PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper hit his first three home runs of the season, including a grand slam, and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Cincinnati Reds 9-4 on Tuesday night.
Brandon Marsh also hit a home run for Philadelphia, which recovered well after losing the first game of the series on Monday. Spencer Turnbull struck out seven in five effective innings.
Harper went 0 for 11 with a walk while playing in three of the Phillies’ first four games, but he had a big breakout against the Reds.
The two-time NL MVP hit a solo home run in the first and fourth innings against Graham Ashcraft. He finished Philadelphia’s five-run seventh with his seventh career grand slam against Brent Suter.
It was Harper’s second game with three home runs in his career and his 26th game with multiple home runs. He ended with a career-high six RBIs.
It was the first time a Phillies player hit three home runs in a game at Citizens Bank Park since Jayson Werth on May 16, 2008, against Toronto.
The 31-year-old Harper hit a 1-2 cut fastball from Graham Ashcraft deep to center in the first. The 420-foot solo home run had an exit velocity of 107.7 mph.
He came up again in the fourth and hit another solo home run to right. The 367-foot home run on the first pitch of the at-bat gave Harper 1,000 career runs.
Harper’s grand slam — a 422-foot home run to right-center on a full-count sinker from Brent Suter — lifted the Phillies to an 8-1 lead.
Harper was hindered by back tightness at the end of spring training, potentially causing his slow start. He is in his first full season playing first base after reconstructive elbow surgery forced him to move from right field.
He fell into a photographer’s well on Saturday and then rested during Sunday’s 5-4 win over Atlanta.
The Phillies said it was a planned day off, but after the game manager Rob Thomson said Harper was sore. Thomson was noncommittal about playing Harper on Tuesday night, concerned about the weather forecast, but he kept the slugger in the lineup.
ANGELS 3, MARLINS 1
MIAMI — Tyler Anderson pitched seven scoreless innings, Aaron Hicks hit a home run and Los Angeles sent Miami to the worst start in franchise history.
Anderson (1-0) scattered four hits, walked two and struck out five. The lefty was taken out after 83 pitches.
Hicks’ solo homer in the fourth put the Angels ahead 1-0. He drove a fastball from Miami starter Jesús Luzardo inside the foul pole in right for his first homer with Los Angeles.
The Angels increased their lead on run-producing singles from Hicks and Taylor Ward in the sixth.
Bryan De La Cruz hit a home run in the ninth inning for the Marlins, who lost their sixth straight game to start the season.
Luzardo (0-1) allowed three runs and four hits, walked two and struck out five over 5 1/3 innings.
BREWERS 3, TWINS 2
MILWAUKEE — Jackson Chourio singled in a run in his first American Family Field plate appearance, Christian Yelich hit a home run and Milwaukee beat Minnesota to open a season with four straight wins for the first time since 2006.
Chourio stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the third inning after consecutive one-out singles by Rhys Hoskins, Oliver Dunn and Brice Turang. The 20-year-old followed with an RBI single into shallow right field.
Chourio, who got an $82 million, eight-year deal in the offseason before his first appearance in the major leagues, is batting .400 (6 for 15).
After a three-game sweep at the New York Mets, the Brewers were in front of a sellout crowd of 41,659 that showed their biggest cheers for the introduction of Bob Uecker as he started his 54th season of broadcasting Brewers baseball.
Turang got 2 hits in 3 at-bats with an RBI single, raising his batting average to .500 (7 for 14).
RAYS 5, RANGERS 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Zach Eflin pitched a shutout until the seventh inning, Isaac Paredes hit a three-run homer in a four-run fifth, and Tampa Bay defeated Texas.
Eflin (1-1) gave up three of his five hits and one run in the seventh, then was taken out after Jonah Heim’s one-out RBI single. Heim also had a two-out run-scoring single in the ninth off Pete Fairbanks, who retired Leody Tavares on a game-ending flyout with two on.
Tampa Bay has hit a home run and stolen a base in each of its first six games, matching Cleveland in 1998 as the only teams since 1901 to achieve the feat.
