Bryce Harper returns with a bang, driving in two as the Phillies beat the Pirates

In the first inning, en route to a 7-4 Phillies win over the Pirates on Friday, DH Bryce Harper stepped up to the plate and started to laugh. His teammates had set up a hilariously perfect situation, one that seemed tailor-made for him. The bases were loaded, there were no outs, and the crowd at Citizens Bank Park was on its feet. Harper got a standing ovation, as you’d expect, but it didn’t end when the at-bat began. The fans remained standing, living and dying with every pitch.

The ovation was warranted, of course. This was Harper’s first major league at-bat since June 25, when he was struck on the left hand with a Blake Snell fastball, fracturing his thumb. The Phillies went 32-20 in his absence, and now, exactly two months and one day later, here he was, the reigning 2021 NL MVP, ready and willing to terrorize opposing pitchers all over the league.

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Harper saw five pitches from Pittsburgh right-hander Bryse Wilson in that first at-bat. He feasted on the 2-2 pitch, a changeup right down the middle of the plate and ripped a single to right field, scoring Rhys Hoskins and Kyle Schwarber.

This is a team that was built around its offense — an offense, which, at times, hasn’t always lived up to the hype. But Harper’s presence in the lineup changes everything, and Friday night was just another a reminder of that. He went 1-for-4 from the cleanup spot in his return. He also grounded out twice and lined out to first base.

The Phillies were working their at-bats so deep that by the end of the inning, Wilson was at 43 pitches, and Pirates manager Derek Shelton had a reliever up in the bullpen. After Harper’s two-run single, J.T. Realmuto grounded into a force out to drive in another run. In the next at-bat, Nick Castellanos tacked on one more with a single to score Realmuto, who had stolen second base.

It wasn’t an offensive shelling, but it didn’t need to be. The Phillies now have six players with at least 50 RBIs this season — including Harper, who now has 50. Only two other teams in the majors, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, can say the same. Driving in runners is something this Phillies team has struggled with on occasion, and it’s something Harper should be able to help rectify. But beyond that, and perhaps more importantly, he’ll just give opponents one more thing to worry about.

“They know where he’s at all the time,” interim manager Rob Thomson said of Harper. “Same thing with Schwarber. They know where that guy is at all of the time. So the guys in front of him tend to get some more strikes, tend to get better pitches. Not all of the time, but most of the time.”

Thomson’s words proved prescient. The Phillies got plenty of pitches to hit, and they went to town. After that four-run first, they scored three more runs: one on an RBI single by Hoskins, who subsequently scored on a fielding error to make it 6-0 in the second inning, and an RBI single by Bryson Stott in the eighth inning, after the Pirates had cut the lead to 6-4. The Phillies are now 59-17 when they score four or more runs. And with their reigning NL MVP back, scoring four or more runs seems to be within reach.

“I’m just trying to go out there and be positive,” Harper said. “Understand that this is the time to go. We need to keep going. We need to keep being great as a team. I’m just trying to come in here and not screw it up, since they’re playing so well.”

Phillies starter Bailey Falter had been in a tough spot on Friday night. Around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, he was told he’d be filling in for scheduled starter Zack Wheeler, who was put on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right forearm tendinitis. It wasn’t much notice, but he did a solid job. Falter allowed three runs on five hits, including two home runs, with six strikeouts and no walks in six innings.

His last three starts with the Phillies have been quality starts.

“It’s really satisfying,” Falter said of that statistic, which means he has gone six or more innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs. “It’s a lot of weight lifted off of the shoulders. We’re starting to feel good. Just keep chugging along. Whatever this team needs, we’re here for it.”

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Right-handed reliever Connor Brogdon has now struggled in his last three outings. He’s given up five earned runs over 2⅓ innings and wasn’t able to get out of the seventh inning Friday. Brogdon allowed a home run, a single, and a walk. He exited the game after recording just one out.

Thomson said he doesn’t believe Brogdon’s struggles are health-related.

“It might be a little bit of dead arm, and the velocity is down a little bit, which affects the secondary pitches to a degree, but he’ll get it back,” Thomson said.