Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper appeared to draw the ire of manager Rob Thomson during the ninth inning of Monday night’s 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park.
Facing Rays relief pitcher Garrett Cleavinger in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and the game tied, Harper lofted a high drive to right field that appeared to have a chance at going over the wall. Harper apparently thought so, as he watched the ball soar toward the wall, slowly walking out of the batter’s box and down the first-base line.
There was just one problem.
The ball bounced hard off the wall and took a favorable bounce into the hands of Rays right fielder Josh Lowe, who quickly fired the ball into second as Harper was limited to a single.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who thought Harper should have had a double with ease, expressed his displeasure with the star from the club’s dugout.
Topper looks disappointed at Bryce Harper for not running this hit into a double
pic.twitter.com/GAo3xxzCN9— Barstool Philly (@BarstoolPhilly) September 10, 2024
After the game, Thomson acknowledged that Harper should have been on second base before he told reporters that Harper had apologized to him in the dugout before he had a chance to rebuke the Phillies star.
Rob Thomson addresses Bryce Harper's single in the ninth. 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZJWKmwwTeH
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 10, 2024
“Yeah. Yeah,” Thomson said. “And before I could get to him, he came up to me and apologized.”
Thomson said that Harper’s actions set a tone for the Phillies.
“Yeah, I think he does,” Thomson said. “I think it shows the other guys that they need to hustle. And he’s accountable. And he admits to his mistakes and that’s all you can ask for, really.”
Fortunately for the Phillies, Harper’s baserunning gaffe didn’t cost them a win.
With one out and Harper on first, Nick Castellanos struck out before second baseman Bryson Stott reached on an infield single. A walk to pinch hitter Buddy Kennedy loaded the bases for Kody Clemens, who won the game with a single to right field.
Entering play Tuesday, the Phillies (86-58) are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the majors’ best record and own a seven-game lead over the second-place New York Mets in the National League East.
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