It did not take long for Bryce Harper to back up his comments from Wednesday's postgame.
Friday night in Milwaukee, Harper crushed his 16th homer of the season, a solo shot off of Brewers reliever Burke Bradenhop in the sixth inning, in the Nationals' 4-1 victory at Miller Park.
The Nationals left fielder described what he saw from Badenhop for the game-changing homer.
"I was trying to go up there and make something happen," Harper said on MASN's 'Nats Xtra.' "J-Dub (Jayson Werth) had some great A-B's tonight. Desi (Ian Desmond) and Denard (Span), everyone swung it well tonight. It was good to get the W."
Harper finished 2-for-5 with a single, homer and two RBIs. He now has 37 RBIs on the season. Last year, Harper finished with 22 homers and 59 RBIs.
Unfortunately, Brewers starter and former Nationals lefty Tom Gorzelanny left in the second inning with a left arm contusion. X-rays were negative. But for Harper, this was a window needed because he would rather face a right-hander.
"I was actually excited they got out Gorzelanny, I don't like facing lefties," Harper said. "It is kind of hard because you are going to face a new guy every time you go up there. You just try to grind it out, get some A-B's, get some guys on base and win a ballgame."
Did Harper believe this game was an example of what he had hoped would happen following his comments in Detroit about wanting the team to "have heart" when they go out on the field? It was certainly a small step in the right direction.
"Just come out here and grind it out, playing the game as hard as I can every day like we do," Harper said on MASN's 'Nats Xtra.' "Play like it is the last time we (will) ever play the game. We are a great team out there, and we got a lot of time left. We are excited to play these last two months."
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