Bryce Harper had five RBIs on Monday. (John Adams/Icon Sportswire)
Final Score: Phillies 8, Tigers 1
Coming into Monday, Bryce Harper was hitting .297/.397/.558 and trailed only Shohei Ohtani (4.2) in the National League with 3.5 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. The two-time NL MVP was also in the midst of a seven-game hit streak and four-game extra-base hit streak.
Harper’s slash line on the season now sits at .303/.401/.577, his hit streak is at eight games and his extra-base hit streak is at five games after going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs in the Phillies’ win over the Tigers on Monday night.
After a slow start to the season, Harper has been on fire offensively since the start of May. He posted a .990 OPS last month with seven home runs — numbers good enough for him to win NL Player of the Month honors. His numbers in June are even better. Entering Monday, he was hitting .370/.459/.658 in the season’s third full month. Those numbers are only going to go up with his performance on Monday.
The man hitting behind Harper also had a strong night at the plate. Alec Bohm went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. Bohm now has 28 doubles and 64 RBIs on the year.
While Harper and Bohm led the Phillies’ offense, Aaron Nola put together another strong outing. The right-hander tossed seven innings of one-run ball while allowing six hits. Nola struck out six Tigers batters and walked none. It’s the seventh time Nola has pitched at least seven innings in a start this season and the fifth time he’s allowed no more than one earned run. His ERA is now 3.39 across 101 innings pitched.
The Phillies scored four runs in the first inning off Tigers starter Casey Mize. With Kyle Schwarber, who reached on an error, and Trea Turner, who doubled, on second and third, Harper hit his first double of the night, driving in both baserunners.
Harper’s five RBIs marked the seventh time in his career he has driven in at least five runs in a game. It’s the third time he’s done it as a Phillie and the second time this season.
Nola’s seven-inning start on Monday was the 25th time this season a Phillies starting pitcher has finished at least seven innings. They are now 24-1 in those games and have won 24 straight games when their starter goes seven-plus innings.
Michael Mercado, who was called up to the majors on Sunday, made his big-league debut in the eighth inning. The right-hander struck out the first batter he faced and tossed a 1-2-3 inning.
