Positive return to lineup for Bryce Harper in opening loss to Orioles

BALTIMORE - Monday was a very positive return to the lineup for the Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper.

Playing his first game in four days because of a groin injury, Harper crushed a solo homer and also had an RBI single, finishing 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Harper's single in the sixth made it 6-2. His homer in the eighth cut the lead to 6-3.

The Orioles eventually outlasted the Nationals 6-4.

Harper singled to center field to score Jayson Werth from third for the Nationals' only run in the sixth. In the eighth, he battled the difficult sidearmer Darren O'Day before launching a solo home run to left field on a 2-2 pitch. It marks his 10th homer of the season. Harper has hit at least 10 homers in all six of his seasons in the big leagues.

Harper is hitting .385 and has 29 RBIs in 29 games.

Harper was injured last Thursday while diving chest first to make a catch against Arizona at Nats Park. The sore groin forced him to miss all three games at Citizens Bank Park, a place where he loves to hit. Manager Dusty Baker had said in Philadelphia that he was being careful with Harper and didn't want to bring him back too quickly, holding him out of the starting lineup for the entire three-game set.

Then Harper comes back in the first game of two in Baltimore and looks like Bryce Harper.

"He looked good, he looked real good," Baker said. "Plus, he hit that ball (to) left field like a right hand hitter. That shows me that his hip rotation and everything was good. I'm glad I held him out another day. Maybe he'll start rolling again from here."

Despite a game time temperature of 62 degrees and dropping throughout the night, Harper said he felt good.

"No concerns. In fact, I could've definitely played in Philly, but the training staff and the skipper, of course, didn't think it was a good idea, so we went with that," Harper explained. "I had no problem with that, got work in, and did everything I could to stay in the best mindset and shape I could. Then just come out here and try to have some good at-bats."

As for the cold weather possibly hurting his just recovered groin again? Harper would have nothing of that.

"Can't really think about it. If it's gonna go, it's gonna go," Harper said. "That's the only thing that was in my head. It's just part of the game. Trying to stay healthy, trying to do that tonight."

Even though the Nationals lost, hey certainly had a chance with Harper battling O'Day to a 2-2 count after watching Wilmer Difo and Werth strike out.

"He's always a tough at-bat," Harper said. "It's possible we'll see him the next three days. Just go with that at-bat and see what I can do the next three."

The game started off poorly for the Nationals as Gio Gonzalez surrendered three homers in the first inning giving the Orioles a 4-0 lead. But Harper said the club was still unfazed.

"We're never down. We're always trying to push ahead,". Harper said of the mindset in the dugout. "When we're ahead, we just keep trying to push ahead. It's a mentality we've gotta have. I thought we had that tonight as well, we just came up short. It's a good Orioles team over there, and they beat us tonight."

But even in the loss, Harper still delivered on a cold night despite it being his first game back from the groin injury. There's a built in excuse because of the cold weather or a 6-0 deficit but Harper still had big night at the plate. That's a positive sign for Harper and the offense as they look to keep on rolling.