Bryce Harper sparks Phillies' 6-4 comeback win over the Giants in the series opener

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Apr 7, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN FRANCISCO — After a four-hit night at Oracle Park last season, Bryce Harper made a declaration.

“I’m really good,” he said on July 9. “Like, I really am. I don’t want to put that out there and everybody go, ‘What’s he talking about?’ But I know when I’m going well, I’m one of the best in baseball.”

With the Phillies back in the Bay Area on Monday, Harper had another standout performance in the 6-4 series-opening win over the San Francisco Giants. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles — his first three-hit game of the season — and drove in half of the Phillies’ runs in the comeback victory.

The Phillies now stand one win away from taking their first series at Oracle Park since 2013.

A four-run seventh inning helped the Phillies overcome a rough second outing for starter Andrew Painter, who struggled to miss bats and gave up four runs over four innings.

Giants hitters swung at 44 of the 90 pitches Painter threw on Monday, and they only whiffed four times. He struck out only one batter — Heliot Ramos in the first inning — with his four-seam.

Painter gave up nine hits. Two runs scored on a triple from Matt Chapman in the third inning, which Justin Crawford couldn’t catch up to in center field and he had to chase off the wall. Chapman then scored on a single from Ramos.

The Giants loaded the bases against Painter in the fourth on two singles and a walk, but he managed to limit the damage to one run on a sacrifice fly when Chapman grounded out to end the inning.

Meanwhile, the Phillies put the leadoff man aboard against Giants starter Adrian Houser in the third and fourth innings and failed to capitalize, but they hit pay dirt in the fifth.

J.T. Realmuto started things off with a single, and Crawford doubled to left field to put runners on second and third. An RBI groundout from Trea Turner scored the Phillies’ first run of the day, and Kyle Schwarber kept the line moving with a walk. Harper doubled to drive in another run and cut the Giants’ lead to 4-2.

Once Houser was lifted from the game after allowing consecutive singles in the seventh, the Phillies cashed in against the Giants’ bullpen. Schwarber walked, Harper singled, and Bohm doubled to score three runs to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead before San Francisco recorded an out. Brandon Marsh drove in Harper with a sacrifice fly for an insurance run.

The Phillies’ bullpen continued its run of dominance, with Tim Mayza, Jonathan Bowlan, José Alvarado, Brad Keller, and Jhoan Duran each pitching a scoreless inning.

Mayza retired the side in order in the fifth to extend his scoreless streak to seven straight innings.

Duran gave up a two-out double to Willy Adames in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate, but he induced a groundout from Luis Arráez to earn his fourth save of the season.