PHILADELPHIA -- With Craig Kimbrel in the midst of an All-Star campaign in his first season with the Phillies, the Philadelphia faithful has grown quite fond of seeing his iconic pre-pitch pose late in ballgames.

Yet when a red-bearded right-hander dangled his arm out wide as he peered in for the signs on Friday night, the crowd at Citizens Bank Park unleashed a flurry of boos.

That's because it wasn't Kimbrel. It was Twins outfielder Jordan Luplow, who had joined Minnesota just one week earlier after being claimed off waivers.

Called upon to mop up the eighth inning of a 13-2 blowout, Luplow decided to have some fun. First, he joked with Phillies third baseman Edmundo Sosa about not getting out of the way of a 50.8 mph pitch that plunked Sosa on the backside.

One batter later, Luplow bent at the waist and hung his right arm high to the side as he received the sign on a 1-0 pitch to Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas.

Luplow was clearly imitating Kimbrel's unique style, yes?

"Oh, yeah," Luplow said postgame.

But why?

"I mean, isn¡¯t he on the Phillies?" Luplow said. "I don't know, I just felt like it would be kind of funny and make everyone laugh in a tough spot for us."

The crowd didn't find it funny. But plenty of others -- including Kimbrel -- got a kick out of it.

"They pointed it out to me when I was down there [in the bullpen]," Kimbrel said. "I think at that point he was just having fun."

Channeling his inner Kimbrel, Luplow spotted the pitch on the corner for a called strike. Rojas stepped out of the box and smiled. Kimbrel flashed a smile in the center-field bullpen.

Then, Rojas sent the next pitch -- which did not feature a Kimbrel-esque delivery -- into the left-field seats for his first career home run. As he rounded first base, Rojas flashed the Phillies' customary home run acknowledgement to the bullpen.

Kimbrel, with a huge grin on his face, signaled back emphatically.

"I mean, he was in Philly and he broke it out -- I don¡¯t know," Kimbrel said. "I was happy it worked out the way it did."

Luplow, meanwhile, just wanted to provide a memorable moment on an otherwise forgettable night. Little did he know, however, he'd be part of an unforgettable moment for Rojas.

"That was his first one?" Luplow said of Rojas' homer. "No way. He¡¯s going to tell his kids about me."

As for the pitching, Luplow has some work to do. Friday's outing marked his second career pitching appearance -- and the first one also featured a home run that he still hears about to this day.

Pitching for the Rays on Aug. 14, 2021, Luplow came on to pitch the eighth inning against, of all teams, the Twins. He served up a solo shot to now-teammate Ryan Jeffers.

"Yeah, freaking Jeffers took me deep," Luplow said when asked if he remembered anything from his first outing. "Trust me, he lets me know."

While Twins manager Rocco Baldelli commended Luplow's ability to throw strikes and lighten the mood on a night when the Twins lost their fourth straight game, Luplow is shifting his focus to improving upon his 13.50 career ERA.

"Yeah, not quite Shohei [Ohtani] yet, but we¡¯re working on it," Luplow said. "I¡¯ve got to get the pitching guys over here and get some work in."