BALTIMORE — Bryce Harper delivered a go-ahead two-run home run Thursday, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to a rain-shortened victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
The blast — Harper's 22nd of the season, hit the other way on a 1-0 changeup — capped the Phillies' third straight ninth-inning comeback win and made history. The Elias Sports Bureau confirmed Philadelphia is the first team in MLB history to hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of three consecutive games.
The game was shortened by rain, compressing the window for any rally and raising the stakes on every late-inning at-bat. The Phillies delivered anyway.
Har who plays first base, connected with fans in the right-field upper deck already on him. A group there directed profane chants at the former Washington National before his at-bat. Harper said he heard them — and then put the ball over the fence.
Three ninth-inning comeback wins in a row is not luck. It is a team that refuses to lose, and Harper is the reason opposing managers lose sleep in the late innings. The Phillies are legitimate National League contenders, and this stretch proves it.
