MLB Star Bryce Harper Goes Down After Baseball Drills His Knee
It’s never a good time for a player to be pulled from a game due to injury, but what knocked Bryce Harper out of a game on Saturday likely came at the worst possible time.
The six-time All-Star was hit by a pitch in the second half of a doubleheader between the Washington Nationals and the Cincinnati Reds and would leave the game shortly thereafter.
Harper was hit by an 82 mph curveball, but where he was hit was more important than the velocity of the pitch. He was plunked on the right knee by Reds reliever Austin Brice.
Harper immediately went down on one knee and stayed there for about 10 seconds. Manager Dave Martinez and a trainer went out to check on Harper, who then limped toward first base.
He would remain in the game for the rest of the inning and was even able to scamper to second base on a wild pitch. But before the seventh inning would even start, Harper was replaced in the field by Adam Eaton.
Being removed from a game would upset anyone, even a player who hasn’t been on the hottest stretch of his season after a slow start.
Since the All-Star break, Harper has been hitting .356 with a 1.150 OPS — compared to a .214 average and .833 OPS before the break.
Harper finished the game 0 for 3, which ended his modest five-game hitting streak. Surprisingly, that five-game streak was tied for his longest of the season.
After the game Harper discussed the HBP and his availability going forward.
WATCH: Bryce Harper discusses his exit from Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader after getting hit by a pitch in the sixth inning. pic.twitter.com/j9NYfwfVfv
— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) August 5, 2018
“It hurts. I’ll see where I’m at tomorrow and we’ll go from there,” Harper said before later adding there was no point in being on the field with the pain he was in.
The Nats would seem to get some revenge two innings later but they would never admit to it. When Reds’ slugger Joey Votto came to the plate, Nats reliever Ryan Madson nailed him in the leg.
Joey votto is my idol @Reds @barstoolsports @BarstoolBigCat @stoolpresidente @TheSaucyPod pic.twitter.com/1Qig2ay7iI
— wyatt (@y_fyyy) August 5, 2018
Votto clearly thought it was intentional as he mouthed something to Madson on his way to first base. To make things worse, this was actually the second time that Votto was hit by a pitch in the game.
The 37-year-old Madson knew exactly how to respond when asked if he intentionally hit Votto as revenge for Harper being plunked.
”No. I didn’t mean to hit him,” Madson told WCPO. ”Definitely didn’t mean to hurt him. Nothing like that. Hopefully, he’s OK.”
We’ll see if things continue to escalate in the series finale on Sunday — and we’ll also see if Harper is good to go, as he’s played in all but two games this season.
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