Girardi hints Harper is progressing toward return
PHILADELPHIA » There are signs of an imminent return for Bryce Harper, and not only because the Phillies have lost four of their last five games.
Out since May 22 with a troublesome wrist injury, Harper was on the field prior to the Phillies’ 2-1 loss to the Washington Nationals Friday at Citizens Bank Park, and Joe Girardi did not rule out a return before the end of the weekend.
“We’ll have to continue to talk about that,” Girardi said. “And we’ll see how his workout goes today.”
Harper’s on-field appearance was brief, with the Phillies being chased back into the clubhouse by a quick lightning storm.
The right-fielder is loosely scheduled to meet with the press sometime before a 4:05 game Saturday against the Nationals.
Harper was hit in the face by a 97 mph pitch from Genesis Cabrera April 28 in Washington, suffering the wrist injury when that pitched ball deflected off it. He tried to play for a while after that, but struggled at the plate. He was 2-for-hislast-26 with 13 strikeouts before hitting the injured list.
Harper, who also has had back troubles in each of the last two seasons, is eligible to return at any time.
“There is progress,” Girardi said. “He is hitting. We like the direction that he is going in.”
Harper is hitting .274 with seven home runs.
• • •
Into a season that has included the manager forgetting the moundvisit rule and the manager having the wrong lineup card, now Travis Jankowski arrives.
After Rhys Hoskins led off the ninth inning with a double, the recently promoted Jankowski was sent in as a pinch-runner. When he noticed a slider to J.T. Realmuto hitting the dirt, Jankowski moved toward third. As it happened, the ball bounced right to catcher Alex Avila, who charged toward Jankowski, catching him between bases and ruining the would-be rally.
“Probably did too much there,” Jankowski said. “I saw the ball in the dirt and was expecting a ricochet but it popped right in his glove. Couldn’t do much after that. Got stuck in the middle there. Really no excuses. Just a bad read. So that one’s on me.”
• • •
Didi Gregorius, unavailable since May 12 with a mysterious elbow ailment, was also active before the game.
“He hit on the field early,” Girardi said. “I think he was hitting some breaking balls. So we like the direction that he is going. He and Bryce are doing more and more every day.”
While the manager gave mild hints of a weekend
Harper, he was less about his shortstop.
“I’m not sure where he is at about his availability this weekend,” Girardi said.
• • •
Zack Wheeler engaged Max Scherzer in a duel of likely NL AllStars, striking out eight in 7.1 innings.
“You know he is going to pitch well,” Wheeler said after falling to 4-3. “I knew I would have to keep runs off the board, more than likely. I knew I had to pitch a good game today. I made a few mistakes, but otherwise it went well for me personally. You just have to keep the runs off the board against them.”
• • •
Spencer Howard (0-1, 5.56) will face right-hander Joe Ross (2-5, 5.40) Saturday. As usual, Howard’s endurance and pitch levels will be closely monitored.
“I’d say he is still in the 75-to-80pitch range,” Girardi said. “He had 66 in his last start and he has had a couple extra days here.”
Though the Phils were off Wednesday and Thursday, Girardi did not consider skipping Howard in the rotation to conserve some of his energy. The manager said he would rather spread out the rotation in an effort to better pace Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin, all ranked among the top 19 in innings pitched in the major leagues.
“With the innings that the top return for optimistic
three guys have amassed, there’s some concern there,” Girardi said. “And it’s over the long haul that we’re talking about. The immediate concern is not great. But as they continue to add to that inning total, we had some concern. So we’re going to try to give each of them a little more of a blow.”
• • •
Originally, the Phillies did not expect to use once-promising relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez until 2022. But there is the growing possibility that the 26-year-old right-hander, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, could
be available in September.
“I think it is possible,” Girardi said. “I do know we are a long way out from that. I haven’t gotten a rehab schedule yet. But he’s doing well. And I still believe that is a possibility.”
Dominguez, who was operated on last July, has not pitched since 2019.
In 80 career games, he is 5-5 with a 3.27 ERA and 16 saves.
• • •
Though Citizens Bank Park technically was open at full capacity for the first time since 2019, the Friday attendance was just 15,030.