Scary moment in Wednesday night’s game between the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium (GameTracker). Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper exited the game after taking a 96.9 mph Genesis Cabrera fastball to the face in the sixth inning. Harper was bleeding and able to walk off the field under his own power.
Cabrera also hit the next batter, Didi Gregorius, with a 94.5 mph fastball. That pitch hit Gregorius in the back and it happened on back-to-back pitches. Here’s the video. It appears Harper was able to turn his head just quickly enough to avoid a direct impact:
“(It got him) more cheek, probably a little bit of his nose,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said during his postgame conference call with reporters, adding Harper was taken to the hospital for evaluation. “We hope there’s no fractures. He was bleeding. He’s a tough character. Say a prayer.”
Not longer after, Harper posted on social media that he is “all good” and tests “came back good.” It seems he has avoided major injury.
After Cabrera hit Harper and Gregorius with consecutive pitches, home plate umpire Chris Segal warned both benches. Girardi was not pleased Cabrera was allowed to stay in the game. Girardi “ejected” Segal from the game, which led to Segal actually ejecting Girardi. Check it out:
Harper went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in Wednesday’s game before taking the pitch to the face. He’s started the season very well, taking a .329/.452/.639 batting line with six home runs and nearly as many walks (16) as strikeouts (18) into the contest.
