Bryce Harper has done a lot of things in his decorated career. But until Wednesday afternoon, he had never hit a home run off Justin Verlander. Never doubled off him either. Never really touched him, to be honest.
Harper homered and doubled three times — yes, three — as the Phillies unloaded on the San Francisco Giants in a 13-0 rout at Citizens Bank Park. And somewhere in the rubble of the scoreboard, Harper checked off another line on his career checklist: his first-ever homer off Verlander, a future Hall of Famer and baseball’s most decorated active pitcher.
That homer? A solo shot that led off the fourth inning and landed over of the 354-foot sign in left-center. It was his first homer since June 3.
It was the first four-extra-base-hit game of Harper’s career. And the only thing that kept it from being even zanier? A ninth-inning foul pop he skied off a position player — yes, that was Mike Yastrzemski, an outfielder by trade, on the mound mopping up for the Giants.
Verlander (0-7) remains winless in his first season in San Francisco. His line wasn’t awful — four runs (two earned) over six innings, seven hits, seven strikeouts, no walks. Tristan Beck took the brunt of the barrage, surrendering six runs on five hits and a walk all while recording only one out.
As for Luzardo, he tossed seven innings, giving up just three hits and striking out seven.
Kyle Schwarber hit a three-run shot in the eighth for the Phillies, capping a seven-run frame. The blast was his 29th of the year.
The Phillies will enjoy an off day on Thursday before opening a three-game set in San Diego over the weekend to close out the first half of the regular season.
Quotable
“I mean, I’m really good,” Harper told MLB.com. “I really am. I don’t want to put that out there and everybody goes, ‘What’s he talking about?’ But I know when I’m going well, I’m one of the best in baseball. Like I said, I’m healthy, I’m strong, I feel great."Loading Phillies schedule...
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