Harper gives Nationals a scare after taking errant throw off ankle

ST. LOUIS - It was just about the last thing anybody associated with the Nationals wanted to see at that moment: Bryce Harper falling to the ground in a heap in obvious pain after running down the first base line.

Given the fact Adam Eaton tore up his knee on a very similar looking play two months ago, and given the fact Trea Turner fractured his wrist only 24 hours earlier, the sight of Harper on the ground in the top of the first inning Friday night elicited some of the worst feelings imaginable.

"We've (already) got Trea, and now the only thing I could think was: 'Well, now we've got Bryce,'" said catcher Jose Lobaton, who watched it unfold from the dugout. "It was kind of scary for everybody."

The Nationals could laugh it off a bit after the game, because Harper never had to leave the field and wound up playing all nine innings of an 8-1 loss to the Cardinals. But that didn't make those initial moments any easier to handle.

The incident occurred with one out and one on in the top of the first. Harper grounded to second baseman Greg Garcia, who flipped to shortstop Paul DeJong, who fired to first base in an attempt to complete the double play.

DeJong's throw, though, was off-line. And - as replays later revealed - it struck Harper directly on his left ankle bone. After stepping on the bag and feeling his lower leg go numb, Harper went to the ground as manager Dusty Baker and head athletic trainer Paul Lessard came rushing from the dugout to check on him.

"Oh, man," Baker said. "I didn't know what it was."

After several minutes on the ground and then several more on his feet, Harper convinced Baker and Lessard he could remain in the game.

"We were tempted to take him out," Baker said. "But it seemed like after a few moments, the feeling came back. We certainly don't need to sustain any more injuries, especially to one of our top players."

Harper may have taken things gingerly at first, but as the game progressed he tested his ankle out plenty. He ran hard from first to third base on Ryan Zimmerman's single. He tracked down a long fly ball to the warning track, slammed into the fence making the catch and then fired a throw back to first base on the fly trying for an unlikely double play.

"The more he played on it, the better he was," Baker said. "I think he's OK."

Harper declined to speak to reporters after the game but sent word from the trainer's room through a club spokesperson that "he's fine."