PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hitless in five at-bats to open his anticipated first series with the Philadelphia Phillies Adrian Gonzalez Jersey , Bryce Harper grabbed teammate Nick Williams’ bat looking for a spark.One big swing of the borrowed lumber later, Harper was on the top step of the dugout, roaring back at the fans chanting “MVP! MVP!” for their $330 million man.Harper homered deep into the second deck in right-center field for his first hit with Philadelphia and celebrated with an emphatic curtain call, highlighting the Phillies’ 8-6 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.Harper, swinging Williams’ stick after a slow start to the season, crushed Jesse Biddle’s fastball 465 feet with two outs in the seventh. Fans gave Harper a standing ovation, hollering and clapping in a fashion rare for March baseball.After getting high fives in the dugout, Harper climbed out for a curtain call, throwing both fists in the air and shouting “Let’s go!”“It was a really cool moment,” Harper said. “The fan base, the stadium, the electricity we have in this place, it all came together.”Maikel Franco and J.T. Realmuto went deep for Philadelphia, which also launched three homers in Thursday’s season-opening 10-4 win over the Braves.“Offense definitely created some electricity in the ballpark, and I think that’s going to be our defining characteristic Jose Bautista Jersey ,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said.Harper — wearing bright blue cleats instead of the gaudy, green Phanatic spikes he sported on opening day — unfurled the powerful left-handed swing that has Citizens Bank Park rocking like it was 2008, the last time the franchise won the World Series.Prior to his homer, a hitless Harper was just like the rest of the red-clad fans — cheerleading the other Phillies hitters.Harper greeted Franco after his homer with an elaborate celebration outside of the dugout, the two of them mock shooting a bow-and-arrow. They did the same jocular celebration when Harper went deep.Harper already has unique celebrations with many of his teammates. He simulated a basketball layup with outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Odubel Herrera after both wins. On Thursday, Harper was the basket. On Saturday, he mock dunked into the arms of Herrera.“We have a great group of guys, a lot of energy,” Harper said. “(The celebrating) just adds to the fun.”Besides power at the plate — not to mention the box office and merchandise shop — Harper has brought much-needed energy to the Phillies, who are hoping to end a seven-year postseason drought.The club’s start hasn’t disappointed in the least.Adam Morgan (1-0) faced one batter in the fifth inning.Dansby Swanson and Charlie Culberson homered, and Freddie Freeman had four hits and drove in two for the Braves.The game was tied at 4 in the fifth when Realmuto lined a two-run homer to left-center off Wes Parsons (0-1).Franco hit a two-run shot off the foul pole in the fourth. He’s the sixth player in franchise history to homer in each of the team’s first two games, joining Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Chuck Klein, plus Howard, Scott Rolen and Danny Litwhiler.Phillies starter Nick Pivetta allowed four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.Atlanta’s Bryse Wilson, a 20-year-old rookie making his second career start http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-tim-tebow-jersey , gave up four runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings.“We’re just having a hard time keeping them in the ballpark,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s a very explosive offense. … We’re just going to have to keep fighting, come out and get one tomorrow.”TENNESSEE TRADEHarper’s home run ball was collected by two Braves fans from Tennessee, he said. The slugger, who received the ball postgame in a yellow envelope from a Phillies official, will send the fans a bat and ball as thanks.SNEAKER CREATUREThe Phillie Phanatic returned the favor after Harper honored the fuzzy, green mascot on opening day. The Phanatic’s oversized sneakers featured images of Harper’s face on the toe.TRAINER’S ROOMAtlanta: Ender Inciarte fouled a ball hard off his right foot in the seventh inning but was OK.Philadelphia: Right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter (right flexor strain) felt soreness while rehabbing in Florida on Thursday. His anticipated mid-April return likely will be pushed back as a result.UP NEXTThe teams wrap up the three-game series Sunday night with Philadelphia RHP Jake Arrieta opposing Braves rookie RHP Kyle Wright. ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Two straight days facing their former aces, two straight early deficits. And now two straight wins for the rebuilding Texas Rangers against the World Series-or-bust Chicago Cubs.Joey Gallo scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Rangers outscored the Cubs 11-10 on Sunday after falling behind Cole Hamels much the same way they did against Yu Darvish a day earlier.With one out and Chicago playing five infielders, Gallo raced home from third base when Pedro Strop’s pitch to Nomar Mazara bounced past catcher Willson Contreras and high onto the net behind home plate to give the Rangers a series win after the Cubs’ 12-4 victory on opening day.“There’s like a belief already in three games,” first-year Texas manager Chris Woodward said. “Incredible for me to watch because I’m just hearing it, I’m feeling it and then it’s showing up obviously in the results.”Jose Leclerc (1-0) stopped a Chicago rally in the eighth and got the last four outs for Texas. Strop (0-1) allowed Gallo’s leadoff double in the ninth, a high drive just over leaping left fielder Ben Zobrist at the wall. Pinch-hitter Shin-Soo Choo’s groundout moved Gallo up.Hamels couldn’t hold a 4-0 lead, allowing Delino DeShields‘ first career grand slam for a 5-4 deficit a day after Darvish took the mound for Chicago up 3-0 before walking seven of his first 13 hitters and failing to get through the third inning.The Japanese star who spent his first five-plus major league seasons with the Rangers was long gone by the time the Cubs finally lost the lead on Gallo’s three-run homer in the eighth inning of an 8-6 Texas win.“We know how tough and how good of a pitcher they are,” said Elvis Andrus Devin Mesoraco Jersey , the longest-tenured Rangers player now in his 11th season. “So for us to stick to a plan and just believe that something good’s going to happen, regardless of if we’re down.”Chicago answered DeShields’ slam with a barrage of run-scoring singles before reliever Mike Montgomery gave up a tying, two-run triple to Mazara and Asdrubal Cabrera’s second two-run homer in two days, a high fly that grazed the foul pole in left for a 10-8 Texas lead.The Cubs got even again in the eighth on Anthony Rizzo’s first homer , an upper-deck solo shot to right, and Daniel Descalso’s third hit — one of seven RBI singles for the Cubs.Ultimately, the Chicago bullpen faltered again. Montgomery didn’t retire any of his three batters a day after Carl Edwards Jr. let all four of his reach, including Gallo’s go-ahead homer. Chicago relievers have given up 11 runs in two games.“We do have to nip this in the bud,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I do anticipate our guys will. There’s a lot of good names down there. Just one guy that had a tough time. Monty’s the guy that was the difference-maker tonight.”Jason Heyward, Zobrist, Rizzo and Javier Baez drove in a run apiece in the sixth inning before Jeff Mathis, celebrating his 36th birthday, homered to get Texas to 8-6.Hamels, acquired from the Rangers before the July 31 trade deadline last year, lost his shutout on Cabrera’s sacrifice fly in the fourth. Consecutive walks from the left-hander set up DeShields’ liner into the first row above the 14-foot wall in left field.“That team’s a tough team http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-tim-tebow-jersey ,” Hamels said. “They hit the long ball. They’ve done it for years. I’m pretty knowledgeable on what those guys can do, the damage, and you just have to make pitches. We really just need to narrow down, just making sure that we hit our spots.”TEXAS DEBUTLance Lynn lost his only lead in his Texas debut by allowing a double to Descalso and Heyward’s run-scoring hit to start the sixth. Lynn came out after Zobrist’s second RBI single, and Jesse Chavez gave up singles to all three hitters he faced.NIFTY SNAGKyle Schwarber opened the scoring with his second solo homer in two games, a shot to left in the second that Cubs reliever Randy Rosario snagged in his cap while sitting in a bullpen chair.UP NEXTCubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks is set for Atlanta’s home opener on Monday. Hendricks, who led the Cubs with a career-high 33 starts last season, is 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA in four appearances against the Braves.Rangers: LHP Drew Smyly is scheduled for his first major league start since September 2016 in his Texas debut at home against Houston on Monday. Smyly, acquired from the Cubs in November, had Tommy John surgery in July 2017.
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