Entering Friday night, Bryce Harper had not homered since Aug. 9. In terms of plate appearances, the 72 he had taken since his last homer was the seventh-longest stretch of his career. It’s his fourth-longest as a Phillie. A year ago, he went through the longest homer-less streak of his career — 164 plate appearances across 38 games.
While his current stretch without a home run isn’t quite as long, it’s still noteworthy because Harper has been in a slump since the start of the second half. The two-time NL MVP was hitting .230/.292/.399 since returning from the All-Star break entering Friday. His last seven games had been an improvement. He was 9-for-his-last-25 with four doubles. Harper added to that recent success on Friday, going 3-for-4 with two doubles. He’s now at 76 plate appearances without a homer.
So, what’s up? Is Harper injured? Not exactly.
Harper told MLB.com before Friday’s game against the Braves that “he’s banged up”. As Todd Zolecki wrote, “Attentive Phillies fans have noticed Harper wearing a protective black sleeve on his right arm since Monday’s game against Houston.”
Harper said he’s dealing with some issues to his elbow and wrist. His wrist has been bothering him since May. The elbow issue began more recently, though it’s not related to his surgically repaired ligament. The black sleeve now makes more sense.
Harper said he doesn’t want to make any excuses when it comes to his recent decreased power productivity. He also noted to MLB.com that, “sometimes you’ve got to play through crap.”
Harper addressed the topic with a group of reporters again after Friday’s game, saying he’s “not concerned.”
“I feel fine. I feel good,” Harper said. “It’s August, obviously. So I think everybody is grinding a little bit. It’s just part of the game.”
The slump, while alarming, doesn’t matter if Harper is able to find another gear come October. How the Phillies and Harper plan on getting there will be one of the more important storylines to watch.
“I just have to. That’s it,” Harper said about being healthy for October. “It’s part of the game. It’s part of the process of going through the season. Just got to stay the course.”
Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo contributed to this post.
