It’s been nine years, but Bryce Harper remembers the details from his first career three-home run night.
“Left field, right field, right field,” Harper said. All three were hit against Marlins starter Tom Koehler. The first carried over Ichiro’s head and into the visiting bullpen of Nationals Park in left field. Harper modestly failed to mention that home runs No. 2 and 3 were hit into the second deck.
His first three-home run game as a member of the Washington Nationals jumpstarted his first MVP season. He proceeded to slash an insane .349/.473/.691 with 37 home runs over the next 125 games.
This time, he needed something to get going after starting the season hitless in his first 11 at-bats. Harper homered twice against Reds starter Graham Ashcraft, first to left center field and then to right field. He was robbed of extra bases on a great diving catch from Will Benson in center field, but capped the night off with a grand slam to right center field against lefty reliever Brent Suter.
“I expect myself to do that every night,” Harper said postgame. “It’s what I expect out of myself.”
Just when you think something is off, Harper reminds everyone why he is one of the most feared hitters in baseball.
“When you have two, you want three. When you have three, you want four,” Harper said. “That’s the mindset.”
Harper’s historic night was part of a string of positive developments for the Phillies on Tuesday. Spencer Turnbull turned in arguably the second-best start through the first turn around the rotation with five scoreless innings, no walks and seven strikeouts. It was his first scoreless outing since his no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners in May 2021.
Ricardo Pinto, after arriving via car from Rochester, N.Y. in the fourth inning, gobbled up the final four frames to earn his first career save in the 9-4 win. He flashed an intriguing sinker, splitter, sweeper combo. It was his first major league outing since 2019. He was present for two of Harper’s three home runs.
April baseball is rarely rewarding. Everyone clamors for the taste of October that Opening Day provides. The weeks to come before the warm weather hits are a slog.
But Harper rewarded the brave Phillies fans in attendance who battled cold temperatures and misty conditions and gave them one of his best games in red pinstripes.
Harper’s three-home run game raised his season slugging percentage from .000 to .800. We’ll remember this for now as the night Harper became Superman with a ski mask, but eventually, he wants this to be the beginning of something special.
“Hopefully,” Harper said. “It was the start of us winning one.”
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