WASHINGTON -- Less than a week ago, Bryce Harper reflected on how he was happy he had not been thrown out of game this season. It had been a conscious effort on his part not to lose his cool and control his temperament for his team.
That streak ended in the 12th inning of Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Mets, when Harper was ejected by home-plate umpire D.J. Reyburn for arguing balls and strikes.
After taking a borderline called third strike, Harper stopped and lingered at home plate in obvious disagreement with the call, but eventually he turned and began walking toward the dugout. So, Harper had his back turned when Reyburn tossed him from the game, prompting an angry reaction. Harper yelled and screamed and nearly got into Reyburn's face before he was restrained by manager Dave Martinez and third-base coach Bobby Henley.

"[Harper] was walking away," Martinez said. "I don't know what he said, I haven't talked to him, but he was walking away, it should be a done deal, whatever."
Martinez said he was surprised to see Harper thrown out of the game and said Reyburn told him Harper was thrown out for what he said rather than what he did. During the argument, Harper appeared to yell at Reyburn that he didn't say anything. Harper left the clubhouse after the game before reporters had a chance to speak with him.
"It was just weird," Martinez said. "I mean, what gets me is sometimes… I'm not going to argue balls and strikes, like I said, I'm not going to do that. You're up there battling, if it's a ball and you think it's a ball and you get rung up, you're going to get heated up, it's part of competing, and he walked away. I don't think he showed him up at all, I really don't, and D.J. thought he did."