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Phillies Surging Bryce Harper 'Fine' After Friday Night Issue

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Mike Ostrowski | Last updated Apr 18, 2025 10:30 PM ET

Bryce Harper got straight to work in front of a packed Citizens Bank Park crowd Friday night. In the bottom of the first inning, Harper launched his third home run in four games - a 418 ft shot off Sandy Alcantara - and gave the Phillies an early 2-0 lead.

They would go on to chase Alcantara early and beat the Miami Marlins 7-2. But before the game ended, Bryce had an uncomfortable moment.

Harper struck out to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, and he grimaced on the way back to the dugout. He remained in the game, but anyone familiar with his past injury history - and value to the team - had reason to hold their breath.

Thankfully, according to Phillies manager Rob Thomson, there's nothing to worry about.

"His hand just slipped off the bat," Thomson said. "It just got a little tingle there... he's fine."

Rob Thomson said there’s no physical concerns with Bryce Harper, who he’s obviously been impressed by this week. pic.twitter.com/8aDfijV78F
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) April 19, 2025

There's never a 'good' time for an injury to happen, but this would have been a really awful one. After a dry spell during a 2-4 road trip, Bryce and the rest of the Phillies offense is waking back up this week. They split the last series with the San Francisco Giants before pummeling Miami's ace for six runs in less than two innings.

Harper has not missed a single inning at first base so far - or a single ball sent his way, as he's maintained a perfect fielding percentage through 20 games.

The club knows how important his bat, and more recently, his glove, are to their success. In games with Harper in the lineup since 2022, the Phillies are 220-170. Without him, they are only 64-52

Nick Castellanos also looked fine Friday after being removed early from Thursday's game with what Thomson called a "tight left hip flexor." He had two hits before being taken out early again, which was only for precautionary reasons:

There wasn’t any injury to Nick Castellanos tonight. Rob Thomson said he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow. @OnPattison https://t.co/LSstCsVuNB
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) April 19, 2025