On the heels of a weekend sweep at the hands of the Washington National's greatest divisional foe and a fourth loss in a row, outfielder Bryce Harper was in no mood to discuss the standings.
The Nationals came to Citi Field in New York for a weekend series with the Mets armed with a three-game lead atop the National League East only to see it evaporate as a result of a three-game sweep.
The series culminated in a prime time Sunday Night Baseball affair that saw New York drop Washington 5-2 after launching three homers in the third inning.
The Nationals (54-50) followed it up with their fourth straight defeat, a 6-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday in the nation's capital, while the Mets (56-50) handed the Miami Marlins a 12-1 drubbing to take sole possession of first place.
After the game, Harper didn't want to discuss the standings.
"I don't give a crap what the Mets are doing. Or Dodgers or Giants or Texas or anybody," Harper told the media after the loss and subsequent fall in the standings, according to The Washington Post. "I know what kind of team we are."
Washington entered the campaign as a favorite to win the NL East, but a mixture of injuries and underachieving has seen it hang around long enough for New York to come back and overtake the division lead.
Harper was complimentary of New York after the three-game series and said he looked forward to the race to the division crown.
"We saw all three of their horses (Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard) twice in a matter of two weeks. ... We're gonna have some fun and enjoy it," Harper said via ESPN. "The Mets are a great team. It's definitely going to be a lot of fun down the stretch."
The Nationals and Mets meet six more times this season, with a three-game set from Sept. 7-9 at National's Park and then a a three-game regular season finale series at Citi Field from Oct. 2-4.
While those series' will likely be a lot of fun for all of the fans involved, Harper seems to be enjoying it less now that his team has fallen to second place.
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