Segura atones for error with clutch hit in Phils’ win
PHILADELPHIA — Jean Segura has played 11 seasons in the majors, made two All-Star teams and hit .300 three times, but he has never had an inning quite like the fourth inning of Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Friday night.
Playing in his first postseason, the Philadelphia Phillies second baseman dropped the relay throw from shortstop Bryson Stott, turning a potential inning-ending double play into a tying run for the San Diego Padres.
In the bottom of the inning, however, he redeemed himself with a clutch, two-out, two-strike, two-run single to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead in a game they would hold on to win 4-2 to take a 2-1 series lead.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to make a mistake,” Segura said. “That’s the play that I’ve probably made 3,000 times in my life, but for some reason I missed it. As a player, you never put your head down. Just keep it up, continue to play the game because you don’t know how the game’s going to end. Maybe that play can affect you through the game.”
Segura, who had made a nice diving stop in the field earlier in the game, would add a second fantastic diving play to rob the speedy Ha-Seong Kim of a hit with two outs and a runner on base to end the seventh. He pumped his arm through the air and kicked his leg in a loud show of emotion.
“I’m fired up,” Segura said. “I don’t know how to explain that, but it’s like Goku, the little Goku, like something, like fire inside my body. Like I just want to get it out, like explosive. If you don’t get emotional with 45,000 people in the stands or 46,000 people in the stands, you’re playing the wrong sport.”
After Segura’s error, the Phillies had a meeting at the mound with starter Ranger Suarez, who would end up getting the win with a solid five innings.
First baseman Rhys Hoskins wasn’t surprised that Segura bounced back from the error.
“He’s a 10- , 11-year professional and enjoying and soaking up every second of this because he’s waited so long and competed for so long, working his tail off for 15-16 straight offseasons most likely, so, no, not surprised at all,” Hoskins said. “Plus, how many big hits have seen him get, right? He had the opportunity to make some really nice plays in the field as well. The first thing he said when we went to the mound after he dropped the ball is, ‘Ranger, give me another one.’ That’s just the type of confidence he has in himself.”
The game did end with some controversy in the top of the ninth inning. After Juan Soto led the inning off with a base hit against Phillies closer Seranthony Dominguez — who was trying to complete just his second two-inning outing of the season — third-base umpire Todd Tichenor rung up Jurickson Profar on a 3-2 checked swing.
Profar, who had already flipped his bat and started his trot to first base, squatted down in disbelief and starting walking toward Tichenor, knocking off his helmet and then kicking it. Home-plate umpire Ted Barrett ejected Profar from the game.
“I thought I didn’t go and it should have been a walk,” said Profar, claiming he wasn’t really even swinging, just trying to get out of the way of a backdoor slider. “I didn’t have a really good chance to see it, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t go. Maybe the bat was in front, but I was just getting out of the way. I didn’t go, I didn’t swing.”
He said he wasn’t worried about a possible suspension.
“No chance, man. MLB doesn’t suspend people for that. We play a game, and we play with emotion. We don’t play soft. We play to win and I play with emotion.”
With the runners on first and second and nobody, the Padres would have had momentum on their side and pressure on Dominguez. Instead, the final two hitters, Trent Grisham and Austin Nola, went down on a pop-up. Dominguez ended up throwing 34 pitches in his two innings, his second-highest total of his season, and recorded the Phillies’ first two-inning save in the postseason since Tug McGraw in 1980.
He’s now pitched 6.1 innings this postseason, allowing just two hits with 13 strikeouts and no walks.
For the pivotal Game 4 on Saturday night, both managers turn to their No. 4 starters — Mike Clevinger for the Padres and Bailey Falter for the Phillies, who drew the assignment over Noah Syndergaard. Clevinger struggled in his one postseason start against the Dodgers in the division series, allowing six hits and five runs in 2.2 innings. This after a 6.52 ERA in six starts in September.
He’s been battling a sore knee, but was able to throw a 35-pitch bullpen on Thursday, the first time in a month he’s been able to do that.
“We’ve had our ups and down,” he said after Game 3. “It’s been some good weeks, some bad weeks, some weeks the knee doesn’t want to do it and lately it’s just kind of been pretty bad towards the end. And then finally this past week, it’s been really, really encouraging.”
Still, the Padres didn’t use any of their top relievers in Game 3 — Nick Martinez, Luis Garcia, Robert Suarez and Josh Hader, so Melvin will have a full pen available to him.
“I’m going until Bob comes and tell me I can’t go anymore.” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he’ll have to wait and see if Dominguez is available for Game 4.
The hard-throwing right-hander is coming off Tommy John and the Phillies have used him carefully all season.
“We’ll have to check in on Seranthony. That’s the most pitches he’s thrown all year. We got to the point in the game where we had the lead late and we had to go for it.”
LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.
Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.
Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.
Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.
Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.
Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.
Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.
He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.
Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.
Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.
A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.
Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.
Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.
Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.
Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.
The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.
Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.
Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.
O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.
Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.
In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.
Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.
Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.
The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.
LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.
Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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