John Kruk road a roller coaster of emotions on Nick Castellanos’ great play to save the game on Wednesday for the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies and Braves were tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 9th inning in Atlanta. Orlando Arcia was at the plate against Craig Kimbrel with one out and a runner on third. Arcia hit a fly ball down the right field line in foul territory. Kruk, who is a TV analyst on Phillies games, was shouting for Castellanos to let the ball drop.
Kruk reasoned that if Castellanos made the catch for the second out, Luke Williams would have been able to tag up and score the winning run. Castellanos did catch the ball for the second out, but things didn’t go as Kruk had expected. Castellanos whirled around and whipped a bullet home to get Williams for a game-saving double play.
Hearing Kruk go through all the emotions was great.
Nick Castellanos the man that you are!!!! pic.twitter.com/xWXjhJH84n
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 20, 2023
Not only did Castellanos make that game-saving play, but he also hit two home runs early in the game, aiding the Phillies’ 6-5 victory in 10 innings. Maybe Kruk will trust the outfielder more in the future.
