Phillies call-up outshines Bryce Harper with career game at the best time

It might have been Bryce Harper’s day on Saturday when he finally ended his home run drought by belting his two home runs against the New York Mets. In doing so, it helped spark the Philadelphia Phillies to a thrilling 6-4 comeback win over their division rivals. However, not to be outdone, it was in fact his fellow teammate who actually provided the biggest hit of the day to power the Phillies ahead to victory. That distinguished honour goes to recent Phillies call-up Cal Stevenson.

Stevenson is currently up on his second stint of the season with Philadelphia following outfielder Austin Hays landing on the IL due to a kidney infection earlier this month. Having been serving mainly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement during the past week, Stevenson got his first start this month on Saturday and he responded by putting up his best game of his major league career in the process.

Phillies call-up Cal Stevenson outshines Bryce Harper with career game at the best time

With the Phillies down 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, he delivered a clutch two-strike, two-out, two-run double off Mets reliever Reed Garrett to put Philadelphia ahead 5-4, a lead in which they would not relinquish. By pounding out two hits on the day, Stevenson had the first ever two-hit, two-RBI game of his MLB career.

Just for good measure, he also came up big on defense when the team needed him most. During the second inning, Stevenson recorded an outfield assist when he threw out Mets second baseman José Iglesias at second base. Then with the game on the line in the eighth inning, he did this:

Home run robbery and all, his unbelievable performance couldn’t have come at a better time as the Mets closed the gap in the division to 7.0 games following their big win on Friday over the hometown heroes.

For the season, despite limited action, Stevenson is now hitting .333 with a .900 OPS, along with two runs scored, three doubles, five RBI, two walks and two strikeouts in just 18 at-bats over 14 games played. With these unsung heroes doing their part down the stretch, there’s no stopping the Phillies now. Their magic number dropped to seven as they look to head toward a deep postseason run.