Phillies: Each of Bryce Harper’s clutch, walk-off career hits
By Matt Rappa
August 14, 2020; Phillies (6) vs. Mets (5)
- Box score
- Walk-off hit (one-run single)
The Phillies entered their three-game series opener against the New York Mets desperate for a win. The team had lost three straight games, causing them to fall to 5-9 overall in a season in which each game matters more than ever before in the standings.
Manager Joe Girardi‘s squad was supposed to oppose perennial Cy Young Award candidate Jacob deGrom in the game, however he was a late scratch due to neck stiffness. Instead, they were tasked to face rookie RHP Walker Lockett — and went on to do some damage.
Rookie third baseman Alec Bohm notched his first career RBI in the second, followed by center fielder Roman Quinn hitting a RBI single later in the frame to tie the game at 2. In the fifth inning, down 4-2, catcher J.T. Realmuto slugged his eighth home run of the season, a three-run shot to put the Phillies on top for the first time in the game.
The Mets tied the game against Phillies closer Hector Neris in the ninth.
Harper then told his teammates in the dugout to: “Get me up, give me a chance.” They did just that, and he delivered.
In the latter-half of the ninth, Quinn and Andrew McCutchen hit back-to-back singles to start the rally. Two batters later, Harper came up to the plate and produced a clutch RBI single to right to allow Quinn to maneuver his way away from the Mets catcher at home plate and score the winning run.
“I love those opportunities when I can come through for my team,” Harper said after the game. “We never quit. We never die.”