Birthday boy Bryce Harper powers Phillies to NLCS Game 1 win vs. Diamondbacks

PHILADELPHIA — Can we build the statue of Bryce Harper now?

It is too early to retire his number?

Harper, celebrating his 31^st year on earth, threw his own raucous birthday party Monday night in front of 45,396 of his closest friends at Citizens Bank Park, igniting a show that reverberated throughout the city.

The Philadelphia Phillies blew out the candles on Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the NLCS, 5-3, with Harper smacking a home run in his first at-bat and added hitting a run-scoring single in the third – with his buddies chipping in two home runs themselves.

The Phillies dominated the game from start to finish, with Kyle Schwarber leading off the game with a 420-foot homer, and two batters later Harper homered on his first pitch, sending Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy that never stopped.

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The Diamondbacks and ace Zac Gallen could only watch, and admire with the Phillies now hitting 12 homers in their last three postseason games, the most by any team in postseason history.

Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos also carved a niche in the record books with his fifth home run in three consecutive postseason games, tying Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

Meanwhile, Phillies ace Zack Wheeler suffocated the D-backs offense, retiring 15 consecutive batters from Corbin Carroll’s broken-bat single to lead off the game until Evan Longoria’s leadoff single in the sixth inning –followed by Geraldo Perdomo’s home run. He limited the top of the D-backs’ lineup to just one baserunner.

Still, when the smoke cleared, and the Phillies’ crowd celebrated as they headed for the exits, the night belonged to Harper.

It’s October, a month that Harper has dominated, hitting .409 four homers and 21 total bases this postseason.

“I've always wanted to play on my birthday,’’ Harper said before the game. “Last year we had a day off because we clinched early, which was great. A Game 1 win would be awesome. That's what you want any time you're in your own ballpark and doing that.

“I’ve always wanted to do this."