Bryce Harper celebrated his 31st birthday in style tonight as his 2/3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 RBI night help lift the Phillies to a 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the NLCS.
Harper is a showman, so of course he had a vintage celebration ready after his massive solo home run in the first inning made it a 2-0 Phillies lead.
'31,' his fingers read as he blew out fake candles to celebrate his birthday home run. When asked about the celebration after the contest, the Phillies star said it was mostly spontaneous.
"It's crazy, sometimes I just do stuff," Harper said. "That felt right, so I thought I'd step on home plate and do that. I just thought about it as I was running around third base."
Harper's continued heroics were just a piece of the Phillies' success off Diamondbacks top starter Zac Gallen in Game 1. The team combined to notch five runs in his five innings of work, with Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos all leaving the ballpark.
The Phillies are back on the field Tuesday night for Game 2 of the series, when it will be Aaron Nola on the mound opposed by Arizona's Merrill Kelly. First pitch is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. eastern and the game can be heard here on 94WIP.