Bryce Harper silences Oracle Park; Phillies best Giants, 9-6
SAN FRANCISCO – It was just six months ago when the Giants’ dreams were consumed with the thought of Bryce Harper blasting home runs to a territory only Barry Bonds regularly explored.
It happened twice at Oracle Park on Friday, but no dreams came true in the process. Instead, they were dashed.
As a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, Harper slammed a pair of home runs including a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh inning that landed in Mccovey Cove to send the Giants to a crushing 9-6 defeat.
The Giants’ public pursuit of Harper during his free agency finally ended on the last day of February, when the brash slugger spurned an offer from San Francisco and chose to sign with the Phillies.
As the Giants attempted to stun the rest of baseball and lure Harper to San Francisco, concerns surfaced over whether the left-handed swinging Harper could remain one of the league’s top home run hitters at the pitcherfriendly Oracle Park.
Against Giants starter Tyler Beede and reliever Tony Watson, Harper silenced any doubters.
Harper’s fifth-inning solo home run off Beede extended the Phillies’ lead to 5-3 and landed in the right center field bleachers, an estimated 420 feet from home plate.
On his way from home plate to the visiting dugout, Harper put his fingers to his lips, shushing a crowd that has relentlessly booed him since he arrived in town.
The Giants entered Friday’s game with an 11-0 record in games in which they hit at least three home runs this season, but Harper’s heroics and early miscues prevented the club from capitalizing on a night when Kevin Pillar, Joey Rickard and Stephen Vogt all homered.