Bryce Harper, the 20-year-old stud outfielder for the Washington Nationals, smashed the longest home run of the season by a Nationals hitter against Julio Teheran Tuesday night. He also paid the price for it, as he was nailed in the leg with a fastball by Teheran in his next at-bat.
An unhappy Harper immediately pointed at the Braves hurler following the pitch, jawing with him as he slowly made his way to first base. He had some choice words for Atlanta catcher Evan Gattis as well, and the benches and bullpens cleared in the incident.
After the game Harper didn't play games about whether he thought Teheran's pitch was intentional. When asked if he was surprised to get plunked, Harper responded, "I hit that ball pretty far off him so not really."
Teheran predictably denied throwing at Harper, telling reporters, "I was just trying to get in there. I don't want to make a mistake like I did with the homer. That's how I hit him."
The Braves team Twitter account poked fun at Harper's reaction by simply tweeting "Clown move bro." The angry Nats, who dropped the game 2-1, responded on social media as well by tweeting, "@Braves Which part, giving up the home run, or drilling the 20-year-old on the first pitch his next time up?"
Harper said to reporters that although he was upset, he had zero designs on charging the mound. "I mean, 14 1/2 games down and I need to be in the lineup," Harper said. "He's got to do what he's got to do. And it's part of the game, like I said. If I walk-off on somebody and he wants to drill me, I'll let him drill me and I'll stand on first base and say some choice words and get over it."
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