The Philadelphia Phillies got walloped 13-2 by the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park, and a play in the top of the eighth inning summarized the Phillies’ night quite well.
Toronto’s Michael Saunders hit a flyball which Philadelphia center fielder Odubel Herrera caught for the second out of the inning. I repeat, the second out of the inning. Herrera thought it was the third out of the inning, and tossed the ball to a Phillies fan in the stands. Edwin Encarnacion was automatically given two bases (first to third) thanks to Herrera’s brain fart.
Here’s video:
Yes, the score was already 10-1, but that’s not a good look for Herrera. I’m just always stunned when this happens nowadays (and it seems to happen fairly often). If by chance you lose track of outs in the majors, there are scoreboards all over the ballpark, in every direction, showing you that there are _ outs. This isn’t like high school where you’re relying on the second baseman to scream it to you or put fingers up in the air as a reminder.
But, we shouldn’t beat down on Herrera too much, given that he’s been the only good position player on the entire Phillies team this season. He has a terrific .306/.409/.427 slash line and a 2.0 WAR per FanGraphs; he’s a deserving All-Star Game representative this year. He also does awesome bat flips.
So, hopefully this loss of focus just serves as a learning experience for the highly talented 24-year-old outfielder.
