Harper’s dreadful slump continues as Phillies swept to end miserable July

Final score: Yankees 6, Phillies 5

To understand just how bad the Phillies have looked recently, you need look no further than who is typically their best player.

Bryce Harper went 0-for-5 in a sweep-finishing loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday. He struck out in the fourth after chasing a first-pitch sweeper feet off the plate, fouling off a fastball nearly down the middle and swinging through another. It was his second strikeout of the game. With a chance to pull himself out of his funk, the game on the line in the ninth, Harper rolled over on the first pitch for a tailor-made, game-ending double play.

He’s 1 for his last 30.

It helped the Phillies move to a dreadful 4-11 in their last 15 games. They did not go quietly, falling behind 4-0 early before cutting the lead to one, going down by three, then cutting it back to two and again to one, but the result was all the same: another loss, the fifth in six games of a dreadful homestead and the 14th in 24 games of an embarrassing month.

Highlights

• In what had to be the most consequential replay-aided home run by a Yankee in Citizens Bank Park history, DJ LeMahieu hit what was initially ruled a bases-clearing triple, then changed to a grand slam in the second.

LeGrandSlam. pic.twitter.com/9fzU2mbuDB

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 31, 2024

• The Phillies came through with some — gasp — situational hitting in the fourth. Kyle Schwarber walked and Austin Hays doubled, before Alec Bohm drove in a run with a groundout and Nick Castellanos singled to make it 4-2.
• They halved the lead again an inning later, when Weston Wilson swatted his second homer of the season.

Weston Wilson touches ‘em all 💥

(Via @NBCSPhilly)
pic.twitter.com/V7zO5Gyc2L

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) July 31, 2024

• But LeMahieu, who began the game at .173/.264/.216 this year, gave the Yankees insurance with a two-out, two-run double the next inning.
• The deficit back to 6-4, Austin Hays flew out to deep left to end the seventh, a play that would’ve driven in two if Alex Verdugo didn’t snag it right at the wall in the left-field corner.
• Another Castellanos RBI single made it 6-5, but Brandon Marsh struck out with the bases loaded — against former Phillie Mark Leiter Jr., no less — to end the eighth.
• Schwarber singled to lead off the ninth, but the aforementioned Harper double play ended it.

Notes

• The Phillies’ two newest bullpen acquisitions each threw on Wednesday. Tanner Banks went three-up, three-down in the eighth, and Carlos Estévez matched that in the ninth.
• Bryce Harper went 0-for-5. He’s 1 for his last 30 with 11 strikeouts.
• Cristopher Sánchez allowed six runs on eight hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings.
• The Yankees were 14-23 in their last 37 games entering the week. Largely thanks to the Phillies, they’re back on track.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Friday, August 2 vs. Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park
• 9:40 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia and MLB Network (out-of-market only)
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
• Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680

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