LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bryce Harper homered and drove in three runs, the Philadelphia Phillies pushed two runs across in the ninth inning after squandering a six-run lead and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-7 on Thursday night.
The Phillies saw their 7-1 lead evaporate after the Dodgers used a four-run eighth to tie the game 7-all.
In the ninth, the Phillies scored a run on a wild pitch by reliever Daniel Hudson with the bases loaded. Harper then hit a sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a two-run lead. Hudson (1-3) took the loss.
In the bottom of the ninth, Los Angeles loaded the bases against former Dodgers pitcher Corey Knebel. Austin Barnes flew out to right, Cody Bellinger fouled out to left, and Chris Taylor flew out to center as Knebel earned his seventh save in the wild win.
“I thought we did a great job of battling,” Harper said. “As good teams go through, you’re going to sometimes make mistakes and that happened in this game but we can’t let that happen again. That’s not what good teams do. It’s not what teams who are fighting to win a championship do. I think everybody in here knows that.”
Harper was 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs. He hit a solo home run in the first inning, his seventh of the season. Earlier in the day, Harper got confirmation he had a small tear in his right elbow and will need a platelet-rich plasma injection Sunday.
“It was good to know what was going on and put it behind me and focus on the game,” Harper said. “There’s nothing really I can do to help my arm or anything like that. Take that time I need and keep my bat in the lineup.”
The reigning NL MVP can’t throw for four weeks, but he can certainly still hit from the designated hitter spot as he did once again on Thursday.
“I think he’s getting more comfortable there,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi…
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