SAN FRANCISCO — Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper smacked his second home run in three games Monday, but observers were talking about more than just his potent bat afterward.
Harper made two outstanding catches in the outfield in the Nationals’ 4-1 victory in Game 3 of the National League Division Series, the first of which prevented what would have been the first run of the game from scoring.
Harper went to the wall to deny Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford of extra bases with one out and two on in the second inning. San Francisco went onto load the bases in the inning, but failed to score.
Then, after the Nationals scored three times to take a 3-0 lead in the top of the seventh, Harper made a lunging, shoestring catch to his left on a ball hit by Giants left fielder Travis Ishikawa with a runner on second base in the bottom of the inning.
“He was great defensively,” Nationals coach Matt Williams praised. “Went up against the wall and made that play with a couple of guys on. That could change the game for us.”
Harper, whose home run provided the Nationals’ fourth and final run in the ninth inning, shrugged off the defensive excellence.
“Being able to do what Doug (Fister, the winning pitcher) did today, all the credit to him,” Harper said. “That was awesome.”