Game 102 - 2021 Topps Now #480 Brad Miller

Phillies 11, Nationals 8 (Game 2 - 8 Innings)
Game 102 - Thursday Afternoon, July 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 51-51, 2nd Place, 3 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Brad Miller hit a stunning extra inning walk-off grand slam to give the Phillies an improbable 11-8 win over the Nationals.

What It Means:  Wow!  The Phillies were down 7-0 after three innings courtesy of emergency starter Cristopher Sanchez, Connor Brogdon and a bunch of errors, but they kept fighting and ultimately came back to win.

What Happened:  Rhys Hoskins homered in the third, with Andrew McCutchen and Alec Bohm going back-to-back with home runs in the fourth, making in 7-3.  McCutchen added an RBI-single in the fifth, making it 7-4.  Down to their final inning, and with two outs, Miller singled, McCutchen walked, Bohm hit an RBI-single to make it 7-5, and then J.T. Realmuto delivered a game-tying two-run single to tie the score.  The Nationals scored their ghost runner in the eighth to give them an 8-7 lead.

Featured Card:  Miller's slam came with Rafael Marchan (ghost runner), Jean Segura (intentionally walked) and pinch-hitter (!) Aaron Nola (walked) on base.  Miller crushed the pitch thrown by reliever Sam Clay and the Phillies had their latest dramatic walk-off win.  Miller has already appeared on two Topps Now cards this season, and I have a feeling he'll get this third for this game.

Field Report:  Full disclosure . . . I did not stay for this entire game.  I'm not proud of this.  Having watched the entire first game, enjoyed the company of a few dozen co-workers, watched the Phillies go down 7-0 in the third inning, and getting the Tornado Watch alert on my phone, I decided it was OK for me to leave early.  I regret my decision, and I'll do better.  Go Phils!

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