Bryce Harper crushes home run No. 20, Phillies magic number falls to 2 following 7-5 win over the New York Mets

Bryce Harper hit his 20th home run of the season as Zack Wheeler battled through rough weather conditions at Citizens Bank Park to guide the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-5 comeback win against the New York Mets. 

Wheeler improved to 4-0 in his last six starts and 13-6 on the season. He tossed seven innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits while walking one and striking out six. 

With the Phillies down 2-0, Harper stepped up to the plate and absolutely destroyed a baseball directly into the wind for his 20th home run on the season. 

Bryce Harper Solo Home Run No. 20

Harper’s homer gave the Phillies five players with 20+ home runs for the third time after 2007 and ’09. Bohm (19 HR) could make it their first season with six.

Nick Castellanos then followed with a triple to score JT Realmuto and tie the ballgame at 2-2. Casty, who’s been on FIRE over the past two weeks continued to reign terror on opposing pitchers yesterday, going 2-4 with the RBI on the day.

Over his last 15 games, Nick Castellanos is batting .377 with six home runs and 19 RBI. 

Alec Bohm who again, could be player number six to reach 20+ home runs this season, then hit a go-ahead solo home run to left field to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. 

Alec Bohm Home Run No. 19

The Phillies had 11 hits on the day. 

• Kyle Schwarber: 1-4
• Alec Bohm: 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Bryce Harper: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, R 
• JT Realmuto: 2-4, RBI, R 
• Nick Castellanos: 2-4, RBI
• Johan Rojas: 1-4, R
• Rodolfo Castro: 1-3 

Gregory Soto struck out Mark Vientos with two men on to get the Phillies out of the eighth inning, and José Alvarado pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save in 12 chances.

[Red] October is coming… 

The Phillies now hold a 4.5 game lead over the D-Backs for the top NL Wild Card spot with just seven games left in the 2023 regular season. 

The Phillies can now clinch a playoff berth TODAY with a win and a loss by either the Chicago Cubs or Miami Marlins. It would mark the second consecutive appearance in the postseason since the five year stretch during the 2007-2011 seasons. 

• Magic Number to Clinch Playoff Berth: 2
• Magic Number to Clinch Top NL Wild Card: 3

Note: The Marlins are the only team who can catch the Phillies that would win the tiebreaker. D-Backs and Cubs lost their regular season series against Philly. The Reds and Giants can no longer catch the Phillies.

Cristopher Sanchez will take the mound tonight at Citizens Bank Park opposing Mets’ pitcher Jose Butto. First pitch scheduled for 6:05PM.

Games Remaining: (7): vs. NYM (1), vs. PIT (3), at NYM (3)

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