A little tinkering was all Bryce Harper needed to post his best game with the Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper came into Tuesday’s game desperate to break out of his slump. After hitting just .125 over his previous 14 games, Harper was determined to tinker until something worked.
That might explain why Harper was sporting a new look during his first at-bat Tuesday. The 26-year-old Harper decided to shed his batting gloves hoping it would get him back on track.
Harper walked, but he wasn’t happy with that result. The au naturale grip just didn’t feel right.
So Harper decided to go back to his batting gloves in his second at-bat. The result: A grand slam.
The grand slam was enough to make Tuesday’s game Harper’s best since joining the Phillies. It was the first time in his Phillies career that Harper drove in four runs in a single game.
Harper added to his day in the fifth inning with a single against Dakota Hudson, finishing 2-for-3 with the grand slam, two runs, four RBI and a walk to key an 11-1 rout of the Cardinals.
Harper has struggled to adjust to his new surroundings thus far. Entering Tuesday’s game, he was hitting just .226/.364/.452 over his first 151 plate appearances.
Making contact has been a big issue, as Harper’s contact rate is a career-low 65.4 percent. That ranks as the sixth-worst among qualified hitters.
While it’s foolish to think a batting-gloves tweak could be the thing to get Harper going, his track record indicates better things are coming.
It could be total coincidence that Harper’s batting-glove gambit paid off, but Phillies fans will take it after watching Harper flail at pitches all season.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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