Mike Rizzo defends Bryce Harper: "He's a guy who loves this city"

I'm sure you've heard by now that Nationals slugger Bryce Harper wasn't too happy with many fans departing Nationals Park prematurely in yesterday's 8-5 loss to the Mets.

"I mean, they left in the seventh," Harper said. "That's pretty brutal."

The criticism reverberated throughout the country from fans and media. Before tonight's game, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo defended his young star.

"Bryce is a passionate player who wears his heart on his sleeve," Rizzo explained. "There's nobody on this team that loves the fan base of Washington, D.C. more than Harp. There's nobody that loves this city more than Harp. He stated it when we were in New York. He's stated it multiple times throughout the season how much he appreciates and admires the fan base here. You're talking about a player after a tough loss with some frustration. But he's a guy who loves this city."

Harper went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a walk in the game as the Nationals dropped five game back of the National League East-leading Mets. Rizzo praised Harper's passion, also saying the 22-year-old is "a guy that doesn't give you cookie cutter answers."

The Nationals rank 10th in Major League Baseball with an average of 33,125 fans attending their 68 home games this season.

"I can't say more about the fan base," Rizzo said. "I love the fan base. I think it's a rabid, intelligent, high baseball IQ fan base, and they're the ones that urge us on and really give us the energy to keep things rolling."

Meanwhile, the Nats face a tall test against Mets right-hander Matt Harvey this evening with just 25 games remaining in the season.

"You gotta win now," Rizzo said. "Tonight's a big game for us. It's a must-win game for us as tomorrow will be a must-win game for us. And then when we go to Miami, it will be a must-win game. Every game we feel that we have to win and every game we don't win, we feel another day has clicked off the calendar. Urgency is the key word; it's been the key word since the All-Star break and it will continue to be."