The Philadelphia Phillies, the team with the best record in baseball, got a serious scare on Tuesday when eight-time All-Star Bryce Harper was forced to exit a game against the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the first inning when he was hit by a pitch.
The Phillies faced the Braves who trail them by 8 1/2 games in the National League East division. Needing a win to inch their way back into the race, Atlanta sent ace Spencer Strider to the hill â pitching just his third game since returning from elbow surgery followed by a hamstring strain.
On his second pitch to Harper, with a count of 0-1, Strider drilled the two-time NL MVP on the right elbow with a 96.5 mph fastball.
Harper was in obvious pain, dropping to his knees after taking a couple of steps toward the Phillies’ dugout. Manager Rob Thomson and a member of the Phillies’ training staff came out of the dugout to check on Harper, and after a few brief words, escorted their superstar, in the seventh year of a 13-season, $350 million contract, to the dugout and into the clubhouse.
X-Rays Show No Structural Damage
According to a report by John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Harper was diagnosed with an elbow contusion â in other words, a bruise. Results of x-rays on Harper’s elbow were negative, meaning that they showed no deeper structural damage such as a fracture.
There was no further word on whether Harper would see an injured list stint, or how many games, if any, he would miss.
The Phillies came into Tuesday’s game after finally losing to the Athletics on Sunday, after nine straight victories and 15 of their last 19.
The matchup with the Braves was Philadelphia’s first of a seven-game homestead following a seven-game road trip on which the Phillies put together a 7-1 record.
The hit batter was the fourth by Strider in just his first 10 innings since coming off the injured list. In 2023, the year Strider led the NL with 281 strikeouts, his also plunked nine batters.
In his career Strider has now hit 16 batters in 344 innings, including Tuesday’s drilling of Harper.
The active career leader in hit batters is Charlie Morton of the Baltimore Orioles. Morton has struck 189 in 2,172 2/3 innings. That’s about one every 11.5 innings.
Strider remains well behind that rate, with one hit batter every 21.5 innings.
Harper Earlier Had Tommy John on Right Elbow
The injured elbow is the same one that Harper injured in 2022, resulting in Tommy John surgery to repair his torn ulnar collateral ligament. The surgery took place after the World Series that year, which the Phillies lost to the Houston Astros in six games.
This year, Harper was batting .267 with an .823 OPS and eight home runs prior to Tuesday. His OPS, if he failed to raise it, would be his lowest since 2016 when he posted am .814 OPS with the Washington Nationals.
Washington drafted Harper No. 1 overall in 2010 out of College of Southern Nevada.
Harper made his big league debut just two years later, winning NL Rookie of the Year and being selected as an NL All-Star. He went on to win the NL MVP award in 2015 when he belted 42 home runs and put together a 1.109 OPS. He won his second NL MVP in 2021 with the Phillies, hitting 35 homers with a 1.044 OPS.
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