Game 122 - 2019 Topps National Baseball Card Day SGA #PHI-1 Bryce Harper

Phillies 8, Padres 4
Game 122 - Friday Night, August 16th in Philadelphia
Record - 64-58, 3rd place, 7 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Bryce Harper stayed hot, hitting a three-run home run in the sixth, as the Phillies downed the Padres, 8-4.

What It Means:  The win moved the Phillies into a tie with the Cubs for the second Wild Card spot, with 40 games to play in the regular season.

What Happened:  J.T. Realmuto also continued to swing a hot bat, falling a triple short of the cycle.  Both he and Logan Morrison contributed RBI doubles in the fifth.  Roman Quinn (4) and Realmuto (18) hit solo home runs in the third.  Vince Velasquez pitched well, lasting 5 1/3 innings and giving up three runs on five hits.

Featured Card:  On August 1st, the Phillies handed out packs of baseball cards for National Baseball Card Day, with each pack containing four cards.  There are nine different Phillies cards available in the set but card #PHI-5 does not exist.  I'm assuming this would have been Odubel Herrera's card, and it's odd he wasn't replaced with another player, such as Scott Kingery.  This is Harper's card from that stadium giveaway set.

Field Report:  Doug and I attended this game, enjoying the view from our semi-regular perch in Section 315.  Prior to the game, it was great to catch up with fellow collector Rick and hear his stories of tracking down Phillies autographs through the years.  Doug came away with pre-game autographs from the newest Phillie, Morrison, as well as repeat autographs from coach Chris Young and bullpen catchers Bob Stumpo and Craig Driver.  This was also the game in which Doug discovered the majesty of Bull's BBQ, as he thoroughly enjoyed his first pulled pork sandwich with a heaping pile of cole slaw on top.

Harper circles the bases after his sixth inning home run