Phils breathe sigh of relief after Harper's X-rays negative

PHILADELPHIA -- Once Phillies fans finish booing Braves ace Spencer Strider, they can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Bryce Harper exited in the first inning of Tuesday's series opener after being hit on the right elbow by a 95 mph fastball. The noticeable buzz around Citizens Bank Park for the latest Harper-Strider showdown first turned to concerned silence, then to a chorus of boos directed toward Strider.

"We'll have to reevaluate in the morning, but X-rays were negative,” manager Rob Thomson said following the Phillies’ 2-0 victory. “He was certainly in a lot of pain.”

Harper was unavailable for comment postgame.

The Phillies are calling it a right elbow contusion, which has to be considered a best-case scenario given the way the situation unfolded.

Unable to get out of the way of Strider's 0-1 pitch, Harper immediately clutched his right arm and took a few steps toward the first-base dugout before dropping to a knee as Thomson and assistant athletic trainer Joe Rauch rushed out to check on the superstar.

After a brief conversation, Harper stood back up -- right arm pinned to his chest -- and walked directly into the dugout. He was replaced by pinch-runner Edmundo Sosa, who took over at third base with Alec Bohm shifting from third to first.

"Everyone was holding their breath when it first happened,” said Max Kepler, whose second-inning RBI double was the Phillies’ lone hit off Strider. “It definitely hurts. But it's very relieving to know it's nothing major -- and hopefully, he'll be back with the team soon."

Added Thomson: "Whenever one of your top hitters, or your best hitter, gets hit like that, there's always some concern. But he's a tough guy."

Even Strider, who removed his hat and looked on intently as Harper was attended to, was among those to express concern.

“I’m certainly not trying to hit him,” Strider said. “ … I was just pissed I hit him. I saw him in pain and that was tough. I’m definitely relieved he is OK.

“He’s one of the best players of this century. So he needs to be on the field. That’s best for the game and it’s good for us. It’s good to compete against him.”

Harper and Strider have seen plenty of each other in recent years. Strider has gotten the best of Harper during the regular season (3-for-16, .188), but Harper has owned the matchup on the bigger stage (3-for-4 with a home run and three walks in the postseason).

Though neither Thomson nor the Phillies believe there was any intent on Strider’s part, it doesn’t make it any easier to navigate.

"It was really sad to see him go down,” Phillies starter Ranger Suárez said via a team interpreter. “You never want to see one of the best players on your team go down like that, even more so when it's getting hit like that.”

Adding to the initial concern was the fact Harper had Tommy John surgery on that same right elbow following the 2022 World Series. He missed the first 30 games of the '23 season while recovering. Harper also dealt with some right elbow irritation late last season, though it didn't cost him any time -- and was unrelated to the surgery.

"I was anxious,” Thomson admitted, “but happy that there was no break, for sure."

Harper is no stranger to hit-by-pitch scares.

He was hit in a similar area by a 92 mph fastball on Feb. 27 in Spring Training, but he was left with nothing more than a bruise. He also exited a game last Sept. 4 after being hit on the elbow (albeit the left one) in the first inning. He was in the lineup the next day.

But Harper hasn’t always been as fortunate.

Perhaps the scariest incident came on April 28, 2021, when Harper was struck in the face by a 97 mph fastball from Cardinals left-hander Génesis Cabrera. Incredibly, Harper initially missed only three games but was eventually put on the IL three weeks later with a wrist injury sustained from the ball ricocheting off his face.

The most significant hit-by-pitch for Harper came on June 25, 2022, when a 97.2 mph fastball from Blake Snell left Harper with a fractured left thumb. He missed two months.

Needless to say, the Phillies are thankful the X-rays told a different story this time around.

"It's always good when those kinds of things come out that the images were negative,” said Suárez, who threw six scoreless innings to improve to 4-0 with a 1.01 ERA in his past four starts. “Hopefully, it's just going to be a bad blow for him and nothing too serious."