Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper appeared to suffer a hamstring injury at the end of a 7-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday night.
Trying to beat a grounder to the right side of the field, Harper reached for his left hamstring and limped to the dugout after crossing first base.
Harper confirmed he will undergo imaging on Friday and seemed a little concerned about the injury. He told Anthony Sanfilippo of the Associated Press, “I never felt anything like this before; it hurts.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson didn’t provide further detail, saying, “We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow and check him out.”
The Athletic’s Matt Gelb pointed out that 31-year-old Harper last dealt with an injury in 2017, when he hyperextended his knee, which resulted in him missing six weeks. While the status of the injury remains unclear, Philadelphia may have to prepare to place him on the injured list.
Losing Harper would be a worst-case scenario for the injury-riddled Phillies. Catcher J.T. Realmuto recently underwent knee surgery. Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber also exited against the Marlins with left groin tightness.
Not to mention, Harper was elected to start in the All-Star Game on Thursday after finishing second in fan balloting behind New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. In 76 games, he’s sixth in baseball in OPS (.981) and tied for seventh in home runs (20).
Gelb noted the Phillies could activate Kody Clemens, who is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Before injuring his back in late May, he logged a .256 batting average and .623 OPS in 17 games.