MIAMI -AP- Bryce Harper continued his torrid MVP-caliber season with his power on full display.He homered twice into the upper deck and drove in four for the Washington Nationals in a 7-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night."I could remember when the kid came out a lot of people compared him to a young Mickey Mantle, that type of thunder," Marlins manager Dan Jennings said. "He's a special hitter."The 22-year old superstar and former No. 1 overall draft pick went 3-for-4 to raise his batting average to .335. He has 29 home runs and 68 RBI, which are already career highs. 
"He did a lot of damage today," Nationals manager Matt Williams said.Michael Taylor also homered and drove in two for Washington.Doug Fister (4-6) picked up the win, allowing two runs and four hits in six innings."Tonight was much better, more consistent," Fister said. "Still left a few balls up in the middle of the plate, but I kept it to a fairly minimum number. It's another stride in the right direction."Harper's first homer drove in three and came off of Tom Koehler (8-7) in the fifth inning, breaking a 2-all tie."Hank Aaron said it: I't's not how far; it's how many,'" Williams said.Harper then led off the eighth by sending a first-pitch fastball from Sam Dyson deep to right field. It was his third multi-home run game of the season, first since hitting two against Atlanta on May 8."He's got such a forceful, violent swing, and he's now learning to control that even more," Jennings said. "He's a special hitter. He's made us pay a few times when we've missed."Harper said he was happy about his two-homer night."But all in all, I'm just very happy to have our team back and this lineup back," he said.Koehler pitched six innings and allowed five runs.Ichiro Suzuki opened the scoring with an RBI double in the second for the Marlins.The Nationals took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Ian Desmond hit an RBI triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Taylor.Adeiny Hechavarria tied the game at 2 with an RBI single.SUZUKI GETS HIT NO. 2,900Suzuki's RBI double in the second was his 2,900th major league hit. He also singled in the fourth and is 99 shy from joining just 29 other players in the 3,000-hit club.
"He did a lot of damage today," Nationals manager Matt Williams said.Michael Taylor also homered and drove in two for Washington.Doug Fister (4-6) picked up the win, allowing two runs and four hits in six innings."Tonight was much better, more consistent," Fister said. "Still left a few balls up in the middle of the plate, but I kept it to a fairly minimum number. It's another stride in the right direction."Harper's first homer drove in three and came off of Tom Koehler (8-7) in the fifth inning, breaking a 2-all tie."Hank Aaron said it: I't's not how far; it's how many,'" Williams said.Harper then led off the eighth by sending a first-pitch fastball from Sam Dyson deep to right field. It was his third multi-home run game of the season, first since hitting two against Atlanta on May 8."He's got such a forceful, violent swing, and he's now learning to control that even more," Jennings said. "He's a special hitter. He's made us pay a few times when we've missed."Harper said he was happy about his two-homer night."But all in all, I'm just very happy to have our team back and this lineup back," he said.Koehler pitched six innings and allowed five runs.Ichiro Suzuki opened the scoring with an RBI double in the second for the Marlins.The Nationals took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Ian Desmond hit an RBI triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Taylor.Adeiny Hechavarria tied the game at 2 with an RBI single.SUZUKI GETS HIT NO. 2,900Suzuki's RBI double in the second was his 2,900th major league hit. He also singled in the fourth and is 99 shy from joining just 29 other players in the 3,000-hit club.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
