Harper's surge continues with 29th homer (Nats lead 4-2)

ST. LOUIS - For a guy who not long ago was laboring through the worst season of his career, Bryce Harper can still launch a baseball with the best of them. And he sure is starting to look like his peak self again.

Harper hit his 29th homer of the season tonight, a solo blast that came on the 10th pitch of a fourth-inning at-bat against Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas. This being game No. 119 for the Nationals, Harper is on pace for a 40-homer season despite all his struggles earlier this summer.

Owner of a batting average in the low .210s not long ago, Harper is now hitting .238 with an .886 OPS. His 29 homers are tied for second-most in the National League. His 72 RBIs are tied for eighth.

Harper's latest blast gave the Nats a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth, though that lead was short-lived. Tommy Milone, trying to keep his team in the game, gave up the tying run in the bottom of the inning via a double, single and a sacrifice fly by Mikolas, the opposing pitcher.

Milone has allowed seven hits and has put nine men on base through four innings, but he's been able to limit the damage to two runs so far.

The Nationals got on the board in the top of the second when Ryan Zimmerman, just named NL Player of the Week, drove an RBI double off the wall in left-center.

Update: Juan Soto has done it again. An opposite-field, two-run homer in the top of the seventh to give the Nats a 4-2 lead. It's the kid's 15th of the season, to go along with 43 RBIs in only 74 games. Now the Nationals need to find a way to get through the rest of this game with their makeshift bullpen. Wander Suero recorded six outs in relief of Milone, then Justin Miller got two outs to finish the seventh. He'll probably return for the eighth as well.