Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper hit his 300th career home run on a go-ahead blast against the Los Angeles Angels in the eighth inning Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Harper became the 12th active player to reach 300 home runs, joining Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado, J.D. Martinez and Freddie Freeman as hitters to reach the mark this season.
- With the blast, the 30-year-old Harper tied Phillies legend Chuck Klein for 157th all-time.
- The homer marked Harper’s 15th of the season and 116th in a Phillies uniform.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Harper thrives in the clutch
Harper has a supernatural feel for the moment, and it’s fitting that a milestone career homer put the Phillies ahead in the eighth inning as they chase another postseason berth. Harper is the fourth-youngest hitter in baseball history to reach 300 homers. It would have come sooner had he not needed Tommy John surgery during last offseason and played through an unusual power outage for months this season. That has all changed in August. Harper has hit 10 home runs this month. His familiar power stroke is back. — Gelb
Harper’s connection with Philadelphia
Harper, after hitting his milestone homer, came onto the field for a curtain call. He raised both arms to the sky and looked around the whole ballpark. Then, he kissed the “Phillies” script across his chest. It might seem like pandering at times, and maybe it is, but Harper has connected with Philadelphia on a level that few stars have.
“He said earlier in the year that he wished he started his career here,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday morning. “I don’t think he’s lying about that. I think he likes it here that much. So I think he does a great job to show our fans his support for them.” — Gelb
Backstory
The two-time MVP joined Philadelphia after seven seasons and 184 home runs with the Washington Nationals. He hit 22 as a 19-year-old rookie in 2012.
Harper has logged four 30-plus home run seasons, topping out at 42 in 2015.
Required reading
(Photo: Kyle Ross / USA Today)
