HARRISBURG, Pa. — Bryan Harper had just entered a tie game to start the ninth inning for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators, and he was now in a bind—loading the bases on two walks and a sharp single.
The next Portland Sea Dogs batter slammed a hard grounder up the middle for a short-to-second, inning-ending force out. A walk in the bottom half plated the run that made Harper a 2–1 winner.
“I just let the defense work. That was a good way to get out of it: Pound the zone,” Harper said of his final offering that May 25 night.