Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper isn’t thrilled with the start to his 14th major-league season.
He will go searching for the swing that’s made him an eight-time All Star and two-time NL Most Valuable Player when the Phillies open a three-game series on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.
Harper is hitting .170 with one home run, three RBIs and a .568 OPS in his past 12 games.
“I just want to come through for the team and play well,” Harper said. “Obviously, I’ve been through ruts in my career and gone through ups and downs, worse than what I’m on right now, but I’m just frustrated for the fans, frustrated for my team. I just want to play better.”
Harper’s offensive numbers are nearly identical to what they were a year ago, and it was about this time last season that he began to emerge.
After going 2-for-5 with a solo home run in an 11-9 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 10 innings on Sunday, Harper is hitting .234 with six home runs and 17 RBIs.
After May 4 of last season, Harper was batting .234 with six home runs and 18 RBIs. By the time the month was over, he was up to .270 with 13 homers and 42 RBIs.
Harper said he isn’t trying to refine his swing, he’s just not catching pitches on the barrel often enough.
“I’m missing pitches over the plate and swinging at pitches out of the zone,” he said. “If I’m doing that, I’m going bad. Or not bad, but just not going.”
Even with the loss on Sunday, Philadelphia has won six of eight as it turns to right-hander Zack Wheeler in the series opener against the Rays.
Wheeler (2-1, 3.48 ERA) has allowed two earned runs in each of his past three starts while pitching at least six innings but only has one win to show for it.
He most recently gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 7-6 victory against the Washington Nationals last Tuesday. He missed out on the win after the bullpen surrendered four runs in the top of the ninth before the offense scored two in the bottom half of the inning for the walk-off win.
Wheeler has made four starts against the Rays in his career and is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA.
The Rays won two of three against the New York Yankees on the road over the weekend after getting swept by the Kansas City Royals at home last week.
Drew Rasmussen (1-2, 2.64) is set to start for Tampa Bay on the heels of going 0-2 in five starts in April while posting a 3.16 ERA.
The Rays were blanked in two of those outings, including his most recent one last Wednesday, when he allowed three runs and six hits in five innings of a 3-0 loss to the Royals.
“I didn’t really think (my) execution was terrible,” Rasmussen said. “You’ve got to tip your cap when an offense goes up and they stick to their approach and it works out for them.”
The Phillies have won the past six games against Tampa Bay, sweeping them last September and in July of 2023.
Wheeler beat the Rays in their last meeting on Sept. 11 while Rasmussen took the loss in relief.
Rasmussen has made four appearances against the Phillies in his career, including one start, and is 0-1 with a 1.86 ERA.
