It had been 30 years since it took the Phillies and Mets this long into a season to meet for the first time. So what better way to celebrate the occasion than for Bryce Harper to unleash, perhaps, a new secret weapon against the longtime rival? One night after hitting for his first career cycle, Harper came within a triple of doing so *again* in Sunday’s 6-2 win over the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Following that cycle on Saturday night, Harper revealed that he’d used a heavier bat than usual to achieve the historic feat. Typically reserved for pregame work in the cages, Harper used a 35-ounce bat to produce his single, double, triple and home run. On Sunday, though, Harper did not use that same 35-ounce bat for his first trip to the plate. The bat itself was a 35-ouncer, but it was a much newer model. Harper struck out. So, what did he do his next time up? Harper hauled that three-year-old, 35-ounce hunk of lumber to the dish and promptly ripped a double to right field. Needless to say, he stuck with it for at-bat No. 3 -- one that ended with the ball in the right-field seats. The same 35-ounce bat produced a line-drive single in his fourth and final at-bat in the bottom of the seventh.
