Bryce Harper tied the game in his Phillie Phanatic headband with an RBI single and Rhys Hoskins ripped a two-RBI single in the seventh inning to rally the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.
All eyes have been on Harper this season since he signed a $330 million, 13-year free-agent contract before the season. Harper ingratiated himself with his new team on opening day when he wore Phanatic cleats . He took Phanatic fashion to the next level when he wrapped himself with a headband that comically sported the mascot’s oversized eyes on top of the slugger’s own. Phillies fans went wild in the seventh when Harper’s helmet flew off on a headfirst slide into second on the tying hit, the furry Phanatic mascot taking top billing under the cap.
Hoskins delivered in the next at-bat when he ripped one to right off Joe Kelly to cap a four-run seventh for the Phillies and a 7-5 lead.
Phillies closer Hector Neris, pitching while appealing a three-game suspension, gave up a solo homer to Alex Verdugo in the ninth to make it 7-6. But he got the final out for his 18th save.
Ranger Suarez (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to help the Phillies split the four-game series with the Dodgers. Dylan Floro (4-3) took the loss in relief.
Enrique Hernandez homered twice and Matt Beaty also went deep to stake the Dodgers to a lead again on the strength of the long ball. The Dodgers hit a whopping 15 homers in the series.
The Dodgers also continued their recent slate of lengthy games. They played for 5 hours, 40 minutes Sunday night in a 12-inning victory over Boston and beat the Phillies 7-2 after a lengthy rain delay pushed the end of Wednesday night’s game close to 2 a.m. Thursday. Rain arrived again in the early innings of this one but there was no delay, just a game that dragged to the 3:27 mark.
Beaty and Hernandez hit back-to-back homers off Phillies ace Aaron Nola in the second inning for a 2-1 lead and Hernandez connected off Nola again in the fourth on a two-run shot that gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.
A bit of baseball‘s past intertwined with the sport’s future in Philadelphia. The Phillie Phanatic dressed as Prince and rocked out on guitar to “Let’s Go Crazy” on a 1980s throwback day. But this was the first live-streaming game on YouTube, and 98,208 fans watched the first pitch for free on the video-sharing website. The site said 197,098 people were “watching now” when Jean Segura pulled the Phillies to 5-4 with an RBI single in the seventh, and the total remained steady at 200,000-plus fans until the final out.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: Closer Kenley Jansen was available after taking a grounder off his foot in the ninth inning Tuesday. … LHP Rich Hill played catch for the first time since he left his June 19 start with strained left flexor tendon.
YOU AGAIN
Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda, who pitched two scoreless innings Wednesday night before the rain delay, will start Tuesday against the Angels. He could pitch in relief on Friday or Saturday against the Marlins.
HOT HERNANDEZ
Hernandez had his first career four-hit game.
YOUTUBE SENSATIONS
The MLB Game of the Week Live on YouTube package includes free live broadcasts of 13 games during the second half of the regular season.
COMINGS AND GOINGS
Phillies: LHP Austin Davis and RHP Edgar Garcia were optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. RHP Fernando Salas had his contract selected from Lehigh Valley and LHP Cole Irvin was recalled from Lehigh Valley.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: The Dodgers send LHP Hyun-Ji Ryu (10-2, 1.78 ERA) to the mound Friday when they open a three-game series against Miami.
Phillies: The Phillies start RHP Jake Arrieta (8-7, 4.54 ERA) when they open a three-game series in Pittsburgh.
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