Throwback to ’20: Harper out with ‘a bit of tightness’
PHILADELPHIA » Were it another player, it might have been lost in the early-season swirl.
Were it another injury, it might have been successfully buried under the “dayto-day” carpet.
Were the Phillies playing better, it may have been considered an opportunity for a day-game-after-night-game maintenance day.
But it was Bryce Harper. And it was the back.
And it was an issue before, during and after the Phillies’ 9-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday.
According to the Phillies, Harper awoke Saturday morning with “a bit of tightness” in his lower back. Practicing caution, the Phillies did not start him for the 4:05 game, labeling him as “day to day.”
So cautious was Joe Girardi that he sent Brad Miller, not Harper, to the on-deck circle as a possible tying run in the ninth.
“With him being stiff today, for us to ask him to get warm real quick would have been difficult,” the manager said. “And I think we would be risking injuring him. So I had no plans to use him today.”
Harper reported back difficulties often enough last season that Girardi occasionally used him as a designated hitter, permissible under 2020 rules. The situation also flared in spring training, when Harper admitted to having some mild trouble throwing.
As of early Saturday night, Girardi was not projecting panic.
“We treated
him
and
we’re just calling it day to day,” he said. “I just don’t want to get in a situation where he goes out and plays and makes it worse. We’ve got a long season. So I would just say it is day-to-day.”
While Girardi attempted to soften the news, Harper’s recent history of back misery gave it deeper relevance.
“I know from experience that I work and work and work and sometimes I feel a little cranky (in the back),” Girardi said. “I was able to play whole seasons, but every once in a while I would need a day. So I don’t think he is any different than the regular population.”
Harper, 28, is hitting .238 with two home runs and a .396 on-base percentage. Matt Joyce started in right field Saturday and went 0-for-3. Mickey Moniak entered later and went 0-for-2.
Asked if he thought there was a chance Harper would play Sunday, Girardi said, “Yeah, I do.”
•••
Recently recalled JoJo Romero allowed three runs, two home runs, struck out none, got one Cardinal out and saw his ERA bloat to
22.50.
His lack of velocity has the Phillies concerned.
“We’ll discuss that,” Girardi said. “I am asking the same question because I wouldn’t expect it to go down much. So maybe he’s going through a little bit of a dead arm period, I don’t know. But it’s something that has caught my eye.”
• • •
Jean Segura was 1-for-3 with a run scored but was replaced at second by Ronald Torreyes in the sixth.
“He had an upset stomach,” Girardi said. “It was something he ate. So we took him out for just extreme caution. He’ll be reevaluated tomorrow.”
• • •
Aaron Nola (0-1. 3.45 ERA) will oppose Cards right-hander John Gant (01, 3.00) Sunday at 1:05. It seems to be an important outing.
“We did not play well, we did not pitch well,” Girardi said of Saturday’s loss. “We’ll get it turned around. We’ve got Nola on the mound. We have a chance to win the series. So let’s go win the series.”