Phillies: Bryce Harper shows his importance in weekend wins

Bryce Harper played a massive part in the Phillies’ sweep over the Rockies, displaying his importance to the team’s success.

Bryce Harper has started the year relatively slow, with eight home runs, a .230 batting average, and 28 runs batted in. Despite this start, the Phillies are still in first place in the NL East, with a record of 26-19. It seems odd that the teams best player isn’t performing at his top level, yet the team is still in the right place moving forward.

It may seem as Harper isn’t affecting as many games as he could, although there are some interesting stats to prove otherwise. In 19 losses, Harper has one home run, five RBI, and 27 strikeouts. However, it’s another case for when the Phillies win.

In 26 wins, Harper has seven home runs, 23 runs batted in, and 34 strikeouts. The numbers are in clear favor for Harper when the Phillies win, yet the key stat is the number of strikeouts. In the seven more wins (and 37 more plate appearances), Harper has only seven more strikeouts, a number that shows how his importance of power is needed in the lineup.

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Harper’s importance to the team’s success was evident during the weekend sweep over the Rockies. He drove in five runs with two doubles and two home runs. This included the game-winning home run in Sunday’s 7-5 victory.

The numbers can only say so much, but the feeling when Harper is hitting well electrifies the team. It’s much easier for them to get into the game when their top player is grooving, the fun environment is what has powered this team so far. It’s exciting to see how Harper has been able to still effect games during his slumps, such as defensive plays, or drawing walks.

With the Phillies 1.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for first in the division, it’s scary to think what they can do when Harper gets on a hot streak. The key for the club moving forward will be their execution when their star player is off for a day or an entire week. So far the Phillies have done a great job at this, although the importance of Harper’s power is still needed for the team to go far this year.

With such a daunting road ahead this month, they will need Harper to step up and deliver with his power in these games. The team will be tested, but their star player will be given a chance to show Philadelphia that he genuinely is one of the top players in the league.

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After finishing up the series against the Colorado Rockies Sunday, the team will head to Wrigley Field to face the Chicago Cubs.

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