Bryce Harper Wins First Playoff Series of 11-Year Career as Phillies Advance
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Reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper added another accomplishment to his name Saturday night.
The 29-year-old designated hitter secured his first playoff series win of his eleven-year career, as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 to clinch a trip to the National League Division Series.
Harper last played in a playoff game in 2017, as a member of the Washington Nationals. He was 24 years-old. The Nationals lost to the Chicago Cubs in five games in 2017.
Harper would make four total trips to the postseason with the Nationals, but the Nationals could never seem to get out of the first round of the playoffs, losing in the NLDS in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017. Three of the four series would go the distance, as the Nationals would lose in five games.
In Harper's final year in Washington D.C. in 2018, the Nationals missed the playoffs entirely. The following March, he signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies.
The Phillies would fail to make the playoffs in Harper's first three years with the club. In 2022, the Phillies finally broke through, making their organization's first playoff trip since 2011.
Saturday night, they would win their first postseason series since 2010, and Harper would experience his first playoff series win.
Now, can Harper finally get out of the NLDS, in year eleven of his career?
The Phillies will play their National League East division rival, the Atlanta Braves, with a trip to the National League Championship Series on the line. The series begins Tuesday.
