There’s something about Wednesday and late-innings drama. While a controversy erupted over a strike call in Minnesota, a Philadelphia Phillies $5.2 million star was busy stunning fans on the East Coast. And it all happened, you guessed it, right in the eighth inning. Brandon Marsh turned Superman for a day and helped the Phillies to a sixth straight win. But Marsh gave all the credit to a fan. Why? Let’s have a look.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Children at Citizens Bank Park are often found rock climbing at Ashburn Alley. Brandon Marsh brought the activity to the field against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. Having already secured an incredible sliding catch in the seventh, a wall was not going to stop Marsh in the next frame. On a pop-fly into the left-field foul territory from Xavier Edwards, Marsh hauled himself halfway up the wall. The 6’2″, 215-pounder stretched his hand even more, snagging the ball from the air in an incredible display of athleticism. However, it would not have been possible if that one fan, donned in a Phillies jersey, had not pulled his hat back. Marsh also thinks the same.
“It was a good one. It was fun,” said Marsh postgame, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I’ve got to thank the guy standing over there for pulling away at the last second. I think he had first dibs on it before me. He moved over a little bit and helped me have the room to catch it.”
Powered by a two-run shot from Luis Arraez and an RBI double from Trea Turner, the Phillies were leading 4-1. In the top of the eighth, Edwards’ pop fly was near the wall that juts out between the infield dirt and the main wall. The Phillies fan had extended his hat to catch the same ball that Marsh leaped for. But the fan thankfully retracted his hat in time. Otherwise, we would not have witnessed Brandon ‘Superman’ Marsh at play.
If fans are thinking they have seen such acrobatics before, they are absolutely right. Last year, Jacob Young robbed Riley Greene of a home run when he similarly climbed the center field wall in the ninth inning of a Tigers-Nationals game. But no matter how many times we see such catches, the novelty of seeing a player climb walls hardly fades.
On Wednesday, Aaron Nola dominated the Marlins through 7 innings, allowing only 1 run on a solo homer by Javier Sanoja. It marked the Marlins’ only scoring play of the day. During his 100-pitch outing, Nola did not allow a walk and struck out 8.
As Nola earned his first seventh-inning win, Brandon Marsh had a role to play. Marsh saw through the second out of the seventh as he slid through the grass to keep Esteury Ruiz hitless.
Manager Don Mattingly had the best seat on the field to witness both of those incredible plays. He did not hide his appreciation postgame.
“The line drive I thought was big; that’s a tough play,” Mattingly told MLB.com. “The other one is a little bit more dramatic from the standpoint of getting up on the wall. That was another big out.”
While Marsh was surprising everyone in Philadelphia, MLB umpires were bearing the brunt of a player’s anger.
Wednesday eighth inning drama Chapter 2: Twins vs Braves
The Atlanta Braves’ road trip to Minnesota came to a disappointing end on Wednesday. As the Twins swept the Braves in a three-game set, frustration boiled over in the top of the eighth.
With one out and a runner in scoring position from Ozzie Albies’ double, Mauricio Dubón was at the plate. On a full-count pitch from Jeff Hoffman, Dubón checked his swing. And the controversy sparked.
MLB has no definitive rules when it comes to check swings. The league has left it entirely up to the umpire’s discretion. Yet the usual protocol for home plate umpires is to consult the umpire at first on borderline pitches. But on Wednesday, Carlos Torres did not take that route. Instead, he chose to immediately ring up Dubón, who erupted at the call. Manager Walt Weiss stepped in to back his player. The Braves explained their stance postgame.
“He doesn’t have to check, but I told him he should have, in so many words,” Weiss told MLB.com. “I just feel like it’s [a] close enough check swing right there that the proper protocol there is to check with the first-base umpire.”
The fiasco ended in Dubón slamming his helmet on the way to the dugout, while Weiss was handed an ejection.
With 34 games to go, Wednesday was indeed one of a kind.