It was a day to remember for Philadelphia Phillies three-time All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto, 32, for many reasons. On the same day he got into a verbal altercation with an opposing manager, he recorded a rare cycling hit for a catcher.
Realmuto started in the No. 5 spot in the lineup and went 4-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, three runs scored and a walk in five at-bats in the 2023 Major League Baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. on Wednesday.
After opening the game with a solo home run to right-center in his first at-bat against Arizona left-hander Tommy Henry in the second inning, Realmuto hit a two-run triple in the third that cleared the top of the center field fence.
After driving Henry off the mound with a single to center in the fifth, Realmuto followed with a walk in the seventh and completed the cycling hit with 토토사이트 a double off Miguel Castro in his final at-bat in the ninth that hit the left-center field fence. He celebrated at second base, raising both hands and giving a thumbs-up.
Realmuto became the ninth Phillies player in franchise history to record a cycling hit. It’s been 19 years since David Bell did it in 2004. It was the 16th cycling hit by a catcher in history, and the first in 12 years since George Kottaras of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011.
But there was a moment in the third inning that made Realmuto’s hit even more noteworthy. Arizona rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll was hit by pitches to the body in back-to-back at-bats in the third inning, prompting Arizona manager Torrey Lovullo to take the field. He appealed the call to umpire Vic Carapaza.
In the process, Robullo was ejected and got into an argument with catcher Realmuto, who was next to him. According to MLB.com, Realmuto said after the game, “It looked like he was provoking me by saying bad things to me, but he wasn’t really. He was just protecting his player. He even said something like, ‘If you were on my team, I would have supported you,'” Realmuto explained the situation.
However, Realmuto didn’t understand Robullo’s suspicion that the situation was an empty ball. “That’s a bit of a stretch,” he said. We were up 5-1 and had the bases loaded. Anyone who knows baseball would have realized that we had no intention of hitting him. Carroll is an outside hitter, and we had a pitcher (Matt Stram) who throws a lot of sinkers. When he got a sinker in his first at-bat, there was no way he was going to throw it away. We had to play to Stram’s strengths.”
“I have a lot of respect for Realmuto, he’s a tremendous catcher in this league,” Robullo said. “I was trying to protect my guy, and he was trying to protect his pitcher. It was a difference of opinion.” “I don’t think Stram’s throw was intentional, but I really appreciate that Coach Robullo stood up for me,” Carroll said.
The altercation between Robullo and Realmuto resulted in a brief bench-clearing confrontation between the two teams. The situation was resolved without further incident, but Arizona infielder Josh Rojas was ejected for saying something in the dugout.
But Arizona held on for a 9-8 victory over Philadelphia in a 25-hit blowout to win its sixth straight and improve to 41-25 with the best winning percentage in the National League (.621). The Phillies fell to 32-34 and failed to return to the .500 mark. “The cycling hit is a great accomplishment, but it’s a little bit overshadowed by the fact that we lost the game,” Realmuto said.
