The Phillies’ Jean Segura stepped on top of a green box to the left of the dugout steps in the bottom of the fifth inning and draped his arms over the railing. His team was trailing the Padres, 6-4, in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday night, but there was anticipation brewing. Segura didn’t want to miss any of the action.
After Kyle Schwarber walked, Rhys Hoskins launched a Sean Manaea sinker 417 feet to left-center field for a game-tying, two-run home run. Segura leapt over the railing, and ran onto the dirt, waving Hoskins and Schwarber home. He waited at the top of the steps to greet them, and then he went back to his post.
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He wasn’t there for very long. J.T. Realmuto took another walk, and Bryce Harper lined a double to center field to give the Phillies a one-run lead. Again, Segura went flying over the railing, and again, waved his teammate home.
One at-bat later, Nick Castellanos singled off the second-base bag and into center field to drive in Harper. Segura was delirious, and so were the 45,467 fans at Citizens Bank Park, who celebrated a 10-6 Phillies victory that put them just one win away from the World Series.
Game 5 is Sunday at 2:37 p.m. with ace Zack Wheeler taking the mound looking to close out the Padres.
Everyone knew that Game 4 was not going to be easy on the Phillies. It was supposed to be a bullpen game, and the Phillies were already down their best reliever, Seranthony Domínguez, after he had completed a six-out save in Game 3 on Friday night.
Despite all that, a win felt inevitable, and the fans were going to do anything possible to make it happen. Starter Bailey Falter, who hadn’t thrown a pitch since early October, retired his first two batters, but gave up a solo home run to Manny Machado. Falter lasted two-thirds of an inning, allowing four earned runs on three hits and a walk.
He received a spattering of boos as he walked off the field. But then the fans started to cheer, almost as if to send a message of support to both Falter and the team. Some starters go back to the clubhouse afterwards to watch the game, but Falter decided to hang off the railing with Segura, to cheer his teammates on.
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He was glad he did. Despite putting together the shortest start of his MLB career, for the next eight innings, Falter watched his team pick him back up, at-bat by at-bat, and pitch by pitch. He wasn’t surprised. It’s something the Phillies have done all season long. But to see them do it on the postseason stage, where the stakes are higher, and every pitch matters so much more, was special.
Reliever Connor Brogdon came first. He allowed a single that scored an inherited runner for a 4-0 Padres lead, but struck out Trent Grisham to end the inning, and received a standing ovation for it.
Ranger Suárez, watching from the dugout, realized his team needed some support. So when the relievers got to two strikes, he stood up, turned to face the crowd and started to frantically wave his arms. Sure enough, the crowd played along. David Robertson and Zach Eflin held the Padres to just three hits and no runs over the final four innings.
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“I know from personal experience the impact that the crowd can have,” Suárez said. “They make you feel more confident. That’s why I did it. I started it tonight, but I’ll do it again [Sunday].”
The win wasn’t the prettiest, but it didn’t need to be. The Phillies dug themselves into a 4-0 hole, and steadily climbed their way out of it. They tied a franchise record with four home runs. Their bullpen did just enough to get by.
After the final out was recorded, and the players were filtering into the clubhouse, Falter approached them, one by one, to thank them personally for rallying back after he’d allowed the four runs. When he got to Segura, the second baseman stopped him, mid-sentence.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Segura said. “We’ll get you back out there. You’ll be ready to go. The only thing that matters is that we won. We’ve got one more, and we’re going to get it here. We’re going to get it tomorrow.”