Phillies news and rumors 5/14: Bryce Harper gives it back to chirping fans

Bryce Harper homered in Saturday’s win over the Rockies. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

Bryce Harper is slashing a cool .361/.439/.611 since returning from Tommy John surgery on May 2.

His biggest hit of the year so far came in the top of the ninth of Saturday’s win against the Rockies. His two-run bomb to the second deck in right field expanded the lead to three on a night the Phillies needed as much insurance as they can get. Craig Kimbrel, Seranthony Domínguez and Matt Strahm were unavailable out of the bullpen. Connor Brogdon, Andrew Bellatti, Jeff Hoffman and Gregory Soto combined to throw five innings and allowing only one unearned run.

A few fans behind home plate appeared to be chirping away at Harper and the Phillies slugger returned the favor with a few words of his own as he walked back to the dugout. The fans, who laughed as Harper continued to yell from the dugout, appeared to be amused that Harper acknowledged them.

Todd Zolecki did some digging on what the fans said to get Harper riled up:

“It’s always fun,” Harper told reporters in Colorado when asked about the fan interaction.

“I wouldn’t do it. That’s just me,” Rob Thomson said when asked about fans getting testy with Harper.

Must-Read (Or Watch) Phillies Content

Here’s an update on Rockies starter Ryan Feltner, who left Saturday’s game after getting hit in the head with a line drive.

In other Harper news, he’s reportedly increasing his throwing distance on Sunday.

Hoffman earned a hold in an impressive outing prior to Harper’s big hit. Phillies Nation recently spoke with Hoffman on his slider and the breakthrough he had with the pitch during spring training this year.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Alex Coffey wrote about Trea Turner’s unusually high strikeout rate and how Turner and hitting coach Kevin Long are working to fix it.
Phillies general manager Sam Fuld recently gave a couple interesting quotes to reporters, including MLB.com‘s Todd Zolecki, on Andrew Painter and Mick Abel.

Former Phillies Watch

Mickey Moniak hit a leadoff home run in his first at-bat in the big leagues in 2023. Saturday was also Moniak’s 25th birthday. Per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, Moniak is the first player in AL/NL history to make a season debut on their birthday and hit a leadoff home run in the same game.