A day after awkwardly falling on his leg and leaving Thursday’s game with what the Washington Nationals described as a mild left hamstring strain, Bryce Harper walked through the home dugout during batting practice with no noticeable limp. Harper was held out of the Friday night’s lineup against the Pirates. But Manager Matt Williams said the star right fielder, who underwent treatment, played light catch before the game, went through physical therapy and even tried leg weight lifting exercises.
“He got through it fine,” Williams said after the Nationals’ 4-1 win. “That’s an important step for him. We’ll see where he is tomorrow.”
These were encouraging developments given how things looked in the sixth inning of Thursday’s game: Harper lying on the turf and holding his leg in pain after slipping on the wet grass while attempting to throw home from right field.
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Harper said he did not have an MRI exam after Thursday’s game and, before Friday’s game, Williams said the Nationals wouldn’t consider an MRI until the team could evaluate how Harper responded to treatment and light activity. Williams had suggested before the game Harper may take light swings in the batting cage but he didn’t end up doing so.
“He did some leg work,” Williams said. “Got some blood flow in there. [The doctor] looked at him. Poked around and we’ll see how he is tomorrow. A good work day for him today and he was able to do some things.”
Harper said following Thursday’s game the play was scary, given how he fell on his left leg and knee, which underwent surgery after the 2013 season and was badly bruised, near the quad muscle, after being hit with a pitch last week.
“He did some quad work today to make sure that all that [swelling] gets out of there,” Williams said. “He’s still hampered by it a little bit because it was a pretty good hit-by-pitch. He has to make sure he doesn’t rest on that.”
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Although Williams made it seem as if Harper wasn’t headed for the disabled list, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t wind up there should his condition fail to improve. “Nothing as of yet,” Williams said.
Harper has been the Nationals’ best player, and among the best in the National League. He leads the club in average (.344), on-base-plus-slugging-percentage (1.197), home runs (22), RBI (53) and walks (54). The Nationals have dealt with many injuries, but Harper’s could be the most significant given his production in the lineup.
Friday marked just the third game Harper would miss. Clint Robinson, who entered hitting .270 with two home runs, started in right field and went 1 for 4.
On a few occasions this season, the Nationals have seen “day-to-day” injury timetables turn into extended stays on the disabled list (see Anthony Rendon and Jayson Werth). So Williams was reluctant to offer any further detail when asked if the Nationals were confident that Harper’s injury was only his hamstring.
“Given what’s gone on this year and the intricacies in which things have happened, we’re getting hammered about it anyway, so we’re not gonna go there,” Williams said. “What we’ll do right now is say that he is sore and we’re evaluating every day and we’ll take the appropriate steps necessary to make sure that he’s 100 percent ready to go when he’s ready to go.”
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