Bryce Harper, who had surgery on his left thumb after getting hit by a pitch by Blake Snell, said he will return at some point this season. Derrick Tuskan/Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Phillies slugger Bryce Harper says “I will be back at some point” to play this season but won’t put a timetable on when he can return from his broken left thumb.
Harper was injured last month when he was hit by a 97 mph pitch from San Diego Padres left-hander Blake Snell. The 2021 NL MVP had three pins put in his thumb during surgery that will be there for three weeks. He is in a cast and unable to throw.
The 29-year-old Harper is hitting .318 with 15 home runs, 48 RBI and a .985 OPS
“I don’t want to give anybody a timetable because I don’t know,” Harper said before the Phillies played Washington on Tuesday night. “If I knew a specific date that I’d be back, I’d tell you. I just don’t think it’s fair to anybody. I’ll be back when I’m ready to go.”
Harper checked his swing as the pitch rode inside and high toward his shoulder before hitting him on the outside of the left hand in the fourth inning. He fell to the ground and was in pain as he held his hand while on his knees for several minutes.
TWINS: Minnesota placed veteran right-hander Chris Archer on the 15-day injured list Tuesday because of left hip tightness.
Archer had been scheduled to start against the Chicago White Sox. Minnesota recalled right-hander Josh Winder from Triple-A St. Paul to pitch in his place.
The 33-year-old Archer is 2-3 with a 3.08 ERA over 15 starts in his first season with the Twins. He agreed to a $3.5 million, one-year contract in March after missing most of last season with Tampa Bay because of tightness in his right forearm. A two-time All-Star, Archer is 63-84 with a 3.84 ERA over 10 seasons with Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
Winder was 3-2 with a 3.06 ERA in four starts and eight appearances prior to Tuesday’s game. The Twins were leading the AL Central at 46-37.
MONDAY’S GAMES
MARINERS 6, PADRES 2: Logan Gilbert earned his 10th win to tie for the major league lead, Sam Haggerty hit his first home run in over two months and Seattle won in San Diego.
The Mariners, who have won 12 of their last 15 games, swept the two-game set to win their fifth consecutive series. Seattle (41-42) moved within one game of .500 for the first time since May 4.
Haggerty had three hits, Dylan Moore doubled twice and hot-hitting rookie Julio Rodríguez had two singles for Seattle. Haggerty and Rodriguez also both stole a base – Moore, meanwhile, was twice caught stealing.
The Padres have lost nine of 12.
MARLINS 2, ANGELS 1: Sandy Alcantara pitched eight dominant innings in his second straight win, and Miami won at home for its sixth straight victory.
Alcantara (9-3) allowed two hits – singles by Luis Rengifo in the fifth and Mike Trout in the seventh – in his 11th consecutive outing of at least seven innings. The right-hander struck out 10 and lowered his ERA to 1.82.
Tanner Scott earned his 10th save, surrendering Taylor Ward’s sacrifice fly before retiring Jared Walsh on a liner to center for the final out.
PIRATES 5, YANKEES 2: Rookie outfielder Jack Suwinski hit his 14th home run, Daniel Vogelbach added his 11th and Pittsburgh spoiled Jameson Taillon’s return to PNC Park with a win over New York.
Taillon (9-2), a high draft pick by the Pirates who spent more than a decade in the organization before being traded to New York in January 2021, lost for the first time since April 11. He gave up a solo shot to Vogelbach in the first inning and a two-run homer just over the center-field wall by Suwinski in the fourth. Taillon was pulled with one out in the sixth after allowing five runs and six hits with five strikeouts.
Jose Quintana (2-4) held New York in check for five innings and Pittsburgh’s bullpen did the rest. David Bednar worked the ninth for his 13th save as the Pirates sent the Yankees to consecutive losses for just the fifth time this season.
PHILLIES 11, NATIONALS 0: Kyle Schwarber homered twice, running his NL-best total to 25, and Philadelphia won at home.
J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run shot and a sacrifice fly as the Phillies won for the fourth time in five games. Alec Bohm had two hits and three RBI, and Nick Castellanos drove in two runs.
Schwarber never got the memo that the calendar flipped from June to July. The NL Player of the Month picked up the slack for an injured Bryce Harper when he slugged 12 homers in June and blasted the Phillies into wild-card contention. Just days into July, Schwarber hasn’t slowed down — and neither have the Phillies.
TIGERS 11, GUARDIANS 4: Riley Greene and Victor Reyes drove in three runs apiece, Eric Haase blasted a two-run homer and Detroit won at home.
Miguel Cabrera added three hits, two runs scored and an RBI for the Tigers, who have won the first three games of the four-game series. Greene had a pair of doubles, while Reyes supplied three hits and scored twice.
Drew Hutchison (1-4) got his first victory since last Sept. 25, allowing two runs — one earned — and five hits in five innings.
BRAVES 7, CARDINALS 1: Austin Riley homered and drove in three runs, Ian Anderson allowed one run in a bounce-back start, and Atlanta Braves beat struggling St. Louis in Atlanta.
Riley hit a two-run homer, his 21st, and William Contreras also went deep in the first inning as Atlanta took a 5-0 lead. Matt Olson drove in two runs with two hits, including a first-inning single after Ronald Acuña Jr. singled and stole second.
Anderson (7-5) allowed eight hits with one walk and three strikeouts in five innings. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, getting an inning-ending groundout from Dylan Carlson.
ORIOLES 10, RANGERS 9: Cedric Mullins doubled in the winning run in the 10th inning, and Baltimore won at home in a wild game that featured several comebacks and clutch home runs.
Mullins hit a two-out liner into the gap off Matt Moore (3-2) to bring home Ryan McKenna, who started the inning at second base.
Joey Krehbiel (4-3) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the 10th for the Orioles, who have won three straight following a four-game skid.
Texas trailed 4-0 in the second inning, 7-4 in the eighth and 8-7 in the ninth before rallying. Not to be outdone, Baltimore pulled out of a 9-8 deficit in the ninth when Rougned Odor hit a two-out, solo shot to right-center off Joe Barlow.
REDS 1, METS 0: The New York Mets wasted a stellar performance by Max Scherzer in his return from an oblique injury, losing in Cincinnati on Mike Moustakas’ game-ending sacrifice fly.
Scherzer struck out 11 while pitching six innings of two-hit ball in his first big league start since May 18. He had been sidelined by a strained oblique muscle on his left side.
Throwing mostly fastballs, Scherzer — who turns 38 in three weeks — allowed only one runner to reach third. And he responded by striking out Matt Reynolds to get out of the second inning.
Reds rookie Nick Lodolo combined with four relievers on a six-hitter. Lodolo struck out eight in 4 2/3 innings in his return from a back injury.
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