Grab against wall highlights Harper’s second day in majors

LOS ANGELES - Everything was set up for Bryce Harper to do something heroic Sunday afternoon.

With a runner on and two outs in the ninth inning, Harper had a shot to tie the game for the Washington Nationals with one swing. The count was full when he fouled off a fastball.

"I wanted to hit a bomb, for sure," he said.

Harper drew a walk on the next pitch and trotted to first base, where he was stranded as the Los Angeles Dodgers finished a three-game series sweep of the Nationals with a 2-0 victory.

On his second day in the major leagues, Harper went 1-for-3 with a single and made an outstanding defensive play. But the 19-year-old from Las Vegas High School and the College of Southern Nevada left Dodger Stadium empty-handed in at least one respect.

"We didn't win two games, so I'm never satisfied about that," said Harper, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft and the youngest active player in the majors.

James Loney's two-run single in the sixth inning made the difference for the Dodgers, who own the best record in the National League at 16-6. Chris Capuano struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings to earn the win, and Kenley Jansen got the save.

Harper started in center field and batted seventh for the Nationals (14-8). He grounded out to third base in the third inning, struck out swinging in the fifth and singled to right field in the seventh.

The highlight of Harper's day came in the fourth inning, when he tracked down Jose Uribe's 390-foot blast and jumped to catch it as he crashed into the wall and fell to the ground.

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp said he was an admirer of Harper's weekend debut.

"From what I've seen, and I haven't seen much of him, I think he played pretty good his first couple games up," Kemp said.

Harper and Kemp don't know each other but do share a Las Vegas connection. Kemp played a total of 83 games in Las Vegas in 2006 and 2007, when the 51s were the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate.

As a sixth-round pick in the 2003 draft, Kemp never faced the type of hype confronting Harper. But Kemp has developed into one of baseball's elite players. He entered Sunday leading the majors in five offensive categories, including batting average (.442) and home runs (11).

Kemp was sent down twice by the Dodgers before he stuck in the majors for good in 2008.

"As far as the hype, it's hard to play this game. This game is not easy, and it's a game of adjustments," Kemp said. "There are going to be times when it's tough for (Harper). When you start trying too hard, bad things happen.

"But I think he'll do a pretty good job. He's got a long ways ahead of him. He's still young, and he's still got a lot to learn and still going to have a lot of growing pains. But that comes with baseball, and we've all been through those situations."

Kemp went 0-for-3 Sunday, dropping his average to .425, but his solo homer in the 10th inning beat Washington on Saturday night in Harper's first major league game.

''He's a great player and a great hitter. I know that if I had a No. 1 pick, Kemp would be it. He's unbelievable," Harper said.

"I think everybody in Vegas is a Dodgers fan. It's an exciting time to be up here and play the game that I love."

Harper went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI on Saturday, when his appearance created a circus atmosphere. He heard early boos, a fan behind the plate mooned his first career hit, and then in the ninth inning another fan ran to left field toward Harper before getting tackled by nine security guards.

Soon, Harper should get a chance to settle into his new surroundings. The Nationals are off today and return to Washington to host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

"I was sitting in the dugout before (Saturday's) game, and I was thinking to myself, wow, I'm in the big leagues," Harper said. "I'm trying to stay as calm as I can when I go out there."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.