Phillies' Bryce Harper, wearing elbow guard, homers in first AB after HBP, missing 5 games
TORONTO — Bryce Harper hopes he'll have the elbow guard he wants in a few weeks. He has never felt comfortable hitting with one; maybe it dates back to that bulky brace he wore for months after returning from Tommy John surgery. He has commissioned his friends at Absolutely Ridiculous to make a proper guard.
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But he might never hit again without the makeshift guard he wore Tuesday night when he crushed a home run on the third pitch he saw in his return to the Phillies' lineup.
Harper saw a hanging 0-2 splitter from Toronto Blue Jays righty Bowden Francis and drove it into the visiting bullpen at Rogers Centre. His blast followed a two-run Trea Turner homer and was only a small part of a six-run Phillies first inning.
Elbow Guard Bryce 😤
Bryce Harper homers in first game since last Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/OMxNQ21RUO
— MLB (@MLB) June 3, 2025
It was a decent initial boost after a lost weekend without Harper as the Phillies were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers. He was plunked on the right elbow by a 95-mph Spencer Strider fastball a week ago and missed the next five games. He was not wearing an elbow guard.
Now, he is.
'He's ready to go,' Phillies manager Rob Thomson said before Tuesday's game. 'There's still some swelling in there, but it's not sore — to my knowledge anyway. So he's ready to go.'
All it took was three pitches for Harper to prove his manager right.
(Photo of Bryce Harper on May 24: Dennis Lee / Imagn Images)
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