Phillies lose Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, and the ball game against the Blue Jays 4-0
Bryce Harper walked off the field in the fourth inning of the Phillies’ 4-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Harper left the game due to right shoulder soreness and is considered day-to-day. Scott Kingery took over in right field for the injured Harper. On the season Harper has slashed .318/.449/.582 with seven home runs and a 1.030 OPS.
The Phillies are already without Didi Gregorius, who has now missed another three games with a swollen elbow. Gregorius is having trouble swinging and he will return to Philadelphia on Monday to undergo additional tests which will likely include an MRI.
Now, it looks like Bryce Harper and JT Realmuto will miss time as well.
Realmuto left the game for a pinch-hitter in the top of the eighth inning. After the game, we learned that Realmuto was dealing with a sore left hand, the same hand that gave him problems just a few weeks ago. A Phillies team with no Harper, Realmuto, or Gregorius is pretty lifeless, and we witnessed that tonight in the Phillies’ 4-0 loss. Harper struck out in his first two at-bats before the leaving the game. The entire Phillies team struck out 14 times, which is good for the 24th time this season that they have struck out in the double digits.
The Phillies offense produced just six total hits, with two being a bloop hit and an infield hit. Defensively, they committed three errors, and a few others that could have easily been called errors. A non-existent offense was certainly no help for Aaron Nola, who lost for the second time on the Phillies’ road trip. Nola pitched well enough to give the Phillies a shot, tossing 6.2 innings and allowing nine hits and three runs while striking out eight. I’m no mathematician but the Phillies won’t win many games if they manage to score zero runs.
The Phillies fell to 4-4 on the road trip, just like .500 teams do. They are 21-19 overall. They will close out the series against the Blue Jays tomorrow afternoon with Chase Anderson taking the mound against Robbie Ray.
Gregorius won’t play. We’ll all await word on both Bryce Harper and JT Realmuto.
