WASHINGTON — The jeers greeted the announcement of Bryce Harper’s name during pregame introductions at Nationals Park on Thursday. And when he stepped to the plate in the top of the first inning. Again in the fourth.
And, once more, when it was his turn to bat in the seventh, with his current team, the Philadelphia Phillies, trailing his first club in the majors, the Washington Nationals, by a 1-0 score on opening day. As Harper does so well, and so often, he lived up to the moment, hammering a first-pitch fastball to the deepest part of the stadium, getting Philadelphia’s offense going in what became a 7-3 victory over Washington in 10 innings.
“I love coming in here and playing in this stadium. I’ve got a lot of great memories in here, as well. Everywhere I go, it’s exactly like this. Some places are louder than others. It’s all the same,” Harper said when asked about the booing.
He also pivoted on the topic, saying about his returns to the ballpark in the nation’s capital: “All the workers, really – I love my relationship with them a lot. Going through the tunnel and talking to everybody, they still tell me they love me. All the workers in (the visitor’s clubhouse), as well. They know who I am. They know exactly what type of person I am and player and all that kind of stuff. Fans – it’s part of it.”
His longball Thursday was the sixth of his career in his team’s first game of a season, tied for the most among active players. The first five opening-day homers for him came while playing for Washington, where he was the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year and the 2015 NL MVP before leaving for Philly as a free agent after the 2018 season.
“I love hitting in this ballpark,” Harper said. “Always have.”
The eight-time NL All-Star connected off reliever Lucas Sims after striking out twice against Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore as shadows crept across the field on account of the 4:06 p.m. start on a sunny day.
Gore finished with 13 Ks; Nationals pitchers accumulated a total of 19 strikeouts.
“We couldn’t see,” said Alec Bohm, whose two-run double broke a 3-all tie in the 10th. “(That’s) part of it.”
Harper’s take?
“Obviously we don’t want to punch (out) 19 times. That’s comical, right? It’s not fun to do that,” Harper said. “And we can’t do that as a team. But today, made it happen, made it work.”
He hadn’t homered in a spring training game and said he felt like his “timing was just a little off” heading into the regular season.
The first baseman chuckled when he mentioned that hitting coach Kevin Long joked with him that there was, actually, a home run off Harper’s bat down in Florida – but it came during live batting practice on a back field.
The 415-foot solo shot off a 96 mph fastball Thursday was a good sign.
“Definitely felt good on that swing,” Harper said. “Felt like it all came together right there.”br/]
