Bryce Harper and Trea Turner power Phillies past Rays, 9-4

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper thought he had his first home run since Aug. 9.

He’d already finished his trot around the bases after crushing a first-pitch cutter from Rays pitcher Taj Bradley in the fifth inning on Tuesday. But replay review revealed a fan had reached over the right-field wall to snag the ball.

Perhaps the 106-mph laser would have made it out anyway. But due to the fan interference, it was ruled a double, and Harper’s home run drought continued.

By the end of Tuesday’s 9-4 win over Tampa Bay, it had been 118 plate appearances since the Phillies’ first baseman had homered, but he made up for it with three doubles on a 4-for-5 night.

Harper’s third double of the game came in a drama-filled eighth inning, where the Phillies racked up five hits, scored five runs and the benches cleared after Tampa pitcher Edwin Uceta hit Nick Castellanos with a pitch. Uceta was ejected by umpire James Hoye.

Pinch-hitting Cal Stevenson got things started in the inning with a clutch two-run double that broke a 4-4 tie. Millville, N.J., native Buddy Kennedy stepped up to the plate as chants of “Bud-dy, Bud-dy!” rained down for the second night in a row, and this time the utility man responded with an RBI single. Trea Turner kept the line moving with his second two-run homer of the game.

The Phillies’ bats were able to pick up starting pitcher Ranger Suárez, who had a shaky outing. His pitch velocity was higher than his last outing against Miami, but still lower than his season average. Suárez’s sinker, which he threw 45% of the time, hovered around 89.9 mph, down from its yearlong average of 90.9 mph.

In his previous start against the Marlins, Suárez overcame the dip in velocity and what manager Rob Thomson called “a bit of a dead arm” with sharp command. He wasn’t able to replicate that on Monday, and allowed a career-high 12 hits to the Rays.

Suárez was removed after 5 1/3 innings and 88 pitches, his highest pitch count since his injury. He only recorded two strikeouts, his fewest in a game since June 30.

Kyle Schwarber gave the Phillies an early lead with his 14th leadoff homer of the season, which set a MLB record. The achievement was overshadowed, however, when Schwarber was removed from the game in the fourth inning with elbow discomfort.

The Phillies tacked on another run in the second and two more in the third off Turner’s first home run. But the Rays continued to chip away, and after Harper’s near home run, Tampa tied things up an inning later. The Phillies had opportunities throughout the game to pull back ahead, but stranded a runner at third base four separate times before breaking things open in the eighth.

Tanner Banks pitched the ninth. He loaded the bases with two walks and a single, but a sliding catch from Stevenson in center field stranded all three runners.