Bryce vs. the Bay goes prime-time Sunday night when the Philadelphia Phillies and their polarizing superstar outfielder, Bryce Harper, seek to salvage a series split against the host San Francisco Giants in a nationally televised showcase game.
The Giants rode strong pitching performances by Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija to wins Thursday and Saturday that sandwiched a 9-6 loss on Friday night.
Harper went from villain to shackled in less than a 24-hour span, belting two homers in the Friday win before striking out in the ninth inning as the potential tying run in Saturday’s 3-1 loss.
Before this first visit to San Francisco as a member of the Phillies, Harper was best remembered by Giants fans for two particular games while with the Nationals. He hit homers in consecutive games at Oracle Park during the 2014 playoffs, before charging the mound to trigger one of the most combative brawls in Giants history after having been hit by a Hunter Strickland pitch during a 2017 game.
Samardzija, a former Notre Dame wide receiver, played a big role in the benches-clearing affair two years ago, targeting Harper in full stride before colliding with teammate Michael Morse, who suffered a career-ending concussion in the mishap.
Harper’s homers Friday were his first in San Francisco since 2015. The first came moments after a shout of “Overrated!” came from out of the partisan Giants crowd.
Harper took time to shush the fans behind home plate upon completing his trip around the bases, then explained his reaction afterward.
“There are just things that people say that people shouldn’t say and shouldn’t come out of their mouths,” he told reporters. “But that’s part of sports, I guess, and part of fanbases. San Fran’s got a great fanbase. They love their team, and they love their city. It’s a lot of fun going back and forth.”
Harper’s second homer of the night, a three-run shot that put the Phillies ahead for good, splashed into the San Francisco Bay after covering 456 feet, the 10th-longest for a member of the Phillies in the Statcast era (since 2015) and the seventh-longest by an Oracle Park visitor.
The Giant assigned to silence Harper to start Sunday’s game will be left-hander Conner Menez (0-1, 5.73 ERA), who has never faced Harper or the Phillies.
He’s the Giants’ latest fill-in for Johnny Cueto, who has been making progress in a minor-league injury rehab and could return by month’s end.
“Johnny can adjust to where his velocity is,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday of encouraging news that Cueto had reached 92 mph in game action in Arizona. “Sometimes (in the past) he was 94; sometimes he was 99. He’s a complete pitcher.
“Still, with that being said, for him to be 92, that’s going to climb as he adds strength in his arm. It will help his other pitches, too.”
The Phillies will counter with right-hander Jake Arrieta (8-8, 4.41), who pitched the first four innings of a 10-2 win over the Giants last week.
The veteran did not get a decision in the game and has now gone six straight starts without a win, recording a 0-2 record and 4.34 ERA.
He’s faced the Giants nine times in the regular season, going 5-3 with a 2.57 ERA, and has prime-time experience at Oracle Park, where he threw six innings (six hits, two runs) in a 6-5 loss for the Chicago Cubs against the Giants in the 2016 NLDS.
