PHILADELPHIA — After hitting the 100th home run of his career in the sixth inning Sunday, J.T. Realmuto circled the bases and returned to the Phillies’ dugout only to see notice of the milestone posted on Phanavision in left field. A curtain call seemed appropriate, so the star catcher stepped back on the field and, without a shred of self-consciousness, doffed ... a straw hat?
It wasn’t one of the five strangest things that happened over 4 1/2 hours Sunday at Citizens Bank Park.
What mattered most to the Phillies, considering how much water-treading they have done lately, was that they won, 12-6, their second victory in a row over the Washington Nationals after dropping the series opener Friday night. Never mind that they took advantage of at least a half-dozen gifts -- two bases-loaded walks and four walks in all, a run-scoring wild pitch, a bloop that fell between three defenders, and a fielder’s choice that didn’t yield even one out -- and scored seven runs in a fourth inning that defined ugly baseball.
But what we will remember, now and probably forever, was the 20-minute, 21-second delay in the eighth inning when the protective netting behind home plate collapsed. The grounds crew scrambled like a team of MacGyvers. Players milled about the field. The umpires conferred. The announced crowd of 15,108 cheered.
And just as “The William Tell Overture” finished playing over the ballpark speakers, the net was hoisted by a rope that appeared to be tied to a railing.
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So, yeah, Realmuto’s straw hat could take a number.
The Phillies were trailing 3-0 and hadn’t yet gotten a runner on base when the fourth inning began. But the Nationals were already in their bullpen. Spot-starting Austin Voth, who likely wouldn’t have been long for the game anyway, had to leave in the third inning after trying to bunt and getting hit in the face by a pitch from Phillies starter Vince Velasquez.
Facing lefty reliever Sam Clay, Realmuto drew a one-out walk to give the Phillies their first runner. Harper followed with an infield hit. And then, well, it all fell apart for the Nationals.
Rhys Hoskins hit a pop fly that clanged off second baseman Jordy Mercer’s mitt in shallow right field to load the bases. Andrew McCutchen delivered an RBI single. Brad Miller and Alec Bohm worked bases-loaded walks, the latter fouling off three consecutive two-strike pitches to keep alive a nine-pitch at-bat.
With the game tied, 3-3, and the bases still loaded, the Phillies went ahead when Nationals third baseman Starlin Castro fielded a Ronald Torreyes grounder and tried for an out at second base rather than stepping on third. Everyone was safe, and two batters later, two more runs scored on Odúbel Herrera’s two-run single.
The seven-run outburst matched the eighth inning May 18 against the Marlins for the Phillies’ biggest inning this season.
Miller’s two-run homer in the fifth inning made it 9-3. And after the Nationals scored three runs against struggling reliever Brandon Kintzler, Realmuto’s three-run shot restored the six-run advantage in the sixth.
It was a perfect spot for left-hander Cristopher Sánchez to make his major league debut. Sánchez recorded two quick outs, gave up a single to Josh Harrison, and ran a 2-1 count on Trea Turner when the netting fell. Attempts at a repair job included nine members of the grounds crew pulling on a rope, tug-of-war style. They also appeared to use a tractor to hoist the netting before coming up with a solution.
At least Sánchez won’t forget his first major league game.
It doesn’t get much stranger.
