Apr 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jordan Romano (68) and catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) shake hands after a victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
You may have heard that the Phillies installed a refrigerator in their dugout at Citizens Bank Park this season.
Gone are the days of orange Gatorade coolers filled with water and a stack of Dixie cups.
No. Now if you need a water, or an energy drink, or even an Uncrustable, you can walk down to the end of the bench and grab your beverage or snack of choice mid-game.
J.T. Realmuto did just that on Friday. It was the eighth inning, and he went to grab a water bottle.
But these are your run of the mill, mass-produced, supermarket-brand, plastic bottles. Oh no, these are Mountain Valley glass water bottles.
So, when it came time to open it, Realmuto gripped the cap a little too tightly as he turned and...
"It was literally just the smallest cut," Realmuto said.
But it was enough to cause a stoppage of play for the trainer's to put some glue on his finger to stop it from bleeding while the game progressed.
Maybe it was because of that delay that the Dodgers felt they could finally run on the Phillies catcher. He had already thrown out two runners at second base earlier in the game, maybe at this point, with a little cut affecting him, that could be the difference between being safe or being out.
So pinch runner Chris Taylor tempted fate - and found out that wasn't a good idea.
Last night Rob Thomson said that the biggest thing for Realmuto is that he’s healthy.
He can be that X-factor behind the plate to neutralize running game.
He’s done so in each of the last two games.
pic.twitter.com/yXCwCFe83n
Initially called safe, the Phillies challenged the play, and upon review it was determined that Trea Turner took Realmuto's throw and got the tag down on Taylor's elbow before he reached second.
The call on the field was overturned, and the previously unbeatable Dodgers were beaten, 3-2 by the Phillies.
"It was exciting," Realmuto said. "I wish (second base umpire) Hunter (Wendelstedt) would have called him out first. I'll have to give him some crap about that tomorrow."
The Phillies ended three innings by gunning runners out at second. Two before the bottle incident - one by Realmuto and one by starter Jose Luzardo, and then Taylor to close out the game.
All three were curious times to run by the Dodgers.
The first was in the top of the sixth with the Phillies clinging to a 1-0 lead. Andy Pages walked, and then after Luzardo struck out Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts stepped to the plate, and Pages tried to steal, only for the Phillies to catch him as Luzardo threw to first to Bryce Harper who executed a rundown with Bryson Stott to nab Pages..
Two innings later, Betts was at the plate again, this time with runners on the corners and two outs and the Phillies now leading 3-0.
Ohtani tried to swipe second, only to be thrown out by Realmuto.
Shohei Ohtani had stolen 36 consecutive bases before getting thrown out by J.T. Realmuto pic.twitter.com/w5mwO1HE7I
That's twice with a former MVP, eight-time All-Star and surefire Hall of Famer with 274 career home runs at the plate, once with a chance to give the Dodgers the lead and once with a chance to tie the game.
"The Ohtani one surprised me a little bit, just because Mookie was hitting," Realmuto said. "When Chris ran, I had a pretty good idea he was going to try to run because he's the tying run and a pretty good stolen base guy, so that one didn't surprise me."
Realmuto may not have been surprised, because he's paid handsomely to think through all the different scenarios that could happen, but the Dodgers ran themselves out of three different innings trying to test Realmuto, a catcher with a reputation and the stats behind it to tell you he's one of the hardest catchers to run on in a game.
And while it wasn't Betts at the plate for a third time in the ninth inning, it was pinch hitter Max Muncy, who can put the Dodgers ahead with ease with one swing of the bat.
What made it even more puzzling was the fact that in the eighth inning, the Dodgers had chased a dead-armed Matt Strahm from the game, and had Betts facing Jose Ruiz.
In the ninth, Jordan Romano was scuffling. He walked Betts, gave up a two-run homer to Tommy Edman, and then after one out, walked Will Smith. Taylor pinch ran for Smith as Muncy stepped to the dish batting for Kike Hernandez.
With the Phillies bullpen super short of leverage guys, stealing bases shouldn't have been the primary target, but the Dodgers played stupid games and, well, you know what happens when you do that.
"The two throws he made were game-changers, really," manager Rob Thomson said. "Especially that last one."
Romano breathed a sigh of relief over the game ending on a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out, double play.
He gave Realmuto a big hug and thanked him for bailing him out. But, Romano felt like he could take a little bit of credit too.
"We were pretty pumped up because we were working on that slide step in the spring," Romano said. "I'm usually pretty slow to the plate. J.T. getting a guy on my slide step was just cool. It was something we worked on and something we talked about and to see it happen in a game is pretty cool."
