Swing, stare, repeat: Bryce Harper launches Phillies to NLDS lead with epic response to Brave’s mocking

First came the swing.

Then came the stare.

No, not that stare. Oh, Bryce Harper watched all right, as his three-run home run soared into the second deck in right field in the third inning Wednesday and brought the Phillies back from an early deficit in a six-homer, 10-2 thumping of the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

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But it was after that, after finally dropping the bat and starting his lap around the bases, that Harper got to second and, without breaking stride, looked over his right shoulder at Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia. It was calculated and unmistakable. And amid the delirium at Citizens Bank Park, it left 45,798 paying customers thinking one thing.

Attaboy, Harper.

Arcia screamed those words and cackled Monday night in Atlanta as reporters crammed into the Braves’ clubhouse after series-tying Game 2, which ended with Michael Harris II’s leaping catch at the wall in center field and Harper getting doubled off first base.

Because nothing that happens in public gets missed in the social-media age, word of Arcia’s behavior got back to the Phillies — Harper, in particular. Most players shrugged it off, insisting they didn’t need extra motivation.

Six homers later, it’s clear they were fueled by it. The Braves tied a major-league record with 307 homers in the regular season, but the Phillies beat them at their own game.

Harper went deep twice — staring down Arcia both times. Nick Castellanos did, too. Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh also homered, and the Phillies matched the 2015 Cubs’ postseason record with a half-dozen dingers in Game 3 of the 2015 NL Division Series against the Cardinals.

The Phillies grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and have a chance to close out the 104-win Braves on Thursday. It would be the second consecutive year that they’ve defeated division-champion Atlanta in the NLDS.

There were hints before the game that the Phillies took Arcia’s antics personally. Manager Rob Thomson suggested as much when asked to describe the mood of the team less than 48 hours after the crushing Game 2 loss.

“There’s a lot of talk of the Arcia thing,” he said.

Harper, meanwhile, arrived at the ballpark wearing a “Coach Prime” T-shirt, according to a photo on the Phillies’ X (formerly Twitter) account. The caption: “They done messed around,” a nod to Colorado football coach Deion Sanders’ recent comments to his team after criticism from rival Colorado State.

Harper appeared stone-cold serious as he played catch on the field before the game. He struck out in the first inning against Braves righty Bryce Elder, who wasn’t named as the Game 3 starter until earlier in the day.

But Harper didn’t miss Elder’s hanging slider in a six-run third inning. The whole thing brought about eerie parallels to last year’s six-run third inning in Game 3 against the Braves, a rally that was punctuated by Rhys Hoskins’ series-turning, bat-spike homer after he made a critical mistake in a Game 2 loss.

When Harper got to the plate in the third inning, the Braves had a 1-0 lead on Ozzie Albies’ RBI single against Aaron Nola. But Nola struck out Marcell Ozuna to keep the margin at 1-0.

Castellanos tied it with a leadoff homer, and after Marsh singled, Braves manager Brian Snitker opted not to go to the bullpen. Elder recorded two outs and was on the verge of getting out of the inning when Turner reached on an infield single.

Up stepped Harper, who fouled off the first pitch, took the next two for balls, and teed off.

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Snitker still stayed with Elder, who gave up a single to Alec Bohm and walked Bryson Stott. When the Braves finally went to the bullpen, J.T. Realmuto scorched a two-run double for a 6-1 lead, and the rout was on.

It turned into a full-blown party in the middle innings. It wasn’t merely the typical earsplitting noise of a postseason game in South Philly. The crowd began a mock tomahawk chomp, serenading the Braves with their signature chant in Atlanta.

The offensive onslaught overshadowed another postseason gem for Nola. After holding the Braves to one run in the third inning, he was on cruise control. Nola pitched into the sixth inning, gave up two runs on six hits, and racked up nine strikeouts.

It marked the second year in a row that Nola beat the Braves at home in Game 3, another echo to 2022.

The 2022 playoffs were dominated by Harper, of course. And a year after hitting a pennant-clinching homer that will live in Philadelphia sports lore, he provided another October moment to remember.

Attaboy, Harper.