An umpire puked. A pitcher’s nose was broken. Then the Phillies game really got weird.
You know it’s a really strange day at the ballpark when a batter comes out for a curtain call wearing a Panama hat and it can’t crack the top three most unusual events from the game.
When you read that a game had it all, well, the Phillies’ 12-6 win over the Nationals on Sunday in Philadelphia really did.
Let’s start in the top of the first inning when home-plate umpire Brian O’Nora took a foul ball off his mask. He tried to shake it off, but ended up hustling to the Phillies dugout to throw up, the Washington Post reported. O’Nora didn’t return and the game was played with three umpires.
It was the first of multiple delays in the game.
Broken nose
There is a good chance this will be the final season without the designated hitter in the National League, and Washington right-hander Austin Voth probably wishes he didn’t have to bat Sunday.
Voth was hit in the face by a pitch in the third inning. The Athletic’s Maria Torres reported Voth’s nose was broken and he stayed in Philadelphia to have it set while the Nationals traveled to Florida where they’ll face the Rays.
Net loss
Things really got weird in the eighth inning when the protective netting behind home plate fell.
One TV commentator said, “Well, that’s never happened before.” And he was right:
How do you fix something like that? Apparently it takes a bunch of people pulling on a rope while “The William Tell Overture” is played:
Home Run Hat
As for the appearance of a Panama hat, it was on the head of the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto, who hit his 100th career home run on Sunday. He took a curtain call with the hat, which the Phillies are calling a Home Run Hat, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Yeah, all of these things really happened in just one game.
“It was quite a long day,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi told the Inquirer. “But it’s worth it when you win.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2021 at 9:10 AM.
