Heading into this season, defense was always going to be an issue for the Philadelphia Phillies. They posted a bottom-third fielding percentage in 2021 and did little improve defensively in the offseason.
But even the worst defensive teams shouldn’t have a breakdown like the one that happened on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Braves. It was straight out of a Little League blooper reel.
With the score tied in the fifth inning and Austin Riley at the plate for the Braves, Dansby Swanson attempted to steal second off a ball in the dirt. While J.T. Realmuto did a decent job knocking the ball down, his throw was too high for Jean Segura and somehow evaded the glove of Bryson Stott backing up the throw. As the ball trickled into the outfield, Odubel Herrera completely misplayed the bounce.
Just how we drew it up 😎#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/kF7pGhaBPQ
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 26, 2022
The ball continued to roll before settling just shy of the warning track, and Swanson jogged into home for the go-ahead run. I mean, just wow, Phillies. So much had to go wrong on that play for Swanson to score there. You had Segura missing a catchable throw, Stott reacting late to the backup, and Herrera — yeah, that can’t happen. He seemed to be focusing on Swanson instead of looking the baseball in to his glove, which obviously backfired.
That same at-bat, Riley would add to the Braves lead with a home run.
Austin with the power! #ForTheA | @austinriley1308 pic.twitter.com/krpjpDeWo0
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 26, 2022
The Phillies lost, 8-4. And fans understandably roasted the Phillies for that botched play.
