Harper’s three-run lifts Phillies over Indians

CLEVELAND — Bryce Harper connected for a threerun homer that Philadelphia desperately needed and the Phillies avoided sliding any deeper in the NL wild-card standings with a 9-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night.

Brad Miller homered twice as the Phillies stayed within five games of Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot.

But it was Harper’s 33rd homer in the fifth inning off left-hander Oliver Perez (2-4) — a shot the Ohio State football fan celebrated by flashing an “O-H” as he crossed home plate — that put the Phillies ahead and prevented them from fading further from the postseason picture.

Jay Bruce also homered in Philadelphia’s four-run rally in the fifth and Jason Vargas (7-8) shook off a rough start to finally get his first win in his 10th outing for the Phillies.

Rookie Oscar Mercado hit a two-run homer for the Indians, who fell one game behind Tampa Bay for the AL’s No. 2 wild-card berth. The Rays beat Boston 5-4 in 11 innings.

Harper’s 413-foot shot was the kind of moment the Phillies envisioned when they signed the six-time All-Star to a 13-year, $330 million free agent contract in March.

After Indians rookie starter Zach Plesac gave up a pair of singles, manager Terry Francona didn’t want to take any chances with Harper coming up and brought in Perez, who retired the superstar on a grounder in Cleveland’s win on Friday.

But this time, Harper was locked in. He fouled off five pitches — two of them with two strikes — before pounding Perez’s 79 mph slider deep into the right-field seats to put the Phillies up 5-4.