NEW YORK — Bryce Harper was out of the Phillies' lineup Saturday night at Citi Field, a night after being hit by a pitch on the right hand. Harper exited Friday's game in the third inning and had his hand wrapped postgame. He was unable to grip a bat.
It is doubtful that Harper will be available in a pinch-hit role. The Phillies wanted to give him at least one more day. No timetable has been given for his return, but Harper said several times Saturday afternoon that he will be OK and is unconcerned.
"No, no, I'll be fine," Harper said when asked if his level of worry rose when he arrived at the ballpark Saturday and was still unable to do a few drills with his hand.
He spent the morning doing muscle testing with his hand and wrist.
"I'll be OK, I'll be ready to go," he said. "It sucks. You never want to get hit at any period of the season but especially now. We're at a place now where we've got to win games. Really tough to take a day but I need to do what I need to do."
Harper did not attempt to grip a bat Saturday morning. "There was no point of gripping the bat because I couldn't really do certain tests," he said.
Harper is day-to-day. When the pain and soreness subside, he will return. He never wants to sit. He has started 133 of the Phillies' 140 games entering Saturday. Three of those came Aug. 23-25 following the birth of his first child.
MLB
It is unnecessary to write or say that Harper's missing bat looms large for the Phillies. Of course it does. Over the last calendar month, Harper has hit .281/.379/.674 with 11 home runs and 27 RBI in 24 games. He's also stolen five bases and scored 21 runs over that span.
With Harper out, the Phillies' lineup looked like this Saturday against right-hander Marcus Stroman:
1. Cesar Hernandez, 2B
2. J.T. Realmuto, C
3. Corey Dickerson, LF
4. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
5. Jean Segura, SS
6. Brad Miller, 3B
7. Scott Kingery, CF
8. Adam Haseley, RF
9. Drew Smyly, P
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