PHILADELPHIA — No one put on a better show at Citizens Bank Park on Friday than Jean Segura.
The Phillies second baseman seemed to know that a good performance requires a bit of texture. He pulled out all the tricks of an experienced showman: Never let the audience get comfortable. Always keep them guessing. Be willing to raise the stakes—even if it’s risky—and understand that it’s a hell of a lot more fun to be interesting than it is to be consistent.
Those principles are familiar in the context of, say, a scripted drama. Here is what they look like in a baseball game: Segura made a baffling error on the most straightforward of plays, knocked in the winning run on a pitch that seemed entirely unhittable and, finally, got picked off to end the inning. In the span of 25 minutes. That was all from one inning. And if the rest of his night was somewhat less eventful, it was no less dramatic, with a handful of clutch defensive plays that helped seal a 4–2 Phillies victory over the Padres in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.
