Fifteen years into a career that will almost certainly take him to the Hall of Fame, Phillies star Bryce Harper did something he’s never done before.
Read more Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber put on a show for the Bank in Phillies’ 15-3 rout of Mets
He hit for the cycle.
And it took him only four at-bats.
Harper tripled in the fifth inning of a 15-3 rout of the Mets, and upon sliding into third, he pumped his right arm, then raised both arms skyward. Harper homered in the first inning, then reached on a hustle double and a single in the Phillies’ eight-run third inning.
“[Interim manager] Don [Mattingly] and all the coaches came up to me and were like, ‘Hey, if you get a chance, just go do it,’” Harper said. “So, kind of once I had their blessing to just go on any ball, it was kind of the perfect thing.”
It marked the 11th time a Phillies player hit for the cycle. Harper joined Lave Cross (1894), Sam Thompson (1894), Cy Williams (1927), Chuck Klein (1931 and 1933), Johnny Callison (1963), Gregg Jefferies (1995), David Bell (2004), J.T. Realmuto (2023), and Weston Wilson (2024).
“Doing that at the big-league level is really cool,” Harper said. “Got close a couple times, but being able to do that, having that moment is really, really cool.”
Not to be outdone, Kyle Schwarber crushed three homers, including two in the Phillies’ big third inning, to raise his majors-leading total to 28. He became the fourth Phillies player to homer twice in one inning. The others: Andy Seminick (1949), Von Hayes (1985), and Trea Turner (2023).
Both of Schwarber’s third-inning homers landed halfway up the second deck in right field. The first was measured at 456 feet, the second at 457 feet.
Harper entered with 13 career four-hits games, including two games with five hits. But he hadn’t hit for the cycle since 2010 at the College of Southern Nevada.
So, when Harper hit a fastball from Mets lefty reliever Cionel Pérez into the gap in left-center field, he had no intention of stopping at second base. The helmet flew off his head between first and second. He went from the batter’s box to third base in 11.8 seconds.
BRYCE HARPER HAS HIT FOR THE CYCLE IN JUST FIVE INNINGS! pic.twitter.com/qvSRltrMgn
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 21, 2026
Schwarber, not known for his speed, even scored from first base.
“We knew as soon as he hits it and it gets into the gap, that he’s going to go,” Schwarber said. “So, I was just trying to make sure I get home.”
Said Harper: “He was busting it, so I appreciate it. I mean, he jogged a lot tonight.”
Father’s Day will hit a little differently this year for Don and Preston Mattingly. After years of working in baseball for different teams, often on opposite sides of the country, they are together with the Phillies as the first father-and-son manager-and-GM combination ever. Preston Mattingly joins Phillies Extra to discuss working with his dad, as well as the Phillies’ decision to demote Andrew Painter to the minors and their preparations for the trade deadline. Watch here.
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