Harper Faces Near-Certain Suspension After Bench-Clearing Brawl

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – An enraged Bryce Harper charged the mound, fired his helmet and traded punches to the head with San Francisco reliever Hunter Strickland after getting hit by a fastball, setting off a wild brawl Monday during the Washington Nationals’ 3-0 win over the Giants.

Drilled in the right hip by a 98 mph heater on Strickland’s first pitch in the eighth inning with two outs, none on and Washington ahead 2-0, Harper didn’t hesitate. The slugger pointed his bat at Strickland, yelled at him and took off.

No one got in Harper’s way as he rushed the mound. His eyes were wide as he flung his helmet – it sailed wide of Strickland, it might’ve slipped – and they started swinging away. The 6-foot-4 Strickland hit Harper in the face, then they broke apart for a moment before squaring off again. Harper punched Strickland in the head as the benches and bullpen emptied.

Harper and Strickland were both ejected. They have some history between them – in the 2014 NL Division Series, Harper hit two home runs off Strickland, and the All-Star outfielder glared at the reliever as he rounded the bases.

Up next – likely suspension for both players.

“You never want to get suspended or anything like, but sometimes you just got to go and get them and can’t hesitate,” Harper said. “You either go to first base or you go after him and I decided to go after him.”

Strickland told reporters he simply missed on the pitch.

“I left the ball over the plate a couple of times to him,” he said. “He’s taken advantage of that, so I went inside. Obviously, I got in a little too far.”

Nationals Manager Dusty Baker says he has no doubt Strickland struck Harper intentionally, and he has his player’s back.

“What’s a man supposed to do? He’s not a punching bag, he’s human with emotions. I know he took (Strickland) deep in the playoffs a couple of times and he probably took exception to that. I mean baseball is a game where you don’t forget and you can hold grudges for a long, long time.”

Harper did give Strickland props for not going for Harper’s head with his pitch, but says the timing was a bit bizarre.

“It just wasn’t relevant. Like I said, it was three years ago, over a thousand days, I guess,” Harper said. “I don’t know why he’s thinking about it. He’s got a World Series ring. It’s on his finger and he’s able to look at it every single night.”

The Associated Press contributed content to this story.