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.
Astros 16 Twins 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-and-forth 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.
Carrasco (5-2) pitched six shutout innings before allowing back-to-back homers to Yonder Alonso and Ryon Healy in the seventh. The right-hander, who hasn’t lost since April 28, allowed four hits and struck out seven.
Andrew Miller struck out the side in the eighth. Cody Allen gave up Khris Davis’ solo homer and two singles in the ninth, but struck out Trevor Plouffe and recorded his 14th save.
White Sox 5 Red Sox 4: In Chicago, Boston lefty David Price had an uneven season debut while Melky Cabrera homered and drove in four runs, helping Chicago rally.
Price, who missed the first part of the year with a left elbow strain, threw 88 pitches in five innings. The former AL Cy Young Award winner gave up two hits, including Cabrera’s three-run homer, walked two and hit two batters. He also struck out four.
Price was in line for the win before Kevan Smith hit an RBI double off Matt Barnes (3-2) in the seventh, tying it at 4. Cabrera had an RBI single with two outs.
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia injured his wrist in the first inning and exited in the second. He was hurt trying to beat out a hit when first baseman Jose Abreu slid into the bag and Pedroia fell over him.
Orioles 3 Yankees 2: In Baltimore, Dylan Bundy allowed two runs over seven innings in another strong start at Camden Yards as Baltimore beat New York to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Jonathan Schoop had two RBIs to help the Orioles end their longest skid since a nine-game drought in 2011.
Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 17th home run for the first-place Yankees in this AL East matchup.
Bundy (6-3) gave up seven hits, struck out three and walked one. Brad Brach got three straight outs for his 10th save in 13 tries.
Dodgers 5 Cardinals 1: In St. Louis, Chase Utley, Cody Bellinger and Logan Forsythe hit solo home runs, leading Rich Hill and Los Angeles over St. Louis for its fifth straight victory.
Hill (2-2) recovered from a bout of wildness in his last start to pitch five innings, giving up one run and two hits. In his previous outing, also against the Cardinals, he permitted five runs on four hits and seven walks in four innings.
Mike Leake (5-3) entered the game leading the majors with a 1.91 ERA, but allowed a season-high four runs in 6 2/3 innings.
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.
Astros 16 Twins 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-and-forth 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.
Carrasco (5-2) pitched six shutout innings before allowing back-to-back homers to Yonder Alonso and Ryon Healy in the seventh. The right-hander, who hasn’t lost since April 28, allowed four hits and struck out seven.
Andrew Miller struck out the side in the eighth. Cody Allen gave up Khris Davis’ solo homer and two singles in the ninth, but struck out Trevor Plouffe and recorded his 14th save.
White Sox 5 Red Sox 4: In Chicago, Boston lefty David Price had an uneven season debut while Melky Cabrera homered and drove in four runs, helping Chicago rally.
Price, who missed the first part of the year with a left elbow strain, threw 88 pitches in five innings. The former AL Cy Young Award winner gave up two hits, including Cabrera’s three-run homer, walked two and hit two batters. He also struck out four.
Price was in line for the win before Kevan Smith hit an RBI double off Matt Barnes (3-2) in the seventh, tying it at 4. Cabrera had an RBI single with two outs.
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia injured his wrist in the first inning and exited in the second. He was hurt trying to beat out a hit when first baseman Jose Abreu slid into the bag and Pedroia fell over him.
Orioles 3 Yankees 2: In Baltimore, Dylan Bundy allowed two runs over seven innings in another strong start at Camden Yards as Baltimore beat New York to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Jonathan Schoop had two RBIs to help the Orioles end their longest skid since a nine-game drought in 2011.
Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 17th home run for the first-place Yankees in this AL East matchup.
Bundy (6-3) gave up seven hits, struck out three and walked one. Brad Brach got three straight outs for his 10th save in 13 tries.
Dodgers 5 Cardinals 1: In St. Louis, Chase Utley, Cody Bellinger and Logan Forsythe hit solo home runs, leading Rich Hill and Los Angeles over St. Louis for its fifth straight victory.
Hill (2-2) recovered from a bout of wildness in his last start to pitch five innings, giving up one run and two hits. In his previous outing, also against the Cardinals, he permitted five runs on four hits and seven walks in four innings.
Mike Leake (5-3) entered the game leading the majors with a 1.91 ERA, but allowed a season-high four runs in 6 2/3 innings.
