WASHINGTON – From a dusty ball field in Las Vegas with no one around a finely manicured mound in a major stadium With 43,000 fans in the league, baseball has always been a father-son game for Bryce Harper.

His best moment of his young career, Harper was there taking blows against his father at the All-Star Home Run Derby.

In his final game of the night, Harper sent a ball to the right field seats and raised his hands up to the sky in triumph.

"I think it's just another springboard from what we've been doing together all my life," said Harper about this latest explosion, in front of his fans at Nationals Park. propelled him as Derby on Kyle S of the Chicago Cubs chwarber

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With his father Ron on the mound, Harper showed a flair for the drama that looked like something coming out of a backyard game. 19659008] And while everyone knows that this victory came in a frivolous exhibition, it was nevertheless a remarkable moment in what could be his last year as a National.

This year was marked by team-wide struggles – the Nats favorites are 5 1/2 in the first league in the National League East – and individually, while Harper has paired 23 circuits with a batting average of .214.

And this Derby victory was partly an emotional bailout for a slugger who hid behind Stoicism as he sailed his last season before the free agency.

"I do not think you can overestimate that," Sean Doolittle said. the pressures Harper faced. "I do not know if there was a monkey on his back, but it was definitely on his schedule, he definitely won."

And the relief was palpable thereafter. Harper's voice was broken several times during his postgame press conference, sitting alongside Ron.

"I am very serious on the pitch I am a very serious player I enjoy the game." I want to win every game I play. I want to help this team win every day.

"But off the field, it's the kid I saw tonight."

Schwarber set the bar high in 18 homers In the spirit of Schwarber, it was not so dramatic: Harper was going to bring him back.

"As soon as I had finished this tour, I knew he was there," Schwarber said. . "I knew that he had the crowd behind him, he is a very prolific power hitter with a great swing, so that he could come in and do that, and that he would start to do that. approaching the wire and that he begins to undo them one at a time, you simply accept your fate there. "

Sporting a starry bandanna and a special cherry blossom bat, the The city's hero made a notable entrance in Journey's "Do not Stop Believin" as the 43,698 spectators chanted "Let's Go Harper!"

. His first home pass – and was halfway to Schwarber's total when he called his last timeout with 80 seconds left.

"I just knew that if we had a little bit of a roll, he could win it. "I knew that he could hit 20, 25 if we had to and we were going to have more time."

After being encouraged by Doolittle, Harper made eight consecutive changes in the final minute. – With the last one, the number 18, pulling him even with Schwarber while the clock was missing.

"He rocked a switch," said Doolittle. "It could be said that he was getting tired, and he went elsewhere, it was incredible."

Considering 30 more seconds for accumulating multiple circuits at the top of the 440 feet, Harper needed only two strokes to break the tie and win the title. pic.twitter.com/S6tVh7DCBj

– MLB (@MLB) July 17, 2018