Harper Goes 4-for-4 as Phillies Cruise Past Diamondbacks, 7-1

Bryce Harper was untouchable Wednesday, going 4-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored as Philadelphia dismantled Arizona 7-1. Jesus Luzardo did the rest on the mound, holding the Diamondbacks to 1 earned run over 6.2 innings while striking out six.

The game was effectively decided before Arizona could blink. Turner doubled to left in the first inning, scoring Schwarber — a play that swung Arizona's home win probability from 49% to 37%, a 13-point drop on a single swing. The Diamondbacks never recovered the momentum. Still in the first, Arraez grounded into a double play, but Turner crossed the plate in the process, pushing Philadelphia to 2-0 before the home crowd had settled in. It was that kind of night for Arizona's pitching staff.

Eduardo Rodriguez labored through five innings, allowing 8 hits, 3 earned runs, and 3 walks against just 3 strikeouts. Bohm singled to right in the fifth to score Harper and make it 3-0, and while Lawlar answered immediately with a 385-foot home run to left center — the lone bright spot in an otherwise bleak night for Arizona — it only trimmed the deficit to 3-1. That's where the score sat heading into the eighth, and then Philadelphia buried it. Crawford singled to center to score Stott, Schwarber added a sacrifice fly to score Realmuto, and Harper capped the inning with a single to right that scored Crawford. Three runs, three different contributors, game over. Stott added a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it a final of 7-1.

The story of the night was the Phillies' lineup depth. Harper's perfect 4-for-4 performance is the headline, but this win was built by committee — Crawford, Schwarber, Bohm, and Turner all drove in runs, and Luzardo gave the bullpen a clean runway by eating 6.2 innings. Jonathan Bowlan finished it off with 1.1 scoreless frames and 2 strikeouts. For Arizona, Lawlar's homer looks like the only real answer the offense could muster. The Diamondbacks managed just one run against a Philadelphia pitching staff that appears to be operating at a high level right now, and that's a problem worth paying attention to.