Harper crushes grand slam for 2nd career 3-HR game

It took one cool night in Philadelphia for Bryce Harper to get red-hot.

The Phillies star shook off his slow start to the 2024 season in a big way Tuesday, crushing three home runs at rainy Citizens Bank Park during a rout of the Cincinnati Reds. Harper clinched the feat in dramatic fashion, belting a 422-foot grand slam off Brent Suter.

Harper ripped a pair of solo shots earlier in the evening. The first homer - his first hit of the season - gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. His second round-tripper not only put the Phillies ahead once again, but it also counted as the 1,000th run scored of Harper's career.

Incredibly, Tuesday marked just the second three-homer game of the two-time NL MVP's career. He last accomplished the feat on May 6, 2015, while playing for the Washington Nationals.

Harper is just the fifth Phillies player to hit three bombs in one game this century and the first since Brad Miller in 2021. He joins Dick Allen (1968) and Jayson Werth (2008) as the only Phillies to hit a grand slam during their three-homer games.

Harper nearly got a chance to try for a record-tying fourth homer in the eighth inning but was left on deck when Trea Turner struck out to end the frame.

The 31-year-old came into Tuesday's game having gone 0-for-11 with two walks in his first three games of the season.