New Philadelphia 76ers draft pick Jahil Okafor was invited by the Philadelphia Phillies to toss out the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday night before taking on the Milwaukee Brewers. For a basketball player, it was not a terrible first pitch, although it ended up getting away from the Phillie Phanatic, who was none too pleased with his glove afterward.
ICYMI: #Phanatic wasn't happy with his passed ball from @JahlilOkafor's first pitch last night. pic.twitter.com/if4ttLxgBe
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 1, 2015
The Phanatic was not the only one in a Phillies uniform with a tough moment behind the plate last night. In the eighth inning, after Cole Hamels left with a lead after 111 pitches and the Phillies leading 3-2, Ken Giles had a strikeout of Carlos Gomez wiped out by a late Carlos Ruiz timeout. It would have been the final out of the inning, which would have meant Jonathan Papelbon coming in for a save opportunity in the ninth. Instead, Giles ended up giving up a hit to Gomez. That was followed by a base hit from Aramis Ramirez to bring home Ryan Braun for the game-tying run. Giles then walked a couple batters to force in the go-ahead run for the Brewers.
Ruiz calling the late timeout may have been unfortunate in the spot, but Giles completely unraveled in the situation and was unable to shrug it off. Frustration is something pitchers, or any player, will have to handle at some point. We can blame Ruiz, who is not the same player he once was (he did hit a home run last night), but Giles has to find a way to move on in that situation.
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