WASHINGTON -- Atlanta Braves general manager Frank Wren says a tweet from the team directed at Bryce Harper was "an inappropriate attempt at humor."

The Braves' official Twitter account posted "Clown move bro" after the Washington Nationals slugger was angered over being drilled in the leg by Julio Teheran on Tuesday night. It was a reference to Harper's famous retort to a reporter, "That's a clown question, bro."

Clown move bro — Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 7, 2013

Harper had homered in his previous at-bat. After he was hit, both benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown.

The Nationals answered the Braves' tweet with one of their own: "Which part, giving up the home run, or drilling the 20-year-old on the first pitch his next time up?"

Asked if the Nationals might retaliate in Wednesday's game, manager Davey Johnson said: "It's just baseball as usual" -- then he paused and smiled.

As it turned out, the only confrontation involving Harper was between the young slugger and his own manager, when the two bickered in the dugout over whether Harper should come out of the game because of a nagging knee injury.

"Yeah, he was checking on my leg and asking how I felt," Harper said. "I just told him I felt fine and I don't want him to take me out."

While the game passed without incident between the two teams -- no one was hit by a pitch -- the saga might not be over. The teams play six more times this season, including a three-game series next week in Atlanta.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.