SAN FRANCISCO — The rally had started before Giants manager Tony Vitello did what every manager in baseball would do — raise his left arm to summon a lefty reliever to face Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the seventh inning. It could have fizzled right there because Oracle Park is a veritable hell for the Philadelphia Phillies. They had lost 18 of their previous 22 games here, including one last year on a walk-off, inside-the-park home run by a catcher.

Almost all of them hate it here. Almost.

“I don’t know,” Harper said after a 6-4 Phillies win Monday night. “Body feels good, mind feels good every time I get in the batter’s box. I don’t know. I always have good mornings here, too. Going to eat and things like that. Dinner places. It’s just a good city to come visit.”

Once Schwarber drew a four-pitch walk against that lefty reliever, Ryan Borucki, Harper saw a 1-0 fastball to hit. He didn’t drive it, but he hit it hard enough through the right side for a two-run single to tie the game. The Phillies have two matchup-beating lefty hitters. It has a cascading effect; Alec Bohm was afforded a favorable right-on-left chance and delivered a go-ahead double, a cue shot down the first-base line.

“Finally, some luck,” Bohm said. But that’s what happens when you can apply some pressure on the opponent.

“When they go to that (left-on-left) matchup, and it doesn’t work out for them and they get through those two guys without getting an out, that’s our chance for a pretty good rally,” Bohm said. “Tonight, we capitalized on it.”

BRYCE’S THIRD HIT OF THE NIGHT TIES US UP! pic.twitter.com/KKiXE7BgLj

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 7, 2026

They won a series opener at Oracle Park for the first time since 2014. (Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche homered that night while Ken Giles earned the win.) If they win one of the next two games, they will capture their first series win here since 2013.

“That’s wild,” Harper said.

The first 10 games of this Phillies season have generated much focus on what they are not. It’s natural; everyone has the highest expectations, and when a familiar roster flashes even the tiniest hint of an old habit, it must be the same story. So, think about these 6-4 Phillies in a different way: They are above the league average in most offensive categories. Their rotation has rarely stumbled. And even on a night when rookie Andrew Painter only lasted four innings, the bullpen shouldered a heavier load with five scoreless. Phillies relievers have retired 30 of the last 32 batters they’ve faced.

Schwarber is striking out too much, but he has an .856 OPS. Bohm has missed opportunities to produce runs, but he did his job Monday night. Trea Turner is chasing, but he’s still fifth in the National League in runs scored. Justin Crawford is hitting the ball far too much on the ground, but he began the critical seventh inning with a hard-hit grounder into right field.

And then there’s Harper. One game will not undo a slow start. But two doubles, a single, a walk and three runs driven looks nice. It was Harper’s first three-RBI game since Aug. 18, 2025. It was his first three-hit game since Aug. 26. Last summer, Harper had a four-hit game at Oracle Park and afterward he used the moment to declare he’s still a good player.

“Last year, this is where he sort of got going,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He likes hitting here.”

Harper had entertained a short-term offer from the Giants in that protracted free-agent dance between the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He always preferred a bigger commitment like the one the Phillies were promising. Maybe there’s an alternate universe where Harper takes his chances in California.

Probably not. It’s not the best ballpark for a lefty slugger to hit, unless you’re Barry Bonds. Harper wants 500 homers; his odds at that would have been suppressed if it were his home: He entered Monday’s game with a career .203/.327/.355 batting line in 168 plate appearances at Oracle Park.

“I love playing here,” Harper said. “It’s one of my favorite parks to play in. I always have. There’s times when I have good series here. There’s times when I have bad series. Every time I come in here, I feel very confident in my ability to play well and feel good in there.”

Bryce Harper enjoyed his first three-hit game since August. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

The run-scoring double Harper hit in the fifth inning smacked the brick wall in right field. At 112.5 mph, it was his hardest-hit ball so far this season. That’s something. So was the walk in the eighth before he tried to swipe second base with two outs and was caught stealing. It’s not a Harper hot streak without a few risky base-running decisions.

“I feel good,” Harper said. “I just have to keep plugging away.”

Winning the left-on-left situations late in games changes everything. Thomson prefers to alternate righties and lefties all the way through his batting order. Except when it comes to Schwarber and Harper. He is daring the opposing manager.

“That’s what we sort of stack those guys together,” Thomson said. “If they want to take their best shot and do it right there, then that’s OK.”

The reliever, Borucki, has a career .522 OPS against lefties. That is exceptional. It was even better in 2025 — .379 — and that is why San Francisco signed him for $1.5 million.

“Big spots — sixth, seventh inning — the best lefty is going to come out,” Bohm said. “If those two can do a little damage or just get on base and we keep that line moving, that gets me an at-bat the lefty. It might get Adolis (García) an at-bat against the lefty. That’s how you kind of start stringing some things together. Then they’ve got to go make another move, and now they’re using two pitchers in one inning. Now you start talking about you know setting yourself up for a series.”

Imagine that. The Phillies setting themselves up for a successful series at Oracle Park.