X-Rays Come Back Negative for Bryce Harper After He Left Phillies-Braves Game Early

Some extra heat was added to this divisional battle between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves.

May 23, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) gets hit by a pitch against the Athletics during the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies got Memorial Day off after their seven-game road trip.

That provided them a chance to reset following a great stretch of play that has them tied for the best record in baseball entering Tuesday.

However, the detractors will point out that the Phillies largely beat up on some hapless teams like the Colorado Rockies and Athletics, so returning to the field against the Atlanta Braves for this important three-game set would really determine how real Philadelphia is.

Unrotunately, they are going to be without superstar Bryce Harper for the rest of Game 1.

In the first inning in his first at-bat, Harper took a 95 mph fastball off his surgically-repaired right elbow, causing manager Rob Thomson to pull him from the contest and replace him with Edmundo Sosa.

Bryce Harper was removed from the game after being hit by a pitch in the right elbow pic.twitter.com/mRjQUMrvQ0

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 27, 2025

Strider is also coming back from his own UCL surgery that kept him on the shelf for over a year.

It's hard to imagine that this was a purposeful act by Strider, but Phillies fans aren't going to give him the benefit of the doubt after some of the history that these two rivals have with each other.

On the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast, they announced that X-Rays on Harper's elbow came back negative, which is a great first sign when it comes to any damage he may have potentially avoided, although there's a chance an MRI could be done to see how his UCL is holding up.

Because of that, this will be something to keep an eye on.

Harper had been heating up at the plate following his early-season struggles, slashing .340/.429/.491 in his last 15 games prior to Tuesday with a homer and 11 RBI in 55 at-bats.

Hopefully this is nothing serious and he returns to the field as soon as possible.