The Phillies made two game-saving defensive plays in the top of the 10th, Bryce Harper beat Josh Hader in the bottom of the 10th and a seven-game homestand began with an uplifting, 3-2 walk-off win over the first-place Houston Astros.
Harper was partially responsible for keeping the game tied to set up his own heroics. He fielded a Yordan Alvarez chopper over the first-base bag and raced to retire him with a runner in scoring position and one out in the top of the 10th.
Johan Rojas, who had just entered as a defensive replacement after Edmundo Sosa pinch-hit for Brandon Marsh against Hader in the bottom of the ninth, dove to catch a sinking liner to end the inning. His read was perfect and he needed every bit of it to barely keep the ball from finding grass and scoring the go-ahead run.
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For the sixth time this season, the Astros sent their top-shelf closer, Hader, out for a second inning of work and the Phillies made him pay. Trea Turner worked a walk and Harper capped off one of his best games in a month with the game-winning single between first and second base.
"Rolled the ball over again, I'm pretty good at that right now," Harper said. "I was able to put good wood on it and win a game. It's a big win against a really good team."
The difference between this rollover and his 4-6-3 double play in the first inning was the walk-off came off his bat at 105 mph, leaving Jose Altuve little time to get a glove on it.
Harper reached base his final four times, walking twice, doubling and singling. It was his 12th-career walk-off hit and he needed it badly. He'd been 5-for-32 (.156) over the last eight games with one walk and 10 strikeouts. Typically, even when Harper slumps, he walks, but that hasn't been the case since the All-Star break. Monday was just the second time in his last 35 games with multiple walks.
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"I don't think he gets down on himself too much," said Zack Wheeler, who allowed two runs over six innings. "I'm sure it's pretty hard when you're that good and you expect that much out of yourself. Hopefully that starts something for him and he can continue off that."
Wheeler battled through his six innings, particularly the first three. He was at 61 pitches and the Astros had fouled off 17 by the end of the third inning. Alvarez was responsible for 10 himself. But after Shay Whitcomb's softly-hit double to no-man's land in the top of the fourth, Wheeler locked in to retire seven in a row.
"I think that changed the momentum a little bit," manager Rob Thomson said, "because it got (Astros starter Ronel) Blanco back out on the mound really quick and that's when we scored.”
It was an important response after Houston scored the game's first two runs. The Phillies didn't want to begin this homestand against the Astros and Braves with a loss behind their ace. They've won three in a row after taking the final two in Kansas City and emerge from Monday with a 77-54 record.
The Phils are a game behind the Dodgers for the best record in the National League. If the teams finish with the same record, the Phillies hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Phils are currently the 2-seed with a 1½-game lead over the Brewers.
"It's a great win right there," Harper said. "Really good team over there and obviously wanted to start this week off good. Wheels threw the crap out of it, the bullpen did their job. Just a really good, hard-fought win right there."