Bryce Harper may make his return for Phillies vs. Padres

Bryce Harper, who once enjoyed the greatest moment of his career against the San Diego Padres, could return to the lineup Monday when the Philadelphia Phillies host the Padres in the opener of a three-game set.

Harper had “the swing of his life” — as FOX broadcaster Joe Davis exclaimed in the moment — in belting a go-ahead two-run homer in Game 5 of the 2022 National League Championship Series. The eighth-inning blast against Robert Suarez launched the Phillies into the World Series — a place the Padres have not been in more than a quarter century.

Fast forward to the present and Harper is approaching his return from a wrist injury that has kept him sidelined since June 5. It appears he will be back in the lineup early this week, even though Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson noted that Sunday wasn’t Harper’s smoothest day of rehab.

“Bryce is a little stiff today,” manager Rob Thomson said before the Phillies’ 2-1 road win over the Atlanta Braves. “And that’s normal, just because he took so many swings the last couple days. It was a heavy workload.”

The plan all along was for Harper to rest and get treatment on Sunday. In fact, when asked if it was “out of the realm of possibility” that two-time MVP could possibly be in the lineup Monday, Thomson said, “No, not necessarily.”

Obviously if Harper is in the lineup, he could potentially match up late in the game against Suarez, who is coming off a blown save in Sunday’s finale against the Cincinnati Reds.

Suarez, who has had an up-and-down season, was called upon Sunday to protect a 2-1 lead in the ninth against Cincinnati. However, he gave up two runs and four hits while recording only one out as San Diego dropped the rubber game 3-2.

The Padres had been 37-2 when leading after eight innings.

“(That record) says that we got a really good bullpen,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “(It) says that we play good defense. It says we put ourselves in position to win a game and we typically shake hands.”

Meanwhile, Philadelphia closed out a tight one Sunday with Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm each pitching a scoreless inning in relief of Ranger Suarez. The Phillies won despite only recording seven hits.

“(Our starting pitchers) are doing their job of keeping us in games, but we’ve obviously got to pick our offense up a little bit,” Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “And hopefully, as the year goes on, we get hotter and hotter so we can give them a little more breathing room.”

Monday’s pitching matchup will pit Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (7-3, 2.45 ERA) against fellow right-hander Matt Waldron, who has missed the season’s first three months with an oblique strain.

Wheeler is 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA in nine career starts against San Diego and enters on a hot streak, having allowed one earned run or fewer in seven of his last eight starts. He gave up one unearned run in six innings Wednesday in a 2-0 loss to the Houston Astros.

Waldron, meanwhile, went 7-11 with a 4.91 ERA in 27 appearances (26 starts) for the Padres last season. The knuckleballer enjoyed one of his best starts of 2024 in a game at Citizens Bank Park, where he allowed only one run over seven innings in a 5-2 victory. He is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in two career appearances (one start) vs. the Phillies.

“He’s a beast, dude,” Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill said after Waldron’s strong performance that day.

–Field Level Media