Brett Phillips makes himself a World Series hero for the Tampa Bay Rays
The 2020 Tampa Bay Rays have a few hallmarks, among them these: they never give up, and you never know who’s going to be the hero on any particular day.
In Game 4 of the World Series, in the early morning hours on the east coast, it was the turn of Brett Phillips, perhaps the unlikeliest hero of them all. The 26-year-old began the year playing for the Kansas City Royals; since joining the Rays in late August, he was batting .150 with three RBI in 17 games. His last hit was exactly one month ago, on Sept. 25; he hadn’t had an at-bat since the ALDS more than two weeks ago.
But there he was, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Rays desperate last hope to avoid falling down in the series 3-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
And he came through, lining a single on a 1-2 cutter from Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen to right field that scored Kevin Kiermaier to tie the game 7-7. The game seemed destined for extra innings when Randy Arozarena got hung up trying to score, but catcher Will Smith dropped the throw allowing Arozarena to score the winning run.
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1320219342211080193
Twitter reacts to the wild ending of World Series Game 4
https://twitter.com/RaysBaseball/status/1320223659332689920
— Cut4 (@Cut4) October 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1320221219162103808
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1320221531859976194
Wait a damn minute: so on 1 play, the @Dodgers leave in their closer too long, who gives up a hit, the CF commits a fielding error, then the catcher commits an error at home plate after the runner tumbled over like Daniel Jones. I think the @Dodgers just lost this series....
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) October 25, 2020
Kenley Jansen fails again for the Dodgers, beaten by a bench player named Brett Phillips.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 25, 2020
Craziest finish I've ever seen in a World Series game.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 25, 2020
Phillips is the first player to drive in the winning run while trailing with two outs in the ninth of a World Series game in more than 30 years. The last one was a more pleasant memory for Dodgers fans and one of the iconic moments of baseball history: Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
It was a topsy-turvy game, an instant classic in the truest sense. There were four lead changes. The teams combined to score at least one run in eight straight half-innings, a new World Series record. The Dodgers didn’t have a 1-2-3 inning on offense and still lost.
Wow man!!! #WorldSeries
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 25, 2020
That might be the most fun baseball game since the Royals-As Wild Card madness in 2014.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) October 25, 2020
What a truly fantastic sporting event that was.
I can't believe what I just saw.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 25, 2020
Oh my.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) October 25, 2020
Watched every second of that and have absolutely no idea how any of that happened
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 25, 2020
The loss means the Dodgers won’t be able to close out the series with Clayton Kershaw on the mound for Game 5 later on Sunday night. The series is now tied, the Rays suddenly have grabbed the momentum, and Phillips is the newest World Series hero, one no one could’ve seen coming.