Community Picks: Philadelphia Phillies 0% vs Washington Nationals 0%

  The Washington Nationals suffered a tough one-run loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night, but Oliver Perez and Bryce Harper both found their own way of making baseball fun again. Either Oliver Perez has a weird/special way of preparing to pitch (he'd take the mound in the seventh inning), or he was just plain bored, because he spent a significant amount of time in the third inning unraveling a styrofoam cup with his teeth and wrapping the string around his neck like a very skinny scarf. The Nats announcers described it as a "slow motion can opener," which is pretty on the nose. [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now ] It's no secret that spending every game sequestered in the bullpen, whether you pitch or not, can be pretty boring. And the Nats announcers said "this is taking boredom in the bullpen to a whole new level." But it's nice to see him - or anyone - having fun during baseball's slower moments.  Of course, we all know that Bryce Harper approves of fun in baseball, and he continues to show it to the world. In the bottom of the fifth, the Nationals were down 3-1 when Harper came to bat. With runners on first and second, he hit an RBI single to left and cut the Phillies lead to just one run. He celebrated thusly: All the kids will be doing this tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/TnAZQNEQN2 — MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) April 27, 2016 I hope that catches on and soon everyone is doing the Bryce Harper dance every time they get a hit.  The Nationals would tie the game in that inning, but they would score no more. The Phillies managed to get one more run in the seventh inning, and they held on to that lead for the win. Harper could have won the game in the last at-bat with a homer, but it wasn't meant to be - he ground out to end the game. The Nats may have lost, but making baseball fun again (or weird, if you're Oliver Perez) can happen whether you win or lose. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:   The StewPod: A baseball podcast by Yahoo Sports Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed - - - - - - Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher Continue to Article

April 27, 2016 11:16:am EST

  The Washington Nationals suffered a tough one-run loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night, but Oliver Perez and Bryce Harper both found their own way of making baseball fun again. Either Oliver Perez has a weird/special way of preparing to pitch (he'd take the mound in the seventh inning), or he was just plain bored, because he spent a significant amount of time in the third inning unraveling a styrofoam cup with his teeth and wrapping the string around his neck like a very skinny scarf. The Nats announcers described it as a "slow motion can opener," which is pretty on the nose. [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now ] It's no secret that spending every game sequestered in the bullpen, whether you pitch or not, can be pretty boring. And the Nats announcers said "this is taking boredom in the bullpen to a whole new level." But it's nice to see him - or anyone - having fun during baseball's slower moments.  Of course, we all know that Bryce Harper approves of fun in baseball, and he continues to show it to the world. In the bottom of the fifth, the Nationals were down 3-1 when Harper came to bat. With runners on first and second, he hit an RBI single to left and cut the Phillies lead to just one run. He celebrated thusly: All the kids will be doing this tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/TnAZQNEQN2 — MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) April 27, 2016 I hope that catches on and soon everyone is doing the Bryce Harper dance every time they get a hit.  The Nationals would tie the game in that inning, but they would score no more. The Phillies managed to get one more run in the seventh inning, and they held on to that lead for the win. Harper could have won the game in the last at-bat with a homer, but it wasn't meant to be - he ground out to end the game. The Nats may have lost, but making baseball fun again (or weird, if you're Oliver Perez) can happen whether you win or lose. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:   The StewPod: A baseball podcast by Yahoo Sports Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed - - - - - - Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher Continue to Article

April 27, 2016 11:16:am EST

Before his team faced Bryce Harper on Tuesday night, Philadelphia Phillies manager Pete Mackanin spoke about ''a theory'' he'd developed for how to pitch to the reigning NL MVP. After his Phillies held on for a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals when closer Jeanmar Gomez got Harper to ground out for the final out with a runner on first base, Mackanin quipped: ''I'm going to walk him every time we face him this series. Philadelphia did walk Harper three times, including twice intentionally with a man on second, but the young slugger delivered a run-scoring single off Vincent Velasquez (3-1) in the fifth. Continue to Article

April 26, 2016 11:54:pm EST

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Andres Blanco's three hits included a two-run homer and he scored the go-ahead run on Maikel Franco's seventh-inning double, helping the Philadelphia Phillies edge Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals 4-3 Tuesday night. Continue to Article

April 26, 2016 10:37:pm EST