Bryce Harper delivers walk-off single in extras to lift the Phillies over the Astros

In the top of the 10th inning against the Astros, Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas stretched out to snag a line drive. He brushed a grass stain off his uniform, threw up a Mutombo finger wag, and jogged off, another spectacular catch added to his highlight reel.

The catch stranded the Astros’ ghost runner at third, preserved the tie, and set the stage for a Bryce Harper walk-off in the bottom of the inning. After Trea Turner drew a walk, Harper scored ghost-running Kyle Schwarber from second with a single to right field, securing a 3-2 win to open the series against Houston.

“I wasn’t going to stop, I’ll tell you that,” Schwarber said. “I wasn’t going to stop until I slid into home plate … I haven’t scored a winning run in a while. I didn’t know what to do when I crossed home plate.”

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It marked the 12th walk-off hit of Harper’s career and his first since 2020. It came off Astros star closer Josh Hader, who had struck out the side in the ninth inning.

“He’s one of the best closers in baseball,” Harper said. “His track record throughout his whole career, it’s been pretty incredible. So just trying to get a heater over there the best I can, and I was able to that time.”

Zack Wheeler recorded his 20th quality start of the season, but a lack of early run support means his chase for his 100th career win is still on. Matt Strahm picked up the win instead, with a 1-2-3 10th inning — helped out, of course, by Rojas’ fielding.

“[Rojas] got a pretty good jump on it, and he closes as well as anybody,” manager Rob Thomson said. “A lot of guys don’t make that catch.”

While Wheeler allowed some traffic on the bases, he held Houston off the scoreboard until the fourth inning. After Harper made a diving stop on a ball down the first-base line for the first out, Wheeler gave up a walk and a single. It seemed he might escape trouble when he induced a force out, but Astros rookie Shay Whitcomb hit a two-run double in the next at-bat.

Whitcomb didn’t hit the ball particularly hard down the left-field line, only clocking 81.3 mph off the bat.

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“I thought they put some good at-bats on him, but [Wheeler’s] stuff was good. Slider was good,” Thomson said. “He had some stressful pitches because he had some baserunners out there, but I thought he pitched great.”

Wheeler only threw four splitters out of 97 total pitches, one of his tools to neutralize left-handed hitters. The Astros had three lefties and one switch-hitter in their starting lineup, and they each recorded a hit off Wheeler. Both walks he allowed were against lefties.

The Astros worked counts and fouled off a lot of pitches, bringing Wheeler’s pitch count up to 79 after four innings. But his efficiency increased after that, with a pair of 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth.

“It was definitely a battle for me tonight. Personally, just didn’t feel sharp,” Wheeler said. “But I was able to get through it. Little bit of grind there at first, a lot of pitches early, and I was able to settle down just a little bit. I was just trying to fight through it, keep our team in it.”

The Phillies struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, especially early on. They advanced a runner to third base in the first and second innings, but stranded them both times with a groundout. Houston also committed two errors in the infield, and the Phillies failed to capitalize. They finished 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base.

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A solo home run from Brandon Marsh to lead off the fifth inning gave the offense some life. They tied things up in the sixth, after Harper doubled and then scored on a single from Nick Castellanos. J.T. Realmuto moved Castellanos to third with a double of his own, but the rally ended when Marsh struck out.

The Phillies’ bullpen collectively had a solid night, giving their offense ample opportunity to take the lead. Orion Kerkering took over for Wheeler and pitched a scoreless seventh. Jeff Hoffman entered the game in the eighth, and despite allowing a hit and a walk, ended the inning without damage. Carlos Estévez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to give the Phillies offense their first opportunity to walk it off, but three straight strikeouts from the offense sent things to extras.