Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how you start the game, but how you finish it.
In Bryce Harper’s case last night, it was how he finished it.
Going into the eighth-inning, the Phillies were trailing the Chicago Cubs 5-0 and had a little-to-no chance of coming back to win the game. Yu Darvish had pitched a gem and manager Joe Maddon had nothin to fear by handing the game over to his bullpen with the comfortable lead.
He was wrong.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs bullpen began to meltdown after an error by David Bote. Soon, their lead had shrunk to 5-3 and with the bases loaded, Harper had come to the plate.
Hitless in his previous three at-bats, he made sure to make this one count.
BRYCE HARPER WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM 💥
(via @NBCSPhilly)pic.twitter.com/mOKxkK4buK
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 16, 2019
The walk-off home run gave the Phillies not only the win, but the series sweep over the Cubs. More importantly, it brings the Phillies within one game of the Cubs/Cardinals for the top spot in the NL Wild Card.
