TORONTO -- Bryce Harper wasted no time announcing his return as quickly and loudly as possible.
Following a five-game absence, Harper lasered a first-inning home run on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre. The blast was part of a six-run onslaught that led to an 8-3 win over the Blue Jays.
Donning an elbow guard on his right arm -- where he’d been plunked a week prior by a 95.3 mph fastball from Atlanta's Spencer Strider -- Harper was taking his typically vicious hacks from the moment he dug into the box. He ranks in the 85th percentile in bat speed (74.4 mph), and his home run came on a swing clocked at 76.6 mph.
All three of the balls Harper hit in play came via a “fast swing,” which is classified as anything 75 mph or faster. Ripping the bat through the zone has been a hallmark of Harper’s career, so it’s encouraging for him to see the recent elbow ailment isn’t slowing him down.
“Obviously, I have to be able to swing at a high level and swing hard,” said Harper, who finished 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored. “I’ve done that my whole career, so if I didn’t feel comfortable doing that today, I wasn’t going to get into the box.”
Bat speed aside, Harper’s power numbers are down a bit this year. His .450 slugging percentage entering Tuesday was his lowest since 2016. Then again, his .518 expected slugging is right in line with his career average (.519).
Harper’s right arm is still a little sore, swollen and bruised. For the foreseeable future, it’ll have some extra protection.
On top of his red long-sleeve undershirt, Harper wore a black padded sleeve that resembled what he wore in 2023 (while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery). He also had a hard-shelled elbow guard strapped over top of that.
“Felt a little bulky, but it felt good,” Harper said.
Harper’s first-inning homer came on the heels of a two-run shot from Trea Turner (who also homered in the eighth inning). That marked the first time the Phillies went back-to-back in the opening frame since Aug. 15, 2024, against the Nationals (Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos).
All told, the Phillies sent 11 hitters to the plate in the first inning. They knocked Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis all over the yard, registering a 99.0 mph exit velocity or greater on all seven balls in play.
Equipped with a hefty lead before throwing a single pitch, Cristopher Sánchez did his job keeping the Jays’ bats at bay. He navigated around four walks to throw six innings of one-run ball. The left-hander has now allowed three runs or fewer in 10 straight starts.
Tuesday was about Harper’s return, though, and the way it lengthened an already potent Phillies lineup.
Philadelphia ranks sixth in runs per game (4.82) and OPS (.740). Even for a week or so, a Harper-sized hole makes a difference.
From May 27 (when Harper exited in the first inning on a hit by pitch) through June 1, the Phillies averaged just 3.5 runs. And they’d scored three runs or fewer in four of those six games.
Putting up a six-spot in the opening frame against Toronto helped wipe away a four-game losing skid, while putting a stamp on a triumphant return for Harper.
“I think having him in the lineup changes a lot of things for them, game plan-wise,” Turner said. “He affects so many different people in so many different ways, and that’s why he’s so good.”