Will Bryce Harper and handshakes combine to rile Phillies’ opponents? | Bob Ford

When Rhys Hoskins came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday, the temperature in Citizens Bank Park, which had not been balmy at any point of the evening, was down to 40 degrees and the west wind that howled across the diamond didn’t make things any more pleasant for the game of baseball.

As bad as it might have been for the Phillies and the remaining fans who huddled in the stands, it was really a drag for the Atlanta Braves, who were about to complete their third game of the season without a win and had spent most of those three games watching the Phils celebrate on the field or in the opposing dugout.

As Hoskins dug in, he did so immediately after a Bryce Harper home run that was capped by a series of choreographed handshakes, elbow locks, fist bumps, and a sequence of pantomimed skits that has become ritual. Harper and Maikel Franco shoot imaginary arrows into the sky, a la Usain Bolt; Harper and Andrew McCutcheon pretend to properly button up suit coats. There’s a lot of stuff going on, but they are happy and excited and playing well, and who can hold that against them?

Well, perhaps the Braves.

I’m fine with all of it. It is life imitating video games more than anything, and I look forward to the coming dugout production of “Hello, Dolly.” I will not be the guy who tells you how Bob Gibson would have reacted. But baseball, like life itself, is a game that includes consequences for one’s actions.

Hoskins took a fastball down the middle for strike one from reliever Shane Carle, who had just seen his previous pitch exit the plate area at 113.6 mph and land deep into the lower deck of the right-center stands. The second pitch to Hoskins was another fastball, but this one was way inside and rode up on Hoskins before plunking him squarely on the left shoulder.

Hoskins went down, plate umpire Rob Drake immediately signaled for Carle’s ejection, setting off a vociferous protest from catcher Brian McCann, and Hoskins rose to scream several choice words at Carle, who was holding his arms out in the universal signal of innocence.

Who knows? Carle knows, but that might be the extent of it. This was a brutal night to control a major-league pitch. Phillies starter Jake Arrieta said it was like trying to grip a cue ball. There would be 15 walks before the 3-hour, 17-minute polar expedition reached base camp. Competitively, Carle had no motivation to hit Hoskins. He was ahead in the count, and his team was down only three runs with two at-bats left. Putting a runner on base just because you are peeved made no sense.

Still, it makes you wonder.

“I don’t know if there was intent behind it,” Hoskins said. “Given the situation of the game, it doesn’t seem that there was, but I guess you never know.”

Did he think the dugout frivolity might have gotten under the skin of Carle in particular, or the Braves in general?

“Don’t give up the home run then,” Hoskins said.

It’s a little early for this guessing game, but the Phillies are touchy in that regard when it comes to Hoskins, who suffered a freak fracture last season when he fouled a nasty up-and-in pitch into his jaw.

“It pisses me off when balls go under Rhys Hoskins’ chin,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It really bugs me.”

Did the manager think the celebrations gave Carle motivation?

“That would be speculative on my part,” Kapler said.

Well, yeah.

“I appreciate how enthusiastic our players are. I think that celebration is a part of the game and deserved when guys are swinging the bats real well and feeding off each other’s energy,” Kapler said. “I support the way our club is behaving from start to finish. Everything we’re doing, on the field, off the field, in supporting each other is spot-on.”

My guess — and it is a guess — is that Carle didn’t want to hit Hoskins, but watching the Phillies cavort for three games could have made him less hesitant to pitch inside. So, it’s the combo platter. Not exactly intent, but something more like indifference.

There will be more of that to come. Harper is a lightning rod. He’s flamboyant and exuberant and a little over-the-top, and baseball opponents are notoriously grouchy about that sort of thing, particularly when losing. As said, actions have consequences.

Of course, sometimes the consequences have consequences, too. The Phillies will be watching closely, and they will really be watching the Atlanta Braves in the 16 games remaining between the teams. The path from the mound to the plate can become a two-way street when necessary.

“I do know we play these guys a lot more times,” Hoskins said. “If it happens, it happens. It will get taken care of.”

That’s the way baseball works. Whatever else has changed about the game, that part remains the same.