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Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper gave an honest take on fans booing him during the first two games of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Harper has been poor throughout the series, hitting 1-for-7 with three strikeouts, one walk and no runs or RBIs. He has only a single, failing to deliver against both right-handed and left-handed pitchers so far.
More news: Phillies Manager Calls Out Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber After NLDS Game 2
The Phillies had home-field advantage, hosting the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park, but they squandered both games, primarily due to their offense and bullpen not supporting the Phillies’ starters.
While Game 1 did not feature many boo birds, Game 2 did, especially as frustrations with the offense — namely the big three of Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner — grew over 18 innings of poor batting.
More news: Bryce Harper Disagrees With Manager’s Assessment of Phillies’ Struggles
Harper got his own personal chorus of groans from the crowd, though he did not take it as a personal attack.
“I love playing at the Bank. I love our fans. I boo myself when I get out. I’m the same way,” he said after the game when asked about the boos.
“I trust in what they do. They show up for us every day, day in and day out. So if we deserve to be booed, if we deserve to — they spend their hard-earned dollar to come watch us play; they expect greatness out of us and I expect greatness out of myself and my teammates as well.
“If they believe that, I don’t know what’s going through their head or mindset. We’ve got some of the best fans in baseball, and they make me play better. So I enjoy it.
“I will probably get booed tomorrow night, too. So it’s kind of the same thing. It’s, like, what are we talking about? Same stuff.”
More news: Phillies Announce Shocking Starting Pitcher Change for NLDS Game 3
Harper and the Phillies will get a chance to start making things right on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium as they go on the road for an elimination game against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
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