WASHINGTON — With the Washington Nationals’ season sputtering, a horde of shirtless fans chanted a certain four-letter word followed by the name of the Philadelphia Phillies megastar Thursday night.

Gus Varland left a thigh-high changeup over the plate to the first superstar who ever put on a Nationals jersey. Bryce Harper sent it the other way, into the seats, for a two-run homer. The blast created a two-run lead that became a five-run lead in an eventual 10-5 loss. As he rounded first base and again as he crossed home, Harper extended a finger — he said it was obviously his ring finger — toward the section that sent the chants his way.

And, yes, he heard the profanity.

“Obviously, everybody heard it,” Harper said. “I heard it the other night. I mean, they were doing the same thing to Trea (Turner). Which is crazy, because they should probably know their history a little bit with him winning a World Series here. But it’s part of it. … I love playing here.”

Harper noted this was hardly a novel development.

“Everywhere I go, I get booed,” he said. “I love it. It’s all part of it. It’s weird coming from a fan base that I sweated for for seven years. But there’s a lot of people around here that enjoy me. … There’s a lot of people in that organization I respect and a lot of workers around the park I respect.”

9TH INNING MAGIC! pic.twitter.com/CZIIRY50pK

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 26, 2026

The Nationals, meanwhile, didn’t seem to take Harper’s celebration personally.

“Yeah, I mean that’s not directed towards us, obviously,” outfielder Jacob Young said. “That’s their thing. Whatever he’s got going on over there, he’s got going on there. But that’s not our thing. We knew it’s not directed towards us.”

The Nationals have bigger concerns. Unlike the two nights that came before this one, the ninth-inning collapse seemed certain. Even more so, as Harper stepped to the plate with his name after an expletive. Even more so, with Varland teetering on the mound. Even more so, with everything else that had followed over these last three days.

The Nationals’ season is in peril.

On Tuesday, the Nationals led 5-0, which was then 8-6 when the Phillies were down to their last strike, and couldn’t close it.

On Wednesday, they led 2-0, which became 4-3 with the Phillies down to their last strike, and they couldn’t close it.

On Thursday? Same story. Their 5-0 lead dissipated. When the ninth inning began, it was a 5-5 game. The season is not lost. But the goodwill they earned during the first three months might be.

Bryce Harper told Scott Franzke and Kevin Stocker on the Phillies Radio Network that he was flashing his ring finger to the Nationals fans. He wanted to make that clear. @SportsRadioWIP @KYWNewsradio

— Dave Uram (@MrUram) June 26, 2026