Nationals win heated match against Giants
SAN FRANCISCO: An enraged Bryce Harper charged the mound, fired his helmet and traded punches to the head with San Francisco reliever Hunter Strickland after getting hit by a fastball, setting off a wild brawl Monday during the Washington Nationals’ 3-0 win over the Giants.
Drilled in the right hip by a 98 mph heater on Strickland’s first pitch in the eighth inning with two outs, none on and Washington ahead 2-0, Harper did not hesitate. The slugger pointed his bat at Strickland, yelled at him and took off.
No one got in Harper’s way as he rushed the mound. His eyes were wide as he flung his helmet — it sailed wide of Strickland, it might have slipped — and they started swinging away. The 6-foot-4 Strickland hit Harper in the face, then they broke apart for a moment before squaring off again. Harper punched Strickland in the head as the benches and bullpen emptied.
Harper and Strickland were both ejected. They have some history between them — in the 2014 NL Division Series, Harper hit two home runs off Strickland, and the All-Star outfielder glared at the reliever as he rounded the bases.
Tanner Roark (5-2) struck out six and allowed six hits in seven innings. The NL East leaders opened a nine-game West Coast trip with their sixth win in eight games.
Koda Glover pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his sixth save in seven tries.
Ryan Zimmerman hit his 14th homer, off Matt Moore (2-6) in the second.
16 8: In Minneapolis, Carlos Beltran homered and singled during an 11-run burst in the eighth inning against Minnesota’s beleaguered bullpen as Houston overwhelmed the Twins in a matchup of AL division leaders.
The Astros combined for eight hits, two walks, a hitter batter and a balk in the eighth to rally from an 8-2 deficit. The Twins tried three pitchers in the inning, a day after they used eight relievers in a 15-inning loss to Tampa Bay.
Beltran finished with four hits and Carlos Correa had three, including a home run. Alex Bregman also homered for Houston, which had a season-high 18 hits, 13 of them in the last two innings.
Jordan Jankowski (1-0) got his first major league win with 2 1/3 innings in relief of starter Brad Peacock. He allowed four earned runs and gave up home runs to Miguel Sano and Robbie Grossman but he benefited from the Houston hit parade.
Craig Breslow (1-1) took the loss.
Pirates 4 Diamondbacks 3: In Pittsburgh, Andrew McCutchen hit a leadoff homer in the ninth inning, lifting Pittsburgh over Arizona in a wild ending.
McCutchen sent a 1-1 pitch from Archie Bradley (1-1) over the right field wall to cap off a back-andforth ninth. It was the eighth homer this season for McCutchen, recently dropped to sixth in the batting order for the first time in his career.
Diamondbacks pinch hitter Chris Iannetta tied the game moments earlier with a two-run homer to left field off closer Tony Watson. Watson (4-1) was credited with the win after blowing his third save in 13 opportunities.
Indians 5 Athletics 3: In Cleveland, Carlos Carrasco won his third straight decision and Edwin Encarnacion hit one of Cleveland’s three solo home runs.