The Phillies put in a formal request to allow fans to welcome back Bryce Harper without the slugger incurring a pitch clock violation. It was approved.
“Sam Fuld told me you better enjoy it because that will be the only time in the next 10 years,” Harper joked before the game.
Pitch clock or not, Harper was going to get a loud ovation in front of a sold-out crowd as a thank you for the postseason heroics (a 1.160 OPS and the home run that sent the Phillies to the World Series) and his remarkably quick recovery from Tommy John surgery.
After going 0-for-4 in his first game back on Tuesday against the Dodgers, Harper went 3-for-3 with a double and two walks in Wednesday’s defeat. The Phillies will need Harper and the bats to get going quickly. They currently trail the Red Sox 3-0 in the top of the third.