Phantastic performances: Phillies' Schwarber homers twice in inning, Harper hits for cycle vs Mets

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper was looking to change things up Saturday. So he got to the ballpark for some early batting practice, then switched his bat to a heavier model usually reserved for workouts.

The result was his first career cycle in the major leagues on a night when his Philadelphia Phillies teammate Kyle Schwarber hit three home runs – two in the same inning – in a 15-3 win over the New York Mets.

Harper had been struggling, with one hit in his last seven games. He opted to change bats to a 35-ounce model that he has had for a while but never used in a game. And he got in the batting cage early.

“I was trying to hit homers,” Harper said. “Just trying to have some fun.”

Sure enough, he hit a home run in his first at-bat, a solo shot off Mets starter Freddy Peralta. Then, he had a double and a single in the Phillies’ eight-run third inning. In the fifth, he sprinted out of the box on a liner into left-center field. Trea Turner and Schwarber scored ahead of him and Harper slid into third while the throw went home.

Harper had just the 11th cycle in Phillies history and the first since Weston Wilson on Aug. 15, 2024. The triple was only the eighth Harper has hit in eight seasons in Philadelphia.

“I got close a couple of times,” Harper said. “But being able to do that and having that moment was really, really cool.”

Harper, who finished 4 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs, is the second player this season — and this week — to hit for the cycle, joining the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, who accomplished the feat Monday night in a 5-4 win over Colorado.

The Phillies' third-inning offensive outburst was powered by Schwarber, who became the 67th player in major league history to hit two home runs in an inning. He’s the second this season, joining Houston’s Yordan Alvarez on June 12, and the fourth in Phillies history with Trea Turner (Aug. 19, 2023), Von Hayes (June 11, 1985) and Andy Seminick (June 2, 1949) also accomplishing the feat.

“That was cool,” Schwarber said. “First time I’ve done it in my career. I think it was a pretty cool overall night in general.”

Schwarber led off the third with a solo home run off Peralta that traveled 456 feet into the second deck in right field. He added a three-run homer off Cionel Perez into nearly the same spot, flying 457 feet.

Schwarber hit his major league-leading 28th homer of the season in the seventh inning off Tobias Myers, a two-run shot just inside the foul pole in right. He finished 4 for 5 with six RBIs and four runs scored.

The Phillies are just the second team in MLB history to have a player hit for the cycle and at least three homers in the same game, joining Tony Lazzeri and Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees on June 3, 1932.

“We were wondering that in the dugout,” Harper said. “We didn’t think there was going to be two guys that did it. But to have those two names up against ours is pretty cool. It’s a pretty awesome moment.”

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