Bryce Harper, money at the Bank, powers Phillies to a third consecutive win over Mets

Bryce Harper smiled and laughed as he took infield practice Wednesday. He spoke to a few British journalists about the Phillies’ London trip next month, then chatted with a local reporter in the dugout.

One day after getting KO’d by a migraine, he was in good spirits.

It was time, then, for Harper to resume being a headache for opposing pitchers. It took three pitches. He banged an opposite-field home run through the rain in the first inning against Mets lefty Joey Lucchesi.

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Somehow, though, it wasn’t even his biggest swing of the game. In the fifth, he unloaded on a sinker from Lucchesi for a two-run double that powered the Phillies’ third consecutive win over the Mets, 10-5, before 37,219 soaked patrons at Citizens Bank Park.

Hang another win on the best record in baseball, 31-13, three games clear of the Braves in the NL East. Chalk up another for Ranger Suárez, too, who overcame spotty command and shaky defense to improve to 8-0 with a 1.37 ERA, the lowest mark for a Phillies pitcher nine starts into a season since earned runs became an official stat in 1912.

“[It’s] all of our starting pitching, but 8-0 is pretty special, man,” Harper said of Suárez. “He’s throwing strikes, pitching to contact as much as possible. That’s kind of what makes him really good. He never wavers, man. Just a lot of fun to watch.”

Fire up the nightly pitching stats: Led by Suárez, Phillies starters have a combined ERA of 2.60, second-best in the majors and nearly half a run better than any National League team.

“When you have starting pitching like that, you’re going to win games,” Harper said. “I’ve always said pitching wins championships, and we’ve got a really good opportunity with the guys that we have.”

Sure, but in this case, Suárez needed help. The Phillies trailed 2-1 in the fifth inning before scoring four runs against Lucchesi. They loaded the bases on two walks and a sacrifice bunt, tied it on Kyle Schwarber’s four-pitch walk, and went ahead on a single by J.T. Realmuto, who returned after missing three games with a sore right knee.

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Up stepped Harper, his head clear after a migraine that set in 30 minutes before Tuesday’s first pitch in New York. It runs in the family, according to Harper, and lasted for about 2½ hours.

“It’s just not fun,” he said. “Anybody who’s ever gone through it, they know what it’s all about. Just glad it’s behind me.”

And, well, wasn’t it obvious what would happen next?

Since Harper signed with the Phillies in 2019, he has the second-highest OPS at home of any player in baseball (minimum 200 at-bats). Only Mike Trout (1.058 OPS at Angel Stadium) has topped Harper’s 1.005 mark.

At the Bank, Harper is money. (Sorry, but it was unavoidable.)

“The ballpark played a big key in where I was going to sign, if that was here or anywhere else,” Harper said before the game. “I loved playing here [with the Nationals], I loved hitting here.”

But for as familiar as Harper was from three trips per season to CBP, he said it isn’t the hitter-friendly dimensions that make it a good place to hit. It’s the “vibe of the park,” he said, a feeling he gets when he steps into the batter’s box.

So, Harper jumped on a sinker and split the gap in left-center field to drive in Johan Rojas and Schwarber. Realmuto got thrown out at the plate after charging through third base coach Dusty Wathan’s stop sign. He exited after the seventh inning, but only because the Phillies had a 10-2 lead.

“He’s playing [Thursday],” said manager Rob Thomson, stressing that Realmuto didn’t tweak his balky knee.

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The rain stopped pouring, and the Phillies poured on two runs in the sixth inning and three in the seventh. They won despite making two errors behind Suárez, who walked two batters, hit one, and uncharacteristically threw only 12 first-pitch strikes to 23 batters.

Suárez sidestepped serious damage, stranding five runners and allowing two unearned runs. But he threw 62 pitches through three innings, trudging back to the dugout after each frame with his cap askew.

Thomson decided five innings was enough, with the Phillies seeking a “pullback game” to help the lefty navigate a long season.

“I came in [after] the fifth and said, ‘Let’s get him a W,’” Harper said. “He was coming out of the game. Obviously we know what he’s doing right now. You just want to pick up your teammates and play the best baseball you can.”

No team is playing better than the Phillies, who haven’t dropped back-to-back games since April 23-24. They are 16-3 since then.

And nobody plays better at home than Harper.

“There’s nothing like coming into the Bank and playing,” he said. “I love it, and I’ve grown to love it more and more each year.”

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