Bryce Harper wasted no time setting the tone for the Philadelphia Phillies. The slugger drilled a two-run homer in the first inning, and the NL East leaders held off the Miami Marlins 4-2 on Saturday night at loanDepot Park.
Harper turned on a Sandy Alcantara fastball and sent it over the center-field wall for his 24th homer of the season, giving Philadelphia a quick lead. The blast also marked Harper’s 33rd RBI in his last 50 games.
The Phillies padded their advantage in the fourth when Harrison Bader delivered an RBI single and Bryson Stott added a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
Miami chipped away in the bottom of the inning. Eric Wagaman doubled and later scored on Javier Sanoja’s infield single to cut the deficit in half, but that was as close as the Marlins would get.
Jesús Luzardo (13-6) anchored the Phillies’ staff with six strong innings, striking out eight while allowing two runs on five hits and four walks. The left-hander worked out of a jam in the sixth after issuing back-to-back walks, retiring Troy Johnston on a flyout to end his night.
Philadelphia’s bullpen took it from there. David Robertson and Matt Strahm each pitched a scoreless inning before Jhoan Duran worked the ninth for his 27th save.
Alcantara (8-12) gave Miami length but not the result it needed, surrendering four runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked one.
J.T. Realmuto made a defensive impact behind the plate, cutting down two Miami runners on stolen base attempts — Agustín Ramírez in the first and Maximo Acosta in the seventh.
Kyle Schwarber’s chase for 50 home runs remained on hold. The Phillies’ slugger went 0-for-3 but was hit by two pitches. He came closest to breaking through in the ninth, launching a deep drive to center that Jakob Marsee tracked down on the warning track.
The loss extended Miami’s skid to five straight since winning three of four against the Mets last week.
Harper has 33 RBI over his last 50 games. Luzardo stranded two runners in the sixth by retiring Johnston with a flyout.
The Phillies will send RHP Taijuan Walker (4-7, 3.92 ERA) to the mound in Sunday’s series finale. The Marlins have not yet named a starter.
