Bryce Harper had a rough night against the Mets. In the bottom of the fourth, he let a routine fly ball drop into Neil Walker’s zone instead of taking charge. Todd Frazier tagged and scored easily, and Walker gave Harper a look like, “Where were you?” Harper stood in the outfield, barely moving, and the throw home was weak because Walker had to catch on his heels. Joe Girardi looked visibly frustrated in the dugout, not thrilled with that style of play.
Later, Harper stepped up with two outs and ripped what looked like a fair ball down the line, but the ump ruled it foul. Tough call from a hard angle and no replay for the ump to lean on. Harper ended up grounding out. After the inning, he tried to talk to the ump about the call but got tossed for it. Harper insisted all he said was, “Be a professional,” and asked for an explanation. The ump shut him down, then tossed him. Back in the dugout, Harper vented to teammates, saying he didn’t curse or argue, just asked for a conversation.
His teammates didn’t seem too concerned. Harper clearly felt the ejection was unfair and made his case, but it didn’t matter. His night ended early, and not on good terms with either his teammates or the officials.