WATCH: Not even Aaron Nola could ruin a crowd noise only Bryce Harper home run video

The Phillies hit three homers in the first three on Monday against the Pirates. Turner went deep to lead off the game, Marsh followed and Bryce Harper crushed one in the third to build a 5-0 lead against the Pirates at Citizens Bank Park in front of a packed house that was absolutely rocking from the moment Turner’s leadoff dinger traveled into the second deck in left field.

Bryce Harper’s home run with the crowd noise only, the Phanatic going berserk on top of the dugout, and 43,000 fans on their feet in the summer heat is the kind of scene that always hits different at Citizens Bank Park because there is no better place to watch baseball in the month of June than with a sold out crowd in South Philly when The Fightins’ bats are going off and the building is shaking.

Bryce Harper. The Phanatic. Citizens Bank Park.

Even the Phanatic knew this was gone off the bat 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/eqYfidVapN

— MLB (@MLB) June 29, 2026

Bryce Harper Heat Check

Over his last 15 games Bryce Harper is hitting .339 with five home runs and 14 RBI since switching to the heavier bat and the man has been on a tear that includes the cycle against the Mets, the go-ahead homer with the ring finger celebration in Washington, and now another scorching shot on Monday night that had the ballpark feeling like October in the middle of a Summer homestand.

Then Aaron Nola Took The Mound…

Then Aaron Nola took a 5-0 lead and turned it into an 8-5 deficit by the time Mattingly pulled him in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and the boos pouring down from the same fans who had been celebrating three homers two innings earlier.

Nola’s ERA climbed to 6.04 through 17 starts after allowing five earned runs on multiple hanging pitches that the Pirates crushed, including a two-run homer from Valdez on a knuckle curve that stayed in the zone and a solo shot from Triolo on a sinker that leaked over the plate before the whole inning fell apart with walks, stolen bases, errors, and the kind of slow-motion collapse that has defined Nola’s season from start to finish.

Blood on your hands Aaron Nola pic.twitter.com/y3jyNqevY0

— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) June 30, 2026

The Phillies lost 11-7 because seven runs and four homers from the offense weren’t enough to overcome what Nola gave away, and the bullpen was too taxed from the road trip to contain the damage after he left. Marsh added his ninth homer of the month in the eighth and Realmuto followed with an RBI single to make it close, but the hole Nola dug was too deep and the Pirates pulled away with a three-run homer in the ninth to seal it.

Aaron Nola’s nightmare continues, Phillies blow 5-0 lead and lose to the Pirates 11-7

Even a nightmare start from Aaron Nola couldn’t take away what the first three innings felt like at Citizens Bank Park on a Monday night in late June with the Phillies rolling and the crowd bringing playoff energy to a regular-season game against the Pirates.

The atmosphere when Bryce Harper’s homer left the yard with the crowd noise drowning out everything else in the building is the reason this team draws sellout crowds every night and the reason the vibes at The Bank have been completely transformed since Mattingly took over and turned a dead clubhouse into the hottest team in the National League.

The Phillies are 47-38 and 3.5 games back in the NL East with a lineup that is finally producing at the level everyone expected all season. The offense isn’t the problem anymore. Nola is the problem and Dombrowski needs to find a starter before the deadline because you can’t keep wasting nights where Bryce Harper, Schwarber, Marsh, and Turner are all hitting because the fourth starter turns a 5-0 lead into an 11-7 loss.

The packed house at Citizens Bank Park deserved better than what Nola gave them on Monday. The rest of the team gave them everything they wanted.

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