Phillies-Nationals: How to watch Bryce Harper’s return to Washington

Bryce Harper will play his first game in Washington, D.C. Tuesday night after leaving the Nationals for the Phillies. Here’s how you can watch it unfold.

For the first time in his career, Bryce Harper will take the field at Nationals Park wearing road grey uniforms. Tuesday will be the first of many times he returns to Washington, D.C. as a member of the Phillies since signing his 13-year, $330 million contract to leave the team in free agency.

All eyes will be on the capital as Harper makes his return to the team that drafted him No. 1 overall almost a decade ago in 2010.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch the game:

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Date: April 2, 2019
First Pitch: 7:05 PM EST
Location: Washington, D.C.
Stadium: Nationals Park
Pitchers: Zach Eflin (0-0, -.– ERA, 0 K) vs. Max Scherzer (0-1, 2.35 ERA, 12 K)
Radio Station: 94 WIP, WTTM 1680
TV Channel: NBC Sports Philadelphia+, MLB Network (out-of-market)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Philadelphia (subscribers only), Fubo.tv, MLB.tv

This will be the first time Harper faces Scherzer in his career. The two were teammates from 2015 to 2018 and didn’t match up in the years prior while Scherzer was a Tiger.

Scherzer started the year off strong despite taking a loss. He went 7.2 innings against the Mets on Opening Day, giving up just two runs on two hits and three walks. His 12 strikeouts are the most in the league. Had Jacob deGrom not been even more dominant, Scherzer would have picked up the win.

Harper thanked the Nationals and their fans in an Instagram post Tuesday for everything they did for him while he was part of the team. He (correctly) assumed that there will be a mix of cheers and boos when he returns, as is the case with most players who leave teams in free agency. Can they keep up the boos for 13 years?

While Harper will have plenty of detractors once he reaches D.C., he will still have a contingent of Phillies fans supporting him with tickets in right field, as organized by Phans of Philly.