Bryce Harper continues his 'impressive' August as the Phillies avoid a sweep in Seattle

Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 26, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SEATTLE — Take a few minutes, maybe Thursday when the Phillies don’t play, and gaze at the numbers.

— .338 average

— .509 on-base percentage

— .600 slugging

— Five homers

— 28 walks

— 19 strikeouts

That’s Bryce Harper in August.

“He’s impressive,” interim manager Don Mattingly said Wednesday — before Harper slugged a two-run homer and leaped to make a catch at the right-field wall in the first inning of a sweep-averting 6-0 victory over the Mariners. “This section of time has been as good as we’ve seen all year.”

Five years, actually. Since he signed with the Phillies in 2019, Harper’s highest on-base percentage in a full calendar month was .452 in September 2021, when he clinched his second career National League MVP award.

And now, he’s doing it while readjusting to right field.

But that’s a subject for another day. All the Phillies really needed in a midweek matinee here was to pocket a victory. They arrived on the rocket fuel of a nine-game winning streak punctuated by a six-run ninth-inning comeback Sunday at home. And then they were flat as a pancake in back-to-back games.

Consider, then, the magnitude of Harper’s first inning.

Not only did he take a vintage swing at a 98-mph heater from Mariners starter Bryan Woo and smash it the other way to left-center field for a two-run homer, but his catch at the wall took extra bases from Julio Rodríguez.

Talk about a tone-setter.

Jesús Luzardo did his part, too. The lefty had no-hit stuff — and didn’t allow one until Jhonny Perada’s two-out single in the fifth inning. It was the only hit against him in seven innings.

At a time when Zack Wheeler is going through his worst six-start stretch as a Phillie, Luzardo has been as consistent as any pitcher in baseball. In his last 19 starts, he has a 2.11 ERA.

Kyle Schwarber tacked on a two-run homer in the second inning — and became the first player in the majors to reach 40 this season — and the Phillies rolled to a no-sweat victory to maintain a three-game lead over the Diamondbacks in the NL wild-card race.