Philadelphia – Bryce Harper hit the 350th home run of his career and four Phillies teammates also sent the ball out of the park on Wednesday night, but that wasn’t enough for Philadelphia to beat the Boston Red Sox. Harper’s historic home run came in the first inning against Boston’s starting pitcher, Lucas Giolito. He hit a fastball on the first pitch to the second level in right field at Citizens Bank Park. The 439-foot home run was the longest since a 451-foot hit on September 23, 2023, against the New York Mets.
The home run was the hardest-hit ball of the season for Harper, who has begun to resemble his former MVP self in recent weeks. In his last 10 games, the 32-year-old slugger has 16 hits, 14 of them for extra bases, including five home runs. He became the 105th player in MLB history to reach 350 career home runs and is the eighth active player to achieve the feat. He is also the youngest of that group of eight to reach that milestone. Despite the loss, the Phillies can take solace in the fact that the offense has begun to drive the ball with more authority since the All-Star break. It’s disappointing (to lose). But the offense was good tonight. Harper’s home run came right after a home run by Kyle Schwarber, who has hit four times in the last six games and is third in the National League with 34 home runs. Nick Castellanos, Bryson Stott, and J.T. Realmuto also hit home runs in the Phillies’ loss. Realmuto’s home run was the first against a left-handed pitcher this season. Stott also hit a double, playing in a game after his wife gave birth to their second child, a boy, on Wednesday.It’s pretty impressive. Individually, I’m very happy about that. But I always want to win, obviously, and not getting the win was pretty tough.
Bryce Harper
It was a great night for the offense. I thought we’ve hit well all series. I thought we had some great at-bats. I’m really excited for (Stott), obviously, having a baby at 3:45 in the morning, not getting much rest and then coming in and (doing what he did in the game): that’s baseball. I swear it happens every time.
Bryce Harper
