Lakeland, Fla. — Bryce Harper didn’t get a hit off Justin Verlander when the two faced each other earlier this month.
He made up for it Sunday, hitting two long home runs off of him in the Tigers 7-6 split-squad win over the Nationals.
“I got through it with minimal damage, I guess,” said Verlander, who grinded out five innings. “Unless you count the distance.”
In the first inning Harper hit a 84 mph slider beyond the visitor’s bullpen in right-center field, a two-run shot. In the fifth, he hit a 94 mph fastball from Verlander over the batter’s eye in center field — well beyond the 420-foot marker.