Here’s what I had working for you after Jazz Chisholm took Jose Alvarado out of the yard in the eighth to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead:

The full 2021 Phillies experience was on display at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night as baseball’s sixth most expensive roster again failed to get by the Miami Marlins. Indeed, the now 21-21 Phillies impressively managed to check all of the necessary boxes throughout a loss that was thoroughly on-brand.

  • A costly defensive miscue. Check.
  • Awful situational hitting. Check.
  • A questionable base running decision. Check.
  • A momentum-halting/backbreaking late-inning bullpen collapse. Check.
  • An outstanding pitching performance wasted. Check. 

Of course, what looked to be an on-brand loss wasn’t a loss at all. Instead, the Phillies exploded in the bottom of the inning to bat around and put up a seven spot en route to an 8-3 comeback victory.

Not only did this jackass writer watch his cute little lede go up in flames, I gotta say, it was…fun to watch?

Zack Wheeler was fun to watch, the Phillies’ rise from their seven-inning slumber was fun to watch, and the two dudes who jumped out of the stands to run across the field at different points were fun to watch.


I mean, hell, you gotta think the moves of this upstanding individual — the second fan of the night to make a run for it — helped ignite the furious Phillies’ rally:

A Facebook commenter on this story called it The Toyota Turning Point.

It was sort of like the 2011 Cardinals and that rally squirrel —  but switched out with (I assume) heavily intoxicated men from the Delaware Valley. It’s pretty much the same thing. After all, the comeback did begin immediately after that guy was slammed to the ground by stadium security. That’s selflessness. A true 4-for-4 guy, for sure.

The sequence:

Rhys Hoskins singled, Alec Bohm doubled, and the Marlins’ lead was quickly cut to 3-2.

An Odubel Herrera infield single and Andrew Knapp walk would load the bases for emerging fan favorite Nick Maton, who, of course, promptly delivered the game-tying hit:

With J.T. Realmuto unavailable to hit off the bench, Ronald Torreyes, who hadn’t played since April 17 before of COVID-19 protocols (he told reporters postgame he tested positive for it but had no symptoms), paid immediate dividends upon his return with a two-run double that gave the Phils a lead they would not relinquish:

https://twitter.com/Phillies/status/1394841037642911754?s=20

“There were a ton of huge at-bats in that inning, but that’s a really big hit, and I’m really happy for him,” said Joe Girardi after the game. “He’s a baseball player. He knows how to do so many different things.”

Torreyes, who also told reporters he was forced to stay in his hotel room for 11 days after first testing positive, was understandably amped up after the game.

“I was very, very, very happy,” he said. “I was very happy because I had the opportunity to help the team, and I was happy because the manager trusted me in that situation.”

One can assume he was also happy that Jean Segura would then single in another run before Bryce Harper’s two-run base-hit put an exclamation point on an inning that saw a total of 12 Phillies batters come to the plate.

It was also an inning that saved the team from wasting a remarkable outing from starter Wheeler, while sparing another postgame session rife with questions about their continuing inability to execute fundamental plays.

https://twitter.com/BrodesMedia/status/1394807263186018306?s=20

But instead, the Phillies cashed in on Wheeler’s dominant outing, one that produced quite a final line:

7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 10 K, 0 BB

Wheeler, who recorded those 10 strikeouts with his first 75 pitches of the night, now has a 1.86 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with 31 strikeouts and just two walks over four starts this month.

The Other Guys

Gotta feel bad for the first guy who booked it onto the field.

The man was moving. Good stride, impressive leap into the stands. He showed quality athleticism — even had the crowd behind him at the end. Problem is, he’s not the guy who started the rally, so his gamble will be a mere footnote.

Then there’s this dude. Hate to see this. You put on a puffy neon green suit, you expect to be the center of attention. That simple. He got some early play on TV and was even invited to dance on the dugout with the Phillie Phanatic, but same deal here — just a footnote.