Bryce Harper on Matt Williams: "I love him as a manager"

PHILADELPHIA - In a season filled with extraordinary moments, Bryce Harper carried an epic performance on the field into the clubhouse, fully endorsing the much-maligned Matt Williams as the Nationals manager.

"Truly, I love him as a manager," Harper proclaimed. "Flat out, I absolutely do and if I didn't, everybody would know because I'm not shy to say things."

Harper's powerful comments came moments after he pounded two more homers and drove in all four runs in the Nationals' 4-0 shutout win over the Phillies.

After winning the National League's Manager of the Year Award last year, Williams has come under fire in his second season as his ballclub has turned a division lead into an 8 1/2-game deficit over the past six weeks.

Reports of players feeling Williams is too uptight has led to rumors of his potential demise. But Williams' star slugger seems to thrive off his skipper's demeanor.

"Just being able to have the fire, the intensity that he has and the way he approaches every single day," Harper continued. "He wants us to be perfect and I love that as a manager. I played for a guy like that in high school and my dad's exactly like that also. So being able to come in every single day and have that approach to win ballgames and playing for a guy like that is fun."

Harper leaned on Williams before he stepped to the plate in the eighth to face Phillies left-hander Adam Loewen. Despite Stephen Strasburg limiting Philadelphia to one hit while striking out a season-high 14, the Nationals only held a narrow 2-0 lead entering the frame.

With Yunel Escobar leading off, Harper walked over from the on-deck circle for some advice on how to approach Loewen's breaking ball.

"Before that at-bat, I went up to him - (Williams as a hitter) was very good with that outside half pitch on a curveball, and he'd rotate and hit it to left-center as a righty," Harper explained. "So I just went to him and said 'Hey, what should I do?' And he said 'Just sit back on it and try to roll.' I said 'All right,' and I said 'Hopefully I'll hit a homer.' And I went up there and hit the homer and came back in and gave him a hug."

Sure enough, Harper hit a missile to left for his National League-leading 39th home run. The two-run shot gave Harper his fifth multi-homer of the the season, and it gave Strasburg and the Nationals some much needed insurance.

After slapping high-fives with his teammates in the dugout, Harper came up behind Williams, who was seated on the upper bench, and embraced his skipper with a bear hug.

"I mean, he does everything he can to help me," Harper said. "He's unbelievable with the mind game and being able to talk about hitting. Being able to play for a manager like that is a lot of fun because he knows so much about the game, knows so much about the at-bats. It's just fun to be able to pick his mind. He's played with some of the best guys in the game. Barry Bonds, to name one of them. He knows a lot about hitting and the game. It's just been a lot of fun."

Williams declined to give the particulars of the pre-homer counsel he provided to Harper.

"We'll keep it between us," he said smiling.

But it's clear the 48-year-old manager - who was a five-time All-Star during his playing days - has built a significant relationship with the cornerstone of the Nationals organization.

Harper's support of Williams wasn't exactly Jimmy Chitwood's "He goes, I go" ultimatum for the town of Hickory, who wanted to run Norman Dale out, but it had to ring clearly and loudly to the Nationals' brass.

"I love Matt," Harper said.