Harper snaps homer drought as Phils flaunt oppo power

PHILADELPHIA -- It lasted long enough, even without the two-month break because of a broken left thumb.

Bryce Harper stepped into the batter’s box in the third inning of Saturday night’s 8-5 victory over the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park without a home run since June 9. The homerless drought spanned 102 plate appearances over 27 games, matching his career-long streak from April 9 to July 11, 2014. Harper spent two months on the injured list then, too, because of an injured left thumb.

But then Harper dropped the bat head on a 3-1 changeup on the outside corner and blasted a game-tying two-run homer to left field against Nationals right-hander Erick Fedde. The ball traveled a Statcast-projected 403 feet.

“First off, that’s the least of my worries,” Kyle Schwarber said about Harper’s struggles, “and I think that’s the least of everyone’s worries. When he is in the lineup and he just steps in the box, there’s a presence there that pitchers feel. It’s an intimidating presence, and rightfully so. When he steps in the box, they think he can do damage.

“He’s going to be just fine.”

Harper’s homer propelled the Phillies to their fourth victory in five games, giving them a half-game lead over the Padres for the second National League Wild Card spot and a 3 1/2-game lead over the Brewers for the third NL Wild Card spot with 23 games to play. (Philadelphia owns the season tiebreaker against Milwaukee, effectively making it a 4 1/2-game lead.)

Harper was enjoying one of the best seasons of his career when Padres pitcher Blake Snell broke the slugger’s left thumb with a pitch on June 25. He needed three pins inserted into the thumb to fix it. Once those were removed, Harper worked his way back. He played two rehab games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the final week of August, before rejoining the Phillies on Aug. 26.

Harper batted .381 (8-for-21) with two doubles, four RBIs, five walks and three strikeouts in his first six games back. But he batted .143 (3-for-21) with one double, three walks and 10 strikeouts in his next six. Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson did not play Harper in Friday’s series opener against the Nationals.

Thomson said he thought Harper needed a break.

Maybe it helped. Maybe it was a coincidence.

“It’s all going to come,” Schwarber said. “It’s a matter of days now. It could have already happened tonight. You never know.”

It goes without saying Philadelphia will need more from Harper and others atop the lineup the rest of the way. The Phillies were fifth in the Majors with 148 home runs (1.36 per game) from Opening Day through Aug. 9. But from Aug. 10 through Friday, they tied for 22nd with 24. They were just 24th in home runs per game during that span, averaging 0.83 per contest.

Schwarber crushed a solo homer into the visitors’ bullpen in the eighth. It was his first long ball since Aug. 29, snapping a homerless drought of 45 plate appearances. Rhys Hoskins snapped a homerless drought of 92 plate appearances with a home run on Friday. It was the second-longest single-season streak of his career.

Nick Maton hit a two-run homer to left in the fifth to make it 6-2. Brandon Marsh hit a solo homer to left in the sixth to make it 7-2. Including Harper’s blast in the third, it was the first time three left-handed batters homered to left in the same game in Citizens Bank Park history. It was the first time the Phillies hit three opposite-field homers by left-handed hitters since at least 2008, according to Statcast.

“When you can use all sides of the field, that’s a great thing,” Schwarber said. “It’s hard to go opposite field, especially right now in the game. When you see those guys going opposite field, keep that in the back of their mind. They don’t need to pull it, right?”

But it wasn’t just homers on Saturday. Left-hander Ranger Suárez pitched into the seventh. He threw 103 pitches (65 strikes) and allowed four runs, but it was progress after fizzling in the middle innings in each of his previous three starts. Edmundo Sosa slid headfirst into first base to beat a double play and allow the go-ahead run to score in the fourth. Marsh followed with a double and Sosa scored on another headfirst slide to give the Phillies a two-run lead.

Philadelphia can sweep the Nationals with a victory on Sunday.

“From the beginning of the season we’ve been talking about it, we’ve been very vocal about it -- making the playoffs,” Suárez said through the team’s interpreter. “It’s been a long time since the Phillies did it. We’re in a pretty good position right now. We’ve got to keep going. We can’t let this one slip this time.”