Phillies runners Justin Crawford and J.T. Realmuto were both tagged out during a chaotic rundown, effectively ending the Phillies’ late-game rally at Citizens Bank Park.
Ninth-Inning Rundown Ends Phillies’ Comeback Bid
The contest reached a frantic conclusion in the bottom of the ninth inning. With the Phillies trailing 2-1 and runners on second and third with one out, the Dodgers turned to Tanner Scott, who was attempting to secure a five-out save.
According to the Inquirer, Crawford was instructed to run on contact unless the ball was hit directly to the third baseman. Because the ball was hit to Max Muncy, the play became a high-stakes defensive sequence. While the Dodgers successfully executed the rundown to tag Crawford out, the play turned into a disaster for the Phillies when J.T.
“It was just a bad baserunning play, really. Once Craw gets in the rundown, I’m on third base. There’s no reason for me to go back [to] second. Just a lack of judgment. Can’t make two outs on that play.”
J.T. Realmuto, Phillies catcher, via Inquirer
Yahoo Sports reported that the sequence effectively killed the Phillies’ late-game momentum.
Max Muncy’s Milestone Home Run
Before the defensive chaos in the ninth, the game was defined by a pitchers’ duel between the Phillies’ MLB.com and the Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski. Wheeler allowed only one significant dent in his seven-inning outing: a two-run home run to Max Muncy in the fourth inning. That blast, which traveled a Statcast-projected 421 feet, proved to be the difference in the 2-1 score.
The home run was the 228th of Muncy’s career with the Dodgers, moving him into a tie with Ron Cey for the fifth-most home runs in franchise history. Muncy, who joined the Dodgers in 2017 after being released by the Oakland Athletics, expressed his appreciation for the achievement.
“I always say, any time you’re on any type of leaderboard when it comes to this organization, you’ve done something right. So for me, that means a lot.”
Max Muncy, Dodgers infielder, via MLB.com
Wheeler, who struck out nine batters, later admitted that he may have made a tactical error by throwing another cutter to Muncy in that situation. Maybe not the best pitch in that situation,
Wheeler said. Just because we got him on it a couple different times in that first at-bat, so he probably went up there saying, ‘You got me on this.’
Pitching Performance and Weather Conditions
The game at Citizens Bank Park was delayed by one hour and 20 minutes due to rain, and the remainder of the contest was played through steady precipitation. Despite the conditions, Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski delivered a strong performance, striking out seven and allowing only one run across 6 1/3 innings.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised the team’s ability to navigate the weather and the high-pressure environment of the final inning. The win for Los Angeles evened the series between the two National League rivals, setting up a rubber match scheduled for Wednesday.
While the game ended on a series of errors for Philadelphia, interim manager Don Mattingly acknowledged the difficulty of the situation for his players. Regarding Realmuto’s decision to retreat to second base, Mattingly told reporters, I don’t know what J.T. was thinking there. Honestly.