Sep 9, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Kody Clemens (2) reacts after hitting a walk off game winning RBI single during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
If you want to know all about the Phillies 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, you only need to know about the ninth inning.
That's because that's when almost all of the action took place. Before that, it was a game that lacked much of anything. No juice. Little action. It was a sleepy Monday night in September against a sub-.500 American League team.
Yeah, Cristopher Sanchez pitched a great game. He threw six shutout innings scattering four hits.
And yeah, Kyle Schwarber hit this monster of a homer to snap a combined no-hitter the Rays were tossing through 5 1/3 innings.
Kyle Schwarber MAMMOTH home run pic.twitter.com/aGEE0QSmFT
It was the furthest home run he hit this season, and until the crazy ninth inning, it looked like it was going to stand as the lone bit of offense for either team all night.
But then there was the ninth... and oh, what an inning it was.
It started off on an unbelievable note, and only got more surreal from there.
The Phillies turned to closer Carlos Estevez to try and get the final three outs. The Rays countered with Brandon Lowe, their usual starting second baseman, as a pinch hitter in the ninth. He hit a ball to the deepest part of the ball park. It was ticketed for the 409 sign on Monty's angle.
Suddenly, Johan Rojas came into the picture. He leaped and...
Here’s the Johan Rojas play pic.twitter.com/IAFpdacssW
He had the ball in his glove, and then it inexplicably popped out when he turned his glove and his wrist hit the top of the wall.
"I'm always a person who is going to go and try to do that and catch the ball," Rojas said through an interpreter. "As a team we work hard to prepare for these types of situations. ... I felt a little bad because Sanchez had done a tremendous job throwing the ball and the bullpen as well."
Three batters later, Josh Lowe (no relation) laced a line drive back at Estevez that hit him square on the knee. Estevez stayed in the game, and got the final out of the ninth, but manager Rob Thomson said afterward that he had a left knee contusion, ironically, the same as J.T. Realmuto, and that he would be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
In the bottom of the ninth, Trea Turner led off and just missed winning the game when he crushed a ball foul down the left field line. He later flew out to the warning track in right field.
Bryce Harper was next. He, too, smoked a ball to deep right field, but it hit off the wall.
The problem was, he spent a moment too long admiring the hit and had to stop at first with just a single.
It wasn't a lack of hustle, but it certainly was a lack in judgment. In a tie game in the bottom of the ninth, you can't stand there and think you got it, when you didn't. He's the winning run. He's got to be on second. Thomson agreed and said Harper knows he should have been on second and that Harper apologized for it before Thomson even had a chance to say anything to him.
After Nick Castellanos struck out for the second out, Bryson Stott beat out an infield single and Thomson turned to Buddy Kennedy to pinch hit for Cal Stevenson, who was a defensive replacement.
And that's when it happened. One of those organic, primal moments that will always be talked about in baseball lore. The crowd of 39,511 just started chanting "Buddy, Buddy, Buddy, Buddy," through the entire at bat. It was reminiscent of the crowd getting louder and louder with each pitch when Brett Myers walked against C.C. Sabathia in the 2008 Division series.
Like Myers, Kennedy worked a walk.
Buddy Kennedy on the crowd chanting his name: “It was something very special, and I’ll always remember that for the rest of my life.” @OnPattison @PhilliesNation pic.twitter.com/1CYM8FJzzW
"That was definitely different, said Kennedy, who, in case you didn't know, grew up in Millville, N.J. and is a lifelong Phillies fan. "I was calm and collected when I got into the box, and then when I heard the Buddy chants I was like, 'O.K. Dude, you got to relax and just be in the moment.' It was something very special and I will always remember that for the rest of my life."
The crowd was into it at that point, and with the bases loaded and Kody Clemens due up, they kept the chanting going, this time switching it to "Kody, Kody, Kody, Kody" instead.
And wouldn't you know, Clemens delivered, hitting a single to right field, scoring Harper, and trimming the Phillies magic number to reduce their magic number to win their first N.L. East title to 12.
"That' a backyard dream," Clemens said. "Two outs, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, when you're playing whiffle ball with your friends when you are 10, 12, 13-years-old. For that moment to come up for me in the big leagues, and get the job done, it's pretty cool."
