Bryce Harper reaches 1,000 RBIs as Phillies bats combine late to capture an 8-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates

Better late than never.

In a weather-delayed series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies offense got hot late in the game to secure the 8-4 win on Friday night. They scored four runs in the seventh inning and three runs in the eighth.

First pitch was delayed for 1 hour, 48 minutes as the Phillies braced for severe thunderstorms that ultimately did not materialize. But when the tarp finally rolled off the field, Phillies starter Ranger Suárez was sharp as ever. He struck out six, gave up six hits, and walked one.

The Phillies got on the board in the fifth inning thanks to Bryce Harper‘s 1,000th RBI, which came on a bloop single to shallow left to score Johan Rojas from third. Harper, who is the eighth active player to reach the milestone, tipped his batting helmet to the crowd while standing on first base.

“You always want more, and there’s a lot of baseball ahead of me and this team as well,” Harper said. “Having moments like that are really cool on a personal level, and really cool to be part of that company, that history.”

Harper finished 3-for-4, but he still isn’t satisfied with where his swing is.

“I’m not where I want to be,” he said. “But it’s part of it, and just got to keep grinding. I’m doing it every day. I’m down there, trying to feel good and feel good during the game.”

Meanwhile, Suárez was efficient, using 98 pitches for seven innings. He got nine whiffs on his changeup.

“I’ve been throwing my changeup a little better,” Suárez said through a team interpreter. “And I think that my breaking ball complements my other pitches, and they help me to keep the hitters off balance. And I think the changeup has been one of the improvements that helped me be better.”

He mowed down the Pirates hitters until the third time through the order. In the sixth inning, singles from Andrew McCutchen and Joey Bart set up a three-run homer for Alexander Canario. Suárez’s four-seam fastball caught too much of the outside corner of the plate, and he sent it into the right field seats.

» READ MORE: Phillies reliever Jordan Romano seemed lost a month ago. Now he’s striking out the side.

Canario’s homer put the Pirates in front until the Pittsburgh bullpen gifted the Phillies a few runs in the seventh.

The Phillies only had one hit in the inning, but through patience, scored four runs. They drew four walks, Nick Castellanos was hit by a pitch, and Kyle Schwarber came home on a sacrifice fly.

Harper walked as part of the rally. He fell behind 0-2 to Pirates reliever Ryan Borucki, but held off on four straight balls. Third base umpire John Libka ruled that Harper checked his swing on the final ball, loading the bases. Pirates manager Don Kelly was ejected for taking an objection to his call.

“We fought back,” Harper said. “I thought we did a great job having good at-bats all night.”

The Phillies had another big inning in the eighth. Rojas drew another walk — the Phillies’ eighth of the night — and came home on a triple from Trea Turner. Back-to-back singles from Harper, Schwarber, and an RBI groundout from Castellanos scored two more runs.

Jordan Romano pitched the eighth for the Phillies and issued a four-pitch leadoff walk to McCutchen, but he was quickly erased by a double play. Of the nine pitches Romano used in the inning, seven were sliders.

Daniel Roberts, recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday with Aaron Nola placed on the 15-day injured list, pitched the ninth. He struggled with his command, walking in a run and leaving the bases loaded for José Alvarado.

Oneil Cruz, who had been out of the Pirates starting lineup for five straight games with a back injury, entered the game as a pinch-hitter to face Alvarado. But the left-hander struck him out swinging and then induced a groundout to end the game.

In the clubhouse afterward, Phillies manager Rob Thomson read out some of the members in the exclusive club that Harper joined on Friday. The other active players are Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Santana, and Manny Machado.

“It’s quite a group that he’s a part of,” Thomson said, “and just goes to show you how great a hitter he’s been.”