PHILADELPHIA -- J.T. Realmuto never yelled at Nick Castellanos as the pair barreled toward home plate in near-perfect unison -- but the Phillies catcher was certainly thinking it.
As Castellanos approached third base, he knew Realmuto was right on his heels. Realmuto, meanwhile, had only one thought on his mind.
"Rounding third base, in my head, I was like, 'We're either going to both be out or both be safe,'" Realmuto said following the Phillies' 10-2 win over the Mets on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Mets catcher Luis Torrens fielded the relay throw and lunged to tag one and/or both players. Castellanos slapped the plate. Realmuto slapped it right after. The home-plate umpire signaled safe … and then immediately signaled safe again.
"Luckily, we both snuck in there," Realmuto said.
The duo's synchronized slides came on a Bryson Stott bases-clearing double that blew the game open in the bottom of the seventh. With the Phillies having already plated three runs in the frame to take a 5-2 lead, Stott ripped a ball deep to left-center with Alec Bohm on third, Castellanos on second and Realmuto on first.
Bohm scored easily. Castellanos hung out near second base just in case the ball hung up long enough to be caught. Realmuto got a good read and was almost to second base before Castellanos took off for third.
Realmuto had a smile on his face the entire play.
"I couldn't help myself," he said. "I think I was smiling the whole time. Like I said, it's one of those plays you never really prepare for, so it was fun to be a part of."
Consider this: Realmuto touched the plate 12.19 seconds after the ball left Stott's bat, per Statcast. Castellanos did so in 11.88 seconds -- a difference of 0.31 seconds.
As for the final 90 feet, Castellanos went third to home in 3.39 seconds, while Realmuto did so in 3.35 seconds. The two were so close together that it was impossible for third-base coach Dusty Wathan to tell one to go and one to stop.
"If he thought Casty was going to be safe," Realmuto pointed out, "I feel like I was probably going to be safe, too."
Castellanos, meanwhile, knew Realmuto was close, but he, obviously, had the worst view of just how close. Once Castellanos watched the replay, though, he realized he had seen a play like that before ... somewhere.
"It looks like, what is it, 'Rookie of the Year'?" Castellanos said, referencing the 1993 baseball comedy film.
A reporter said it might be "Major League."
"I can't remember which one," Castellanos said, "but I know it's one of those baseball movies. It's a funny scene."
Turns out, it's funny in real life, too.
"We were all in here laughing," said Zack Wheeler, who watched the play on TV while getting his postgame treatment after throwing five scoreless innings. "I'm just glad it turned out well."
"It kind of felt like playing a Little League game," Realmuto said. "Even getting back to the dugout, everybody was laughing and having fun with it. It was just a different scenario than you usually have in a game, so being able to have that fun and laugh in the dugout, that was a special moment."
That was no doubt the highlight from the opener of a highly anticipated three-game series between a pair of rivals who entered the night tied atop the NL East. Between the six-run seventh inning and Castellanos' two-run homer in the eighth, the Phillies (46-30) turned a tight game into a rout to move ahead of the Mets (45-31) for the first time since May 30.
"It's awesome. It's the best feeling," said Brandon Marsh, whose three hits included a leadoff double in that decisive seventh inning. "Especially against a good team like that, in-division, big game."
Marsh also had a great view of the double-slide play from the first-base dugout. He exploded onto the field, pumping his fist with a big smile on his face. Bohm looked on just behind the plate with a smile of his own. Realmuto slapped Castellanos on the backside, still grinning ear-to-ear.
Perhaps the only Phillie not smiling was Castellanos, who appeared to still be processing what had just happened.
“I just wanted to touch the plate and get out of his way,” Castellanos said.
And Realmuto really never told him to hurry up at any point during those frantic 12 seconds?
“I don't think I ever actually yelled,” Realmuto said.
After a pause, he added with a smile: “But I was definitely thinking it.”