No Harper, No Problem: Friars Erupt to Stun Miami 8–3

Sammy Linedriv - TABL Beat Writer

Baseball has a way of carrying on, even when it feels like the story should stop. The San Diego Friars walked into Game Five without Bryce Harper, their emotional compass and centerpiece, and somehow played their most complete game of the postseason, storming back from an early deficit to defeat the Miami Hawks 8–3 and move within one win of advancing.

For a while, it looked like the night might belong to Miami. Geraldo Perdomo doubled and scored in the first. Kyle Schwarber drove in two more with a ringing double in the third. It was 3–0, and the air around the Friars felt thin — like a team still trying to figure out how to breathe without its leader.

Then, in the fourth, everything turned. Shohei Ohtani worked a walk, Carlos Correa dropped a single into left, and Seiya Suzuki followed with another walk. Joc Pederson lined a single through the left side to get the Friars on the board, and just like that, the lineup snapped to life.

Casey Schmitt followed with a game-tying hit, and Victor Robles capped the rally with a two-run double off the wall. Six runs in a blur, the kind of inning that feels less like strategy and more like release.

Zac Gallen did the rest. The right-hander wasn’t untouchable, but he was unshakable, six innings, seven strikeouts, just one earned run.

He steadied the team in all the quiet ways aces do, setting the pace and restoring the rhythm.

From there, San Diego’s bullpen took the handoff and never blinked. Griffin Jax and Raisel Iglesias each worked scoreless frames, while Kenley Jansen’s efficiency made it look easy. Isaac Paredes added the exclamation point in the eighth, a two-run homer that stretched the lead to 8–3 and sealed the night.

It wasn’t a night for superstars. Ohtani never swung the big bat, Correa didn’t need to carry the load. Instead, it was everyone, Pederson, Schmitt, Robles — threading together the kind of team effort that turns setbacks into momentum.

And so the Friars fly home up 3–2, two chances to finish the job in front of their own crowd. Harper won’t be there in the lineup, but his shadow will be, a reminder that the heart of a team doesn’t stop beating just because one player steps away.

Sometimes, when you think you’ve run out of breath, you find you’ve been breathing all along. W – Gallen (1–0)

L – Rodón (0–1)

SV – None

HR – Paredes (SD)