Now don’t make me go back there: Phillies 13, Giants 0

Bryce Harper leads the way as the bats explode.

The Phillies finally found a way to win in San Francisco, and their biggest star was the driving force. Bryce Harper homered and had the first four extra-base hit game of his career as the Phillies erupted for eight runs in the eighth inning to back up a bounce back from Jesús Luzardo in an 13-0 win to salvage a game against the Giants.

A sight for sore eyes

Harper had been scuffling since returning from the injured list, going 4-24 in his first seven games back with 10 strikeouts. He punched out in his first plate appearance in the first against Justin Verlander, but it would prove to be a footnote.

Harper homered to left-center field to lead off the fourth to double the Phillies lead to 2-0 after J.T. Realmuto’s two out RBI single in the second gave the Phillies a lead. It was Harper’s 10th home run of the season and his first since June 3rd.

Harper would then double in his next at-bat to lead off the sixth, also to the left-center field gap. A wild pitch moved him to third before Nick Castellanos knocked him in with a single that dropped into left field to push the lead to 3-0.

Castellanos would then attempt a steal of second base, but catcher Andrew Kizner’s throw landed in center field and allowed Castellanos to advance to third. That gave Max Kepler an opportunity to knock the run in with a sacrifice fly, an opportunity he did not squander and thus gave the Phillies a 4-0 lead.

Stop me if you’ve heard this already, but Harper lead off another inning with a double to the left-center field gap, this time in the eighth inning off of newly entered Tristan Beck. His third extra-base hit would spark an eruption of scoring, as Alec Bohm immediately singled Harper in.

Castellanos, Kepler, and Realmuto all followed with singles which resulted in a 6-0 lead. Bryson Stott added an extra point with a sacrifice fly and Brandon Marsh walked to load the bases which mercifully ended Beck’s day. Scott Alexander was next out of the bullpen for the Giants, and he allowed an eighth run to score on a groundout from Trea Turner before Kyle Schwarber added the exclamation point with a three-run blast to break the game open at 11-0.

Harper would then double for the second time in the inning to, you guessed it, left-center field. It’s the first time in his career he’s had four extra-base hits in a game and the first time he’s had at least three since September of 2024.

Return of the Lizard King?

It’s no secret that Jesús Luzardo has been struggling lately. That’s why his seven-shutout innings were a great sign that maybe he’s turned a corner from his recent problems.

Luzardo retired the side in the first on seven pitches but ran into trouble in the second. He allowed a one out single to Wilmer Flores and a walk to Casey Schmitt to put two on with one out. That’s when pitching coach Caleb Cotham came out for a mound visit and then Luzardo struck out the next two hitters to escape the inning despite throwing over 30 pitches.

From that point on, Luzardo retired 15 of the next 16 hitters he faced, with the only blemish being a single in the fourth from Flores. He finished his day with seven shutout innings while allowing just three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. Luzardo threw 106 pitches, 78 of which went for strikes. 19 of which were first pitch strikes.

Loose change

The Phillies tacked on two more runs in the ninth off of position player pitching Mike Yastrzemski. Marsh and Edmundo Sosa both grounded into force outs with the bases loaded to plate the runs.

Seth Johnson and Joe Ross came in to mop up after Luzardo’s dominant start. They combined to allow one hit and one walk with a strikeout.

Friday’s matchup

The Phillies will travel to San Diego tomorrow for the last series of the first half that begins on Friday. Ranger Suárez (7-2, 1.99) will take the mound for the Phillies. The Padres have not yet announced a starter as of this writing. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 pm.