Bryce Harper erased an early deficit with a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and the Phillies edged the Padres 3-2 on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park to open a three-game series. Harper turned on a 3-1 sweeper from Randy Vásquez and drove it to left-center, then watched a pitching staff that has carried the club again finish the job.
The win pushed Philadelphia to 31-29 and gave it another one-run result in a stretch where the offense has not produced more than four runs since May 18. Brandon Marsh was a constant in the middle of it, going 4-for-4 and lining a single into right field behind Harper in the sixth, when Alec Bohm’s grounder into a double play brought home the go-ahead run.
Aaron Nola did enough to keep the game within reach. He worked five innings, allowed four hits and struck out four, but Gavin Sheets beat him for a two-run homer in the third before Harper answered. Don Mattingly called Harper’s shot huge and said Nola set the tone, while the bullpen did the rest: José Alvarado, Orion Kerkering, Brad Keller and Jhoan Duran combined for four scoreless innings, and Duran earned his 13th save.
That is the shape of this Phillies team right now. Harper said they have to win one-run games, but he also said the offense needs to score more and that winning this way is not super sustainable over a full season. Philadelphia has gone 6-6 since May 18 and 5-2 in its last seven games, which sounds sturdy enough until the bigger question comes into view: whether the lineup can start driving games instead of asking the pitching staff to keep bailing it out.
For now, the first answer belongs to Harper, Marsh and a bullpen that slammed the door. The next chance comes in the middle game of the series, and the Phillies will need more than another tight finish if they want the scoreline to stop looking so familiar.
