, that they have a starting rotation of Aaron Nola and four others. Never mind that they have a patchwork bullpen and a bench made up of players who were not here when the season started.
None of that will matter if the Phillies _ and Harper _ can keep hitting. Friday began a stretch in which nine of their next 11 games come against teams that no longer have playoff aspirations. It seems to be the perfect chance for the team to catch fire. And if it does, check back at those playoff odds.
The Phillies know they will need to ride their lineup to October. They seem to be heating up just in time. The offense has averaged 7.5 runs per game this week and hit eight home runs in their last four games. They played Friday without Rhys Hoskins (sore right hand) until he entered the game in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement, and the lineup was able to overcome his absence.
J.T. Realmuto hit a homer in the third and doubled in a run in the fifth to highlight an inning that would end with the Phillies ahead, 5-0. He has eight home runs since the All-Star break and has a .943 OPS in his last 113 at-bats since then. Harper wore a Realmuto T-shirt under his jersey for the third straight night in support of the catcher he calls his favorite player. And it's easy to see why Harper holds so much admiration for him.
Vince Velasquez pitched five scoreless innings, but then stumbled in the sixth. He allowed a pair of singles, induced a ground-out that could have been a double-play ball, uncorked a wild pitch to bring home a run, and then yielded an RBI triple to Francisco Mejia. That was it for Velasquez, who would be charged for a third run when reliever Blake Parker allowed Mejia to score.
The lead Realmuto provided no longer felt safe. A game that had the feel of a lopsided Phillies win had become much closer than it ever should have been. But in the bottom of the inning, Harper stepped in. He turned on a fastball and drove it to the opposite field, and pumped his fist when his homer crashed into the stands. Harper circled the bases a bit slower than his sprint a night earlier and as he returned to the dugout, his teammates showered him with sunflower seeds. The fans in right field were waiting for him.
