Harper goes to hospital after taking pitch to face, says he's OK
Warning: Story contains coarse language
Philadelphia Phillies star outfielder Bryce Harper left Wednesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals after a 97-mph fastball from Genesis Cabrera hit him in the face during the sixth inning.
Génesis Cabrera hits Bryce Harper in the face and Didi Gregorius in the ribs with his first two pitches
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 29, 2021
Benches get warned and Joe Girardi gets ejected, yelling "throw the ball over the fucking plate!" on his way out. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt yelled back pic.twitter.com/PLMmBQhvCt
Harper left the field under his own power. Phillies manager Joe Girardi said postgame that Harper was taken to a St. Louis hospital where he underwent a CT scan. Shortly after the game ended, Harper said in a video posted on Instagram that his tests "came back good."
Cabrera's next pitch hit Didi Gregorius in the back, causing umpires to warn both benches. Girardi objected to the warning and was thrown out, leading to an angry tirade when he tried to eject the umpire and was yelling at Cabrera. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt was seen jawing at Girardi from the home dugout.
Cabrera issued an apology to Harper postgame, and said that neither HBP was intentional.
Génesis Cabrera opened his media session by apologizing to Bryce Harper & closed it by asking if he could say one more thing. Here is his closing apology, through team translator Antonio Mujica. pic.twitter.com/v2lwy1aofi
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) April 29, 2021
Cabrera threw just three more pitches after hitting Harper and Gregorius, allowing an RBI single to Andrew McCutchen before finally being lifted. Shildt stressed that he wanted to take Cabrera out immediately after the hurler hit Harper, but the three-batter minimum rule prevented that move.
"This is a failure of the three-batter minimum rule," Shildt said, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Gregorius was also feeling it after his HBP. He may need some imaging of his ribs in the area where Cabrera's pitch struck him, Girardi said, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Phillies won the game 5-3.