LONDON — Bryce Harper celebrated with a football slide after hitting a game-tying home run, Ranger Suarez recorded his first 10-game winning streak this season and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 7-2 on Saturday in the opener of Major League Baseball’s third London Series.
Harper sparked a six-run fourth inning that included a three-run homer by Merrifield for the major league-best Phillies (45-19), who have won their fourth straight game and seventh of eight. Harper is three homers away from achieving the cycle.
“I didn’t tell anyone because I wanted all my teammates to be surprised,” Harper said of the celebration.
Nick Castellanos hit another home run in the eighth inning and watched from the batter’s box until he realized it was inside the left-field foul pole at London Stadium, home of Premier League club West Ham.
Suarez (10-1) allowed two runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings for the Phillies in his first game outside North America. Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson earned his 200th regular-season win (200-137).
“My pitches were a little rough today,” Suarez said through a translator before adjusting. His ERA improved from 1.70 to 1.81.
After Starling Marte hit an RBI double in the first inning, Harper caught a sweeper from Sean Manaea (3-3) over the heads of the Mets’ right-handed relievers. The two-time National League MVP then performed a football slide in front of the Phillies dugout, then high-fived teammates and shouted, “I love football!”
Harper has hit a team-high 15 home runs, and the Phillies have gone 22-0 when Harper has an RBI.
Edmundo Sosa singled to right field with two outs to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead, then Merrifield hit his third home run of the season to bring the Phillies relief corps to their feet, and Kyle Schwarber retired Manaea with an RBI single for a one-run lead.
Marte went after Sosa’s fly ball but stopped it, allowing it to bounce in front of him.
“They were having a hard time seeing the ball coming off the bat,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Asked about Harper’s blessing, Mendoza said he had no issues.
Manaea has allowed six runs on seven hits and 11 earned runs in his past two starts, raising his ERA from 3.16 to 4.30. Manaea struggled mightily in his first start for San Francisco last year in Mexico City.
Lindor, who had two hits and one walk, threw home off a throw from Harper after J.D. Martinez grounded out in the fifth inning. The Mets (27-36), who have won their past three games, will be the visiting home team in the series finale on Sunday. Retired captain David Wright was in the stands to watch.
Pitchers were hoping that cooler temperatures would help the ball stay in the stadium, after hot games in 2019 and last year — it was 65 degrees in East London when the first pitch was thrown.
The longest innings pitched by a starting pitcher in London was six innings pitched by Chicago Cubs’ Justin Steele in a 9-1 win over St. Louis last year.
