The beginning of Major League Baseball’s Rivalry Weekend series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates was also an ending of sorts. Before the season, NBC Sports Philadelphia announced it was changing the Phillies’ logo on its scorebug from the letter “P” to “PHI.”
Normally, that would not be a story worthy of headlines. But by doing so, the broadcast deprived fans of a simple pleasure in life: seeing a “P00P” scoreboard whenever the Phillies faced off against the Pirates.
On Friday night, the network decided to pay tribute to that “gone but never forgotten” scorebug.
“It was more than just a scoreboard. It was a legend,” Phillies announcer Tom McCarthy solemnly read. “An unforgettable icon. Its name, once met with chuckles, quickly became synonymous with good times and fierce rivalries. As the final out arrives on its bright and brilliant run, it will be missed.”
It was a delightful, yet absurd, start to a game that followed a similar theme.
Bryce Harper reached 1,000 RBIs and was part of a wild seventh-inning rally in which the Phillies scored four runs on just one hit in an 8-4 victory.
Harper, who had three hits and reached base four times, picked up his milestone RBI with a bloop single to left field off Pirates starter Andrew Heaney. Harper is one of eight active players with 1,000 RBIs.
The Phillies scored four runs in the seventh inning when six consecutive batters — including Harper — reached base against three relievers. Only one — Trea Turner — had a hit. The others all reached base via a walk or a hit by pitch, and three of the four runs scored without a ball being put in play.
Philadelphia tacked on three more runs in the eighth inning. Turner had an RBI triple, and Harper added No. 1,001 with a single.
Pirates interim manager Don Kelly was ejected from the game by third base umpire John Libka after arguing Libka’s call of no swing on Harper that resulted in a walk to load the bases.
Presumably, Kelly thought the call was, well, let’s just say reminiscent of the Phillies’ old scorebug.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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