D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
Things were said by fans. Bryce Harper’s bat answered twice, and his finger once.
The star Phillies slugger finished with a pair of home runs in the Giants’ 9-6 loss at Oracle Park on Friday night, the second the back-breaker, a three-run shot off Tony Watson in the seventh inning.
The first, though, provided more fireworks.
Harper jumped on a Tyler Beede changeup in the fifth inning and sent it screaming to right-center. After he crossed home plate, the $330 million man, who has been booed for his first two games in San Francisco since signing with the Phillies and not the Giants, put his finger to his mouth.
“I think it just depends on what people say. I think there are certain things that people say that people shouldn’t say and shouldn’t come out of their mouths,” Harper told reporters, according to NBC Sports, after going 2-for-4 with a walk, three runs scored and four RBIs. “That’s part of sports I guess. That’s part of fan bases. San Fran has got a great fan base, they love their team, they love their city. It’s a lot of fun going back and forth. It’s good.”
It was less good for the fans and the Giants, who dropped their seventh of nine games to begin August. Harper’s Phillies are a half-game back of the second NL wild card, while the Giants slumped to four games away.
But for a player who responded to the San Francisco fans loudly, he appeared to be pretty appreciative of the chirping.
“It’s always fun coming into hostile environments and hostile situations,” said Harper, whose blasts were his 21st and 22nd of the season. “I’ve seen this stadium erupt, just like in 2014 when we were here for the playoffs. It’s always fun.”
For Harper, at least. The Giants had pitched around Harper for most of their last series, from July 30-Aug. 1 in Philadelphia, when Harper had just one hit but six walks in the three-game set.
The Giants couldn’t put him on in the seventh, when there were runners on first and second and none out. Perhaps they could have in the fifth.
“He’s got good discipline at the plate,” Bruce Bochy said. “… Good hitters, you don’t want to give in. You saw what happened when we did.”