J.T. Realmuto Explains Game-Ending Baserunning Gaffe in Phillies' Loss to Dodgers

The Philadelphia Phillies' ninth-inning rally against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night came up short thanks in part to a baserunning blunder by J.T. Realmuto that saw him get thrown out at second when he could have easily taken third base.

Speaking to reporters after the 2-1 loss, Realmuto blamed the gaffe on a "lapse in judgement" on his part and a "a bad baserunning play" because he thought Justin Crawford could get out of the rundown between third base and home plate.

Realmuto's one-out double put runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth trailing by a run. Crawford took off for home on Brandon Marsh's grounder to third base and got stuck in a rundown with Realmuto advancing to third.

Dodgers Double Play

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Rather than simply stay on the third-base bag, Realmuto broke back for second when he saw Crawford running back toward third. Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts tagged Crawford for the second out, then threw the ball to second where Tommy Edman tagged Realmuto for the final out.

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said afterward "I don't know" what Realmuto was thinking in that situation.

Dodgers pitchers shutout the Phillies over the final eight innings after Alec Bohm's RBI single scored Bryce Harper in the bottom of the first.

Philadelphia only had five at-bats with a runner in scoring position for the entire game. Two of them came in the bottom of the sixth after Bohm's one-out double, but Edmundo Sosa flied out and Realmuto grounded out to end the threat.

The loss wasted another fantastic outing from Zack Wheeler. He allowed two runs on five hits with nine strikeouts over seven innings. His season ERA now sits at 2.16, which is on pace to be the lowest of his career.