Phillies Manager Gives Simple Reason Team Didn’t Retaliate After Bryce Harper HBP

The collective heart of Philadelphia Phillies fans skipped a beat on Tuesday after superstar slugger Bryce Harper took a pitch to the elbow and was forced out of the game against the Atlanta Braves.

Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider had delivered a 95-mph fastball to the plate, but missed his target pretty significantly, connecting with the elbow that Harper has injured in the past and leaving the two-time NL MVP in significant pain.

The pitch left some Phillies fans looking for retaliation—citing one of those oft-talked about unwritten rules of baseball—but manager Rob Thomson didn’t sound interested in settling the score with another fastball.

Thomson was asked directly why there was no retaliation against the Braves while speaking with reporters ahead of Thursday’s double-header, and his response was clear.

“Because it’s not on purpose. Simple as that,” Thomson said. “If I think somebody is throwing at one of our hitters, I don’t know what I’d do, but if it’s a pitch that gets away from a pitcher, which I believe it was, and I think that everybody in that clubhouse thinks it was, that’s baseball. It happens.”

To Thomson’s point, Strider seemed pretty distraught after hitting Harper, and expressed relief when it appeared as though he had escaped without serious injury. Baseball is a contact sport, sometimes things happen.

In a bit of good news for the Phillies, Thomson was also able to provide a positive health update on Harper, suggesting that his return to the field shouldn’t take too long, barring set backs.

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