Bryce Harper has been red hot for the Philadelphia Phillies, with hits in six straight games entering the second game of today’s doubleheader, including three on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, it looks like he went down with an injury early on Thursday afternoon against the Washington Nationals.
The Phillies dropped the early game today, 3-1. The trail the Nationals 7-3 now, with their biggest bat out of the game, as they try and keep pace with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
After walking in his first at bat of the second game, Harper suffered an apparent injury while in the outfield. According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, he appeared to “tweak” something on a ball he booted. He was charged with an error on the play.
Between innings, a Philadelphia coach checked on him. He was replaced by Brad MIller in the lineup.
It’s hard to tell on replays, but Harper must have tweaked something on that Stevenson single to right that he booted. Bench coach Rob Thomson checked on him between innings. That’s when he was lifted.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) July 29, 2021
The timing of Bryce Harper being pulled did raise some questions. The MLB Trade Deadline is tomorrow at 4 p.m. It seems highly unlikely that Harper is being dealt though.
There have been few if any rumors about the star outfielder being a trade possibility. Philadelphia has also been a buyer in the lead-up to the deadline, so moving Harper doesn’t really align with that strategy. Of course, an injury isn’t great news either. He’s been on and off the injured list multiple times already this year.
On the season, Harper is hitting .295 with a very strong .932 OPS, 16 home runs, 37 RBIs, and 54 runs scored.
At 50-51, the Phillies are tied with the Braves, four games behind the Mets in the division. They run the risk of dropping another game against the Nationals, who are selling at the deadline and primed to fall out of the playoff hunt. It’s not what Philadelphia needed out of today’s doubleheader at all, and a potential Harper injury makes things even worse.
The post Bryce Harper Exited Today’s Phillies vs. Nats Game Early appeared first on The Spun.