Harper will miss weeks, maybe more, and it’s impossible to know whether he can continue playing at his current. Thankfully, the Nationals medical staff read an MRI, not a GIF, and determined Harper sustained a bone bruise but no ligament or tendon damage. They’re not personal, nor are they some kind of incontrovertible diagnosis, like the one the Washington Nationals released after Harper’s left knee buckled Saturday night and led to some gnarly-looking screenshots. As long as I can provide us with a good game in that 3-hole here every once in a while, that’s the goal.Together, those two words are about as ugly a designation as one can assign an athlete. "We have a lot of All-Star talent in here as well. "I think just as a whole, just as a team, we have tremendous amount of talent in here," Harper said. Then starting pitcher Zack Wheeler gave up two more runs in the sixth, and the Phillies were finished.Īt some point, this will turn, both with Harper getting his timing back and Schwarber getting his stroke back.īut neither Harper nor Schwarber is there yet. Just like that, it was 3-3 with nobody out and Bohm on second base.īut Bohm was stranded. Realmuto followed with a triple and Alec Bohm singled him in. Harper led off the fourth inning with his infield hit, then barreled his way around the bases on Castellanos' double. But Harper did show just how lethal he is after the Phillies had fallen behind 3-0. "(Phillies general manager) Sam Fuld told me you better enjoy it because that’ll be the only time in your next 10 years that they’ll give you time," Harper said about the untimed at-bat. Harper knew what that moment meant, both to him and the fans. Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper reacts during a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Philadelphia. The ovation lasted about 30 seconds with chants of "MVP! MVP!" ringing through the ballpark. The Phillies asked MLB for permission to pause the clock so Harper could take in a standing ovation in his first at-bat. It was supposed to be his night, a chance to bask in the adulation from the home crowd for the first time this season. Just gotta keep going every single day, and keep working in the cage." "I feel like if I catch the ball, it’s a different ballgame," he said.Īs for his hitting, Schwarber said: "I’m going to keep working. Schwarber, sensing that he might collide with Guthrie, pulled up at the last second, and the ball hit off his glove for a two-base error. And his problems started with the first batter of the game, when the Red Sox's Raimel Tapia hit a fly ball in between Schwarber in left field and Dalton Guthrie in center. So if Stott comes up with runners in base, chances are he'll put the ball in play. Thomson said he likes Stott hitting lower in the order because he makes contact. Stott didn't start Friday against Red Sox lefty Chris Sale, but he did pinch hit in the ninth and struck out. Thomson could also go back to Bryson Stott, who was hitting leadoff up until Harper returned. But Turner is struggling too, hitting just. Sure, Thomson could go with Turner at the leadoff spot, which he did earlier in the season. He struck out 200 times last season, and 41 times already this season, putting him on a similar pace. This season, Schwarber's on-base percentage is. 218 last season, his on-base percentage was. Schwarber hit 46 homers last season, 38 of them coming from the leadoff spot. And if he’s struggling, or it’s not working, then we’ll switch it." "So we’re going to go with it for a while. That was the game plan last year, and it worked out pretty well. That’s where he’s had the most production in his career. "When he walks to the plate, as the first guy, leading off the game, it opens (the pitcher’s) eyes up. ![]() "He gets on base and hits home runs," Thomson said. The two hitters in front of Harper – Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner – were a combined 1-for-10 Friday. I had no hesitation in that moment."īut here's the problem facing the Phillies following their 5-3 loss to the Red Sox, their fifth straight loss and third straight with Harper back in the lineup: Harper can't do it himself. "So I was going to bust it no matter what. "Every time you’re in those situations − a ball in the gap, a ball down the line − I always want to score for my guys," Harper said. Harper at least had the wherewithal to slide so that his non-surgically repaired arm touched home plate while his braced right elbow stayed tucked close to his body. Sure, the Phillies want to be cautious with Harper, their $330 million man, but there was no way Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan was giving Harper the stop sign because there was no way Harper was stopping. "I want to make sure he gets through that unscathed, and thankfully he did." FACTORY IN OPERATION: Why Eagles 'QB factory' is back in business, even with Jalen Hurts' big contract
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