PHOENIX — For two days, the Phillies could not quite get their timing right. Sometimes they were late. Sometimes they were early. Even when everything synced up, it didn’t last. A hitter would connect with a ball perfectly or a pitcher would find his delivery precisely, and then whoever followed him would be unable to do the same thing. It was all the more frustrating because October is their favorite month, when they seem most able to be exactly where they need to be, exactly when they need to be there.
So it seems only right that the moment that propelled them to a 6–1 victory in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, the one that gave them a 3–2 series lead heading back to Philadelphia, the one that may have saved their season, hinged entirely on being on time.
Six batters into Saturday’s game, with one run in, all-time great Bryce Harper at third base, Bryson Stott at first, two outs and an 0–1 count on batter J.T. Realmuto, they decided to go. Manager Rob Thomson had signaled to first base coach Paco Figueroa and third base coach Dusty Wathan that he wanted them to run the play, and they signaled to the runners.
