Overcoming errors, Bohm sparks winning rally
Todd Zolecki
@ToddZoleckiPHILADELPHIA -- Alec Bohm loves this place.
¡°Yeah, you know what?¡± he said. ¡°I do. Yeah.¡±
Bohm experienced both sides of Phillies life in Monday night¡¯s 5-4 comeback victory over the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. He joins a long list of Phils players, including Mike Schmidt, who once said, ¡°Philadelphia is the only city where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day.¡± Bohm put the Phillies in a three-run hole in the first inning with the first of his three throwing errors. Then he sparked a five-run rally in the eighth inning with a leadoff walk. Following the game, he offered a mea culpa for a moment of frustration caught on TV in the second inning.
It happened after Bohm made a clean play on a ground ball. Fans cheered, but only because he had already made two throwing errors on the first four balls hit his way.
Bohm, exasperated, muttered to himself.
¡°I [expletive] hate this place,¡± he said.
¡°Look, emotions got the best of me,¡± Bohm said afterward. ¡°I said it. Do I mean it? No. It¡¯s a frustrating night for me, obviously, you know? I made a few mistakes in the field. But these people, these fans, they just want to win. And, I mean, you heard it. We came back. They¡¯re great. I¡¯m sorry to them. I don¡¯t mean that. The emotions just got the best of me.¡±
¡°I think it¡¯s a kid that was frustrated,¡± Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. ¡°I don¡¯t think the kid was referring to the City of Philadelphia, the fans. I think he was referring to the situation he was in ¡ I¡¯ve been there. I¡¯ve had three passed balls. I¡¯ve had passed balls lose a game. In that situation, you hate everything. Think about what he was probably feeling out there. He¡¯s a young man who¡¯s worked really hard and has to overcome some things. It was not a fun situation to be at the time.¡±
After Bohm¡¯s third error started the third, he walked in the bottom of the inning. He started a 5-4-3 double play to end the fourth. He hit a rocket to left-center field for a double in the fifth. It was the hardest-hit ball of the night at 108.8 mph, until J.T. Realmuto¡¯s two-run homer in the eighth registered at 109.4 mph.
Then came the eighth-inning rally.
¡°Alec walks and it leads to a little flair,¡± Girardi said.
Bohm went from first to third on Johan Camargo¡¯s pinch-hit single to right. He scored on Kyle Schwarber¡¯s fielder¡¯s choice. Realmuto¡¯s two-run homer to left cut the deficit to one. Nick Castellanos walked with two outs and scored the tying run on Rhys Hoskins¡¯ double to left. Didi Gregorius doubled to right-center to score Hoskins, giving the Phillies the lead.
¡°That was a Phillies win, for sure,¡± Castellanos said.
He then made a point to praise Bohm.
¡°First off,¡± Castellanos said, ¡°coming from a third baseman who¡¯s made three errors in a [game] before, for him to separate defense and offense is incredible. He had the best at-bats all night. And usually, for me anyway, when I was his age, if it was going that way on defense, it was going to go like that on offense, too. That¡¯s a testament to him and his maturity and his growth as an individual. He knows how proud of him I am today.¡±
¡°He started it, he got a walk,¡± Gregorius echoed. ¡°That shows you that he¡¯s still in the game. Things happened. Forget about it. That just shows you that he¡¯s maturing and he¡¯s doing what he¡¯s supposed to do.¡±
But what comes next? Bohm is 3-for-3 with two doubles and three walks in his two starts this season. He can hit, but he is a liability defensively. Girardi removed him from Saturday¡¯s 4-0 victory in the seventh for defensive purposes. Camargo again finished Monday's game at third.
¡°We have to get [Bohm] better,¡± Girardi said. ¡°I look at the first error, which I think led to the next couple. He was trying to do too much. He should have [held] the ball. I think he rushed the throw and it led to an error, and it kind of led to a couple more. But [I'm] proud of his at-bats. The progress that he¡¯s made offensively, I think he¡¯s growing up a little bit. We¡¯ve got to do some more, but I think he¡¯s growing up.¡±
Bohm certainly learned something on Monday.
¡°The win is what helps me leave feeling good,¡± Bohm said. ¡°I put us in a little bit of a hole. You saw those at-bats in the eighth inning. Everybody was locked in. Everybody had a great at-bat. It was really special.¡±