WASHINGTON -- Better late than never for Bryce Harper's homecoming.
Harper, the former Washington Nationals star who made his return to D.C. on Tuesday night as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, had to wait longer than expected to see how the crowd at Nationals Park would react.
Following a 41-minute rain delay, with two runners on and nobody out in the top of the first inning, Harper stepped in against Washington ace Max Scherzer and was booed loudly by an abnormally large midweek April crowd. Although there also was a smattering of applause throughout the stadium, which included several right-field sections full of Phillies fans who bused down from Pennsylvania, the predominant reaction was overwhelmingly negative.