Bryce Harper has issued support for Matt Williams amid rumblings that he could lose his job as manager of the Washington Nationals.

"He does everything he can to help me," Harper said after a victory on Tuesday night. "He's unbelievable with the mind game, talking about hitting."

The Nationals have underachieved this season, leading to speculation that Williams could be fired.

"I love him as a manager. If I didn't, everybody would know it," Harper said. "He wants us to be perfect, and I love that."

Washington is 74-70 entering Wednesday. They sit 8 1/2 games back in the National League East and nine games out of the final NL wild-card spot.

"Just being able to have the fire, the intensity that he has and the way he approaches every single day," Harper said. "He wants us to be perfect, and I love that [in] a manager. I played for a guy like that in high school, and my dad's exactly like that also. So being able to come in every single day and have that approach to win ballgames and playing for a guy like that is fun."