CINCINNATI — Think about what Bryce Harper usually does after he hits a ball sharply to right field. He takes off like a sprinter out of the blocks, arms and legs pumping, helmet flying, hair flowing, mind set on taking second base before he knows he can actually make it. Sometimes he slides in safely; sometimes he’s out by 20 feet. Almost always, he goes for it.
That’s basically what’s happening now with the Harper First Base Experiment.
The Phillies are down two first basemen, with Rhys Hoskins lost for the season and Darick Hall for at least two months. They’re asking third baseman Alec Bohm to move across the field against left-handed pitchers — and some righties, too, especially if .143-career-hitting utilityman Kody Clemens proves to be overmatched. The hope is to get by for a few months, until a noncontender is willing to discuss a white-flag trade.
