Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider hit Phillies star Bryce Harper with a 95-mph fastball in the first inning Tuesday in Philadelphia, causing the first baseman to exit the game.

The pitch hit Harper in the right elbow — the same elbow on which he had Tommy John surgery after the 2022 World Series. According to the Phillies, x-rays on Harper’s elbow were negative, and he left the game with a contusion.

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Edmundo Sosa took over for Harper as the pinch runner and stayed in the game as the Phillies’ third baseman.

Harper, a two-time National League MVP, is hitting .267 this season with eight home runs and 33 RBIs. He’s in the seventh year of a 13-year, $330 million contract signed before the 2019 season.

Strider, an All-Star in 2023, is making only his third start of 2025, the result of two injuries.

The right-hander underwent a season-ending internal brace procedure on his right elbow in April 2024, and the ensuing recovery period delayed his debut until April 16.

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After that game, a five-inning outing against the Blue Jays in Toronto, Strider went back on the injured list with a hamstring strain. This is his second start in his return.

One of baseball’s hardest throwers prior to his elbow injury, Strider struck out an MLB-leading 281 batters in just 186.2 innings across 32 starts in 2023. He made the National League All-Star team that year, and was fourth in NL Cy Young voting, while going 20-5 with a league-leading 2.85 FIP (fielding independent pitching).

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Harper is just the 16th batter Strider has hit in 70 career games (57) starts. However, four of those hit batters have come in his first three starts of 2025.

Through his first two starts, Strider was 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA. He allowed 11 hits and six runs across 9.1 innings.

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A lack of command, control, or both is perhaps unsurprising for a pitcher making his third major league start roughly a year out from major elbow surgery. A 2017 study of pitchers who underwent surgery on their ulnar collateral ligament “saw a worse called strike average after returning from injury than they did before, with their command only returning after the second year back.”

Strider was typically in command of all his pitches before his 2024 surgery. A 95.3-mph heater got away from him Tuesday and, unfortunately for the Phillies, Harper’s elbow got in the way.

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