J.T. Realmuto reacts after Phillies’ baserunning blunder ends loss to Dodgers

The Philadelphia Phillies saw a golden opportunity slip away Tuesday night after a chaotic baserunning mistake by J.T. Realmuto helped seal a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. The bizarre sequence ended with a game-ending 5-2-6-4 double play, extending another tightly contested chapter in the growing rivalry between the National League contenders.

“There’s a lot of talent on both of our teams, so you’re going to see a lot of times the games are going to be won by the little things,“ Realmuto said after the game, according to MLB.com. “And they’ve just been able to make less mistakes than we have really in our series, and going back to last postseason.”

The decisive play unfolded in the bottom of the ninth inning with runners on second and third and one out. After Brandon Marsh hit a slow roller to third baseman Max Muncy, the Dodgers executed a rundown on Justin Crawford before Realmuto was tagged out at second base after leaving third, ending Philadelphia’s comeback attempt.

Realmuto takes responsibility for costly baserunning mistake

Following the loss, Realmuto admitted the final sequence came down to poor decision-making on his part. “Just a bad baserunning play, really,” Realmuto said. “Once Craw gets in the rundown and I’m on third base, there’s no reason for me to go back to second. Just a lack of judgment. You can’t make two outs on that play. I’ve just got to stay in scoring position.”

J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a double in the ninth inning. Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

Dodgers capitalize on Phillies’ mistake

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Los Angeles executed the rundown cleanly, with Max Muncy, Dalton Rushing, Mookie Betts, and Tommy Edman combining to complete the unusual double play that ended the game.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised his club’s execution while recognizing that the Phillies’ mistake helped finish the play. “It’s just fundamentals,” Roberts said. “Max did a great job securing the baseball, understood the tying run was going home, ran him hard back. Fortunately J.T. made an uncharacteristic baserunning mistake, and fortunately Mookie threw a dart to second base. Big adrenaline, big win.”