Phillies' Bryce Harper Says He Enjoyed Staring Down Braves' Orlando Arcia After HRs

Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia reportedly mocked Bryce Harper in the clubhouse on Monday night after the Philadelphia Phillies' superstar was thrown out at first base to end the game following Michael Harris' brilliant catch in centerfield.

Harper had his revenge on Wednesday, blasting two home runs in Philadelphia's 10-2 win over Atlanta, pushing the Braves to the brink of elimination in the best-of-five NLDS.

"Anytime anybody says something, right?" he told reporters when asked if Arcia's comments provided him any motivation. "That's what it's all about."

He also confirmed that he stared down Arcia after both dingers.

"Yeah, I mean I stared right at him," he said.

Here's how we got here.

The Phillies jumped out to a 4-0 lead in Game 2 of the NLDS on Monday night before the Braves put together an epic comeback, led by Travis d'Arnaud's two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh and Austin Riley's three-run bomb in the bottom of the eighth to go up 5-4.

That set up the epic finale.

With Harper on first base, Nick Castellanos ripped a deep fly to center field that Harper presumably thought was going to get over Harris' head. But the centerfielder made a fantastic, leaping catch at the wall and Harper, already past second base when he made the catch, was thrown out at first base on the relay throw, ending the game.

According to Jake Mintz of Fox Sports, Arcia "cackled emphatically about Harper's misfortune, bellowing 'ha-ha, atta-boy, Harper!' repeatedly as reporters circled the room" in the clubhouse after the game.

Harper told reporters that his teammates informed him of those comments.

"They just kind of told me, and they looked at me, and they were like, 'What are you going to do?'" he said.

This was his answer:

Arcia told reporters after the game that he never expected what he said in the clubhouse to get back to Harper.

"When you're in the clubhouse, I was under the impression you can say whatever you want," he said. "I guess it's just something that was reported. ... He wasn't supposed to hear, that's why we were talking in the clubhouse."

But Harper heard. And boy did he respond.

His huge game helped propel the Phillies to a 2-1 advantage in this series, giving them the chance to eliminate Atlanta for the second straight season when the teams meet again tomorrow at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park for Game 4.'