Phillies star Bryce Harper said he feels fine after being hit in the face by a 96.9 mph fastball Wednesday night, forcing him from Philadelphia's game against St. Louis.
“Everything feels good,” Harper said in a video he posted to Instagram. He said he got a CT scan and other testing and “Everything came back good.”
Harper was drilled in the left cheek by left-handed reliever Génesis Cabrera's first pitch in the sixth inning. The All-Star slugger picked himself up and walked off the field, blood dripping from a cut on the side of his nose.
He appeared to have only minor swelling and bruising in the video he sent to social media.
“Face is still there, so we're all good,” he said.
Cabrera drilled Didi Gregorius with another fastball on his next pitch. Phillies manager Joe Girardi came out of the dugout to argue with plate umpire Chris Segal and was ejected.
Matt Joyce ran for Harper, and Gregorius remained in the game. Cabrera allowed an RBI single to Andrew McCutchen the next at-bat before being pulled.
Harper grounded out and struck out in his first two at-bats. Gregorius doubled and struck out in his two at-bats.
Harper, in the third year of a $330 million, 13-year deal, entered the game hitting .329, including .432 over his last 10 games.
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