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Big marbles for all the marbles? Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber can be first Game 7 heroes in Phillies history

After a quiet Game 6, the two stars must deliver Tuesday or the World Series dream ends. Harper, on his first career Game 7: "Let's do it. I'm excited."

Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper reacts after striking out during the fifth inning of Game 6 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper reacts after striking out during the fifth inning of Game 6 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
    by Marcus Hayes | Columnist
    Published 

When the Phillies get a hit they usually look at their dugout and, with no shame, make the universal “big marbles” gesture. OK. It’s Game 7. Let’s see how big they really are.

Superman better find his cape. His sidekick better launch some Schwar-bombs.

In the first Game 7 in the 141-year history of a largely moribund franchise, the two most dangerous postseason hitters in Phillies history will bat first and third again Tuesday night, as they’ve done most of the season and all of the NLCS. Will they produce?

» READ MORE: Murphy: Bohm? Stott? Castellanos? Phillies are going to need their ‘other guys’ to step up in Game 7

Will Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber be like Aaron Bleepin’ Boone, whose walk-off homer for the Yankees in 2003 won them the pennant and extended the Curse of the Bambino? Will they be like Luis Gonzalez, who, in 2001, won these Diamondbacks their first World Series just four years into their existence? Will they jump on presumed starter Brandon Pfaadt early? Will they batter the bullpen late?

They’re already rewriting record books, but they disappeared Monday in Game 6, a 5-1 loss, the first at Citizens Bank Park this postseason. Will they reappear? Will they come to the rescue in a Game 7 — the biggest moment in sports?

“Let’s do it,” Harper said. “I’m excited. ... Just glad we’re at home.”

Schwarber, the unlikely leadoff hitter — he’s a slow, strikeout-prone DH — will begin things, perhaps with a bang. He’s hit four leadoff homers, the most in playoff history, and 20 postseason homers overall, also a record for left-handed hitters.

The Phillies need a couple more Schwar-bombs on Tuesday. The Phillies need to call their Superman.

Harper, the only underpaid $330 million athlete in history, will hit third. Well, he’ll bat third. But will he hit? He didn’t Monday night in Game 6, which was an aberration.

» READ MORE: Highest-paid Phillies have been money in the playoffs

Among players with at least 160 plate appearances, Harper’s playoff OPS — in this analytic era, the most sacred of stats — was 1.031, second-best in history.

Babe Ruth, of course, leads the category, at 1.214. But Harper was 36 points better than Albert Pujols, 84 points better than David Ortiz, 95 points better than Barry Bonds, and 123 points better than Mickey Mantle.

Among postseason royalty, Harper sits at the right hand of the king. Schwarber, at .931, was 12th.

Harper’s never sniffed a Game 7, but he was in three Game 5 elimination contests with the Nationals. He went 5-for-12 with a homer. Last season, he etched his name into Phillies lore when his homer won Game 6 of the NLCS.

Schwarber? Been there, done that. Went 3-for-5 in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series he helped the Cubs win. He even led off the 10th inning with a single, and his pinch-runner scored.

Them’s the biggest kind of marbles, folks.

Can they flash them again?

» READ MORE: NLCS MVP Bryce Harper’s homer lifts Phillies to the World Series vs. the Astros

We’ve seen flashes of potency this playoff run from Trea Turner, and Nick Castellanos had his streak, and J.T. Realmuto has had an October renaissance, but they’re supporting cast. Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Johan Rojas have largely been extras. Where will they land come Game 7?

“Sounds like a lot of fun,” said Castellanos. “What a great opportunity.”

He’s riding a zero-for-14 pony the last four games.

The stars have to shine in Game 7.

For better or worse, the lineup revolves around Schwarber and Harper the way Tatooine revolved around two suns. They’re the ones tasked with supporting the starters. They did a great job of supporting Zack Wheeler in Game 5 on Saturday, when Schwarber scored from second on a single (don’t laugh), Harper stole home, and they each hit a homer, which gave them each 11 apiece in the playoffs, tied for the franchise playoff record.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper stares down Michael Phelps after homer, steals home, grows his legend in Phillies’ NLCS win

They need to support bloodless lefty Ranger Suárez on Tuesday.

They didn’t support Aaron Nola much Monday, but then, he needed lots of support.

Nola had his chance to dominate Game 6 and end the series. To that point he’d done his job, and made millions of dollars doing it.

The new pitch clock, a continued discomfort pitching from the stretch, and the pressure of pending free agency combined to limit Nola, who ended contract extension talks in the preseason. He will be a free agent, but he was hemorrhaging money ... until late September. A mechanical change, a slide step, and some mental fortitude made him a money man.

Dating back to the regular season the Phillies had won all of Nola’s five previous starts, all of them games of supreme importance. He was credited with three wins, compiled a 1.50 ERA, struck out 35, walked just two, and allowed only one home run. In his nine-year career, Nola had only pitched this well for this long five times before, most recently in April 2022, and never later than early August.

Considering the situation, this was, by far, the best Nola had ever pitched. Monday night was, by far, not the best he’d ever pitched, even though, early, it looked like it might be.

Nola struck out three of the four batters he faced in the first, but he hung a 2-2 knuckle-curve to second-inning leadoff hitter Tommy Pham, who jerked it into the left-field seats. Then he served a 1-1 sinker that didn’t sink, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. drove it over the left-center-field wall. Nola gave up three runs in the second and another in the fifth, when he left with one out to a warm ovation that never accompanied other clunkers over his nine seasons.

Nola is one of the best homegrown pitchers in franchise history, and he’s been a front-of-the-rotation stud for almost a decade, and he was one of the biggest reasons why Harper, Schwarber, Wheeler, Turner, and the rest of the big-money Phils signed to play in the toughest town in sports.

Harper has turned into Superman. Schwarber’s his partner.

It’s Game 7.

Show up.

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