The Philadelphia Phillies endured a challenging ninth inning against the Miami Marlins, marked by injuries to Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, casting doubt on their availability for the team leading the majors in wins.
Harper, freshly elected to his eighth All-Star Game earlier that day, felt his left hamstring tighten while sprinting to first base on the game’s final play.
He clutched his leg and briefly fell after crossing the bag, opting not to wait for the result of the Phillies’ challenge on the groundout before limping off the field.
“It hurts,” Harper commented afterward. “We’re going to get an image tomorrow just to see what that looks like and see how I feel and go from there.”
Harper, who was the National League Player of the Month in May and a strong contender for June, extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI double in the first inning.
He boasts a .303 batting average with 20 home runs and 58 RBIs this season but expressed concern about the unfamiliar soft-tissue injury.
“If I had something to go back on, I would let you know,” he said. “But I’ve never felt anything like this before.”
Meanwhile, Schwarber experienced groin tightness while making a throw from the outfield during the top of the ninth. Typically serving as the designated hitter, Schwarber was playing in the field only for the third time this season.
Kyle Schwarber (Photo: MLB)
“I reached down to grab the ball barehanded and kind of planted for the throw and felt it grab,” Schwarber recounted.
“I thought it was just a cramp at first and I finished the inning. But, as I was running in [between innings] I could still kind of feel it, so I talked to the trainer and he didn’t like where the spot was … so he wanted to get me out of there.”
Like Harper, Schwarber has excelled in June and played a pivotal role for the Phillies throughout the season.
Schwarber expressed optimism about his injury, stating, “Personally, I don’t think it’ll be super bad at all. But we’ll see what happens.”
Philadelphia has already coped with injuries to key players like shortstop Trea Turner and catcher J.T. Realmuto earlier this season, with pitchers Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull recently joining the injured list due to various ailments.
“This team has been through a lot over the last couple of years,” Schwarber noted. “If that’s going to be the case here, that’s why we have this depth in Triple-A and we have a really good bench here. So, if there’s time to be missed I have all the faith in the world that these guys will keep doing their thing.”
