Phillies salvage weekend series against the Braves, win 7-6 on questionable call at the plate

Didi Gregorius hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning of last night’s game and had the game winning sacrifice fly in the ninth to propel the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-6 victory against the Atlanta Braves. The win snapped a two game losing streak and salvaged a rough weekend in Atlanta. The Phillies sit atop of the NL East standings with a record of 6-4. The Braves are in second place with a record of 4-5.
Matt Moore encountered trouble in all five innings during his second start for the Phillies. He gave up three runs in the opening frame thanks to an Albies’ two-run home run and a Dansby Swanson RBI single. Moore gave up a run in the fourth and another in the fifth after the Phillies took a two-run lead in the ballgame.
The offense got things moving in the top of the second inning thanks to a sac fly from Jean Segura to score JT Realmuto. Realmuto hit a double and then stole third before tagging up to score. Rhys Hoskins then cut the Braves’ lead to one with a home run to make the game 3-2.
After Gregorius gave the Phillies a two-run lead, and Moore’s mishaps in the fourth and fifth innings, the Phillies and Braves were locked at 5-5. Bryce Harper stepped up to the plate and hit his second home run in as many games to give the Phillies a 6-5 lead.
Phillies killer for a decade to come Ronald Acuna Jr then tied the game with a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh inning. Acuna had a monster series against the Phillies, batting 9-for-12 with two home runs and three doubles. The game was now tied at six heading into the final two innings of the game. After an uneventful eighth inning, Alec Bohm came to the plate in the top of the ninth inning. Bohm roped a double to right centerfield.
Jean Segura would hit into a fielders choice to advance Bohm to third. With Didi Gregorius coming to the plate and Roman Quinn in the batters box, the Phillies weren’t going to take any chances. After Didi hit a shallow fly ball to left field, Bohm tagged up at third and headed home. Here’s a birds eye view of how this went down:

Marcell Ozuna’s throw bounced twice and Bohm was called safe at the plate. However, when you stopped and looked at the replay, it did not appear that Bohm ever touched the plate. The play was even reviewed and upheld. Atlanta fans weren’t happy and began throwing things onto the field. Here’s the full play of how things went down:
Obviously, that doesn’t show the actual play at the plate. I apologize for putting you through that but when the Phillies tweeted that video out, I couldn’t stop laughing. Here’s the best view that I could find for the end of the video:
So Bohm was clearly out. It’s wild to me how great of a view that the umpire had on this call and still blew it. To make things worse, they couldn’t even get it right on the replay. It will be interesting to see the explanation that comes out regarding the call. The only thing I can think of is indisputable evidence and the umpire was screwed the second he initially called Bohm safe.
“I was called safe,” Bohm said when asked if he thought he was out. “That’s all that matters.”
Bohm is right. Not only was he called safe, but the Phillies would go on to win the game after a quick bottom of the ninth thanks to Hector Neris. Neris has a 1.86 ERA with five consecutive saves converted and 25 strikeouts, a span of 19 1/3 innings, since last Aug. 28.
To all the Braves fans, I promise you’ll be okay. It’s only April and we have a full season of baseball to play.
Up Next: No days off. Chase Anderson will be on the mound in New York tomorrow against Mets’ pitcher David Peterson. It will be the first of four games in a row against the Mets.
Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY
[…] Phillies salvage weekend series against the Braves, win 7-6 on questionable call at the plate […]
[…] The Phillies beat the Braves 7-6 on a controversial play at the plate in the ninth inning. With one out and Alec Bohm on third base in the top of the ninth inning, Didi Gregorius popped a ball up to shallow left field along the line. Braves’ outfielder Marcell Ozuna caught the ball and immediately threw home, as Alec Bohm tagged and dash towards home plate to give the Phillies the lead. The umpire called Bohm safe at the plate. […]
[…] 27 games. They currently sit atop of the NL East standings with a 6-3 record and are coming off a wild game in Atlanta where Alec Bohm was called safe during a controversial call at home […]