PHILADELPHIA − Bryce Harper broke out of his season-starting 0-for-11 slump in a big way.

The Phillies slugger hit three home runs, including a grand slam in the seventh inning, powering the Phillies to a 9-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

The home runs, beginning with solo shots in the first and fourth innings, were Harper's first hits of the 2024 season. The six RBIs were a career high. For Harper, it was his seventh career grand slam and his second career three-homer game. He also hit three homers on May 6, 2015, while he was with the Washington Nationals.

But this one was certainly memorable for Harper, mainly because it came on a cold and misty night, when it appeared like the game wasn't going to be played.

"Any time you go out there playing in that cold weather, it’s not very fun," Harper said. "Getting the first (home run) out of the way, and getting those runs on the board was really big for us."

That one was a 420-foot shot to center field off Reds starter Graham Ashcraft. Harper's second homer was a line drive down the right field line, also off Ashcraft. That gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead.

In Harper's third at-bat, in the sixth, Harper came up with Trea Turner on first base. Turner went to second on a wild pitch just before Harper hit a line drive to center that would have fallen for extra bases. But Reds center fielder Will Benson made a diving catch.

Harper was visibly upset after Benson's catch. And that says as much about why Harper is such a prolific hitter as anything else.

"You have two (homers), you want three," Harper said. "You have three, you want four. That’s the mindset. Obviously, when you go out there and play the game, I’m not satisfied with one or two or three or whatever. I want to go out there and I expect myself to do that every night. … I just want to keep it going."

Harper did. He got another turn in the seventh inning against lefty Brent Suter. This time the bases were loaded, and Harper didn't miss. He hit a grand slam over the right-center field fence on a 3-and-2 pitch, a shot measured at 422 feet.

That gave the Phillies an 8-1 lead. And the fans who braved the cold and rain gave Harper a standing ovation and yelled "MVP!" chants.

By then, the hitless streak to start the season was long forgotten as Harper raised his average from .000 to .200. And in one night, he took over the team lead in both homers (3) and RBIs (6) as the Phillies improved to 2-3.

"It’s just a matter of time for him," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "He’s a great hitter. I don’t really get concerned with Bryce. That’s what the great players do. They have big nights like that. We needed it. That grand slam, everyone could exhale a little bit. That was huge."

No wonder Thomson had this response when asked if he's glad the Phillies got the game in.

"Now I am," he said with a laugh.

So was Harper.

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Ricardo Pinto's long trip for a save

It took Pinto five years to make it back to the major leagues. It only seemed like his day Tuesday was that long as Pinto began it in Rochester, New York, and ended it with his first career save.

Pinto, who pitched briefly for the Phillies in 2017, going 1-2 with a 7.89 ERA in 25 appearances, had last pitched in the major leagues in 2019 with the Tampa Bay Rays (15.43 ERA in two games).

Pinto didn't think he'd have that chance after waking up Tuesday morning in Rochester as a member of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate.

But the Phillies had designated reliever Connor Brogdon for assignment after he had given up a grand slam in the 10th inning Monday in the Phillies' 6-3 loss in 10 innings, and they needed a reliever.

So Pinto got the call around noon to head to Philadelphia.

The only problem was the Phillies couldn't find a flight for Pinto to get to Citizens Bank Park in time for the game. So they rented him a car, and he drove more than five hours, getting caught in traffic in the Allentown area before arriving in the fourth inning.

Pinto then relieved starter Spencer Turnbull to start the sixth and finished out the game. Pinto pitched four innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out four. By pitching at least three innings to finish out the game, Pinto was credited with a save.

"It’s truly been a long day," Pinto said through an interpreter. "I got in late, during the game, but my mind was ready to pitch. So I felt ready for the opportunity."

Phillies move start time for Wednesday game

The Phillies announced that the start of their game Wednesday is being pushed back to 4:05 p.m. from the originally scheduled time of 1:05 p.m. due to rain in the forecast.

The game is the finale of a three-game series. Both teams have an off-day Thursday, so if the game Wednesday is rained out, it could be made up then. The Phillies open a three-game series in Washington against the Nationals on Friday, while the Reds return home to face the Mets on Friday.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Phillies Bryce Harper ends hitless 2024 with 3 HRs, including grand slam