Bryce Harper snaps slump with a grand slam, backs Aaron Nola in Phillies’ win over Cardinals

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, of all things -- 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 to an 11-1 giggler over the Cardinals, squaring the 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. Rhys Hoskins added four hits, including a home run, and the Phillies won for the seventh time in 11 games.

Oh, but Harper’s big swing meant so much more than that.

For the Phillies’ $330 million superstar, this was catharsis.

“The past couple of weeks it’s been the same thing: Swinging at pitches out of the zone, not hitting pitches in the zone,” Harper said. “But any given night you can go out there and, that’s the great thing about baseball, play each day and try to do the best you can and make good things happen."

All hitters go through slumps. It’s inevitable. But when it happens to Harper, it gets national attention, even from rock bands.

Harper’s funk predates even a five-hit game three weeks ago in Colorado. Entering Tuesday night, he was 15-for-84 (.179) with 30 strikeouts since April 13. He had only one multi-hit game and was slugging only .333.

And Harper has 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.

“Oh man,” Nola said, laughing. “He’s 2-for-2 with two home runs when I’m on second base. I just need to keep getting on second base.”

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.

“Bryce just looked a little bit more relaxed,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “His bat flew through the zone on that slider-cutter for the grand slam. But it was the quality of the at-bats throughout the night. He looked more at ease. Really looked like he was letting it go, and that was the difference.”

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. His curveball, typically a bellwether pitch for him, was sharp. 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.

Kapler thought it was Nola’s best start of the season. Indeed, after posting a 7.45 ERA through four starts, Nola has looked progressively like the pitcher who finished third in the 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 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.

It wasn’t Harper’s first slump. It won’t be his last. Perhaps, though, it’s finally over.