PHILADELPHIA -- It had been 30 years since it took the Phillies and Mets this long into a season to meet for the first time.
So what better way to celebrate the occasion than for Bryce Harper to unleash, perhaps, a new secret weapon against the longtime rival?
One night after hitting for his first career cycle, Harper came within a triple of doing so again in Sunday’s 6-2 win over the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
Following that cycle on Saturday night, Harper revealed that he’d used a heavier bat than usual to achieve the historic feat. Typically reserved for pregame work in the cages, Harper used a 35-ounce bat to produce his single, double, triple and home run.
On Sunday, though, Harper did not use that same 35-ounce bat for his first trip to the plate, which resulted in a strikeout.
So, what did he do his next time up?
Harper hauled that three-year-old, 35-ounce hunk of lumber to the dish and promptly ripped a double to right field. Needless to say, he stuck with it for at-bat No. 3 -- one that ended with the ball in the right-field seats.
The same 35-ounce bat produced a line-drive single in his fourth and final at-bat in the bottom of the seventh.
After an underwhelming series opener on Thursday night, the Phils outscored the Mets 21-5 over the final two games of the weekend. This was the latest into any season the Phillies and Mets had their first head-to-head matchup (75 games) since 1996, when they didn’t meet until July 1 in the Phillies' 80th game of the year.
And while Harper brought a new (albeit very old) toy to the long-awaited showdown, his fellow superstars just kept plugging along.
Kyle Schwarber hit another home run on Sunday -- his MLB-leading 29th -- after hitting three on Saturday. Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez combined for a 2.31 ERA over their 11 2/3 innings.