Harper with three at-bats in return: "It felt good to be back"

PHILADELPHIA - Bryce Harper returned from the disabled list with three at-bats Tuesday in the Nats' 4-1 loss to the Phillies. On defense, he was tested early and made a good play retrieving a double down the right field line off the bat of Aaron Altherr in the first inning.

Harper's footwork and speed to the ball, plus the turn and throw, were a good signal that his knee and calf could take the quick starts and stops necessary in a big league game.

"He looked pretty good," manager Dusty Baker said. "His timing's off a little bit, but he moved around good. I didn't see any signs of limping or real fatigue. So, we got him out of there at, we thought, the right time. He got three at-bats. The good thing is the more pitches he sees, the better and quicker his timing will get there."

Harper walked in his first at-bat. He was erased at second base when Anthony Rendon grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, but got to run through second base and then back to the dugout with no issues with the knee.

Harper struck out in the third against Phillies starter Jake Thompson. The swing and miss came off an 87 mph splitter, on a 2-2 count.

In the fifth, Harper popped out to second base on an 0-1 splitter.

In all, he finished 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. Victor Robles replaced him in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Afterwards, Harper wanted to talk about the defensive play early against Altherr's double as a good test to make sure that his body felt back to normal.

"It felt good to be back," Harper said. "Going after that ball in right field Altherr hit down the line felt fine. Got to speed it up a little bit on that play, so I was happy about that. Those are the plays I want to be able to make still and get down that line quick and keep him at second."

Baker was relieved to see Harper's knee and calf react well to the play too. It just looked like a normal play.

"It looked like nothing was wrong," Baker said. "It was a testament to our training staff and how hard he's worked. We didn't see any signs of him limping. When he made that play down in the corner, he showed good arm strength and showed good balance and control. So that was a big step."

At the plate, Harper was able to foul off some pitches that would have been driven deep into Citizens Bank Park had he been able to turn on them. During batting practice, he was able to put a home run in the upper deck of right field.

"Yeah, I was happy I got in some deep counts," Harper said. "First one, second one as well. Got two pitches over the plate that third at-bat I thought I could drive. Tried to attack those the best I could. Saw a lot of pitches tonight and I was happy about that.

"I was trying to go up there and get a pitch over the plate and wasn't able to that first at-bat. But got a couple I could that second A-B and third A-B as well, so ... Felt good. Try to see what I feel like tomorrow and try to get back out there."

The next test is how his knee and calf and overall body feel tomorrow morning after playing for a couple of hours, in his first game action since Aug. 12.

"I feel fine," Harper said. "Just try to get past tonight and see what I feel like tomorrow. If I feel good, then I'll play. If I don't, then take a day and see how I feel that next day in D.C."

Baker pointed out that a long injury layoff oten becomes a mind game for the player, even if his body is close to 100 percent. That might be the biggest hurdle in front of Harper now.

"Well, I'll talk to him and then I'll find out how he feels and, hopefully, today was a very good test for him," Baker said. "Because one of the main problems of an injury is: Psychologically, how do you feel and do you feel that you're not going to hurt it again? He's tested it, and we'll see how he feels tomorrow."

But the bottom line for Harper and the Nats is that this was a nice step forward. Harper was back playing big league baseball after not being on the field for 42 games. He admitted that waiting all those days and watching the team play all those games without him was tough. He desperately wanted to play again. But he also wanted to be careful not to return too quickly.

"You always want to get out there," Harper said. "It was definitely exciting to get out there and play a game. When something happens like that you never know if you're going to be back. To get back knowing how hard my trainers worked, and the workout staff as well, how hard I worked to get back, it's definitely a lot of fun.

"I'm looking forward to the next couple of days, looking forward to the postseason as well. We just got to take it one day at a time, see how I feel, and get it going."