Bryce Harper and Jonathan Papelbon react after fight in Nats dugout

After attacking Bryce Harper in the Nationals dugout during the eighth inning of Sunday's 12-5 loss to the Phillies, veteran closer Jonathan Papelbon attempted to explain his actions.

"First of all, I'll say I'm in the wrong there," Papelbon said. "I'm going to leave that up to our manager. You know, there's a lot of competition and a lot of ... it's a long season and it's a grind. I think we're going to handle it in-house and stuff like that. I've talked to Bryce and told him how we feel, and we're on the same page now, which is good. Squash this and (play) tomorrow's game.

"You know, I grew up with brothers, he grew up with brothers. I view him as a brother of mine. Sometimes in this game there is a lot of testosterone and there's a lot of intensity that spills over, and I think that happened today. For me, I can't allow that to happen in the middle of a game. You handle that after the games or allow the manager to handle that. In that light of it, I'm wrong."

Papelbon insisted that he had no previous history with Harper. He claimed it wasn't a carryover from plunking the Orioles' Manny Machado on Wednesday, an action which Harper felt might result in him being a victim of beanball retaliation.

"It's just in the heat of the moment, you know? We're out there trying to fight for a playoff spot and it didn't happen," Papelbon continued. "Emotions spilled over and sometimes and that's what happens. We're all like brothers here. It's just like growing up and you're with these guys more than you are with your own family. I fought with my brothers plenty of times growing up and the next day you give each other a hug and you say 'Hey look, I'm wrong, you're right. You're right, I'm wrong.' Let's come back together and keep fighting together and come back next year and keep doing the same thing. I think Bryce understands where I'm coming from, and it's squashed and it's good and we're gonna move on."

Harper refrained from offering a detailed account of the melee.

"He apologized, so whatever," Harper said. "I really don't care. It's like brothers fighting. That's what happened. And hopefully, move forward and do what I can for the next six days to have fun and play the game."

Asked if he had ever been in a fight with a teammate before, Harper simply responded, "Usually fighting the other team."

Papelbon apparently received far greater results from his discussion with Harper.

"It was a good conversation that you need to have when the situation and the heat of the battle spills over," Papelbon said. "It's baseball and it's grown men and we're out there fighting. Not everything's always hunky dory, and seasons don't go by when everyone agrees on the same thing and there's not one disagreement in 162 games plus spring training.

"It's part of the atmosphere, man. It's part of what happens in this game, and you put so much into it and you grind so much throughout the year that sometimes emotions spill over, and that's what happened today ... It's happened for hundreds of years in this game, and I think it'll continue to happen.

"I didn't maybe necessarily do it the right way, and there's better ways to do it. But it happened, I can't take anything back. Bryce and I are good, and we will be good. Like I said, we have a brotherly relationship, everyone in this clubhouse. It is what it is. We'll be good and we'll get better from this. I truly do think that we'll get better from this, our relationship will get better from this. Next year when we are in the thick of it and we are grinding together and big games mean something, we'll pick each other up."

Papelbon ended up taking the loss after surrendering a two-run homer to Andres Blanco in the ninth. He is now 2-2 with two blown saves in nine chances and a 3.04 ERA since arriving in Washington on July 28, three days before the trade deadline.

Meanwhile, Harper said tomorrow's make-up game with the Reds is a scheduled day off for him. So being berated by Papelbon as he walked off after a fly out is the last time the fans at Nationals Park will get to see Harper on the field in what could be his first National League Most Valuable Player season.