Harper's 300th home not enough as Angels rally to beat Phillies 10-8 on Drury's homer in 9th
Bryce Harper reacts after hitting a two run home run during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Citizens Bank Park on August 30, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Harper hit his 300th-career MLB home run. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Get ((Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images))
PHILADELPHIA - Bryce Harper put the Philadelphia Phillies ahead in the eighth inning with his 300th home run, but Brandon Drury capped a three-run ninth with a tiebreaking, two-run homer than lifted the Los Angeles Angels to a 10-8 victory on Wednesday that prevented a three-game sweep.
In a game with four lead changes, Los Angeles led 7-6 before Harper's two-run homer in the eighth off Matt Moore (4-1). Harper and Moore were 1-2 among Baseball America’s top prospects in 2012.
Harper's homer, his 15th this season and 10th in August, came in the 30-year-old's 1,481st game. He homered in three straight games for the second time this month and has 10 homers in August. Moore was the 224th pitcher he went deep against.
Pinch-hitter Mike Moustakas struck out leading off the ninth but reached on a wild pitch by Craig Kimbrel (7-5). Nolan Schanuel's single put runners at the corners, giving him a team-record 10-game hitting streak at the start of his big league career.
RELATED: Bryce Harper hits 300th homer, going deep against the Los Angeles Angels' Matt Moore
Luis Rengifo hit a sacrifice fly and Shohei Ohtani struck out and Drury lofted a fastball on the outside corner to the opposite field and over the wall in right for his 19th homer.
Kimbrel blew a save for the third time in 24 chances.
Carlos Estévez struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 29th save in 31 chances.
Ohtani was 1 for 4 with an RBI and was 5 for 13 with three RBIs in the series. Hunter Renfroe had three hits and four RBIs for the Angels (64-70).
Philadelphia (74-59), which leads the NL wild card race, trailed 5-3 before Trea Turner's three-run homer in the sixth against Reynaldo López. Renfroe put the Angels ahead 7-6 with a two-run single in the eighth off Seranthony Dominguez.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: OF Micky Moniak (back soreness) didn't play after leave Tuesday’s game in the seventh inning following a leaping grab against the center-field wall. Moniak said he would have been in the lineup Wednesday against a left-handed starter
Phillies: Manager Rob Thomson said OF Cristian Pache and LHP Ranger Suárez were scheduled to rejoin the team for their upcoming six-game trip. Pache (elbow/knee), on the IL since July 17, was scheduled to play in another rehab game Wednesday with Triple-A Lehigh Valley Wednesday. Suárez (hamstring) is expected to start Sunday in Milwaukee in his first outing since Aug. 15.
UP NEXT
Angels LHP Patrick Sandoval (7-10, 3.95 ERA) faces A’s LHP J.P. Sears (2-11, 4.80 ERA) on Friday in the opener of series atOakland.
Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (10-6, 3.59 ERA) starts Friday at Miwaukee, which goes with RHP Freddy Peralta (11-8, 3.95 ERA).