WASHINGTON -- Tough to decide who was more pumped up by Bryce Harper's go-ahead, two-run double in the eighth inning: Harper, who clapped and yelled as he stood at second base, or his new manager, Dusty Baker, who punched the frigid air with his gloved hands and screamed some, um, choice words from the dugout.
Indeed, based on what the TV broadcast showed Baker saying Tuesday night, he was expecting to get chastised by his mother.
"I'm not kidding," he said. "She'll call me as soon as I get in the car."
Harper's big two-out hit on the first pitch thrown by reliever Eric O'Flaherty broke a scoreless tie and lifted Washington past Atlanta 2-1 for the Nationals' 12th consecutive home victory against Atlanta.