Bryce Harper hit a game-winning RBI single in the 10th inning off Houston closer Josh Hader, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 win over the Astros on Monday night in a game between division leaders.
Brandon Marsh homered for Philadelphia, which won its third consecutive game. The Phillies entered the game leading the NL East by six games over Atlanta, while Houston began with a 4 1/2-game lead over Seattle in the AL West.
“I thought we fought and kept after it,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
Shay Whitcomb had two RBIs for Houston, which had beaten Philadelphia in the 2022 World Series.
With runners on first and second and no outs, Harper hit the first pitch he saw from Hader (6-7), a 96 mph sinker, to right field, scoring automatic runner Kyle Schwarber. Hader had struck out the side in the ninth inning, ending it by getting Schwarber out on a sinker.
“Happy it got through and happy to win the game,” Harper said.
Matt Strahm (6-2) pitched a scoreless 10th inning for Philadelphia. He was helped by center fielder Johan Rojas, who made a diving catch to prevent Yainer Diaz from getting a hit that would have scored the automatic runner.
“He got a pretty good jump, and he closes on it as good as anybody,” Thomson said. “A lot of guys don’t make that catch.”
Philadelphia scored 22 runs in two games over the weekend against Kansas City. However, the Astros kept the Phillies to Marsh’s fifth-inning home run off Ronel Blanco and Nick Castellanos’ RBI single in the sixth before Harper’s hit in extra innings.
Phillies players celebrated with Harper after he rounded first base, marking a victory to start a seven-game homestand against the Astros and the Braves.
