PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper doesn’t miss much on a baseball field.
His guts and instincts on Tuesday night led to the Phillies scoring a run on a catcher’s interference call for the second consecutive game in their 4-1 win over the Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia beat Boston in 10 innings on Monday night with a walk-off catcher’s interference -- the first in Major League Baseball since Aug. 1, 1971 -- when Edmundo Sosa’s bat struck Boston catcher Carlos Narváez’s mitt on a 1-2 pitch with the bases loaded.
The Phillies had runners on second and third with two out in the first inning on Tuesday. Harper was on third base. He noticed Red Sox right-hander Richard Fitts’ windup was slow to the plate on the first pitch to Brandon Marsh. So, when Fitts began his windup for the second pitch to Marsh, Harper took off.
Harper was more than two-thirds of the way home (67.2 feet) before Fitts released the pitch. Harper slid home safely, beating the tag from Narváez.
Officially, Harper never stole home. That’s because home-plate umpire Edwin Jimenez immediately ruled that Narváez interfered with the play. Marsh was awarded first base, and Harper was awarded home plate on what was ruled a balk.
“[Jimenez] had Narváez stepping on or above the plate before the pitch was received, essentially,” crew chief Quinn Wolcott said. “I mean, in the rule at one point, it references interference on the catcher, which is why the batter is awarded first base. It's also a balk on the catcher, which is unusual, obviously, which is why both runners advance as well.”
According to Rule 6.01 (G) in the official rulebook:
“If, with a runner on third base and trying to score by means of a squeeze play or a steal, the catcher or any other fielder steps on, or in front of home base without possession of the ball, or touches the batter or his bat, the pitcher shall be charged with a balk, the batter shall be awarded first base on the interference and the ball is dead.”
Incredibly, Narváez was called for catcher’s interference twice in as many innings in consecutive games.
The first one cost the Red Sox the game.
The second one gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead in what became a 4-1 victory.
“I just thought, what a good opportunity with two out right there,” Harper said. “I got a pretty good running lead right there.
“I thought I was going to be safe either way.”
Tuesday’s catcher’s interference was similar to the one that happened in 1971, when the Dodgers beat the Reds on a walk-off catcher’s interference. The Dodgers’ Manny Mota attempted to steal home against Joe Gibbon. Reds catcher Johnny Bench moved outside, stood up and caught the pitch and tagged Mota at home plate.
Umpire Harry Wendelstedt, however, ruled that Bench interfered with Willie Crawford’s chance to hit the ball, resulting in a walk-off catcher’s interference.
“Very bizarre -- bizarre couple of plays,” Wolcott said. “That's just what makes you love baseball, right? It's just the romantic thing about it. Weird things pop up, and sometimes you can go months without anything, and sometimes you can have one in the bottom of the ninth and one in the first. So that's just kind of how it goes.”
The last time Wolcott had seen a balk called on a catcher?
“I mean, the last time I think that I really saw it was at umpire school,” he said. “I never saw one in the Minor Leagues myself. This is the first time I've ever seen it on the field.”