The booth remembers the 1993 Phillies, Joey Votto’s possible jinx, and other highlights from the Game 3 broadcast
Phillies legend John Kruk offered his take on the decision to go with Aaron Nola in Game 3 and then provided some levity as the Phillies' season came to an end.
Game 3 — and the Phillies’ postseason — was over before they really began.
The Phillies dropped the third game of their NL wild-card series to Braves, 6-2, on Thursday after falling behind in the first inning and failing to erase the deficit.
John Kruk and C.J. Nitkowski balanced out the booth as the analysts for the Phillies and the Braves, respectively, while the rest of the crew continued its roles with Matt Vasgersian on play-by-play, Joey Votto as the “inside the pitch” analyst, and field reporter Ashley ShahAhmadi.
If the game was just too hard to watch, here’s what you missed on the Phillies broadcast:
Mattingly’s decision
Following a 1⅔-inning outing for Aaron Nola in which he gave up a three-run home run in the first to Michael Harris II, Votto asked the question most Phillies fans were thinking all day: Why did interim manager Don Mattingly choose to start Nola over Zack Wheeler?
» READ MORE: Phillies’ weaknesses on display in season-ending 6-2 loss to Braves in Game 3
Kruk revealed that Mattingly knew he’d need to use both Nola and Wheeler in the game but he “liked Zack better in a relief-type role” and thought he was better-suited to come out of the bullpen than Nola. Kruk said he would have gone with Wheeler from the start. He also said that in the pregame, but added that’s why he isn’t the manager.
Tim Mayza came on in relief for Nola in the second before Wheeler started the third and went four innings, giving up three hits, including a two-run home run, while recording three strikeouts.
Votto’s jinx
Maybe next time Votto should wait until after the game to offer any absolutes.
After being ridiculed on social media for asking “Did the Phillies just win the series?” after they scored their first run in the top of the first on Tuesday, he did something similar on Thursday.
In the bottom of the fourth with Wheeler on the mound, Votto said he didn’t “see the Braves scoring any more runs” in the game.
Four pitches later, Ozzie Albies hit his fourth career postseason home run, a two-run blast to make it 5-0. Three innings later, Matt Olson hit a solo shot off Jonathan Bowlan to put an exclamation point on the game.
Peanuts and cracker jacks
There weren’t many lighthearted moments for Phillies fans after the Braves took their first-inning lead, but leave it to Kruk to lighten the mood.
While the Phillies trailed by four in the seventh, Nitkowski told his booth mates that they should toss Cracker Jacks out of the booth and into the crowd for the seventh-inning stretch.
Nitkowski said it was the first time in three days Kruk didn’t stand during the stretch, joking that his body was sore “from [his] big toe all the way up to [his] neck.”
“You’ll get [to] my age someday C.J.,” Kruk said.
And before things went from bad to worse, Kruk reminisced on some better days for the Phillies, including the 1993 pennant-winning team he was on.
Braves pitcher Grant Holmes was on the mound in the top of the fourth when Nitkowski observed that Holmes and his long, curly hair had the look to fit in with Kruk’s teams of the ’90s.
“Well, I don’t want to blow anyone’s cover, but does he like to party?” Kruk said.
