Phillies manager benches team's best hitter after he jogged to first
The Philadelphia Phillies have been surprisingly good this season, having a 25-20 record and sitting just two games back of the first-place Washington Nationals in the NL East. Center fielder Odubel Herrera has played a big role in the team's success this season, slashing .335/.445/.456 with four home runs and six steals. He made his manager Pete Mackanin very angry against the Detroit Tigers on Monday night, though.
After tapping a grounder back to the pitcher in the seventh inning with the score tied 4-4, Herrera decided not to run hard out of the box. As a result, he was benched. Here's the play.
It wasn't the best showing for Herrera, particularly because it was a 4-4 game and had he run hard out of the box, he could have beaten the throw, which was low. Mackanin explained his decision to bench the team's best player late in a close game.
The Phillies went on to lose 5-4, though not as a direct result of Herrera's lollygagging. He went 3-for-4 in the game and continued his hot streak at the plate. Safe to say, he won't jog to first anymore.
