SAN FRANCISCO -- Drilled in the hip by a heater, Bryce Harper knew where this was headed.
"You see red," he said.
Enraged, the Washington slugger charged the mound, wildly fired his helmet and traded punches to the head with reliever Hunter Strickland, setting off a brawl Monday during the Nationals' 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
"You never want to get suspended or anything like, but sometimes you just got to go and get them and can't hesitate," Harper said. "You either go to first base or you go after him, and I decided to go after him."
The two players have a history, stemming from two home runs Harper hit off Strickland in the 2014 playoffs.
"I can see how that stands in people's minds," Strickland said.
This flashpoint came in their first matchup since then -- with two outs in the eighth inning, none on and Washington ahead 2-0. Strickland hit Harper with the first pitch, a 98 mph fastball.
Harper didn't wait. The four-time All-Star pointed his bat at Strickland, yelled at him and took off.
No one got in Harper's way as he rushed the mound. Giants star catcher Buster Posey stuck near the plate when Harper bolted, and stayed there as things escalated.
Posey got a concussion last month from a beaning. He said he wasn't thinking about that accident, but he was concerned about injuries.
"There were some big guys tumbling around out there," he said. "So it was a little dangerous to get in there sometimes."
Harper's eyes were wide as he flung his helmet -- it wasn't close to Strickland -- and they started swinging away.
The 6-4 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.
Strickland said he missed his spot.
"I left the ball over the plate a couple of times to him," he said. "He's taken advantage of that, so I went inside. Obviously, I got in a little too far."
"He decided to come out, that's what he decided to do. It's go time. You protect yourself and stand your own ground."
DODGERS 5, CARDINALS 1 Cody Bellinger, Chase Utley and Logan Forsythe (Arkansas Razorbacks) hit solo home runs, leading Rich Hill and visiting Los Angeles over St. Louis.
PADRES 5, CUBS 2 Rookie Hunter Renfroe hit a grand slam off Kyle Hendricks and host San Diego handed Chicago its fourth consecutive loss.
PIRATES 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3 Andrew McCutchen hit a leadoff home run in the ninth inning, lifting host Pittsburgh over Arizona.
METS 4, BREWERS 2 Rookie Robert Gsellman pitched seven innings of three-hit ball and had two RBI to lead New York past visiting Milwaukee.
MARLINS 4, PHILLIES 1 Edinson Volquez pitched six innings to earn his first victory of the year after seven losses.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ASTROS 16, TWINS 8 Carlos Beltran homered and singled during an 11-run burst in the eighth inning and visiting Houston overwhelmed Minnesota for its fifth consecutive victory.
WHITE SOX 5, RED SOX 4 Boston’s David Price lasted five innings in his season debut and host Chicago defeated the Red Sox.
INDIANS 5, ATHLETICS 3 Carlos Carrasco won his third consecutive decision, Edwin Encarnacion hit one of Cleveland’s three solo home runs and the Indians defeated visiting Oakland.
ORIOLES 3, YANKEES 2 Dylan Bundy allowed two runs over seven innings and host Baltimore snapped a seven-game losing streak, defeating New York.
TIGERS 10, ROYALS 7 Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez each drove in three runs and visiting Detroit came from behind to beat Kansas City.
RAYS 10, RANGERS 8 Tim Beckman hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the seventh as visiting Tampa Bay scored five runs in a span of three pitches to beat Texas.
INTERLEAGUE
MARINERS 6, ROCKIES 5 Sam Gaviglio pitched into the sixth inning to get his first career victory, and visiting Seattle used six relievers to beat Colorado.
BLUE JAYS 17, REDS 2 Troy Tulowitzki hit his fourth career grand slam, and Marcus Stroman won his fifth consecutive decision to help host Toronto rout Cincinnati.
Sports on 05/30/2017