Harper ejected in first inning of Phillies road trip after poor decision – NBC Sports Philadelphia

DENVER — Coors Field was packed with Phillies fans for the series opener Friday night, but those in attendance only saw a half-inning of Bryce Harper.

Harper was ejected after the start of the first period by home plate umpire Brian Walsh. He struck out three times. The second throw was a low, inbound sinker that was not a strike but was called one.

Harper was visibly irritated that it was a strike, called it over and had a few words with Walsh. He struck out on the next pitch and the conversation continued after the inning ended. Harper threw his helmet down in frustration, but it wasn’t a heated exchange. He seemed to simply be arguing that the pitch was not a strike – which was true.

Murphy must have heard the magic words and ejected Harper pretty quickly. Harper was ejected 24 times in his career, but this one was clearly surprised, raising his hands as if to say: Come on man, I’m just trying to have a conversation with you.

Manager Rob Thomson rushed to defend his player, saying: “You can’t do that.”

With Harper out of the game, the Phillies moved Alec Bohm from third base to first base, moved Whit Merrifield from left field to third base, Cristian Pache from center field to right and inserted Johan Rojas into center.