Bryce Harper homers in first at-bat back with Phillies; Zack Wheeler stays home awaiting birth of child

TORONTO — Bryce Harper is back.

After missing five consecutive games with a bruised right elbow, Harper was back in the Phillies lineup batting third for Tuesday’s series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. Wearing a brace on his right elbow, Harper homered off Toronto starter Bowden Francis in his first plate appearance, as part of a six-run first inning for the Phillies.

He drew an eight-pitch walk to lead off the second inning.

“He’s ready to go,” said manager Rob Thomson. “There’s still some swelling in there, but it’s not sore, to my knowledge anyway. So he’s ready to go. He swung the bat really good the other day.”

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Harper was hit in the elbow by a Spencer Strider fastball last week against the Braves. While X-rays were negative, he was sidelined until the soreness and swelling in his elbow went down. The Phillies lost four of five games with Harper unavailable, including three straight to the Milwaukee Brewers.

“He’s a two-time MVP, so just having his name in the lineup, regardless if he does well or not, is going to help everybody else in the lineup individually,” Nick Castellanos said.

After a slow start to his season by his standards, Harper was hitting .308 with three homers and 17 RBIs in May before the injury.

Harper, who often gets pitched up and inside, expects to continue to wear a similar elbow brace to the one he wore after returning from Tommy John surgery in 2023 to avoid similar injuries.

“I’m not going to back off the plate,” Harper said. “I’ve always kind of been on top of the plate. I totally understand throwing inside. It’s part of the game. I get it. It’s just a little scarier nowadays, just because guys throw a little bit harder. So there’s a little bit of give-and-take with that, right? So wearing a brace, wearing an arm guard, that helps a little bit.”

Zack Wheeler was initially scheduled to start Tuesday’s series opener against the Blue Jays, but did not travel with the team to Toronto as he and his wife, Dominique, are expecting the birth of their child any day now. Instead, Cristopher Sánchez slid to Tuesday, and Mick Abel and Jesús Luzardo are lined up for Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Thomson said Tuesday that he does not know when Wheeler will rejoin the rotation.

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Meanwhile, Aaron Nola is scheduled to face live hitters in a batting practice session on Thursday as he continues to work his way back from a right ankle sprain. The Phillies will determine next steps afterward, though Thomson expects Nola to require a rehab assignment at some point before being reinstated from the injured list.

Thomson visited the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ontario, on the Phillies’ off day on Monday along with Kevin Long and Larry Bowa. Thomson, a native of Sarnia, Ontario, was inducted in 2019. José Bautista, who played his final major league season with the Phillies in 2018, is set to be inducted later this week as part of the 2025 class. ... Abel (1-0, 0.00 ERA) is scheduled to make his second career start Wednesday against Toronto right-hander José Berríos (2-2, 3.86).