Bryce Harper bruises elbow, but Ranger Suárez shuts down the Braves in the Phillies’ series-opening win

When help arrived, Bryce Harper was down on one knee on the grass in front of the Phillies’ dugout, cradling his right elbow, doubled over in agony.

It looked … bad? No, that isn’t nearly strong enough.

Let’s try this: season-altering.

Because the Phillies emerged from Memorial Day with the best record in baseball. And like the charcoal on your backyard grill, Harper is only just starting to heat up. It’s coming. Wait for it.

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And then, wham. One inning into a three-game showdown with the rival Braves, Harper took a fastball from flame-throwing Spencer Strider off the surgically-repaired right elbow and disappeared into the dugout, down the tunnel, into an X-ray machine.

“I mean,” Phillies left fielder Max Kepler said, “everyone was holding their breath.”

Indeed, for the next few innings, the 40,627 patrons in Citizens Bank Park exhaled only to boo at the mere sight of Strider. But Kepler doubled in an early run, Ranger Suárez dazzled for six innings, and the Phillies eked out a 2-0 victory.

Oh, and Harper’s X-rays: negative.

The Phillies diagnosed Harper with a contusion — medical-speak for “bruise” — according to a mid-game update from the team. In addition to averting a calamity, they raised their record to 35-19, 9½ games clear of the third-place Braves in the National League East.

“Whenever one of your top hitters — or your best hitter — gets hit like that, there’s always a concern [about] a little crack in the bone or whatever," said manager Rob Thomson, who stood over Harper as he writhed and as assistant athletic trainer Joe Rauch assessed the injury. “He’s certainly in a lot of pain, but he’s a tough guy, too.”

In case you’re wondering, no, Thomson didn’t suspect any intent behind Strider’s wayward heater. That much was obvious based on the reaction of the Braves ace, who took off his cap and looked on with concern stamped across his face.

Strider, in fact, is still regaining his command in his third start back after 12 months away for elbow surgery. He issued four walks, more than in any start since Aug. 12, 2023.

“I’m definitely relieved that he’s OK,” Strider told reporters. “He’s one of the best players this century, so he needs to be on the field. It’s best for the game.”

Still, the whole episode prompted flashbacks to 2021, when Harper took a 97 mph fastball to the face in St. Louis. And 2023 in San Diego, when another 97 mph heater broke his left thumb, requiring surgery and causing him to miss 53 games.

Harper was lucky this time. But that doesn’t mean Thomson didn’t manage with his fingers crossed until one of the trainers came down from the clubhouse with an update.

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“I was anxious,” Thomson said. “But I’m happy there’s no break, for sure.”

Notwithstanding the scare involving Harper, the Phillies won with a familiar formula: sturdy, standout starting pitching.

For the third time in four games, the Phillies rode a starter for more than 100 pitches. Suárez took his turn, racking up his highest pitch count (103) since last Sept. 16.

Making his fifth start since returning from spring-training back stiffness, Suárez overcame some long at-bats early in the game and got through six innings. He leaned on his signature sinker and solid changeup, but mixed five pitches like ingredients in a smoothie. And he scattered four hits — all singles; two with two out.

Only once did things get even a little hairy against Suárez. In the fifth inning, he loaded the bases on a leadoff single and a pair of two-out walks.

But pitching coach Caleb Cotham visited the mound before Suárez faced lefty-slugging Matt Olson. Suárez attacked Olson with a sinker and cutter, both of which were fouled off. J.T. Realmuto called for an elevated fastball. Suárez threw one above the zone, and Olson chased it for strike three.

“It got complicated for a second there,” Suárez said through a team interpreter. “It was a very long inning. I was just thinking about trying to get out of it as good as I possibly could.”

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Kepler’s RBI double off the right-field wall in the second inning marked the Phillies’ only hit against Strider. They tacked on a run in the eighth when Realmuto worked a bases-loaded walk.

Even so, slim leads in the late innings are supposed to be extra tenuous for the Phillies without relief ace José Alvarado. But Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm, and resurgent Jordan Romano passed the baton for the final nine outs.

Maybe it even eased Harper’s pain.

“It definitely hurts, but it’s very relieving to know that it’s nothing major,” Kepler said. “I just hope he makes a speedy recovery.”