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The Orioles and Phillies faced off on Tuesday night in an exciting matchup in the City of Brotherly Love. The two teams battled until the final at-bat when Philadelphia walked off Baltimore in the bottom of the ninth.
Bryce Harper was a big part of the come-from-behind win, smacking a home run in the sixth frame. That homer came after a lengthy criticism from the Baltimore broadcast booth.
Harper stepped into the batter’s box with the Phils trailing 2-1. The left-handed slugger had gone 0-2 through his first two at-bats, fouling out to third base in his first plate appearance and softly grounding out to second his next time up.
That led Orioles’ announcers to discuss his inability to square up the baseball.
“The same recognizable, violent uppercut swing by Bryce Harper, but it’s not the same quality of contact. He fouled out to third, and a weak groundout to second. He’s just not barreling up balls.”
Those words immediately backfired.
“He’s just not barreling up balls…”
The classic announcer’s jinx from the Orioles radio crew before Bryce Harper’s HR 😂 pic.twitter.com/BxYnQl2s9D
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) July 26, 2023
Harper quickly turned on the next pitch, roping a laser into the rightfield stands.
“Harper barrels this one up to right, deep and gone,” the announcer then said. “Right on cue.”
Baseball fans commented on the hilarious turn of events on social media.
“The jinx never fails,” one person wrote.
“This was beautiful,” said another follower.
“He should not have said that,” commented this fan.
It’s far from the first jinx we’ve seen in the MLB this year, but it turned out to be an important one.
Bryce Harper’s HR tied the game, and the Phillies would win in the ninth inning. They remain in the National League wildcard race as the second half of the season continues on.