PHILADELPHIA — They rose and clapped and chanted — “M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!” — and for a few moments, the Padres must have wondered if it was October again at Citizens Bank Park.
And then, Bryce Harper took a swing.
It feels like forever since Harper launched a home run, no less his pennant-clincher into the left-field bleachers and Philadelphia sports lore. But the Phillies didn’t need a homer Saturday. Trailing by a run in the eighth inning of the first game of a doubleheader in sweltering July heat, a base hit would suffice.
Sure enough, pinch-hitting Harper hit a chopper to shortstop and legged out a single, enabling Bryson Stott to score after boldly going from first to third on Brandon Marsh’s preceding single to right field.
Kyle Schwarber, who stroked a game-tying homer in the seventh inning, followed with a go-ahead RBI single, and after a white-knuckle ninth inning from closer Craig Kimbrel, the Phillies eked out a 6-4 victory despite trailing 3-0 in the second inning.
A game that began with Johan Rojas making a highlight-reel catch against the right-center field scoreboard and doubling off a runner with an on-the-fly heave to first base ended with a near-collision in right field.
But the Phillies survived to snap a three-game losing streak and pick up their first victory since the All-Star break.
The Padres grabbed a lead after a mental error by Trea Turner and a three-run homer by Trent Grisham against Phillies starter Ranger Suarez. But the Phillies pecked away at the deficit, ultimately tying it on Schwarber’s team-leading 23rd homer.
Manny Machado restored the Padres’ lead with a mammoth solo homer to left field in the eighth inning. But the Phillies emptied the bench — backup catcher Garrett Stubbs played left field in the bottom of the ninth — to secure the victory.
