Frustrated Bryce ejected: 'I need to be better'

Bryce Harper will get going again. Nobody is worried about that.

But Saturday night would not be that night.

Harper got ejected in the middle of the fifth inning of a 5-1 loss to the Mets at Citi Field that snapped the Phillies’ five-game winning streak. It was a frustrating moment in a frustrating stretch for Harper, who has been struggling recently at the plate.

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Phillies manager Joe Girardi did not play Harper on Friday to reset him for the final few weeks of the season. Harper returned Saturday, then -- boom -- was ejected for the 14th time in his career, including his third since joining the Phillies.

“In this moment, with those four innings left, I’ve got to be in that game,” Harper said. “I want to be in the game. I didn’t want the confrontation. I didn’t want to get thrown out of that game, at all, in that situation. There was no negativity in my mind about getting thrown out of that game. I couldn’t be happier. We’re winning. We’re going about it, [winning] nine out of 10, nine out of 11, you know what I’m saying? It’s just so frustrating when you’re trying to go out there, and you’re trying to catch a team and trying to go to the playoffs, and you get tossed. It’s just super frustrating.”

Harper thought he ripped a ball down the first-base line for a hit in the top of the fifth, but first-base umpire Roberto Ortiz called the ball foul. Harper put his hands on his helmet in disbelief. He thought the ball crossed over the outside corner of the bag before landing in foul territory. Harper returned to the batter’s box. He grounded out to end the inning on the next pitch.

As Harper started to walk to right field for the bottom of the fifth, he approached Ortiz.

“'Man, I got that pretty fair,'” Harper recalled saying to Ortiz. “'What do you think?'”

“Not confrontational at all,” Harper said. “Not upset about it. Just, ‘Man, I got that fair. What do you think?’ Asking him what he thought. I did not think I was going to get the reaction that I got. He said, ‘No, I don’t even want to hear you. I don’t even want to talk about it. No.’ When he said that I was like, 'Don’t go big mad on me that quick, you know what I’m saying? I’m not even upset. I’m not mad.' I had no confrontation in my voice.”

The conversation continued, but Harper no longer wanted to know what Ortiz thought about the fair-foul call. He wanted to know why Ortiz responded like that.

“Don’t talk to me like a 5-year-old,” Harper said. “Just be a professional with me. Let’s have a conversation.”

Harper said Ortiz was not interested in talking. Ortiz kept waving him away, while veteran teammate Neil Walker tried to guide Harper away from Ortiz.

Harper said “be a professional” about three or four times. On the final one, Ortiz ejected him.

“When I get thrown out of a game, it’s usually very warranted,” Harper said. “There are times in my career where I go zero to 100, I go ballistic and I say words I probably shouldn’t be saying on national TV. I get very upset. But in this moment tonight, I did not think it was very warranted to throw me out. I was not upset about the play. I was not upset about the play call. I was not upset about grounding out. I’ve never even gone into detail about what I usually say, but tonight I just didn’t feel it was very warranted.”

Harper flew out to left in the first and walked in the third. He said he should have called off Walker, who was playing second base, on a pop fly to shallow right in the fourth. Walker backpedaled to make the catch and Todd Frazier tagged up from third base to score to extend the Mets' lead to 3-1. Walker had no momentum to make a strong, accurate throw to the plate. Had Harper caught the ball, Frazier likely would not have tried for home.

Harper entered the night batting .143 (5-for-35) with one double, two RBIs and a .512 OPS in his last 10 games. He batted .343 (24-for-70) with three doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 19 RBIs and a 1.192 OPS in his first 22 games this season.

The Phillies will need Harper in the lineup even more in the coming days. Jay Bruce is expected to be placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday after re-injuring the left quadriceps that previously had him on the IL. Roman Quinn, meanwhile, went into the concussion protocol after slamming into the center-field fence in the sixth. The Phils will have further updates on Sunday.

Philadelphia does not have a lot of outfield depth. Kyle Garlick is at the club's alternate training site in Allentown, Pa. Utility player Scott Kingery is on the IL.

“As you guys can see, I’m struggling a little bit,” Harper said. “I’m trying to grind every day. I’m trying to get out here, stay in the lineup and stay on the field. I need to be better. I definitely need to be better.”