The Philadelphia Phillies completed a series victory over the division rival Atlanta Braves on Thursday following a split doubleheader, winning the first game of the day before dropping the nightcap. The Phillies will continue the six-game home stand against the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend as fans welcome back former fan favorite Rhys Hoskins, whose team has won five straight after taking the series opener on Friday.
A lot happened in the Braves series that the Phillies won on the field, taking two of three. But they left the series not feeling so victorious. Bryce Harper went down in the opening game of the series after being hit by a pitch from Spencer Strider and has not played since. Aaron Nola, who continues his injured list stint, seems to be progressing slower than the team originally thought. But there was some good news from down on the farm, as one prospect is back after an IL stint.
Phillies News: Bryce Harper doesn't know when he'll play with injured elbow
Three full days removed from Harper getting hit on the elbow, there hasn’t been much positive news surrounding the injury. After hearing the x-rays were negative there was some hope Harper might not miss time but instead he missed his third straight game Friday.
Harper spoke Friday, saying he is still “super sore” before going on about still not swinging a bat, per Lachlan March of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Manager Rob Thomson hinted that swinging the bat is something Harper will need to do before coming back. The hope is he will avoid the IL, however whenever you hear that you know there is some concern from the player or organization.
Harper was able to take grounders on the field before the series opener against the Brewers. This is some positive news as he has been able to at least do some baseball work since the injury. But until he swings the bat, that seems to be the most important as Harper and Thomson have both mentioned him not swinging yet and that is where he might feel the injury the most.
Aaron Nola will need minor league rehab stint for injured ankle
Phillies are awaiting the return of starting pitcher Aaron Nola, who struggled throughout the 2025 season before landing on the injured list. After not making much progress on the most recent road trip he has potentially started to turn the corner with the sore ankle after making headway this week.
Nola threw a bullpen session for the first time on May 27, and it was reported he felt “pretty good” throwing off the mound. Nola hit the IL on May 16 retroactive to May 15. With the latest news about throwing off the mound it is now expected that Nola will have to throw at least one rehab assignment start, which the Phillies and Nola were hoping to avoid originally.
However with the delay in throwing off the mound and the injury taking a little longer than expected it is important to make sure he is right when coming back, and is not feeling any soreness, as he tries to fix his season.
Griff McGarry shines in rehab start with Clearwater Threshers
In minor league news, another Phillies pitcher coming off an injury Griff McGarry was able to complete a successful rehab start. McGarry who is in the midst of having a bounce back season for himself before being placed on the 7-day injured list.
He made his return to the diamond Thursday, May 29 with a start for the Clearwater Threshers, the Phillies’ Single-A affiliate. The right hander was fantastic in the start, throwing two perfect innings to start the game, per Josh Sperber of MiLB.com, striking out four of the six batters he faced before exiting the game with the no-decision.
His velocity was sat at 94-96 mph, a positive sign for him as well. McGarry will come back to a season where he has not allowed an earned run in 14 innings of work while striking out 20 in those innings. His ERA sits at 0.00 with a WHIP of 0.64. Once McGarry is activated he will become another potential depth piece for an already strong Phillies rotation.