May 06, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Coincidence or not, Bryce Harper has raked since the Rob Thomson firing.
Shortly after he supplied the lone run that enabled the Phillies to beat the Marlins in Miami on Monday, a 1-0 win that improved Don Mattingly to 6-1 since becoming manager, Bryce Harper gave an honest account to reporters about the origin of the team's abrupt turnaround.
"I think we were all just waiting for that ball to drop, waiting for something to happen," Harper said, per Phillies Insider Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, referring to the firing of Rob Thomson six days earlier.
Harper added more perspective:
"If Topper was going to get fired or he wasn’t, it was just kind of, 'We need to get over this hump and get through this,' whatever that looked like. April’s behind us. We’ve got to step forward and understand that we’re stacking days and playing better and just keep it going, no matter where we’re at, what’s happening in the game or anything. Just stack the days and be where we want to be at the end.”
Harper had previously been a defender of Thomson, who was fired last Tuesday as President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski sought a shakeup for the 9-19 Phillies and made Topper the sacrificial lamb. Mattingly, who in March said he wasn't interested in being a manager again, took over.
But since the move, Harper has been on a torrid hitting pace that has made him once again resemble one of the game's true superstars. Dare we say, Harper has played like an elite?
And Mattingly is now 7-1 since taking over for Thomson, thanks to a turnaround in starting pitching and because of Harper's hot streak.
On Tuesday, less than 24 hours after his homer in Miami provided the only support Aaron Nola and a few relievers needed for the win, Harper once again struck early, this time against the A's in South Philly.
He homered in his second at-bat, a 393-footer to center that put the Phillies up 1-0 in a game that initially appeared like a duplicate of Sunday's win over Miami.
The Phils stranded the bases loaded in the first and two more in the second before Harper rocked his solo shot off Luis Severino in the third. It stayed 1-0 until the Phils erupted for five in the seventh – with Bryson Stott's three-run homer serving as the catalyst – and Harper nailed down the coffin in the eighth, with his second homer of the game – two-run shot to center that came with some intrigue.
IT'S A MULTI-HOMER GAME FOR MV3 pic.twitter.com/9E2RwiQ1X2
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 6, 2026
Turned out, A's centerfielder Zack Gelof didn't snag the ball over the fence, and Harper had his third homer in two games – third in his past seven at bats.
Harper went 3-for-4 in that Monday game against Miami and again Tuesday against the A's, giving him six hits in his last eight at bats, including a double. He has also walked twice. But that's just the past two games.
Since Thomson's firing, Harper has carried the Phillies' sporadic offense like a superstar is supposed to do, and is among the sport's hottest hitters in both the last seven days and 15 days.
Here is where Harper ranks among the National League batters since Thomson was fired and replaced by Mattingly:
| Category | Stat | Rank |
| BA | .360 | 14th |
| OBP | .484 | 3rd |
| OPS | 1.324 | 2nd |
| SLG | .840 | 2ns |
| HR | 3 | 3rd |
| RBI | 4 | 3rd |
But it's not just since Topper's firing that Harper has exploded, he's been warming up for more than two weeks.
Here are his rankings among NL hitters over the past 15 games:
| Category | Stat | Rank |
| BA | .302 | t-22nd |
| OBP | .387 | t-22nd |
| OPS | 1.047 | 9th |
| SLG | .660 | 7th |
| HR | 5 | t-4th |
| RBI | 12 | t-5th |
This season was supposed to be significant for Harper after Dombrowski questioned whether the two-time NL MVP could still be an elite player, as Harper had turned 33 last October and was coming off a poor showing against the Dodgers in the NLDS, with just three hits and no homers or RBI in four games.
Harper battled some injuries last year, too, and played just 132 games. He finished with 27 homers and 75 RBI, slashing .261/.357/.487 – not a bad season by any standard, but also not an elite one, and capped by a disappointing playoffs.
After a slow first few weeks of 2026, Harper is slashing .286/.377/.571 and has nine homers and 23 RBI in total, which paces him for a 30-homer, 80-RBI season if he can get to 600 at bats.
That just might be the kind of season that gets these Phillies back into playoff contention – and one that some might consider elite.
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) high fives in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Athletics during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park.
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