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SAN FRANCISCO — It was just six months ago when the Giants’ dreams were consumed with the thought of Bryce Harper blasting home runs to a territory only Barry Bonds regularly explored.
It happened twice at Oracle Park on Friday, but no dreams came true in the process. Instead, they were dashed.
As a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, Harper slammed a pair of home runs including a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh inning that landed in McCovey Cove to send the Giants to a crushing 9-6 defeat.
“Larry (Baer) and Farhan (Zaidi), it was great meeting with them this offseason,” Harper said. “We had great conversations and I have nothing but respect for them two personally and the Giants organization as a whole. They’ve been successful for so long.”
The Giants’ public pursuit of Harper during his free agency finally ended on the last day of February, when the brash slugger spurned an offer from San Francisco and chose to sign with the Phillies.
As the Giants attempted to stun the rest of baseball and lure Harper to San Francisco, concerns surfaced over whether the left-handed swinging Harper could remain one of the league’s top home run hitters at the pitcher-friendly Oracle Park.
Against Giants starter Tyler Beede and reliever Tony Watson, Harper silenced any doubters.
“San Fran has got a great fan base, they love their team, they love their city, so it’s a lot of fun going back and forth,” Harper said.
Harper’s fifth-inning solo home run off Beede extended the Phillies’ lead to 5-3 and landed in the right center field bleachers, an estimated 420 feet from home plate.
On his way from home plate to the visiting dugout, Harper put his fingers to his lips, shushing a crowd that has relentlessly booed him since he arrived in town.
“It was just things that people say that people shouldn’t say and shouldn’t come out of their mouths,” said Harper, when asked about his celebration. “That’s part of sports I guess and that’s part of fan bases.”
After the Giants rallied to take a 6-5 lead in the sixth, Harper came to the plate and obliterated a 453-foot, three-run shot that sailed over the arcade and into the water beyond the right field wall.
“It’s always fun coming into hostile environments and hostile situations and I’ve seen this stadium erupt,” Harper said. “Just like in 2014 when (the Nationals) were here in the playoffs, it’s always fun.”
The Giants entered Friday’s game with an 11-0 record in games in which they hit at least three home runs this season, but Harper’s heroics and early miscues prevented the club from capitalizing on a night when Kevin Pillar, Joey Rickard and Stephen Vogt all homered.
Pillar’s first-inning home run was his 14th of the season as it moved him into a tie for the team lead with Pablo Sandoval.
Rickard’s third-inning homer came in his first at-bat as Giant and just hours after the club received news that the outfielder he replaced, Steven Duggar, won’t play again in the regular season due to a shoulder injury sustained Wednesday.
Vogt’s carried the most impact, as his game-tying, two-run home run in the sixth curled just inside the right field foul pole and also hit McCovey Cove on the fly. The 79th splash hit by a Giants player in the history of the park was the first since Brandon Belt crushed a home run into the bay on May 15, 2018 against the Cincinnati Reds.
Their rare showing of power was not enough to overcome a Phillies team that rolled out a red carpet that was just a bit more glamorous than the one the Giants brought to their Las Vegas meetings with Harper.
“We made a nice comeback,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “But give them credit. They made a nice comeback on us.”
The Giants actually finished with more hits than the Phillies on Friday, but played from behind for most of the night. Beede’s struggles continued Friday against the Phillies as the rookie allowed five runs despite allowing just four hits.
A four-run third-inning rally for Philadelphia started after Beede struck out five of the first eight hitters he faced before issuing a walk to opposing starter Drew Smyly with the bases empty. Another walk and a single brought up left fielder Corey Dickerson, who slammed a bases-clearing triple off the right center field wall and scored on a Jean Segura sacrifice fly.
“Walking the pitcher with one out and back-to-back walks set up their big inning,” Bochy said. “The two big innings killed us.”
After Beede gave the Giants a glimpse of the potential that made him a first round draft choice with eight innings of shutout ball against the Mets on July 19, New York’s season has gone north while Beede’s has taken a drastic turn south.
The right-hander has allowed at least four earned runs in each of his last four starts and has taken the loss in all four games. Despite a strong first inning that included some of his best off-speed pitches of the season on Friday, Beede lacked the consistency with his command to work deep into the game.
