PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Bryce's Harper's return from last year's back injury limited him to hitting for the start of spring training. When the Phillies took the field against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Harper was able to grab a glove and join his teammates on the field.
Harper was in the outfield for the first time in 2021 in the Phillies 14-5 loss to Toronto. It was another step forward for the slugger, who will be ready to go at full strength when the Phillies open the regular season. For Harper, it was a nice change of pace to be in the outfield after being limited to hitting for the first month of spring training.
"It felt good to get back out there and kind of get back into game mode playing rightfield and hitting at the same time," said Harper. "It felt good. It felt good throwing the ball in."
Harper wasn't the only Phillie fine-tuning his skills in exhibition action. Ace pitcher Aaron Nola was on the mound for two and two-thirds innings. The pitching line was not a pleasant one for Nola. He allowed six runs and seven hits in the loss. However, spring training is about experimenting and preparing for the regular season, so Nola's line goes against how well the pitcher felt he threw the ball in his outing.
"I felt pretty good from the start," Nola said. "Coming out, the ball felt it had a little more life on it than usual since the past couple of outings, but I was just kind of working on everything."
It's okay for pitchers and hitters to experiment in spring training, but the Phillies are about two weeks away from their season opener. This season could be especially challenging with what appears to be a very difficult division. Harper says the Phillies will have to play at a high level from the start as they open with the Braves and the Mets. It will be the start of a host of difficult challenges for the Phillies against National League East rivals.
"It's going to be a tough division," said Harper. "I think everybody knows that. I think we just have to bring our 'A' game every night. Of course, we're going to be off on some nights, but we have to understand that we're going to face very good pitching at all times, so we need to beat the teams that we need to."
Last year, the Phillies had their share of struggles against their division opponents. The Braves and Nationals are expected to be near the top of the division once again, and the Mets appear to be vastly improved. The Marlins have been at the bottom of the division, but have given the Phillies plenty of problems in recent years. Pitching may be the key with everyone in the division spending much of the off-season bolstering their rotations. For Nola, it's a challenge he is ready for in 2021.
"It's going to be a tough division," Nola said. "But I think that's what's going to make it fun."
