Putting the ball in play can often lead to good things, regardless of the quality of contact.
The Philadelphia Phillies showed that in the second inning of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday, when they scored four runs on balls that either weren’t hit hard or should’ve been handled.
There was a double on a fly ball that San Diego Padres right fielder Juan Soto lost in the sun. And an RBI groundout on a ball that first baseman Brandon Drury didn’t field cleanly enough to either record the out at home or begin an inning-ending double play. And four singles, none of which traveled more than 85 mph.
Wild inning for the Phils! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/Wmw3Akrrpm
— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2022
Two of the batted balls — Matt Vierling‘s fly ball to Soto and Edmundo Sosa‘s flare to left field, which fell directly in front of Jurickson Profar — carried catch probabilities of at least 95%. It didn’t matter. The Phillies, who entered 5-0 when scoring first in these playoffs, had an early four-run lead and forced Blake Snell to navigate a 37-pitch inning.