Bryce Harper delivered the game-tying run in the bottom of the 10th inning yesterday against San Diego Padres reliever Josh Hader, in what ultimately led to a 7-6 win at Citizens Bank Park for the Phillies.

While the at-bat itself was huge, it was also the matchup that made headlines for never happening in Game 5 of the NLCS between the Padres and Phillies.

Trip Down Memory Lane…

If you recall, Yu Darvish started Game 5 for the Padres and pitched six innings, allowing four hits and 2 earned runs, while walking three and striking out five. 

Rhys Hoskins hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the third to give the Phillies and early two run lead, but the Padres battled back, thanks to a Juan Soto home run in the top of the fourth and RBIs from Josh Bell and Joe Azocar in the seventh. 

Robert Suarez came in to relieve Darvish and got through the seventh inning unscathed before “Bedlam at the Bank” struck in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Bryce Harper took him deep to left field to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead heading into the ninth inning. 

Bryce Harper NLCS Home Run off Robert Suarez

Obviously, the decision to pitch Robert Suarez against Bryce Harper in Game 5 of the NLCS backfired for the San Diego Padres, while their star reliever Josh Hader was warming up in the bullpen. The decision raised questions as to why Padres manager Bob Melvin left Suarez in the game instead of turning the ball over to Josh Hader and started a “what if” narrative among the San Diego faithful.

The reasoning, was that Suarez hadn’t allowed a home run to a left handed hitter all season. Bryce Harper was the first. Suarez also bailed out Darvish out of a first-and-third jam in in the sixth inning of Game 2 in the NLDS at Dodger Stadium, so the Padres had “full faith” he could get the job done.

Hader, a closer that was typically used to “shut the door” in those types of situations hadn’t allowed a run in his last 14.2 innings, just sat and watched the Padres season come to in an end from the visiting bullpen at Citizens Bank Park. 

From there, the endless discussion on Harper vs Hader took over the internet and yesterday, we finally got the matchup everyone was waiting for in the bottom of the 10th inning with the Phillies down a run.

Bryce Harper vs Josh Hader

Yesterday, we finally got the matchup that has been the thrown around since the Padres now-infamous decision to keep Robert Suarez in the game instead of calling on Hader. 

With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Phillies down 5-6, Bryce Harper swung and missed on a first-pitch slider from Hader before making clean contact on a pitch over the plate, sending the ball to centerfield to score Johan Rojas.

After the game, Bryce Harper spoke with reporters 

“That’s what it’s all about,” Harper said. “He’s one of the best, if not the best closer in the game. I would say he’s been the best closer in the game the past six, seven years, because of his consistency, right? [I] took a chance on the first swing, like I do a lot. Just tried to hone it in and have a good at-bat and get something over the plate, and I was able to do that. You guys know, I love those situations, and I love being down, two outs, things like that.” – via MLB.com 

Kyle Schwarber then gave the Phillies a 7-6 win in the bottom of the 12th inning on a sac fly to left field. The Phillies took 3-of-4 from San Diego, improving to 51-42 on the season, while the dropped to a miserable 44-50 on the season, a year removed from their trip to the NLCS.

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