CINCINNATI -- Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper’s Dad Strength is legit.

He smashed a two-run home run to right field in Thursday afternoon’s 5-0 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park. The Phillies quickly retrieved the ball because they figured Harper would want it as a keepsake.

It was Harper’s first homer in his first game since returning from the paternity list. Harper’s wife Kayla gave birth to a girl earlier this week. Incredibly, it wasn’t the first time Harper featured his “daddy strength,” as Phillies manager Rob Thomson called it. Kayla gave birth to their son Krew in August 2019. Harper homered on Aug. 26, 2019, at Citizens Bank Park, also in his first game back from the paternity list.

That’s two homers in Harper’s first two games after two of his three children were born. (The Harpers’ middle child, daughter Brooklyn, was born in the offseason in November 2020.)

“Anytime you have that opportunity to just do it,” Harper said. “I just love the moment, right? It’s just like any time you can give me a moment, I’ll take it anytime. I got a changeup over the zone and did some damage on it. [Nick] Martinez is pretty good. He’s got that really, really good changeup. So trying to get that up. Once I saw it up, I just tried to put the best swing on it that I could.”

Harper spent Monday through Wednesday on the paternity list and rejoined the team on Wednesday night.

“He was in a good mood last night after he got back,” Thomson said Thursday morning. “Everybody’s really good.”

Harper took a few swings in the batting cage in the morning, but otherwise they were his only swings since he left the team.

He said he felt good during the game despite the layoff.

It was good to have Harper’s bat back in the lineup. The Phillies won Monday’s series opener, 7-0, behind seven scoreless innings from Ranger Suárez, who will enter Saturday night’s start in San Diego riding a 25-inning scoreless streak. But the Phillies lost Tuesday, 8-1, and Wednesday, 7-4.

Harper’s homer helped the Phillies split the series.

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler helped, too. He allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings, striking out eight and walking four. He threw 34 pitches in the third inning, but grinded through it to continue.

“We'll get it cleaned up,” Wheeler said. “The results are good. Just need to fix the deep counts and walks. But results have been good. … The ball's flying a lot better. So it's missing a little more bat. Offspeed's working a little better. It's kind of hit or miss. It's frustrating but it's also good. So you just try to take both. Fix what you need to. But just keep that positiveness out of the start.”

Wheeler is only the second Phillies pitcher in the modern era (since 1900) to have consecutive starts of six-plus innings with one or fewer hits allowed. Marvin Freeman also accomplished the feat in September 1986.

Wheeler has struck out 46 batters in his first six starts. He is one of only six Phillies pitchers since 1900 to do that:

• Curt Schilling, 65 (1998)
• Steve Carlton, 56 (1972)
• Steve Carlton, 54 (1983)
• Sid Fernandez, 51 (1995)
• Aaron Nola, 48 (2020)
• Roy Halladay, 47 (2011)
• Zack Wheeler, 46 (2024)

Wheeler and Harper both became fathers of three this year. Wheeler has a 1.93 ERA in six starts.

Fatherhood is agreeing with both of them.

“I think Dad Strength is a real thing,” Wheeler said. “The sleep is hit or miss. But [my wife] Dominique does a great job with controlling that and letting me do my thing.”