Nationals’ Harper activated
Bryce Harper has returned to the Nationals’ lineup after missing 42 games with a knee injury.
The outfielder was activated from the 10-day disabled list before Tuesday night’s game against the Phillies. He started in right field and batted second, going 0-for-2 with a walk before he was removed in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“He’s like a kid on the first day of Little League today,” manager Dusty Baker said before the game. “He’s excited. We’re excited. We’re just going to be a conscience for him on when he has had enough or needs more.”
Harper hyperextended and bruised his left knee while slipping on first base Aug. 12 against the Giants.
The five-time All-Star and 2015 NL MVP originally was expected to return Monday in the series opener. That was delayed because he had flu-like symptoms.
“I’m pain-free. I wouldn’t be out there playing now or playing in the postseason,” Harper said. “It’s something where if I weren’t pain-free, I would see you guys next year.” Bad news: Marlins left-hander Wei-Yin Chen was scheduled to meet with orthopedist Dr. Neal El-Attrache because of continuing elbow issues, according to news reports.
Chen, who is in the second year of a five-year, $80 million deal, made five early-season starts before going on the DL. After returning Sept. 4, he made four relief appearances before reportedly experiencing elbow soreness Friday.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Chen said in April that he has a partially torn ulnar-collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.
“I’m not really sure if he’s going to be able to get back next year,” manager Don Mattingly told the Sun-Sentinel. “We know it is there. It keeps coming back, it kind of gets extended a little bit.” Not done yet: Mets manager Terry Collins, whose contract expires after this season, said he isn’t ready to hang up his spikes.
Collins told the Hackensack (N.J.) Record that he will remain in baseball in 2018, and has not considered retirement.
“I’m going to be somewhere. If after we have discussions, if it feels I shouldn’t be here, then I won’t be,” Collins said. “We’ve created something here that’s pretty good. That’s my take. I haven’t talked to anybody about it so we’ll go from there.” Briefly: The Yankees activated outfielder Aaron Hicks from the DL. He had been out since Sept. 2 with a strained his right oblique . ... Former Giants infielder Matt Duffy, who has missed the season after heel surgery, played for Tampa Bay’s instructional-league team — his first game since aborting a rehab assignment in May after three games.