Max Muncy’s 228th Dodgers Homer Beats Phillies 2-1, Tying Ron Cey for 5th

Q: Was J.T. Realmuto's costly blunder the real culprit, or a symptom of the Phillies' historically bad offense?

Realmuto’s mistake was the immediate culprit, but it was also a symptom of the Phillies’ larger offensive problem. On the play itself, the blame is clear. With the tying run at third and one out, Justin Crawford getting caught in a rundown did not have to end the game. Realmuto’s decision to retreat from third to second created the second out and turned a live rally into a 5-2-6-4 game-ending double play. Realmuto admitted it was a “lapse in judgment,” and even Don Mattingly said he did not understand the decision. If Realmuto stays at third, the Phillies still have runners at the corners with two outs and a chance to continue the inning. But the reason that one mistake became fatal is the Phillies’ thin margin for error. They scored one run, managed five hits, and struck out 11 times, wasting Zack Wheeler’s seven-inning, two-run, nine-strikeout outing. This was the 23rd time this season they had scored one run or none. Their broader numbers reinforce the pattern: a 92 team wRC+, a .237 average, a .304 OBP and a .403 slugging percentage, all signs of a below-average offense despite a high-payroll roster. So the cleanest reading is both. Realmuto directly cost them that game. But the bigger story is that the Phillies’ offense has been so unreliable that one baserunning error in the ninth becomes decisive instead of merely damaging.

3 articles · Updated · MLB.com · Jul 22

Max Muncy supplied all the Dodgers’ offense with a fourth-inning, two-run homer off Zack Wheeler, lifting Los Angeles to a rain-soaked 2-1 win in Philadelphia.
The 421-foot shot was Muncy’s 19th homer this season and 228th as a Dodger, tying Ron Cey for fifth on the franchise list after Wheeler had struck out nine over seven innings.
Justin Wrobleski made the lead stand, allowing one run and fanning seven across 6 1/3 innings in a tight duel one week after his All-Star Game debut.
The ninth turned on Muncy’s ground-ball play at third, which triggered a chaotic rundown and game-ending double play as Justin Crawford and J.T. Realmuto were both caught on the bases.
The win evened the series and added another milestone to Muncy’s Dodgers tenure, which began after Oakland released him in 2017.