Nationals

Nationals

Things aren't always sunny in Philadelphia, and Monday night proved that for Bryce Harper and the Phillies.

After making comments that were what home plate umpire Mark Carlson deemed both personal and foul while in the batter's box during his fourth inning at-bat, Bryce Harper was ejected. 

On top of that, pitcher Jake Arrieta voiced his concern about his teammate getting himself sent to the clubhouse with the Phillies down 2-1 to the New York Mets.

"He's got to understand, we need him in right field," Arrieta said after the game. "I don't care how bad the umpire is. He wasn't great for either side. I'm out there trying to make pitches, he misses some calls. So what? We need him out there."

"We were flat from start to finish. Two-hour delay, it doesn't matter. We have to be ready to play. We weren't and it showed," he added. "It's troubling. I'm out there doing everything I can to win a game. I need my guys behind me and they weren't."

Monday's ejection marked the 12th of Harper's eight-year career, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Corey Seidman. None of which Harper got called out for by one of his Nationals teammates. His 12 ejections is the second-most active among active players behind Matt Kemp. 

 

"We need him in right field. I don't care how bad (the ump) is, I need him in right field, I need him at the plate and he wasn't there. So that hurts. He missed some pitches but for both sides," Arrieta said. "If that's the case, that happens on a nightly basis usually. The umpire is going to miss some calls. So what? Next pitch. We've got a game to play.

"I'm not happy with the way we showed up today. We need to come out tomorrow ready to go."

So far in 2019, Harper has 22 hits in 81 at-bats, 14 RBIs and five home runs. 

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