PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper took a knee and grasped his right elbow.
The stomachs of thousands of fans rooting for the home team at Citizens Bank Park were in knots, and the worst was feared as the star slugger for the Philadelphia Phillies took off for the tunnel to the clubhouse.
“Whenever one of your top hitters, or your best hitter, gets hit like that,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said, “there’s always some concern.”
Concern, yes. Just likely not a long-term one for the best team in the National League
Harper left Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves in the first inning after he was hit near the right elbow by a 95.3 mph fastball from right-hander Spencer Strider.
Harper sustained a bruise, but an X-ray for further damage was negative, the Phillies said.
A two-time NL MVP, Harper took a few steps from home plate, dropped to a knee and gripped his arm in pain. Phillies athletic trainers came out to check on Harper, and the first baseman — who wasn’t wearing an elbow guard — headed to the clubhouse.
“I’m not a complete sociopath, so I have some empathy,” Strider said. “I do feel bad for him, to see a person in pain that I caused.”
Thomson said Harper was in a lot of pain after he was hit.
“He’s a tough guy, too,” Thomson said.
Strider was voraciously booed by Phillies fans when he left the mound as the inning ended, and the jeers grew even louder when he trudged off the mound for the last time after 4 2/3 innings.
“Certainly not trying to hit him,” Strider said. “I thought in the moment, I just assumed he had a guard on and was just pissed that I hit him. Saw him in pain. That was tough.
“I’m definitely relieved he’s OK. He’s one of the best players this century. He needs to be on the field. It’s best for the game. It’s good for us, good to compete against him.”
Harper is hitting .267 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs this season.
Edmundo Sosa ran for Harper and stayed in the game at third base, while Alec Bohm moved to first when the Phillies returned to the field.
“I was anxious, but happy there’s no break, for sure,” Thomson said.
Harper is 3-for-16 (.188) in the regular season against Strider for his career. Strider made just his third start for Atlanta since returning from a strained hamstring strain.
The 32-year-old Harper had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow after the 2022 World Series and returned to the lineup just 160 days after the procedure. Harper, in the seventh season of a $330 million, 13-year contract, recently notched his 1,000th career RBI and again played a key role in the Phillies’ surge to the top of the standings in the NL and the East Division, where they are the reigning champions after Atlanta won the previous six titles.
Harper missed 53 games in 2022 after he broke his thumb when he was also hit by a pitch.
With Harper on a hot streak, the Phillies had won nine straight games before dropping the finale of their road trip and returning home to start the three-game series against Atlanta.
“These guys have been playing well for a while now,” Thomson said. “We’ve been doing it in different ways. We really pitched tonight.”
Rained out Wednesday
The second game of the series was postponed Wednesday because of rain and was rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader Thursday. The makeup game between the NL East rivals is set for 1:05 p.m., while the originally scheduled game remains at 6:45.
The Phillies will send left-hander Cristopher Sánchez (4-1, 3.17 ERA) to the mound in the first game and right-hander Zack Wheeler (6-1, 2.42 ERA) gets the ball in the second. The Braves will start righty AJ Smith-Shawver (3-2, 3.67 ERA) in the afternoon and left-hander Chris Sale (2-3, 3.36 ERA) in the evening.
Sale was the NL Cy Young Award winner last season, while Wheeler finished second in the voting for pitching’s top prize.