ST. LOUIS _ Smash this.
In the midst of a three-week slump, and one week after getting called out on Twitter by the '90s band Smash Mouth, Bryce Harper got back to smashing baseballs on Tuesday night. His fourth career grand slam punctuated an error-filled, six-run second inning and sent the Phillies on to an 11-1 rout of the Cardinals, squaring their three-game series at Busch Stadium.
Harper's slam backed ace Aaron Nola, who recorded his fourth consecutive strong start by giving up one run on three hits in six innings, and the Phillies won for the seventh time in 11 games.
Oh, but it meant so much more than that.
This was pure catharsis for Harper, whose funk predates even a five-hit game three weeks ago in Colorado. Going back to April 13, the Phillies' $330 million superstar was 15 for 84 (.179) with 30 strikeouts. He had only one multi-hit game and was slugging only .333.
All hitters go through slumps. It's inevitable. But when it happens to Harper, it attracts national attention, even from rock bands.
Harper tried everything to snap out of it. He took batting practice on the field and in the indoor cage. He tweaked his stance. He insisted on staying in the lineup rather than taking a rest. He even ditched his batting gloves in his first plate appearance Tuesday night and drew a four-pitch walk against Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson.
By the time Harper came to the plate in the second inning, batting gloves back in use, the Cardinals' circus act had already begun. They allowed Odubel Herrera to hustle into second base on a grounder up the middle. Catcher Yadier Molina was charged with a passed ball. Hudson issued a pair of walks. And second baseman Kolten Wong and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt each committed throwing errors, the latter allowing two runs to score.
The bases were loaded for Harper and the stage was set against Hudson, who entered the game having allowed 25 hits _ including seven homers _ in 63 at-bats against left-handed batters. Harper took a first-pitch sinker for a ball, fouled off another sinker and laid off a fastball in the dirt. The next pitch was an elevated slider, and Harper teed off, sending a missile into the right-field seats to open a 6-0 lead.
It was Harper's first grand slam since April 19, 2017, as a member of the Washington Nationals. It was his first homer of any kind since April 26 and only his third since April 9.
With a 6-0 lead in tow, Nola cruised against a Cardinals offense that hit three homers one night earlier against Phillies starter Vince Velasquez. Through five innings, Nola allowed only a single by Jose Martinez. It wasn't until Matt Wieters slugged a leadoff homer in the sixth inning that the Cardinals scored their run.
After opening the season with a 7.45 ERA through four starts, Nola has looked more like the pitcher who finished third in the National League Cy Young Award voting last year. He has given up six runs on 26 hits in 24 innings for a 2.25 ERA in four starts against the Rockies, Marlins, Tigers and Cardinals.
Harper added a single in the two-run fifth inning, kick-starting a rally that continued with base hits by Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto. It was Harper's first multi-hit game since he went 5 for 7 on April 19 in Colorado.
There had been signs that Harper might be ready to bust out. He recorded a hit in three consecutive games last week against the Nationals, including a pair of doubles. And although didn't get any hits in Monday night's series opener, he did hit the ball hard, lining into a double play in the first inning.
"I feel fine. Just keep missing pitches," Harper said a few days ago. "That's about it. Swing feels good, hands feel good. Just swinging at pitches out of the zone."
Perhaps one big swing will be what gets him through it.
