The Philadelphia Phillies secured a 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night in a highly unusual fashion, winning on a walk-off catcher’s interference call in the 10th inning.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Philadelphia’s Edmundo Sosa’s check swing on a 2-2 pitch made contact with the glove of Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez. After a video review confirmed the interference, Sosa was awarded first base, forcing in automatic runner Brandon Marsh with the decisive run.
Despite the unorthodox ending, the result was all that mattered to Sosa, whose teammates mobbed him near first base. “This feels exactly like a home run,” he said through an interpreter. “The most important thing is that we won.” Sosa explained that he felt his bat hit the catcher’s glove during his swing and immediately signaled to the umpire and his dugout.
Conversely, Narvaez expressed his disappointment over the costly mistake. “Everything went so quick,” he said. “It’s a really tough way to cost us the game. I take accountability. I’ve got to be better.” The play was recorded as Narvaez’s sixth error of the season.
The victory marked the first time a Major League Baseball game has ended on a walk-off catcher’s interference since August 1, 1971, when the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds. The rare conclusion was not lost on Phillies manager Rob Thomson.
“There’s two things this year that I’ve never seen before in 40 years,” Thomson said, referencing a walk-off inside-the-park home run his team lost on earlier in the season. “One is a walk-off inside-the-park home run, and one is a walk-off catcher’s interference.”
The Phillies loaded the bases in the 10th without a single ball being put in play. After Marsh began the inning on second base, reliever Jordan Hicks walked Otto Kemp. A subsequent wild pitch advanced both runners, prompting an intentional walk to Max Kepler that set up the final, game-ending at-bat.
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