Phillies Fans Livid After Dusty Wathan Costs Team a Run in First Inning
Citizens Bank Ballpark was absolutely rocking early on Tuesday night. Zack Wheeler got the placing rocking in the top of the first and Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner built on that momentum.
Then Dusty Wathan sucked the air out of the place.
With Turner and Schwarber in scoring position, Alec Bohm flew out to right field and it looked deep enough to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead, but Wathan held Schwarber at third, and the Phillies ended up leaving the inning without a run.
Schwarber himself seemed shocked at the call, as he took off running as soon as the catch was made only to stumble back into third with a frustrated look on his face.
His frustration was nothing compared to what we saw from Phillies fans:
I wouldnt let Dusty back in the dugout, you have to score there.
— Gobirds! (@WRnation123) October 4, 2023
Fire Dusty please for the love of god
— Kaz (@thekrazymaN_) October 4, 2023
Inexcusable decision from Dusty there #Phillies
— Michael Hayes (@MichaelHayes302) October 4, 2023
It's too early in the game to say how much this run will come back to haunt the Phillies, and hopefully we'll win by enough that fans can forget about this mistake quickly. But every run is crucial in the postseason, and Dusty really dropped the ball here.
Zack Wheeler did his job in the second, getting through the inning in 10 pitches, but the damage of Dusty's call is lingering. The crowd isn't nearly as rowdy as they were in the first inning, and it's going to take some big plays to get the stadium rocking the way it was before the bungle.