Incredibly, no matter how many times the Phillies witness it, it never ceases to baffle them. Nobody knows what to say when asked to characterize Bryce Harper.
Phillie’s first baseman Rhys Hoskins said Tuesday night, “I’m running out of something to say about the guy.” There is nothing you could write that would top this. In all my years of playing, he is the best player I’ve ever shared a court with. It’s fantastic to see him finally step into the role of The Guy. But, of course, as The Guy, we’re accustomed to seeing him in that role.
Yet, seeing him as The Boy on baseball’s grandest stage is excellent. The Phillies’ 7-0 rout of the Houston Astros was the franchise’s most lopsided shutout victory in World Series history and included five home runs (with a combined distance of 1,950 feet).
A club has never before hit three home runs in the opening two innings of a game in World Series history. Five home runs in the opening five innings of a World Series game had never been accomplished. The Astros’ lineup hit five home runs against starter Lance McCullers, a World Series record.
Never before has a player like Bryce Harper been present in the World Series, and he is putting on a show for the ages by hitting.382 with six home runs, thirteen RBI, and a fantastic 1.232 OPS.
The Phillies kept bragging about how Harper hit one of their five home runs but that no one else hit a greater one. The third baseman for the Phillies, Alec Bohm, noted that the player pumped up the entire stadium.
After sending the Phillies to the World Series with one of the most iconic home runs in Philadelphia history last week, Harper followed that up with a two-run homer in the first inning tonight, sending 45,712 fans into a frenzy.
After one inning, the Phillies led 2-0 thanks to Harper’s home run, 4-0 thanks to Bohm and Brandon Marsh’s home runs in the second inning, and 7-0 thanks to home runs by Nick Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins in the fifth inning.