Breakthrough for Bryce? Harper leads Phillies win to start week – NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies made two game-winning defensive plays early in the 10th inning, Bryce Harper struck out Josh Hader in the bottom of the 10th inning, and a seven-game home series began with an encouraging 3-2 walk-off victory over the first-place Houston Astros.

Harper was partly responsible for keeping the game tied and had his own heroics, intercepting a Yordan Alvarez chopper over first base and running to take it out of the game in the 10th inning with a runner in scoring position and one out.

Johan Rojas, who had just come in as a defensive replacement after Edmundo Sosa came in to replace Brandon Marsh against Hader in the ninth inning, pounced on a sinking liner to end the inning. He read everything correctly and had to give it his all just in time to keep the ball from hitting the grass and scoring the winning run.

For the sixth time this season, the Astros sent their top closer Hader to the bench for a second inning, and the Phillies made him pay for it. Trea Turner managed a walk and Harper capped one of his best games in a month with the game-winning single between first and second base.

“I rolled the ball back over, which I’m pretty good at right now,” Harper said. “I was able to hit it well and win a game. It’s a big win against a really good team.”

The difference between that rollover and his 4-6-3 double play in the first inning was that the walk-off came off his bat at 105 miles per hour and Jose Altuve barely had time to touch it with his glove.

Harper reached base his last four times, allowing two walks, a double and a single. It was his 12th career walk-off hit, and he needed it badly. In his last eight games, he had gone 5 for 32 (.156) with a walk and 10 strikeouts. Harper usually walks even when he’s in a slump, but that hasn’t been the case since the All-Star break. Monday was only the second time in his last 35 games that he’s had multiple walks.

“I don’t think he’s letting himself down too much,” said Zack Wheeler, who allowed two runs in six innings. “I’m sure it’s pretty tough when you’re that good and expect that much of yourself. Hopefully this gets something going and he can build on that.”

Wheeler struggled through his six innings, especially the first three. He had 61 pitches and the Astros had fouled out 17 by the end of the third inning. Alvarez was responsible for 10 of his own. But after Shay Whitcomb’s soft double into no man’s land in the fourth inning, Wheeler managed to strike out seven in a row.

“I think that changed the dynamic a little bit,” manager Rob Thomson said, “because it got (Astros starter Ronel) Blanco back on the mound really quickly and that’s where we scored.”

It was an important response after Houston scored the first two runs of the game. The Phillies didn’t want to start this home game against the Astros and Braves with a loss behind their top seed. They have won three straight games after winning the last two in Kansas City and enter Monday with a record of 77-54.

The Phils are one game behind the Dodgers in the National League standings, and if both teams finish with the same record, the Phillies will have the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Phils are currently in second place, 1½ games ahead of the Brewers.

“It’s a great win,” Harper said. “Really good team over there and they obviously wanted to start off well this week. Wheels gave it their all, the bullpen did its job. Just a really good, hard-fought win.”