Phillies’ Bryce Harper Hit by Fastball, Forced to Leave Game With Injury

A matchup between Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper and Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis, the reigning American League Pitcher of the Month, ended prematurely Wednesday.

Harper was struck on the elbow by a 92.9-mph fastball from Francis in the first inning Wednesday, forcing him to leave the game.

According to the Phillies, he was diagnosed with a bruised left elbow. He was set to be re-evaluated further.

Harper’s right elbow required Tommy John surgery after the 2022 season.

Harper, 31, is in the midst of a typically excellent year. The two-time National League MVP is hitting .282 with 26 home runs and 76 RBIs for the Phillies, who have been firmly in control of the National League East most of the season.

Harper had been on a tear over his last 12 games, slashing .362/.434/.511.

The Phillies have lost ground in the National League standings recently. Although their 82-56 record gives them a comfortable seven-game margin over the second-place Atlanta Braves, they have recently fallen behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the NL’s number-1 seed. The Dodgers enter Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels at 84-55, 1.5 games ahead of the Phillies.

Harper is under a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, which he signed in 2019. He claimed his second MVP award in the third year of the deal (2021) having previously won the award in 2015.

In 13 seasons since his 2012 debut — when he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award — Harper has ascended to become one of the faces of the game in a way that transcends his raw statistics.

The raw numbers are impressive: 332 home runs, 965 RBIs, 138 steals, and a career .281 batting average. All of it served to make Wednesday’s matchup against Francis, an unlikely 28-year-old rookie sensation, that much more memorable.

Francis entered the start having compiled a record 0.31 WHIP over his last four starts, lower than any modern major league pitcher in a four-start span with at least 20 innings.

Francis entered Wednesday’s game with an 8-3 record, 3.66 ERA, and 0.99 WHIP on the season. He was chosen as the American League Pitcher of the Month for August. Overall, Francis pitched to an ERA of 1.05 and recorded a 0.41 WHIP last month.

Having struggled to crack the major league level since he was first promoted to Triple-A in 2021, Francis ascended to the Blue Jays’ rotation as Toronto embarked on an unexpected midseason rebuild. They entered Wednesday’s game with a 67-73 record, eight games out in the American League Wild Card race.