Extra, extra! Harper homers, cranks 3 doubles in Phils' shutout rout of Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bryce Harper hasn’t been his best this season.

He knows it. The numbers show it.

He has been injured, missing most of June because of inflammation in his right wrist. He hasn’t been making the best decisions at the plate. It has been frustrating. But days like Wednesday’s 13-0 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park reminded everybody how great Harper is. He had a career-high four extra-base hits, each one to the left of the 399-foot sign in left-center field. He hit his first career home run against Justin Verlander.

It allowed everybody to dream a little bit about what might come in the second half, and beyond.

“I mean, I’m really good,” Harper said. “I really am. I don’t want to put that out there and everybody goes, ‘What’s he talking about?’ But I know when I’m going well, I’m one of the best in baseball. Like I said, I’m healthy, I’m strong, I feel great. It’s just putting myself into plus counts. I haven’t done that. You guys have seen that. I haven’t done that. I feel stronger than ever. I feel like today being able to go oppo and do those things … anywhere else I might have three homers. Right? Those are the things you think about.”

Harper’s afternoon and Jesús Luzardo’s seven scoreless innings helped the Phillies avoid a sweep and ease the sting of a brutal loss on Tuesday night, when Giants catcher Patrick Bailey hit a three-run, inside-the-park, walk-off home run against Jordan Romano.

The Phillies have not won a series in San Francisco since 2013. They are 8-27 (.229) at Oracle Park since then, which nearly matches the winning percentage of the historically bad 2025 Rockies. The Phils are an even worse 4-18 (.182) at Oracle since they split a four-game series in 2017.

But they left with a win on Wednesday, making the flight to San Diego an enjoyable one.

“We’ve got to stay step by step right now with the Mets,” Harper said. “They’re doing it, we’ve got to be doing it as well. There’s no time to sulk.”

Harper’s homer against Verlander in the fourth gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead. It was Harper’s first extra-base hit since he returned from the injured list on June 30. It was his first homer since June 3.

He hit an opposite-field double and scored in the sixth to make it 3-0. He hit two more doubles in a seven-run eighth inning.

It was the first time since Sept. 10 that Harper had three extra-base hits in a game. He is the fifth player this season with four extra-base hits in a game.

“I’ve felt good,” Harper said. “I think today, just getting ahead in counts and not missing pitches over the zone. Just getting ahead in counts. That’s my biggest thing. If I can get ahead in counts and not chase and all those things, then obviously my swing is going to play. I feel healthy. I feel great. I feel strong. It’s just getting into counts and plus-counts and doing damage when I need to.”

Harper entered Wednesday batting .249 with nine homers, 34 RBIs and a .782 OPS. He had seen only 42.4 percent of pitches in the strike zone this season. It ranked last out of 180 hitters in baseball (minimum 1,000 pitches).

He hit a 3-1 fastball for the homer against Verlander. He hit a 1-0 changeup for the double in the sixth. He hit a 1-0 curveball and a 3-2 sinker for doubles in the eighth.

“If I can find ways to do that and not chase pitcher’s pitches out of the zone,” Harper said, “everything will fall into place. It sounds super simple and it should be simple, but it’s just doing it and buying in on that when I’m ahead in the count.”

Harper has had a few nice swings recently, even if he had little show for it. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he felt Harper was getting closer to putting something together.

Finally, he did.

If Harper stays healthy and follows his plan, it will be huge for an offense that has been inconsistent in the first half. The Phillies’ lineup will look great one week, then can’t beat the Pirates or score against the Astros.

Harper can help. He is confident he can have a better second half.

“Mentally, you’ve got to be strong,” he said. “Obviously, you don’t want to be where you are. I don’t want to be where I am right now. That’s the ups and downs of the season. But it’s being confident in my ability and not trying to do too much and understanding my swing is really good.”