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Reaction: Big First Inning Helps Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals Win 7th Straight

By Ricky Keeler

Apr 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman (11) slides safely into home past Philadelphia Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp (29) during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman (11) slides safely into home past Philadelphia Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp (29) during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) watches his two run home run during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) watches his two run home run during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

Harper’s Hot Surge Continue

It has been an eventful week for the reigning NL MVP. It started on Thursday afternoon when he hit his 100th home run off of Julio Teheran, a grand slam in the bottom of the third inning. With the milestone out of the way, Harper has brought that success to Philadelphia this weekend.

So far, in the two games against the Phillies, Bryce Harper  is 5-for-7 with three runs scored, two home runs, and five RBI’s. Last night, with the Nats up 5-0, Harper took a two-seam fastball from Aaron Nola into the corner and over the wall in right for a two-run home run.

Over the last two seasons, Harper has made a habit of beating up on Phillies’ pitching as he has hit ten home runs and driven in 21 runs over the course of 67 at-bats. Out of the ten home runs, seven of them have come at Citizens Bank Park.

When you look at Harper’s success this week, he has only drawn a walk in one of the games (Monday night against the Braves). Teams are still pitching to Harper and he continues to make them pay nearly every time.

In the first ten games of the year, Harper is second in the NL in home runs (Trevor Story of the Rockies has seven), tied for the lead in RBI’s (14 with Rockies’ third baseman Nolan Arenado), and is second on the Nats in batting average (.343) behind Daniel Murphy (.438). It’s early, but its safe to say last year’s MVP is off to another great start in 2016.

Next: Ramos Continues To Roll

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