Bryce Harper was drilled in the face with a 97 mile per hour fastball on Wednesday night. No need for a fancy, creative intro. That's what happened. And somehow, he seemed to be the Phillie who was least angry about it.
The same can't be said for manager Joe Girardi, who was absolutely livid after Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera checked into a tie game to face the heart of the Phillies' order, nailed Harper with his first-pitch heater, and then proceeded to peg Didi Gregorius with another fastball, this time in the ribs, on the second pitch of his outing. Two pitches. Two fastballs. Two dangerous HBPs to important pieces of the Phils' offense. Here's a rundown, courtesy of Jomboy Media.
Somehow, the Phillies restrained themselves from clearing the bench and managed to avoid an all-out brawl, though Girardi's display of rage that resulted in his ejection likely did the job of expressing just how angry they were.
Philadelphia went on to win 5-3, with the run that ultimately broke the tie coming from a single off the bat of Andrew McCutchen. Those were Cabrera's three batters — the three that he needed to face due to the three-batter minimum rule — before he was pulled. But, as the Phillies' social media team noted, the more important takeaway was that Harper somehow avoided serious injury from the direct hit to his face.
Cabrera showed remorse for his poor display of accuracy on the mound, speaking on the HBP to Harper after the game.
"I want to again apologize for all of the action that happened, especially to Harper," Cabrera said (via Katie Woo of The Athletic). "I really wish him the best, I hope he has a speedy recovery, in whatever it is that happened, and that he'll be able to return to baseball activities. The game got away from me at that point. I'm really sorry for everything that happened today. None of it was intentional. And again, I'm sorry for everything."
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt discussed what happened and also expressed his support for Harper.
"...You have moments. They're human beings out there, they're competing. Obviously it wasn't intentional," Shildt said of Cabrera. "...Obviously, completely unfortunate that the ball got away from him. Our prayers are with Bryce Harper, and we hope that he's okay."
The Phillies and the Cardinals finish their four-game series on Thursday at 1:15 p.m. ET, with the Phils currently winning two games to one.
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