Bryce Harper's baserunning blunder looks even worse after playoff race comments

When Bryce Harper came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning in a 1-1 game on Monday night, it felt like it would be a great time for the Philadelphia Phillies first baseman to break his home run drought that had stretched to 113-plate appearances.

When he smacked an 88 mph slider from Tampa Bay Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger to right field, everyone at Citizens Bank Park and watching at home thought he had done just that and walked the game off. Unfortunately, the ball screamed off the right field wall. And even more unfortunate was that Harper, at first, stood and watched his 108.6 mph liner, thinking it was going to clear the fence.

When it didn't, he hustled to first base, but it was too late; the damage was done. He should have been standing on second. Harper knew it. His teammates knew it. Phillies manager Rob Thomson knew it. The fans in attendance knew it. Everyone watching at home knew it.

Bryce Harper's baserunning blunder looks even worse after playoff race comments

The face of the team had just made a baserunning blunder that might have cost the Phillies a crucial win. As it turned out, thanks to a Bryson Stott single, a patient Buddy Kennedy walk, and a clutch game-winning single from Kody Clemens, Harper was absolved of his mental mistake.

But what made Monday's baserunning infraction even worse were the comments he made just one day earlier about the playoff race in the NL East.

"We just got to keep going, this division ain't close to being done," Harper said after the Phillies' 10-1 loss to the Miami Marlins on Sunday. "Obviously, there's two good teams behind us. We're going to play the Mets, obviously, a couple times, and we've got to keep rolling. We can't really worry about the magic number ... the magic number's nothing to worry about when it's not under 10 games."

While the media and fans are counting down the Phillies' magic number to clinch a playoff berth and their first NL East title since 2011, Harper sure didn't sound like he was taking anything for granted. One day later, he made an error that can't happen for a team that has one obvious goal in mind. Those are the kind of comments that you want to hear from a player of Harper's stature, but the actions on the field need to back them up.

Harper owned up to his baserunning blunder

To Harper's credit, he was the first to admit and own up to his mistake, approaching Thomson in the dugout as the team filtered down the tunnel to the clubhouse. What did he say to the skipper, who had been seen on camera visibly disappointed in his star player's gaffe?

“Before I could get to , he came up to me and apologized,” Thomson told the media after the game. "I think it shows the other guys they need to hustle. He's accountable and he admits to his mistakes, and that's all you can ask for, really."

It would be nice to ask for the franchise player to run out of the box. This isn't the first time he has been caught napping on the way to first. Harper has been accused in the past of not running out routine outs but has been given a pass as he has been dealing with various ailments, like his hamstring, earlier this season.

The Phillies still have a 7.0 game lead over the surging New York Mets, who have leapfrogged the Atlanta Braves, for now. While the division-leading Phillies are unlikely to lose the division crown at this point, crazier things have happened. As Harper alluded to, they have seven more games against their division foes.

Luckily, Harper's teammates bailed him out on Monday, but you can be sure he'll be running out of the box next time, homer or no homer.