MIAMI – Bryce Harper, starting at designated hitter, swung and missed at the first pitch he saw from Miami starter Edward Cabrera at loanDepot Park on Sunday. More significantly, he winced in pain as he did.
“I think I said a couple days ago that, when I swing and miss, it’s going to hurt,” said Harper, who is dealing with elbow and wrist soreness. “You’re probably going to see that for the rest of the year. Just one of those things.”
In the seventh inning, he ripped a long fly ball to left that bounced off the top of the wall for a double. Another foot or so and it would have been a home run. That wouldn’t have changed the outcome of a 10-1 loss. But it would have been his first homer after a drought of 109 plate appearances.
“Man, I’ll take hits any way I can right now,” he said. “Obviously, home runs will come. I know it’s ben awhile. But I’ve been taking some good swings and getting some good results. So just got to keep going.
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“We’ve just got to get going, keep going. This division ain’t close to being done. Obviously, there’s two good teams (Atlanta, New York) behind us. We’re going to play the Mets a couple times. We’ve got to keep rolling. We can’t really worry about the Magic Number or anything like that. We’ve got to keep grinding and stay as healthy as we can. But we still have to play the games.”
Yeah, about that …
The Phillies injured list continued to get longer Sunday.
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Infielder Edmundo Sosa was placed on the 10-day injured list before the series finale against the Marlins. “When he was prepping to go into the cage (Saturday) he felt something in his back,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Then he went and did some hitting and felt it. And felt it again this morning.”
The Phillies used that roster spot to add righthander Seth Johnson, who made his Major League debut at loanDepot Park.
Third baseman Alec Bohm (hand) and outfielder Austin Hays (kidney infection) have been placed on the IL during this series. In addition, catcher J.T. Realmuto hasn’t played the last two games after fouling a pitch off his knee Friday night.
Realmuto said Sunday the swelling and soreness have improved dramatically. Thomson indicated he could return in another day or two.
With Harper at DH, the Phillies fielded a shuffled lineup Sunday. Kody Clemens was at first base in his place and regular DH Kyle Schwarber in left. Weston Wilson was at third and third string catcher Aramis Garcia behind the plate.
UP NEXT: The Phillies open a homestand Monday with a three-game series against the Rays. Tampa Bay has not announced who will start against LHP Cristopher Sanchez (10-9, 4.45) in the opener. It will be RHP Taj Bradley (6-10, 4.40) vs. LHP Ranger Suarez (12-6, 2.90) Tuesday and RHP Shane Baz (2-3, 3.27) vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (14-6, 2.59) Wednesday. All games start at 6:40 p.m.
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