Gregor Blanco came up with a timely hit for the San Francisco Giants to tie the game in the ninth against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night, but he may have gotten a little help from Bryce Harper. Blanco’s RBI triple tied the game at 2-2 and the Giants went on to win in extra innings. As you can see from the video above, it looked like Harper had a chance to make a play on the ball but shied away.
If you remember, Harper crashed face-first into the outfield wall last week while trying to make a play and was left bleeding from the face and chin. He took full responsibility for the loss to the Giants on Tuesday night and essentially admitted last week’s collision has made him skittish.
“I don’t want to hit the frickin’ wall full-on,” Harper said, via the Washington Post. “Of course that crosses your mind after you jam into a wall. It doesn’t really feel very good. It [stinks] that I couldn’t make the play. I totally put that loss on me.”
Harper was nowhere near the wall when the ball sailed over his head. It appeared he pulled his arm down before he even felt the warning track under his feet. He later told the Post’s Adam Kilgore that slamming into the wall was on his mind and is “something I got to get over.”
Can you blame him? Say what you will about Harper, but you would be hard pressed to find someone who questions his passion for the game and the effort he puts forth on a nightly basis. Between crashing into the wall and missing a couple of games with a nasty ingrown toenail, it’s simply human nature that Harper has begun consciously thinking about his health while on the field.
H/T Big League Stew
