TAMPA, Fla. - From Blake Snell to Masahiro Tanaka, Bryce Harper got some more reps against a tough AL East starting pitcher Wednesday night when the Phillies played the Yankees.
It was Grapefruit League game No. 3 for Harper, who started in right field and batted third, behind Andrew McCutchen and Jean Segura and ahead of Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto in a stacked Phils lineup.
In his first plate appearance, Harper grounded out softly to first baseman Greg Bird. He heard more than a few boos from the Yankees crowd as he stepped into the batter's box.
In his second PA, Harper fell behind Tanaka 0-2 before working it back to 2-2. He had a good cut at a fastball, fouling it back to the netting behind home plate. The at-bat ended in a swinging strikeout.
In his third plate appearance of the night, Harper reached on the second pitch via catcher's interference and stole second base.
In six plate appearances this spring, Harper is 0 for 3 with three walks and two strikeouts. (The catcher's interference goes down as nothing.)
Harper has, historically, been a strong spring training performer, hitting .324/.421/.571 in 146 plate appearances entering Wednesday's game.
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