The Phillies had the Dodgers right where they wanted them Tuesday night. Down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Alec Bohm led off with a single. J.T. Realmuto followed with a double, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. Citizens Bank Park was ready to erupt.
And then it all fell apart in about 10 seconds of pure chaos.
Brandon Marsh hit a ground ball to third base. The Dodgers had the infield playing in, so the smart play for the Phillies was simple: don’t do anything stupid on the bases. Pinch-runner Justin Crawford took off from second and got caught in no-man’s land. He was stuck in a rundown between third and home.
Here’s where it gets ugly. Realmuto, who had moved to third on the play, watched Crawford try to scramble back to the bag. Instead of holding his ground, Realmuto got spooked and retreating back to second. The Dodgers just tagged everybody. Crawford was out, then Realmuto was out. Game over. 2-1 final.
Realmuto didn’t make excuses after the game. He called it what it was.
“It was just a bad baserunning play, really. Once Craw gets in the rundown I’m on third base. There’s no reason to go back to second. Just a lack in judgment. Can’t make two outs on that play. Just got to stay in scoring position,” Realmuto said via Dave Uram of 94WIP.
He added that he thought Crawford might somehow escape the rundown, which he admitted was a long shot. “Just a lapse in judgment. I thought Craw could get out of the rundown for some reason. Chances of that are so small, you just can’t take a chance there.”
It’s the kind of mistake that sticks with a team, especially one with postseason aspirations. The Phillies have been a tough, smart ballclub all year. This was neither. But if there’s a silver lining, it’s that this happened in late July, not October. Get the brain cramps out now, when a single loss doesn’t end your season.
The Dodgers, to their credit, took advantage of a gift. They didn’t beat the Phillies Tuesday night. The Phillies beat themselves.
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