PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper made a lot of noise without a lot of hard contact on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.
He started something without even swinging the bat.
Harper knocked in the 1,000th and 1,001st runs of his career in Friday night’s 8-4 comeback victory over Pittsburgh. He hit a bloop single to left-center field in the fifth inning to score the game’s first run. Harper later checked his swing to load the bases with one out in the seventh inning, sparking a four-run rally to give the Phillies the lead. He then singled through the hole in the eighth inning to plate an insurance run.
Harper, 32, is the 14th player in MLB history to reach 1,000 RBIs, 1,000 runs and 1,000 walks before turning 33. Eleven of the previous 13 are in the Hall of Fame: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Ron Santo, Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell and Jim Thome.
The other two are Hall of Fame talents Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols.
“Obviously, you always want more,” Harper said. “There’s a lot of baseball ahead of me, and this team, as well. Obviously, having moments like that are really cool on a personal level. It’s really, really cool to be part of that company, that history. Topper [Phillies manager Rob Thomson] read some names, and just to be part of that is just a really cool moment for me. It’s pretty awesome.”
“That’s quite a group that he’s a part of,” Thomson said. “It shows you how great of a hitter he’s been.”
Harper went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk on Friday. He has five hits in 10 at-bats with a double and three walks in his past three games.
Harper was batting .189 (14-for-74) with two homers, eight RBIs and a .615 OPS over a 19-game stretch from April 21 through Monday.
“Obviously, I’m not where I want to be,” Harper said. “It’s part of it. I’ve just got to keep grinding. I’m doing it every day. Down there [in the batting cage] trying to feel good and feel good during the game. Obviously I’m putting myself in some bad situations, as well, swinging at pitches out of the zone. I’ve just got to keep pounding the pavement and doing everything I can to get better.”
Harper singled in the first inning. He blooped his fifth-inning single on a 2-2 slider against Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney. It had an exit velocity of 65.7 mph, tying for Harper’s softest hit of the season (non-bunt).
The Pirates carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh. The Phillies had runners at first and second with one out when Pittsburgh left-hander Ryan Borucki threw Harper a 3-2 slider.
Harper checked his swing to walk.
Or did he? The Pirates thought Harper swung. Third-base umpire John Libka did not.
Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly got ejected immediately for arguing Libka’s call. Harper strolled to first to load the bases.
“You just never know,” Harper said. “Obviously I’m trying to get there. It’s such a tweener play that you just don’t know. It went our way.”
Borucki didn’t recover. He walked Kyle Schwarber on five pitches to score Johan Rojas and cut Pittsburgh’s lead to one. He hit Nick Castellanos on his back foot with a 0-2 sweeper to score Trea Turner and tie the game. Pirates right-hander Tanner Rainey was called upon to replace Borucki, but he walked J.T. Realmuto on five pitches to score Harper and give the Phillies a 4-3 lead.
Alec Bohm’s sacrifice fly to right-center scored Schwarber from third to make it 5-3.
“It was great,” Harper said. “I thought we fought back. I thought we did a great job.”
Harper singled through a drawn-in infield in the eighth inning to score Turner and give the Phillies a 7-3 lead.
That ball left Harper’s bat at 72.3 mph, which was his fifth-softest hit of the season.
“I’ll take any hits any way I can,” Harper said. “As long as I’m trying to help the team win. I’ve just got to keep going. Keep pounding.”