Bryce Harper takes a playful dig at Trea Turner as Phillies SS reaches rare milestone; wife Kristen drops 2-word reaction

The Philadelphia Phillies dismantled the Seattle Mariners in the series opener on Monday after All-Star shortstop Trea Turner's milestone night at Citizens Bank Park.

With the Phillies leading 2-0 and two runners on base in the second inning, Turner blasted a two-run home run off Logan Gilbert to register his 1500th career hit.

Turner, 32, became only the third shortstop in MLB history to have 1,500+ hits, 300+ stolen bases and 500+ extra-base hits before turning 33, joining Jimmy Rollins and Jose Reyes on an elite list.

Following his milestone hit, Phillies teammate Bryce Harper took a playful dig at Trea Turner, as the home run on Monday was the shortstop's first at the ballpark in Philadelphia.

"He’s bought in so much that he’s only hit one homer here,” Harper said.

The two-time MVP praised his teammate for his consistency:

"He has been great. He's having a great year. Obviously should have been an All-Star."

Trea Turner's wife, Kristen, reacted to the shortstop's 1500th hit with a two-word message on her Instagram story. She shared a graphic from MLB, writing:

"So proud."

Trea Turner, Bryce Harper punish Mariners' pitching for dominant win

Trea Turner was hot at the plate on Monday, falling short of hitting for the cycle by a triple as he went 4-for-6 with five RBIs, contributing to the Phillies' franchise record of 21 hits.

Following the game, Turner shared his reaction to his dad reminding him that he had passed San Francisco Giants legend Buster Posey's MLB record of 1500 hits.

“He had such a great career and was such a good player for a long time,” Turner said. “To be right next to guys like him, I think that’s pretty cool.”

His teammate Bryce Harper, who went 3-for-6 with two home runs, praised the offense for a dominant win against the Mariners.

“I think the last 30 games have been really good power, been hitting the best I can,” Harper said. “Big night for the whole offense.”

Turner and Harper's offensive output helped the Phillies to consecutive wins, opening a 5.5-game lead over the New York Mets at the top of the National League East.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash