Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge now share a number — 350 career home runs — but as is always the case in baseball, the number only tells part of the story.
Judge got there first, on July 12, sending a fastball into the seats at Yankee Stadium against the Cubs. Harper matched him Wednesday in South Philly, launching a first-inning rocket to right field as part of a back-to-back moment with Kyle Schwarber. The crowd roared. The moment felt big. And then the game unraveled.
The Phillies had a 5–0 lead. They hit five home runs. They looked poised to sweep the Red Sox and ride into the Bronx with serious momentum. Instead, they lost, 9–8 in 11 innings.
And the unraveling started not with the bullpen, but with a fifth-inning collapse from Jesús Luzardo. He hadn’t allowed a hit through the first four innings. Then came four walks, two hits, and a grand slam off the bat of Romy González. The Red Sox had scored just three runs total in the first two games of the series. They scored six in that fifth inning alone. It was Luzardo’s worst inning of the season, and maybe the worst inning the Phillies have played in a month.
It was also a spotlight on the very real flaws that still trail this Phillies team. The rotation, for all its depth, has been shakier in recent weeks. The bullpen has been inconsistent. The defense has had its lapses. And yet, the Phillies remain in striking distance of first place in the NL East, tied with the Mets or a half-game back on most days, depending on how the wind blows.
Harper, for his part, is scorching. He’s hitting .370 over his last seven games with four homers, seven RBIs, and an OPS of 1.433. He’s been the spark, the steady presence, and the big moment bat this team always counts on. And now, he gets to share a stage this weekend in the Bronx with another slugger in Judge.
The Yankees are in a different kind of funk. Yes, they still own the best run differential in the American League at +106. But most of that was built in May, when they went 17-9 and built a cushion in the AL East. Since June 1 they've gone 21-24, and lately, they’ve been finding new ways to lose.
In a three-game set in Toronto this week, they committed seven errors. Four of them came in Wednesday’s 8–4 loss. It was the third straight game in which they allowed multiple unearned runs. It was sloppy. It was flat. It was everything they weren’t a month ago.
In a three-game set in Toronto this week, they committed seven errors. Four of them came in Wednesday’s 8–4 loss. It was the third straight game in which they allowed multiple unearned runs. It was sloppy. It was flat. It was everything they weren’t a month ago.
Matchups
Friday: RHP Taijuan Walker (3-5, 3.75) vs. RHP Will Warren (6-5, 4.91)
Saturday: LHP Ranger Suarez (7-4, 2.66) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (2-1, 5.64)
Sunday: RHP Zack Wheeler (9-3, 2.39) vs. LHP Carlos Rodon (10-7, 3.10)
Saturday: LHP Ranger Suarez (7-4, 2.66) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (2-1, 5.64)
Sunday: RHP Zack Wheeler (9-3, 2.39) vs. LHP Carlos Rodon (10-7, 3.10)
A look ahead
Friday opens a six-game road swing for the Phillies, with a weekend series in New York followed by three games in Chicago against the White Sox. After that, they return to Citizens Bank Park for a six-game homestand featuring matchups with the AL Central-leading Tigers and the slumping Orioles.
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