Phillies

“The Whole Thing Really Fired Me Up,” Says Bryce Harper After Non-Melee Bench Clearing

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Sep 11th, 2024 · 9:24 AM EDT

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Bryce Harper looked like he was going to kill someone after Edwin Uceta hit Nick Castellanos on Tuesday night, resulting in the benches clearing at Citizens Bank Park:

Benches have cleared at CBP 😡 pic.twitter.com/hfMWbocLNn

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 11, 2024

Phillies star Bryce Harper shares his thoughts on Edwin Uceta hitting Nick Castellanos. @KYWNewsradio #Phillies pic.twitter.com/SXwS5mptU8

— Dave Uram (@MrUram) September 11, 2024

“Yeah I mean he hit him on purpose. It’s not the game we play man. It shouldn’t be. Guys throw too hard nowadays. You’re getting mad because he hits a homer off you, or you blow the lead? Walk the guy and come out of the game. What are you gonna do? The situation, the whole thing really fired me up, really upset me. It’s not something we should accept…”

Harper seemed more pissed off by the whole thing than Castellanos was. Castellanos told reporters after the game that Uceta was frustrated, and called the throw “bullshit,” noting that it was like his two year old throwing a fit “because I take away his dessert before he’s finished.”

Anyway, the Phillies won 9-4. They’re 87-58 with Major League Baseball’s best record. A couple of weird things in this game, with Bryson Stott hitting a ball off an umpire and Harper being given a ground rule double after a fan reached just slightly over the wall to snag a deep fly. Maybe he carried some of that annoyance into the bench clearing, but who knows? What’s important is that the Phils won again and cooler heads prevailed in the non-melee. There are enough guys managing injuries right now. We don’t need someone going on the IL with a broken hand because they decided to give Edwin Uceta a knuckle sandwich.