Bryce Harper’s return to Nationals Park was nothing short of eventful, emotional, and entertaining. The night started with Harper being serenaded with boos from the Nationals fans as he walked onto the field for the first time in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform. However, by the end of the night Harper had the last laugh.
Facing Nationals’ reliever Jeremy Hellickson, Harper crushed a two-run blast to right field.
Harper knew immediately staring down the home run before unleashing an epic bat flip to finish off the Nationals in the process.
Harper and the Phillies took the game 8-2, remaining undefeated at 4-0 in the process. Meanwhile, the Nationals dropped to 1-3 on the season. It’s very early in the season, but Tuesday’s heated contest had a feel of an October playoff game.
There was a chorus of cheers when Harper struck out twice to Max Scherzer in his first two at-bats. Those cheers turned into angry boos as Harper lined a double off Scherzer in the fifth inning.
Harper responded with antagonizing wave to the fans.
Tuesday was just the first of many meetings. For the Nationals, they’ll have to hope it was not an omen of things to come as Harper is signed with Philadelphia for the next 13 years. Not sure how many more bat flips Nationals fans can endure from their new public enemy No. 1.
