Harper dons sombrero after crushing homer off Scherzer originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Heading into play Tuesday, Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper had homered just four times in the last two months. While several injuries and a near-disaster pitch that hit him in the face limited him to 33 games over that span, it was hardly the kind of stretch the Phillies have come to expect of their $330 million man.
The 2010 No. 1 overall pick of the Nationals came to the plate against his former club in the bottom of the second with Max Scherzer on the mound. After working a 1-2 count, Harper got ahold of a Scherzer cutter and sent it 431 feet into the second deck in right field to record his ninth long ball of the year.
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Harper then returned to the dugout, where his teammates handed him a Phillies-branded sombrero that’s become part of the team’s home run celebration.
The Nationals entered the series just a game behind the Phillies for second place in the NL East. Harper went into the game hitting .274 with a .464 slugging percentage, on pace to be his lowest since 2016.
