Philadelphia sports fans saw the 76ers and Phillies lose Sunday. Somehow, the Phillies’ 4-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies seemed more explosive than the Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Both teams’ benches cleared in the top of the seventh inning at Coors Field due to a conflict surrounding Rockies pitcher Jake Bird and Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper. They were both ejected.
Chaos ensued when Bird retired Phillies’ Bryson Stott in the top of the seventh. He appeared to clap his glove, laugh and yell in the direction of the Phillies dugout before walking off the field. Harper didn’t take Bird’s taunting lightly and charged him as players from both teams ran toward the impending confrontation.
Before the fracas, Bird walked two before getting a double play and a flyout to end the inning. Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber appeared in one shot to take issue with Bird’s response to the flyout being caught. That didn’t stop Bird, who even apparently stuck his tongue out.
It’s possible Bird was clapping at a Philadelphia fan sitting in the stands and not Harper, a perennial All-Star. Either way, he was seen motioning toward Harper to come on with it.
Harper was stopped by Rockies catcher Elias Diaz at one point. Diaz was also close when Rockies pitcher Ryan Feltner was hit by a 92.7 mph liner during the Rockies’ loss to the Phillies Saturday.
The bench-clearing skirmish wasn’t the only passionate moment of Sunday’s game, as Phillies manager Rob Thomson was ejected for arguing a call on Schwarber’s strikeout in the sixth inning.
Harper and his teammates had reason to be frustrated. He was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts while the Phillies were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
The Phillies took two of three in the weekend series against the Rockies.
