Hours later, Harper still confused by the quick ejection originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
DENVER — Three hours later, Bryce Harper was still confused about what happened, why it happened… he was having a hard time believing it actually happened.
Harper was ejected after striking out on three pitches to end the first inning Friday night at Coors Field. The second pitch he threw to left-hander Ty Blach was low and off base, but called a strike from home plate umpire Brian Walsh. Harper disagreed with the strike, closed the day and said a few words to Walsh. He struck out on the next pitch and continued the conversation after the break.
Harper spiked his helmet while talking to Walsh. It wasn’t a violent adventure and her behavior didn’t change. He plays with a lot of emotion, but this wasn’t one of those cases. He just looked like a player trying to talk to a referee.
About 20 seconds after the game went to commercial, Walsh threw Harper, who reacted in shock. So did manager Rob Thomson, who came to discuss and make sure Harper didn’t get into any additional trouble.
“I mean, I wasn’t that upset,” Harper said. “I put my helmet on, but it wasn’t frustration with the call. So I kind of asked him, ‘Hey, I don’t believe it was a scam, but where do you have it, just so I know.’ And he kind of went, ‘Ehh.’ And I thought no, where are you? Then he kicked me out. I told him I just wanted to talk to you, I didn’t yell or anything. said what he had to say.
“I’m not trying to get thrown out in the first inning in Colorado, obviously. It’s a bummer, man. I could have hit a double in the gap or a home run and the game changed. I don’t know, I was just kind of upset that it happened.” because I don’t feel like it should have happened.”
The Phillies lost the game, 3-2, in 11 innings. They scored twice in the top of the fifth on solo home runs by Nick Castellanos and Edmundo Sosa and were one away from pulling off a one-run victory when Jose Alvarado was walked to deep by backup catcher Jacob Stallings. The Rockies won in the 11th on Ezequiel Tovar’s bases-loaded single off Gregory Soto.
In addition to Sosa and Castellanos, the Phillies were 4-for-32 with no extra-base hits. It could have been a different night if Harper and not Johan Rojas had been third in the lineup over the last 10 innings.
“I feel like John Tumpane, Alan Porter, Pat Hoberg and even Vic in second place tonight, there are professionals in this league and there are guys who are really good at their job and understand it,” Harper said. “I think 120 (Walsh’s referee number), he didn’t understand. It is what it is. Just upset that we lost that game. It could have been something different if I was in the lineup. Maybe not, but you never know.”
A feeling of helplessness?
“One hundred percent,” he said, “because you’re not part of the game. I didn’t even feel like it happened. I was sitting here thinking, man, I should be out there. When I yell or scream, you know. At Sometimes I get upset and show my emotion, but I really wasn’t that upset about the whole situation.
This was Carapazza’s explanation to a pool reporter:
“Bryce kept arguing about balls and strikes and at the end of the day, equipment violation is basically a big warning and if you keep talking about pitching then Brian is going to have to deal with it.
“… Just discuss pitching and we’ll send a detailed report tomorrow, send it to the league and then we’ll go from there, but for us it’s a general ball and strike and that’s it.”
The Phillies are 37-15 after the loss, six games ahead of the Braves in the NL East. They have lost just five games in the last four weeks and those losses have been by 1, 1, 1, 1 and 2 runs, with three of them coming in extra innings.
Losses happen. Blown saves happen. This was Alvarado’s first of the season. The Phillies didn’t play badly, they just didn’t hit, and Alvarado threw a bad pitch that Stallings ambushed.
“Anything is going to happen,” said Orion Kerkering, who retired five of the six batters he faced to take the Phillies from the sixth to the eighth inning with a one-run lead. “I know my time will come sooner or later, too, it’s a long season. That’s just baseball.”
