WASHINGTON – They all knew what was coming. On the mound, Steven Matz pounded the pocket of his mitt with his left hand. In the dugout, Terry Collins paced, then walked over to where Dan Warthen, his pitching coach, was standing. In the stands a sellout crowd of 38,700 stirred, craned their necks, buzzed.
Everyone staring at the Nationals dugout.
Everyone waiting for Bryce Harper to emerge.
Before the game, Dusty Baker had sworn up and down he was giving his best player the day, the whole day, no matter how things progressed, giving him a breather from the grind that had knocked his batting average under .