Phillies’ Bryce Harper, manager Rob Thomson ejected after benches clear against Rockies
The frustrations are coming out for the Philadelphia Phillies.
The defending National League champions have gotten off to an unexpectedly slow start, and while in danger of falling back to .500 on Sunday, two-time MVP Bryce Harper and manager Rob Thomson were both ejected.
After Bryson Stott made the final out of the top of the seventh, Harper and Colorado Rockies reliever Jake Bird exchanged words from across the diamond, and the outfielder came out of the dugout fuming.
Harper was initially held back by Rockies catcher Elias Diaz before both benches emptied, and third base coach Danny Wathan took Harper away from the scrum.
No punches were thrown, but the ruckus was enough to throw Harper and the manager out of the game.
Replay showed that Bird celebrated after the final out, seemingly yelling in the direction of Harper, to which he took offense. Bird then mocked Harper by clapping with his glove.
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Perhaps Harper was trying to strike a fire under his struggling Phillies, but it didn’t work as the Phillies lost, 4-0, and fell to 20-20 on the season.
Harper missed the beginning of the season as he was returning from Tommy John surgery. Entering Sunday, he was hitting .361 with a 1.050 OPS in nine games.
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