Catching some interference: Phillies 3, Red Sox 2

The dumbest possible way to win a ballgame.

The Phillies walked off the Red Sox in the tenth inning thanks to a bases loaded catcher’s interference call with Edmundo Sosa at the plate. It was not called originally, but after an argument from Sosa and a replay review, it was determined that Boston catcher Carlos Narváez did indeed interfere with Sosa’s swing in a 1-2 count which allowed Brandon Marsh to score and steal a 3-2 win. It was the first time a game has been walked off on catcher’s interference since 1971.

How we got there

Zack Wheeler started the game, his first in nine days, and was not his usual sharp self. He struggled getting ahead early in counts and didn’t have his pinpoint fastball command. The latter was obvious to the first hitter, when a 2-2 fastball leaked to the direct middle of the plate and Jarren Duran homered to give the Red Sox an early lead.

Wheeler continued to run deep counts through three innings, racking up 58 pitches but limiting Boston to that one run on three hits and a hit by pitch while collecting four strikeouts. The Phillies offense was able to help Wheeler out though, as a double from Bryce Harper and a pair of singles from Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto put the Phillies ahead 2-1.

It was Harper’s first of two doubles on the night, his 12th and 13th extra-base hits in his last eight games. Realmuto meanwhile is now hitting .408 in the month of July.

Wheeler was able to navigate the game without much trouble until the sixth. That’s when third baseman Otto Kemp dropped a line drive that allowed Alex Bregman to reach base with one out. Roman Anthony followed with a double before Trevor Story singled in Bregman to tie the game back up at 2-2.

Wheeler escaped further damage by striking out the next two hitters, bringing his total to ten on the night. It was the 30th time in Zack Wheeler’s career he’s struck out at least ten in a game. He finished the night with 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, and those 10 punchouts on 105 pitches. None of those ten strikeouts were on his fastball.

Meanwhile, the Phillies offense couldn’t get anything else going against Red Sox starter Walker Buehler, who entered the game with a 6.12 ERA across 16 starts. Edmundo Sosa led off the eighth with a pinch hit single off of Aroldis Chapman, but the latter was then able to retire Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Harper in order to erase the threat.

Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering, and Matt Strahm were able to keep the game tied going into the bottom of the ninth, but Boston reliever Garrett Whitlock struck out the side to force extras. That’s when Max Lazar entered with the ghost runner on second to face the top of the Red Sox order.

Lazar started the inning with a strikeout of Duran after falling behind in the count 2-0. Bregman followed with a groundout to third that advanced the runner with two outs. But Lazar was able to strike out Anthony on three pitches to successfully strand the ghost runner and keep the game tied.

Let’s get weird

Jordan Hicks entered to face the bottom of the Phillies order in the tenth with Marsh serving as the hist runner. Kemp prepared to bunt four times, but Hicks wasn’t able to throw a pitch even remotely close to the strike zone, so Kemp was able to draw a walk. That brought up Max Kepler, who also squared around to bunt. But just like with Kemp, Hicks couldn’t throw a pitch in the same hemisphere as the zone, with his first pitch so wild it allowed the runners to advance to second and third and forced Boston manager Alex Cora to elect to intentionally walk Kepler to set up a force at any base.

Finally, Sosa came to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out. All he needed to do was put a ball in play or stand there as Hicks kept being wild. But the Red Sox righty was able to quickly get ahead 0-2. Sosa then took a close 100 MPH sinker at the top of the zone before fouling off a 101 MPH pitch in a similar spot. Then on the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Sosa offered at a slider well out of the zone but made contact with Narváez’ glove. A replay review confirmed as much, and by rule, the catcher’s interference forced in the winning run. The Phillies had walked off the game without putting a ball in play.

Tomorrow’s matchup

What insanity awaits us tomorrow when Cristopher Sánchez (8-2, 2.50) takes the mound against Richard Fitts (1-3, 4.28) at 6:45 PM?