Patrick Semansky / Associated Press
Bryce Harper prepares for an at-bat in the third inning of a game against the Washington Nationals on June 19, 2019, in Washington.
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 | 9:14 p.m.
CLEVELAND — Bryce Harper crossed home and triumphantly raised his arms with a gesture usually reserved for Ohio State football celebrations.
This time, it also meant something for Philadelphia's baseball hopes.
Harper delivered with one those moments that have made him a superstar, connecting for a go-ahead three-run homer as the Phillies avoided sliding deeper in the NL wild-card standings with a 9-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night.
Brad Miller homered twice and the Phillies stayed within five games of Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot.
But it was Harper's 33rd homer in the fifth inning off left-hander Oliver Pérez (2-4) — a shot the Ohio State fan celebrated by flashing an "O-H" — that put the Phillies ahead and prevented them from fading further from the postseason picture.
"That's what I love," Harper said. "You step in the box and try to have good at-bats. Sometimes you're going to do it. Sometimes you're not."
Jay Bruce also homered in Philadelphia's four-run rally in the fifth and Jason Vargas (7-8) shook off a rough start to finally get his first win in his 10th outing for the Phillies.
Rookie Oscar Mercado hit a two-run homer for the Indians, who had their five-game winning streak stopped and fell one game behind Tampa Bay for the AL's No. 2 wild-card berth.
Harper's 413-foot shot was the type the Phillies envisioned when they signed the six-time All-Star to a 13-year, $330 million free agent contract in March.
After Indians rookie starter Zach Plesac gave up a pair of singles, manager Terry Francona didn't want to take any chances with Harper coming up and brought in Perez, who retired the superstar on a grounder in Cleveland's win on Friday and had struck him out four times in five career matchups.
But this time, Harper was locked in. He fouled off five pitches — two of them with two strikes — before pounding Perez's 79 mph slider deep into the right-field seats to put the Phillies up 5-4.
"I give him a ton of credit," Francona said. "I mean it's a guy that he has historically had a really tough time against and he fouled off enough pitches and he's a good enough hitter where he got something that was spinning and caught the plate and he hurt us.
"That was a heck of an at-bat. It pains me to say that, but it was."
When he circled the bases, Harper, who backs the Buckeyes football team because his wife played soccer at Ohio State, made a sign seen around the state on fall Saturdays. Earlier, Harper watched the Buckeyes on a clubhouse TV as they dismantled Miami (Ohio) 76-5.
"Big win for the Bucks today," said Harper, who wore an Ohio State cap afterward. "Lot of fun, 76-5. I'll take it."
Miller, who opened the season as Cleveland's starting second baseman, opened the ninth with a homer and Harper added a sacrifice fly in the inning as the Phillies blew it open with three runs.
Vargas settled in after his defense made two errors in the first and he fell behind 4-1 after two innings. The left-hander had been 0-3 with six no-decisions since coming over in a trade from the New York Mets on July 29.
